Y&R: Potpourri Thread 2

[Sylph]

I really fail to understand this.

Every time things get abysmal, people turn to past writers who were marginally better. And everyone forgets how their tenures were dreadful in their own way. No one has an original idea, for example Let's bring this novelist! or something. It's always the same old people who brought dreck in the first place.

[classicmoment]

You know Mark I made a thread in where I had to confess I liked certain elements of Hogan's work, however those elements do not fit (in the capacity that he tends to apply it to Y&R) characters and in the way it affects the show's overall tone. His style simply doesn't fit on this soap AT ALL. I preferred him a bit more on DOOL but we know he had his problems there as well. Hamner is a plot heavy writer. His style and input is easily recognizeable to me, much of the scooby stuff had Hamner written all over it, he's another one that doesn't fit at Y&R. As for Maria, saying she is uninspired gives her too much credit. Nothing she has done makes me as a critical thinking viewer think she fits the head writer role in any capacity. The best work on display by Maria has less to do with her own creativity and visionary and has much if not everything to do with much of what Bill Bell himself had already created. She spins his old stories and remix it.It is like having a hit rap song and that inspires another producer to come in and change the beat and add one or two new verses to it, it's hot but are YOU the genius or is it the original artist, writer and/or producer of the track? When you say Maria is a weak leader I agree. When you say Maria is lazy and distracted, umm that maybe so, but is that what is affecting her bad head writing skills. I mean maybe they wouldn't be AS bad but she hasn't done anything that makes me think she hasn't already hit her "creative" threshold, she simply hasn't been that originally effective for me not to agree that she is lazy. If she isn't then she is just not that good to begin with

[Sylph]

Still that fails to explain these psychotic plots going on. OK, you are a network executive, OK, you want more plot. Then the writers come and suggest Let's have a fetus burnt. What kind of a person okays that kind of story? Sanity requires to say NO.

PSYCHOSIS n. pl. PSYCHOSES

A severe mental disorder, with or without organic damage, characterized by derangement of personality and loss of contact with reality and causing deterioration of normal social functioning.

[DRW50]

So, with Sharon, it looks like very soon,

[MarkH]

I think that, rather than grafting a novelist onto Y&R (and having people moan about how the novelist doesn't understand the identity of the show), the wiser move is to cancel the show (Y&R in this case) and give the novelist a new show. While there is great risk, it is more likely to be creatively satisfying, without the audience moaning over how novelty has perverted their historical vision of their show.

With each month that passes, I am inclined to agree with you. But do we want to play writer-go-round again? I'd almost rather have her milquetoast and (yes) derivative vision carry this show into its last few years than START AGAIN...maybe with yet another disaster.

I really just want this daytime genre to be sunset...so something new can rise in the vacuum. For example, I think Oprah's departure will lead to a new slate of power players on daytime...just as Oprah toppled Phil Donahue long ago. From death comes evolution and reinvention.

As I tried to explain above, I don't think anyone (up front) greenlit a story with a burnt fetus. I think they greenlit Ashley losing the baby, gaslighting, etc. I think that the fetus burning emerged more in the short term. In other words, that probably didn't show up on paper until the one-week outline, or even until the specific breakdown or script.

This is important, because if you remember that episode, it was not explicit. It was all hinted ("Oh Ashley, there is so much blood" and, later, ADAM BURNS RAGS AT FIREPLACE). Unless the "higher-ups" or standards/practices or whatever were reading VERY CLOSELY, they may not even have realized what was happening. The horror of it didn't come together until you had seen the episode and THOUGHT ABOUT IT for a little while.

I think that particular plot beat emerged out of inattention, not malevolence or planning. But the fact that something like this could "slip through" is a testament for how leaderless the show is right now, and/or how out of touch the show's leader(s) are with a huge segment of their audience.

[Paul Raven]

For those of us nostalgic for the 'golden years' or just curious,No2Souls has several Y&R clips on YouTube.

Deborah Adair as Jill!!

Katherine throws a dinner party to humiliate Jill and expose her past.

There's also Snapper,Chris,Lorie etc.

Lots of cool early 80's stuff.

Check it out...

[DeeeDee]

Ugh.

[soapfan770]

Ok I can let out some frustation?

I HATE Y&R. That's the only thing I can describe how I feel about this show. I am so sick of everything. I hate watching it, I hate reading about it I hate posting about it. I can barely stand to watch it and I don't feel I have the energy to complain or talk about it in discussion anymore because all the flaws that I see are continually talked to death now. Nothing will change until we get new writers, producers etc. This use to be my favorite show but now I can't even look at it. It's so awful and stupid I can't figure what else to describe the utter boring drivel nonsense storylines that continue.

If I were to put a death date on Y&R it would be May 14, 2009--the day before the Cane wedding and Thom Bierdz's first reappearance. Everything else since then is just Y&R's zombie body.

[Rhiannon]

I think I may have finally thrown in the towel for now. I haven't watched in over two weeks and don't even care to watch the episodes I've missed and feel no remorse for missing them. Never thought I'd be down to pretty much one soap. I do tune into AMC occasionally and will be doing so more then that once Pratt's stuff quits airing.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Is there any place where the general consensus for the creative state of this show is overwhelming positive? This era of the show has to be the most hated by Y&R fans on the net. The backlash over this writing team (and deservedly so) has definitely gotten stronger than the backlash Lynn Marie Latham experienced.

I'll be reevaluating lots of things in my life in 2010, and as much as I hate that it might come to this, I too might end up dropping that crappy show. Like others, I used to love this show, but this has to be one of, if not, the worst era this show has had over the past 15 years. Nothing will get better less we get some new writers who can creatively revamp this show and bring it back closer to its roots.

[DRW50]

Serial Drama recently said the show has "stellar writing", but they rarely discuss the show.

I have to admit I have been mentally checked out of the show since I learned Hogan was arriving, and what he immediately did to Nikki just confirmed it for me. But it's sad to see that so many people who are such loyal fans and who have given the show so many chances are also turning away. Those at Y&R now, who have no interest in what makes the show unique, will keep chasing after new viewers, to no avail. They have no idea of how to write basic drama, or any quality entertainment.

[Rhiannon]

Is their stuff still getting printed in SOD?

I get my SOD issues so late in the mail that I don't even get around to reading them most of the time.

[DRW50]

I think they're still in SOD. I'm not sure. I don't read it very much anymore.

Aside from the post around the time Colleen died, which was negative, they generally say stuff in passing about how good Y&R is supposed to be, but they rarely talk about the show. They have much more fun talking about GH or AMC. I don't know if they are just saying the party line or if it's just that this show, even with the press hype, is not that entertaining.

[Faulkner]

Indeed. And scream as we might, the show's never getting new writers. I've stopped watching Y&R before - I missed a large part of 1999 to 2003 because I was in college. Latham also had me tuning out for a while (right after Out of the Ashes). The show's core characters always kept me coming back. But I just don't care anymore. I don't care about Nikki or Katherine or Paul or Jill or Nina or any of the characters I once loved, and the actors just aren't enough anymore. I went from feeling angry to grieving for the show I've watched since I started watching with my mom back in '89.

[Sylph]

We forgot that these should be monthly.