Paul Rauch & others in a #MeToo #TimesUp era...

[Gray Bunny]

I hear ya there; both shows rebounded and enjoyed newfound relevance in the 80's. I was thinking more so the 70's, with CBS likely hoping newbie Y&R would bring in a more youthful, demo-friendly audience, especially since ABC and NBC were now chipping away at the ATWT/GL/EON/SFT/SS/LOL dominance. 

 

[DramatistDreamer]

TBH, I don't really feel qualified to speak with any true knowledge on what could've happened with the daytime TV landscape in the 1970s.  It's completely possible that CBS threw a lot of its weight behind Y&R when it debuted but I look at the cast in those first years and it skewed pretty adult, perhaps with the exception of the Brooks sisters and a twenty-something Jill. 

I'm not sure if Y&R even had bonifide teenagers until the end of the 1970s, lol.

 

What I do remember is all the hullabaloo that happened when B&B set to debut (Capitol wasn't exactly in a great place in its final year, so I kind of understood) even though, other Susan Flannery and two or three other actors, the show didn't have a whole lot of good acting to drawn on (I still watched because it was just pretty to look at, nice sets, somewhat pretty people) and more hullabaloo when Y&R took the top spot at the end of the 1980s.

I do think that Y&R had become something of a pop culture phenomenon in the 1980s (remember that scene between Victor, Nikki and Kevin in the movie Mr. Mom with Michael Keaton?) and CBS was eager to capitalize from that (why should GH get the lion share of pop cultural references, I guess).  Y&R was a compelling show (it was my 2nd favorite), no doubt about it and there were times when he had the most compelling story in a given period of time but overall, there are other soaps on CBS that ran neck and neck and even exceeded Y&R in quality.  

If I'm being honest, I have to admit that Procter & Gamble was probably the worst at promoting their soaps.

[SoapDope]

The Y&R clips were featured in Mr. Mom because Aaron Spelling (who produced the film) was a huge fan of Bill Bell and Y&R. Years later when Aaron came up with Sunset Beach, he said he wanted the show to be something similar to what Bill Bell would do. 

 

Aaron would often borrow ideas from other creators and do a version of it. David Jacobs who wrote for Spellings series Family in 1976-77, created Dallas in 1978. Spelling ripped it off with Dynasty in 1981....LOL

[DramatistDreamer]

That's an interesting anecdote @SoapDope.  That goes to show the massive popularity and cultural impact that daytime drama used to have that primetime producers like Aaron Spelling were stealing their methods.

 

A bit Off Topic, but speaking of the pop cultural impact that daytime soaps had back then.  I just found out that Scott Bryce (Craig Montgomery #1, ATWT) got the role on Facts Of Live as Jo Polniaczek's husband because the cast were such big fans of ATWT and used to watch the show on their lunchbreaks.

 

Everybody was watch daytime soaps back then!

[Khan]

I figured someone at FOL had to be a soaps fan, considering how both of Blair's parents were played by prominent soap stars.

[DramatistDreamer]

 

There seems to be some merit to this story, tbh.

Ironically, a few weeks ago, I posted an episode from 1988 in the ATWT/Canceled Soaps thread where one character (Kirk Anderson) directs this epithet at another character (Hank Elliot) who was gay.  Interestingly enough, Kirk was shown to be an obvious jerk without demonizing him.  

 

Marland, of course, was the headwriter at this time.