Here's the article thanks to Daytime Royalty: http://i43.tinypic.com/2iayiyq.jpg

Basically it says that Phillip faked his death because he didn't want to tell his family he's gay. Gag me. I'll repost what I posted there...

I'm very upset that Phillip is going to be gay. That ruins future story potential for Nina and Christine, who both had romantic chemistry with Phillip. Hell, Lauralee Bell even said she'd be willing to return thanks to these two actors being back. It would be fresher than just throwing her back with Michael and Paul, two played out relationships. I also feel like he's only gay because the actor is. I think they're afraid to show an openly gay actor as a straight leading man. It would be different if Joshua Morrow or Eric Braeden (just using them as examples) came out because they've already been established as romantic leads. They probably consider it more risky with an actor who hasn't been on the show in 20 years.

Another reason this doesn't work for me is that it will clearly isolate Phillip and limit his full cast integration. Not to mention how poorly the show has developed Rafe and the latest twist with Adam. On paper it sounds good, but the execution is rushed and very plot driven. Will Phillip become a plot point as well? Why not just make Phillip IV gay and see how Phillip III and co handle it? Also doesn't help that Thom is almost 50 and Yani looks like a school boy next to Michael Muhney. Ugh! So much wrong with this. I can't believe Phillip is back for this.

Y&R was truly great a few months ago for me.

I also thought that OLTL was truly great last year, before 1968, the Starr Manning Show and Mendora.

A lot of soaps have been truely great over the years, but Marland's ATWT was my dream soap

EXACTLY! Long phases of mediocrity punctuated by periods of greatness. True soap fans stick through the mediocrity because it is the norm, IMO. And greatness is the payoff.

EXACTLY! Long phases of mediocrity punctuated by periods of greatness. True soap fans stick through the mediocrity because it is the norm, IMO. And greatness is the payoff.

This is how B&B has tricked me for several years

Don't you think that something is very wrong with a soap when inbetween periods of greatness they become Melaswen crazy? If they can't be that good all the time (Agnes Nixon's AMC and Marland's ATWT could), why can't they just be boring or just nice?

I'm not sure how many of the current stories on Y&R go up to the level of mediocre. One or two are good, some are poor. I think uneven fits Y&R better than mediocre. They don't seem to know how to tell stories, which means it's all over the place. What kept Y&R going for a long time was even at its worst they usually knew how to tell basic stories, pacing, playing beats, making viewers understand motivations.

I don't believe the soap genre was any less great than any other genres. All genres of TV have some quality and some drek. Considering the grueling pace of daytime, I think it's impressive at how decent of quality quite a few soaps had for as long as they did.

So, Elsa, you watched Marland's ATWT?

So, Elsa, you watched Marland's ATWT?

Yes, I watched it on SkyOne (UK TV station) and RTL (German TV station) and I was surprised to find it again after many years on YouTube and see that it was as great as I remembered

Is anyone else having trouble reading page 3? It won't load for me.

Is anyone else having trouble reading page 3? It won't load for me.

Same here.

One of the great late Doug Marland's rules is "Read the fan mail. The very characters that are not thrilling to you may be the audience's favorites." He was so amazingly wonderful and perfect, really. ATWT was never mediocre under Doug Marland. I should start a Doug Marland admiration society. It will be important to keep the memories of his talented storytelling alive after ATWT is cancelled. Richard Backus could be the honary president.

One of the great late Doug Marland's rules is "Read the fan mail. The very characters that are not thrilling to you may be the audience's favorites." He was so amazingly wonderful and perfect, really. ATWT was never mediocre under Doug Marland. I should start a Doug Marland admiration society. It will be important to keep the memories of his talented storytelling alive after ATWT is cancelled. Richard Backus could be the honary president.

Writers need a strong vision but that doesn't preclude knowing what fans are liking and not liking. The problem with MAB is that she seems to be going to the fans for ideas. Her well is dry.

One of the great late Doug Marland's rules is "Read the fan mail. The very characters that are not thrilling to you may be the audience's favorites." He was so amazingly wonderful and perfect, really. ATWT was never mediocre under Doug Marland. I should start a Doug Marland admiration society. It will be important to keep the memories of his talented storytelling alive after ATWT is cancelled. Richard Backus could be the honary president.

Which proves my point, I think. ATWT had a PERIOD of greatness under Marland, but may not have been consistently great. Truly, if you accept Marland as a "brief shining moment", then I think that should be the expectation. You're always hoping for that period...knowing you will wade through a lot to get there.

If feel some fans feel that if a soap isn't as great as your perception of Marland's ATWT was, it is a failure. I don't think so...I think it is the norm, and always has been.

Which proves my point, I think. ATWT had a PERIOD of greatness under Marland, but may not have been consistently great. Truly, if you accept Marland as a "brief shining moment", then I think that should be the expectation. You're always hoping for that period...knowing you will wade through a lot to get there.

If feel some fans feel that if a soap isn't as great as your perception of Marland's ATWT was, it is a failure. I don't think so...I think it is the norm, and always has been.

8 years, give or take, is a lengthy period for soaps. ATWT was also #1 for almost 20 years. Not all of those years were great, but some of them must have been, and they introduced iconic characters (for daytime and ATWT). From what I've read, the only truly rough periods for ATWT were the early 70s, and the late 70s. Then the early 80s were something of a turnaround, followed by the great work from Marland. Sadly everything after him has been consistently downhill, but even then, I think the show was still watchable in 1993 and up to most of 1995. After that is when P&G got a new boss, began playing producer roulette on their soaps, began mass firings, began hiring producers and writers who were a poor fit for ATWT. ATWT, like what happened to most of the soaps in the 90s, lost its identity.

This story is going to suck.

Sure it'll have its' stand out moments, incredible episodes, like the usual Sheffer/Bell story, but overall will suck.

I think it was overall a bad decision to bring Phillip III back in the first place. His death was powerful, and in a better word, convincing. In the future when Y&R kills off a character, I'm always going to wonder if he/she faked their death because they were gay and didn't want their family to know.

This could have played out well, but the one thing really that bothers me, and will throughout the entire story, is the fact that Phillip let his son grow up without a father for so many years. It's character assasination to a T.

ATWT had a PERIOD of greatness under Marland, but may not have been consistently great.

ATWT was consistently great under Marland.

ATWT was consistently great under Marland.

That's what I think too..

ATWT was consistently great under Marland.

While I think Marland is the greatest writer daytime ever had, he had his clunkers of a storyline, too--the Carolyn Crawford murder for instance.