Y&R: Fire Maria Arena Bell, Hogan Sheffer, Scott Hamner, and Paul Rauch
Member
It's time, they've had a little over a year and the past 4-6 months have been horrible...
For months Y&R has been heading down a damaging and convoluted path of inane, poorly paced, poorly executed storyline that goes against the grain of the show's history and against the grain of basic soap opera. Very little makes sense, almost everything is rushed, which leads to little to no real aftermath or emotional resonance. Everything feels hollow, characters are unrecognizable, stories are going nowhere, ratings are generally stagnant in the lower region of the poll. Needless to say, something must be done to save American's #1 daytime drama. Getting rid of Maria Arena Bell, Hogan Sheffer, Scott Hamner, and Paul Rauch and replacing them with perhaps a singular Head Writer and a seperate Executive Producer with a much better and proven track record would be .
Today's show, the 9/17/09 US episode was rock bottom for a lot of us. It simply highlighted everything that is wrong with Y&R and the current writing and producing regime in charge of running the show (and IMO, into the ground). A core character, Colleen Carlton, was killed off for no meaningful reason, other than to create "shock" which is of course a very temporary high. Unlike the death of fellow next generation character Cassie Newman, Colleen's death had no sufficient build up, nor were her connections to her family even explored sufficiently in the months/weeks leading up to her senseless and overtly plot-driven death. Had that happened, maybe the emotional resonance of the story would have been better projected, instead, they killed off a next generation character with ties to a lot on the canvas that had unlimited possibilities as a character, just for shock. Victor and Jack's feud already had a lot available to reignite it in a big way, from the runification of Ashley (which I'll get into a bit later) to the Patty Williams fiasco. So again, what was the use of killing this character, core character mind you, off? Granted the actress playing her was pretty polarizing, but not like they even attempted to write anything sufficient and long-term for her. Not to mention, the Colleen stuff on today's US episode FAILED MASSIVELY from a production standpoint.
Which leads me to another problem that has been plaguing this show - the horribly misogynistic writing for women. Since the beginning of this writing regime consisting of Maria Arena Bell, Hogan Sheffer, and Scott Hamner, women have been written as idiots who see themselves as inferior without a man (like Phyllis and Sharon in relation to Nick, Gloria in relation to Jeffrey, Chloe in relation to Billy, even Lily in relation to Cane and Mac in relation to Billy). Not only that, Hogan Sheffer apparently recycled one of his most hated plot devices when he had an emotional crushed and vulnerable Amber sexually assaulted by Deacon Sharpe, who coerced her into having sex with him. The whole thing, in Sheffer style, was glossed over and Amber continues to demean herself in Deacon's presence. Next on to the fiasco that's become of Patty William/Mary Jane Benson. A woman apparently so crazy over her lost love with Jack that she's gone mentally ill and killing people, dogs, and causing brain damage to an innocent little girl with no motivation whatsoever that's apparent in the writing. Then there's of course the intense ruining of Adam and Ashley. Ashley has a history of mental illness, yes, but never has someone intentionally driven her to be so stupid and insane. It's not fun or riveting to watch, the whole storyline has dumbed down characters for the purpose of suiting a stupid plot point. Michael Muhney's one-note, campy, and hilarious for all the wrong reasons portrayal of Adam hasn't been helping matter either. Adam seemingly has no motivation or emotion as a character anymore. Many find it hard to believe that this is the son Hope raised. Anyway, not long ago, Jill and Victoria were kicking ass in the board room, Ashley was mixing potions in her lab, Dru and Phyllis were fierce women who didn't take bull and told it like it was. What happened to that? Do the idiots in charge of Y&R right now understand that women are actually the target audience for their show?
Let's also not forget the mess that's become of Y&R's once strong and distinctive African American presence. The Winters family has been neglected or given repulsive storylines (like the Tyra mess) since the BEGINNING of this current writing and producing regime at Y&R.
Y&R used to do boardroom drama and explore the professional lives of its characters like no other soap. That became a key part of the show's success over the past 25 years, whether some liked it or not. It gave various characters the opportunity to interact with characters that they probably wouldn't get the chance to meet if only their domestic lives, well that's been completely ignored by this current writing regime. Even Lynn Marie Latham tried hard to keep this aspect of the show alive, she might have failed, but she TRIED.
Not to mention, those writing Y&R seem to have such contempt for the longtime fans of this show and their knowledge of the history of this show. We've been fed retcon after retcon this year. Like now with Tom and Deacon's sudden interest in art, or the complete mess the Phillip III return storyline morphed into (which, of course, has been ignored for the past two months it seems). Your audience IS NOT STUPID, Y&R. Treat them with some respect, and then you can expect better feedback.
There's been some very worrying trends with this writing regime at Y&R since the beginning. Like the reliance of a set in stone death to drive storyline, the constant victimization of women, loony kidnappings, and the horrible emphasis on art storylines since Maria Arena Bell began her reign of terror. Y&R is not Passions, for years Y&R was the only soap that had a level of consistency to it, and respected the knowledge of its viewers. Viewers have simply been asked to suspend disbelief too much and too constantly with the inane storylines this writing regime comes up with.
Y&R simply does not feel like a soap anymore. Gone are the build up to storylines, the emphasis on character motivation, the gradual pacing that teases the audience into want to turning in the next day. Y&R is not a primetime show, nor does it have the budget to model itself after one. We want our daily soap opera back that's proud of being what it is - a daytime soap!
Maria Arena Bell is an amateur that has no Head Writing training, and her massive ego that refuses to acknowledge any problems with her show, is not doing the show any favors.
Hogan Sheffer and Scott Hamner have disastrous track records at various other soaps. Many of the pacing issues and victimization of women issues have been very prominent on Sheffer's past shows, and on Hamner's Port Charles. Who really came up with the bright idea that all of these people would mesh well together over the long haul? I do not see the reasoning in subjecting this show to being led by three very different, polarizing, and dammging Head Writers who all seem to have a different agenda. Hence the choppy and disjointed direction Y&R has taken over the past 4-6 months.
IF we must keep Maria Arena Bell, since she's married to one of the show's owners, then it's time for her to admit to some mistakes and fire Sheffer and Hamner, and hire a better Co-Head Writer. Preferably, ONE Co-Head Writer, so there isn't too many conflicting visions plaguing this show at any one time. Cutting her breakdown and scriptwriting team in half and replacing a few staff writers with better, more established talent would also be wise. The day to day writing has been atrocious over the past couple of months, and this writing team is seemingly full of people whose work do not mesh well as a team and do not get the essence of what Y&R is.
One does not need to go into Paul Rauch's disastrous history as a soap opera Executive Producer, and how tacky Y&R has looked from a production standpoint recently. The awful Colleen stuff today was horribly produced.
Anyway, if Maria Arena Bell MUST stay, it would be wise of her to hire someone that knows Y&R inside out as her Co-Head Writer. Kay Alden and Jack Smith might have had their detractors, but they wrote a hell of a more of a consistent show that offered variety and stories that were true to the grain of the show and the daytime soap opera form. There's also a host of former Bill Bell proteges like Rex M. Best, Meg Bennett, Michael Minnis, and others who I beleive would do a adequate job of crafting storylines for Y&R. Also, there's also trying to, at least trying to lure a big name writer from daytime's glory days back to the genre or trying to find a real storyteller that is trained in the basics of soap opera writing.
This thread was not created to start any fan wars, or any posts about how daytime is dying and how nothing will be done to save it and we just need to accept it ( ). This thread is about acknowledging that the current writing and producing regime at Y&R has failed the show in more ways than one and some changes need to be made behind the scenes to better this onetime virtually flawless daytime institution. Daytime deserves better and Y&R fans sure as hell deserve better than what we've been getting from the current writing and producing regime.
This is an appeal to Barbara Bloom, Steven Kent and Steve Mosko at Sony, and Bill Bell, Jr. Do something to SAVE Y&R! The show is in ruins and deserves so much better. Get the show a new Head Writer and Executive Producer.
It's time, they've had a little over a year and the past 4-6 months have been horrible...
For months Y&R has been heading down a damaging and convoluted path of inane, poorly paced, poorly executed storyline that goes against the grain of the show's history and against the grain of basic soap opera. Very little makes sense, almost everything is rushed, which leads to little to no real aftermath or emotional resonance. Everything feels hollow, characters are unrecognizable, stories are going nowhere, ratings are generally stagnant in the lower region of the poll. Needless to say, something must be done to save American's #1 daytime drama. Getting rid of Maria Arena Bell, Hogan Sheffer, Scott Hamner, and Paul Rauch and replacing them with perhaps a singular Head Writer and a seperate Executive Producer with a much better and proven track record would be .
Today's show, the 9/17/09 US episode was rock bottom for a lot of us. It simply highlighted everything that is wrong with Y&R and the current writing and producing regime in charge of running the show (and IMO, into the ground). A core character, Colleen Carlton, was killed off for no meaningful reason, other than to create "shock" which is of course a very temporary high. Unlike the death of fellow next generation character Cassie Newman, Colleen's death had no sufficient build up, nor were her connections to her family even explored sufficiently in the months/weeks leading up to her senseless and overtly plot-driven death. Had that happened, maybe the emotional resonance of the story would have been better projected, instead, they killed off a next generation character with ties to a lot on the canvas that had unlimited possibilities as a character, just for shock. Victor and Jack's feud already had a lot available to reignite it in a big way, from the runification of Ashley (which I'll get into a bit later) to the Patty Williams fiasco. So again, what was the use of killing this character, core character mind you, off? Granted the actress playing her was pretty polarizing, but not like they even attempted to write anything sufficient and long-term for her. Not to mention, the Colleen stuff on today's US episode FAILED MASSIVELY from a production standpoint.
Which leads me to another problem that has been plaguing this show - the horribly misogynistic writing for women. Since the beginning of this writing regime consisting of Maria Arena Bell, Hogan Sheffer, and Scott Hamner, women have been written as idiots who see themselves as inferior without a man (like Phyllis and Sharon in relation to Nick, Gloria in relation to Jeffrey, Chloe in relation to Billy, even Lily in relation to Cane and Mac in relation to Billy). Not only that, Hogan Sheffer apparently recycled one of his most hated plot devices when he had an emotional crushed and vulnerable Amber sexually assaulted by Deacon Sharpe, who coerced her into having sex with him. The whole thing, in Sheffer style, was glossed over and Amber continues to demean herself in Deacon's presence. Next on to the fiasco that's become of Patty William/Mary Jane Benson. A woman apparently so crazy over her lost love with Jack that she's gone mentally ill and killing people, dogs, and causing brain damage to an innocent little girl with no motivation whatsoever that's apparent in the writing. Then there's of course the intense ruining of Adam and Ashley. Ashley has a history of mental illness, yes, but never has someone intentionally driven her to be so stupid and insane. It's not fun or riveting to watch, the whole storyline has dumbed down characters for the purpose of suiting a stupid plot point. Michael Muhney's one-note, campy, and hilarious for all the wrong reasons portrayal of Adam hasn't been helping matter either. Adam seemingly has no motivation or emotion as a character anymore. Many find it hard to believe that this is the son Hope raised. Anyway, not long ago, Jill and Victoria were kicking ass in the board room, Ashley was mixing potions in her lab, Dru and Phyllis were fierce women who didn't take bull and told it like it was. What happened to that? Do the idiots in charge of Y&R right now understand that women are actually the target audience for their show?
Let's also not forget the mess that's become of Y&R's once strong and distinctive African American presence. The Winters family has been neglected or given repulsive storylines (like the Tyra mess) since the BEGINNING of this current writing and producing regime at Y&R.
Y&R used to do boardroom drama and explore the professional lives of its characters like no other soap. That became a key part of the show's success over the past 25 years, whether some liked it or not. It gave various characters the opportunity to interact with characters that they probably wouldn't get the chance to meet if only their domestic lives, well that's been completely ignored by this current writing regime. Even Lynn Marie Latham tried hard to keep this aspect of the show alive, she might have failed, but she TRIED.
Not to mention, those writing Y&R seem to have such contempt for the longtime fans of this show and their knowledge of the history of this show. We've been fed retcon after retcon this year. Like now with Tom and Deacon's sudden interest in art, or the complete mess the Phillip III return storyline morphed into (which, of course, has been ignored for the past two months it seems). Your audience IS NOT STUPID, Y&R. Treat them with some respect, and then you can expect better feedback.
There's been some very worrying trends with this writing regime at Y&R since the beginning. Like the reliance of a set in stone death to drive storyline, the constant victimization of women, loony kidnappings, and the horrible emphasis on art storylines since Maria Arena Bell began her reign of terror. Y&R is not Passions, for years Y&R was the only soap that had a level of consistency to it, and respected the knowledge of its viewers. Viewers have simply been asked to suspend disbelief too much and too constantly with the inane storylines this writing regime comes up with.
Y&R simply does not feel like a soap anymore. Gone are the build up to storylines, the emphasis on character motivation, the gradual pacing that teases the audience into want to turning in the next day. Y&R is not a primetime show, nor does it have the budget to model itself after one. We want our daily soap opera back that's proud of being what it is - a daytime soap!
Maria Arena Bell is an amateur that has no Head Writing training, and her massive ego that refuses to acknowledge any problems with her show, is not doing the show any favors.
Hogan Sheffer and Scott Hamner have disastrous track records at various other soaps. Many of the pacing issues and victimization of women issues have been very prominent on Sheffer's past shows, and on Hamner's Port Charles. Who really came up with the bright idea that all of these people would mesh well together over the long haul? I do not see the reasoning in subjecting this show to being led by three very different, polarizing, and dammging Head Writers who all seem to have a different agenda. Hence the choppy and disjointed direction Y&R has taken over the past 4-6 months.
IF we must keep Maria Arena Bell, since she's married to one of the show's owners, then it's time for her to admit to some mistakes and fire Sheffer and Hamner, and hire a better Co-Head Writer. Preferably, ONE Co-Head Writer, so there isn't too many conflicting visions plaguing this show at any one time. Cutting her breakdown and scriptwriting team in half and replacing a few staff writers with better, more established talent would also be wise. The day to day writing has been atrocious over the past couple of months, and this writing team is seemingly full of people whose work do not mesh well as a team and do not get the essence of what Y&R is.
One does not need to go into Paul Rauch's disastrous history as a soap opera Executive Producer, and how tacky Y&R has looked from a production standpoint recently. The awful Colleen stuff today was horribly produced.
Anyway, if Maria Arena Bell MUST stay, it would be wise of her to hire someone that knows Y&R inside out as her Co-Head Writer. Kay Alden and Jack Smith might have had their detractors, but they wrote a hell of a more of a consistent show that offered variety and stories that were true to the grain of the show and the daytime soap opera form. There's also a host of former Bill Bell proteges like Rex M. Best, Meg Bennett, Michael Minnis, and others who I beleive would do a adequate job of crafting storylines for Y&R. Also, there's also trying to, at least trying to lure a big name writer from daytime's glory days back to the genre or trying to find a real storyteller that is trained in the basics of soap opera writing.
This thread was not created to start any fan wars, or any posts about how daytime is dying and how nothing will be done to save it and we just need to accept it (
). This thread is about acknowledging that the current writing and producing regime at Y&R has failed the show in more ways than one and some changes need to be made behind the scenes to better this onetime virtually flawless daytime institution. Daytime deserves better and Y&R fans sure as hell deserve better than what we've been getting from the current writing and producing regime.
This is an appeal to Barbara Bloom, Steven Kent and Steve Mosko at Sony, and Bill Bell, Jr. Do something to SAVE Y&R! The show is in ruins and deserves so much better. Get the show a new Head Writer and Executive Producer.
Edited by Y&RWorldTurner