Y&R: Old Articles

[vetsoapfan]

 

 

The mainstream media thumbed its nose at (and usually ignored completely) the daytime soaps until primetime TV started to have enormous success with continuing sagas like DALLAS and DYNASTY. Then the media decided soaps were hip. Mainstream journalists, with a total lack of understanding about why soaps had been so hugely popular to begin with, focused on the outrageous camp elements of both daytime and primetime soaps. The absurd, lowbrow storylines of certain shows attracted a newbie audiences, and that's whom the mainstream media wanted to attract. They didn't care about the 40-75 year-old viewers who watched soaps for engrossing interpersonal relationships, well-drawn characters, and family conflict. Mainstream media and its advertisers wanted to pander to the kids.

 

 

Y&R was widely covered in the daytime press during the 1970s. Jacquie Courtney and George Reinholt of AW were the Luke and Laura of their day and also received a lot of press coverage, as did DOOL which had a rabid and vocal following as a steamy, intelligent adult drama, long before it deteriorated into painful camp.

 

 

Wanting to appeal to younger readers and viewers, mainstream print and television media focused on the soaps that would bring in revenue, rather than on the merits of the soaps themselves.

 

 

[DRW50]

 

[EricMontreal22]

 

"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.  "

 

I think some of it had to do with maybe the fact that it was on CBS?  CBS in the 70s, while still having a very large audience (with ATWT remaining the top soap in viewers until the late 70s I believe, despite not remaining the top in the most desirable demo) was largely seen as more traditional.  If you read some of the early, then new daytime fan magazines in the very early 70s (I'm talking 71-72, which is where I've seen issues so before Y&R) there does seem to be an undertone of bias against the ABC soaps--at least the Nixon ones, and I wonder if regular CBS fans had little interest in Y&R in the early days when--at least according to the 1970s soap books like LaGuardia's ones (Soap World, etc) was seen as focusing more on the young, on Hollywood style production values, on the beautiful and often "nearly naked!" (which I realize basically meant they started having shirtless men which was still pretty rare on soaps) cast, etc.  LaGuardia mentions (and he was a fan) that it mixed traditional soap elements with more fantasy elements (daydream sequences, musical scenes) that were more reminiscent of the Hummert's radio soaps than tv was used to.  Whatever that means.

Certainly Y&R quickly got good ratings in the 1970s--so I am going out on a limb here, but I wonder if there is some bias.

I've seen very little 1970s Y&R--I remember when the pilot was on youtube, and an episode involving the Brooks' matriarch and breast cancer I think (I wish I had saved them).  It certainly felt sophisticated right from the start.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of the P&G soaps, but recently when I uploaded those two 1970 AMC episodes that used to be on Nixon's site I was also watching some early 1970s ATWT episodes.  While it was solid soap opera, and the very early AMC episodes certainly feel less sophisticated than the show did by what I've seen of the late 70s, still, the difference between 1970 AMC and ATWT is very striking--ATWT with its organ music and writing style feeling far more traditional.  While Bell's style is pretty different from Nixon's, I can imagine that fans of the traditional soaps may have had some resentment to his shows when they started, the way that some of them did towards OLTL and especially, it seems, AMC.  (These shows also balanced characters well by age--unlike many soaps of the past two decades--but keep in mind that there was a feeling, I gather from all fo the soap literature of the 1970s I've read, that they were appealing to a new, previously not heavily tapped audience--by that time even the New York Times had printed articles about how big these soaps were becoming on campuses.)

Just some rambley thoughts...

 

 

And one more thing--as mentioned, at least in the 80s and since, it seems like the two soaps that did get featured on the cover, and apparently sell the best, for SOD were DAYS and GH--even when their actual ratings (especially with Days) were not so hot.  So it might just be something about those fanbases.

Edited December 14, 2016 by EricMontreal22
Added

[EricMontreal22]

I think because Y&R is seen as such a classic, traditional soap now, people forget that, according to the soap books and press, when it started some complained it was too youth focused.  Both Schemering and LaGuardia write about the fact that Nixon's soaps, especially AMC, did focus on youth and bring in a youth audience but would routinely balance it out with only one youth related storyline--Y&R in its early days was criticized by some soap fans as having nearly all youth based storylines (of course, hence the title).

[vetsoapfan]

 

Yep, some folks initially criticized Y&R for being too focused on youth, but a few years into its run, when the show was focusing on the likes of Bill and Liz Foster, Stuart and Jennifer Brooks, and Katherine Chancellor, it was criticized for showcasing the "old folks," LOL. 

 

People will always find something to kvetch about!

[EricMontreal22]

Oh, I believe that!

[DRW50]

I've been getting a few (two so far - partial episodes) Y&R '90s episodes. A December 1990 and December 1991. If anyone wants me to send them just drop me your e-mail address, if you don't mind me sending through Drive. 

[soapfan770]

 

Will definitely hit you up Carl! Hope you've been enjoying the plethora of ATWT episodes on youtube I've been on a binge of lately!

 

Was actually watching Lauren's 21st birthday clips from 1984 and it's some great fun. The most understated yet so prominent scenes was there was so much animosity between Jazz and Tyrone being in the same room at the party yet their sibling relationship or rivalry wasn't touched it seems as Tyrone ended up doing whiteface while Jazz did nothing. Certainly Bell had setup a Tyrone/Amy/Jazz triangle but it went nowhere it seems, even as Bell went so far to make Tryone a white collar worker and Jazz more blue collar but still nothing happened. 

Edited December 17, 2016 by soapfan770

[YRfan23]

It's always interesting how the 80s Y&R black characters (Amy, Jazz, Tyrone) were never as successful it seemed as the 90s ones (Dru, Liv,Neil,Malcolm)

[DRW50]

 

I guess there was Nathan.

 

I do wonder if Amy could have become popular if she'd stayed. 

 

Definitely. I keep hoping more early '80s or more 1985 or way back ('70s back) will pop up but I can't have everything. 

 

Just send your e-mail address and I'll send whenever you wish.

 

I also got a 1998 episode and a 12/14/90 B&B if anyone needs those. 

[soapfan770]

I so just wanted to hear Brenda Dickson's Jill to tell Nina to "sashay away"....

 

 

[YRfan23]

Hard to believe in another week or so we will be seeing this woman on our tv screens again! even if it's a repeat! LOL

[soapfan770]

BTW why was Derek Thurston invited to Victor and Nikki's wedding? I don't even know if Victor and Nikki knew him well at all, and certainly wouldn't have been a guest especially after Douglas challenged Derek to a duel! 

[DRW50]

 

I think Victor's arrival in GC was when Katherine called him to help her against Derek. Maybe they mended fences. 

[YRfan23]

Rare Photo.