Y&R: Old Articles

[Aback]

Old P&G soap episodes used to be streamed in 2008 or so. I know because I began watching AW thanks to that. I can't imagine it was too much of an investment to stream them, but of course they took it down after a while, so something did go wrong I guess... Sad.

[YRBB]

 

It was too early, same with Hulu. Streaming hadn't taken off by then, I doubt they were advertised properly, and one still could have trouble streaming videos due to connections or if you didn't update this or update that... Different era. They REALLY should start all over.

Edited April 11, 2017 by YRBB

[AMARIB91]

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I have no idea who most of these characters are but it is a delight to watch old episodes and see how great Y&R used to be. Yes, I said used to be lol. 

 

Also, are the rumors true about Michael Muhaney returning as Adam Newman? And is soap opera legend Eric Braedan really retiring?

[slick jones]

I doubt MM will be back after the HHK mess.  Then again, Robert Kelker-Kelly worked plenty after Days, so..

[Juliajms]

Hell no. I would be so livid.  No woman should have to put up with sexual misconduct in the workplace, but HHK was really young.  MM should never be allowed back on the set, especially since other people seem to be persona non grata for doing far less (imo). If EB still has any pull at all I have to believe it won't happen.

[amybrickwallace]

 

They would be out of their minds if they allowed this to happen. I'm STILL livid that Chris Brown (albeit in another branch of show business) has a career after how he's treated women.

[titan1978]

Look at how much of that episode was about longing.  Romance is more than just a basic idea or concept.  The relationships are very rich I that episode.

[Paul Raven]

Reading through some old SOD summaries from 1981...

 

After divorcing  Nikki and distancing himself from April, Greg was having recurring headaches and moments of forgetfulness.That was dropped and then Bill Bell had Peggy Brooks,reporter decide to investigate slum lords in GC. Meanwhile Greg gets a new client who has several property holdings in town. Greg doesnt realize the  man is a slum lord. Greg bonds with Peggy when he pops in to see his mom.

That was dropped and then Chris was feeling unfullfilled. Snapper wanted a son. Greg and Chris spent a romantic evening together.That was dropped in favor of

Sally returning and the focus moving to Chris/Snapper/Sally.

 

Seems Bell was losing interest in those original characters.

 

 

Edited April 17, 2017 by Paul Raven

[yrfan1983]

Is this when Howard McGillin was playing Greg? Does anyone remember his time in the role and if he was good? Seems like things didn't click for Howard on YR, but he went on to a very successful acting career

[Khan]

I've wondered that myself.  From a physical standpoint, Howard McGillin seems a more suitable replacement for James Houghton as Greg Foster than Brian Kerwin or even Wings Hauser (who, IMO, would have made a better Snapper than the Hoff).  Moreover, I've seen some of McGillin's work on primetime shows from the late '70's and early '80's, and while he wasn't the BEST, I don't think he would have been worse than anyone else on Y&R at that time.  So, why didn't he last long on this show?  Maybe, as you've said, Bill Bell just grew tired of his original characters after multiple recasts and needed to shake things up?

Edited April 17, 2017 by Khan

[SoapDope]

I was just a kid when Greg was still on the show, but can't really recall McGillin in the role. I agree he seems a throwback to James Houghton's version of Greg. In my opinion I think Hasselhoff and Hauser were totally miscast. What I have seen of Tom Tammi on ATWT and EON, he might have been a better recast for either Snapper or Greg. I think Sherry Mathis (Liza on SFT) would have been a great recast for Leslie Brooks. 

 

It does seem Bell was tiring of the original characters at that point as well as the audience. The final nail in the coffin was when Jaime Lyn Bauer decided to leave the show in 82 and he knew viewers wouldn't accept a recast. Hasselhoff was also leaving for Knight Rider. I think he was already trying to get off the show as early as 79/80 shooting pilots and doing some prime time things. I read that John Conboy felt the show was getting stale as well and there was power struggle between him and Bell. I think he also went to the network trying to have Bell replaced on his own show. 

 

Terry Lester came on the show in 1980 and fan mail started pouring in. Bell built the entire Abbott family around him and moved him front burner. The ratings went up. 

[DRW50]

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[Paul Raven]

I think there was a gap between Hauser and McGillan.I only recall McGillan on the show when Jill was trying to sell the Foster home (despite not owning it) in 82.

[vetsoapfan]

 

I thought he was the best of all the recasts; much better looking and more likable than the icky Wings Hauser, and a lot more charismatic than the colorless Brian Kerwin.

 

 

In an interview at the time, Bell explained that it was becoming a struggle with all the constant cast defections and recasts among the original core characters, and after Jaime Lyn Bauer decided to leave, he felt it was best to wipe the slate clean and start afresh, rather than beat a dead horse with so many original actors leaving. He had a point. None of the replacement actors in any of the major roles were as effective as the originals (IMHO), and it started to be like, "Oh, there's the fake Greg talking to the fake Nikki...." It was hard to care about the original characters any more when you simply did not warm up to the actors.

 

 

I never liked Hasselhoff as Snapper, but Hauser as Greg was simply unwatchable. He came across as a serial-killing pimp, LOL, rather than the true-blue, steadfast good guy Greg was supposed to be. I could not wait for him to be gone. I probably would have chosen to kill Snapper off after William Gray espy departed. He was not replaceable.

 

Sherry Mathis probably would have been a great Leslie Brooks. Victoria Mallory was a charming woman; very beautiful, poised, and she sang like an angel, but her version of Leslie lacked real vulnerability, and did not have the ethereal quality necessary for the character.

 

Conboy's nasty backstabbing of Bell was shocking. What hubris on his part! As if, in a power struggle between the two of them, CBS would have chosen Conboy over a legend like William J. Bell! Pffft!

 

While I personally adored all the original characters, and wanted them to remain on the canvas (PLAYED BY THE ORIGINAL ACTORS), when I realized that was going going to happen, I thought Bell was very successful in redirecting the focus to the Abbotts, Williamses, and Newmans. 

 

I just wish, sometimes, that we could get a blast from the 1970s back on our screens. 

[Paul Raven]

I dont think Greg ever got an exit. He was gone by the time Jill married John.

 

I can see Bill's logic in ditching the Brooks after JLB left. She was still strong in her relationship with Victor, but Leslie's story with Robert was a flop.

 

Lynne Topping never clicked as Chris.

 

But I think Greg and Liz should have stayed around. Greg had only been married once and could have later filled the John Silva role on the show. Why Julianna was dropped was a mystery. Stu could have been killed off or been kept aroundmostly offscreen. Would Robert Colbert be happy with turning up a few times a year?