Passanante/Altman are Y&R's new Head Writers

[Vee]

According to that logic, maybe piloting a fighter jet is the challenge I need.

[Soapsuds]

Agreed and other stories she copied to a tee...

[Nate4]

He isn't a member on this board.

Y'all are mean. lol.

[allmc2008]

I love you!!

[Darlotto99]

This will play out like the LML days JFP and her minions will try and put their own spin on Y&R which will bomb then CBS and the Bells will step in a try and fix it all predictable

[KMan101]

Unfortunately, Y&R is now becoming like all the other soaps with endless regime changes that ultimately do more harm than good.

Passanante is awful and the perfect go to for Phelps, IMO. I know nothing about Altman but many don't seem to like her. I apologize if there were, and I will go back through the thread, but can anyone give some solid Altman examples, or is she just sort of 'fear of the unknown'?

[juniorz1]

I didn't find her babyswitch to be a copycat of AMC at all. I actually thought the ATWT was far more involving, well-paced, and layered. I was addicted to that story!

BUT the following 2 1/2 years were complete and utter sh!t under her. I do think the show got good again from summer 2009 until the end.

With that said, she is not a good fit for Y&R. At all.

[Chris B]

With Altman, she's never been part of a strong writing team, nor has she worked with people I'd consider to be soap greats. Then with Passanante, of course she is just awful. With both, the worry I have is that neither have any history with Y&R. I'm already seeing continuity errors, like them continuing with John Abbott as a childhood friend of Katherine, a retcon created by Lynn Latham in 2006. Of course we know the style is completely different as well. I do think Y&R has been much better the past month, but I know how it will end once they get comfortable.

I just don't understand why nobody looks to B&B and tried to emulate what they've been doing, especially for Y&R. B&B was floundering for many years and I remember when it finally couldn't even get 3 million viewers, often around 2.6-2.7 million IIRC. For the past 3 years or so the show has been on a HUGE upswing. I'm not talking being up against record lows like what we're seeing with OLTL or GH, but the show genuinely is up year-to-year-to-year-to-year. That is impressive. And they accomplished this by updating the B&B/Bell look and feel. We still have the classic scores with a few new ones (that fit!) slotted in. They will occasionally use a pop song, but again, it fits the overall score and doesn't feel invasive. Hell, they were even able to make a Daddy Yankee song fit right in! With the addition of Ed Scott, his location shoots and new sets have been phenomenal and the direction, hair, makeup and wardrobe are all top notch.

Instead, especially looking at JFP's Y&R, you have sets that don't mesh with the Y&R theme, sloppy directing, music that is completely wrong for the show and also a writing style that couldn't be more wrong if it tried. Why would they expect this to bring the ratings up? It makes no sense.

[DRW50]

I said this in the other thread, but the only positive I can say about Passanante is at ATWT, when she had the chance, she did a good job writing for older women, which is one of Y&R's main strengths.

[JONNYSBRO]

Jean Passanante has been in biz for many years people discount that she has more head writing experience then most. She's a classic writer give her a chance and wait until her material airs until we pass judgement. CBS and Sony are not interested in bell protégés because of Maria bell. Blame her but don't blame others. Maria destroyed y and r and that's why the bells are gone. JFPs ratings are up again.

[Chris B]

Jonnysbro, have you ever watched her work? Her work on AMC is regarded as the worst in that shows history. She did poorly on AW and ATWT as well. Where are you getting all your support from?

[sheilaforever]

Not that this matters at all, but it's shortsighted to put the blame on MARIA. SONY promoted Josh Griffith during the writer's strike in 2007/2008 who had very little Y&R history then. Maria staged a coupd'etat and installed herself and Paul Rauch eventually. So I don't see any inclination that SONY has ever been wlling to hire Bell proteges. As a matter of fact ever since they lured LLM to the show in 2005, they have been hellbent to dismantle the entire Bell legacy... The current writer's switch proves just that.

[SeanM]

To think about the current state of the great Y&R is just painful.................

[KMan101]

+1

I have no idea why the aren't looking towards B&B either. I don't always love the storylines but I always end up tuning in here and there and keeping up with it. It always feels the same but it also feels modern and current.

I'm still waiting for Phelps to find some excuse to trash the Chancellor mansion set, though I feel like Phelps respected Jeanne. Probably not though.

[titan1978]

Passanante is supposedly a pretty good breakdown writer. But she seemed to me to be who you move up to HW while trying to find the right fit for the show then move her back to Breakdown. She is an uninspired choice, but at this point who knows if the likes of Smith, Alden, Sussman, or Brad Bell even want the show.

JFP is the one that is going to be in charge here anyway, and she doesn't fit the tone of the show. That's why she has been "modernizing" the show.