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

[BadZoe]

Back to the show. This Terroni stuff makes me honestly miss the days of Brad strangling Nazi's with his thighs of steel. At least that gave me a chuckle.

[MarkH]

Episode talk.

1. Fall fair was fun. In the remarkably urban vision that Genoa City has been, this seemed vaguely discordant...but it is such a welcome change of pace that I don't care. I could complain about Kay judging a pie contest, but it was well explained (Murphy's idea to cheer her up)...and any opportunity to see Murph and Kay is welcome. But joking about Murphy fleecing Michael...that's very good.

I love that they're remembering the Nick-Phyllis-Michael-Lauren friendship. That is one of my favorite parts of the LML regime...right up there with Victor's epilepsy, actually.

As a bona fide Phick lover (always have been, always will be), I was happy to see the light flirtation between them. Phyllis has always been his "comfort woman"...and even if the couple is not a "forever" couple, I love seeing her return to her fundamental place in his life. The fact that Phyllis always is a comfort to him, and Sharon never is, is another sign to me about who the right woman for him is at this time.

But Michael unable to throw a ball in a cup...well...priceless!

2. Earlier I complained about the makeup on Monday's show. Today, I have very specific observations about Joshua Morrow. First, his key light was off...so the side facing the camera was more poorly lit than the side away. Also, there was a coarseness (pock marks) on his upper cheeks that I have never noticed before. And he had more of a shine than I remember. This is another day where I'm imagining we're seeing some kind of cost cutback. I have a decent TV, but I've had it since Oct

3. Thank God Lauren remembered experiencing the death of her baby. That's all the "history" I need. Remembering these seminal events from the past to inform reactions in the present.

4. Billy and Chloe are really fun, but I do somehow feel like they belong on "Cougartown" or something...mugging, intentionally comedic. But the dialogue was good, and clearly conveyed that the feelings between them are not dead.

I really like CF's Mac. I like so much that she is a character of great stillness, but with a clearly tortured internal life. I credit this to the actress. I have liked her from the beginning, and nothing has changed my mind. If only we could fill in Chance just a little more...

5. I buy Sharon's "transition" (more than Ashley's), because she was in the "frickin' funny farm" for a month and then she had the trauma. I loved the line about being "whole instead of half-of-a-whole". But I had a bit of an intake of breath when she talked about painting and changing the curtains

- first, I remember her Abbott mansion redesign. Lime green, anyone?

- this house was designed by the GORGEOUS and talented interior designer, Cassandra Rawlings. She was one of my all-time favorite sexy women. If there were ever a doppelganger I'd tolerate, it would be one played by Nina Arvesen. (Do you think she still looks so amazing?). Thus, I want her to leave her mitts off the Rawlings mansion. It's a lovely home, and I look forward to seeing it more.

I'm glad Noah and his mom might reunite. Maybe we can find a decent girl for him? "Master means 'guy', right?"

In the end, this episode was an intentional tonal shift...and a welcome one. A lot of today's show was relationship focused--not a sensationalist plot in sight for most of it.

If we can just end the addiction to wild surprises, I may actually b!tch less. Today was a perfect example (for me) of how well-written episodes can help compensate for misbegotten

--

Okay, and now I'm gonna shock myself. I actually didn't mind meeting Dr. Emily Peterson from the California School of Professional Psychiatry. "Oh Patty, no"!

It makes sense that Patty would have seen a psychiatrist. It is normal for a patient to develop an attraction to their therapist ("transference"). It has been previously established that Patty had reconstructive surgery. It therefore really DOES make sense, if you accepted the reconstruction in the first place, that Patty MIGHT pick the face of a woman she admired. It actually works.

This is a place where knowing in advance truly "spoiled" it for me. It enabled me to vent all my frustrations about doppelgangers (which remain true), and lose the shock impact of this face.

Y&R--MAB--if the gods EVER permit you to hear anything--PLEASE CLAMP DOWN ON SPOILERS!!! They are undermining you as much as the creative decisions you are making!

[brimike]

Surprisingly, it didn't really leak until last week. And not widespread until yesterday, when Canadian audiences saw it. (Nothing MAB can do about that)

Or you could exercise self-control and not read the spoilers, Mark. (Sorry. Couldn't resist)

[MarkH]

No need to resist.

I saw that spoiler thread in DTS:S, and I seriously, seriously, seriously debated not opening. That's the first time I ever did that.

I seriously saw the poison that these spoilers can be.

I opened it...and (as I posted there) I was pleasantly surprised. Relationship-oriented, business-oriented plots. What we've been asking for.

I do believe Dr. Peterson as doppelganger is a bad choice AT THIS TIME. But now that it's done, my task as a viewer is to see where they go with it. I'm intrigued, and hope there is a plan. The sad memory of the lack of a plan for P3 causes me to be distrustful...but this is a chance for "redemption" by the show (in my book, anyway). Let's see... Like they say with some cancers..."watchful waiting".

[Toups]

I haven't read the thread yet because I haven't watched this week's episodes, but 7 pages already? Oh boy, I bet there's a ton of Off topic, non episode related, discussion.

[Cashton]

Holy Shiitake Mushrooms! I totally did not know a damn thing about who the new Mary Jane was!! Who is she!?? This is SOOO awesome! I'm so glad that they're really investing in SH after that miserable material they gave her on-the-lam phase. And sigh...we get her back with dark hair and not that Kim Zolciak original. I literally jumped off my couch!

[MarkH]

That answers my question, posed several times yesterday! Now we know what Cashton thinks!! LOL

I'm glad the last bastion of positivity remains!!

[alphanguy74]

I agree with pretty much everything you said. I was SO mad yesterday, and although I still hate dopplegangers with a passion, somehow this one doesn't seem as bad as others. Certainly not as stupid and contrived as Alistair or Pheila. At least it seems to come from somewhere. And I also believe, Like Cooper, Haiduk is actress enough to pull it off. I hate being jerked around like this... Hate it one minute, love it the next. I hate to say it, but perhaps Nelson's assessment of "uneven" was far more accurate than we might have thought.

[bellcurve]

Again, NOT surprised!

A double for Patty Jane and yet again, the fanbois come out and defend this LAME plot twist.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Word.

If TPTB liked Haiduk and Patty so much, why did they waste making her, a core character, into an irredeemable psycho? Now we all know Patty, the character people actually care about, will be hauled off to a mental hospital, while the woman that looks like her will get increased airtime at the expense of more established characters. How lame.

They should have thought about all this when they brought Patty back with Haiduk. We didn't need a doppelganger then, and we don't need one now.

But I guess they figured that they had already ruined every ounce of credibility Y&R's had and pissed on Bill Bell's legacy enough, so they had nothing to lose.

[alphanguy74]

I'm going to pull a Cara mia (I miss her posts!) and gloat here. She was the first to call Kitty as a taxidermy, and I was the first to say that the "Kitty, where did you put my pills!" line was a foreshadowing of great signifigance. Now it seems I was proven right that she was under a doctor's care (The doppleganger)and she was on medication. And we will find, I'm sure (speculation), that her going off her medication caused her to go off the rails towards the climax of this SL. Bellcurve, keep in mind.... I STILL hate doppelgangers, I didn't even like MARGE the first time around. If I were producing a soap, evil twins and doppelgangers would be strictly forbidden, under ALL circumstances. But if I had not read the spoiler... I would not have been as pissed as I was. As it stands, I still don't like the Patty doppleganger, but I can TOLERATE it. I'm not freaking over it now.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

But where does this all leave Patty in the long-run with her doppelganger still in town? Will Patty be sent away for good in a nuthouse while her lookalike remains in Genoa City? If that happens, it will be really lame. Because really, who cares about her lookalike?

Watch them pair this lookalike with Jack, so they can start all over. It will be really stupid too, I cannot see Jack going for a woman that looks like someone that stalked him, raped him, and indirectly led to the death of his niece.

About the medication part, Patty was a sane woman for months before she went batshit crazy. We never saw her pop pills or ask for medication during her first 3 months or so on the show. How was she able to sustain her mental stability for that long without her medication, if this is the route they're indeed going?

Also, why did Victor knowingly bring this woman around his family and friends if he knew the type of person she was? Surely a man like Victor would know depriving a woman like that of her medication and unleashing her into an environment that might be stressful and frantic would cause severe problems. Is his excuse still because he wanted her to kill Jack, even though she ended up causing harm to both him and his granddaughter?

[MarkH]

Yes, I have been assuming Patty leaves now. We'll see.

I had assumed this too. There are other ways they could go. The Psychiatrist and Paul. (Too kinky?). The psychiatrist and Cane (Haiduk had chemistry in her one scene with Goddard). Maybe Haiduk is part of the reason Cane left Australia? (Unlikely, since he showed no recognition with Patty). Is the Psychiatrist Ryder's mother?

Well, obviously, if this is the story...she took her meds off camera.

That is an open question. We have no way of knowing if Victor knew she was nuts. It seems not.

But what anyone knew is a mystery to me anyway. My recollection is that only Jack-Paul-Carl-Mary (and maybe Frank Lewis?) knew Patty shot Jack. I might be wrong. But somehow I thought her story was buried. Yet Victor, and many others, seemed to know that Patty shot Jack.

[Paul Raven]

If they can create a set for the county fair or whatever it is,then why not an office for Paul or Micheal??

Yes,the doctor lookalike is intriguing,but so was Patty's introduction and look how that turned out.

MAB needs to review her father in law's writing-no lookalikes(except Marge),very few character deaths,one baby switch in 25 years,no back from the dead,no ghosts,characters actually worked(soap style),few characters that should be in jail and not leading stories,no paternity in question,no rewriting of characters and history etc.

I agree with other posters that Bellarina works up a few ideas,the leaves for a charity benefit while her henchmen devise the ridiculous plots.

These people are probably being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars and a Patty lookalike is the best they can offer?

[MarkH]

It doesn't seem to be a matter of "can't". It seems to be a matter of most of the sets they use one day, they have to carry over to the next day (budget reasons). They seem only to be able to bring in 1-2 new sets a day. So that puts a premium on "hub" sets, where lots of people can congregate. So, that rules out individual offices and apartments for the most part.

Also, the carnival set is cheap. No walls, decorations or furniture. Just some rented tents and prompts on the open soundstage with backdrops. That's about as inexpensive as it gets. I consider it innovative myself. And, visually, it's a nice change of pace for me.

What I take from this is that we should be wary. This is a test of whether the regime can pull of something better.

Total agreement. Perfectly phrased!