Y&R: Episode discussion, Week of January 25, 2010

[Juliajms]

Not so fast...

[Juliajms]

They should definitely go there. A man like Tucker could (and in this case should) have a lifetime of baggage and relationships that he's lugging behind him. I think having a branch of his family be minorities would be nice. But I almost think Y&R has completely abandoned the notion of having minorities on the show at this point.

[MoTheGreat]

Personally I can't see them writing filthy rich Katherine having a bi racial grandkid. Maybe a step grandkid. But Y&R sure need some flavor up in Y&R. They need a character that can light a fire up their stuffy asses.

[DRW50]

I can see them making a big production out of Katherine hugging her biracial grandchild, and possibly have Jill or Billy shock everyone with a quasi-racist remark. Then the child will vanish, or only show up to sing gospel songs.

I feel sorry for Stephen Nichols, mostly because he is the latest actor to be set up by Y&R for scapegoating. If the story is not a success, we will probably see Branco and others put the blame on him. The only time this doesn't happen is if the show doesn't want to lose face (like the Muhney recast).

[Juliajms]

I wish they would do something really different and give Tucker and East Indian or Middle Eastern ex wife and child. They won't though. I really think Y&R has given up on diversity and will end its days playing at as safe as possible.

[DRW50]

I think in 2008 and mid-2009 they peddled their idea of diversity, which is tokenism and stereotypes, and when that was widely dismissed, the show could pat itself on the head and say, "We tried." With blacks, Latinos, and gays -- all rigid, empty stereotypes. It's like when Rauch was at OLTL. He shunned black characters for five years, then near the end, had a lot of scenes where new black characters sang in gospel choirs or wanted to rap.

[Juliajms]

Yeah, one of the problems with soaps is that they still think they need to "teach" their audience something in a heavy handed manner. So minority characters can't just exist they have to be part of these ridiculous "teachable moments" that make me want to hurl. This is one of the things about soaps that are so incredibly dated. Then you look at a show like Heroes (and yes, I know the show sucks now) where there are several minority characters that just go about their business and are an organic part of the drama and it makes me wonder why daytime writers can't write the same way for their characters. Part of it is their insistence that we are all a bunch of rubes who can't think for ourselves.

[DRW50]

I think part of it is based on the ignorance or apathy of the people at the show. Aside from the singing child claptrap, and the insta-acceptance of Phillip's homosexuality, most of the stories for minorities haven't been about teachable moments. They have no real interest in presenting minorities as anything other than stereotypes because that is all they see minorities as being. MAB was so proud of herself in her interviews about the appalling and dated views of gay men.

It's all a very condescending view of minorities, daytime's version of, "I have a black/Latino/gay friend." Whereas a lot of other soaps don't even pretend to have any time or interest in minorities, which is at least more honest.

[DeeeDee]

Yep.

[DeeeDee]

Die Cane!

Die!

[BadZoe]

I find their writing for Katherine makes her more and more hateful. Why doesn't she just adopt Nikki already.

Is Adam not at all sight impaired now? He put together those reports super fast for Victor.

Are Phyllis and Chloe going to pair up in the wedding planning business?

[MarkH]

Everybody keeps asking this. (1) He has retinitis pigmentosa, and it's still early enough that he has clear center vision. We've even been shown it on screen. It's like looking through a telescope with blurry edges. (2) Muhney tweeted that CBS gave him a "note" to act less blind, so he has made "adjustments". CBS doesn't want him to be cane-knocking/dog-walking/sunglass-wearing blind. They want him to be visually impaired, not blind. That's what we're seeing.

[BadZoe]

I want a show to be my source of this info, not a magazine or twitter or any other outside source. Adam ran around requiring a driver and bumping into things months after he stopped with the botox. I would have liked one scene between him and Dr. T or just playing old talking to himself where he's glad that finally the botox has worn off and he's able to see enough to do more things for himself again. They've been showing that telescopic vision thingy for him all along yet his behavior has changed. It is ridiculous and there is no excuse on a 5 hour a week show not to play them.

That horrible Daisy has to go, she gets worse and worse and on tomorrow's Y&R she's on a lot.

[DRW50]

They wouldn't even tell us whether Ashley still had a rotting fetus inside her.

[Chris B]

Didn't they originally say the botox had damaged his eyes so much it would speed up the process? This crap now seems like back peddling because they don't wanna deal with a real blind character. No way with his genetic condition and injecting botox in his eyes would his eyesight IMPROVE. Don't care what Michael Muhney says.