Y&R: Week of June 8, 2009

[cara mia]

As far as Y&R's quality goes, it's all relative. The other soaps are generally dreadful. Y&R though is not what it could be and it seems to be heading into a very bad spell. For the life of me, I do not understand how this constant bed-hopping & flip-flopping is doing the Quad any favors. This was the biggest story on the show for years and now it's verging on unwatchable. If it weren't crazy Mary Jane's antics, it probably would be. THAT POOR BIRDIE!

I did love the irony that just as Adam as plotting even more mayhem & destruction, Victor has gone out and bought a company to help his "blind" son. Victor's gonna be so mad when he finds out what Junior's been up to.

LMAO at the flirtatious tone between Adam & Ashley and her "showing" him the baby clothes. That girl is already in fantasy land.

I can't believe that MTS is gone (for now). Oh, my heart. The pure delicious nastiness between Ashley & Nikki never gets old.

[MarkH]

I wonder if Ashley is already in "Robert" territory...as before, unable to acknowledge the death of her baby. I certainly think that feeds into why Adam is so readily able to convince her that all is well.

This proves why this story isn't just a generic one. Some folks claimed the story had originally been conceived for Sabrina. No way. We need Ashley's history of emotional fragility and delusions to pull it off....

On the "quality" issue, maybe Jeanne Cooper said it best at last year's Emmys?

Liberace said it differently...albeit for a different purpose...."laughing all the way to the bank"

[cara mia]

MarkH, it's just frustrating because the show could easily be great.

I remember the GH episode when Carly slept with two men in one night. That was a big deal, illustrated that Carly was a bad girl & a loose cannon, and launched a ton of story. On Y&R, multiple sex partners each night are now typical. And it's not the town bad girl but Sharon and Jack! I'm not a prude but these characters are no longer ones with which I can find sympathy.

Even though I am totally hooked on CE's performance, WHY the hell do we have a story that is so depraved on so many levels? Adam is literally torturing Ashley and he basically murdered her child. I even understand his motive -- he hates Jack & Victor that much. My question is not why is Adam doing this but WHY would the writers come up with this? The performances & the chemistry between ED & CE make it must watch, but when you stop and think about it, it's quite sick. Ashley should not have been already pregnant. It should have been a story where Adam gaslights a non-pregnant Ashley, falls in love with her inspite of himself, destroys Vashley's relationship, and then maybe Ashley gets a miracle pregnancy and doesn't know if Victor or Adam is the father. You still get your scary hijinks but you don't have the gross eww factor of the miscarriage, and you still get your gothic twist of the villain falling for his victim. That kind of story is much more likely to resonate with your fans than one were Adam's burning towels soaked with Ashley's blood. This is the lunch hour for a lot of people!

Most soap viewers are women and I think TPTB have forgotten that with this frankly misogynistic bent to most, if not all, of the stories.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Absolutely, women are the target audience for soaps, particularly those in the 18-49 age group. But look at the state of women in daytime, it's really pathetic.

Y&R is horrendously misogynistic at the moment, and I'd say it's been so for a while now. Yet ANOTHER weakness of this writing regime is its inability to write strong female characters.

[MTSRocks]

MJ Rocks.

That's all I got.

Boogie out.

[DRW50]

Is Ashley's past mental illness a part of her story, or is the default position for women in Newman storylines now mentally ill, unable to control their own lives?

[alphanguy74]

I agree... Haiduk is rocking the HOUSE. This woman is pure JOY to watch onscreen. Hell, she even eclipses Stafford when she's in scenes with her.

[cara mia]

SH steals every scene she's in. She even made JT Hellstrom interesting!

[DeeeDee]

Eh. No.

[MarkH]

The former...Ashley's past mental illness. No other Newman woman (save, maybe, Sharon) has an issue with mental illness.

That said, I do believe the writers are trying to draw some Nick-Victor parallels...so the idea that they might both drive some emotional fragility in their female partners is intriguing...a horrible genetic bond to share.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

^^^^

[DeeeDee]

Amen.

Bitch is CRAZY.

[Cheap21]

thats kinda how I feel. I love Sharon and she's my favorite character but now I cant really defend her when her haters attack her. The S in Sharon stands for slut, skank, skeezer! What I hate most as there is NO accountability for her disgusting behavior. She keeps sleeping around and nobody seems phased by it except for MJ and Phyllis. The guys keep telling her they love her in spite of it and people just feel sorry for her and prop her up like she's some saint or angel. She keeps saying she's sorry and how things are her fault and that she's wrong but it means absolutely nothing bc she goes right back to her slutty ways within the hour. Thats not taking responsibilty and it negates any good intentions she does have. I cant even see a mental breakdown as a viable excuse anymore bc its been months and months and at some point it has to be unnacceptable

LOL....which is why she rocks. She's at least entertaining to watch

[DeeeDee]

The dead bird is .

[DRW50]

Ever since Maria Arena Bell, Rauch, and Sheffer started their material, I think the Newman women have headed more towards mental breakdowns. Nikki fell off the wagon and rolled around in the sand. Sharon's heretofore unknown blackouts, klepto and promiscuity. Ashley being gaslighted by Adam. Phyllis and her return to the edge. I think the stories are more about the men in their lives than about their own struggles.

I know Ashley has had mental breaks before but I thought those were about her. I think her current problems are more like a plot point (so far) to facilitate Adam's scheming.