Y&R Episode Discussion for the week of July 13

[brimike]

I totally agree with this. The breakdown writers are there to structure the episodes into scenes, but the head writers are the ones who say how much story is played in each episode.

ETA: And for the record, I've highly enjoyed Beall's scripts on Y&R. She wrote some beautiful Kay/Murphy moments.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Well, then, more reason why these "Head Writers" need to be fired.

Is there a competition between Y&R and ATWT to see who can burn through idiotic stories faster?

[alphanguy74]

[Greg's GL]

Well, it's a sad day in the Y&R thread when even the most stalwart fans are criticizing the stories. <sigh>

[brimike]

LOL! There's nothing wrong with criticism. I'm not at Alvin's point yet. I still love much of the show, just think the P3 story isn't playing out the way it should. I don't think anybody should be fired - I just think they need to stop and let everything breathe. This fast pace is definitely hurting the show, but I don't think that calls for people's jobs. I think they're all good writers with great ideas, they're just plowing through them without giving us the character moments that supply motivation. But we know this team is capable of doing that, because they did in December through March - I just think we're in a rough patch for reasons that elude me.

But that's just my own personal opinion - I already know many disagree with me, and I guess this is more for the Potpourri thread. I just don't want you to think because I'm critical, I'm jumping on the "FIRE ALL THE HACKS!" bandwagon.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Well, you should have known the tide was turning when MarkH started injecting more negativity towards the show in his posts.

Just kidding, Mark.

But, I've been noticing it a lot lately in regards to this show.

And, IMO, it's rightfully so...

[Greg's GL]

YAY!! I think we're pretty much in the same place in regards to how we view the show. Whew. I was gettin a lil worried there! <<wipes brow>>

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Well, I do think these hacks should be fired, since they've failed on so many levels and these Head Writers have had a year already, and many of the same problems they had a year ago are still apparent.

I don't need to compile my long list of problems that have been ignored and apparent since day one with this regime again. You can all go to the Potpourri thread.

Normally, I wouldn't call for anyone to lose their jobs. But hello, we're the fans, we're the ones that make this show being on the air possible. If we're fed nonsense and repeatedly bad storytelling, then those responsible for it need to be fired.

Even in November to March there were problems, the show was relatively OK then, but it wasn't brilliant and many problems were still there.

Also, the growing dissatisfaction amongst internet fans are already apaprent for those to see, not that it means anything.

[brimike]

LOL! Absolutely - I still think the show is good. There are definite issues I think need to be addressed, but out of the 8 shows on daytime right now, Y&R is the only one consistently holding my interest. I think it's possible to express criticism without resorting to this "FIRE ALL THE HACKS" mentality.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I'm glad it's doing that for you, but for a lot of people it isn't. The fan backlash against Y&R's current state has probably been bigger than most soaps on the air right now, but I'm glad some are finding enjoyment in this show.

The potpourri thread wouldn't be the success it is if a lot of fans weren't unhappy and past their breaking points with this show too.

I've expressed criticism for a while before I reached my decision that these people need to be fired. There's only so much criticism you can express for a year, when those in charge don't learn from their mistakes and ignore their problems.

I just beleive Y&R deserves better and it deserves a better, preferably solo, HW. It took me a while to reach this point and I'm sticking to it.

I don't think anyone in change right now "gets" this show and it shows in the writing and execution.

[brimike]

It's like ten people posting the same thing over and over again for forty pages. I agree fans on other boards are unhappy, but I wouldn't use the Potpourri thread as the an example of how many unhappy fans there are.

That's fair. I wasn't necessarily saying that and pointing to you, A. I just think there are a lot of post-ers on the web who just jump on the bandwagon of the person that's most vocal. I know you've been fair with your criticism for the last year, and it took a while before you hit this point. But there are definitely people out there who don't like one or two things going on, and it suddenly becomes "FIRE THE HACKS!". It's always been that way on the Internet, no matter who the head writer is. But I wasn't directing that statement towards you specifically - your descent into hatred is well-document, and definitely gradual.

ETA: I just saw microchips-in-Paul's-head on my beloved As the World Turns. So you'll forgive me if I'm more tolerant towards a show that has pacing issues and major problems balancing their cast. It could be so much worse. Microchips?! Really?! And I thought "brain tumor" was a lousy excuse for trying to kill somebody.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Bur even if some posters have posted once in that thread, there's a variety of posters who have posted in that thread and expressed their dissatisfaction with the show. It is probably more apparent on other message boards though and in other threads here on SON.

Oh I know, but all I'm saying is, right now and with this writing regime, there seems to be widespread hated for the show and its current writers amongst many long-term fans across the internet. MarkH brought up those longtime fans who are thinking of quitting the show over on Usernet. I've also observed this trend on various boards.

While some are genuinely liking the show, I'm finding more and more diehard fans who are thinking of quitting it and are just not interested in the writing anymore.

[brimike]

A fall was definitely coming. I called it back in November, when everybody was gung-ho on the show. It's the Carlivatization that happens on the web. Nelson's the worst offender of it. Every show goes through cycles - I've seen it happen over and over again. And when a writing team stumbles and fails miserably, the immediate reaction is to turn on them. I suspect that by the fall, it will have settled down a bit and be a little more fifty-fifty in terms of fan approval. When everybody was saying how wonderful MAB was and she was going to single-handedly save daytime, it was obvious the backlash was right around the corner. Nobody can keep that up. The "Internet Monster" is deceiving and while I'm a huge supporter of Internet message boards, I also know we're talking about maybe a couple hundred thousand fans, as opposed to five million viewers with Nielsen boxes.

If the ratings start bleeding again, I'm sure changes will be made. But while they're stabilized, this is probably going to remain how things are. For better or worse.

[MichaelGL]

Well I will say John Driscoll is looking more sexy on Y&R than he did on GL, perhaps it was the uniform?

[Y&RWorldTurner]

But ratings aren't really stable. The show was closer to hitting 4.0's earlier in the year, not its threading back downwards and nowhere near to what it was hitting just a few months ago. Not to mention, just a month ago, they were tying their record low ratings and total viewers was actually down from last year. They seem to be threading back downwards, but I don't think that will be enough for changes to be made.

Let us not forget that MAB brought this show to record lows in just her first few months. If that wasn't enough to make TPTB realize that her "vision" for this show wasn't popular with audiences, nothing is. Let us not also forget how most of these "hacks" on other shows have been there for years.

But, miracles can happen. I mean, who expected LML to be fired after the strike? Her ratings were MUCH MORE stable than MAB's, and she was let go. Who is to say the same won't happen soon to this regime, with the fan backlash and unstable ratings?