Y&R Episodes Discussion, Week of October 12, 2009

[Greg's GL]

^ ^ ^ IDIOTIC.

[BadZoe]

No, I think I'd sooner see the Y&R replaced by stuff like this on a daily basis. That was [!@#$%^&*] hilarious.

Mr Kitty taught JM and that explains a lot, how come AH wasn't on proclaiming she gets all her character direction from Mr. Kitty?

[Y&RWorldTurner]

True, it was more entertaining than Y&R itself has been in a year...

[BadZoe]

If I was to take over Y&R today so much could be explained. A greedy hospital ob gyn years ago discovered that an easily extractable hormone in animals produced multiple births. He then started spiking the GC drinking water with it and ensured that every woman in labour was knocked out for the delivery and the family was out of the room. He would give the woman one child and sold the other on the black market. The original doctor passed on long ago but his Son Number 1 took over his practice. Everyone has a twin, except Victor because he was born in Germany!!

[DeeeDee]

Y&R has been overrun by animals.

Kittens, chipmunks, ostriches, bass fish...

What's next?

[BadZoe]

They hire a monkey to sit on AH's shoulders and deliver her lines for her!

[DeeeDee]

Does Thad own a little organ grinder hat?

[bellcurve]

LOL. REALLY?

All the "OMG, Colleen. I feel her presence. Here's a thread from the scarf she wore!"

The countless close calls?

The dumbing down of characters to repeatedly suit a plot or story point?

The visions of ghosts and people from the dead, "*GASP* SABRINA!"

The "back from the dead" cliche that has been repeatedly overused.

Creepy molester doctors examining patients, rape used as a plot device repeatedly.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: at least Jim Reilly could integrate a cast. Y&R further separates each and every character and instead of thinking of an organic way to bring them together for advice or council(like the friendships he had established on DAYS), Y&R further separates everyone, unless there's a family tragedy that brings everyone together.

Y&R is like Passions. Except PASSIONS gave up taking itself seriously after the first six months. Y&R(and the people behind it) thinks it's some sort of modern day savior of soap.

[MarkH]

So, for some complex reasons yesterday, I had occasion to inspect the oevre of Adrian Bellani. I looked at some of his reels, and so I guess I got to see the "best of Passions". In the process, I also got snippets of Jesse Metcalfe's version and Blair Redford's version.

After watching that, for just a few minutes, it's correct that Y&R was never like Passions. That whole mocking sitcom thing, as bellcurve notes, is not there.

But what is clear is that we have left Genoa City as a place on earth. It is now a place where anything can happen, and any twist can occur to further plot--even if it reverses/undermines long-term history or well defined characters.

Like, yesterday, when Ashley summarily announced her intention to divorce. I realize Victor is sick...but nothing about either of their emotions conveyed anything. When did Ashley go from insane to grown up? I missed that scene. When did Victor get good at letting go?

Everything now subserves the plot. Moreover, nothing we relied upon to be true in GC will necessarily hold true. That's not Passions, but it is plot-driven expediency.

As Tom Casiello said in one of his blogs, "plot-driven" is not necessarily a bad thing. I'd agree, but when driving plot means you sacrifice character, consistency, and you start to rely on grand "devices" (doubles, ghosts, back from the dead)...you've left the rails.

[Cat]

Irna Philips called it the point where logic has been saturated. "When you have saturated logic," she said in a Time article in 1940, "you should take your show off the air."

...

[DRW50]

So that's what they're calling it now.

That's an interesting quote from the savior of daytime, Tom Casiello. I wonder how he feels about the show he writes for. Given his love for Doug Marland, I doubt he is impressed. If he does think plot driven writing is fine, he's working for the right headwriters, as he was on DAYS.

[MarkH]

Sorry for two postings in a row, but I've also been thinking about the "changing Fall" on Y&R.

For many of us, the serious problems of today have their clearest root about 26 weeks ago, when the Marge story crested, and we had the Silver Chipmunk and the summer-of-insanity-and-death.

Above and beyond the content of that summer, one thing that was kind of noteworthy was the lack of artistry last Spring. On a soap, you shouldn't NOTICE when the next 6-month cycle has begun. All the stories shouldn't end/transition at the same time.

But here we are, six months later, and it is happening AGAIN.

Adam positioning in business

Nick and Sharon moving on

Billy leaving Jabot and repositioning in business

The apparent plot-twist-from-hell that has many of our knickers in a knot

The next chapter in the Terroni nonsense (because the painting is in hand, but now the next beat seems to be launching)

Dear God in Heaven! A daytime soap isn't like a primetime show, where the seasons are discrete.

It really worries me, because it feels like ALL the show is doing these days is 6-month long-form story projections. Even if I ignore the content of what they're putting out, it means there truly is no long-term plan. They're not heading toward some very long-term goals for some of the characters.

So, if they're writing "for the moment", then they also probably feel like "Oh well...if this doesn't work...we'll change course in the next 26-week cycle". That way of thinking leads them to think that they (and us) can tolerate any sh!t in the short term.

Cashton, please appear and say something positive! I need a voice of balance.

[DRW50]

For me this team has done shock value from the start, and sadism, and Victor propping. That was the whole Sabrina death/awesome, long-suffering, vengeful Victor/Nikki humiliating/weak Adam/loyal and ashamed Niktoria song and dance. For that reason I don't see the show in phases as much as many do. I saw flashes of that again with Nikki degrading herself to get a heart for Victor, Nick and Victoria circling the wagons at the hospital (although at least this time they briefly discussed his flaws). And that cringeworthy scene of Victoria, who looked like she'd been sniffing Windex before the service, staggering into Colleen's to read a letter from Victor. WTF! No one wants to hear that. And we have other raging Newman entitlement issues, like no one batting an eye about the Shick adultery as they mourn the loss of the miracle baby Hopefaithchastityangeldustholyhalo, or Victoria telling Phyllis to stay away if she didn't want to kiss Victor patoot.

I do think that the seams have popped since this winter, but the overall flaws were always there.

Not to take away from your valid points, but I REALLY wish they would take Billy out of the business world. Not for a second have I bought Billy as a business whiz. The most popular years of Billy were when he was nowhere near a company and had no inclination of being in the business. Since the show doesn't do corporate stories now, why do they need to put him there?

I also want Adam to stay away from business. Last year they made sure we knew how incompetent he was, why would that have changed? Can't they have him decide to work on the ranch, the horses and the acres of land, get in touch with his farming side?

[Sylph]

I guess potpourri threads served to nothing. The usual flood of non-episode stuff (sometimes sheer bullsh!t).

[DRW50]

I forgot about the potpurri thread We should bring that back up, along with the fire MAB and co. now thread, and talk about the good times.