7 hours ago, mikelyons said:

Y&R's classic production model 80s-00s was very segmented. You wouldn't see or work with anyone other than the actors in your scenes. Everything is taped on one set before moving to another set, which means call times, arrivals, departures, hair and make-up calls, are all staggered from 7AM-7PM. 

For instance:

7AM Call: Newman Boardroom (Act 2, Scene 3; Act 3, Scene 1, Act 5, Scene 2)

Victoria, Jack, Victor, Ashley, Jill

 

9AM Call: Crimson Lights (Prologue A, Scene 1; Prologue B, Scene 3; Act Four, Scene 1)

Mackenzie, Nick, Sharon, Billy, JT, Brittany

 

11AM Call: Chancellor Living Room (Prologue B, Scene 4; Act 1, Scene 1; Act 3, Scene 2)

Kay, Esther, Nikki, Jill, Mackenzie, Brock

 

In this example, during the morning, Jill & Mac would be around for most of the morning, but if Victoria was done with her scenes after the Newman Boardroom scenes, she would CERTAINLY go home. 

 

ABC soaps would have everyone come in for a 7AM rehearsal (Y&R rehearsed on the sets and then shot), then do camera blocking, lunch, dress rehearsal, and then a final taping. So, yes, the cast were together all day, every shooting day. This is nicely illustrated in the All My Children behind the scenes video from 1993 or so. 

 

With soap eliminating rehearsals or whatnot, there must be zero time spent socializing since the producers want actors to nail a scene on the first take (which is impossible and needs to stop).

 

Lastly, Y&R would used to shoot six episodes in a week. Monday was dark, but then they would strip a show across the week (shooting those scenes throughout the week when the director was working) to save a day and bank of vacations. 

The model of shooting eight episodes in a week comes from either ABC or NBC and the results are blatant on screen. ATWT and GL would shoot on this schedule around 2003 to simply save time on crew and studio space. 

Thanks so much for that great in depth information. I love hearing about behind the scenes production elements of the soaps, had always wondered about Y&R's production model. 

 

Y&R always came across as a little more polished than other soaps to my eye.

 

6 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

Great summary. I believe Marc Mergeron was also involved with Joanna? Or am I getting confused?

Eric was one of a long list of bland leading men...

Marc also had a brief affair with Jill in 1984 when Jill was convinced John was carrying on with Dina

Edited August 19, 20205 yr by will81

Jill had another affair after Jack and it didn't come up during that epic divorce saga?!

16 minutes ago, BoldRestless said:

Jill had another affair after Jack and it didn't come up during that epic divorce saga?!

No not at all. John also never made the connection that Jill's pregnancy may have been from Jack, I figured he would at least be suspicious once he knew she had an affair in November and announced her pregnancy in December, even though everyone believed she was pregnant from October. Ashley saw Jill and Marc together once and questioned Jill, but Jill managed to convince her nothing was going on, Lindsey also saw them together but didn't do anything about it, Jill managed to keep this one hidden from the cameras, haha. 

20 minutes ago, will81 said:

No not at all. John also never made the connection that Jill's pregnancy may have been from Jack, I figured he would at least be suspicious once he knew she had an affair in November and announced her pregnancy in December, even though everyone believed she was pregnant from October. Ashley saw Jill and Marc together once and questioned Jill, but Jill managed to convince her nothing was going on, Lindsey also saw them together but didn't do anything about it, Jill managed to keep this one hidden from the cameras, haha. 

 

Damn. I never made the connection about Jill's pregnancy until recently either. I had seen the episodes where she is in the hospital after losing the baby but I always thought she threw herself off a chair because she thought the baby had genetic problems. I guess it didn't click that the story with the pictures dragged on long enough for that pregnancy to fit the timeline. Of course John never suspected Billy could be Victor's either haha. 

 

I'm also reading the recaps and there's so much random stuff that never gets mentioned again. Like when Lauren needs money for the music video, Jack pays her to seduce the professor away from Traci. Jack becomes impatient and says maybe she doesn't have what it takes to be with an older man and she proves him wrong by banging him in her dorm room lmao. When Jack and Lauren were hanging around each other last year I had no idea.

5 hours ago, BoldRestless said:

I'm also reading the recaps and there's so much random stuff that never gets mentioned again. Like when Lauren needs money for the music video, Jack pays her to seduce the professor away from Traci. Jack becomes impatient and says maybe she doesn't have what it takes to be with an older man and she proves him wrong by banging him in her dorm room lmao. When Jack and Lauren were hanging around each other last year I had no idea.

 

How the hell was Y&R writing great stuff like this 40 years ago?? But now it's like no one can have sex unless they're married or tortured? It's so weird how assbackwards things have become.

Daytime dramas could get away with alot more stuff in the first half of the 1980s. Then AIDS happened and that changed everything.

14 hours ago, BoldRestless said:

 

Damn. I never made the connection about Jill's pregnancy until recently either. I had seen the episodes where she is in the hospital after losing the baby but I always thought she threw herself off a chair because she thought the baby had genetic problems. I guess it didn't click that the story with the pictures dragged on long enough for that pregnancy to fit the timeline. Of course John never suspected Billy could be Victor's either haha. 

 

I'm also reading the recaps and there's so much random stuff that never gets mentioned again. Like when Lauren needs money for the music video, Jack pays her to seduce the professor away from Traci. Jack becomes impatient and says maybe she doesn't have what it takes to be with an older man and she proves him wrong by banging him in her dorm room lmao. When Jack and Lauren were hanging around each other last year I had no idea.

 

In the vault is a may 1984 episode where Patty had to tell Danny that Jack canceled the check that Lauren bragged about.  I wonder if what you wrote explains that episode more clearly

4 minutes ago, Soaplovers said:

 

In the vault is a may 1984 episode where Patty had to tell Danny that Jack canceled the check that Lauren bragged about.  I wonder if what you wrote explains that episode more clearly

 

And that must be why Danny and Lauren went to Kay for funding. I love it when these pieces of info just surface up that join the dots together.

18 hours ago, BoldRestless said:

 

Damn. I never made the connection about Jill's pregnancy until recently either. I had seen the episodes where she is in the hospital after losing the baby but I always thought she threw herself off a chair because she thought the baby had genetic problems. I guess it didn't click that the story with the pictures dragged on long enough for that pregnancy to fit the timeline. Of course John never suspected Billy could be Victor's either haha. 

 

I'm also reading the recaps and there's so much random stuff that never gets mentioned again. Like when Lauren needs money for the music video, Jack pays her to seduce the professor away from Traci. Jack becomes impatient and says maybe she doesn't have what it takes to be with an older man and she proves him wrong by banging him in her dorm room lmao. When Jack and Lauren were hanging around each other last year I had no idea.

In the Jill compilation I posted you see when Jill announces her pregnancy to the family, Jack quietly says "I'm sure glad you were pregnant before we spent that night in the cabin" the look on Jill's face was priceless. She had told Kay in October that she was already pregnant, then hoped to get pregnant. Kay confronts her in Dec and Jill faints and finds out she really is pregnant. Lindsey believed Jill's baby was Jack's, she was the only one I think that assumed it.

 

The miscarriage I think really was about the chance of the baby being genetically deformed. Though in a later scene Lindsey brings up the fact that Jill also managed to dodge a bullet by losing the baby since she believed it to be Jack's

Reading this synopsis from Dec 75 had me wondering if Jane Hayes might have been the role referred to by Carolyn Conwell as one of her earlier Y&R roles.

It fits her description of  a welfare mom who was involved with Greg at Legal Aid.

 

Chris became further involved with Jane Hayes, the welfare mother who was giving her children away, by having Snapper give her a physical. He found she was anaemic and run-down and urged Chris to get her into the hospital, saying he would arrange it. With Greg's help, Chris succeeded in persuading her. Greg told Chris he originally got involved with Gwen on the rebound from her, Chris, and when she and Snapper separated, he had considered making a move, but he realized she and Snapper belonged together. Chris was grateful. On Christmas, Chris took Jane home and arranged for her children to come home. They asked to stay and Jane was hesitant until Chris explained she had found Jane a job where the kids could be with her. Chris and Snapper talked things out and as he agreed to all her terms, they reconciled.

Just been watching the latest 1984 clips in the vault (56a). So much Victor and Cora stuff that is just beautiful to watch. This is one of those rare times where you do see a completely different side of Victor, and Eric Braeden plays it so well. You also get to see Cora hold Victoria for the first time, and that is simply heart melting.

 

Also there is a little bit of Paul and Patty, and I will say right now - Andrea Evans has fully grown on me in that role. It’s a shame they couldn’t have brought her back initially when Patty returned in 2009 (but obviously wouldn’t have made sense with all the backstory that was involved in her return).

6 hours ago, OzFrog said:

Just been watching the latest 1984 clips in the vault (56a). So much Victor and Cora stuff that is just beautiful to watch. This is one of those rare times where you do see a completely different side of Victor, and Eric Braeden plays it so well. You also get to see Cora hold Victoria for the first time, and that is simply heart melting.

 

Also there is a little bit of Paul and Patty, and I will say right now - Andrea Evans has fully grown on me in that role. It’s a shame they couldn’t have brought her back initially when Patty returned in 2009 (but obviously wouldn’t have made sense with all the backstory that was involved in her return).

 

The july 4 1984 episode when Danny tells Patty he married Traci was so sad...and knowing what we know now about Patty's fate...the seeds were planted back as far as 1982.  The desperation is evident..and we haven't seen episodes that led to Patty leaving (she accidentally caused Traci's miscarriage and she couldn't bear to see Danny's disappointment so she left town..so her mental state was shaky it seems).

57a is up, and it is a treat - Melinda Fee is subbing for Brenda Dickson as Jill!

8 hours ago, OzFrog said:

57a is up, and it is a treat - Melinda Fee is subbing for Brenda Dickson as Jill!

plus 58a has Robin Eisenman as temp Nikki!

 

Fun for us as the viewer... but from a production standpoint, that is not good to have a temp Jill and a temp Nikki at the same time

With all the episodes that have popped up, I’m amazed we still haven’t seen when Judith Chapman played Jill. Unless I’m fantasizing, but I could’ve sworn she said she was a temp Jill in the 90s.