Y&R: Potpourri Thread 3

[Chris B]

I'd trade Jeffrey, Gloria, Kevin and Jana for Scotty & Joanna.

[Sylph]

The thing is... I think she's done. Of course she would do better than Maria.

But her Y&R takeover was riddled with problems from the beginning. Which is why she was soon assigned a co-HW, you know how it went...

I believe there are people who would write this show competently. Not brilliantly but competently. Something like what's going on with DOOL: 80% love it, 20% who do not are keeping quiet. Which would be an enormous success for Y&R.

But nothing short of Nancy Curlee would save this thing the way it should be saved. Or an equivalent. If such exists.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Maybe this is what Y&R needs, something at least somewhat consistent and gripping?

Not necessarily something original and brilliant, but something that respects core elements of soaps and is at least stable in some creative sense.

Sadly, will we be lucky to even get that?

And for the record, I find DAYS completely boring and lifeless these days. I found whatever interest I had in anything fizzled soon after the baby switch reveal. I'm also not particularly fond of the dialogue on that show, no matter how many scripts Culliton pens.

[Sylph]

I gave up on that whole saviour thing. It's not gonna happen.

So yes, I believe that this consistency/respect for the show's core/long-term plans thing is our best bet. I don't see it happening, but who knows. Latham went suddenly, Pratt was fired in weird circumstances...

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I'm not talking about a saviour, just someone who can tell and plot very basic soap stories with interesting characters and somewhat consistent day to day writing. Nothing brilliant, just something recognizable and stable, which Y&R is anything but these days.

Yeah, it probably won't happen, and we're left with a show that continues to get worse and worse...

[Sylph]

Yup, I know, I understood you. I think that's not too unrealistic, I'd love it if Maria dumped Sheffer and Hamner. But the more time passes by, the more I believe she won't do it. She's just cosy with the way things are now, that's how her (rotten) machinery works. I don't think she'd work well with Kay Alden, I'm sensing battle-of-egos issues. If she could work with her, if she wanted it, she could have called her instead of S&H when she took over. Her avoidance of people who stayed for long periods of time with Y&R is telling. Remeber how she brought all these random names? Hysterical.

[MarkH]

Yes, this is astute and spot-on!

Remember when LML signed on, she said her changes were a "collaboration" with Steve Kent of Sony, Barbara Bloom of CBS and "Billy" Bell.

DF and others have said that LML was fired because of mismanagement (and not honoring her EP contract) -- not because of ratings or creatives.

The Bells SIGNED OFF on the "new" Y&R. Keeping Scott Hamner (in particular) affirms that. Maria is trying to perpetuate what LML started...even as she pays lip service to honoring her father in law. THAT is why psychics are returning to the show.

MAB's Y&R is not a repudiation of LML's Y&R (no matter how "wonky" MAB characterizes that regime as being in her NB interviews). Instead, MAB strives to imitate her. And "Billy" totally signs off on that.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

The Bell's only signed off on Latham and "new Y&R" because Barbara Bloom forced Latham on them and wanted to find a job for her old college friend that she worked with previously on Port Charles.

[MarkH]

Moved from Episodes Thread (in regard to bringing Kay Alden back)

Julia...you watch B&B sometimes, don't you?

If yes, did you watch when Kay was allegedly "solo"...during the WGA strike? Some folks like that era, but I see a show that is no better (and likely worse) in both storytelling and dialogue since Kay Alden joined. And since that, Jack Smith joined and David Shaughnessy even directs a bit...but having the old crew back together on B&B has proven meaningless.

Either that means Brad Bell rules with SUCH an iron fist that they can't alter the vision...or they're just not that effective. Said differently, their implementers of others' visions, but they cannot be relied upon to offer strong, stable visions that move the show into the future.

You only have to look at the long nightmare ratings slide under Kay Alden at Y&R. YES, much of that decline was industry-wide, and she doesn't deserve particular blame. But she also didn't manage to stem the tide at all.

Where did they all go to college? Did they go at the same time?

[Y&RWorldTurner]

And you did watch Alden's stint at Y&R, right? How was her solo stint any worse than the Y&R of today?

And you also claimed Y&R suffered greatly after Alden left and Latham was by herself, correct? So why are you now knocking Alden and her contributions to Y&R to protect this regime?

Please, B&B was the same mess it was before Alden got there and it will continue to be that way long after she leaves.

And how are Maria Arena Bell, Hogan Sheffer, Scott Hamner, and company offering this same "stable vision" that will move Y&R into the "future?" How is their Y&R better at that than Alden's?

And Maria and Company have ALWAYS been beneficial to Y&R's ratings? Since when do ratings always reflect on creativity?

You will stop at nothing to make excuse after excuse for why this regime is good and should stay, even as you admit at times that they suck.

[bellcurve]

Did Casiello tell you that?

[Sylph]

There are truths here!

I also have to say that I find it awfully weird and bizarre that Maria Arena stepped in after Lynn Latham and not after Bill Bell. That is, I can't resolve the riddle of why does she need to feed her ego now as Y&R's big heiress of Bill Bell's empire and not then. It seems calculated (We couldn't bring her on instead of Kay Alden, that would've been too big of a gamble) and not (We couldn't find anyone else so you need to step in and protect our interest together with involvement in Y&R). It seems forced (Oh, God, do I really need to do it? I am sooo lazy and not interested) and Yesssssss! This is what I've been waiting for my whole life!

Something here/there doesn't fit in...

[YRBB]

Oh, come on!!!

1) No matter how good or bad her solo run on B&B was, she was one person doing everything from HWing to scripts for months. And she still managed to do something better. And her work for B&B is really rather irrevelant to her work on Y&R (or it should be). They are two very different shows in many ways.

2) You answered your own question. Bell has total control over the show. And what he says, goes.

3) Again, you identify the real reasons why something happened and choose to ignore them. The ratings for Y&R started falling when all the ratings for soaps started falling. And she came right after Bell, had to compete with his brilliance, who I might add had been losing ratings since... 1993? And I love how you conveniently forget that the worst ratings decline EVER was under Queen MAB, who you continue trying to support. Kay Alden is not the second coming. I have a feeling I don't even like her as a person. But she wrote a good Y&R.

[Sylph]

This is problematic in that you expect someone not to totally overwhaul someone else's vision, but to adjust it, to make it more appealing. Ie. I can't change a certain photographer's vision/composition, but I can tweak things quite a lot in PhotoShop to make his/her vision better.

Or, if a composer gives me 8 bars of music to turn into something, I can either make it a huge hit by choosing the right instruments, samples, backing vocalists... Or... I can turn it into total dreck. Which is what Kay Alden did. She not only didn't keep Bradley's awfulness at a certain level, she magnified it.

[DeeeDee]

+1.