Y&R: October 2014 Discussion Thread

[soapfave06]

Katie is highly uninteresting. I mean what memorable story has she had outside of her marriage to Bill?

[BetterForgotten]

No matter how many Emmy's she wins on B&B, Victoria will always be Heather's signature role. She's never had quite the same dominance on that show that she had on Y&R during her prime.

[piperisthenewsookie]

If there's one thing I've learned from 10 years of watching this show is they love the status quo as far as their actors go. And the actors seem to like it that way as well. I don't believe CLB is leaving anytime soon and probably will never leave until they drag him kicking and screaming out of his dressing room. Ditto TB and pretty much everyone else who's become an established character. You have to be a gigantic dick to get fired from this show once you've been on for a while. And that's why I don't think the show will ever really improve their ratings and will settle for holding on to between 4 and 5 million (rapidly aging) viewers. (Not that there's anything wrong with aging, it beats the hell out of the alternative, but unless there is a shakeup and purging of the dead weight on the show and in the writers room the show is not going to really ever attract new viewers IMHO.) So, I'm not too worried about Michael's cancer diagnosis. Except it's a downer for the holidays and will be another example of how Lauren and Michael's children don't bother to show up for family crises.

How about bringing Alfonso Ribiero on the show? Perhaps sideline the horrible Devon/Hilary/Neil triangle or the Billy/Victoria/Stitch storyline to make room for Alfonso, in Ashley's lab maybe? The guy's got charisma and he's said he's looking for an acting job, something different than what he's done in the past.

[Vee]

They wanted to remake the character into a more conventional heroine, which is why Heather Tom left. They got Amelia, who they thought would work in that role, but the fact is she is simply not a strong lead actress, and without good writing she suffers badly. She was fine on Loving for 25 minutes at a time as a young teen scene heroine - that was 20 years ago. Outside of second-tier stories, she is weak. They finally hit on success with her and Billy Miller chemistry-wise, which helped their vision of remaking Y&R into an Fronsian ABC-style, couples and fanbases-centric soap. Everybody come watch "Villy," "Lane," etc. But meanwhile Victoria is now just a stock character.

They know they have issues with Heinle's Victoria, or so I have heard, that she is not good enough, but they feel trapped at this point - boxed in by the Fronsian-style fanbases they were so eager to cultivate. They have never let go of trying to make Y&R into an ABC soap, and they still haven't. That's why they'll never can her, and they have considered it - because they cannot conceive of these characters or their major frontline stories not being done in the ABC style anymore, and getting a stronger actress who would not necessarily be part of that couple or that vague take on Victoria would force them to have to reevaluate the larger picture. And I just don't think anyone involved at the show or network is really interested in that at all.

[titan1978]

It is sad. Under Bill Bell, she was complex. She was the true heir to Victor, in a way Nicholas will never be. She could be ruthless, selfish, loyal, loving, and was determined to have daddy's respect, not just his love. She was Nikki's greatest joy, and often her nightmare. She wasn't a warm character, but she was a rounded one. That the show at the time would rather make her into a bland heroine, and invest only in her romantic life is a shame. If they were ever forced to act together in something, Heather Tom would eat Amelia alive.

[cassadine1991]

Interesting you should say that about Gina since Heather revitalized Gina's OLTL character

[MoTheGreat]

Contracts are made to be broken. If they want to take a character in a different direction they would call for a recast.

[JONNYSBRO]

Heather was good as Kelly but I loved Gina's early stuff with Nathan. I actually hated when JFP took over Kelly became this total twit. Anyone remember Kelly and Max sexing it up and all the sudden Kelly was editor in chief on the sun. I couldn't stand one second of the twit she became. I understood why she quit in 2001 but I did enjoy Heather.

[ranger1rg]

I love it when posters pretend they have inside knowledge of what goes on in the production offices at Y&R.

[YRBB]

When it rains, it pours

[ajsp35801]

I am not so sure about this one Mo. I don't know any show that has recasted just to go in a different direction. They may say that but there is always some BTS issue happening, either money or personality conflict, that is the real culprit.

[Juliajms]

I said that because there was a rumor that Gina was up for the role at one point. I do think Gina would have been a good Victoria, but the writing just isn't there and I don't buy that it's AH's fault.

The show made a conscious decision to change what made Victoria tick. IMO, it was always her striving to get Victor to see she should be his successor. He had a clear preference for Nick (actually said it straight out once) and would have never changed his mind or at least not until the bitter end. That was years of conflict, emotion and story for all of the Newman's, thrown away so Victoria could be baby crazy. Lord give me strength.

[Vee]

I think Gina's doing a surprisingly good job with this dreck, though I don't think she can sustain it if they start frantically chem-testing her around like they did Kelly in the last years of OLTL without any kind of story throughline. Gina doesn't do well with that. I think she works well with Peter Bergman but I don't think the show has much long-term interest in that, either. She's a good Phyllis recast, but she'd be a better Victoria. She'd also eat all the various Billys alive.

[BetterForgotten]

Gina is strange case where I wonder if it depends on the writing or the character she's playing. I mean, she really hit the pinnacle of her soap career up to this point on the final years of GL of all places...

Something about her playing a character like Kelly Cramer just never rang true. She seems to need hard and somewhat gritty characters like Dinah and now Phyllis to properly showcase her skills.

[DRW50]

Gina is too hard and cold to play a heroine. She was abysmal as Kelly for almost all the years she was in the role.

Victoria is a victim and I don't think that suits Gina as an actress.

I think she's just better when in a role that is tougher, although I do agree with Vee that it likely won't last. It did last on GL, but I thought the material for Dinah, at least for a while anyway, was better than much of the rest of the show.