Jump to content

Y&R: Week of November 17, 2008


Recommended Posts

  • Members

I REALLY hope we get Jill and Nina scene like the Traci and Lauren scene we got today. You know, Jill telling Nina how sorry she was for blaming her for Phillip's demise and how wrong she was blaming her for years, stuff like that.

I LOVED Nina and Esther's brief conversation. I'm glad they remembered that Nina and Esther were close. I really loved how Nina told Esther that Jill wouldn't kick out and when Esther said "Wanna bet?" - the look on Nina's face was priceless! LOL!

So much respect/appreciation for these longtime characters, their histories, and relationships have been brought to the forefront lately, it's just all so lovely to see.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 265
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

It is so funny...most soaps would be TERRIFIED to do what Y&R did today.

Most notable is that Traci-Lauren scene. Two recurring characters. To mention their story...one that more recent viewers might not remember...is usually considered a huge mistake. "We'll confuse the viewers". That scene was longer than many too...and that would be a 'bad thing' too.

But they went further. When the Traci-Lauren clinch was over, the camera revealed a wordless Danny watching, and smiling approvingly.

TRACI AND LAUREN FOUGHT OVER DANNY. Most of Lauren's evil deeds, in the beginning, were in order to snag Danny. Danny watching that moment was a nod to that history.

That is was done wordlessly is SUCH a testament to the intelligence of the audience. Long-time viewers could understand what that business was about. But the creative team understood that new viewers might just say "Don't know what that's about..." and move on. I can't believe that even the newest viewers wouldn't SOMEHOW feel that the Lauren story was enriched by this hint of backstory.

These episodes of Y&R are a gift to some of us. I do not believe they will improve ratings or demographics...and I think the show knows that. This was just a reward for those of us who have stuck with the show. What a respectful, appreciative move.

Well, but Lauren has "evolved". We've seen that. So Lauren's apology makes sense.

Jill...well....she hasn't really evolved that much :). So, I suspect Jill remain vile and nasty...and I can't WAIT to see Jess chew some scenery again. It has been far too long.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Yes, kudos to Mike Denney again, who directed today's episode as well.

Damn, Mike Denney, Janice Ferri Esser, and Paula Cwikly must have been working their assses off a couple weeks ago for these episodes.

Paula also wrote the breakdown for Monday's episode, and Janice has been pretty heavily involved since she came back. Denney obviously directed two back to back episodes.

I'm glad they gave these history drenched episodes to Denney - Y&R's longest serving director.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

You know, for the first time in a long time, I've actually started referring to these characters as they are on the show.

"I can't believe Nikki did this, I hate Phylis."

For awhile all I thought about was the mess that was behind the scenes.

"They have Nikki running for office."

They really have pieced together a beautiful show. It's starting to be that classic and classy escapist soap that I loved growing up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Precisely.

Jill and Nina had an uneasy truce based on little Phillip IV...I think when Jill said "Hello Nina" without looking at her, consumed with the flowers, was all Nina's going to get from Jill who, let's face it, still feels Nina is responsible for Phillip's death. My view is that EVERYONE and NO ONE was to blame for Phillip's death. He was a sweet, damaged kid who wasn't totally comfortable being himself...I will never forget the scene where he died...Phillip IV (as a baby) was crying, Nina, Christine and Rex were wrecks, Kay looked so sad and Jill...total heartbreak. Those were the scenes were I thought "Jess Walton you are a STAR"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Yes, that was a low point. I was personally excited about OOTA...and liked some of it...but you're right...it was ultimately irrelevant. A massive, contrived, expensive stunt--oddly timed BEFORE sweeps--with the sole main goal of ushering Amelia Heinle off-canvas to facilitate her maternity leave.

I have to keep reminding myself that these episodes are SPECIAL. Much of what we're loving will be gone by week's end. I hope the team is inspired by these days, and produces a consistently good show thereafter. I'm a bit worried, because the 8/6/08 Sabrina-funeral episode was awesome...but then things got a bit flatter after that.

I hope the show realizes that embracing history is not a bad thing, and they will continue to do it on a regular basis.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

When I saw Mean Girls, I so related this to Lauren Fenmore, a character I now love. I remember hating Lauren back then for what she did to chubby Tracy Abbott because I was about five years younger and saw so many mean girls like Lauren in high school. Those teen storylines were so good (although the concerts were cheesy) because they were so relateable and played by young actors who for the most part were very good.

Beth Maitland and Tracey Bregman were wonderful today. What a terrific nod to their history. It shows how much Lauren has matured and how gracious a woman Tracy Abbott is. Not to mention it was great seeing Tracey Bregman interacting with other characters for a change. I love Lauren with Michael but she has connections with so many other characters on this show that go back decades and yet we rarely see her interacting with them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Loved Lauren and Tracy today with Danny looking on. Here is a catfight between the two...LOL
">
type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344">

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I truly haven't seen a scene like this since I saw a clip from GL in 1992 featuring Ross, Vanessa, and Holly. Holly was trying to convince Van not to drop the charges against Jack Kiley (who sexually assaulted her). Holly told her that she knew what it was like to go through a trial, to be shown to have wanted it or deserved it. As she she was saying it, the camera cut to a very mournful Ross, who of course represented Roger in that case and did exactly that. It was brilliant, and yet, as you said, most newer viewers would probably not even pick it up. I love when a show has multiple layers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • In fiction there has become an expectation by some that every Black character should represent excellence and perfection. It's not like we are talking about a Tyler Perry show where none of the characters are happy and everyone hates each other with a passion.
    • And on rewatch, I could've done without the unsubtle praising Matt like he was the only one who ever accepted Van as she was...but TPTB and their agendas.  It was totally in character for Vanessa to shut down emotionally until she was alone. While she could be volatile, both she and Henry believed in keeping emotions private.  Thank God it's still Bryan Buffinton in the role for both Henry's and HB's funerals. It just wouldn't have been the same with Ryan Brown, who couldn't act his way out of a wet paper bag. Roll My Eyes.
    • I can probably believe the Spauldings reacting that way, as Alan barely cares about anyone but himself and maybe his family, while Amanda only had that one experience with the Coopers, but I see your point. I do think 1997 was a better year than the last 3-4 before it, for whatever that's worth. You are right about Marcus. Kevin Mambo winning two Emmies (the latter during periods where he had nothing to do) helped.
    • I think @Darn @Faulkner and others have a fair point re: it being an unfortunate look and coincidence. I can see their point about the two Black husbands in rapid succession, without much time in between. Frankly, based on the early casting notices I thought before the show's debut (and I still suspect) that Ted's crimes might be far worse than infidelity or a secret baby. That would've mixed it up more. It's a soap, people are going to cheat, but it might've given them more variety if Nicole was stepping out first. Still, I wouldn't trade the Leslie/Eva reveal material for anything right now. Still, Fanfic Account #3 is just looking for any weapon to attack the show for not accepting his unsolicited scripts. When it's not the husbands it's Martin, or Chelsea or Dani. He's seething it got renewed.
    • I'm pretty sure Lucy and Bridget never even have another scene together for the rest of the time they're both on the show. Bridget isn't even invited to the wedding! The lack of community feeling and continuity of non-romantic relationships during this period is very jarring. Characters suddenly only seem to interact with a handful of other characters, rather than characters across the canvas. I'm deep into 1997 in my watch right now and find that it's even stranger because the show goes back and forth between ignoring history in order to manufacture some kind of separation between characters (for example, at one point Amanda refers to the Coopers as a family that the Spauldings "barely know," despite her and Alan spending the better part of 1996 going to war with Buzz over 5th street, and Alan has absolutely no reaction when he finds out about something bad that's happened to Abby, which seems pretty out of character given how close they were in 95/96) and ignoring history in order to create a sense of community that doesn't quite fit (characters who couldn't stand Amanda are suddenly acting all buddy buddy with her). The wheels really feel like they're coming off in 1997 (although I know some would argue that the wheels started to come off years earlier). Watching the Marcus/Dahlia romance again from a 2025 perspective is so weird. Marcus is a full grown man who must be at least in his mid-20s and he's dating a teenager who is not only still in high school, but is still fully a year away from graduation, and no one says anything about how creepy that is. I feel like the buzz around Marcus gave the illusion that the show was more invested in him than it ever actually was. Even during his "big" story where he's arrested for Cutter's murder, he actually doesn't appear on screen very often. He's imprisoned, Griffin is brought on, other characters make a fuss about trying to get him out, but there's a long stretch of time where he doesn't appear at all. I've been keeping episode counts while I watch and between Cutter's death in mid-November of 1995 and the end of the year Marcus/Mambo only appears 7 times (and of that only twice in December).
    • The letter reading was very emotional, and Maeve really got to me too. I was a little worried because Vanessa doesn't give a speech at the funeral, which surprised me, but then we got the private letter reading and her true emotional reaction and I was satisfied there. The YouTube channel I watch these episodes on (if not on our Vault), also had upset commenters talk about how Nola's line about Henry not accepting her at first/seen as a gold-digger was totally untrue. It's sad the writers don't do their homework and give fans the respect (and the characters respect). And yep, Bill got up and spoke at the funeral too, which was nice.  I didn't even realize that was Sharon Leal until you said it!  I had to Google it. I loved Sharon Leal in Boston Public back in the day haha. LOL at your Reva/Josh ALWAYS commentary. What is RME though?
    • Leslie is an extreme liar and manipulator. I'm not sure what her point was in trying to convince Nicole she wasn't trying to hurt her. As much as Eva did help orchestrate the entire plot I feel like there was too much piling on. Eva never said she wanted to be a Dupree so Anita was extremely out of line for that comment.  
    • Thanks!

      Please register in order to view this content

       That's positive and something to look forward to for sure, because you're right, 1996 so far isn't nearly as good as 1995. Ohh - what is Lonatrat?  Sadly you're probably right. I did feel like David was rarely seen once Marcus came on. That would have been an interesting spin, having Frank and Tina be teenage lovers and Dahlia really being his daughter. I'm getting the sense that Tina won't be seen too much anymore, as she just left Dahlia with Frank/Eleni as she's heading to jail for a while. I like the Tina actress too!  Her voice sounds a bit like Rosie Perez to me, which I love. I tried to find her online, but coming up empty. This was the only thing I could find about Tina Crede - a character snapshot video with clips and stills of her (randomly starting just before the 1:00 mark):

      Please register in order to view this content

      That's wild that the David actor is nearly 40 here! Definitely surprises me.
    • 5-6   Meh. It already looks like a scattershot week.    5-5 was actually a good episode. Damian and Lily. Phyllis finally going on the warpath that I knew she could get on with Billy and Sally. Nate started to question Audra and Victor's alliance. And I was not even bugged by Kyle and Claire.   But then there's Cole's off-screen story. Kyle and Claire going back to being whiny. And them even wanting Adam's penthouse just sounded like trying to keep the set around. And Diane shouldn't even give a flying frak about Billy's opinion. And Tessa, Daniel, and the guitars...yeeeah no.   But hey...JM looked good in that short. And those pants.  I agree. One of Y&R's good points with fans has always been that you do at least see the vets. And IN stories. 
    • One of the things that I found unnecessary and a bit disturbing about Ambitions was that in almost every episode someone was holding or shooting a gun.  Jamey and Ron seem to have the same fetish.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy