Y&R: Old Articles

[YRBB]

 

Duchess might have been at most slightly sarcastic, but it was a sweet term of endearment.

 

 

He didn't know Amanda was pregnant. He instantly assumed his fatherly role when he met Mack/found out the truth.

 

Edited June 12, 2018 by YRBB

[DeeeDee]

Brock never knew about Amanda's pregnancy until much later.

 

Once he returned from the dead and met Mackenzie they grew extremely close.

 

And Amanda is NOT dead. She's still alive but Mackenzie (after a brief reconciliation) wants nothing to do with her.

Edited June 12, 2018 by DeeeDee

[j swift]

Wow - I had no idea Amanda was still alive.

 

Why didn't she try to contact Brock or Katherine for support years earlier? I mean obviously it was due to a retcon of Mack - but has a reason been given as to why Amanda didn't want child support?  Didn't Mack grow up near Genoa City?

 

Also, can we all give a minute to mourn the long lost summers of Genoa City? 

 

Remember when John, Victor, or Katherine would randomly give a summer party and invite all the young couples in town?  Pool parties usually occurred around July 4th but, they were always spontaneous.  I'm talking about pre-Summer-by-Jabot stuff and post Danny Romelati's Summer Abstinence Rock and Roll Tours  Remember when Brad married Traci and they had their speedo-clad honeymoon in fake-Hawaii? And later, Cricket and Danny's speedo-clad honeymoon in real Hawaii? Remember when male cast members had to wear a speedo; even once they were very out of style?  Remember when the female characters wore big straw hats?  Remember the pools that were represented just by a shallow end with Mamie, Esther or Miguel tending the grill in their summer uniforms?  So much classier than those Bauer barbecues.

Edited June 12, 2018 by j swift

[kalbir]

 

The Athletic Club rooftop pool/hot tub seems to have replaced those.

[j swift]

Quel dommage

 

1.  I would argue that even though it is actually taped outside, the actors looked better under the fake lighting on set.  Their skin tones were more even and there were fewer annoying shadows.

 

2.  How tacky is it that "The Athletic Club"/"Forrester Gym" set is actually on the roof of the CBS parking lot and it is fully observable from The Grove shopping center across the way?  BTW The Grove was built about a year before Y&R's mall parking lot explosion story and it was an obvious inspiration; right down to the environmental issues.

Edited June 12, 2018 by j swift

[DeeeDee]

 

Brock & Amanda were in love while working together in overseas. Amanda wanted to return to the states but Brock wanted to continue helping the needy. Amanda realized she was pregnant after returning home from the states but didn't want to make Brock choose between her or his work so she never told him about Mackenzie.

 

Mackenzie grew up in St. Louis. She met Katherine as a teenager when she ran away from home.

[yrfan1983]

Amanda's portrayer, Denice Duff, is still around...she's back on Days this week as Wendy.

[soapfan770]

Late to the party on the isolation parts, I'll share my thoughts on it later on why I loved it so much. But first, a few things

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: 

 

 

 

CATCHING UP WITH DIANA BARTON (EX-MARI JO MASON, 1994-96)

March 26, 2007 3:14PM

Soap Opera Digest: What made you get into making skin-care products? 

Diana Barton: I was out of everything else and I was already combining different products to create different textures. For years and years I’d been mixing face creams and scrubs. I thought that maybe I would try to create something myself. I was in Morocco in the kitchen of a friend’s house and I put a few things together in a bowl and started jumping up and down and realized I’d invented something I’d never felt before. After I refined the recipe, I realized I’d created something that wasn’t on the market. I’ve been fascinated with cosmetics for years. It’s a lot like cooking.

 Digest: Are you still acting? 

Barton: Oh, no, not at all. When I felt the consistency of my scrub, I knew it was time to retire and quit acting, to quit thinking of doing anything else other than this. I was getting an overwhelming response from people in my own life. When you hear from perfect strangers that the product is changing their lives, it’s time to move on. I left acting behind a number of years ago. The invention happened to me. Now the emphasis is totally on running Diana B. I have a wonderful team to work with me; actually, I’m really working for everyone else. Every time I pitch to a new department store or chain, I get the same butterflies I did when I was auditioning. I didn’t ever want to audition again. Ever! By the time I got done with Y&R, I was so through with that feeling. I did a few other things after Y&R, but I didn’t really want to do that anymore.

Digest: Do you keep in touch with anyone from Y&R? 

Barton: I still talk to almost the whole cast. The character’s still locked away in the psych ward. What’s funny is, she was the art director for a cosmetics company, for Jabot. I became very friendly with all of my co-stars and had a very good time. One of the interesting parts of being on Y&R was that you were always directed by different people, so the interpretation changed on a daily basis. That’s very much like real business. On any day, the presentation that worked yesterday will not work today. It’s also an incredible discipline … I learned about showing up, being on time, being focused. 

Digest: Do you have a favorite storyline of Mari Jo’s? 

Barton: The last one, where she ended up in the psych ward. The one I went out on was the most intense. Overall, it was a great run. I got to go on two location shoots, to St. Thomas and Pennsylvania, where we shot a car chase. I went with Eric [Braeden, Victor], Peter [Bergman, Jack] and Doug [Davidson, Paul]. I was the only girl [laughs]. They toughened me up a lot! They’re great. I learned quite a lot about what I’m doing now from those experiences. I run a company and work with wonderful people and it’s very political. It’s good to come from a background where you learn to deal with people on a professional level.

Digest: What was your most interesting real-life experience in relation to being on the show?

Barton: One of the most interesting experiences I ever had was when the entire nominated cast walked to Radio City Music hall together for the Emmys and I sat right behind Oprah. It was a powerful time and show which transformed the complexion of my life for years. For as long as eight years after I left, I would go anywhere and people would stop me. It’s good, hard work and teaches you professional ethics.

Digest: Would you consider returning to Y&R for a guest visit? 

Barton: I would have to be approached in a way that’s both a service to the people I work with now and the people who run the show.

Digest: Jabot could do a real-life crossover with your products. 

Barton: I’ve never seen them use a real-world product and wouldn’t expect that. That would never happen!

[DeeeDee]

Denice Duff was a terrible casting decision. If Y&R ever brings the character back they need to recast.

[Paul Raven]

The Diana B beauty range is still around. She has awebsite and the products seem to be doing OK.

She uses the Y&R logo in her signature.

 

Edited June 15, 2018 by Paul Raven

[soapfan770]

 

It didn't help that to watch the Ralph story was also like taking a waking nap. Scuttling the Mac/Amanda/Ralph plot was good, though it was also sad, since a story with that much potential and buildup should have been handled a lot better. Duff and the actor who played Ralph were indeed poorly cast, I do believe a pair of more veteran soap actors might have handled the material better. Then again, I remember reading Robert Kelker-Kelly was in the running for the role of Ralph so maybe not!

 

Unfortunately for us viewers, Smith would retool/recycle elements of the Ralph story just a few years later with Terrible Tom. 

 

The original Amanda that appeared briefly in early 2000 seemed decent and mysterious but they dropped it for almost a whole year. 

Edited June 15, 2018 by soapfan770

[YRBB]

 

2002 in general felt lethargic, although it was still classic Y&R.

 

The casting left a lot to be desired, but the most disappointing part was that Bashioum didn't get to play it and thus the investment wasn't really there anymore and it didn't come full circle/never felt completed.

[soapfan770]

 

The first half of 2002 was a complete mess, the second half was a significant vast improvement. 

 

Although I never felt the heat between Ryan Brown(I didn't like him as GL's Bill either) and Kelly Kruger in hindsight I believe we must have been too harsh on them; the torpedoing of their love story remains unjustifiable as it destroyed both characters for good. 

[Paul Raven]

Reading old synopses, it seems that Peggy was first interested in Mark Henderson,when he came to town.

Lorie was still reeling from the fact she lost Brad to Leslie.

When Lorie hooked up with Mark, Peggy was upset with her sister.

 

Mark was impotent because his first wife died on their wedding night(!).

 

Jill dated a guy named Brent in 1973.

 

Lorie definitely had a connection to Philip Chancellor. How did that come about? It seems to be the only connection between the Brooks and Chancellors.

 

It is mentioned that Brad and Leslie visited his parents.Was this seen on air, or just referred to?

Edited June 16, 2018 by Paul Raven

[Soaplovers]

What I loved reading in the old summaries was the transition between the ending of Leslie/Brad's marriage.. and how Leslie/Lance became a couple... with Brock/Leslie an interesting short-term diversion.  

 

I wasn't alive in the 70s, but from reading the summaries.. it seemed to me that I think Leslie kind of milked the helpless act just a little bit.  Granted she probably couldn't help being emotionally fragile, but I think she milked it a little bit in order to get attention.  I don't excuse the crap Lorie pulled on Leslie, but I understand the reasoning for it.  And having it come out that Lorie wasn't Stuart's child probably explained to her why she was always the black sheep of the family.. and probably hardened her to a point of no return.

 

Based on all the families introduced in the 70s and 80s, I think the Abbott family was shown to be the closest.  I don't think the Brooks family sounded at all very close (I don't buy the warm and fuzzy 1984 reunion between the Brooks sisters... it just screamed insincere given the history between them in the first years of the show).. and the Foster's don't seem all that close either (I think Jill got shafted in that family because she was a woman).