Y&R: Old Articles

[Broderick]

Couldn't agree more.  Kay Alden -- though her writing could be sort of "dull -- was meticulous dealing with Brad & Ashley, going to GREAT lengths to show the ever-changing dynamics in Ashley and Brad's marriage, and it worked.  Once Jack Smith popped back into the picture, Ashley was suddenly announcing the paternity of Sperm Abby on videotape, Brad was suddenly hot for Olivia, and the entire storyline imploded.  

[Paul Raven]

Ashley's marriages to Steven, Blade and Cole were pointless.

Although Steven I could buy as it was a roadblock to her her being with Victor, but he really was a nothing character. There could have been way more story with that marriage.

Blade could have been a romance but Cole and Ashley should never have happened.

A lot of characters break up after the first problem instead of them trying to work through it and having the issues in the background to come into play later on.

 

[will81]

I think Steven made sense in that Ash was so over waiting for Victor and she had a man that was willing to make a commitment, she was also vulnerable to Steven because he helped her to re-build her life. She wasn't so much choosing Steven as much as she was choosing herself and a life free of complications (or so she thought) I get it from a character perspective even if their marriage was pointless. She really was just moving on and had been ready for marriage and a family and saw that opportunity in Steven. 

I think for me that is the difference, characters seemed more carefully thought out in the way they did things. Jill after Phillip III's death and Ashley post divorce from Victor were never the same to me. 

The only thing I will say, though I agree she did a good job with Ashley and Brad. I don't think her writing for Ashley was ever on point. This was the point at which Ashley became a Victor apologist, was totally submissive to Cole in a way that was off putting, and her being pregnant with Victor's baby was so beyond anything Ashley would have ever done, even Eileen said prior to the reveal that she was certain Ashley would not be carrying Victor's baby.

When Eileen returned she played Ashley with power as she had always done. When Victor returns and the board needs to vote, Victor wants to see her alone. She says nothing, smiles and walks off on him refusing to vote and later they have a very civil conversation where again Ash seems to have this power in the dynamic, she is very pragmatic about their past and does not pine for him like so many other women who act like Victor was the one that got away. Then all that changed and the Ashley I loved was truly gone. 

[Paul Raven]

Totally agree with that, but Steven needed to be given more agency. I recall him  being pretty bland and just there. Then Bill went with the crazy Leanna angle to provide some drama. Fair enough, but Leanna was pretty cartoony. A more nuanced story about a troubled patient could have been fascinating.

Killing off Steven just seemed random because Eileen was leaving. Maybe Brenda could have been tested with Rod and more story written for them.

[Soaplovers]

From watching the Steven/Ashley marriage episodes, they were a realistic married couple.  They had arguments like a couple did, and neither coddled the other.  

Blade/Ashley.. was an odd choice for a marriage because it seemed to come out of nowhere.  However, the only explanation I could buy was that she married Blade to show Traci that she was out of the running for Brad (they were estranged at the time).   Only positive that came out of that random marriage was the introduction of Mari Jo.. but the character could have come on with Blade/Ashley as a couple without a marriage.

Cole/Ashley thing never made sense except he was the only one to generate chemistry with Shari's Ashley.

[kalbir]

Victor/Ashley worked during ED's original run because Bill Bell saw EB was a match for ED's acting style.

Victor entered the Abbott orbit during the Mergeron takeover storyline. There are a couple of Victor/Ashley scenes during that storyline I read about in recaps but haven't surfaced in clips/full episodes. Does anyone remember these scenes:

Fall 1984 - Victor relates his experience with Cora to Ashley, who begins to think that perhaps she hasn't given Dina a fair chance. 

Summer 1985 - Feeling Ashley's talents are wasted in the Jabot lab, Victor offers her an executive position at Mergeron.

Victor and Ashley connected over their parental issues, then Victor supported Ashley through the recovery from her emotional breakdown in the aftermath of learning that she was the result of an affair between Dina and alcoholic Brent Davis, and Victor recognized Ashley's business skills. Then Fall 1985 the eternal triangle began when Victor and Ashley became involved in Corsica.

Did anyone else get a pro-life slant from Ashley's emotional breakdown in the aftermath of ending her pregnancy? I think it was reported in the soap press that Bill Bell got alot of flack for that storyline. I don't know how religious Bill Bell was in his personal life so his personal beliefs may have clouded his storytelling or maybe somebody high up at CBS in 1986, 1987 was pro-life.

While I think Ashley cared for Steven, I didn't sense it was a genuine love. Steven supported Ashley through a difficult time, but I feel the marriage was her trying to move on from Victor.

BE was a serviceable recast but in hindsight her main storylines (Brad/Ashley/Traci triangle, Victor marriage/divorce, Blade/Rick) didn't work. BE had no connection w/ EB at all. Making Ashley and Traci romantic rivals didn't fit the characters as Bill Bell originally wrote them. Blade/Rick was awful.

The less said about SS the better. I think Bill Bell was planning a Victor/Nikki/Brad/Ashley quad in 1996, but since SS had no connection at all w/ EB and DD, Bill Bell pretty much put Christine in the Ashley role.

 

Edited January 18, 2023 by kalbir

[Paul Raven]

After Brenda left, Bill should have rested Ashley for a year or two rather then have a 3rd recast immediately.

 

[will81]

I am not sure if Bell had a pro-life stance or if he was so wrapped up in how he thought Ashley would react to the abortion that he didn't consider how it would play out to audiences.

It made sense that Ashley would have a bit of a meltdown as she had wanted the baby and terminated the pregnancy for Victor and Nikki and not for her self. Plus she never got therapy for her previous breakdown, so she had never resolved the mental health issues that were there. So it made sense, but I guess the breakdown didn't have to happen. I do think Bell was looking for some big high drama and I don't think he considered the message he was sending.

Then again maybe he was pro-life and this was a cautionary tale, which would suck. I don't like the idea he would punish Ashley for making that decision. 

[Darn]

I always thought it was just the classic way soaps punish women for having agency. Erica Kane got an infection and almost died after her abortion. Pat Matthews' abortion made her infertile. Any vixen who knows what she wants and is unapologetic about it gets raped eventually, the consequence of being self focused and upwardly mobile.

[Planet Soap]

Exactly. Working through issues or even a separation --but not divorce--gives more weight to relationships. Best cases: GH's Alan and Monica or ATWT's Tom and Margo. Couples built up and really written for with so many years under their belt, that you feel the intensity when things go wrong. 

I also find it more compelling when couple issues aren't constantly driven by romance. Maybe its the kids or the business,  something other than cheating that strains the marriage. (GH's Alan and Monica are a mix of this because they did nothing but cheat, but thats not for this thread lol). 

But then there is Nick and Sharon. Married a solid decade who endured  countless consecutive issues that by the time they finally divorced the pairing felt beaten and exhausted. 

Edited January 18, 2023 by ironlion

[Dion]

I think I was only 8 when it aired in New Zealand but I do seem to recall one particularly egregious dream sequence where Ashley was in the hospital holding a baby in her arms and the nurse came and snatched the baby off her saying words to the effect of "This is not your baby, you had an abortion!" with the most utter contempt that I don't think I've ever seen matched by a background character on a soap ever since.

[ltm1997]

For anyone that’s ever recorded an episode of Y&R straight from the TV to their computer, did you use a video capture card, a video transfer setup, or something else???

 

P.S. I’m not looking to go on CBS.com and screen record the episode from there. I’m only looking for answers from people that have ever recorded an HD episode of the show straight from the TV to their computer.

[BoldRestless]

I've recorded from a cable box using a USB Video capture card to a laptop, but the result was not as good as the digital version of an episode.

[Broderick]

That episode is actually floating around.  I watched it just a few weeks ago.  I believe it's either 7/1/1985 or 7/2/1985.  It's not the scene where he first offers her the job at Mergeron, but a follow-up scene in which he asks her if she's made a decision yet.  Much discussion about him believing Ashley was "born to be an executive" and "together, we can take Mergeron to new heights, etc."  

[kalbir]

Thanks @Broderick Found it, 7/2/1985.