Y&R January 2018 Discussion Thread

[Antoyne]

I was shocked to see her. I’ve loved her decreased airtime.

[ajsp35801]

Tessa is bearable is small doses. But the show must never be centered around her again. 

[DramatistDreamer]

Way back when, I had the idea that Chancellor, run by Jill would make history as a majority-female run company.

I bet there'd be no trouble rounding up a room full of consequential women then.

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  Instead we get Bro Inc.

 

Honestly, I didn't expect Lauren to be invited unless someone snuck her in, like how Hilary snuck in Phyllis.

 

The Sharon/Phyllis scenes did sort of work though because the writers brought Phyllis back to 'type'.

 

Hilary's role kind of fits in with her new image but I have to wonder if she came across Jordan again would she be all about the forgiveness she's so eagerly trying to sell everybody else?

[DeeeDee]

 

+1.

[ranger1rg]

 

How many people do you want in that room? They couldn’t do justice to all those characters and relationships.

 

But Tessa? I hate her, too.

[Faulkner]

I enjoyed today's courtroom drama, and Peter Bergman is selling this to the hilt.

[GMac]

 

As much as I hate to admit it, I liked today's episode too.  

 

My only bitch would be that Michael described the manuscript as something Dina was working on for years, but every "flashback" we saw of her typing it, she's wearing the same clothes?!?!? 

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  Like, WTF Dina!  Get your bitch Graham do to a load of laundry, girl!

 

[StepBack]

This week has been really good. Dare I say the courtroom stuff actually got me teary eyed when Dina called Jack John. It wasn't over the top melodramatic but everything (even the guest lawyer) was done well. The dialogues and nods to history is one thing this regime is getting right without beating you over the head with it. When the lawyer grilled Jack about how often he sees his mother, well that about broke me.

[Faulkner]

The fragility of aging parents is not something you often see on soaps,  much less a "custody battle" where siblings have to band together to protect a loved one. A lot of it is hitting close to home for me personally, and I've really been touched by it. 

 

A few good episodes strung together do not a good soap make, and Pratt's AMC and MAB's Y&R all started strong before devolving into destruction and nihilism. 2018 has started really strong, and I'm actually preferring it to DAYS at the moment.

[Antoyne]

Fantastic episode today that reminded me why the Abbotts are a far superior and more entertaining family than the Newmans. Loved everything about today’s episode.

[DramatistDreamer]

Even though that twist wasn't a surprise (there were SS seemingly toyed with the nature of Dina and Graham's relationship in various scenes), it was still a good twist and well-timed.

Having Traci and Ashley searching through files in a race against the clock to just get there in time was a good use of the show's time and even created a bit of suspense (even though we knew they'd arrive in time) but the reversal (hey, it was a proper use of a dramatic reversal)  was that Graham rendered all that digging useless.

 

Even though I giggled a bit at Dina's typing skills (I would've thought she'd have handwritten then typed), I liked the transition from Michael's voice into hers, so that she's shown typing the manuscript and narrating the contents at the same time.

 

It almost goes without saying that Marla Adams has been masterly in acting out this storyline but it was poignant to see the reaction of Ashley, Traci and Jack as some passages from her unpublished memoir is being read aloud.

 

Graham didn't have to do much today and that was smart on the writers' part.

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  He's not charismatic in the way that soap villains were known to be in the past.  Then again, Y&R seems to be writing quite a few charisma-free male characters lately but that's a separate topic for another day.

 

Had there been a few other characters involved in today's episode, I would've said that they should submitted it for a Daytime Emmy pre-nomination but don't they usually prefer episodes involving a cross-section of various characters

[RavenWhitney]

But they wasted Dina's character by making her have this advanced phase of the disease.  She brought the Abbot story together and is such a class actress.  They could have told a different story and kept her around as a vital part of the business and family. So then what happens when she dies or they cart her off to Florida. There's no generational stories with the Abbots except with the sorased newbies. We needed a long term tent pole character to replace Katherine Chancellor as the grand dame of GC.  

[DramatistDreamer]

 

I agree.  They are having Dina decline way too fast and I mentioned this from the outset.  Unless there is some sort of magical elixir that will halt her deterioration, we know there is only one way for Dina to go.  She's too rich a character for them to have her off the canvas in a few months or so.

 

Also, I don't see anyone else in Dina's age group so it's unfortunate that there are no other characters that are seniors who are healthy, vital and robust. In fact, it's sort of depressing.

 

Still, in isolation, this was a well put together episode even if I don't like the long-term implications.

 

Every writing regime for the past 5 or 6 years now has been able to put together a good episode here and there. 

Y&R's problem has been sustaining the quality on a consistent basis.  Also, this doesn't change the fact that MY still has a problem building cohesive storylines that stay with the viewer.  For me, a good, even a great episode won't change that, IMO.

 

[Taoboi]

Finishing off last week's Y&R and I have to admit regardless of how I feel about MY this writing for the Abbotts has been good and dramatic.  Liking this new lawyer of Ashley's though I side-eye Michael for saying this lawyer has underhanded tactics. And...you don't? 

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LOL at the shade Lauren just threw at Abby in the hotel hallway...which looks new.

 

And interesting that the episode I am watching (last Thursday) is the second episode that does start from the end of the previous episode (Christian being missing). The other one being Wednesday with Nick telling Sharon that Scott and Abby had sex. 

 

So...is MY going to start doing that with the next day transition being something that happens within the episode? Because that won't bug me at all. Cuz starting from the end of the episode is totally building this drama. 

[ranger1rg]

I enjoyed the episode a lot, too.

 

But why would Graham have waited until that point to announce his marriage to Dina? Just so we could see a shocking ending after some great scenes???