1 hour ago, kalbir said:

In hindsight, Ashley should have been rested in 1988 and brought back when ED was ready to return to daytime.

ED didn't get a proper exit storyline and Bill Bell rushed into recasting Ashley but then BE Ashley basically floundered for like 6 months until Bill Bell set up Ashley/Brad/Traci triangle during Summer 1989.

BE was a serviceable recast, but looking back at her run, her main storylines (Ashley/Traci/Brad triangle, Victor marriage/divorce, Blade/Rick) didn't really work.

Second half of 1994 to first half of 1997 Y&R was off track and was shaken by the huge rise of time slot rival Reilly Days. That era to me is marked by the frat party, Nick/Sharon eating the show, and a lull in the storylines. The only bright spot was Who Shot Victor.

I think Brenda epperson was a great recast, I loved her version of Ashley, more gentle and warm..

I'm not crazy about Nikki marrying victor so soon after josh's death. I mean.. didn't she care for the man at all? 

22 minutes ago, asafi said:

I think Brenda epperson was a great recast, I loved her version of Ashley, more gentle and warm..

I'm not crazy about Nikki marrying victor so soon after josh's death. I mean.. didn't she care for the man at all? 

I didn't have a problem with it because to me that's just Nikki.

I liked Brenda a lot, even if it did feel like they lost interest in her once she and Victor split up. I know she didn't have the edge Eileen's Ashley had, but that was probably fading by the time Eileen left anyway. 

1 hour ago, DRW50 said:

I didn't have a problem with it because to me that's just Nikki.

I liked Brenda a lot, even if it did feel like they lost interest in her once she and Victor split up. I know she didn't have the edge Eileen's Ashley had, but that was probably fading by the time Eileen left anyway. 

Brenda had really great chemistry with so many cast members.. don diamond, Beth mainland, Eric Braden, heather tom, jerry Douglas and Peter, jess Walton. 

I loved her version of Ashley. softer. more gentle. and very likable. 

On today's show Martin told Traci he downloaded her book "Echoes of the Past" and Traci said it was a very personal story about her and Ashley. Is that made up or was it ever discussed back in 1988-1989 when she worked with Tim on the book?

22 hours ago, asafi said:

I think Brenda epperson was a great recast

 

22 hours ago, DRW50 said:

I liked Brenda a lot, even if it did feel like they lost interest in her once she and Victor split up. I know she didn't have the edge Eileen's Ashley had, but that was probably fading by the time Eileen left anyway. 

 

21 hours ago, asafi said:

I loved her version of Ashley. softer. more gentle. and very likable. 

It seemed Bill Bell was starting to lose interest in the Abbotts around 1987, first with Traci role being reduced then the Ashley and Jack recasts which threw off the balance of the family.

BE Ashley feels like a totally different character compared to ED original recipe Ashley. I might be way off about this, but with Traci role being reduced, BE Ashley seemed like she was both Abbott daughters as one character. 

3 hours ago, BoldRestless said:

On today's show Martin told Traci he downloaded her book "Echoes of the Past" and Traci said it was a very personal story about her and Ashley. Is that made up or was it ever discussed back in 1988-1989 when she worked with Tim on the book?

Replying to myself I found a blog with the answer. This apparently was true! 

https://glmanny.wordpress.com/2020/06/22/stolen-lockets-and-broken-hearts-by-traci-abbott/

 

More info on other fictional Y&R books: https://glmanny.wordpress.com/books-about-guiding-light/fake-books-on-the-young-and-the-restless/

Fascinating. I didn't realize Bill redid the Leslie and Lorie book plot with Ashley and Traci.

New in English, 3/25/87!  
 

 

4 hours ago, BoldRestless said:

On today's show Martin told Traci he downloaded her book "Echoes of the Past" and Traci said it was a very personal story about her and Ashley. Is that made up or was it ever discussed back in 1988-1989 when she worked with Tim on the book?

Damn! Tough One! I remember the name being mentioned multiple times but I really don't remember the plot line! 😅 

1 hour ago, kalbir said:

 

 

It seemed Bill Bell was starting to lose interest in the Abbotts around 1987, first with Traci role being reduced then the Ashley and Jack recasts which threw off the balance of the family.

BE Ashley feels like a totally different character compared to ED original recipe Ashley. I might be way off about this, but with Traci role being reduced, BE Ashley seemed like she was both Abbott daughters as one character. 

True! And somehow when Traci Visited in 1993, She was The Bitchy One! 😅

On 6/30/2024 at 12:30 AM, DRW50 said:

On 6/30/2024 at 12:30 AM, kalbir said:

@DRW50 You are killing me 🤣

Shari Shattuck casting as Ashley derailed some storylines too. I think Bill Bell was planning a Victor/Nikki/Brad/Ashley quad but Shari Shattuck didn't pass the chemistry tests w/ EB and Don Diamont so there goes that storyline.

This was also when Dina came back and they used Constance Towers to retcon her reasons for leaving, only for Dina to quickly leave again because she was so horrified by Shari Shattuck's bad acting.

On 6/30/2024 at 12:37 AM, DRW50 said:

I shouldn't be too hard on Shari because she was tolerable by the end but what a case of nepo hiring in much too important a role, even if Ashley had been slowly downgraded during Brenda Epperson's time in the part. I can definitely see them planning that quad. And then there were her multiple failed love interests, one of them just disappearing (Lauren's former stalker by another name). 

I don't know if those episodes are around or not but I still think the character was brutally beaten in late 1996 in part because Shari was so hard in the role that they decided viewers needed to feel for her again. I have memories of John or someone angrily saying what does it say about the world now if you can't go out walking in the woods at night. I remember thinking - I don't know of any world where you could ever go out walking in the woods at 2-3 in the morning, or whenever it was, especially in a city as big as Genoa City, international hub of business. Even Ozzie and Harriet didn't let their kids go out walking in the woods in the middle of the night.

You are all right she wasn't Great, But She Certainly had her moments! This scene is pretty impressive if you consider it was quite early in her Run!

As For Dina, Bill Bell certainly had A Love/Hate relationship with that character! It's funny how she was so human in the 1980's with some villainous touches but still sympathetic! Then she was reintroduced in 1991-92 as A Huge B*tch! Then they tried to make her a mature heroine in 1996...

It's just strangely inconsistent! 

1 hour ago, YRfan23 said:

New in English, 3/25/87!  
 

 

Doug Davidson was so handsome back then.. victor and Nikki boring as usual.. loved Mary! the meddlesome mom. 

Thanks for the 87 episode @YRfan23

The seldom seen Newman dining room. Wonder why they decided to use it?- as often they would be just having a coffee/juice in the living room post breakfast. Maybe so Nikki could have her fall down the stairs w/o being seen.

A 4 and a half minute opening scene-no way would that happen today.

Nice to see Casey-a pity she didn't stay around as a recurring doctor/talk to.

And John and Carol turning up at the very en, always nice to be surprised.

I always wondered how Nikki would have these elaborate hair do's day to day. Did she have a hairdresser squirreled away upstairs?

That scene of Nikki on the ground saying she has too much to do reminds me of the scene with Vanessa on the floor in front of her couch and willing herself to get off the ground. If only Vanessa had waited a little longer, she too might have had a miracle cure.

14 hours ago, kalbir said:

 

 

It seemed Bill Bell was starting to lose interest in the Abbotts around 1987, first with Traci role being reduced

I never understood (at the time) what was going on with Traci Abbott in 1987.  First she announced she would finish her college degree in California, then she left that summer, and was removed from contract.  It seemed as though Bell was done with her.  By the fall, she was back on the show (and under contract again). 

I never knew if Bell removed Traci from Genoa City in order to facilitate a Brad/Lauren hook-up, or if he just got tired of Traci because he was tired of her, and then changed his mind a few months later.   

3 hours ago, Broderick said:

I never understood (at the time) what was going on with Traci Abbott in 1987.  First she announced she would finish her college degree in California, then she left that summer, and was removed from contract.  It seemed as though Bell was done with her.  By the fall, she was back on the show (and under contract again). 

I never knew if Bell removed Traci from Genoa City in order to facilitate a Brad/Lauren hook-up, or if he just got tired of Traci because he was tired of her, and then changed his mind a few months later.   

Beth M did a podcast about 10 years ago where she said the first time she left the show (‘87) was the only time that she left of her own choice. She wasn’t specific about why she chose to quit in ‘87.

On 7/1/2024 at 5:06 PM, BoldRestless said:

On today's show Martin told Traci he downloaded her book "Echoes of the Past" and Traci said it was a very personal story about her and Ashley. Is that made up or was it ever discussed back in 1988-1989 when she worked with Tim on the book?

 

On 7/1/2024 at 8:46 PM, DRW50 said:

Fascinating. I didn't realize Bill redid the Leslie and Lorie book plot with Ashley and Traci.

I have no memory of Traci first book being about her and Ashley.

I didn't like how Bill Bell wrote BE Ashley and Traci as romantic rivals. During ED original run he kept Ashley and Traci in separate orbits as far as their romances and romantic rivalries went (Ashley/Victor/Nikki, Traci/Danny/Lauren, Traci/Brad/Lauren) and Ashley looked out for Traci and was protective of her. I also think Bill Bell realized that Don Diamont was no match acting-wise for ED so that's why he had Brad original storyline pursue Traci and not Ashley.