Y&R: Potpourri Thread

[Y&RWorldTurner]

GH usually has the casting in daytime, Mark Tescher puts everyone in daytime to shame.

That said, Y&R's casting has gotten a lot better since they hired a new casting director a few months back, she's made some really good choices, and even the dayplayer parts have been very good lately. I think she's doing a great job so far, the one before her sucked ass.

[rhythmchyc]

I'd say post-LML, the Y&R cast new characters has been really strong, even down to K/Marge's diner friend and Det. Gil. The Winters will always have the short end of the stick but again, the weaknesses weren't featured so much that they dragged down the show. This can also be said for the actress who plays Abby, who on many shows would definitely be featured at least twice a week because she's of the demographic.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

The new casting director has been great with the few roles she's cast, since only been there since like October/November.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

As I mentioned in the previous thread, the pacing on this show is ATROTIOUS. IT really prevents me and a lot of others from caring about what the hell happens on this show.

[DRW50]

What I don't understand is why mystery writers, gothic writers, are so bad at pacing. Sheffer has had horrible pacing on all his soaps, but I thought Hamner was the big mystery writer, according to MAB. If you look at Edge of Night, what's available of it, Henry Slesar had wonderful pacing.

[bellcurve]

Word X 1000.

Not only was the pacing wonderful for the mysteries, but the female characters on this show weren't manchasing, pathetic weepers. Even heroines/good girls like April and Deborah didn't let a man consume everything they did. And of course, Raven...[!@#$%^&*] Mary Jane...they don't build bad girls like her anymore.

And the dialogue(from what I've seen) wasn't some terrible, "Oh my God, we should be together. It's destiny, it's fate." Not saying they didn't have their clunkers on EDGE(Lois Kibbee had a list in her dresssing room of bad dialogue she had to spout over the years, per Marcia Cross), but it's still miles ahead of just about anything in daytime.

Also, EDGE didn't just beat you over the head with everything(except maybe that damn clown puppet). They trusted that you would watch and keep up with it and that eventually, all the pieces would come together. And they did.

Yeah, it was a different time back then, but hell, I would take reruns of EDGE over anything in daytime right now. That show knows how to do dark and moody.

I ask anyone who hasn't seen EDGE reruns on AOL to check it out and understand the hype...the episodes may still be floating around somewhere online.

[Juliajms]

I'm really surprised that MAB hasn't done more of the classic Y&R pacing. Long slow builds have served Y&R well over the years. Some of what has happened recently should have taken so much longer to play out. The Rafe/Adam thing is one that really stands out. Adam should have had Heather and Rafe wrapped around his little finger for months. And I'd much rather see Adam taken perverse joy in the power he has over these people.

[bellcurve]

And what the hell is up with the Weather Channel music playing between the Mac/Billy scenes? The music director needs a serious lashing. "Weather On the 8's" is the LAST thing you need to play to build interesting scene chemistry between two actors that don't have it.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

No build up for this Rafe/Adam stuff has really killed this storyline, IMO. It's little mistakes like this that make me hate this regime.

[bellcurve]

And would having a peanut allergy really give someone that bad of an allergic reaction from a little peck on the lips after Mary Jane ate a cookie? I could see if she like ate a can full of peanuts and left small crumbs of peanuts on her lips, but from a cookie that may have a negligible amount of peanuts that Summer, herself, didn't even ingest? Seriously?

What the hell is up with this show? This is lazy and stupid.

[Juliajms]

It would have made more sense if MJ handed Summer the cookies or purposely left them in her reach. It's not like Summer is going to remember where she got them after a coma.

[bellcurve]

Exactly.

Another "wonky" story direction from the "vision"ary, Maria Arena Bell.

[Bright Eyes]

Your Edge talk is like foreplay. More, more, MORE!!!

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Stop trying to make Edge happen, folks.

[alphanguy74]

Let's keep in mind, it may not be her choice. I've heard through the grapevine, and of course, Meg Bennett said as much in her interview, that network interference is at an all-time high. Networks have ALWAYS tried to interfere... but Bill Bell just had the balls to tell them where to go. A rare breed he was. Just look at Barbara Bloom and her "dictating" Shackelford remain on the show, it not only keeps the cast bloated, but starts to dictate storytelling. I have a sneaking suspicion this pacing change is pressure from CBS to make Y&R more "contemporary", from shitheaded bean counters who think a soap needs to be paced like a prime time show. Even Bill Bell said in interviews that he had TONS of problems with network executives trying to tell him what to do, who didn't have a CLUE about daytime. After he died, I'm sure the brass at CBS thought this was their chance to put their finger int he pie, and try to gain more control.