Y&R: Episodes discussion, week of September 21

[alphanguy74]

Discuss!!

[DRW50]

Nikki puts crazy maid Sarah in her place. Don't break the crystal or you will pay!

To which Sarah says, even if I die, I will come back as Patty Jane and kill off meddling Australians.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAiu3DdCBN4

[DRW50]

Here's the clip where Sarah guns Josh and Nikki down.

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[Chris B]

Funny you mention that, because I kept wondering why that storyline was so much more compelling. When Nikki was in the hospital I was so moved, but with Victor it was just so flat. I don't know if it was Morrow teamed with Heinle over Tom. I don't know what it was, but I didn't feel anything good or bad for Victor. It was just like a regular day at the office. The actors and the music and the writing did nothing to make me feel the seriousness of everything.

On the Colleen side of things it was a disappointing, but had some bright sides. I thought Peter Bergman was over the top, per usual these days and played it all wrong. I'm so sick of this crying whiny Jack. He's overused that style of acting these days so it's no longer effective. If anyone needs their balls back, it's Jack. Beth Maitland continues to shine and I'd love to see her score an Emmy nod. I think she'd have the tapes to win.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I'd take Veronica over anything on the show right now. At least as over the top as aspects of that story were, it also made sense, and it was entertaining.

At least the show felt classy, dramatic, and very stylized back then. Now? It's pure crap and the show feels dumb, out of its element, and trashy (not in a good way).

The people writing Y&R right think have their heads too far up their asses to realize that they aren't putting on a quality show. The sad thing is, they think the show is so amazing right now, and I truly believe it's more than than just Maria Arena Bell who believes that there aren't HUGE mistakes plaguing this show right now. I simply cannot believe anyone worked hard on any of this dreck, and it isn't much different from anything we've been seeing these past couple of months. Their blatant denial about the state of this show is hurting it.

[dragonflies]

Wow is Ashley actually going to call Victor on his actions? I wonder how long that will last

[DRW50]

That storyline shouldn't have worked, but it did, because you knew nothing about Josh Landers so you could believe he had a crazy wife he believed was dead, and because there was the tension of when is this nut going to crack? Such a level of violence was also used sparingly at the time, so I was shocked when she murdered Josh and almost killed Nikki. Then, to top it off, you FINALLY had a reunion between Victor and Nikki, after almost a decade apart. And the production values were truly gorgeous, everything was given TLC, from the night of the shooting to the deathbed wedding sequence, to Victor putting Nikki's makeup on for her. And the story had far-reaching ramifications, story that ran for years.

What will we get now? Colleen is irrelevant. Victor will never pay for anything. The Newman kids are ciphers and even if they weren't, they would go back to forgiving Victor in a few months or less. The Abbotts are broken and mainly exist to revolve around Victor's ego, or they are like Billy, and barely interact with the family and stick out like a sore thumb when they do.

I do think that Stacy Haiduk, like the late, great Candice Daly, has done a bravura job.

[alphanguy74]

Ok.... I just finished today's show. I thought Bergman did wonderful, I don't find him over the top at ALL. Beth, of course was fabulous as always. And Doug Davidson was just PERFECT today. He's so damn good, and so damn sexy in that open shirt, necklace, and tight jeans, I don't think I can handle it. Haiduk shined once again today... and I don't care who and what she hurt, I DID have feelings for Patty... but I wouldn't call it SYMPATHY, I feel PITY for her.... and I think this is waht the writers are going for, not redemption, but pity. Now, on to the bad... Morrow and Heinle, the ZOMBIE TWINS. Could theyr'e performances today have been more off? The only spark Heinle had was that scene where the tear came down her cheek... everyhting else in this episode was total DRECK with her. I enjoyed the Ashley stuff today, but once again... Muhney is not impressing me. He seemed good at first, and now, it just seems that he's got a lack of range. Eileen's scenes of her writing the letter were nice, I just wish she'd really follow through with it. Maybe she WILL.

[DeeeDee]

Pretty much.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

The thing about Y&R, outside of the the general bad writing, bad pacing, and bad execution is that there seems to be no human element or emotional resonance in any of these stories.

I used to be able to feel something for all of these characters, and not only because of the actors, but because of the way they were written. Most of the stories you grew to be attached to because they resonated in some way. Now? The show seems to lack a clear direction and there's no humanity, heart, or emotional resonance. The show feels cold and bitter, and no, not because the stories are too dark or whatever. I just feel nothing for characters anymore, and that's because I find the general character writing to be appalling. It's like the writers don't care about the characters, so why should I?

[DRW50]

alphanguy, for all the talk of rehearsal time and Rauch working with actors and so on, the one I think most epitomizes some of the slippage of acting quality with this regime is Morrow. He has just been flat, flat, flat over the past year. He has never been a good actor but he has been much better than this.

[BadZoe]

Usually when soaps do death, I sit and bawl, even if I don't like the character. This whole thing has left me totally flat. Except for Patty handing over kitty, that did bring a tear to my eye.

One of the worst things was suddenly psychic Lily. I don't mind soaps having psychic characters, having it develop out of thin air bugs the hell out of me.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Agreed, this whole show is void of any substance or emotional resonance.

The girls at Serial Drama totally roasted this show for Colleen's death, and I totally agreed with everything they said:

http://serialdrama.typepad.com/serial_drama/2009/09/the-curious-death-of-colleen-carlton.html

This show is a blazing hot mess, and shows no signs of improvement. The audacity of those writing this show to act blind and acknowledge no problems occurring on this show pisses me off.

[BadZoe]

Nadia's theme is used today/tomorrow!!

[Juliajms]

I do feel for Traci in all of this. Thank god they had the sense to bring her back for this story.