Members Max Posted July 5, 2012 Members Share Posted July 5, 2012 As somebody who was not watching Y&R at all until the last six months, I've stated on multiple occasions how perplexed I am regarding MAB's terrible reputation (given that I think Y&R is easily the best soap currently airing, though I'm sure it is not nearly as good as it was in its heyday). What exactly did she do to trash the show, and what were her biggest mistakes? The only thing I am somewhat familiar with is that Y&R badly misued the talents of Maura West. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted July 5, 2012 Members Share Posted July 5, 2012 Where do I start? - Adam gaslighting Ashley for no apparent reason - Adam causing Ashley to have a miscarriage - Adam throwing a fetus into a fireplace - Adam having Ashley sexually abused by a gyno with a history of molesting his patients - Adam "sleeping" with Rafe (oncamera, they barely even touched), nothing but a shock value story, given disturbing undertones because she cast a Menudo member as Rafe - believing her own press - making grand promises about gay storylines (gay characters will be treated like everyone else) which she never delivered on. - bringing Philip Chancellor back from the dead and saying he had abandoned his infant son, all because he hated being gay. This all turned into just angst for Cane. They undid one of the biggest moments ever on Y&R for absolutely nothing. - killing Colleen so that Victor could have her heart - having Victor swear vengeance on the Abbotts about six months later, for no given reason - aging characters by 10-20 years for no good reason, completely decimating age groups Bill Bell and Kay Alden had spent generations setting up - terrible casting across the board - allowing the show's signature element, complex female characters, to be turned into brain dead, constantly humiliated whores - allowing the show's signature element, a strong black cast, to become shockingly stereotyped, ghettoed extras. - allowing Hogan Sheffer to completely obliterate any family or friendship on the canvas - allowing Hogan Sheffer to completely give up a pretense of telling a storyline - a parade of endless psychos, all of whom served no purpose and brought no drama - the truly vile and horrific Patty Williams return - butchering Sharon, Bill Bell's last great heroine, beyond all repair - stunt casting, including pity jobs to friends like Daisy Duke, who only ever got on TV because some men had the hots for her in the Carter era Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dm. Posted July 5, 2012 Members Share Posted July 5, 2012 And Carl's list is just the beginning. Remember back when MAB first took over - she had a scene where Katherine was reading the newspaper with the headline 'Crime rate in Genoa City lowest in years.' as some sort of a remark on how back LML's run was. Who knew that MAB/Sheffer/Hamner would take crime to a whole new level with never-ending arrivals of psychos, mistreating of women, deaths, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted July 5, 2012 Members Share Posted July 5, 2012 How could I forget: - repeatedly telling us that women raping men is hilarious and no big deal, and men need to "step up" if this rape produces a child. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Max Posted July 5, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 5, 2012 Carl, I sincerely appreciate your extraordinary post. Without this perspective, the hatred that so many have for MAB makes little sense to new viewers. Since she is a female herself, I am shocked that she would want to portray fictional members of the same sex as weak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted July 5, 2012 Members Share Posted July 5, 2012 I don't think MAB cares. She just wants PR, and not much else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Delia Posted July 5, 2012 Members Share Posted July 5, 2012 Her first couple months were dreadfully boring. (When she first appeared in the credits with J. Griffith alongside of her. No one knew who she was! It was a total surprise). Her first couple months were not great. Anyone remember Sabrina (or Manbrina)? There were a lot of scenes of Victor drooling over her while talking about art in French or something stupid along those lines. Although still an improvement over Lynn Latham's sophomoric, cheap rendition of Y&R that she had been producing up until the writer's strike when she walked out and never returned although it is pretty much assumed the Bell family wanted her gone anyway. But things began to pick up with the return of Adam (played by Chris Engen who was much, much better than Muhney) and the Kay/Marge tale that was probably Y&R's best story in the last 6 or so years (although it doesn't have a lot of competition in that regard). To positive fan reaction, Nina returned to the fold and there was that great scene where Lauren apologized to Traci. Plus Nikki was back on center stage. Things however fell apart with the Rafe/Adam debacle and totally fell off the wagon when Phillip jr. returned in one of the most idiotic stories ever. Furthermore, MAB has bugged a lot people because she promised to respect Y&R's history and specifically Bill Bell's original vision of the show. She promoted herself as some kind of heir to the kingdom, as opposed to Latham who she basically called a hack. Yet MAB followed along Latham's course most notably with giving Lauren her own crazy double (the previously unmentioned Sarah Carter). That was a real low point that nearly matched the fiasco that was Pheila. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Khan Posted July 5, 2012 Members Share Posted July 5, 2012 "What Were MAB's Biggest Blunders?" What happened? Has she gone away? #idobelieveinfairiesidoiDO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ClassicsSoapFan Posted July 5, 2012 Members Share Posted July 5, 2012 Kevin and the chipmunk story and the first appearance of Daisy is when I started tuning out Y&R. Carl's first post says it all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Soapsuds Posted July 5, 2012 Members Share Posted July 5, 2012 More like how much time do you have?? PR for lower numbers in the ratings...thats all she has accomplished with her awful writing and stunt casting and dreadful casting that pop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted July 5, 2012 Members Share Posted July 5, 2012 She also gets to mention MOCA, over and over and over. I'm sure they love the publicity of someone wearing a carseat from 1974. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KMan101 Posted July 5, 2012 Members Share Posted July 5, 2012 Yeah, I was a fan her first few months but she very quickly lost me. This show is such a hot mess now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaytimeFan Posted July 5, 2012 Members Share Posted July 5, 2012 Taking the job. That was blunder number one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JaneAusten Posted July 5, 2012 Members Share Posted July 5, 2012 She casts AMC castoffs and Z list celebs like Eric Roberts, Sean Young, Brett Butler, Catherine Bach, Ken Howard to get her shows name in the Hollywood Reporter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Soapsuds Posted July 5, 2012 Members Share Posted July 5, 2012 Oh and she made a monster out of Michael Muhney. What despicable person! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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