Y&R January 2017 Discussion Thread

[JONNYSBRO]

 

Why doesnt YR hire a Renee Goldsberry in a new role? She would be fab

[DeeeDee]

 

That's why I kept saying that one of the worst things Y&R has done in the past 20 years was make the Newman family the soap's central family. So much time & effort has been invested in the Newmans the other core Y&R families can be ruined with the slightest bit of bad writing.

 

Remember 10 years ago when John died & the Abbotts (except Jack) were almost completely wiped off the show? What about Y&R going through all the effort of establishing a family history for Brad only for the entire Carlton family to be gone in a year & a half? Or how any combo of Paul/Cricket/Nina/Danny have been thrust into any number of terrible stories (remember Paul & Nina's "relationship"?) because various Y&R regimes had nothing else for the character to do in between banishing and/or killing off their family members? Y&R has made the Barber Winters interrelate and intermarry to an offensively incestuous degree just to remain remotely relevant over the years.

 

But even certain Newmans aren't safe from the writing. In the past few years Nikki has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, learned she was a victim of rape which produced a child, been reunited with the aforementioned child as an adult & had her whole family targeted in a long drawn out story by an insane cult leader. Yet you'd NEVER know ANY of that if you began watching in the last six months.

 

 

[KMan101]

 

Yes yes yes to all of this.

 

It's still pretty Newman centric at the moment. Faith's on about every other day, Sharon's on constantly, Nick was on constantly, Victor and Nikki have been on quite a bit .... I have to say that Sally's made them likeable again but they're on constantly.

[DeeeDee]

 

That's the thing. Outside of his family Neil has nothing.

 

No friends, no hobbies, no love interest. Nothing.

 

And frankly it would be a huge step back for him to be working for any of these characters again. For instance how could he work for Victor when neither he nor Victor has ever dealt with anything that happened between Neil & Nikki?

[KMan101]

It would.

 

I guess they consider Jack his friend, but it's never about Neil, it's always about Jack.

[DeeeDee]

 

And for what?

 

It's not like the family is embroiled in an interesting business story or dealing with a big family drama. They're in these random segmented stories where they basically spend their time spinning their wheels.

 

I agree with you they're more pleasant to watch now that Sally's taken over but they're still doing a whole lot of nothing.

 

 

The thing is Neil & Jack were NEVER friends.

 

That's one of those retcons (like Lauren & Phyllis being sudden "BFF's") that I've always hated.

 

Though Neil spent years as a Jabot exec he was never personally close to the Abbotts (least of all Jack). On the other hand Neil was Victor's close friend & confidante until Victor essentially ousted him for Nick at Newman.

[KMan101]

Even I was surprised at Jack and Neil being "friends". Since when? And Lauren and Phyllis as besties has never worked for me either. I recall the days of Neil being Victor's go to and they were friends. It's such a shame that the hack writers over the years have chipped away at so much of the show and the different relationships. Victor's hatred of Sharon still irks me.

 

And yeah, that was my point about the Newmans, while more likeable, they're all still doing absolutely nothing yet they're on constantly. Now Victoria has THREE kids on the canvas. Nick has THREE kids. Just ... why? It's not like Noah's ever really been developed. Summer was touted as some lead young heroine but that failed (IMO, I know some here like the actress). Reed will be no different, IMO. Just like the many failed recasts of Kyle.

[DeeeDee]

 

The Hevon divorce wouldn't be about saving Neil. He'd be busy with his own story while still being involved to a much lesser degree with theirs.

 

Their divorce though would be solely about them & breaking them up to reunite them on even footing. I'd have Devon playing emotional hardball in the divorce & have Hilary asking for GC Buzz (instead of demanding) as a vehicle to show Devon she'd changed instead of just telling him.

 

In terms of the structure of GC Buzz Hilary would be the owner (who has ultimate final say) with Mariah as the showrunner answering to her. Leanna as the host would cause all sorts of problems (the kind of problems similar to what Y&R had Hilary doing) with her various demands & shenanigans. Hilary & Mariah would want to fire Leanna but don't because she's ultimately good for ratings.

The problem with GC Buzz with Devon working there was that that type of story works against his fundamental nature. He's a very relaxed sort of character (short of messing with his family) so him sticking mics in people's faces & doing TMZ like interviews was totally OOC.

 

With the three women involved (all of whom have sliding moral compasses) it becomes a story about women learning to work as a team to achieve individual goals. Hilary and Mariah becoming frenemies in the process is just a side benefit..

 

With Hevon divorced I wouldn't rush Neil & Devon back into a close relationship. Way too much has happened between the two for an immediate reconciliation plus Neil would be laser focused on building his new company with Moses (who would be in his very late teens/early 20s) help. Devon would feel awkward because both his ex-wife & father are working toward their passions while he's (for once) at loose ends. I'd reintroduce the community center with Devon doing a six month mentorship there.

 

Once he's done there he would find his way into Neil's business by which time Neil & Moses would've grown close since Moses was there building with from the ground up leaving plenty of room for character based sibling rivalry (on both sides).

 

Cane & Lily tie into this because Lily would be trying to rebuild her life as a single mother (with Lillie Belle & Mamie's help) because Cane would be dead. And not soap dead either but DEAD DEAD.

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[DramatistDreamer]

 

I'm saying, build something for Neil. It's problematic that he has nothing.

 

I would never suggest that Neil work for Victor, I agree that would be several steps back but as an independent contractor who works as a consultant, I guess I don't see Neil working with Lauren/Fenmore's would be a step back. Neil would be working for himself as an independent consultant and his business could be working with Fenmore's to help turn the business around. If Lauren is struggling, she might not have the $$$$ to hire a big firm, why not an independent contractor?  Victor helped Julia turn around her business but honestly, people get paid for this sort of thing and why not Neil?

 

This is a story with potential that Neil could get into meanwhile writers build something for the character.

 

Unless the Neil is going to be dumped altogether, I think it's worth it to invest in building this character while he's on the canvas.

[DeeeDee]

What can Neil contribute to Fenmore's as an independent contractor to help Lauren? Y&R's already hinted that one major way Fenmore's can be helped is to modernizing its internet presence which is Phyllis specialty & that Fenmore's sudden downturn is due to a consumer shift not anything happening internally.

 

When Victor helped save Julia's company it wasn't because the company was doing bad. In fact it was doing very well. Victor won by offering Julia unlimited resources to crush the competition if she were to lose her company. That's not something Neil is remotely capable of.

 

I agree that Neil needs something else & that independent contracting is a potentially interesting choice but since Y&R is so limited in terms of businesses (especially on Neil's level) there's not much available that doesn't directly attach him to an Abbott or a Newman.

[DeeeDee]

It's weird for Victor to go from years of being a psychotic super villain to a jovial german heatmiser of a grandfather in the span of a couple of episodes.

[DRW50]

 

I wonder if Braeden will be unhappy. 

[MoTheGreat]

Why can't Neil own a small business?

[DeeeDee]

 

Probably not. He only seems to get really bent out of shape when it comes to Victor losing.

 

As long as Victor isn't scheming or losing fights to men 40 years younger than him he should be ok for now.

[MoTheGreat]

 

 

It seems like he's holding up the show progress like AH.