Y&R: Old Articles

[vetsoapfan]

I'd say the first year, from 1973 to 1974. 1975 was excellent as well.

Considering how god-awful the P&G soaps were during their final years, the fact that someone like Alan got hired just...sums up the problem.

[Soapsuds]

And there you have it!

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[DramatistDreamer]

Indeed. 

[janea4old]

What I enjoyed the most was Eileen talking about Terry Lester!
and about Jerry Douglas.

Edited December 26, 2021 by janea4old

[Soaplovers]

I'm wondering if Alan was one of those guys that were really good looking and coasted on his looks and charm..without having to develop skill or conversational skills?

PR also is about image and how it looks on the surface.  So when he interviews, he always asks surface layersl questions and doesn't dig deep.

If I asked Eilewn questions, I'd ask her how she adjusted to coming back as Ashley after she was played by 2 other actresses, how she was able to play changes in the character.  Also, I would ask she was able to differentiate between Kristen and Ashley in her approaches to acting, etc.

 

[Broderick]

I would've asked those questions, too.  She also mentioned that she's "always nervous that I'll mess it up".  Alan Locher responded, "Wow that's crazy" (or something along those lines).  He seemed to find it difficult to believe that she might "mess it up", since she'd learned her lines.  Obviously, she wasn't worried about forgetting her lines, but rather about how she might potentially stray in her acting choices.  This could've turned into a fairly in-depth look into her craft, but he just brushed it aside with no real interest in her response.    

[cassadine1991]

Does anyone remember when did this exactly air?

 

[AMCOLTLLover]

1986! I don’t know why everyone here seems to hate Jill but she was the best character in that year

Lauren got buried alive by her psycho stalker Shawn

Jill/John - Divorce was exciting as hell

Who shot Jill? One of the best storys ever and it brought back her son and even Liz for a couple of weeks.

Brad/Traci

Victor/Nikki/Ashley triangle and Nikki’s illness!

 

 

[ltm1997]

From what I've read, seen, and heard, it's a tie between 1979 and 1983 for me.

[FrenchBug82]

Tuesday, March 1, 2005 

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[Aback]

I did not remember that scene at all. I quite liked CK's performance as well as VR's.

I have to wonder about these overly dramatic performances though - why are some of them considered 'hammy', or 'chewing the scenery' or 'laughable' while other performances elicit much more respect? 

[Soapsuds]

 

[Paul Raven]

One thing I noticed in that 86 episode was the camera work and staging.

Obviously, as they had more time then, the actors and camera moved around quite a bit more, which added to the visual and dramatic impact.

Nowadays, everybody pretty much stands still and the camera angles are static throughout the scene.

Also, the constant music underscore added to the drama.

[Broderick]

Perhaps I'm blaming the wrong people.  But I believe a lot of the problem is LAZINESS on the part of today's directors.  Even with a much shorter shooting day, the director still receives his/her script several days in advance and has ample time to mentally block the scenes and visualize which shots can be used to make each scene more effective and dramatic.  When you get to the studio, it's just a matter of quickly executing what you'd planned in advance for the scenes.  No, the cameras themselves probably can't move as much today as they did in the 1980s, (due to the time constraints) but there are STILL three cameras, and the director should already have a clear idea of the episode's look and feel before he/she ever shows up at the studio, and which of the three cameras will be used to capture each shot in the final print.  

I'm sure we all share a common view of today's absent (or subpar) music choices.  

[ChickenNuggetz92]

I always gravitated towards Mike Denney's style of directing. I think the direction around the early 2000s in terms of actor blocking, camera panning and sweeping, lighting, rack focusing, and music were perfection and would still hold up well today. Y&R loved their soft zooms in this era - it's a cinematography technique that seems to have been lost in recent filmmaking with the advent of DSLRs (I mostly see dolly-style/gimbal-style shots nowadays).