*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Ok I just got this from my source about what is happening with MTS. Bascially SONY wants Nikki to be put on recurring status but Melody wants to stay on Y&R so she is unhappy about that. Even though MTS resigned with Y&R this summer, Sony wants to change the details of her contract. They are negotiating at the moment with her. But Melody does not like what they are proposing so she may not be returning either after Nikki is written out with Victor.

And you still have YET to tell me where you heard Bill Bell went into "semi-retirement" as Kay Alden took over. How convenient you gloss over that. Talk about "cherry picking."

It wasn't "official" until 1997, when Kay Alden got the co-HW credit. But at that time Kay's promotion was announced, Bill Bell did an interview with SOD where he stated that Kay had been taking a bigger and bigger role in the writing over the last several years, and his promoting her to co-HW was a reflection of that. He started putting more on the lap of Alden when B&B came about. Brad did most of the heavy lifting, but Bill was still involved in B&B quite a bit, and it fell to Kay to take up the slack on Y&R. And even going back to the 70's, not EVERY SL was written by Bell, Kay/Joann was hatched by Kay Alden.

Edited October 23, 200916 yr by alphanguy74

The payoff is where Maria is really falling down on the job. It's her achilles heel. So in the end... is Bill Bell better than Maria? by a MILE. But his writing wasn't some kind of camelot like you try to portray. You just hate Maria now, and any thing to bring her down, no matter what, is what you want. If she DOES get fired by Sony, I'm sure you'll puff yourself up and tell people you were personally responsible.... it will make you feel really big won't it?

Who doubted that he didn't have any faults? Once again, seeing things you only want to see, alphanguy?? The man is human, so obviously he was bound to mess up at some point. But he wrote a better soap overall than Maria ever has. He understood the soap opera format and how to pace, execute stories, the art of suspense, and character development than Maria and her band of hacks do and ever will. At least Y&R had an identity under Bell, then Alden, and then Smith. It lacks one badly right now.

Michael Logan said this in the recent TV Guide, and how true it is:

In the latest edition of TV Guide magazine Michael Logan gave a rave to Beth Maitland's acting. He wrote that BM's acting made him yearn for the Y&R of old where epic love and family relationships drove the show unlike now "when the primary plot mover is a peroxide villaness with a dead stuffed cat."

I just call it as I see it, and yeah, Maria's writing sucks and she is writing a badly executed soap opera that tries too hard to be taken seriously, when it's an utter joke.

And you know damn well you brag and spill your arrogance all over this place when you're right about something, so don't even bring that sh!t here, dear.

It wasn't "official" until 1997, when Kay Alden got the co-HW credit. But at that time Kay's promotion was announced, Bill Bell did an interview with SOD where he stated that Kay had been taking a bigger and bigger role in the writing over the last several years, and his promoting her to co-HW was a reflection of that. He started putting more on the lap of Alden when B&B came about. Brad did most of the heavy lifting, but Bill was still involved in B&B quite a bit, and it fell to Kay to take up the slack on Y&R. And even going back to the 70's, not EVERY SL was written by Bell, Kay/Joann was hatched by Kay Alden.

Alden's Y&R was a hell of a lot more intelligent, focused, and better produced that anything Maria's attempted as well...

Alden's Y&R was a hell of a lot more intelligent, focused, and better produced that anything Maria's attempted as well...

I liked Kay's Y&R better, too. You'll get no argument from me on that. But Kay's run saw the biggest drop in ratings overall. How do you explain that? I certainly can't.

Edited October 23, 200916 yr by alphanguy74

But Kay's run saw the biggest drop in ratings overall. How do you explain that? I certainly can't.

Actually, when MarkH did all the data, Y&R's biggest ratings erosion happened during Maria Arena Bell's first year with Josh Griffith. Kay's run was second.

People fled Y&R more gradually when Alden was there, when compared to Maria's first year. All of daytime was also losing substantial viewers at the time Kay took over officially in the late 90's and early 00's.

It wasn't "official" until 1997, when Kay Alden got the co-HW credit. But at that time Kay's promotion was announced, Bill Bell did an interview with SOD where he stated that Kay had been taking a bigger and bigger role in the writing over the last several years, and his promoting her to co-HW was a reflection of that. He started putting more on the lap of Alden when B&B came about. Brad did most of the heavy lifting, but Bill was still involved in B&B quite a bit, and it fell to Kay to take up the slack on Y&R. And even going back to the 70's, not EVERY SL was written by Bell, Kay/Joann was hatched by Kay Alden.

But someone being involved and someone pitching stories does not a semi-retirement make.

Look at Sally Sussman-Morina. Great with Bill Bell when she pitched her lame story ideas, but she literally floundered on her own when she did Generations.

It's one thing to be an "ideas man" and it's another to actually implement those ideas in a way that makes for great TV.

Actually, when MarkH did all the data, Y&R's biggest ratings erosion happened during Maria Arena Bell's first year with Josh Griffith. Kay's run was second.

People fled Y&R more gradually when Alden was there, when compared to Maria's first year. All of daytime was also losing substantial viewers at the time Kay took over officially in the late 90's and early 00's.

Yup, as a bona-fide MAB fan at the time, I cannot deny that her initial run with JG was the biggest week to week dropoff in ratings for the full era (about 1998) that I had weekly ratings.

Kay lost more viewers...but her weekly rate of decline was slower--she just lost them because of the years she was in the job. Still, Kay's solo run was the third-worst weekly dropoff regime (LML's post KA/JS run was the second worst).

Edited October 23, 200916 yr by MarkH

Y&R without Victor and Nikki has not been done since...what...the '70s? Um, that was a long fuckin' time ago and a very, very different world for daytime. This show doesn't even have Rowell or Shemar Moore to pick up the slack.

Oh, and I have my doubts about this "Chancellor resurgence." From what I've heard (and seen) Jill and Kay are not exactly burning up the airwaves. Don't you mean Chloe, Chance and Billy? Yeah, nice actors but that's not gonna cut it.

Indeed.

Alden's Y&R was a hell of a lot more intelligent, focused, and better produced that anything Maria's attempted as well...

Amen/

I thought today's show said it all. Literally every decent scene involved veteran characters. Three of whom are no longer on the show.

If Days can survive without John and Marlena, Y&R will be just fine without Victor and Nikki. Plus they would save a lot of money.

If Days can survive without John and Marlena, Y&R will be just fine without Victor and Nikki. Plus they would save a lot of money.

If they keep bringing in tons and tons of newbies, paying a lot of the older actors to stay home, and not budgeting properly, then they're still doing to have money problems.

I still don't know who they are going to focus on. If it's Adam or Billy or Amber, good luck.

I thought today's show said it all. Literally every decent scene involved veteran characters. Three of whom are no longer on the show.

What three?

If Days can survive without John and Marlena, Y&R will be just fine without Victor and Nikki. Plus they would save a lot of money.

I disagree. Victor and Nikki, in present story, are far more central than John and Marlena had been for some time.

What three?

At the time I wrote that I thought EB was gone. Braeden, MTS, Beth Maitland.

At the time I wrote that I thought EB was gone. Braeden, MTS, Beth Maitland.

Well, we got more of out Maitland than I ever expected.

As for MTS, I'm still veyr nervous. Wanting her to go recurring is apparently still on the table?

I think they kept her around as long as they did because they knew none of the others would be able to sell the story. What bothered me is they repeatedly had characters say Traci probably wouldn't be back, which is basically telling viewers, "Say goodbye to Traci." There's no reason why Traci has to stay away, never to return. There's no reason why they had to kill off her daughter. Her work in this story has been phenomenal and her reward is to never return? I did like what they gave her but it's sad that the standard is now so low, I just have to appreciate she left alive.

I won't be surprised if they still get rid of MTS, or don't use her very much. Ashley still loves Victor and usually, she gets over his bad behavior. I'm sure as soon as Adam is revealed, she will go back to Victor.