@SoapDope MTS has said that Victor/Nikki were an accident pairing and it was Bill Bell that saw the connection between her and EB before they themselves did. The audience clearly saw the connection too, since the My Fair Lady storyline took off.

Re: Victor/Lorie/Nikki, I have a feeling Bill Bell's original plans shifted due to JLB departure and MTS real-life pregnancy.

We also know Y&R was in their post-expansion slump from February 1980 to June 1982 and alot of Bill Bell's original plans might have been derailed with the expansion and cast changes. 

39 minutes ago, kalbir said:

@SoapDope MTS has said that Victor/Nikki were an accident pairing and it was Bill Bell that saw the connection between her and EB before they themselves did. The audience clearly saw the connection too, since the My Fair Lady storyline took off.

Re: Victor/Lorie/Nikki, I have a feeling Bill Bell's original plans shifted due to JLB departure and MTS real-life pregnancy.

We also know Y&R was in their post-expansion slump from February 1980 to June 1982 and alot of Bill Bell's original plans might have been derailed with the expansion and cast changes. 

 1980-1982 did have a lot of messy or dropped storylines and abrupt endings to characters. I remember reading a lot of the actors that were under contract to the 30 minute show did not want to sign on for the 1 hour expansion.  

10 hours ago, SoapDope said:

 1980-1982 did have a lot of messy or dropped storylines and abrupt endings to characters. I remember reading a lot of the actors that were under contract to the 30 minute show did not want to sign on for the 1 hour expansion.  

Hence The Laurence Family being introduced and written out within 1 year for example

On 2/20/2025 at 7:31 PM, kalbir said:

@SoapDope MTS has said that Victor/Nikki were an accident pairing and it was Bill Bell that saw the connection between her and EB before they themselves did. The audience clearly saw the connection too, since the My Fair Lady storyline took off.

Re: Victor/Lorie/Nikki, I have a feeling Bill Bell's original plans shifted due to JLB departure and MTS real-life pregnancy.

We also know Y&R was in their post-expansion slump from February 1980 to June 1982 and alot of Bill Bell's original plans might have been derailed with the expansion and cast changes. 

And the thing was, it didn't have to happen. JLB simply wanted to limit her shooting to 2 days a week (with more when she was front burner)and Bill Bell wouldn't accept it. She said that had she known that 7 other actors would lose their jobs because she left the show, she NEVER would have done it. 

James Houghton's (Greg Foster)death means the first of the original Brooks/Foster kids is gone.

He now joins Robert Clary and Dorothy Green as deceased original cast members.

Robert Colbert (Stuart) and Julianna McCarthy (Liz) are still with us at ages 93 and 95 respectively.

6 minutes ago, BetterForgotten said:

 black audiences and their daytime viewership.

We saw in the 1980s and 1990s ratings threads that Y&R was so ahead of the pack from when they got to #1 in 1989 until the start of OJ, and I think the African-American audience played a big part of that.

 

On 2/14/2025 at 8:21 PM, DRW50 said:

Clarence. He announced for the CBS soaps in the late '80s and early '90s, and again with B&B about 10-15 years ago.

His promos were funny and the best. ABC's Love in the Afternoon aside, CBS had the best promos from the late 80s to early 00s!

On 2/14/2025 at 5:53 PM, kalbir said:

Bill Bell started losing interest in the Abbotts around 1987 when Traci role was reduced. Then came the Ashley and Jack recasts which threw off the balance in the family.

To me, BE Ashley and PB Jack are separate characters from ED original recipe Ashley and TL Jack. Considering Traci role was reduced, there were times it felt that Bill Bell wrote BE Ashley like she was both Abbott daughters as one character.

I agree. Brenda Epperson's Ashley feels way more put together than Eileen Davidsons more messy character. I could not see Brenda Epperson stealing sperm and hiding paternity amid a cancer diagnosis.

The only similarity I saw between portrayals is when Brenda's Ashley went crazy after the Blade/Rick reveal.

Edited March 3Mar 3 by Planet Soap

7 minutes ago, Planet Soap said:

The only similarity I saw between portrayals is when Brenda's Ashley went crazy after the Blade/Rick reveal.

When BE Ashley found out about Blade/Rick, it looked like she was going to have a breakdown when she stabbed the pillow. Instead Bill Bell wrote off BE Ashley by sending her to Paris for business.

Does anyone know the first time (if it ever happened) that Nikki visited the Abbott home?

As crazy as it seems, I definitely think she never visited while married to Jack.

Did Nikki and Mamie ever exchange dialogue?

11 minutes ago, yrfan1983 said:

Does anyone know the first time (if it ever happened) that Nikki visited the Abbott home?

As crazy as it seems, I definitely think she never visited while married to Jack.

Did Nikki and Mamie ever exchange dialogue?

I actually feel like we never saw Nikki at the Abbott home while married to Jack…haha that’s crazy! 
 

 

On 2/20/2025 at 8:14 PM, SoapDope said:

 I remember reading a lot of the actors that were under contract to the 30 minute show did not want to sign on for the 1 hour expansion.  

The way I remember it, everyone's contract expired when the show went to an hour.  Their contracts, which included their salary stipulations, stated that they would be appearing on "the 30-minute daytime serial The Young and the Restless".  When the show went to an hour, it effectively voided the contract of every actor, writer, producer, and director.  Some signed-on for the hour-long show; others didn't.   

Great questions about Young and the Restless history! 

Did Nikki interact with John Abbott during her marriage to Jack? I believe she must have had some scenes with her father-in-law, but were they substantial or just passing moments?

What about Nikki and Traci's relationship? Did they develop any meaningful connection, or were their interactions mostly limited to family gatherings and formal events?

Has Nikki visited the Abbott mansion at different periods throughout the show's history? I'm curious if there were specific storylines that brought her there besides her marriage to Jack.

Were there any memorable confrontations or heart-to-heart conversations between Nikki and any Abbott family members at their home that stood out in the show's long history?

9 minutes ago, asafi said:

Great questions about Young and the Restless history! 

Did Nikki interact with John Abbott during her marriage to Jack? I believe she must have had some scenes with her father-in-law, but were they substantial or just passing moments?

What about Nikki and Traci's relationship? Did they develop any meaningful connection, or were their interactions mostly limited to family gatherings and formal events?

Has Nikki visited the Abbott mansion at different periods throughout the show's history? I'm curious if there were specific storylines that brought her there besides her marriage to Jack.

Were there any memorable confrontations or heart-to-heart conversations between Nikki and any Abbott family members at their home that stood out in the show's long history?

Nikki and John were both at Traci and Brad's '91 wedding but she was a bit inebriated 🍸 and Jack tried to keep her away from everyone so they wouldn't notice

Nikki and Jack had a gathering at the ranch New Year's Eve '92 (going into '93) that John and Jill attended. Just a passing moment...

In summer '93, Nikki called Traci in New York a couple times to get Steve to read Cole's novel. They didn't form any bond, they only talked about Cole.

That's all I can think of...

 

1 hour ago, asafi said:

Did Nikki interact with John Abbott during her marriage to Jack? I believe she must have had some scenes with her father-in-law, but were they substantial or just passing moments?

Nikki called John from work in a September 1991 episode asking for Jack to come back home so she could tell him she was going to rehab for her drinking.

Jack and Nikki were still married but separated at this point but Nikki and John had scenes together when Victor had secretly gathered everyone to the private dining room at the colonnade room because he was going to reveal to everyone he was alive. Nikki ended up leaving before Victor showed up and Jack didn’t show up at all (to save for their own reactions later on) this was September 1993. 

It seems that Nikki had little interaction with John and Traci over the years. What about after John's passing? Did Nikki share her condolences with the Abbotts?