Y&R: Kay Alden or Maria Arena

[Sylph]

Next time MAB throws a big bash at her place we might meet! Shhh, don't tell anyone!

[rangethatrover]

Well at least Daytimefan has confirmed MAB's ego. One interview i read made that clear. She comes off as very coldy intellectual whereas Kay seems nerdy and down to earth.

[CSF]

IMO, I find them to be very similar, yet different. Which is the reason why I didn't vote. However, I firmly believe that if they are paired with another writer, their work is great. Alden and Bell and MAB and Sheffer. (I think MAB and HS keep one another grounded and I feel Bell kept Alden grounded.)

[DaytimeFan]

Nail. Head. You hit it.

[lmfan]

Maybe some find Michael and Lauren boring because they get little to no story. What story has Maria Bell written for them? Nothing as a couple and Michael only had his father story which was hit and miss for a couple months and turned into yet another Gloria story. I see her fans having a problem that she is not even being used as support and has been off screen more than on this year.

I agree with others. Lauren eating the show under LML is a huge exaggeration. She made both Michael and Lauren support and the only story Lauren had under LML was her PPD story after the birth of Fen (Oct to Dec 2006) and the Sheila as Phyllis story (Jan and Feb 2007) which lasted all of 6 weeks and was really a Michelle Stafford vehicle. Tracey earned an emmy nom for her acting in that story as well as the Lauren and Michael romance in 2005.

As for the Winters, whether you like their story or not, Maria started this story, had Neil sleep with Tyra with no build up or explanation why Neil would cheat on Karen with his son's aunt, wrote Devon confronting Neil, and Karen asking why Neil didn't fire Tyra and then backburned the story for weeks on end. You can't write a story when it is on for one week and off for two weeks. She created Tyra and is in charge of this story. Why has she written it this way? These characters act out what she writes. If it crap, it is because the writer's wrote crap. If Tyra is a lousy character because the actress is lousy then fire the actress.

Maria Bell deserves kudos for writing some terrific stories like the ones surrounding Katherine and Billy, but that does not give her a pass for poorly written stories or ignoring and backburning talented vets.

As for the poll, I think it is too early to say. Maria Bell was dreadfully boring for the first half of 2008 when she played the same characters day after day (the quad, Victor, Sabrina, Nikki, Gloria). She came out of the David Chow and Sabrina death stories well but let the Victor story drag on. The Katherine focused story has been terrific (except for the kidnapping) and Billy and Chloe are interesting characters although she is overdoing it with her new toy Billy.

Kay Alden's first big story when Victor married Nikki on her deathbed, Michael handling Diane's divorce leading to Brad and Jack taking over Newman was terrific but she also had the whole Ashley spermstealing story which was terrible. If I voted now it would be for Kay, but like I said it is too early in Maria's tenure to say how well she will do over time. She has been up and down in her 15 months in charge.

[lmfan]

Jack Smith is the only one we know asked her to sign a contract because he was a big fan of Lauren and Michael. I doubt she was asked by either LML or Maria to sign a contract and probably the only reason she has not been let go is because she is recurring as it is pretty obvious Maria has little interest in her. I don't get why she should be slammed because she is recurring when so many actors nowadays are being asked to go recurring or being hired as recurring.

Maria Bell told Christian and Tracey she likes them as a married couple and dealing with problems together, but based on her writing it is pretty clear she was just giving them lip service as she puts no effort into them as a couple. The only thing she might like them for is to prop her favorites when needed.

I don't think she has any interest in splitting them up, getting Lauren back into the business arena, or bringing back Scotty because that would require her to write for them. If she keeps them together and trouble free then she doesn't have to write for them yet has two solid performers to prop other characters she does write for.

[Adam]

I voted for Maria Bell, but I do agree its kind of hard to chose. Kay Alden to me had such huge shoes to fill (even with Bell still providing a vision) that she was bound to have some trouble..... Maria Bell when she first took over I did not feel was much better than Latham. The show was incredibly slow, boring and repetitive. I left in March of 2008, and only returned this past December. Maria, along with her co-horts has had me glued to the set pretty much everyday. I race home to watch it at 4:30.... and I am hardly ever disappointed.

Y&R is probably at its best creatively since Bell retired. For me, anyway. The only thing MAB needs to improve is her handling to the Winters, however... I am not sure what much more can be done over there.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Most of the recurring palyers on Y&R don't get heavy play unless they're tied to people who are getting heavy play, like Murphy, since he's connected to Katherine. Outside of him, the other recurring players get very little airtime. In an era with budget cuts, they're wise for using their contract characters more, since they're obligated to pay them and sometimes have to fill up their episode guarantees. I don't think it was any coindsidence why Michael has gotted good supporting airtime in Kevin's story and Tracey hasn't, since Christian is the one with the contract.

If she doesn't want to write for them, maybe she should fire both actors and write them out.

However, I do not know if she plans on giving them their own storyline in the future. She did say summer would bring about more storylines for people who haven't been featured much, we'll have to see.

[DaytimeFan]

That hack bitch from the depths of hell LML asked Tracey to sign a contract. She turned them down.

I know you're a big fan of Michael and Lauren. Fair enough. The agenda is getting stale.

[MarkH]

Oh, you'll be serving the drinks?

[brimike]

:lol:

It's such a strange subject - there are so many variables involved in both Alden's writing AND MAB's writing. It really is like apples and oranges. Like others have said, Alden inherited one kind of show, while MAB inherited another kind of show altogether. Also, there's a big difference between ego and hubris. MAB may have an ego, but Chris Goutman has hubris. Ego can definitely be a good thing when you're EP and HW - hubris, on the other hand, will be the end of you.

Alden was head writing at a much different time in the industry than MAB is. What was considered "bad" soap back then, isn't exactly what is considered "bad" soap now.

Honestly, I think they both did/are doing their best to keep Bill Bell's vision alive, which is more than I can say for most head writers who inherit a show. Neither one tried to reshape Genoa City into what they wanted it to be - sure, they each had their favorites, and their not-so-favorites - their good months and their terribly bad months. But overall, they both seem to have a lot of respect for Y&R, and take/took their positions very seriously. So I applaud them both for that. And I don't really think a choice can be made between them.

But hey - that's just me. Indecisive, wishy-washy, and the guy who always changes his mind.

[MarkH]

This is an important point. Because the road to soap-creative-destruction is littered with EPs and HWs who came into established shows and tried to completely reform the canvas, with little respect for what had come before. Dena Higley at OLTL (and, one might argue, DOOL); Jill Farren Phelps at OLTL.

Everyone at Y&R...EVERYONE...yes, even "hack bitch from hell"...pretty much respected Genoa City, its veterans, and what had gone before. Even Victor Newman's epilepsy was based in his history of head-butting, John's stroke was based in his history of cardiovascular illness, and Brad's Nazi past was written out of the 20-years of cipher-dom that Bill Bell had invested him with.

One of the reasons Y&R's blood continues to beat a healthy red, IMO, is that nobody came in and tried to completely reinvent. No new core families,etc.

And, correspondingly, there is something I enjoyed in each post-Bill-Bell regime.

[brimike]

Whoa. Let's not get crazy here, Mark.

:lol:

j/k

[DaytimeFan]

Well, we disagree about that point...but that's OK. The only thing I can say for that hack bitch from the depths of hell LML is that she wrote Jeanne Cooper's Emmy winning storyline...which only worked because it was Jeanne Cooper acting it.

[lmfan]

Oh please, we all have agendas and favorites. I responded because the topic was about Tracey Bregman. I have been staying out of the episode thread with my "agenda", but I don't need to be scolded for stating my opinion when the topic is brought up by others. I am allowed to respond to others' posts on said topic.

Tracey has said she is available when needed to play heavy story, so I don't get why it is such a crime that she did not sign a contract even if she was asked twice. I would imagine there will be many actors who will be asked to go recurring and off contract in these economic times. Should they all be ignored in favor of contract players? And what about contract players who are also being ignored?

Most viewers probably have no idea who is on contract or not and I imagine will wonder why some characters they are used to seeing now disappear for weeks or months at a time.