Ashley had changed a fair amount in Eileen's time away, and some key ingredients were never the same, especially her relationship with Jack (I was startled at the time by how little connection she had with Peter Bergman, although he's had so little chemistry with anyone in recent years that now it's difficult to care).

I've never felt like Eileen has had a good story since her return to the role. I doubt she ever will.

I think I even heard somewhere that during the early 2000's Days always was eager to steal Eileen back, but she was too committed to Y&R.....apparently she herself wasn't too happy with the material Y&R was giving her, and was fixing on a Days return but I guess at that time she didn't think it was possible

to be fair (and hopefully not too offensive) I really can't pinpoint a "great" story Ashley has had on the show no matter who played her.....I guess the original Victor/Nikki/Ashley triangle was a hit, with the abortion and mental breakdown, but I really can't think of anything that major......I love Brenda but I feel like her Ashley was more of a strong supporting player in most of the stories she was in.....whether it dealt with lack of chemistry with some of her male co-stars or not, I wouldn't say she lead most of the stories......I'm guessing it was the same with Shari...

Edited March 15, 201510 yr by YRfan23

I think I even heard somewhere that during the early 2000's Days always was eager to steal Eileen back, but she was too committed to Y&R.....apparently she herself wasn't too happy with the material Y&R was giving her, and was fixing on Days return but I guess at that time she didn't think it was possible

to be fair (and hopefully not too offensive) I really can't pinpoint a "great" story Ashley has had on the show no matter who played her.....I guess the original Victor/Nikki/Ashley triangle was a hit, with the abortion and mental breakdown, but I really can't think of anything that major......I love Brenda but I feel like her Ashley was more of a strong supporting player in most of the stories she was in.....whether it dealt with lack of chemistry with some of her male co-stars or not, I wouldn't see she lead most of the stories......I'm guessing it was the same with Shari...

When Eileen come back (early 1999) Ashley had not impressive stories and they were pretty rushed: the end of her marriage with Cole, the mysterious relationship with Rafael Delgado (Carlos Bernard) and few other things to do. She seemed distant from everyone.

John and teenage Billy's return give her more space in terms of family relationships.

Then she and Victor started to get closer again after years, but she gave up on him in order to save Jabot Cosmetics. She chose her family instead of him.

Brenda Epperson was 'too' Ashley... but I loved the chemistry with Brad and the conflict between her and Victoria.

Eileen's Ashley return was fantastic until the show began waffling between B/A & V/A.

Had the show made a choice & stuck to it (both pairings were popular even if Ashley's actions always weren't) Ashley (as a character) wouldn't have become such a mess.

The show did so much damage to B/A to keep V/A a viable possibility during that period that it wasn't feasible (or believable) for B/A to ever be a couple again.

So Y&R began shoving Ashley into so many unsuccessful short term romances (hoping one would stick) that Eileen complained to the press (after which she was unceremoniously fired six months later only to THEN have Y&R beg her to return a year & a half later for that horrible story where Adam terrorized her & burned her child into the fireplace).

The cancer storyline (2002) was well written, and well played by Eileen and Don Diamont. Kay Alden wrote other good medical stories in those years: Raul's diabetes, Olivia's illness, Neil's alcoholism, Tricia's mental issues.

I thought Eileen was good, but I thought the story was still too focused on Victor and on her relationship with Victor, especially when they had to make sure that yet another of his women lost a baby by another man so we could see Eric Braeden make sad faces in closeup before having a punchout.

It took Eileen a good several months to ease back into the character.

Eileen's Ashley was actually an immediate hit upon her return (even viewers who didn't like Ashley were happy to see her back).

A lot of that had to do with the writing (or non-writing) for Shari Shattuck (who's Ashley was terrible).

Shari was the anti-Ashley she wasn't believable as a businesswoman nor as a rival to Hope, Diane or Nikki (which is why Ashley was largely downgraded to fighting with Victoria during her tenure).

I thought Eileen was good, but I thought the story was still too focused on Victor and on her relationship with Victor, especially when they had to make sure that yet another of his women lost a baby by another man so we could see Eric Braeden make sad faces in closeup before having a punchout.

The cancer story (at least in the early going) was a great story for Brad & Ashley but (like with Abby's birth) the climax was all about keeping V/A viable which pretty much ruined every character involved (and some on the sidelines).

Poor Olivia

I think I even heard somewhere that during the early 2000's Days always was eager to steal Eileen back, but she was too committed to Y&R.....apparently she herself wasn't too happy with the material Y&R was giving her, and was fixing on Days return but I guess at that time she didn't think it was possible

to be fair (and hopefully not too offensive) I really can't pinpoint a "great" story Ashley has had on the show no matter who played her.....I guess the original Victor/Nikki/Ashley triangle was a hit, with the abortion and mental breakdown, but I really can't think of anything that major......I love Brenda but I feel like her Ashley was more of a strong supporting player in most of the stories she was in.....whether it dealt with lack of chemistry with some of her male co-stars or not, I wouldn't see she lead most of the stories......I'm guessing it was the same with Shari...

I agree about Brenda. I do think she was more of a supporting player, and a good one. She also added genuine glamour and style to Y&R, which they had plenty of in that era, but still, she stood out for me at the time.

Shari was not much of a supporting player, mostly because she had no real chemistry with her family. She came across as too aggressive and harsh. The writing seemed to tone down that side of her, by having her get the stuffing beaten out of her, but you shouldn't have to beat a 15-year character black and blue to generate pity. I'll never forget hearing John Abbott say, over and over and over, how sad it is that these days you can't go walking around in the woods at night.

(never mind that it's really NEVER been safe to walk around alone in the woods at night, unless you have superpowers)

Edited March 15, 201510 yr by DRW50

Olivia, Drucilla, Wes, Nikki, Sharon, Traci, Steve, Colleen, Brad.

That whole section of the canvas took a LOT of damage to keep Ashley sympathetic & viable for Grambo.

Shari was not much of a supporting player, mostly because she had no real chemistry with her family. She came across as too aggressive and harsh. The writing seemed to tone down that side of her, by having her get the stuffing beaten out of her, but you shouldn't have to beat a 15-year character black and blue to generate pity. I'll never forget hearing John Abbott say, over and over and over, how sad it is that these days you can't go walking around in the woods at night.

Shari was so bad the writers pretty much stopped writing for Ashley (as a character) altogether & wrote the character to suit Shari.

Swing Dancing? Ashley?

Oh that was the thing with Cole, wasn't it.

Oh that was the thing with Cole, wasn't it.

Yeah, I saw that on one of the 1998 episodes I think is still on youtube......so cheesy..... especially the part where everything turned black and white and both Cole and Ashley were dressed in 1930's clothes while dancing...

Olivia, Drucilla, Wes, Nikki, Sharon, Traci, Steve, Colleen, Brad.

That whole section of the canvas took a LOT of damage to keep Ashley sympathetic & viable for Grambo.

I'm not saying it's all his fault, but a part of me just wants to ring Braeden's neck that all of these character sacrifices happen on his behalf....

Edited March 15, 201510 yr by YRfan23

Eileen's Ashley return was fantastic until the show began waffling between B/A & V/A.

Had the show made a choice & stuck to it (both pairings were popular even if Ashley's actions always weren't) Ashley (as a character) wouldn't have become such a mess.

The show did so much damage to B/A to keep V/A a viable possibility during that period that it wasn't feasible (or believable) for B/A to ever be a couple again.

So Y&R began shoving Ashley into so many unsuccessful short term romances (hoping one would stick) that Eileen complained to the press (after which she was unceremoniously fired six months later only to THEN have Y&R beg her to return a year & a half later for that horrible story where Adam terrorized her & burned her child into the fireplace).

I didn't mind the weird interaction with Tom Fisher. Both the actors were great in that messy storyline: Ashley seemed revitalized and finally not focused on Victor. Dating Paul and William Bardwell: simply boring.