Y&R: Episodes discussion., Week of June 29,2009

[rhythmchyc]

I bought the story too. There didn't seem to be any holes in it to me after that.

Goddard's damn good but yeah, he and Lily need to be over. I can see her forgiving him because people are deeply stupid this year but I wish to God she wouldn't. Can't Olivia step in and be protective. Lord knows Neil can't. Cane needs to feel the burn of isolation again and leave. His purpose in Y&R has been accomplished, like the Fishers. He serves no purpose now. Is he gonna be the hotter Gina, running Jimmy's bar, the residents gushing over his burgers and beer a la Gina's lasagna? That's literally all he has to offer at this point.

[Cashton]

Cane's only hope for survival is Patty.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

No longterm lovin' for Patty! Kitty would be very neglected if that were to happen!

[Cashton]

Shut yo' mouf! LOL! Cane could save Patty, give her the baby THEY BOTH have been dying for, be totally themselves, Patty finds a man who can love her completely and be 100% committed to her. It writes itself. And Kitty could get a playmate - a taxadermied dingo!

[MarkH]

Absolutely true. The amount of dialogue he had to recite was INSANE. Look, I have followed this guy since he was last on this show, and all the twists since then. I want him to succeed very much!

Davetta's not a good example for me, because I don't think she ever clicked. I'm not saying CK is great this time around, but I never warmed to DS.

Goddard has been terrific. So has Bryton. He's now my favorite in the Winters family. Since Goddard is supposed to be the age of P3 (and I think TB looks Goddard's age)...they're saying P3 was a teen when he left, so that would make him late 30s now...like Cane....I want this to take him out of Lily's orbit and put him into a mature woman's. Patty, Mac, or Chloe are all possibilities, IMO. Let's not forget Amber!

LOL. With what Patty is doing these days, I see a long institutionalization in her future first. Maybe they'll do like OLTL...where Jessica and Brody hooked up in the asylum. If Cane goes nuts, he and Patty can heal one another there.

[cara mia]

I have not seen Monday yet but I many of you are totally unrealistic about what makes "good" soap opera acting. First off, most actors only get one take. Even a goddess like Meryl Streep isn't always perfect or even near perfect on her first take. Because of this, "good" soap actors aren't made, they are born. In order to excel in the medium -- like Susan Lucci, Eric Braeden, Katherine Kelly Lang, Maura West, Tony Geary, Alison Sweeney -- you need:

A) Beauty or a distinctive look

Charisma to spare

C) The ability to generate chemistry with your co-stars

D) The ability to command the screen.

Talent, craft, and all the wonderful stuff they teach you in drama school does not take you very far in a soap. That's just gravy. TB is right in the sense that soap actors, more than any other type of actor, are playing themselves. Yes, some of us are going to look super close at the performances and debate the merits of David Canary versus Peter Bergman. But that's a specialty sport and had nothing to do with the experience of most viewers. Brooke Logan is supposed to be a glamorous go-getter. From frame #1, KKL is that. Whether or not she cries beautifully or has great comic timing or does a good love scene is all very secondary. P3, back then, was a poor little rich boy overwhelmed by the dominating women in his life. From the you-tube clips I've seen, back then, from frame #1, TB sold that. He was the pretty lost boy pawn in the big girl games played by Kay, Jill, Nina and even Cricket.

The question is, who is P3 today and can he sell this new incarnation from frame #1? I am not sure. Hopefully the writers have a clear vision for P3 and it's something that TB can seamlessly step into.

[Cashton]

Here's my Patty/Cane s/l in beats:

• Patty goes on the lam and teams up with Adam.
  
• Adam double-crosses Patty somehow and Patty is really alone - ETA Patty is hurt from a car crash.
  
• Patty crosses paths with Cane, and Cane doesn't know PAtty is dangerous or crazy. He's still heartbroken over his "family" disowning him and Lily dumping him. He offers PAtty refuge at his place.
  
• Cane is mystified and taken in by Patty's child-like insecurity and beauty, and tends to her like a wounded bird.
  
• Patty is at first defensive and untrusing but she eventually warms up to Cane and they fall in love.
  
• Cane learns of Patty's deeds, but instead of tossing her out he tries to protect her.
  
• Paul and the police finally discover PAtty's whereabouts, and rather than get Cane in trouble she runs away, leaving Cane heartbroken.
  
• Patty goes to the Abbott mansion determined to kill herself for good this time and take Jack with her.
  
• Just as she is about to kill herself, Cane and co. break in and Cane declares his undying love for Patty. She can't beleive that he loves her - no man ever could. And that's when he says that he'll be there with her and hold her hand through whatever they have to go through together - cause he loves everything about her.
  

[y&r_fan]

What's up with Thom Bierdz's voice? He sounds like he's deaf or something.

[sheilaforever]

He's just not that charismatic and has a unique speaking manner. Granted he was out of acting biz for ages but truth be told he was never really in it to begin with. LOL! He was always very wooden which was ok because Bill Bell wrote Phillip as the slightly nerdy outcast and all the good acting moments went with Cricket and Nina. Bierdz' enormous following simply stems from him playing one of THE legacy characters on Y&R and him being considered a hunk/teen idol back in the days. It definitely never were his acting skills.

That said, it's great to have him back. Anxiously awaiting "La Bug" now...

[MarkH]

I TOTALLY agree with this. Thom was PERFECT as the shy, insecure, awkward young boy. And his "legacy" status (both as a character and his storyline) sort of makes all the "thespian" considerations IRRELEVANT. It is great to have him back, and yes (though I complain about the canvas being too full), I'd welcome Cricket in a heartbeat! At this point, she's powerfully missed just as Nina's talk-to. And if something happens to Nikki...Paul's gonna need a talk-to to!

[rhythmchyc]

People don't "talk to" each other on y&r, they f--- each other; then kill each other. I guess we'd be in real trouble if it's the other way around.

[soapydoc]

He does. I am trying not to be super disappointed so I will give it some time. But yeah, he seems to be acting a different story than the others.

[Antoyne]

Finally saw Friday's episode...I've seen many a clip of P3/TB on youtube, and was never a fan at all. I actually thought he was awful..And as for his return Friday..I didn't like the acting choice at all...It was really smug, which if this character supposedly loved his family so much way back when, I doubt his triumphant return from the dead would be so non chalant and smug. It was especially that last shot of him during the pregnant pause where I was just baffled at the choice of face he made...We'll see if Monday's any better.

[alphanguy74]

There is part of the part of the problem. Everyone is assuming he loved his family so much. He DIDN'T. If you were able to watch back then on a daily basis, you would have seen a very contentious, uncomfortable relationship with his family. Nina getting him drunk to get pregnant, his mother ignoring him, and only using him as a weapon to get back at Kay. Kay trying to buy his affection, so she could stick it to Jill. He seemed to care for Kay the most, but when he found out in trial that she drove his father off a cliff, his image of her was greatly tarnished. I think we, as fans WANT him to be sorry... and he's obviously NOT. We have to try to separate whether his acting is BAD, or he's simply not acting like we WANT HIM TO.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Wait until you see tomorrow's US episode, and this really isn't a spoiler, but he said he sent Cane to them because he did love them and he wanted someone to lessen the pain for them, hence Cane.

It doesn't make sense, why would he send someone nearly 20 years after his death to take "his place?" He claimed he did that out of love, so really, it's crappy writing.

No, people have to judge him based on his acting choices, which suck. His line delivery, his facial expressions, and his overall acting are horrible and sub-par. He's emotion-less, stiff, not in-tune with his scenes, and totally not even on the same wavelength of selling this story as his co-stars are. People need to put their biases aside and judge him based on his acting techniques, not because he's playing a legacy character or that there might be some gay aspect invovled.