Y&R: Old Articles

[SoapDope]

I remember several years ago on the defunct media domain Y&R board, there was a poster there who would talk about past stories. The way their posts were, it sounded as if they had vintage 70's episodes on tape and would write detailed accounts of what was happening onscreen. A lot of people would question them about having episodes, but they would never reply. 

[ltm1997]

My favorite era from Y&R was from the first decade ('73-'83) and I would give anything to see episodes especially from the 1977-83 years. What amazes me is that it seems like with every other soap that was on around that time, you can find a plethora of old episodes in actually pretty good quality (i.e. GL, ATWT, etc.), not to mention the many promos from those eras. So someone HAD to have taped them, I just don't know why they won't come forward!

[YRfan23]

It's always been jarring that so many 70's/80's stuff isn't on YT thought I guess at one time a few episodes made it on here, but are long since gone....I remember 2, one from 1982 and 1983 when Patty shot Jack, but I stupidly didn't watch or save then...........I'm lucky to have gotten some early 80's compilation scenes I posted a while back, but I would prefer to see the full episodes...

Still, you are right about GL and ATWT with the amazing quality 70's/80's episodes, though I get they were ripped from that special DVD they had......still there are still more early 80's floating around from those 2, then I ever saw of Y&R.....heck GH literally have their entire 80's run all on YT!

[SoapDope]

I get frustrated trying to find anything pre mid 80's for Y&R. Somebody out there who could afford to of had a VCR/Betamax recorder during the1977-1983 time frame had to of taped Y&R. Not everyone was watching ABC/NBC daytime.

[DRW50]

Nadia's Theme pops up in this utterly hilarious ad.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pvNT6gEsVA

[vetsoapfan]

 

 

Whatever happened to the Media Domain boards?

 

I remember there used to be a poster on Danfling's Cancelled Soap Opera Message Board who would go on and on about all the great, rare material she supposedly had, to the point it defied believability. Endless requests for clarification or trading were consistently ignored, but she would write loooooong "recaps" of episodes, claiming the dialogue was lifted directly from the actual shows. To me, everything she posted sounded like overheated fan fiction. I felt it was all a ruse for attention.

 

 

 

 

There have been several vintage eps of Y&R uploaded to youtube over the years, but they always disappear very quickly. I think some copyright owners are more vigilant in reporting "illegal" on-line episodes of their material.

Edited December 8, 2016 by vetsoapfan

[SoapDope]

 I bet it was the same woman on Danfling's board that was posting on Media Domain. She would go on and on about dialogue between Chris & Snapper, Leslie & Lorie etc...like she had episodes she was viewing in front of her. People would ask her were she was seeing those and she would never reply. There was one poster there too that was a guy and he had memory like an elephant. He could remember all these detailed scenes and dialog that happened 30 plus years ago and could answer question about Y&R's past at the drop of a hat. 

 

I don't know what happened to Media Domain. I remember it just disappeared. It was a fun board to read. Youtube is bad to pull Y&R material. I remember those handful of 1975 episodes being on there and then pulled within a month. I'm always seeing daytime game shows, commercials etc from tape recording from the late 70's, but never any Y&R from that time. 

[ryanc]

Why do you think the networks are so strict when it comes to keeping old Y&R episodes off of YouTube? I've always wondered that. They aren't as strict with a lot of other shows..

 

If it's an old episode. Why do they care if it's being distributed?

[vetsoapfan]

 

I, too, think it was probably the same poster on both boards. I think her need to brag and be the center of attention got the better of her. No one could possibly have all the lost material she claimed to have. When she started proclaiming that the shows' writers came to her for advice, I knew for sure that she was loony. The overheated dialogue she presented as "actual transcripts" from various shows was usually presented in the same style and tone...her own, rather than, say William J. Bell's and Harding Lemay's.

 

I've been watching soaps for decades, and can often remember even the most minute details, but with so many shows' histories and characters floating around in my head, I can forget certain things. I'm lucky in that I was a real fanatic about the shows way back when, and kept extensive scrapbooks on Y&R, DAYS, TEON, AW, SOM, etc., which I can refer to if need be.

 

It's too bad about Media Domain's sudden and inexplicable disappearance, but many of my favorite sites have vanished without explanation over the years.

 

Youtube has hosted the debut ep of Y&R, some eps from 1975 and 76, and a few others from the show's first decade, but I believe most of them have been deleted now. Still, we are lucky that so many vintage eps of other soap operas is available.

 

I don't know. Yes, it's a question of copyright violation, and yes, they have the right to keep their material private if they so choose, but it's not like they are losing money from having a few vintage eps floating around youtube. They are not selling DVDs of the series anywhere, so having a handful of classic episodes available to the public to see is not keeping potential buyers from purchasing licensed DVDs being sold. The entire series is sitting in warehouses collecting dust, so why do they care if eager viewers have access to, say, ten measly episodes?

 

My cynical self wonders sarcastically if TPTB just don't want viewers to see for themselves how magnificent the show was back then...and then be able to compare the show's golden years to the dreck being produced today.

[SoapDope]

I know it is impossible to release all of the episodes on DVD, but they could do a  a 70's box set, a 80's box set etc....of some of the most memorable moments. Streaming online or airing them on a retro channel like RTV does with The Doctors would be even better to see a full run. 

[Soapsuds]

If only but I doubt it....

[vetsoapfan]

 

With so many cable stations and streaming services available, I cannot believe no one has taken a chance on rebroadcasting vintage eps of Y&R, Dark Shadows was a smash in syndication and on DVD, and Y&R was more mainstream. Perhaps it would not do very well, but we are not going to know one way or the other until someone tries offering it to the public in one form or another. As you say, they could at least send up a trial balloon by offering a boxset of the 1970s. The material exists and is just sitting there in storage. It would cost them almost nothing to produce a The Best of Y&R: 1970s Collection.

[SoapDope]

 

I agree. When those 1975 episodes were posted a few years back, the viewer hits those got was phenomenal. Millions of people, many who never saw the early years or even born yet were remarking how great they were and wanted to see more.  

[kalbir]

 

If there was a channel somewhere airing 1980s and 1990s Y&R I would so watch that.

 

Maybe it's me, but I never felt Y&R became a pop culture phenomenon in the 1980s and 1990s the way General Hospital was in the late 1970s/early 1980s and Days was during the supercouple and Reilly years. I don't recall Soap Opera Digest or People releasing special commemorative issues for Y&R's 40th anniversary in 2013 the way they did for General Hospital's 50th anniversary that same year and Days's 50th anniversary in 2015.

[SoapDope]

 

I agree. ABC and NBC seemed to dominate for decades. Y&R kind of got neglected, especially for it's first decade. None of those early actors were ever submitted for awards to my knowledge. Even the covers of soap mags rarely put Y&R on it.