Y&R: Old Articles

[blueberrywaffle]

Today Nick was giving a massage to Phyllis and wearing a blonde wig and named Sven ? Is it common or are they remembering Sven from years before?

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[yrfan1983]

Thank you so much @BoldRestlessfor uploading the Keesha Jan ’96 clips! I have finally reached 1996 in my chronological viewings, and I had never seen these before.

I have to say that overall this is not a great timeframe of the show, from my perspective… lots of stories I’m not a fan of. But these scenes are really incredible! What great acting and writing.  The plotting was set up so well, because when Liv tells Keesha she’s positive, there are so many layers, and so many things racing through Keesha’s mind.  I was totally engrossed.

The only thing about this story that is not working for me, is that Nathan as played by Nathan Purdee would have never cheated on Liv in such a way!  The only way my brain can process it, is that I am pretending that Nathan as played as Nathan Purdee passed away, and then Liv married some other lesser dude who then cheated on her with Keesha.
 

[YRfan23]

I doubt it…unless one of the writers randomly stumbled upon one of the 1986 scenes with Jill and Sven…I feel those stupid scenes had Morrows handiwork all over it…

[Paul Raven]

 

That was my criticism at the time. There was no background to the affair. It was a cop out to me. They went from A- E and left out the steps in between.

[YRfan23]

If anything the story showcased how talented Tonya Lee Williams was! Her work was so overlooked for an Emmy that year. 

[BoldRestless]

It's a stereotype in US television.  Massage is associated with Swedish massage and they think all Swedes are named "Sven."

Here is Phyllis doing an accent when giving Danny a massage in 1995:

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You're welcome!  I have so many random clips I saved from YouTube over the years, but it's hard figuring out the dates. I'm grateful to the person who posted all those 1996 German episodes and to the person who uploaded those "Who Shot Victor" clips, which are almost complete as far as the Newman family scenes. It makes it easier to figure out the dates. I like to watch in order to, so its kind of an art watching trying to figure out the date without really getting into the clips! I have more from that storyline that are not dated yet. If you want I can upload them in a batch and maybe you or anyone else who wants to pitch in could help date them? PM or email me if you want  

 

That's the thing, when we look back at the 90s "lulls" in the show, there usually is at least one excellent storyline and the rest of the stories are solid. That storyline was as good as it gets. Olivia was always a difficult person, not a saint, but you felt so much for her because the stakes were so high. I never really liked Nathan, I thought he was pretty mean to her in a tough love kind of way when she was sick (like in the 1994 primetime ep). But to be fair I've not watched 1988-1992 yet and that's probably when he was at his best.

[will81]

The other issue is, I seem to remember it being a mid-life crises affair, despite the fact that they cast a younger actor in the role and just gave him the Mr. Sheffield grey hair special. Made even less sense. Why they de-aged Nathan is beyond me. Nathan Purdee and Randy Brooks were both born in 1950 and Adam Lazzare-White was born in 1969. 

Edited August 18, 2021 by will81

[kalbir]

@yrfan1983 @BoldRestless @will81 Bill Bell lost interest in Nathan when Shemar Moore blew up in popularity.

Today (August 18) marks 15 years since John Abbott's death. That was the end of an era and Y&R hasn't been the same since.

 

 

[DramatistDreamer]

That seems plausible.

Whatever the impetus for the diminution of the character, with each recast it seemed as if Nathan became increasingly generic. Lazare seemed talented enough but Nathan appeared to be devoid of charisma by the time Lazare had his turn.  I may not have fully realized it then, but in retrospect, that final storyline was pushing Nathan off the canvas, by first making the character as unlikeable a character as one can get, so presumably when his demise came, he wouldn't be as greatly missed as he would've been had he stayed the version of the character portrayed by Nathan Purdee.

 

[asafi]

Re watching the 1996 story uploaded to YT 'The shooting of Victor Newman'.. and it seems TPTB had plans for Victor/Christine's relationship.. and Boy, Nikki was Jealous! 

I must admit, I can see the chemistry despite the age difference. Paul/Christine is a really boring couple, I wonder why TPTB changed direction here... 

[kalbir]

Yes it did look like Bill Bell was alluding to a Victor/Christine pairing but thankfully we were spared. 

Nikki was at her mid-1990s snooty lady of the manor peak when she confronted Christine about Christine getting too close to Victor.

 

[will81]

I second this. At the time I was cringing at the idea and am thankful they brought Diane back and got her involved with Victor, though I am not happy with how her character ended up by the time Alex Donnelly left.

[asafi]

So as the never-ending story of Victor's 1996 shooting finally ending soon, for some reason TPTB had Mari Jo Mason kidnap Christine in some bizarre plot twist and hold her hostage.. sorry, but this behavior is uncharacteristic for the manipulative and calculated Mary jo.. why the heck would she kidnap Victor's lawyer, the fiancee of a renowned private detective? there is no going back from this ridiculous act. 

[soapfan770]

It was pretty ridiculous but I guess there wasn’t room for someone like Mari Jo on canvas especially with Phyllis on at the same time? Granted Mari Jo had always been a leery, treacherous femme fatale type character but her meltdown was OOC and of course there’s no going back when a character attacks the show’s heroine Cricket

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.

Also for some reason The Who Shot Victor missed two important story beats that should have been included: 1) Jill having a one night stand with Ryan and 2) Victor doing something to piss off Jack and/or John for the last time. Brad’s motive was solid; Jill’s was pretty weak but it would have been more interesting if she had actually slept with Ryan, Victor knew and held it over head because he would tell Nina and Victoria. For the second beat Victor could have seen green and was in the process of selling the Jabot name off to another rival conglomerate much to Jack & John’s chagrin; yet somehow Victor’s shooting came at a time when Victor, Jack and John were all playing very nice with each other. Mari Jo shooting Victor over a Fax about her past and for the love of Jack just didn’t ring true.

[Soaplovers]

Actually back in 1996, people kind of cheered on Mari Jo for torturing the Bug.  Some even said she found an effective way of shutting the bug up.(drugging her).

I do.wonder how different the show would have been hav Mari Jo not been the shooter. Jack / Mari Jo were a good match...the few pairings of his that worked.

Personally, since Stafford ended up quitting in 1997 anyway, maybe have Phyllis be the shooter.  She meant to shoot Christine and got Victor by mistake.  Phyllis would have kidnapped Chris and tortured her..would be in total character.

I think 1996 was when Bell's health started to decline..imho