Y&R: July 2013 Discussion

[soapfave06]

I would love for Amber to come back in a recurring, non-lead role to stir up trouble. I would love to see her and Esther team up against Jill.

But wasn't it her choice to leave B&B? I know that was a year ago but still. I wouldn't mind seeing her and Caroline team up against Maya.

[frequentsoapfan]

Not necessarily. I've seen plenty of soaps stars tweet things like that because they are hoping they can campaign to be back on the shows.

[ajsp35801]

I like EH. She has charisma and stage presence. If they would take her back to her roots in stead of this abomination they turned her into try into make a pairing with Chlovin work, that would be more noticeable.

[soapfan770]

The scenes between Phyllis and Sharon were underwhelming at least Case tried as crazy Sharon but did anyone find it ironic that Phyllis' fall involved fighting over a cell phone?

The problem here with today's Y&R is that while it wasn't anything offensive on the levels of Latham and MAB it is pretty darn bland and uninteresting.

[DramatistDreamer]

CBS.com's player is an absolute FAIL. I don't want to bother anymore because I've had to refresh more times than I care to count. Absolutely ridiculous. CBS.com needs to find out who does Hulu's and Netflix's players.

[Cat]

What I find interesting is that a few weeks ago, a couple of people suggested that Michelle Stafford was fired months ago... or at the very least pushed out until she quit. Y&R wanted her to go. However, this week's scenes seem so rushed. The fall down the stairs was so anemically put together, so slapdash, that I have to wonder if MS's announcement didn't throw JFP off guard. JFP has a habit of showing her annoyance/displeasure if somebody is leaving by offing them in either exceptionally dull or humiliating ways.

[Chris B]

This all seemed planned. She's been pissed since this regime took over and hasn't liked anything they wrote for her. It was also clear (IMO) that she wasn't an important character to them. Yes she still has screentime, but she wasn't central to anything important. It felt more like they were writing for her because they knew she was popular and they had to. Be slowly driving Michelle Stafford away, they were able to look innocent when she decided not to renew her contract. I also feel like they probably didn't try to negotiate with her at all. I'm sure it was a "take it or leave it."

Of course I won't lie and say I wasn't burnt out on a poorly written Phyllis, but MIchelle Stafford IS very popular for the show. My problem with Y&R is the horrible job they've done at casting. All these mediocre actors are burning up the screen like Avery, Adam (yes him), Dylan, Chelsea, Chloe & Kevin (who were once good), Lily, Cane and so many others. A couple would be fine in a sea of good actors, but seeing all these weak actors running the show is tiresome. You need to keep your Stafford's and your Rowell's around to combat that.

[rlj]

Not sure why Peeps thought that when months ago MS and JM respectively confirmed it was her decision to leave. In the new SOD MS states her reasons for leaving have to do with her sister who is battling cancer, lifes too short and wanting to try other things and such.

IMO, its obvious that MCE and JC are the new leading ladies of Y&R for the new regime and SC and MS not so much. Its also obvious ny this clusterfluck of a paternity story that MS's decision to leave caught them off guard.

[Cat]

I very much agree with your assessment. I used to love Avery (and still adore Jessica Collins) but the writing is so blah for her now. Adam, yeah, the one-note, mustache-twirling villain. Dylan is dull as is Chelsea, Chloe's a shrew, Kevin should have been written off the show YEARS ago, Lily is milquetoast, Cane's slimey, whispery delivery makes my brain itch.

Recently, Rowell's tweet about kissing and making up with Stafford made me wish TPTB would smell an opportunity and bring VR back and try and keep MS on the show for a little while longer. IMO, Phyllis & Drucilla were a "supercouple" in their own right.

Seeing MTS this week underscores how much Y&R needs Nikki to center the show. I mean, she is single-handedly rescuing the Billy character for me right now. I would add that Nikki & Sharon's frenemyship/rivalry was pretty much perfection, too, and again TIIC have missed a trick in not bringing those two together in scenes more.

[Chris B]

Yeah, it seems like these writers aren't interested in the signature Y&R ladies. Nikki, Sharon and fallen stars like Dru and Phyllis are HUGE personalities. Not to mention Heather Tom's unforgettable Victoria. It's fine not to have or feature these characters, but you better have a damn good replacement if you want me to accept that. Unfortunately, there hasn't been any new character that comes even remotely close to the classic Y&R ladies.

[Vee]

Michelle Stafford works in careful doses for me, but she is still a force and a draw. I don't begrudge Y&R for being rid of her after years of Phyllis being overexposed, but I do think they made a huge mistake in how they handled it and more importantly, how they handled the overall show, which is just very bland at best - Melissa Egan, once a firestarter as Crazy Annie on AMC, is now back to pre-2008 Boring Annie McDermott. I don't know who on Earth thought a nice MCE character and Steve Burton were anyone's idea of an exciting couple or major story. Y&R today is a fascinating case study in how to turn daytime's jewel in the crown into an anemic post-millennial version of an ABC soap, but it's not much else.

I expect GH will hop on Stafford if they can, but that's a problem in and of itself. Yes, Michelle Stafford would be a get for any soap opera, GH included - but GH has far too many people already and Maura West, while popular, is already taking over that show and is spiraling towards instant overexposure herself. You literally can't have both of them on there, they're too similar and too overpowering. Laura Wright's Carly would have to be killed off to leave any oxygen on that canvas, and that's not going to happen (nor should it). But will FV and Carlivati try it? Most likely. They don't understand when there's way too much of the same thing.

[Soapsuds]

All the mediocre actors are B actors thats a big problem. Y&R hasn't been Y&R in ages. It's not the once grand dame it once was....it had something special no other soap had not even my ATWT had it.

[Chris B]

I agree with this. It will NEVER happen in a million years, but the Prospect Park soaps are where she needs to be, if she wanted to do another soap. AMC has an open market for females in her age range and they could use someone with her gravitas. There is no room or need for her on DAYS, GH or even B&B.

[Vee]

I frankly think she'd be overpowering at both those PP shows, in all the wrong ways. Please, no. At least not yet.

I'm not sure where she could fit, really. Stafford was overexposed at Y&R and needed either to go or to learn her rightful place in a popular reunion with Jack and a less constant frontburner status - she chose instead to leave. GH is an overstuffed mess of big names and vets, often poorly used.

[Chris B]

I think AMC needs somebody that's larger than life. Having her with Thorston Kaye would be a good match IMO. He needs someone genuinely tough, whereas I like David with more vulnerable women. Keeping it in the Y&R family, I also think Victoria Rowell would be perfection on OLTL as either Jeffrey or Destiny's mother. She could blend right in.