Y&R March 2021 Discussion Thread

[Faulkner]

Oh it’s definitely a bit creepy and should provoke some ambivalence. The key, of course, is to be upfront about it and not act as if the professor/student relationship is some uncomplicated, carefree romance we should all root for, which is difficult for soaps. 

[Faulkner]

Tara’s eye makeup tho. 

[FrenchBug82]

This! It is because it was problematic that it could be great story where not everything is black and white since he genuinely cared about her but it was still inappropriate. Instead they played it as straight-up romance.
 

Of course, recast AL was stupid and killing off Colleen was even stupider.
As for recasting AL for "weight issues":  
1) even if it were true, how is it that they let it be known? Did they think it would make them look better rather than just recasting for no apparent public reason?
2) Particularly stupid when it could have been played with interesting parallels with her mom's story. Imagine the subtext! And later on a rivalry with Abby that mirrors their mom's dynamics!

3) I don't know how AL felt when uttering that line. Imagine what Beth Maitland must have felt about the line and when they fired AL for "weight issues". On so many levels, f***ed up for such a wonderful actress and loyal team player.

[Faulkner]

Wait, so did Chelsea have Chloe attempt to poison Sharon, and Rey got it by mistake? OR rather she’s poisoned Rey and is setting up Adam?

Edited March 23, 2021 by Faulkner

[BoldRestless]

 

I try to keep up with the wonderful soaps of yesterday blog from @will81 which catalogues 80s soap columns, and I've seen multiple articles about Beth that are basically saying she's not as frumpy in real life as she is on the show, that they made her wear padding and baggier clothes, and she just can't wait until the day they let her wear more makeup and be her true more attractive self (and indeed, she did look fantastic later in the 80s). It's sad, not so much the storyline about Traci's weight, which was great, but that someone - either she, her publicist, or the show - felt that it was so important to make it known that she didn't really look that in real life.

 

As for AL, I wonder if it was a combination of both things that got her let go. They needed to shoehorn Sursok somehow, AL had gained weight, the character was a brunette of similar age, and there you go. I didn't even care that they killed off Sursok, but hate that we had to lose the character of Colleen forever. What a waste. AL was really good.

[Planet Soap]

I think Amelia could stand as her own character but certainly not as Victoria Newman. Heater Tom's Victoria was a diva. She conveyed attitude, strength, pettiness and childishness, all in one. Amelia is more of a quiet strength character. The recast was equivalent to Emma Samms replacing Pamela Sue Martin as Fallon on the OG Dynasty. Going from big personality to demur.

 

As for the Coleen and her professor story, if it were another show the complications of that dynamic might be explored more deeply. However on soaps where you have things like Brooke Logan sleeping with her daughter's husband, Rick posing as his twin brother Blade and sleeping with Ashley, or even Sheila raping Scott (which I'm not even sure they fully addressed the weight of that), a professor student relationship would seem light to the writers. 

 

On the topic of modern soaps avoidance of pressing social issues I agree. The amount of clueless Facebookers that were offended when Y&R put up a BLM post in 2020 was astounding. It's the same old who slept with who, business deal, baby switch wash rinse repeat stories. ABC was always better at social issues plots. On the other hand, I feel like soap writers see that a large segment of T.V. is already tackling social issues so they want to preserve soaps as the over the top plotted escapist comfort food that one can turn to to unwind from current events. Overall, I don't want soaps to get too political but they need to give POC layered and leading stories.

 

 

Edited March 23, 2021 by ironlion

[FrenchBug82]

That's an EXCELLENT analogy I had never thought of. 

[Antoyne]

So I’m finally getting caught up on the show. I’m about 7 episodes behind now, maybe less.

 

If I were Rey, I would divorce the hell out of Sharon. They’ve been married a few months, she’s getting caught on camera kissing her ex and even after that refuses to stop seeing her ex for her husband. And then they had the god awful scene of Sharon telling Faith, oh ya know Adam isn’t all bad. Garbage.

I’m just going to assume Devon/Elena are end game since they apparently can’t stop sleeping together. If Amanda ever finds out I just don’t see how she’d want to be with Devon.

 

[BoldRestless]

 

I don't know if you watched them yet, but the marriage therapy scenes were infuriating... turning it around as if Rey is the one carrying baggage and is too possessive. Why didn't the therapist ever ask Sharon why she feels the need to maintain a relationship with a man who stole her baby?!

[FrenchBug82]

Oh look at you making a funny assuming there is an end game or even a plan to whatever merry-go-round they are trying to keep the Black Cast Island busy with.

You are too nice.

[Antoyne]

Oh I saw those and I was pisssssed. I was actually in shock that Sharon made it about Mia. This hard on for Adam is AWFUL.

[FrenchBug82]

 

I am in the minority that I liked Shadam the first time around (back when MM was playing him) despite baby-stealing and all.

But what gets me in the current SL - along with everyone else - is that she HAD moved on. She spent years with barely any interaction between them and when it was it was reasonable ex conversation, not anything resemblance temptation, let alone the kind of magnetic obsession they are struggling with right now.
So that she can't control herself to save her marriage now - she was in several relationships since then without Adam being an issue and he was happy with Chelsea without Sharon being in the picture - is stupid, regardless of what one thinks about whether their relationship made sense in the first place.

Edited March 24, 2021 by FrenchBug82

[Antoyne]

Literally she shared I believe ONE scene with Justin Hartley’s Adam. And it was nothing major. She was living her life not thinking about this man at all. Then the recast happens and suddenly they’re both obsessed again.

[ranger1rg]

I love Sharon Case, but she is playing Sharon as if she feels no deep love for Rey There’s cernothing there approaching a fear of losing her soulmate.

 

To me, Sharon’s concern comes off as what you’d feel for a friend. There’s just something missing. Yes, I realize Sharon’s heart is with Adam, but I still feel kind of shocked at the way SC is playing this.

[DramatistDreamer]

Going by what others are posting, it seems like JG/Y&R are letting the actors personal lives and connections dictate story. I get that the show is anxious over the lack of physical intimacy and the seeming need for visible "couplings" but they are undoing previous years of story and logic in the process. Unfortunate.