Y&R Actor off contract

[YRBB]

Yes, Gil!

[DeeeDee]

Plus he managed a win when Graziadei couldn't with MULTIPLE tries

Yet Rikaart & Graziadei are ALWAYS propped.

ALWAYS.

[Heyou]

The writing has been on the wall for this actor and the character he portrays, can't say that I'm surprised nor will I miss him.

[MarkH]

One of my favorite shows in recent memory was The Wire.

Tristan Wilds (now on 90210) played a character, Michael Lee, with many similarities to Devon. Michael's mother was a substance abuser, and his stepfather was a molester.

Michael was left to provide for his younger brother, which led him to life in the drug trade.

What Wilds did -- beautifully -- was play 'soft' and 'sensitive' and 'brilliant'. But he also had to make his way in a hopeless world. As the story continued he hardened, put up walls, and gradually disconnected from his conscience.

It was a beautiful, nuanced performance, and there was a lot of truth. What Michael became was the product of his rough beginning.

Now, what if Michael had been "rescued"? How might that have changed things?

Well, as it turns out, the Wire explored that too. Another character, Namond, played by Julito McCullum. McCullum was rescued by Lt. Bunny Colvin (a retired cop)...and we got to see that he was eventually flourishing. But he also didn't lose the essential "Namond-ness". The scars of his first 14 or 15 years will be with him forever.

So, yes, Devon could have been done better -- and has. The fault lies with the writing and the acting.

That said, Devon was much better when Rowell was there. Clearly, she elevated Bryton's game ... and helped inspire more truthful scripts. I don't deny that. But Rowell has been gone two years, and I do not think (lamentably) she is coming back. Bryton hasn't found anything to win support of his character back.

It's time to rest the character. If Devon comes back, I'd prefer it to be more in the ilk of what Tristan Wilds or Julito McCullum were able to accomplish.

Talented, yes. But maybe not right for THAT part. At least not after he was decoupled from Rowell's powerful mentorship.

I will also lay blame at Latham, who saddled him with that implant, and never did anything with it. As a hearing impaired person, it could have been an amazing story and part of his character.

[Faulkner]

They never even tried with Devon. It's not like they tried and failed...they never TRIED.

I think this is tremendously sad. MAB doesn't care about black people.

[Queen]

Yep, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Snow everywhere.

With Mac back, it's all Mac/Billy/Chloe now. Cane is being written into a corner. Lily's days are numbered.

With Saint Mackenzie back, there's no need for two saints. Khalil is next.

Neither Devon nor Lily will be recast. Nobody is thinking of bring Nate back. Tonya isn't being courted with a contract.(Somebody correct me?) Marcille won't be around much longer. Malcolm isn't returning. Hmmmm.....

Kristoff, I pray you are looking for work.

It's mighty obvious that MAB has little to no interest in writing for characters other than Caucasian. Anybody that doesn't see so is B-L-I-N-D.

[MarkH]

Jack Smith tried, right? I mean, those early Rec Center days with Rowell were pretty good.

Latham tried, but she also did a serious disservice to Devon by deafening him...and then ignoring it.

I agree that MAB/Sheffer never tried. Not for an instant.

And yet it feels odd to say, because MAB built a WHOLE FAMILY around Devon.

So then it makes you wonder...how could they build a whole family, and the lynchpin turn to nothing?

It confuses me. They clearly invested in the family, but it was abject sh*t, the way they did it.

Is there any chance that Bryton didn't "step up", because he wasn't enthused by it?

[dm.]

I don't think she tried. She only wanted to be known as a person that told that story. She never had any intention of writing a character in a way that makes sense. It was all plot plot plot.

I seriously doubt Bryton is the problem. In that one scene where he confronted Neil about cheating with Tyra he had more acting ability than Eva Marcille and Jamia Simone Nash combined.

[DeeeDee]

And yet as good as Tristan is he can't get arrested on 90210.

The acting was NEVER the problem.

His foster care story won awards & he won his Emmy with little to no material something which the ever hyped & eternally propped Graziadei could not.

TPTB chose not to write for him.

Period.

No wants to discuss the racism but everyone can excuse the racist.

Yet every other young actor STAYS with story.

Oh please.

If he was BUILT like Lawrence St. Victor or Texas Battle it wouldn't be an issue.

And even THEY are constantly not written for & called boring when they are.

THANK YOU!

[DeeeDee]

Pretty much!

[All My Shadows]

Eh, I never cared one way or the other much about Devon. I don't get how letting him go is putting the character to "rest," though. Characters who are always on (like Our Kevin of Perpetual Mind-Losing) are the ones who need "rest." When you "rest" them, you rotate in people like Devon. I feel like whenever Dru died, so did anyone's motivation write for Devon, but whatevs.

Tristan Wilds? Oh hells no. There's a reason I don't watch nu90210...

[DeeeDee]

Amen.

[DeeeDee]

The raping, internet predator that ALWAYS has story.

[MarkH]

Okay, you're right.

Now, I still think the Devon character isn't conceived correctly...there is not that "hardness" I feel would logically be there for anyone--of any cultural or racial background--with his backstory.

But, yes, Devon has "brought it". He moved me to tears in a few scenes with Rowell. And you're right, that scene with Neil was ... amazing!

I haven't been following that, but the little I have sampled, you are right. Sigh.

I don't have the same issues with Graz...but I think Graz was better in the beginning. At this point, he is coasting through, with his eyes on the door.

Yes, that is absolutely true of the MAB regime.

I cannot deny it. The criminal under-use of African American characters on most soaps (that is, those that even HAVE African American characters) is blatant.

Not Colleen .

What wouldn't be an issue? For me, the issue with Devon is not about body. It is about playing the harsh backstory in all his scenes.

But, despite that, I cannot deny that Bryton has had superb moments, and that he has largely been neglected for a long time...which meant neither the character nor the actor had the opportunity to grow.

And yes, I believe racism (expressed as white writers being "unsure" what to do with African American characters) is a part of this equation. That is endemic, and I do wish it would change, as do most of us.

[Faulkner]

Devon was given kiddie stories - disability, adoption, illness, keeping parental figures together. Bryton McClure is 23 years old! Dude is in his sexual prime, and he's never even been offered a convincing love interest. Tatyana Ali doesn't count, and his incestuous feelings toward Lily sure as hell don't. Even little Kevin Schmidt is getting more adult stories than Bryton ever did.