Y&R: Episode discussion, week of January 11, 2010

[MarkH]

This may be the worst reveal yet. But I think I figured it out.

Originally, Tucker was the Victor replacement. If EB wasn't coming back, I'll bet they could have done a good, long reveal. (I know--unlikely with this sh!tty regime--I hear 'ya Alvin).

But with EB back, they had to quickly tuck in the corners for that Tucker story...so they could transform it into a Victor-versus-Tucker brawl (which is what I am expecting).

Here's the thing: Watching Victor make mincemeat out of Tucker will entertain me. I hope he doesn't blow out Colleen's heart in the process.

If this goes as I plan, Victor and Jack will be on the same side for a while, battling Tucker down. Works for me.

You know, the worn out sets are really quite noticeable on my HDTV (not that big--46"). If I'm seeing it, it's really quite evident.

I know some/all of this is cost cuts, but I think Y&R is going to lose its signature "look". I think we're going to see more generic uses of the same sets over and over (e.g., DOOL). I'm basically fine with that...but it is an adjustment after what Y&R has been all these years.

[DRW50]

I think if EB hadn't returned they would have still sped up the reveal, because they would have wanted people to know he was the new Victor.

The problem with this Tucker and Victor stuff is that the real problem is Katherine's stupidity, so what's to stop this from happening to her again? Beyond that, Victor himself looked like a huge moron last year when he gave a major Newman Enterprises job to a mentally unbalanced attempted murderer who had to change her appearance to even set foot in Genoa City again.

[MarkH]

Well, yes, Kay's intelligence was utterly assaulted by this. Even if Victor swoops in to save her, it will not remotely empower Kay. She becomes a damsel in distress, instead of the strong firebrand she has been.

I hope they'll at least invoke Lyme Disease or some other lame excuse for her recent stupidity. And Neil...well...he loses all credibility (Stanford MBA notwithstanding). It doesn't help that Tucker "outsmarted" them all when the audience could glean Tucker's intentions (without any behind-the-curtain reveals about what he was thinking) from miles away.

Oh, I'm just infuriating myself even thinking about it.

[DaytimeFan]

And here's the thing that throws me the most. The oldest set on the show, Katherine's mansion, absolutely looks the least worn out. It easily looks the best. The set that really looked like sh*t was the GCAC...HOLY CRAP what happened to the place?! It looked really dusty and overlit and bad.

DAYS's repetitive set use, honestly, I don't even notice it. They do such a great job with their permanent sets (hospital, Dimera mansion, Kiriakis mansion, Sami's condo, Java cafe, Maggie's kitchen, the dock, Bo & Hope's house, Brady Pub) and the few that rotate (police station, hotel room, random office, jail cell, Chez Rouge) that I hardly notice, to me, there is enough variety. The other thing is that DAYS' sets aren't banged up looking or weirdly lit. They look polished and well taken care of.

UGH, I can't believe how terrible that reveal was and how stupid Katherine is being portrayed as.

Bill Bell is rolling over in his grave at this [!@#$%^&*].

[MarkH]

Even Kay's place is sagging. I forget where I saw it, but that hallway outside of her living room (between LR and dining room) was TERRIBLY scuffed.

[JimTolkien]

It's interesting because I agree with everything that you have you have said here..but my instincts tell me that something about this is still not quite right. And as for Katherine's expression, I don't even know what to say only because it was so blase that it just went over my head sort of like the "reveal" LOL!

But I think the entire thing was bloody hilarious because she threw some of her most trusted friends and family under the bus for money. And Neil, Jill and JT do look like complete fools. And let's not forget Paul and Nina's part in all this. And I am still going to say something is not quite right. The aftermath I think is where I hope the story is.

And ITA it makes Katherine looks like a damsel in distress but I really don't think that she will turn out to be one but I guess we shall see.

[alphanguy74]

Now you know why I was having such a cow a couple pages back about the whole production in this reveal. I'm of the opinion that the reason the chancellor mansion looks the best, is because it was built in 1973/74, and back then you simply had better craftsmanship at work, and they spent the BUCKS on fine furnishings that would stand the test of time. Watching in HD is part of it, but put alot of this blame squarely at the feet of Rauch. you see, the faults in the sets have always been there, but Conboy's lighting just hid all those faults. And every successive producer since then until Rauch has kept Conboy's lighting style intact, with only a few minor tweaks. It gave the show a look of elegance, and consistency. But now, Rauch wants to make everything look like he's got 4 key lights pointed at the set all at once. He's an idiot. He probaby has some bullshit idea that brighter sets make a show looke more YOUNG and EXCITING, he's older than Methuselah, what would HE know about young. And Jeanne's reaction shot MIGHT have come across better had they let the camera stay on her face longer than THREE SECONDS.

Mark, those type of tiles don't wear out... all they need to do is bring someone in to polish the damn floor. Unless your'e talking about the walls?

[DaytimeFan]

You're absolutely right, the older the set the better it looks over the long haul because the tradespeople really worked hard and made those sets beautifully. You just have to look at the former Rawlings mansion (Brad's house) to see what a quality set can look like over the long haul...how it pains me that it's been torched in the name of St Adam the Fetus Stealer.

I'd say with Y&R it's really easy to spot the cheap sets because the regular sets used to look so good under the old lighting system. Why the [!@#$%^&*] Rauch thought it necessary to mess with that is beyond me.

And all the actors are really looking rough under his lighting. Jeanne's over 80, so it's not like she's going to be smooth like glass, but she's never looked this haggard.

[alphanguy74]

That's why I don't like HD, unless I'm watching a cartoon or a nature show. I LOVE the clarity and quality on HD signal displayed on a high quality, standard definition TV set, with a 3 line digital comb filter. You get good sharpness, clarity, and color saturation, without it being overdone. But HD signal displayed on HD television just shows EVERY flaw, pore, and nose hair in an actor's face. I want something will flatter their appearance, and IMO, HD just magnifies EVERY fault. I take it your'e watching on cable? If you watched it in HD with Over The Air antenna... the detail and crispness is even MORE pronounced. And HD also keeps them form doing the extreme closeups that Conboy loved. those closeup got you really CLOSE to the actor's emotions and the look in their eyes. It made the whole experience more satisfying.

[DaytimeFan]

I've seen the show in authentic HD, cable and online...and honestly, everyone looks bad regardless. I don't think it's HD, it's the lighting because it's a change I've only noticed very recently and I've been watching in HD for quite a long time.

[MarkH]

Yes, sorry, I'm talking about the walls, door frames. The hospital set where Sharon was post-delivery (with green walls) also had cupboard doors hung crookedly.

I wonder how much of this is also coming from shooting multiple episodes in a single day; i.e., looooooooooong days.

Indeed, Thom Bierdz blamed the loss of these closeups for part of his downfall. He said he was acting as though the extreme closeups still existed. In their absence, he claimed, he came across emotionless. He said he was playing for a closer camera.

He may be assigning blame when he should have emoted more...I'm not sure. But he noted that the change in closeups affected his performance.

[Khan]

Yeah. That's it.

[Chris B]

I think the show looks best in the internet because my computer screen is smaller and tends to enhance low quality stuff. Not that I've gotten cable and watch on my HD set, all of my soaps look bad. GH, Y&R, ATWT and even B&B. Y&R is definitely the worst offender. Everyone looks a mess. The hair is bad, the lighting is terrible, all new sets suck (and that awful landfill!!!!!) and the music is anti-climatic. It's hard for me to understand what Paul Raunch is doing. Why not just let MAB be the sole EP? I think theyr'e wasting money on him.

[alphanguy74]

No, he's not assigning blame, just explaining why things turned out the way they did. And I totally believe the explanation, because you saw adjustments in his performance as time went along. He also talked about how he seemed to hesitate when he shouldn't because he was waiting for his camera light, when they don't do that anymore. Rauch didn't inform him of this, Tricia had to. But by the time his first scenes went to air, it 6 more weeks before we were able to see his adjustments. And then things seemed much more natural and on point. He just got dumped on because some people didn't want a major gay character on the show in the first place, and others dumped on him because they didn't like the "back from the dead" SL. And I also never understood why people couldn't accept the fact that Phillip is an introverted and awkward character, and your'e not SUPPOSED to see all this emotion. He's not gonna be giving these hammy performances that Miller is known for. I admit the SL was "out there" but at least POSSIBLE in the real world, unlike Pheila and crap like that. The pacing was just botched and rushed, like everything else about this show.

[DaytimeFan]

I honestly just cannot believe Ma Bell from Beverly Hills actually 'went there' with bringing Phillip back from the dead. Y&R *never* did those sorts of storylines. Kay and Jill and Tucker's screwed up maternity issue is one thing and is believable, but Phillip DIED, we all WATCHED it. They buried his ass more than 20 years ago!

I think what really kills it for me is that Phillip's death was SUCH a good one, the performance Jess Walton gave was, if you ask me, the best scene of grief I've ever seen in daytime.

As she just looks up at Kay, whose the only one left in the hospital room, with the background music swelling, in utter disbelief and says "This is your fault, it's ALWAYS been your fault...first, THE FATHER...and now...THE SON!" before collapsing on top of Phillip's limp, dead body, inconsolably sobbing I can tell you I was very impressed.

Ma Bell from Beverly Hills' retcon of that amazing scene is just deplorable.

I hate when my intelligence as a viewer is insulted, that storyline was insulting to its very core.