Y&R: Week of May 18, 2009

[Cashton]

Hmm...that cat is important somehow. Just don't know what it means. it was obvious the cat wasn't real IRL, but was that intentional or not? Did Patty have a pet cat when she was on before?

[Toups]

I don't know if there's any more significance.....my guess is that it's to show that she's extremely crazy. LOL

[Cashton]

You're probably RIGHT! I may be too MJ-centric, but MAB has done so much layering with the character that I wouldn't be surprised if it is some relation to Patty's past. Some clue for Paul to realize who she is?

[Heyou]

That's what I thought as well.

[Paul Raven]

Mmmm....the mystery of Patty's !@#$%^&*]...

[cara mia]

Emily O'Brien is a very beautiful girl. Am the only one who think EO has more chemistry with MG than AF does? Not that I'm pushing Jana/Daniel but I could see it happening.

Sharon Case is the most underrated actress in daytime. She can bring me to tears faster than anyone else in daytime.

Maybe the cat is a taxidermy? A pet she had for years that died but she just couldn't let go. That would be super creepy. Stacey Haiduk is so well cast! I love creepy on my show. We should have some gothic suspenseeveryday. If Adam isn't on (damn I miss him when he's not), then Mary Jane needs to be on to bring the twisted.

[Cashton]

this is just for you cara!

[lmfan]

But the next crew doesn't seem to always get their day. Certain characters are always backburned. And I know everyone is all gun hoe about Philip returning, but if the cast is so overstuffed why is MAB continually bringing back more and more characters and they mostly seem connected to Katherine. Philip made one quick appearance on Friday's show, so how is that story immediately deserving of front burner status other than the fact many on here are history junkies and love Thom Bierdz. That's fine, but what about all the viewers wondering who is this guy?

I would be fine waiting for my favorites to get story if she did rotate characters like Bill Bell did, but she doesn't. She plays her favorites, and ignores others she cares little about even if they are characters played by good actors and the characters have been around a long time.

[lmfan]

MJ feels has shades of NuSheila to me. Not that she is Sheila. She is probably Patty, but knowing MAB's propensity to repeat storylines this feels similar to Lauren and Scott being a married couple having marital problems and the psycho gets obsessed with the husband. The wife becomes pregnant. I hope we don't see MJ stealing Sharon's baby.

I know Victor is manipulating this situation, but MJ seems to have a genuine obsession of Jack at this point. I can see her harming Sharon and/or her baby and setting up Phyllis to take the fall for her crime. I would be more interested in that than seeing another Sheila redo.

[Heyou]

Hopefully this is what we will be seeing instead of another storyline with Shelia.

[cara mia]

CASHTON!!!! :wub: What a great video. So fun.

I can't get into this MAB "plays favorites" business for several reasons. Writers must focus on what engages them. If MAB can't relate to or tell the story of the Likey marriage, then it's best if they're just filler. Otherwise, she'll come up with something that feels false.

I don't believe that every character needs a "turn at bat" or needs to be lead at all. Your leading characters should:

Belong to core, longstanding families

Drive story

Be inherently interesting in & of themselves

Drive story

Be clearly different from your other lead characters

Drive story

The return of "Phillip III" is wonderful wonderful wonderful. P3 more than meets the criteria of what a leading character should be. Exactly who on the backburner should be featured instead of PIII? Devon? JT? Esther? Seriously?

[Cashton]

I see the comparisons between Sheila and MJ, but I think MJ is inherently good, but she's got severe emotional problems that have created a darkness in her. I think she's almost possesed, but not in a satanic way, by her jealousy and twisted love. Jack was her first love and he played her in the worst way and she never recovered. Unlike Sheila, she has family and wasn't evil to begin with. Sheila was VERY messed up already when she got messed up with Scott and Lauren. From what I've read Patty was very sweet and innocent in the beginning. The way SH plays her, she's very sweet until Jack upsets her.

[lmfan]

The return of Phillip III is wonderful for you, but what about the people who started watching in the last 15 years. Philip III was lead 20 years ago and right now we don't know if he coming back as Philip III or as a character tied to Cane. I just think if MAB can figure out how to write Nina, PhilipIII, Philip IV, Mac, Raul, etc story than she needs to figure out how to write story for characters like Neil, and yes Michael and Lauren.

I found Michael and Lauren, when written properly, inherently interesting in and of themselves. They lasted this long, so they have to have been interesting to the majority of viewers. They did drive story in the past and are different from other lead characters. They just don't get the writing now, and I don't even think they have to be lead. They can support story, but not just the same story year after year. I don't think of Lauren and Michael as equivalent to Devon, JT, Esther and I say that seriously.

The writer determines if the character drives story. Katherine and Jill were props for years and didn't drive story and that was a waste of good actors and rich characters. Now they are driving story. Why? Because they are favorites of MAB and she is focusing on them. That's fine and very smart of MAB, but she needs to pay attention to other characters who may not be her personal favorites. And if MAB can't relate to Lauren and Michael then let one of her staff or writers write for them. Someone on her writing staff obviously gets the characters and their histories, as the "It's a Wonderful Life" episode showed.

[Juliajms]

It should still be interesting to them because of the impact it has on Jill, Kaye, Cane, Billy, Lilly ect. I don't care about Philip/Langley as much as I do the fall out that involves all of these other people.

[lmfan]

But didn't Patty move on to Danny after Jack? I don't remember all the story from so long ago. I think MAB has to be careful here in that she is reaching so far back into the characters' histories that she may lose some viewers. I think MJ works now because she obviously has emotional problems and is obsessed with Jack. As an audience you wonder what this character, on edge, is going to do next. To the older fans, the Patty aspect is interesting but to newer fans they probably like what they see of MJ on screen now without the fact she may be Jack's ex from the 80s.