Y&R: Episodes discussion, week of August 17

[Cat]

Wow. That is quite the recommendation, Alphanguy. Especially the Paul and Patty scene (and the Lily stuff. Cancer hits home for my family, so...).

I know 5-day-a-week soaps cannot be gold-star brilliant all the time... and they have to conserve mega-reveals for major Friday cliffhangers and Sweeps dénouements. But I am shocked at how far the pendulum swings for Y&R -- from atrocious to on-the-ball. That gives the viewer whiplash and actually makes me, as a viewer, build up a well of mistrust against TPTB. Like B&B and GH. They can pull moments of brilliance out of their ass but I am always hesitant, waiting to be tricked, waiting for the rug to be pulled from under me. Waiting for a return to "business as usual."

With Y&R, I don't want "business as usual." I want BAU to be the good stuff and the messes to be the exception!

[Antoyne]

Doug Davidson and Stacy owned today's show..Why that man sleeps on the backburner is a total shame...If anything do yourself a favor and watch their scenes, the rest was just background noise to me...But I think I head Heinle acting a bit.

[alphanguy74]

Believe me... you won't be sorry.

[alphanguy74]

Total agreement.. this show has been a total case of whiplash lately. Like I said, the biggest thing dragging this show down, especially this week, is thie RIDICULOUS Scooby SL. It's not working, they need to END IT, and FAST.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I'm SO OVER Patty Jane, this character is a ridiculous cartoon. Time to kill her off or send her away for a long time...

I have no interest in her possibly having Jack's child from raping him, and I don't want to see her crimes whitewashed.

Amelia Heinle did not impress me today, she still needs to be recast and always looks so out of her element.

On the positive side, Doug Davidson, as usual, brought it and showed how unappreciative he still is by TPTB.

[Sylph]

A voice of reason.

But isn't it funny how some people don't get it (that the show is a dire mess) still?

[DRW50]

I think to more and more viewers, Y&R will become like the Facts of Life theme song. You take the good, you take the bad. Most of it's bad, but people will want to enjoy the good. Or the semi-good.

I can see why fans want to enjoy what they can. I just wish those who run this show would stop coasting. These big moments are never backed up by any long-term planning.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I love how people are beginning to whitewash this Patty Jane's crimes. She didn't mean to hurt a little girl she knew was allergic to peanuts? She didn't mean to kill a dog? She didn't mean to rape Jack? She didn't mean to set Sharon up for theft? Give me a damn break, all the crying in the world and her possibly birthing Jack's kid through rape is not going to save this irredeemable character.

If they wanted us to feel remorse for this character, then the should have done a better job of planning this storyline LONG AGO.

The show is a mess overall, you can't have one decent episode and claim that a serial is good. But you know some will never admit to that, Sylph, that's their problem.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Exactly, and about everything is rushed, and every feels so hallow and cheap. These people don't want to write for daytime, they're all failed primetime writers (Well Hamner and possibly Sheffer, Maria is just inexperienced and has no idea what she's doing) who are trying to impose that particular style on a daily serial, and it just doesn't work. It's so anti-soap.

I think it's sad when most of the show is so bad that we have to ignore that to possibly like what little good there is.

[Sylph]

Put that way, I have nothing against it. It's kind of cute.

But ultimately I think harmful and futile. If it can be both at the same time.

[dm.]

So nothing's changed for the better? Damn.

[lovely_m]

I missed most of this episode so I don't have a good description, but I'll try my best. I just got in where Lily was talking to the patient.

Maybe I have no soul and I have ice in my veins but Lily talking to the patient made me roll my eyes. It just seemed very psa.

The Scoobies scenes just came and went and I didn't matter.

Out of Nick, Neil, and JT who would have thought that JT would have been the one to stay faithful to his wife. I want his marriage to end to but it was nice that he actually told Colleen his family came first. He is going to lose Viki the same way he got her.

The best part was Paul figuring out that Mary Jane was his sister. I did feel some sympathy for Patty, but if the show was to have a redemption arc for her it will have to be planned out and all the beats must be played. Poor Paul the sister he knew had become someone who would go crazy.

[DRW50]

There's a real burden put on Y&R fans, especially by the soap press, because they have spent the past year peddling Y&R as the crown jewel of daytime, daytime's salvation, and MAB/Hamner/Rauch/Sheffer as the geniuses who have pulled off a miracle. The implication in all this is if viewers don't go along, soaps are screwed. So I think viewers are likely to want to keep pushing for the best and trying to ignore the worst, because what if they don't? The threshold has been lowered so much that it's become oh well daytime is dying anyway, we need to get what we can, this is the last team Y&R will ever have, let's support them as we have nothing else.

[alphanguy74]

What I said was she didn't mean to put Summer in a COMA, that was obvious.. as far as the other stuff, she DID mean to do those... I'm not in denial there. But I don't think youv'e grasped that she is mentally ill, she's not a sane person doing evil things, like Adam. That's why I did have sympathy for her today. I didn't claim this show was good because of today's episode... unless you missed the part where I stated we had an entire week full of ca-ca. that's not exactly a ringing endorsement, you know.

[Sylph]

Very well put.