Y&R: Week of June 8, 2009

[BadZoe]

I seem to remember Sharon having a throw away line about not wanting to kick JT and Victoria out, let alone she'd be neighbors with Nick and Phyllis.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I've noticed in recent weeks that in some weeks, ratings appear to be DOWN from this time last year. I thought they fell so badly last year that this year was always going to show growth from a year ago. This is not a great way to start the summer. May sweeps was a BOMB for this show, IMO, both creatively and ratings-wise. If this summer bombs, I hope MAB will fire her Co-HW's and step aside and just supervise the creative content of this show with her Co-EP credit, or just hire a better and more skilled Co-HW that knows and respects the genre and has a good track record.

[CSF]

I agree with that in terms of MAB stepping aside from the HW aspect. Hogan and Scott are no god sends. Although Kay Alden had her weak moments, I don't think it would that bad of an idea to let her have maybe a "trial run" as head writer along with someone who can contribute to new and fresher ideas. Alden at least knows the characters inside and out. I think keeping Alden in check along with a non recycled writer could be rather helpful. I never liked Scott Hamner, and Hoggie, well, he's not all that great.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Yuck to Alden possibly coming back, I didn't like her work towards the end of her stint, but yeah, it's a whole of a lot better than what we're getting now.

I think Maria should have a few people writer long-term bibles for her and pick the best out of the bunch. It won't happen, but it's a lovely idea, I think.

Or they can hire someone new and pair that person with either Natalie Minardi Slater or Janice Ferri Esser.

[CSF]

True, I know what you mean, but maybe having Alden as a consultant as she knows the character's inside and out and could help to not make the show so plot driven. I would never want her to be the sole head writer with all that creative control.

That is a good idea and that's how it should be. But does MAB have the best judgement on what's really best for Y&R. With everything so plot driven, Guza and Pratt could submit a bible with all the core characters involved and be very vet heavy, and MAB could think it's wonderful and it could turn into a huge disaster.

The best thing for Y&R is to have an EP who understand the importance of it's high production values and a head writer that knows the shows history and the history of it's characters and can write stories that are character driven and full of substance. MAB may be the best person to represent the shows history, but she isn't the best writer to write character driven stories that will keep the audience coming back for more. Hogan and Scott aren't the best at that either.

ETA: I could see Rauch as sole EP keeping Kay Alden in check as a co-head writer with another stable writer like Millie Taggart, but not necessarily MT.

[DRW50]

I think they need to find someone who not only understands soaps, but enjoys them. MAB has spent most of her career outside of daytime. Hogan has a thinly veiled contempt for soaps and at all of his shows he has done his best to transform them into very ugly atmospheres which permanently damage the entire fabric of the program. As for Scott Hamner, I know little about him. Did he head write PC during sleazy DV Bordisso's reign as chief villain? There was a sick story where Lucy got amnesia and fell in love with DV, it reminds me of a lot of Y&R at the moment.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

YES!

This HW-ing team is a disaster.

[Sylph]

:lol:

And a big LMAO! to rhythmchyck not getting her wish fulfilled!

[rhythmchyc]

[MarkH]

My devout prayer, to all that is holy, is that we could take this writer stuff-- which can be interesting in a masturbatory kind of way (for those who like writer play as fantasy football) -- could go to the Y&R or overall writer's threads. I know my opinion on this doesn't and shouldn't matter, but this is like saltpeter for my enjoyment of the show at this point. It totally gets in the way of talking about current stories and characters for me. But I'm going to put on my big boy pants and try to forget about it.

It was awesome. I hope Noah lives with Phyllis. There is a terrific friendship there. Sappy as this is, I just LOVE it!

I'm praying for a "Mary Jane gives Adam the baby" switch. I'll accept ALL the timing shifts needed if that wish is granted.

The Scoobies make me laugh. I hate the art story, but I love the Scoobies. I think

return is going to

That ratings plummet is VERY meaningful. Of COURSE they're afraid of slowing down. And they SHOULD be. Winter/Spring 2008 was the FASTEST weekly decline in the HISTORY of this show. Of COURSE they need to drive plot, and it's not going to stop. It CAN'T stop in this era.

I agree on the sex. I'm holding my breath PRAYING they don't ruin Mac by having her have sex with married-Billy.

Ugh. Headwriter talk. Ugh ugh. No disrespect intended, but there is a thread for that.

Anyway, ratings are definitely down this week. I'll have to see about the trend, but I think it is overall flat--which is EXCELLENT in this market.

But I promise you, if they slow down a BIT, ratings will fall. That said, I agree that the old soap conventions of making your cliffhangers about "who will show up at the dinner party?" or "will he confess his love before she marries another?" etc. are very effective, and they've been used less lately.

[rhythmchyc]

I think it's time you share your "big-boy" pants with others.

[Sylph]

Oh, puhleez, Mark! You are not the one to talk about who can do what! You've contaminated this thread with fantasy scenarios and crappy possible casting choices! Not to say anything about your & Cashton's stories about drunken posting or playing by the pool or any other sort of cr*p that went into these threads. Which is why it continues for fifty million pages each week! Hilarious that you of all people talk about this... If there were some who've escaped from writers talk, there were others who left because of what your kind of great discussion is supposed to be. So there.

[rhythmchyc]

[cara mia]

Y&R is messing up on the Fundamentals, especially RULE #1: YOU NEED A HERO/INE WORTH ROOTING FOR.

In order to create a good hero(ine), you need writing but you also need an actor/actress who the audience wants to root for. Their character can be flawed but they have to do enough heroic things to keep you hooked.

Also, there are two kinds of stories on soaps: Romance and Non-Romance. You need a mix of both. Non-Romance can be anything from mystery to horror to intigue -- but even those stories work best when there's a romantic subplot embedded within. So a character can be a Romantic Heroine (Lily) or a classic Heroine (Kay).

Sharon was never a great classic heroine, but she was a great romantic heroine. Until she was turned into the Whore of Babylon. Same thing for Nick. Nick used to be swoon-worthy and not just because JM is so pretty. Now Nick is just fickle as a pickle. His love is worth less than the prize in the cracker jack box. Who the f cares who ends up with whom? None of the quad, especially Nick, the central character, are romantic heroes worth rooting for.

Now on to Ashley, who is supposed to be both a romantic and classic heroine. It's very hard to invest in Vashley's romance when we know that Victor is just using her a sub for Sabrina. Also, most (not all but most) of us are I daresay Victor/Nikki fans, so there's the feeling that Vashley is just another detour and not the end game. Finally, the chemistry between Victor & Ashley isn't what is used to be. It's a definitely a bit pale compared to Ashley/Adam. What about Ashley as a classic heroine? Poor Ashley is being victimized by her nasty sociopath sort of stepson. And yet aren't a whole lot of us rooting for Adam? Partly cause Adam is a delight to watch & strangely sympathetic but also because Ashley is SO STUPID. Get out of the house, dummy! How are we supposed to feel for such a willful blockhead?

So we come to the boring ass Raul/Mac/Billy/Chloe story. Raul is great but short-term so not getting our emotional investment. Mac is both dull as hell and now she's a dull as hell out of character slut. Great. Still not caring about her. Billy, used to be fun, and could have been a good anti-hero, but is now as dull as Mac. Like I care about his love life. Why should it matter to me if Billy is happy? Now onto Chloe, definitely the only point of sympathy in this story. And yet, she's supposed to be the bad guy, so it comes off as neither here nor there. Besides, Billy isn't worth Chloe's tears. Once again, who cares?

I know folks hate Lily/Cane, but I'll give the writers some credit with that one. We've seen Lily be a good person/friend and we've seen Cane be a loving son/grandson. Now we know that Cane is a liar, but up until that point, they were written as romantic heroes who deserved some happiness. They were also always true to each other in their hearts.

[rhythmchyc]

I'm sorry, ever since CK returned to Genoa City, I've never thought Lily "deserved some happiness."

She deserved someone to smack her upside the head to stop whining like a little girl and start acting like her damn momma.

The End.