Y&R: Potpourri Thread 5

[DRW50]

Did they make him pop

[Paul Raven]

Y&R fans clamoring for new opening credits-the wait is over!

Exec producer Maria Arena Bell has announced new credits are set to debut."We are thrilled with the results!",states Bell."The music will return to the faster paced version of a few years back-It's a way of respecting history,which is so important to us",declares Bell.

In that vein,the show will return to it's roots by using drawings to depict the cast.

And those drawings are the handiwork of none other than -Bell herself!

"It's the craziest thing!",chortles Bell-"it all begin back when we were auditioning for the Malcolm recast.While Darius was blowing us away with the best audition we had seen in 20 years,I was doodling on a napkin I had left in my purse from a charity event. Paul glanced down at my lap and went crazy for what he saw!!"

Maria got busy and came up with line drawings of most of the Y&R cast.Of course,Bell's background in Arts and Design came in handy.

"What better way to reflect my vision,than to let viewers know immediately that their beloved Y&R is continuing the family legacy" states Bell,who conferred with Lee Phillip Bell before going ahead.

"Lee was blown away by my drawings,and that was so important to me",reveals a tearful Bell."But",she confides,"maybe she is a little biased-after all I do consult on Lee's wardrobe choices-in fact the denim ensemble she wore to the B&B anniversary was my design!!",Maria proudly proclaims.

[Paul Raven]

Y&R exec producer and co headwriter Maria Arena Bell has more exciting casting news to announce...

"Olivia is coming back to Genoa City",relates Bell."Our commitment to honoring the history of the show,while moving forward with a contemporary feel is evident in the casting of R&B singer Trina Braxton as the new Olivia Barber".

"As well as appearing in hospital scenes,Olivia will now be entertaining the folks who wine and dine at the swanky Athletic Club.The casting of Trina allows us to showcase a new dimension in this beloved character"

With all the changes within the Winters and Barber characters,Maria also announced the departure of long time cast member Kristoff St John as Neil.

"As characters evolve,different dynamics emerge",states Bell."With the addition of Darius,the Mowery sisters and Trina,the character of Neil has moved in a new direction and will be recast shortly"

In other GC news look for the characters of Reed and Summer to be aged.

"With Victoria and JT locked in a custody battle over Reed,we thought now was the perfect time to up the dramatic stakes by aging Reed to 15.Having him as a teen offers so much more drama to the story",notes Bell.

Also,his cousin Summer will now be seen as a sexy and vixenish 16 yr old."The possibilities afforded by aging this character were too good to pass up",offers Bell."To see Phyllis deal with a younger version of herself will be so intriguing to our audience.With the departure of Eden and Noah and Abby moving into another age group,we wanted characters with ties to core families to be in the forefront for the Summer".

"The coming months will be must see viewing.With shocking twists and surprises in every episode,you can't afford to miss a minute!!"

[DRW50]

I actually can see them doing that with Reed. It would be hilarious to see him a baby one day and 16 the next.

[MoTheGreat]

Wait, I thought MAB couldn't write for Teens. They might just skip over teen storylines.

[Sylph]

You have to wonder — or not — how this show with this abysmal writing and production is still pulling these numbers... Nothing significant is happening in the ratings.

One would expect the ratings to be steady for a while and then drop! (big) with no announcement.

Here — nope, it seems.

[MarkH]

PROOF, I think, that soaps are habit, and not necessarily watched on their merits.

Heck, Brad Bell is COUNTING on habitual viewership for B&B. As he said yesterday:

[Sylph]

However, that is why I said that viewers just at one point feel saturated, bored, feel that they're done with the show and leave. That massive un-announced drop.

Here — nope.

It offends them probably, but no one's leaving.

[MarkH]

Well, they left in droves during Kay Alden, and especially during late LML/early MAB.

It'll happen again. There is no question the RAMPANT stupidity of characters these days and the over-reliance on a never-ending stream of insane Boris-and-Natashas is going to induce defections.

If other seasonal trends follow, folks will leave Y&R for the busy summer months (kids home, vacation plans)...and they'll never come back. If that is true, watch for your drops starting in the next few months.

[Sylph]

I'm, I guess, puzzled by how long it took and still takes, actually, for people to drop this show from their schedule.

Maria Arena's tenure started with a huge loss, but now she just found her audience. Or they found her. Or something.

[MarkH]

Intriguing hypothesis...but I honestly don't think you'll find a soul out there who's liking the majority of what is getting dished out these days.

Except, maybe, Barbara Bloom. And that may explain everything, LOL.

Seriously, my sense is that habitual viewers leave slowly. Some of us will hang on till the end (Guiding Light recently defined the new minimum...a core of under 2 million a day). There will be slow drift to that minimum (if the show lasts that long). My sense is that in that core are people who would watch anything called Y&R -- even just a test pattern, as long as it had Victor's picture on it.

[bellcurve]

Maybe this show speaks to people's trash sensibilities. Y&R is basically a more subdued, less interesting Maury or Jerry Springer. There's more narrative and colorful dialogue in one of those umpteenth Lie Detector, Paternity Scandals, Fat Baby segments than a full month of Y&R. And better surprises in the "Is it a man or a woman" pageants than the stuff this team tries to pass off as "shock value."

This show is an embarrassment of riches, just like B&B. But the difference between the two is that people always expected that from B&B.

People should not watch Y&R "for the scenes." Y&R has never been a "scenes" kind of show. But the damage is done. And if Maria and Co. truly believe that Victor/Nick/Phyllis/Sharon and a bunch of twenty-something nothing recasts from another show are the cureall to keep this show from bleeding, they are sadly mistaken.

I think brimike and MarkH once pointed out how the Potpourri Thread needs an enema. Well, I think the entire creative vessel at Y&R desperately needs the Fleet. Fire these hacks that would rather spend their time reading Neiman's Catalogues while casually browsing the show feed in their office. Get rid of these hack script and breakdown writers like Uncle Tom Crapiello who are obviously more interested in writing 140 character or less tweets instead of the show that is, without a doubt, the lifeblood of daytime television, and get rid of these old and bloated hacks like Paul Rauch and Hogan Sheffer who think women are weak or psychos, blacks are only good for making sandwiches and being placeholders for Stephen Nichols, and gays are only good for stupid grins after being "up at the cabin" all weekend.

[Sylph]

But I thought you liked it? And I ask genuinely.

Perhaps it's not actually her audience, but rather really die-hard viewers who will stay no matter what unti the end of the series.

[DRW50]

I do think a lot of viewers will stay no matter what. There may also be viewers who tune in and out for the stunt of the week. The lack of serious ratings increase for the most recent stunt, one that I think the show viewed as huge (the big manly men Nick/Billy/Victor whooping ass on Adam), suggests a ceiling.

[DRW50]

Ask Hogan Sheffer.

Hogan, what is your favorite moment in Y&R history?

"I love this show so much, I got DVDs and I got hooked. My favorite memory is when Jessica said stupid things and wore tight sweaters and got executed with Benson. Then Tony Danza caught her daughter Karen in the shower! One of the big never before done moments was when Tony was Karen's pimp and she told everyone she was a whore. We tried to do that story last year with Billy and Sharon but they wouldn't let Billy wear the pimp hat. The network has the final say."