Y&R: Week of March 16, 2009

[Cat]

Kevin yesterday... when he put his dead "daddy" in the closet. Or when he called for his mom. Greg Rikaart gave me serious chills but, more than that, made my heart ache for Kevin. Wow. I actually had to blink away a few tears. GR is knocking it out of the park.

Loved the Adam-Ashley chat. I hope they bond against the snotty Newman kids and their hangers-on.

Re: Paul Rauch. I don't know what he is doing or how he is doing it. But he is doing a GREAT job at Y&R and that is all I care about.

And you know how these dictatorial types are. Certain actors may feel aggrieved for a while that he's yelling at them. But given that he wants the show to be great and their performances to be stellar, can they really fault him? He wants to help them get better! The moment he turns around and tells those same actors "Great job today" or "You were amazing in that scene," he will have them eating out of his hand. Most will strive for his respect and acknowledgement. Gordon Thomson (Mason #3 on Santa Barbara) said in a recent interview on Brandon's Buzz that Rauch was a [!@#$%^&*]. But it was clear he also completely respected him.

[classicmoment]

I think they did that to explain why Jack wouldn't recognize her as clearly she's someone who has had personal dealings with him to begin with

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Um, it's all apart of the business. If some actors are fooling around during rehearsals, don't come prepared, or are just being deadly lazy, they should be called out on it. That's exactly what Rauch is doing, according to his interviews. We should be grateful he brought back the rehearsal element in production, something LML took away and the show suffered greatly for. Lot of actors phoned in their stuff during her regime, *cough Michelle Stafford cough* and don't appear to be doing that now again *cough Michelle Stafford cough*. Rauch isn't there to hold anyone's hand, he's there to make sure the work is done, the actors are alert, and the show is produced on time and on budget. Maria mentioned that Eric Braeden and Jeanne Cooper specifically, as well as the rest of the cast, are very happy with the leadership of the show right now. She said the cast morale is a lot higher than it was a year ago, and from the interviews with actors, it appears to be true.

[MarkH]

Except Don Diamont...who I was pleased to see expressed some disgruntlement about his ouster. But he's going to land on his feet.

Y&RWorldTurner, I have a question for you.

Yesterday, when Kay was outside the Crimson Lights and said "goodbye, Genoa City", a piece of background music that I have LOVED -- I think since the 1970s -- always gives me goosebumps -- was playing. Am I right? Is that an old cue? Do you know what it is? As a hearing impaired person, I can't ever get much out of the music, but that was a dramatic underscore that was always one of my favorites.

There is another one...more dramatic...that I haven't heard from the 80s but that now .. I have hope .. might some day be back.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I'll have to re-watch that scene when I get home, but they HAVE been using TONS of old music cues lately, especially with the Katherine storyline.

[MarkH]

Okay. For reference, it is 36:21 (final scene) in this clip.

[Cat]

I know the one you are talking about! I think that is my favorite musical cue on Y&R ever. However, I have been on the lookout and they have not played it yet. I will get major chills if/when they do.

All the Kay music currently, I feel like I have heard before. Some of it is cinematically beautiful.

As for Don, I love the emotions he expressed re: Bill Bell. I just hope he is not setting himself for a fall from Brad...

[sheilaforever]

This is a true classic. And this score has been probably unused since the 70s indeed.

I recall this in connection with several Kay & Phillip (Donnelley Rhodes) scenes - mostly due to flashbacks in "recent" (read 10+ years ago) episodes. But in some WOST episodes from the 70s I think it was a common used score.

[MarkH]

So, I'm musically illiterate, and my hearing means I cannot pick out instruments.

The classic cue I'm missing had this kind of a percussive thing to it, although no drums were involved.:

Single instrument: dong dong-dong dong

A bunch of instruments play, what to me sounded like: diddle-diddle diddle-diddle diddle-diddle

Back to single instrument: dong dong-dong dong

(Repeat and repeat)

[i know this sounds stupid, but music is sadly something I don't do well with]

================

There was also this "creepy" music they used to play...before crazies like Edward the stalker (of Casey, then Nikki)...always got me!

If she wasn't talking over it, I'd record it .

Don't you love that there are some members of the staff over there who KNOW we love and miss these things? I mean, talk about giving your audience what they want, and not worrying how old they are....

[Cat]

When you said "dong dong-dong dong," I knew immediately we were talking about the same piece of music.

That dong-dong beat is what gives me the goosebumps. It makes you think "something significant is going to happen here." They usually played it when somebody was about to figure out somebody else's scheme or secret. And about to blackmail them! Or when a certain somebody was locked in a cage by his crazy ex-wife, etc.

And yes, I *love* that Y&R/Rauch picked up on the fact that some fans were missing that incidental music. I think there must have been a fair amount of fans who wrote in and complained during the Lynn Marie Troll years.

LOL, or maybe Rauch reads SON?

[Dan]

And you know what, we can tell. I don't know, but from watching his GL, there always seemed to be a power struggle of some sort. A conflict with the actors (Maeve Kinkead, Fiona Hutchinson, etc.), a conflict with the writers (Claire Labine being fired and re-hired in a matter of days), a conflict with MADD-Cow or Lucy Johnson over at CBS. Even Claire Labine, a writer you would have thought would have been perfect for GL, floundered. There seemed to be such a split from the flashes of Labine greatness (Jim's death) and the rest of the show (San Cristobel and the mob). Hell, I'm sure Millee Taggart had to fight tooth and nail for all the improvements she managed to get through the corporate drones.

But at Y&R, there just seems to be such amity and that IMO has bred the kind of consistency we have seen over the last 6 months. We don't seem to have another entity trying to inject an opposite sort of vision into the show and that has created a more cohesive whole.

[bellcurve]

LOL. If he does, I'd love to see his face when he sees buzzwords like "The Lillian Hayman Special," and "Maeve Kinkaid."

[dm.]

That would explain why half of our wishes came true.

[juniorz1]

I'm just glad the old Y&R is back. Seriously, IMO, this the best it's been in YEARS! Not only is the quality excellent but it's so damn addictive now. I'm going a little stir crazy waiting for Monday to come.

LOVE that MAB has cemented the deal with the Jill/Katherine non-maternity issue. Now, we'll have Katherine finally prove she is Katherine and it springs into a Kay/Jill story. I can't be the only one wondering who fixed the original test that proved Kay & Jill to be mother & daughter. This could get interesting, especially if MAB keeps in mind that the original results caused Kay to have a stroke. What would really be nuts is if we found out Kay lied about switching Cane & Phillip, though somehow I doubt we're going down that road.

Sharon is Amazing. Ah-Mazing. I am absolutely glued to her and this storyline. Though I have always liked Sharon, this is the first time ever that I simply just cannot take my eyes off her. Every scene she's in, I watch every little thing she does, just to get some insight into her. And what's crazy is I've yet to be disappointed in Case. She is simply on her game in every scene, effusing Sharon's state with her mannerisms and facial expressions. I hope she's having the time of her life because I'm having the time of mine whatching her.

Oh and Sharon/Billy living in the same household (basically).....Here's hoping we get a new school Abbott breakfast on Monday- Jack, Sharon, Billy, Chloe, & Delia. That should be interesting- hell, they could even invite Ashley- then she'd probably get clued in on how messed up all 4 of those people are, save for soon-to-be-messed-up Cordelia.

I like that Kay apparently will be spending some time with Murphy the next few days. I hope she gets some of her memories of Murph back while she's there, though I'm not sure Murphy would fit with realKatherine. Either way, I feel sorry for the old guy.

As for the Don RE: leaving Y&R, I like that he finally took a swipe at them. It's one thing to let a guy go, but it's another to permanently kill off his character after 23 years of service, considering Y&R's consistency in leaving the door open for their vets. I really hope things go swimmingly for him on B&B. I'll be watching

[Cat]

OK, I am BEGGING you to tell me what those are about. I'm guessing he clashed with Kincaid. But Lillian Hayman?

Feel free to use that PM function.