Y&R: Old Articles

[Soaplovers]

I loved when anyone put that witch Kay in her place...and she did kill Philip..but also wanted to kill herself as well...she just managed to survive 

[Broderick]

Venomous Viper Kay Chancellor Never Vacillates

Memphis Press-Scimitar

July 1978

"I need to be needed," is Kay Chancellor's favorite explanation on The Young and the Restless, after every cruel and thoughtless act.

Wealthy, self-pitying Kay, a widow with a weakness for the bottle and a powerful urge to get her way, is always a top contender for Witch of the Week. 

Self-centered Kay can give lessons in how to stomp on others without evoking a shred of remorse.  She's a remarkable character because she's so predictable.  Bad Kay will always surface, defeating Good Kay.  If Kay is ever witnessed considering others for a moment, viewers will know her career is finished. 

 Being so awful makes Kay a legend in the world of soap.  As played by Jeanne Cooper, Kay has been transformed into a weird and flamboyant character, a lady inhabiting another world.  

"I've made her bigger than life," Jeanne says, gesturing dramatically with her hands.  "I'm the weakest sister playing the strongest character, yet I've never won an award."

Told awards don't mean anything, Jeanne throws her arms up high and tosses her head in agreement.  She was brought in by creator and writer Bill Bell to bolster a sagging show -- to play the asp among the beautiful people. 

By this time Jeanne knows exactly what viewers want in Kay, and whenever she feels the widow turning the other cheek, she gets on the phone to Bell in Chicago.  "You're making me sympathetic, Bill," says Jeanne.  "We can't have Kay turning sweet for a second."  

Playing the grand, warped, melodramatic, rich, witch for so many years inevitably engenders illusions.  That's the way you play Kay Chancellor -- with a flair.  

"She's smarter than Snapper (a doctor), or Greg (a lawyer), or Brock (an attorney and Kay's son)," notes Jeanne.  "Smarter than anybody else in Genoa City, and richer and more misunderstood.  It's always that way with the elite, you know, and then comes the old chestnut, 'I need to be needed.'"  

[Paul Raven]

That changed over time as Kay softened. Her relationship with Nikki was part of that, as she never manipulated Nikki or made demands on her. In terms of longevity it was probably wise to make Katherine a more sympathetic character.

Beau Kayzer's pilot 'Hardcase' began filming March 31st 1980 so he must have been offscreen around that time, unless some arrangement was made to juggle both roles. Can anyone recall if Brock disappeared around that time?

 

[Broderick]

I think previous to the Nikki storyline, Kay's vulnerability (or lack thereof) was more attributable to Jeanne Cooper's tics than to the writing.  

Brock seemed to be one of the few consistent characters during that weird "switch to the hour format".  I don't recall any long absences from him until he bailed-out for good in late summer or early fall of 1980.  Maybe he scaled-back to once or twice a week during the pilot filming, but I don't believe he disappeared from the show for an extended period.  

[Planet Soap]

Why would they name the butler who was in cahoots with Clint Radison during the Marge storyline the same name as Kay's driver? 

Ahhhh my favorite storyline!

I thought it was cruel on Victor's part to lure Diane away from Jack only to leave her once Nikki recovered... and then a further slap in the face because he and Nikki lasted about a year before Brad and Ramona came in the picture.

 I suppose it's just desserts for Diane because of the Patty fiasco in the 80s and leaving Jack for Victor.

Edited August 23, 2022 by ironlion

[Soaplovers]

I would have had Diane leaving Jack for Victor in 1997 as revenge against Jack for how he played with her emotions in the 80s.  And I would have kept Diane and Victor as married for business reasons with certain agreements in place that he violated when he divorced her for Nikki....and in exchange for her dropping her contesting of the divorce.. he gives her a seat on Newman's board.

Original Diane could have so played that convincingly...not sure if Susan Walter's could have pulled that off. 

[ChickenNuggetz92]

Almost nobody seems to talk about this about the 1998 Niktor reunion, but the show also did Joshua Landers pretty dirty as well. Nikki probably grieved him for about 6 minutes before moving all her focus back on Victor.

[Paul Raven]

Joshua was the Ashland Locke of his time albeit way blander.

He was merely an obstacle to keep Nikki and Victor apart for awhile and once he was gone, everybody moved on.

. As he was he would have been more viable as a diversion for Nikki who would never consider marrying him.

She would have been using him in a way to show Jack and Victor she could do without them. Maybe she agrees to marry him but realizes at the last minute she didn't love him enough to commit. 

[yrfan1983]

Upon my recent '96 viewing, I was shocked how fast Nikki and Joshua progressed... they had their first date in August, he proposed in September, and they married in October.

He was definitely milquetoast, but they had a nice easy romantic chemistry, and I think Nikki may have been content to remain married to him, if it wasn't for that pesky psychotic former wife.

[Paul Raven]

The whole story seemed pretty much unplanned - very Josh Griffith.

Really at that point they should have got a few years out of Nikki/Josh to delay the inevitable Victor /Nikki reunion. They were always more interesting apart.

Married in October-when was he killed?

[yrfan1983]

End of Mar ‘98 so they were married a year and a half

[Broderick]

That story didn't benefit anyone involved.  Nikki was like, "Josh is dead.  Oh well!", Victor puffed-up and said, "Being married to ME should give ANYONE the will to live," everyone was too self-involved to notice that the lunatic maid looked just like Miguel's fiancée, but with a mop on her head and some eyeglasses she won at the carnival.  

It was all pretty terrible.  

When Sarah/Veronica finally impaled herself on a pitchfork, everyone at my house said, "Put a fork in this mess.  It's done!"  lol.  

[Soaplovers]

I think the Joshua/Veronica story..plus the Dennison clan was a sign Bill Bell was declining.

To Alden's credit, she quickly sped through the Joshua/veronica story..and provided purpose for the Dennison sisters..and put Jill back in Kay's orbit.  But no fall out was played out.  1st sign of the decline of Y & r

[Taoboi]

THIS.

 

But...he bounced back?

 

I didn't care at all for the Dennisons...until they gave Megan something to do with someone the audience liked (Tony). And of course we know Tricia was aimed at Ryan and Nina only to wind up going cray cray. Hard to believe given their boring beginnings. 

 

Any time I hear about Veronica I think of an old college friend who loved the campy cray cray of Veronica and I can still 'that bitca Nikki' in my head. lol. But like someone said above...what made it funny was how self-absorbed the characters were that they did not notice a psycho was in their midst. 

[Planet Soap]

Dr Landers is barely ever even mentioned today. His death had a bigger impact on the show than his life. As you mentioned, surprisingly the '98 shooting & reunion doesn't get that much revisitation in classic Niktor montages. 

To it's credit, the '98 Niktor reunion gave us a decade of evil Diane. I did like the execution of the hospital scenes. These days the writers would just say that the character's in critical condition then show them in a hospital bed, no in between dramatics.

After the shooting we saw the paramedics pick Nikki up in a pool of blood and the doctors trying to revive her. The scenes where Nikki was bedridden and pale were mildly graphic and realistic. Soaps today cant pull off making dying and a shooting feel and look that serious. 

Edited August 25, 2022 by ironlion