Y&R: Old Articles

[Vizion]

 

I don't know if it would have happened the way it happened necessarily but I think Nikki and Jack definitely would have married eventually anyway. 

[BoldRestless]

Some questions and random thoughts:

 

What is the Bach piece the surgeon listens to in (49a)?

Who are those men in Kay's dream in (49a) at 5 minutes plus? I thought it could be her late husbands, Gary, Phillip, and Cash, but they don't look like the actors (second guy maybe Phillip but none of them look like Cash). Interesting parallel to the dream from the 2004 intervention.

 

Had to close my eyes during Kay's actual surgery... wow, Jeanne was brave! Some of that dialogue was so harsh, I felt sorry for her having to deliver it considering how much this mirrored her own life. Very reminiscent of Jennifer Brooks talking to herself after waking up from her mastectomy, but sooo personal!

 

Brilliant work by Jeanne in these scenes. I love the post-operation scene where she's in her bedroom, the lighting is dark and all you see is her body language in the mirror, but she managed to convey everything with hand motions without showing her face or those expressive eyes.

 

You can read a wonderful diary from Jeanne about the facelift here: https://classicsodyr.tumblr.com/post/153344729773/jeanne-coopers-face-lift-her-own-diary-soap#notes

 

I'd been waiting to see the Rick Daros finale since those Feb 1984 videos of Nikki being held hostage popped up. Did not disappoint! It was a great psychological drama with the two of them in that beach house, and maybe the best acting MTS has done. The parts on the beach were cheesy, but fun.

 

Unfortunately we missed a hilarious scene, per the recaps, where Victor, having learned he's impotent, decides to leave town forever. In the car to the airport, Douglas shows him pictures of Nikki stripping, and he suddenly tells Douglas to turn the car around, the problem is gone! I'm half wondering if they used Nadia's theme for that one...

 

And onto Victor meeting his mother... what can I say, it's beautifully done. I don't care about cue cards, Eric Braeden can kill me with one look. One thing I found interesting was when he was remembering that his mother told him not to eat too much at the orphanage and never take seconds or more than he needs. It put all of those scenes of Victor being annoyed at Nikki pigging out during her pregnancy in context, and also reminded me of a throwaway line where he said he didn't like sweets and his general ribbing of Douglas. They don't do little character moments like this anymore. 

 

Not too much Abbot stuff here but good to get an HQ quality of Jill falling off the ladder. You can see how she did it on purpose but was kind of in a daze so it was left open to interpretation. 

 

Thinking about "don't be too specific"... can't imagine them making reference today to a character on welfare, who worked as a domestic, and never paid into social security.  Or that line where Ashley asked Marc if his idea of a good time is sitting around smoking pot. Lol. The writing from 40 years ago is so much more modern than today, it's amazing. 

 

 

[OzFrog]

 

Jill’s falling off the ladder was well done. There was purpose behind it, certainly, but she was definitely freaked out by something - almost like she thought the child was demonic, judging from how she reacted in her vision prior to climbing the ladder.

Edited August 24, 2020 by OzFrog

[will81]

Yes it was a riff on Rosemary's Baby. 

I used to think once Nikki found out Jack used her to get Jabot back, the marriage would have ended, no saving of Victoria and no Jack redeemed.

 

BUT if Traci had still returned and Ashley had still married Victor, maybe Bell would have kept them together and things may have played out somewhat the same. 

 

Bill Bell said he sometimes planned a year in advance, and sometimes only a few weeks in advance. Kay Alden said as long as a married couple are interesting, they would keep them married. I think Jack may have cheated and done other scoundrel type things, but yeah I now think Bell would have seen the potential of keeping Jack/Nikki/Victor and Ashley in the same orbit. 

[YRfan23]

I have to say I am now finally on the Victor's funeral clips and Dina's reveal, and It's crazy how much more campier and comedic the show was in the 80's then it became later on...I'm not gonna lie it's kind of sad how Bill Bell made the show a little too serious going into the mid 90's, not that it was bad, but the early 80's are definitely a stark contrast considering how much more serious the 70's seemed....Some of the humor is stuff you would expect to see later on JER's Days and even Passions. During Victor's  funeral the Minister was talking about how he was called over to marry Victor and Eve, but that g-d had other plans and wanted Victor to "come to him" without the marriage taking place...cut to Katherine thinking "Thank g-d for that!

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 " and now Katherine is giving her Eulogy, saying how Victor made a great sacrifice,  and Victor is hiding in the back thinking "For g-d's sake Katherine please don't say anything about Nikki and Victoria..not here..not now"! LOL it's so funny! 

 

Edited August 24, 2020 by YRfan23

[yrfan1983]

That’s right where I’m at!  Yes, spring ’83 was definitely fun, and it was when all the plots finally “clicked” after a looooong transitional period: Eve targeting Victor, the Abbotts and Dina, Rick seducing Nikki, Lauren coming between Traci and Danny…

 

For me, my favorite scenes from spring ’83 were Stuart and Liz! and Katherine trying to help them. The dialogue was so authentic that I felt this was a real couple suffering through marital strife. I was so rooting for them to bridge the space between them. I wanted to tell Stuart to try to meet Liz halfway to make her more comfortable… sell that huge Brooks house, you don’t need all that space! Then Stuart and Liz should pick a new smaller place to live together, where they’re both comfortable.  Sigh... only in the fantasy in the head, haha
The last scene where they left for the cemetery felt so hopeful, but apparently this was Stuart’s last ep. I think someone commented that Robert Colbert chose to leave at this point…
 

[YRfan23]

Yes! i know people have said 1984 was when the transition was complete, but it seems to be that way starting Spring 1983! Also It's probably terrible to say this, but seeing all the women's hats' at the funeral was hilarious to me too!   Nikki, Katherine and Eve! LOL sooo 80's!   and like @BoldRestless mentioned I'm curious to know where Victor serving in the war alongside Douglas came from?? was that just a retcon that Bill Bell decided to add in? I guess maybe 80-81 Victor/Douglas scenes would explain more of that? 

The Stuart/Liz scenes were very sentimental for all the reasons you said! It makes me sad knowing we've probably seen the last of not only Stuart but the iconic and original Brooks house as well!  I would have allowed Stuart and Liz to reconcile, but I guess maybe without his onscreen family RC thought it was pointless to stay...I guess he could have made a cameo along with his daughters at the wedding in 1984 though. 

I wish we got a scene of Nikki, Rick, Liz and Stuart at the cemetery at the same time!  

 

btw something I've been wondering but is Earl Bancroft gone? I don't think he's been seen since Victoria's baptism. 

[trainman]

 

Even though they both act as though they've met before, I don't recall ever seeing them interact before this point, unless it was something brief from long before this even.  It might just be set up that way, like they were already aware of each other in the business world.  As far as I know, these are the first scenes together on screen, unless someone recalls something earlier.

 

EDIT...  60b has what I think are probably some of the final scenes of the Foster house, well into late 1984.

Edited August 24, 2020 by trainman

[will81]

Hey everyone. Some more Jill clips not included in the vault uploads. The first a collection of scenes from Jun/Jul 1984. The second is two clips, one from when Ashley fired Lindsey and another from when Lindsey confronts Jill and Jack after Jack reveals all about the wedding. Chunks of this are seen in vid 60a but this clip has bits cut out

 

If anyone is missing the scenes from Jul 84 when Dina and Jill wait for John and the outcome of the contested divorce, I can upload those too.

 

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[titan1978]

I think Bill Bell and team were just taking the temperature of that time period.  More realism was popular on primetime and daytime (minus DAYS).  A lot of shows lost a sense of fun around that same time (GH I’m looking at you).  Plus Sharon and Nick become a huge focus and they were never fun characters.

 

We had just come off a run of intense stories but also still with a sense of fun- characters like Nina, Lauren, Drucilla, Sheila, Leanna, Katherine and Jill were sometimes in serious material but they were also fun to watch and could go from soapy to gritty.

[Faulkner]

Lindsay: “Hello Jill. Is your father... excuse me, your husband... at home?”

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[will81]

How long was Melody sick? It seems she has been off for a number of weeks. Vid 60 is around end of September 1984. Anyone know what happened to her?

Found out. From Sep 28, 1984. Seems she was out from about August - Nov 1984

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Edited August 24, 2020 by will81

[Broderick]

I'd honestly forgotten that we had the Fake Nikki during the Children's Hospital Benefit scenes with Jack.  But I agree -- that girl Robin did a pretty good as Nikki, which is probably why I'd forgotten that Melody Thomas didn't perform in those scenes.   

 

And for those of y'all keeping track of the Foster house set, it appears once again in one of the August - October 1984 clips, with Liz Foster and Jill having a scene inside it.   There were some (partial) closing credits included with that clip, and Julianna McCarthy (Liz Brooks) had been demoted to a recurring character; her contract days were over.   Jeanne Cooper (Kay) was the "senior" cast member from then till her death.   

[will81]

Yes late September/Early October 1984 is the last sighting of the Foster house so far. Pretty sure Julianna's last appearance was Feb 1985 until she would return in May 1986. I think after that Liz was not seen again until 1993 after Billy was born which was also her last appearance during the Bill Bell years. 

 

ETA: Also missing is Brett Hadley as Carl Williams. I knew he had disappeared around this time. I think he rocks up again in 1985 but is missing again for most of 1986. He actually doesn't appear until May 1986 when Jill is shot. 

Edited August 24, 2020 by will81

[Broderick]

 

Yes sir, my recollection is that Liz is just gonna disappear in a puff of smoke somewhere between late 1984 and early 1985, the way Stuart Brooks had just disappeared into thin air in 1983. 

When Jill gets shot in the spring of 1986, John Abbott will call Liz in London to give her the news, and Bill Bell will make a huge production of ret-conning in the dialogue that Liz had moved to London to be with Snapper and Chris, which everyone on the show seems to accept as a fact, although none of us at home knew what on earth had become of her.