Y&R: Week of June 15-19, 2009

[Juliajms]

True, but first she is going to have to live with the fact that he faked his death in part to get away from her. Think about that, he would rather fake his death

. He had that little faith in her love and acceptance of him. That's enough to kill almost any mother.

[detroitpiston]

Why is it the only storylines LML and now MAB & Co can come up with for Daniel/Amber/Kevin/Jana always involve them stealing or finding money and then getting arrested?

[MarkH]

There has been talk about "moral center". I think a bit of that is needed...and the John Abbott death definitely killed the wise, moral talk-to. Except, in recent appearances, ghost John has finally been fulfilling that role for his entire brood...so I think that isn't essential.

What I like about Days these days is that they have a phalanx of senior veterans (close to Kay's age) playing central support/catalyst roles. There are good ones (Maggie, Caroline) and bad ones (Victor, Stephano). But you SEE them, and that's about all it takes to anchor/root this show in a feeling of family.

Y&R has the vets, but not enough playing this central support/catalyst roles. The Scoobies, as an example, were most tolerable in Kay's story. That's when folks started to like or tolerate Amber/Kevin. So, since it was working, why are the Scoobies out of Kay's story now?

I hate this term. What is a fan base? Because I like an actor or couple, am I "fanbase"? To me, fanbase is one of these goofy clubs that sends postcards and letters and lighter fluid and M&Ms and whatever the hell they send.

It is overkill now: A Newman psycho, a Williams psycho, and Chancellor back-from-the dead. With slutitude as the driving force for another major story. The great thing is that all the core families (except the Baldwins) are front and center. It's just that the "symphony" may have too much loud percussion going on all at once right now.

JP, I respect you a lot. Why do you think the Fisher-Baldwins suck??? I don't see it.

Your "dynamic family of women" scares me. A lot. I don't want to ever see the "Cramer women" on any other soap. That said...

It's true, I do think Mac and Chloe need to play with their families more. When they were confidantes before the wedding, it was good to see them together.

Abby just forgot her dad. Period. Played poorly, with an unmotivated anger toward Eden (yech), we have no sense that Brad's death meant anything. Y&R overdid it on the killing, and Brad's death is a classic example of a death with insufficient payoff.

[JackPeyton]

Its all too much. This show cant balance tones. Its all one or the other. Thats my biggest issue.

Give me a few minutes, ill explain... (im working and its too much to type right now...)

I dont know why a dynamic family of women on a soap scares you.

I dont want to see dramer women on Y&R. I want to see Kay, Jill, Nina, Esther, Chloe, Mac interact and lean on eachother and have issues with eachother.

[Juliajms]

I see the tragedy that is Lane, but I don't see Cane as being all that bad. I was fine with him before he hooked up with Lily, but I prefer him as an Ashby by blood, not Phillip III. I also won't miss him if he's written off.

[DRW50]

The thing with the Cramer women is there really are no "Cramer women". Sure, they talk about it a lot, but Dorian, as much as she tries, does not play well with others, and the family is full of snotty faux do-gooders who aren't fond of their relatives unless they need them (Cassie, Kelly, Adrianna). We almost never see Addie, and Starr is all about herself. The only one in the family who genuinely seems to want to believe in that support system is Blair.

The Chancellors could be a complex group of women who genuinely care about each other not because of girl power, but because of painfully forged bonds. Katherine, Jill, Esther, Nina, Mac, Chloe. The potential is there, if the show tries.

DAYS had so many vets, many of whom were shamefully used as extras for many years, but when the fat was trimmed, they were there to be touchstones for the audience, to be there for viewers who aren't sure about some of the newer characters. Y&R doesn't have that anymore. Most of the older characters who have stayed on the show, with the exception of Katherine, are still too young to fill this role, or are still in semi-leading stories. They had this with Gina, but she's gone now. Brock or Traci could also fill this role but they don't seem to ever come back.

That multi-tier aspect is what's missing on the show right now.

I don't think he's that bad either. He's not a great leading man, but he's less unlikeable than their other leading men in his age range, and I do like his relationship with Jill. He's the only one in her life who ever has respect for her.

[MarkH]

Exactly!

[JackPeyton]

Okay, here it is...

Now, this was once a family i loved and thought they added something refreshing to the show. When Kevin was on edge, and Michael & Lauren were fighting to make the relationship work for the long run, and Gloria was trying her hardest to make it to the top of the social latter. I esp loved the group scenes and Lauren trying hard to deal with Michael's family.

Then, after Gloria went from supporting to lead and got to the top, and kevin was no longer crazy at all, and lauren was reduced to minor, and all michael did was defend his family i started to grow a little sick of them.

but my hate has really been in the past year. they are all so pointless now. more than pointless, they add nothing, have nothing interesting complex or refreshing about them, and they have added on - jeff, jana - and im just over it.

a lot of it has to do with the fact that the canvas is just over stuffed. gloria and kevin wouldnt be first two id write off, but they are in the top 15. jana and jeff make the top 10, maybe even 5.

at this point to be done with them id even say im willing to risk Lauren. Me. Lose the character i love the most of any soap (sorry sami bady, lol, lauren fenmore will always be my number one!) just to get rid of this family.

if they left the show i feel the show wouldnt lose anything. and thats alays a sign that the time has come.

they have just ran the course. their time has come. and they must go.

Yes!

[Juliajms]

And here goes Sharon hurting more people and screwing up lives again unnecessarily. It's a testament to Sharon Case's abilities that I don't hate this character.

[JackPeyton]

idk why, but this interview betty white did... she said this...

and it reminded me of soaps, esp Y&R in recent years.

[Heyou]

Not really! Some are fans of the show period, myself included, and not of just a particular actor, actress or couple but merely of the ensemble cast, most of them anyways. MAB seems to cater to the fanbases of Phick/Shick/Lame mostly because they are the loudest of all the fans. She has ruined the quad in the process with all of the partner swapping and while Lane may appeal to some, they are just awful. It's sad when the "romantic" pairing of a show is this pathetic.

I like that the Chancellor's are finally back as the focus family. The Abbott's now only consist of the sappy Jack, mental case Ashley, "it's all about me" Billy and thankfully Ausileen can't stay on the canvas long enough to have a story. MAB hasn't rebuilt this family, she's allowed them to be separated with all of the bed hopping the brothers have been doing which is destroying their relationship.

I think we may have a winner here! He was definitely more tolerable before he was paired with Lily thus de-balled by her. Goddard is no romantic leading man, IMO!

I'm starting to think that MAB will be the last headwritter for the show and CBS/Sony will sit back with glee watching as the show crumbles. I'm sure that Babs would love nothing better than to be known as the executive that killed the Bell shows.

[rhythmchyc]

Yeah, uh, he just must die. The End.

Sharon's just as douchey as Nick, y'all.

[Dee41]

Ding ding ding we have a winner. I got that feeling as well especially during that photoshoot. It felt like the writers were making fun of Lane's fairytale view of marriage.

I don't see the writers catering to Lane fans at all. MAB is slowly destroying that couple. Their entire relationship has been built on secrets, lies, and fantasies. Lily will more than likely be barren. Cane will be exposed as a fraud. This fairytale view of their relationship will be shot to hell in a handbasket.

Personally I don't see how Lane can overcome all that.

As for the acting, I do think CK has been overdoing it in her scenes with DG. But I think CK played that scene the way it was supposed to be played. Right now Lily is in fantasy island. The only thing she cares about is making a baby with Cane so that's where her focus is. Everything else is immaterial.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

This show is a blistering hot mess right now, and I'd like to believe ratings are threading down not because this time of year, but because of the overall lack of creativity and good storylines on this show.

This territory this show is in is as bad that the plot-driven illogical mess territory the ABC and P&G soaps are in.

Y&R deserves so much better, so do the fans...

[cara mia]

Every family needs a moral compass and/or the glue that keeps them together. That's why Tracey should come back and do that for Abbotts, and that's a great role for Noah with the Newmans. The Chancellors are pretty good at sticking together and now they have Murphy which makes it even better. Neil keeps the Winters together and Michael does that for the Fisher Baldwins.

I honestly don't understand the hate for Lane when at least the couple has chemistry. It's not like they're the blackhole of suck that is Billy & Mac, which might be the worst couple on any soap.