Y&R: Old Articles

[BoldRestless]

In case you all don't follow, this page is uploading some 2001, 2002, 2003 and now two of the primetime specials from 90s. I've uploaded the other two primetimes specials (March 1994 and October 1995) into the vault.

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJkTOrjRs3ygJNMk1dfm_A 

[yrfan1983]

Very cool, thank you! The primetime special listed as 3/1/98 I think is mislabeled, since VR is still on the show and Nikki hasn't been shot yet - I'm guessing around Oct '97? I can research the exact date on the SOC recaps when I have time

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[YRfan23]

Awesome find!  

The Primetime from 1998 is from March 10. It looks like it was corrected now. 

[will81]

True, though I am not aware of that story as I stopped watching entirely in 2005 or 2006. Whenever Cassie died and the Phick affair was happening. Actually I did see Ashley's miscarriage that was caused by Adam, whenever that was, but that was more curiosity, as everyone was talking about how disgusting they thought the whole thing was.

 

2007 onwards I consider the dark ages of the show, I have only heard people on these boards discuss it. Kay Alden was well and truly gone by then and Ed Scott also was out the door for the second time. Making 2006 the last year anyone in the writing or production team had any real connection to the Bell years. 

 

73-94 (Golden Age)

94-02 (Silver Age)

02-06 (Bronze Age)

[YRfan23]

That breaks it down nicely! haha although, while a part of me almost wants to say 2006 was the last of the glory years for the show,(it's always gonna be 2005 for me)  I can't really give it the tittle because LML seemed to have her smear all over the show less then a couple months, even if people like Alden, Smith and Sussman stayed till late in the year. 

 

[DramatistDreamer]

 

This Patty is super cute. In an odd way, I see more than a passing resemblance to Vail Bloom. It would've been fun to see both on screen together to see whether they could still pass for relatives decades later.

Was the souring relationship between Greg and Nikki the beginning of the enmity between Jill and Nikki, or was it something else?

This John Abbott seems more hard-nosed but I like the back and forth between he and Jill. Interesting how the relationship would change with different actors in the roles. There would be something of an almost full reversal, with Jill being the more aggressive one, and John seemingly more compliant.

Geez Nikki, read the room, why don't you...these people practically scream cult! Those lyrics are certainly unsettling.

Interesting episode made that much more enjoyable to watch with pristine visual quality.

 

[moi570]

[yrfan1983]

I almost completely agree with @will81 's assessment... my only edit would be to end the Silver Age in 2001.  Once Ryan died and Tricia went away around Thanksgiving '01, IMO the show lost its thrill and "must-watch"-ness.

[will81]

Yeah I would say May 2002 is the actual end of the Silver age for me, as Jack Smith became a co-HW in June 2002, so my end point is only 6 months off yours. 

 

@YRfan23 I'd say Cassie's death could end the bronze age and push the show into the dark ages. I think that happened in May 2006, so not too far past LML becoming co-HW which I think was Feb 2006. 

[yrfan1983]

 

I'm curious, for the transition from the Golden to the Silver era in 1994, do you have an specific time within that year in mind?

 

I do - June 1994 - two events happened... perhaps in the same week(?)... that cemented the transition for me.

 

1) The departure of April and Heather.  April's return to me was a classic Bill Bell tale, with high emotional stakes for legacy character Paul.  I know April wasn't necessarily a popular character... some people thought she just "cried all the time". Some of her behavior was cringe-worthy... but it was very realistic to the situation of an abused spouse. And I thought Cynthia Eilbacher Jordan did a smashing job.  Watching the original airing of April and Heather's exit that came out of nowhere, I was beyond disappointed as I was really looking forward to seeing April's recovery.

 

2) We lost April and Heather, and in return we got Joshua Morrow's Nick

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 Not a fan, never been a fan, not impressed with his acting. Overall, the obsession with creating a "super-couple" in Nick and Sharon (after 2 recasts!) moves the show away from the Golden Era.

 

Edit to add: starting around the exact same time, the retcon of Jack Abbott as a Vietnam War veteran (?!?!) also hastened the move away from those golden years... 

Edited November 5, 2020 by yrfan1983

[will81]

Exact same, and I mean 100% I always thought Morrow was miscast and I also felt Bell never really understood Nick and the potential he had. Anytime I watched a scene with Morrow I tuned him out completely and only listened to his scene partner (usually Sharon Case)

 

We also had the end of Sheila, Scott, Traci (she was back here and there but had no real story anymore) and Lauren. 

 

And as we moved into 94/95 there were too many stories that were not working and characters who felt off. I have said multiple times but the Vietnam story belonged to John not Jack and Luan should have been battling Jill while Jack and Keemo fought over Mari-Jo. 

 

Then we have Victoria who hated sex suddenly deciding to pose nude for a men's magazine, Ashley and the evil twin, Mamie being humiliated and sent packing, Malcolm raping Dru but he's still a heartthrob and a great guy cause he didn't know she didn't want it, and they de-age Nathan only to give him a mid life crises storyline. 

 

Probably the big draw for me back then was Phyllis. I can't say I loved Chris and Paul together though. 

[Planet Soap]

In watching old episodes, after that slump around 1994, it felt like the plots got better going into 97-98.

Edited November 6, 2020 by ironlion

[will81]

There is definitely an upswing in late 97 which was around the time Alden became co-HW with Bell. 1998 and 1999 were solid years, but I am almost certain Alden was pressured by the Sony brass to scandalise the show more and do more Days/Melrose Place type stories, which lead to the sperm caper story and a massive drop in ratings in 2000, which then lead to her taking on Trent Jones as a co-HW. Within a couple years Jack Smith was back and began taking over. 

 

02/03 as Smith had barged his way in we got Chris being raped by Paul (or not really, or maybe) Olivia and Brad's affair on a cancer ridden Ashley, Sharon making the moves on Victor, which honestly was the beginning of the end of that character, and Jill and Kay becoming mother/daughter. In my mind Jack Smith was the reason Y&R began falling apart, and most likely Alden and Ed Scott being around helped slow the destruction down somewhat. 

 

I think by 2002 Bell had little to no control over either Y&R or B&B, as I feel both shows were doomed by that point. Bell even lost his Senior Exec title by 2004 and became a co-exec producer with Jack Smith. I don't believe for a second this was something Bell would have willingly gone along with. 

Edited November 6, 2020 by will81

[asafi]

 

Jill and Kay becoming mother/daughter was such a ridiculous idea.. 

 

[will81]

Definitely. Reversing it was even worse.