Were there any story plans which were changed because Victoria Rowell returned towards the end of the drinking story?

Thomas was still in the role of Callie when she died right?

Nope.

Siena had been recast by that point.

although I thought the whole stuff with Trey and his goon was a bit ridiculous.

The Trey stuff wasn't bad (it was a typical soap story).

It was Liv (and everyone else) going under the bus for Malcolm that hurt the story.

Callie was a woman from Malcolm's past which I thought was a nice touch as I don't think the Malcolm/Olivia pairing always felt right.

Liv/Malcolm weren't bad but their relationship pretty much was used as a placeholder Shemar (that conveniently kept him away from the white actresses)

I'm pretty sure Callie was gone by the time Dru came back from Paris

Yep.

and after Dru left again towards the end of the year is when the Neil/Alex/Malcolm triangle developed.

Actually it didn't.

Neil/Alex/Malcolm didn't happen until the middle/end of the next year.

Olivia's insecurity over Callie led her to hit the sheets with Neil right?

No.

Liv never slept with Neil (at that point).

But Malcolm THOUGHT they slept together which he used as an excuse to cheat with Callie.

Were there any story plans which were changed because Victoria Rowell returned towards the end of the drinking story?

Serena was to have a longer run which ended early cause Y&R was happy to have Vicki back.

Alex was alright she was certainly a woman of power in her own right, a pretty high-priced lawyer in the vain of Leslie. The problems of course were the cliche's, like Olivia being on the defense against Alex while we ended up with Neil/Alex/Malcolm. We had Neil and Alex barely stand each other and then have an affair. Malcolm's disappearance and presumed death was...um well its been said Y&R lost a million viewers when Shemar left, but really its easy to see how the Africa story could see how it could drive away a million viewers.

What were the other stories going on at the time of the million loss?

Alex was alright she was certainly a woman of power in her own right, a pretty high-priced lawyer in the vain of Leslie.

Unfortunately Alexia didn't have Angell's star power (nor much chemistry with Kristoff & Shemar)

The problems of course were the cliche's, like Olivia being on the defense against Alex

To be fair Liv's dislike of Alex really was about her issues with Malcolm.

Malcolm's disappearance and presumed death was...um well its been said Y&R lost a million viewers when Shemar left, but really its easy to see how the Africa story could see how it could drive away a million viewers.

Malcolm's death wasn't the problem. It was the forced love triangle (just like with Neil/Sofia/Malcolm).

Add that to losing Vicki/Shemar, Neil being relatively underwritten (despite Kristoff's good performances) & Liv being almost destroyed & it's easy to see why ratings fell so much.

What were the other stories going on at the time of the million loss?

Besides the Africa story we had Amanda/Mac/Ralph stalker tale, Nick/Sharon/Diego/Grace, Paul/Isabella etc. It was pretty boring actually, and it lead some changes with the writing line-up ie bringing in Jack Smith.

Malcolm's death wasn't the problem. It was the forced love triangle (just like with Neil/Sofia/Malcolm).

Add that to losing Vicki/Shemar, Neil being relatively underwritten (despite Kristoff's good performances) & Liv being almost destroyed & it's easy to see why ratings fell so much.

I agree, and I've always felt that Moore's exit was pretty much the final nail in the coffin for many after seeing these characters being mishandled or discarded.

I always felt like the story with Amanda and Ralph was a bad idea for the Mac character. It was just more misery for her, the last thing she needed when the actress seemed so dour already (and so was the recast).

Besides the Africa story we had Amanda/Mac/Ralph stalker tale, Nick/Sharon/Diego/Grace, Paul/Isabella etc. It was pretty boring actually, and it lead some changes with the writing line-up ie bringing in Jack Smith.

The stories themselves were fairly solid.

It was the casting & recasting that hurt most of them.

I agree, and I've always felt that Moore's exit was pretty much the final nail in the coffin for many after seeing these characters being mishandled or discarded.

Yep.

Michelle Thomas' passing, that was so sad. Malcolm Jamal Warner spoke about spending her final moments with her, really touching stuff.

I did take issue the whole the "Sharon is an irrational whore nailing the not so single Diego so its okay that Nick shacks up with Grace" mentality at the time. However in retrospect I think it was pretty tame considering anything since 2008. I was just very disappointed we got more contrived infidelity and that Sharon was made out to be the bad one following the death of the baby.

I did take issue the whole the "Sharon is an irrational whore nailing the not so single Diego so its okay that Nick shacks up with Grace" mentality at the time.

Diego was single when he & Sharon slept together.

I always felt like the story with Amanda and Ralph was a bad idea for the Mac character. It was just more misery for her, the last thing she needed when the actress seemed so dour already (and so was the recast).

I don't think Ralph/Amanda was a bad idea at all; it was pretty much a given that one or both of them would eventually show up and cause drama. It was just fulfilling of storyline potential. There was a lot to be milked between Mac and Amanda's dynamic, even without Ralph's presence.

Of course, one has to wonder how absolutely great it would be if Ash Bash got to play this. As she should have.

I don't think Ralph/Amanda was a bad idea at all; it was pretty much a given that one or both of them would eventually show up and cause drama. It was just fulfilling of storyline potential. There was a lot to be milked between Mac and Amanda's dynamic, even without Ralph's presence.

Of course, one has to wonder how absolutely great it would be if Ash Bash got to play this. As she should have.

To me Kruger played it the way Bashioum would have - very sullen. Mac was so solemn it was just tough for me to ever invest in her, although the jackass Billy didn't help.

To me Kruger played it the way Bashioum would have - very sullen. Mac was so solemn it was just tough for me to ever invest in her, although the jackass Billy didn't help.

Oh well this makes more sense to me if you don't like Mac and Billy to begin with

But, I'm sorry, Kruger <<<<<<Bashioum. There's just no comparison. Totally invested in her.

Ashley was a better actress, but all I thought the character did, after a promising start, was trip over her lower lip, as Billy twitched and Jill wrung her hands and plotted. It bothered me at the time, especially the way Billy treated Jill.