Y&R: Old Articles

[soapfan770]

Exactly why it was extra unnecessary melodrama lol IMO. 
 

Also a bit strange how fast John and Jill reconnected, reconciled, and married in 1982 after the initial John/Jill/Jack triangle of the 1980-81 occurred, a story which was never really brought up again even with Jack & Jill trapped in the cabin. 

[will81]

I feel like this is counter to who Jill was at this point. She had gone through a lot of trauma at the hands of Kay Chancellor and it had hardened her heart. The warmth was there with Brenda, but with strings attached because she only knew how to survive, which often meant closing her heart. The warmth seemed contrived but realistic. 

Brenda's coldness, even when she was being loving as Jill, seemed much more on par with who Jill was supposed to be by 1982. Being vulnerable only if it served a purpose, because she was never going to let her guard down again. 

Deborah seemed more like a woman who had gone through a lot but didn't let it affect her deep down. I felt the evolution of Jill went back a few steps. Deborah is still lovely to watch, but the deeper psychology of Jill isn't there. 

[Paul Raven]

As a big Adair fan, i see your reasoning. Deborah's Jill didn't really tally with the hell that the character went through in the 70's. Whereas Brenda had that steeliness that came through from being rock bottom as a result of all the drama with Kay.

The Jill that fell for Jerry Douglas' John was different and to me John/Jill with Brenda didn't work as well. The story directionwas part of that and also that Jerry didn't like working with Brenda may have played a part.

[ltm1997]

I didn’t know Jerry didn’t like working with Brenda! Why is that?? *sips tea* LOL.

[kalbir]

@ltm1997 From what I recall, Jerry Douglas spoke of his dislike of BD in the soap press in the 1990s. Maybe somebody has the article/interview. Then again, who didn't have beef w/ BD?

[Paul Raven]

And Jerry really loved working with Deborah so any  actress may have had it a little tough.

With Deborah you could see how John was smitten. Not so much with Brenda.

I remember when Deborah filled in for Brenda for a few eps and immediately the dynamic changed. It was during the divorce.

Also in talking about Brenda's Jill she went as far as destroying her mother's happiness by seducing and marrying Stuart. That demonstrated how damaged she had become.

[Broderick]

I don't recall there ever being a shortage of Danny Romalotti, from the time he first appeared in the summer of 1981 until he left to do "Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" in the 1990s.  

He maybe doesn't appear in many recaps, because most of his early material was strictly "C-storyline" stuff that was barely worth a mention in the big picture. 

If I remember right, he was initially a waiter at Jonas's, where Paul and Andy both ended up working.  (In fact, the three actors -- Damian, Ford & Davidson -- all got their charcoal sketch done together for the opening credits.)

There was a little "locker room set" attached to Jonas's restaurant, where Paul, Andy, and Danny could change into their designated waiter uniforms, which were white shirts, black pants, and aprons.  This was a clearly a John Conboy-esque trope that allowed the three boys to stand around in their undershirts and Fruit of the Looms to discuss their love lives, in a somewhat homoerotic manner, that caused John Kelly Genovese to grouse that the show was "verging on T&A titillation."   

Danny was supposed to be the innocent "good boy" (presumably Catholic) who was the antitheses of Jack Abbott (the older, more worldly boy that Patty and her friend Gretchen had encountered in a country-western Urban Cowboy bar that they weren't supposed to be in).

Seems to be it was a slow-moving, fairly thoughtful storyline, in which Patty was pretty torn about whether she preferred the boy who sang saccharine songs to her in a swing, or the boy who had a fancy job, a fancy car, and was sexually experienced. 

Danny had presented himself at work as being from a "large, happy family".  Paul and Nikki decided to surprise him by doing a little biography on him for the newspaper, or for the program notes in a little concert he was doing.  They went to the house where he supposedly lived, but no one there had ever heard of him.  He was forced to admit that his mother was deceased, and his sister & father were in the slammer for thieving, and he'd merely told everyone at work a version at work that he WISHED was true.  This got even more sympathy from Mary Williams (who hadn't yet turned into the sauerkraut and spareribs cartoon of her later years).  Mary was Danny's big champion, as she didn't want Patty "living in sin" with "that Abbott boy", and she felt Danny was more in line with Patty's conservative, Catholic upbringing. 

This went on for about a year.  In the spring of 1982, Traci Abbott arrived in town from boarding school, and she had posters of Danny all over the wall of her bedroom.  It was quickly revealed (vis-à-vis her friendship with Angela Laurence) that she had a huge crush on Danny.  She was stunned to find out Patty actually KNEW him.  This led to a lot of stuttering, stammering, red-faced scenes in which Traci couldn't believe she was actually able to speak with her idol.) 

But he was CONSISTENTLY around.   Michael Damian likely had a fairly flexible schedule that allowed him to record and do concerts, but I don't recall him being "missing" for a long period of time.  Most of us who watched daily back then (who were teenagers) were far more interested in Danny, Patty and Jack than we were in the "A-storyline", which was Lorie Brooks and the Vanessa Prentiss trial.    

[Broderick]

We used to laugh about this at my house -- Mister Abbott would've never married Brenda Dickson's Jill, but she was ideal to play the divorce storyline with the lurid photographs and adultery.  

As someone said above, Deborah Adair played the character as more "flippant, but always with an ulterior motive", while Brenda Dickson imbued all the hurt and anger that Jill had endured at the hands of Kay Chancellor.  

Adair's Jill could be comically callous and calculating, with a shrug of her shoulders.  Like at one point, she tried to sell Liz Foster's house to drum-up some cash, and she dragged the New Greg into the middle of it. Liz Brooks made Jill apologize to Greg for wasting his time.  Jill had no interest in apologizing to Greg -- because his time meant nothing to Jill, but once she found out John Abbott was in town for a conference, she called Greg and arranged to meet him for lunch to offer her apology, but really she just wanted to park her fanny prominently in a spot where John Abbott would notice her and start thinking of her again.  (This is while she was engaged to Andy Richards.)  With Adair's Jill, it was easy to forgive her for these types of stunts, because she always played them as though it was just a way to "get ahead", but if it didn't work, aw shucks, at least she tried.  

Brenda Dickson was always more "focused" and "calculating" in her conniving.  

[will81]

I will say though that there are scenes out there that show Brenda could have played the more vulnerable and loving Jill to John. The first being after her affair, when she returns home and is distraught about what she's done. Jill and John have a rather tender and loving moment in their room.

The other is the June 11 1985 episode. One of the few where John and Jill are really connecting. I think while Brenda and Jerry's chemistry isn't off the charts, they had enough there to make it work. Plus Jill is rather charming and seductive. I think this is closer to what the courtship would have been had Brenda played that aspect. Much like Stuart Brooks, Jill would have been the woman to help John feel alive again. Not as much romance and sweetness as Deborah's Jill had and more John being slightly lured in by Jill with a touch of romance, which ultimately makes more sense as to why their marriage fell apart so easily, even before the affair was discovered. 

Who knows, maybe Jerry and Brenda were getting along that week, lol. Maybe they both knew the end was near and were happy

 

Edited January 24, 2023 by will81

[janea4old]

One of the flashbacks that airs on Tracey Bregman 40th anniv episode.

What episode is this Joanna flashback from? I'd like to watch the original, if I know where to look in the vault.

Maybe @jam6242 knows?

Edited January 25, 2023 by janea4old

[kalbir]

@janea4old JoAnna first episode was December 7, 1984. That scene could be from 1985.

I originally thought Neil Fenmore stopped appearing in 1986 and died off screen in 1987 but from the full episodes/clips Neil Fenmore last appearance was sometime in 1985 with the end of the engagement to Gina. Did he get an exit story before his off screen death or did he just stop appearing?

[sheilaforever]

Jim Storm had zero scenes in 1986… don’t know his exit date, though.

[Broderick]

He got the Carl Williams treatment.  Stopped appearing without an explanation.  He was just "at the office".  

[sheilaforever]

For more than a year, I don’t recall even that line until he suddenly „died“.

[kalbir]

@sheilaforever @Broderick I wonder if Bill Bell casting James Storm at B&B was a make good for the ending at Y&R.