Y&R: Episode discussion, week of January 18, 2010

[DeeeDee]

Yet the Chancellors are the ones who are being thrown under the bus for the parasites.

It would have been natural had The Chancellors been allowed to act like they were a family & cared about Katherine instead of learning by default by showing up at the house.

But it's more important for TPTB to prop Cane, Amber & Kevin than to let Katherine's REAL grandchildren have any kind of story.

[lmfan]

But Kay's only real grandchild is Mac. The others she chose to make her family and everytime you turn around she is adding more and more young characters to her "family". I still believe MAB is using Katherine to make us accept all these new actors so they can move out the vets at some point.

I don't see the Chancellors being thrown under the bus. That family has grown dramatically since MAB took over and are major players. Jeanne and Jill deserve the story and screentime, and I can see Jill being thrown under the bus some but not Katherine. Now are they dumbing Kay and Jill down for plot purposes? Of course, but that is true with most characters.

[DeeeDee]

Feel lucky LML barely used Michael & Lauren.

The characters & families that LML DID used were pretty much destroyed.

The fact that your couple is still together & relatively in tact is much more than a lot of fans have gotten under Latham & Maria.

[lmfan]

What a choice for fans. Your favorites are either rarely shown or completely destroyed.

[Juliajms]

But is that of any use if you never see them? I guess that's just the catch 22 you live under with some writers. You either get nothing or get a lot of what you don't want.

[DRW50]

The Chancellors aren't a real family these days. Mackenzie spending time with them feels like some sort of rare occurrence. Brock only makes occasional appearances. Phillip's return provided almost no story for the characters. Their long history is not used. It was mostly ignored with Phillip and was ignored again when they sat around bemused while Billy was having his Foster Brooks moment over Christmas. They mostly exist just to prop people who attach themselves to the family, like Cane, Chloe, Amber, or Kevin. Or as with this Tucker crap, they are used to prop Victor.

The show's idea of a story with them is Fun With DNA, Part 3483.

[lmfan]

But who does act like a family these days?

[DRW50]

Sheffer hates families, he's damaged them on all his soaps. Probably the closest is the Newmans, because their idea of "family" is now washing Victor's feet.

[DeeeDee]

Biology & retcons aside Katherine's real grandchildren are Mackenzie, Phillip, Billy, Chance, Chloe & Delia.

Beside the above & Daniel the others are parasites mandated by TPTB.

Pretty much.

Growth means nothing if the characters aren't really family.

Billy gets a ton of airtime but he's as much if not more an Abbott than a Chancellor.

Mackenzie & Chance only serve to prop Chloe.

Outside of holidays & agenda driven propping the Chancellors barely interact.

Katherine NOT thrown under the bus?

She, Jess & Tricia got a handful of scenes with undead Phillip who was more focused on propping Cane, Murphy is a glorified extra, her health is so marginalized that she has strokes like hiccups & she & Jill have become idiots so Tucker can ransack Chancellor.

[DeeeDee]

Invisible or not least Michael/Lauren are still together.

Between Latham & Maria they've screwed over everyone.

No fanbase is happy.

Pretty much.

[lovely_m]

Lauren's been ruined. The only purposes they have for her are to be victimized for the mysterious psycho we're not suppose to know(this story isn't really about her) about and to put up with her in-laws stupidity.

[Melroser]

I am usually a semi-regular viewer of Y&R but have been trying to tune in more often just to support soaps. This show is hit or miss with me. Great acting talent, for the most part, but too many started then dropped stories. Sometimes I feel like I'm watching the last couple years of Another World when they changed writers every couple of months it seemed. Frustrating.

Things that will make me want to watch...

Billy and Heather...because they are different and an interesting match and might bring Paul on more.

Neil and Ashley...because it is new and keeps both onscreen.

Stephen Nichols will be able to act opposite anyone, and I can not wait. Hope he has chemistry with Jess Walton.

Kimberlin Brown's return. I do NOT want Lauren to die just for another story for Sheila, but Sheila can at least stir story for a bit. Too bad she isn't so evil and beyond redemption, because I'd like to see if she has chemistry with Stephen. A triangle of sorts with Sheila/Tucker/Jill or even having Sheila on Tucker's side against Victor and the Newmans??

Getting rid of Ryder, his sister, Kevin, Jana, Gloria, and Jeff. Too bad Kevin couldn't have some kind of 'redemption' and in an attempt to save Lauren's life from Sheila, he ends up giving his own life to save her. (Like jump in front of a bullet, speeding car, or something.) Bring him somewhat full circle since he was initially on the show with his own obsession with Lauren.

Ending this baby switch story soon, but not wrapping it up in a week like they do other things.

These things to start would help me stay interested.

[JimTolkien]

This Tucker McCall stuff reeks LOL!!! Something is SOOOOOOOOO NOT RIGHT here!!!! Which means it should be good when Stephen joins!! 5 more weekdays and counting down to his apperance!!

I like the Billy/Heather dynamics seeing as we currently have the Jack/Patty stuff playing!!

Good grief...I am starting to somewhat like Ryder!!

[MarkH]

Kevin's was an interesting story. I think it seems clear -- since the Chipmunk went bust (so much so that they're now mocking it themselves) -- that they aren't totally sure what to do with Kev. But I think they're trying to say that with Katherine's love, Kevin has a better model of what a matriarch should be like. Correspondingly, Gloria has been marginalized in his life. So I think good has come of this.

The point, I think, is that Kevin overcame his bad behavior, and ultimately helped save her.

I think the whole point of that crew...including the many people she is not really related to (Billy, Chloe, Kevin, Amber) was to show us that (1) even though Tucker finds her to be a "bad mother", there are plenty of people who believe otherwise (also including Brock and the crew of veterans who were in her living room the other day); (2) that the family that you MAKE (non-blood) is often more important and closer that the family you inherit.

I don't know, I have to confess I really like the making of Kay as the show's tentpole...everyone is unified in their love for a central matriarch who is neither young nor restless. Y&R never really had that before.

The only malarkey I don't like is Kay claiming she invested "every fiber of her being" in Chancellor Industries. Bullcrap! Prior to LML, Kay never gave that place a thought...she turned it over to a collection of men to run, and they did nothing more than give her OCCASIONAL status updates.

I agree. This is a time-honored way of introducing newbies/next generation folks...play 'em heavily with vets we love. DOOL has been doing that with Maggie Horton too. It works, and it's better than heavily playing newbies with no ties to the vets.

I think this growth of the "Chancellors" (Kay's circle) has been one really nice feature of the MAB regime. It gives the show some heart.

Foster Brooks?? Not only is that a funny name (on this show), but of course it DATES you man! You must be as old as I am! Ancient! Dean Martin Roasts ancient!

I'm not defending the use of history...but I really do like using Kay as the engine to introduce the next generation.

What was with Lauren's headache? And her comment on Daisy's "tea". Is Daisy poisoning her?

Did Daisy manufacture this aunt (that Eden didn't know about)? Or Daisy's mom?

Why is Daisy going after Daniel? It seems that there is a continued vendetta against Amber-Daniel and Lauren-Michael. This sure does continue to make it seem like Sheila is in behind all this.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Y&R survived just fine for years without having that, and considering how unnatural and bizarre this writing regime does these dynamics and bonds, it really isn't worth it.

Y&R has really horrible family and friendship dynamics these days.

You act as if their ties to Katherine are strong and a constant on this show, when they're not. Amber, Kevin, and the rest of them are no longer "newbies," they're now characters that wore out their welcome long ago. And judging by the storylines this group of characters get time and time again, this horrible writing team has no idea what to do with them.