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Y&R: Week of May 18, 2009


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Again, this show is afraid to hire a real storyteller after the whole Latham mess.

MAB should've gone back to the non-profit sector after the strike, and Billy should've hired a real, traditional, soap opera storyteller (with a good trackrecord) to pen this show, but he didn't. They were afraid of another Latham-type situation, and now we're stuck with people like MAB, Sheffer, and the worst of all, Hamner.

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Plus, isn't it easier for them to pay less money for a writer with small experience than pay a lot for someone that has a good trackrecord (and probably doesn't want to return to daytime)?

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I'm really stunned someone so young can be so cynical about this show. MAB is nearly a genious. Granted, she's made a couple missteps.. but in general, ESPECIALLY in light of the return of Thom... she's really done this show proud. I have to say, because of your age, I also don't think you can judge today against history in a substantial way, since there's no way you were watching anything before 1987 at the earliest. And there is precious little on youtube before 1984. Bill Bell was a WONDERFUL writer, but there have also been stupid things he's done... and his track record was no better than his daughter in law. I always had problems with his liberal use of incest SL's (4 times!!) But I also can say his strongest suit was his play on rivalry, from Lorie and Leslie to Jack and Victor, to Traci and Lauren, Rivalry has always been Y&R's best asset. MAB is doing everything Bill did... weave a complicated yarn, play on history, put in unexpected twists, concentrate on emotional drama, and not EXTERNAL drama like Torandoes and building collpases and crap like that. But like all things, memories of the bad fade, and the good stays with you. Y&R would annoy me in the 70's at times as well. Even with the writing... chracters "shortening" each other's names... Leslie was "Les", Jennifer was "Jen", Stuart was "Stu", Peggy was "Peg", Katherine was "Kay", Elizabeth was "Liz", it got to be reather incessant. Then there would always be some lame, transient character that was involved in a social issue SL, such as Ron and Nancy Becker, Keesha, et. al.. even Nina was one of these characters who emerged a major player on the show. You think the chipmunk thing was bad, and some indication of MAB's incompetence... need I direct you to some footage from 1984 and mob boss Mr. Anthony preparing to see Tyrone Jackson, and instructing one of his goons to "Activate the magnetometer!!" so he's know if the guy was wearing a wire. It looked like something out of bad B movie. And speaking of B movies, don't even let me bring up Barbara Crampton! Of course, you ahve the right to your opinions, but I also think that your opinion is not as "informed" and lacks perspective because you aren't able to judge the show in it's entirety, not being a viewer from the beginning.

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I don't care about being a viewer from the beginning, all the matters to me is that the show isn't compelling to me at all in the present. I've read up on the show's early history, and while some storylines were clearly flops, that doesn't concern me too much, as I either wasn't alive or watching. I don't care about the past, I care about the present and future. As it stands, there is nothing remotely creative and compelling about the present, which makes for a very uncertain future.

Where is Sylph to rip alphanguy74's post apart? :lol:

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Actually, a lot of that was directly in the writing. Phyllis said it straight out. Lot's of women have put their families first and put up with a philandering man. Don't the Europeans think American's are silly and naive for not doing it more often? I'm pretty sure we are considered puritanical for putting so much emphasis on sex in the first place.

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