Y&R: Week of April 27, 2009

[classicmoment]

Phyllis is settling for scraps. MS is awesome, while not forgetting the lengths Phyllis will goto and is capable of she's still managing to make feel for the character. I just give her and JW so much props for that in their respective potrayals. While unlike Phyllis I do not like Jill somehow JW just hit those right beats and get me feeling for her (only for a moment though). Her scenes with Gloria & Jeff were great!

[DeeeDee]

As usual.

[DRW50]

He claimed the Foster and Brooks kids, aside from Laurie, had been recast too often, and then when Jamie Lyn Bauer left, he decided to just go ahead and write everyone out but Jill (I guess David Hasslehoff was already gone by this time).

I still wish they could bring them back for visit, like they do with Liz occasionally. I loved when Snapper and Greg briefly visited Jill after she found out Liz wasn't her bio mom. I would rather see Jill spend time with her family, I miss those dynamics.

[CSF]

Interesting info on the Brooks/Fosters. Thanks guys.

[Khan]

Obviously, they couldn't bring back Robert Colbert (Stuart Brooks), Dorothy Green (Jennifer Brooks), Hasselhoff or Wings Hauser (Greg Foster #3?), but here's who I think they could:

Occasional: Julianna McCarthy (Liz Foster Brooks); Peggy Brooks (for special occasions, such as family weddings, christenings, etc.) and Sally McGuire (for visits w/ her son, the way Doris often visits Sharon)

Recurring/Off-Contract: William Gray Espy (the original Dr. Snapper Foster, a doctor, perhaps running Genoa City Memorial...or whatever the hell the hospital's called, lol), James Houghton (the original Greg Foster, an attorney, always on call for courtroom proceedings), Victoria Mallory (Leslie Brooks Prentiss #2), Trish Stewart or Lynne Topping (Chris Brooks Foster #1/#2)

On-Contract: Jaime Lyn Bauer (Lauralee Brooks); Chris and Snapper's kids (? and Jennifer), Chuckie McGuire and Brooks Prentiss

[CSF]

Any reason why you feel they couldn't bring back Robert Colbert as Stuart Brooks? What was the reason for his exit? I love soap history, I think it's so interesting.

[Khan]

I tend to look badly on bringing characters back from the dead.

[CSF]

Oh I didn't know he died. Yeah that makes sense lol

[Paul Raven]

Andrea Evans was blah as Patty.

Bill Bell tried at first to keep the Foster and Brooks families going.

He started a whole story with Leslie getting involved with Robert Laurence,his daughter Angela and back from the nuthouse wife Claire.I think Bill and the audience were equally unimpressed and the whole thing was dropped.

I think Leslie was so associated with Lance,Lucas and Lorie that to seeher with new characters didn't gell.

Chris hung around as a Jabot model.Greg had a dreadful recast(Howard McGillan)but wasn't given much to do.

I think Greg could have stayed on,performing the same function as John Silva did for many years(sans romance with Jil)

For the 30th anni,the death of Stuart Brooks(Jill and Liz's ex) could have brought a slew of old characters to town and brought on Brooks as a new power broker.He could have had issues with Victor over Prentiss Industries.

[FrenchFan]

Stuart Brooks died? I thought he only stopped appearing in 1983. Here are some information I have about the departure of the Brooks and the Fosters.

November 1981: Peggy left town after an aborted romance with Greg. She saw him kissing Chris who was having marital trouble with Snapper because of Sally and Chuckie.

May 1982: Little Brooks rejected Lance when he learned he was his biological father. Lance cancelled his wedding plans with Leslie and left town. Me Robert Lawrence took over Lance's house after defending Lorie for Vanessa's "murder".

Snapper also left town in May after receiving a job offer in London. Chris stayed behind with little Jennifer because of her contract as a model for Jabot.

August 1982: After having Victor signed over Prentiss Industries, Lorie fled town in a hurry before getting married with him. Lucas, who helped her in her scheme, went with her.

September 1982: Chris decided to join Snapper in London and asked John Abbott to let her go. Diane Jenkins blackmailed Jack: he had to give her Chris' job in exchange for her silence over their affair. Greg was written out around that time. He tried to seduce Chris after Snapper left for London but was unsuccessful. I'm not sure he was given a real exit.

December 1982: Leslie left for a tour with Maestro Fausch after Robert Laurence decided to reunite with his wife Angela and his daughter Claire.

May 1983: After investigating about Paul Williams' link with the mob, Stuart Brooks became involved with Gina Roma (Liz and he were estranged since early 1982 because he kept interfering on Chris and Snapper's marriage). Kay saw Stuart and Gina together and told Liz. I don't have any more information about Stuart then. I guess he was written out without a real explanation.

October 1984: Liz was still on the show then: she tried to convince Jill to stop her affair with Marc Mergeron and to grant Kay Phillip's custody. She basically vanished after that. When she appeared again in mid-1986, John called her in London where she stayed with Snapper and Chris to tell her Jill was shot and she came back to town with Phillip who was now a teenager.

[MarkH]

Excellent summary. Yes, the departures of Greg and Stuart and Liz were never explained, except Liz's in retrospect. They mostly just faded away. I loved that the Brooks girls all came back to Victor and Nikki's first wedding. That episode was very much a changing-of-the-guard/handing off of the torch, I think.

[alphanguy74]

Yes, the summary was a great recount. The viewers DID like the Brooks family, but like was mentioned..... Bill Bell couldn't take another recast and decided to make a drastic change. What precipitated this was Jaime Lyn Bauer and Hasselfhoff both not renewing their contracts. Jaime said in an interview that she was overworked, and with young children, she wanted them to cut back on her episode guarantee, but they wouldn't.... so she left. She said in that same interview that had she known that several other actors would lose their jobs because of what she did, she would NEVER have left, she said she would have just stuck it out. I'll admit, I'd LOVE to bring back only Leslie and Lorie.. but only if Leslie could be Janice Lynde. Victoria Mallory was an ok actress, but her pattern of speech and demeanor was FAR too "prissy", Lynde was much more natural onscreen.

[alphanguy74]

What's your opinions on who's gaslighting Ashley? I like this SL, because I love when Ashley goes crazy. There's a few options as to who's doing it:

1: Adam and/or Estella: I sincerely don't think it's them, because it would be too OBVIOUS... but you never know.

2: Ashley really IS losing her marbles, and nobody is gaslighting her at all.

3: I think it might be JILL, as she has a hell of an axe to grind with both Victor and Ash right now.

4: Someone totally different. Soemone mentioned Colleen, but I really don't think that would work... Colleen doesn't hate her aunt that much. If I were writing this show, I would have it be someone totally different coming back from Victor's past to "get him". And that person would be MICHAEL SCOTT. It would make a nice twist, and surprise the hell out of the viewers.

[Cheap21]

Olivia! I already mentioned earlier in the week that she cant be trusted. And its not like she's above stabbing Ashley in the back

[MarkH]

Oooh, I loved Mallory! You're right...Lynde was a better match to Bauer, actually...but Mallory much more convinced me she was a fragile pianist. I liked her a lot. Bauer's career never recovered after leaving (her DOOL stint was not memorable, and it is hard to believe she was given Flannery's old role).

Your final idea is a beautiful suggestion...but I doubt they'd do it since that is old history. Along that line, a mob connection (a relative of Walter Palin's) would also make sense.

Me, I'd like to think it is the work of an epileptic Victor, whose meds aren't working or whatever. He is not aware of what he is doing or something...

Oh, you've got to drop that! They've erased that storyline