She isn't a storyteller, and her overall writing style is blah, and she probably takes the most ridiculous ideas from Sheffer and Hamner, and thus we have the show we have now.

The "team" on this show is beginning to REALLY show its cracks.

I am mostly okay with it, but I can't help but feel that occasionally they write whatever falls into their laps.

But it's just so weird... how crazy was it to push various new stories all at the same time? It's almost as if a new writer came and took over. Is it always going to be like this way when certain storylines wrap up?

And yes, as soon as I've heard it I didn't like Daniel's storyline. BIG mistake on that one. They've been collecting those too...

so has Sharon's sex addiction/Kleptomania/mental illness been cured???

I love how Sylph appears when the tone goes the way he wants it to .

[sylph]BAM![/sylph]

so has Sharon's sex addiction/Kleptomania/mental illness been cured???

I hope not. With any luck they are just waiting for the right moment to play the next beat.

This is Alvin's demagogery. Who was NOT in character? Let us review today's episode, shall we?:

Nikki - saying "yes" for the wrong reasons (basically due to TGVN's rejection): In character

Paul - hero, bedrock: In character (at least as he's been this last while)

Nina - script writer: Historically accurate, good device to keep her in town and in Kay's orbit (and I hope she and Amber have chemistry)

Amber - jealously wanting to be involved in the screenplay: In character

Daniel - making a stupid judgement? (The guy who went on the run, married Lily impulsively, and got addicted to porn on a shared laptop): In character

Adam - devious, underhanded: I'm not sure if that is in character, but we have seen the motivations to make him become this man...

Heather - blind, loyal, throws caution to the wind as she loves Adam: In character, as it has come recently to be defined

Sharon - dependent, always needing a man: In character

Jack - eager to take in a dependent woman, especially one 'with child': In character

Phyllis - insecure about Sharon: In character

Nick - rolls his eyes at Phyllis' insecurity; he's "cool" with Sharon going back to Jack: In character

Mary Jane - we don't know this gal, but strokin' her kitty and freaking out over Jack-Sharon: Priceless

Now, tell me how all this is "plot driven" and no one's motivations are clear.

I love your breakdown but here's what's wrong with it. Alot of these impulses are out of nowhere. At least justify certain things to the viewer. Why mke these decisons, the viewer still wants to understand. Even at times when the viewer see the character do it over and over again, the viewer wants to be reminded sometimes. They are doing pretty good with the characters Phyllis, Nick, Sharon and Jack's story they are managing to keep them all in character. I only have a problem with the Noah aspect of the story, he's extremely under-developed.

Adam- Does he have a heart anymore is he human? I will summize the character hurt or has been hurt but they are not writing to that, even in his scenes where he complains it's being undermined somehow by the deviousness of his ways and how calculating they have made him (that alone is plot driven). This story is either genius or wrong on so many levels.

I already wrote aout my problem with Daniel's story. Ashley's preganancy is completly plot driven. Plots aren't bad, when they make sense and are correctly executed

so has Sharon's sex addiction/Kleptomania/mental illness been cured???

No. And that has storytelling value into the future, I suspect.

I'm with you, with these exceptions.

1. Pacing: I think what happened--to clearly--was that they obviously scripted a November-sweeps through March-sweeps umbrella (Kay's story). Then, they scripted new stories to launch with May sweeps. We all noticed the April lull, to some extent (chipmunk, chipmunk, chipmunk).

Writing for sweeps, it seems to me, is a network/corporate mandate. Could it be done better...YES. But it is clear to see where it is coming from.

2. I agree with you about Kevin. We should know that he is continuing in therapy. A few quick mentions is all that is needed. On the other hand, for Sharon, she continues to DENY her mental illness (and now uses her pregnancy as an excuse not to take meds). Her NOT being treated continues to fuel story.

Moroever, I have no doubt at some point Mary Jane will abduct Sharon, but it will be written as "Sharon ran away", and everyone will believe it -- both because Sharon is untreated, and because this fits her history. So, NOT treating Sharon is essential to fuel this story.

B+ is a GREAT grade...especially when most shows are getting Ds and Fs.

Good points. Like I said, I still like the show. Alot.

I will take exception with your synopsis on Sharon's mental state, however. There has been nothing on-screen to show us that she is still having problems. One day she mentioned "therapy", the klepto charges were dropped, she got knocked-up and no hint of what's going on in her mind. At least on the scale that was driving her story the last few weeks. If she were still having issues, wouldn't we see her still swiping [!@#$%^&*] off random pieces of furniture? All that stopped when lil junior started growing in her. TPTB put alot of emphasis on that aspect of her mental health before she was preggers. Why stop now?

I should know about poorly written shows - just look at which one I based my screen name on.

I love your breakdown but here's what's wrong with it. Alot of these impulses are out of nowhere. At least justify certain things to the viewer. Why mke these decisons, the viewer still wants to understand. Even at times when the viewer see the character do it over and over again, the viewer wants to be reminded sometimes. They are doing pretty good with the characters Phyllis, Nick, Sharon and Jack's story they are managing to keep them all in character. I only have a problem with the Noah aspect of the story, he's extremely under-developed.

Adam- Does he have a heart anymore is he human? I will summize the character hurt or has been hurt but they are not writing to that, even in his scenes where he complains it's being undermined somehow by the deviousness of his ways and how calculating they have made him (that alone is plot driven). This story is either genius or wrong on so many levels.

I already wrote aout my problem with Daniel's story. Ashley's preganancy is completly plot driven. Plots aren't bad, when they make sense and are correctly executed

Okay, so let's say we were a focus group, and we were sitting in front of the writers (or our report were to go to them).

What advice would we give them to "justify the impulses". I see your point...and I definitely agree about Noah. But what, concretely, would they do differently to move from a "B" grade to an "A" grade?

I'm not saying it's bad to discuss those things, even though, I have to admit, I sometimes hate it how certain topics keep repeating themselves (those dream casting decisions, the rationalisations etc.). I'm just acknowledging it, kind of. Saying it's there.

I love how Sylph appears when the tone goes the way he wants it to .

That is because I watch and I can just sense it when things will start to fall apart.

Nikki - saying "yes" for the wrong reasons (basically due to TGVN's rejection): In character

Paul - hero, bedrock: In character (at least as he's been this last while)

So you actually believe Nikki went over there wanting to beg Victor to take her back?

I've seen NOTHING of Paul's point of view on this show, and I haven't seen it for a good 7 years.

Nina - script writer: Historically accurate, good device to keep her in town and in Kay's orbit (and I hope she and Amber have chemistry)

Amber - jealously wanting to be involved in the screenplay: In character

Daniel - making a stupid judgement? (The guy who went on the run, married Lily impulsively, and got addicted to porn on a shared laptop): In character

Yes, Nina's 2 minute scene with Katherine was sooo revealing.

But I thought Amber had progessed as a character and grown up?

The whole overall story is plot-driven, and Daniel isn't stupid enough to take the justification the FBI agent gave him from the START.

Adam - devious, underhanded: I'm not sure if that is in character, but we have seen the motivations to make him become this man...

Heather - blind, loyal, throws caution to the wind as she loves Adam: In character, as it has come recently to be defined

And do we know what his motivation is for harming Ashley of all people? If it's to get back at both Victor and Jack, we've seen no evidence of this as of yet.

Heather is far from a defined character. Another ill-developed character (that happens to be a legacy character anyway) from the Latham era that MAB doesn't care to develop.

Sharon - dependent, always needing a man: In character

Jack - eager to take in a dependent woman, especially one 'with child': In character

Phyllis - insecure about Sharon: In character

Nick - rolls his eyes at Phyllis' insecurity; he's "cool" with Sharon going back to Jack: In character

Because Sharon needed a predictable pregnancy to show it all?

I've yet to see from Jack's point of view why he loves Sharon and continues to make hiself look stupid to run to her rescue.

Yeah, once this storyline is going on Phyllis is insecure about Sharon

Nick has no personality at all, so I'm not even going there.

Now, tell me how all this is "plot driven" and no one's motivations are clear.

Now tell me how character driven are these whose the daddy, new face but old character, and gaslighting with no clear action for hurting the victim "character-driven?"

I see no reason for MOST characters on this show acting the way they do at the moment.

Edited May 12, 200916 yr by Y&RWorldTurner

I miss the good old days when one s/l or a few that were tied together would culminate with a bang while a couple more were building up, all the the same time.

Boy oh boy. When was the last time someone paced a show that masterfully?

Good points. Like I said, I still like the show. Alot.

I will take exception with your synopsis on Sharon's mental state, however. There has been nothing on-screen to show us that she is still having problems. One day she mentioned "therapy", the klepto charges were dropped, she got knocked-up and no hint of what's going on in her mind. At least on the scale that was driving her story the last few weeks. If she were still having issues, wouldn't we see her still swiping [!@#$%^&*] off random pieces of furniture? All that stopped when lil junior started growing in her. TPTB put alot of emphasis on that aspect of her mental health before she was preggers. Why stop now?

I should know about poorly written shows - just look at which one I based my screen name on.

They're just milking her mental illness for now, her always acting on her impulses I think is a nod to that. She's unstable, so to speak so for plot purposes the character will continue to think of the wrong things as remedies i.e. MEN. I understand that aspect of the story for that character, but many other things confuse me.

I agree with the art storyline. Even though it's starting, I went "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Hopefully it'll be good but my expectations aren't very high right now.

Good points. Like I said, I still like the show. Alot.

I will take exception with your synopsis on Sharon's mental state, however. There has been nothing on-screen to show us that she is still having problems. One day she mentioned "therapy", the klepto charges were dropped, she got knocked-up and no hint of what's going on in her mind. At least on the scale that was driving her story the last few weeks. If she were still having issues, wouldn't we see her still swiping [!@#$%^&*] off random pieces of furniture? All that stopped when lil junior started growing in her. TPTB put alot of emphasis on that aspect of her mental health before she was preggers. Why stop now?

I should know about poorly written shows - just look at which one I based my screen name on.

LOL. Love your avatar, by the way.

Yes, I think they could be more explicit about Sharon. My read, though, is that she is "under-treated"...and so she remains vulnerable for future stories.

I also feel that we have already been told Sharon's klepto runs in stages after extreme guilt. One time was when she blamed herself for Doris' crash. Another time was when Brad died.

That means they "resolve" (this is true of most mental illnesses", and reappear periodically.

I am mostly okay with it, but I can't help but feel that occasionally they write whatever falls into their laps.

But it's just so weird... how crazy was it to push various new stories all at the same time? It's almost as if a new writer came and took over. Is it always going to be like this way when certain storylines wrap up?

I feel with that as well. BUT: then on some occasions they just write the most classic Y&R moments. You think they are done with a certain story and suddenly some time later it's back for one or two episodes which bring closure. (Right now I can't give a good example, although there several, except for the Glo/ash showdown in court last week.) No other show has done sth. like that in years (if ever) and it used to be a Y&R staple. This is when I'm easily back in heaven with MAB.