The Young and the Restless Watching The Young and the Restless

[Daniel Avery]

In my experience, it seems that internet sites that used to cater to all soaps have evolved/fractured into sites that favor one soap or another, allowing fans of each soap places for them to focus on that one show. So instead of a soap lover looking for a General Soaps site to look for discussions, they might look for a Days site or a Y&R site, sites which would have less overall traffic but would have more frequent visits from the members. The level of coverage various sites give to each soap might be geared to analysis of their traffic---it's all about ads on so many of the larger sites. The result is that Y&R fans (and other fans of the others) gravitate toward one another and just talk among themselves in places like Facebook pages, Twitter sites, and such which are dedicated to their show rather than interacting with fans of the other shows in larger places.

One soap news site I frequent (Daytime Confidential) has more coverage of General Hospital (casting news, synopses, spoilers, etc.) than the other three soaps combined. I don't think it was an intentional shift, but this sort of thing snowballs over time, and nothing is being done to try to correct it from what I can tell. If that site gets more "hits" from GH stories than Y&R stories or B&B stories, then they will continue to provide more GH stories in order to make more ad revenue. Fans of Y&R, B&B and Days simply find other sites that favor "their" soap elsewhere. I'm sure there are Y&R-centered sites out there that basically ignore GH. Soap Opera Digest, as a website and the now-defunct magazine, was overwhelmingly biased toward coverage of Days of Our Lives even as it claimed (or still claims) to be objective and seeks to cover all soaps equally.

 

[Daniel Avery]

It might be a transparent act of 'fan service' to make us old-timers happy, but I'll take it:
The Young and The Restless to Revive Newman Ranch Set - Daytime Confidential

Apparently no one has noticed a huge construction project going on at the ranch, but they're all rather dim to begin with.

I'm saying it right now: if the set doesn't include the triumphant return of Big Blue Plate, it will be a waste of money! Back when they were using that set all the time, online fans used to joke endlessly about this porcelain plate that was displayed in the middle of the set. It sat witness to all the drama, tears, big hair, overacting......oh, the stories it could tell! BBP was jokingly talked about as if he/she was a junior cast member.

In the clip below, we see BBP in his/her usual spot, a front-row seat in a now-infamous scene involving John and Victor.

 

[Monzo]

My expectations for the perfect new Newman Ranch are low, which is probably due to the way the show is currently handling history.

When Tracy was in the restaurant with Alan and saw Victor with Michael at the other table, she told Alan how powerful Victor is and how long the feud between Jack and Victor has been going on, but Tracy (or the writers) had apparently forgotten the most important fact about Victor: that her daughter's heart beats in Victor's chest.

I also didn't like the way Paul was treated after Heather's death. So Paul had a stroke after he got the news of his daughter's death, which is why he couldn't attend the funeral, but no one thinks to visit Paul and support him, which is what I would have expected from Nikki in particular.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Doug Davidson's departure from Y&R was quite....um, contentious so I certainly did not expect "Paul" to return for the funeral (or for any other reason). The stroke/heart attack plot point was actually more than I expected from the writers--part of me thought the bad feelings between actor and producers would extend into the onscreen events (as they often do) and they would simply ignore Paul's existence, or maybe write something that cast him in a negative light.

The return of Ed Scott as Senior Producer might signal a change---he might even try to coax Davidson back onto the show since Doug D's beef seems to have been with some of the people Ed Scott will be now supervising. A lot of Y&R actors have left in a huff but returned as soon as the producer who made them angry got fired or otherwise departed.

I saw a brief clip of MTS and Braeden being "introduced" to the new/old set. It's decorated and laid out similarly, but it's much smaller. And so far no BBP.

 

[DallasFanForever]

I saw a brief clip of MTS and Braeden being "introduced" to the new/old set. It's decorated and laid out similarly, but it's much smaller. And so far no BBP.

Without BBP it just can’t be the same set in my view. I was always waiting for that thing to get broken in a fight between Nikki and Ashley but thankfully it never happened.

 

[Monzo]

I didn't think I'd ever say it, but I'm over Jordan. So she and Ian are behind everything that happened to Sharon?!? It's no surprise that someone switched Sharon's medication, but I did wish Sharon killed Heather and pushed Phyillis off the road, but as it is, Sharon just has to suffer like Ian wanted. Ian was always the standard villain for me, luckily played by an actor I like, but Ian and Jordan together isn't as entertaining as it might seem on paper. Instead, I'm glad when their scenes are over. If Jordan kills Ian and goes off on her own like she used to, the story might get more interesting again.

What I don't need at all is a brother for Nate. Nate is one of the supporting characters on the show, like Sally and Audra, who are good as long as they support main characters, but once they get their own storyline it gets difficult. I didn't watch Y&R when Amy was on, I hadn't even heard of the character before she returned, but I've since read her recap and she seemed very nice, so it doesn't make sense that she was hiding his child from Nathan.

So Jack and Diane taught Kyle a very special lesson, which ended up getting him the job he wanted from the start and why he broke up with his parents in the first place. Weird parenting lesson?!?

 

[Daniel Avery]

What I don't need at all is a brother for Nate. Nate is one of the supporting characters on the show, like Sally and Audra, who are good as long as they support main characters, but once they get their own storyline it gets difficult. I didn't watch Y&R when Amy was on, I hadn't even heard of the character before she returned, but I've since read her recap and she seemed very nice, so it doesn't make sense that she was hiding his child from Nathan.

I see what they are doing...or at least what it looks like they're trying to do. Neil Winters was the previous recipient of a long-lost, "troubled" brother who popped up seemingly out of nowhere---Malcolm. He was "street" and angry at the world, but mostly resentful of brother Neil for his great job and life. He got entangled with Neil's wife Drucilla, seducing her and conceiving Lily in the process. Now I guess they will attempt to recreate that plot with Lily the object of the brother's seduction?

I remember Amy quite well, and it is a stretch that she would have left town carrying Nathan's baby. However, in Nathan's final few years on the air he was not the positive role model he had been, so maybe they decided Amy was better off without him. He had affairs behind his wife's back, including one affair with a woman who later discovered she had AIDS; I'm not sure if they thought she had exposed him to it or if he had maybe given it to her. I can't recall specifics but I got the idea the producers did not like the recast actor they had hired, so they decided to do a character assassination by having Nathan cheating around town and ruining his friendships with most of the town.

 

[Monzo]

I had no interest in Nate's brother at all, but luckily he is played by Nathan Owens, who I wasn't a fan of on Days of our Lives, but I liked him even better in primetime on Devious Maids, Batwoman and 9-1-1: Lone Star. It's too early to say what I'll think of him on Y&R. This talk between the brothers about The Count of Monte Cristo was pretty bizarre and it could easily seemed to Damian as if Nate was hitting on him and not offering him a job. It's funny that Nate lost weight and changed his look as soon as he was about to meet his new brother. Sean Dominic probably wants to keep up with Nathan Owens.

As for Jordan and Ian: everything could be better. The script seems a bit clumsy, but at the same time it is by far the best that Y&R is currently offering.

 

[Monzo]

I'm glad that Colleen Zenk's exit is getting attention outside of the daytime world and that even standard entertainment sites are reporting on it. Jordan's latest run was her worst, but the fact that it surprisingly became her endgame made the whole thing worth watching. For me, Jordan is the best new character on Y&R since... I can't say for sure, but definitely for at least a decade. It's a shame that the writers overdid it with Jordan too quickly. It's also a shame that Claire has become so uninteresting, because she had so much potential. I'm amazed that Jordan's exit wasn't saved for the February sweeps and what Y&R wants to bring in that's exciting instead.

 

[Monzo]

I think it's good that Y&R is now showing a lot of black actors in the face of the impending competition from Beyond the Gates, but does it all have to be so superficial? Nate finds out about his half-brother, but apparently doesn't want to see a photo of him, so when he meets him he doesn't realize that it's not the real Damian. The imposter later turns out to be Holden, who, what a coincidence, Nate's girlfriend Audra has met when they both were working for Tucker. The real Damian is super angry with his mother Amy, but why? He finds out really bad things (she hid who his real father is and she's also terminally ill) now, so what has Amy done before that's so unforgivable? And why doesn't Amy meet anyone from the past while she's shopping in Genoa City with Audra? Tracy would be exactly the right person to look after Amy. I wouldn't mind a chance meeting with Nikki or Lauren either.

 

[Monzo]

Sharon and Phyllis being trapped together is torture for both of them and sometimes for me as a viewer too. Nevertheless, I'm curious to find out who is holding them captive, because I have absolutely no idea.

As far as logic goes, I can hardly understand how Ian managed to ensure that no one knows he is still alive. Maybe the paramedic was a member of his cult, but what about the driver? And why wasn't there any discussion about what would happen to Jordan's body? Shouldn't Cole have had to decide that? Wouldn't Claire have wanted a little eulogy to say goodbye to Jordan one last time?

There is one thing I don't understand about Victor. He supposedly knows everything that goes on in the business world, but when a criminal who once harmed his family is released, he never notices. He should actually have his own employee who constantly checks whether this or that criminal is still behind bars or whether (as with Ian) there is a parole hearing coming up that Victor would then thwart.

Surprisingly, the explanation of why Damian turned away from Amy convinced me; for a soap, it was unexpectedly real.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Sharon and Phyllis being trapped together is torture for both of them and sometimes for me as a viewer too. Nevertheless, I'm curious to find out who is holding them captive, because I have absolutely no idea.

I can see why the writers had to come up with this. The seemingly endless list of reasons for them to hate one another has grown like the national debt, and they've been forced to raise the stakes so many times that it has become impossible for the show to have them co-exist in their current state of war. They're too "close" as far as overlapping family members and such to allow the two to exist in the same town and just hate one another from afar, so the show needed to do something to re-direct the war between the two. It would be impossible to have them suddenly go all lovey-dovey toward one another, but at least they can (hopefully) write something that will make it believable that the two won't continue this trajectory they've been on. Phyllis looks especially bad because we've seen her do much more heinous things to people with less motivation than Sharon has given her, so it's almost become a "put up or shut up" situation for her.

What amazed me was how they acknowledged in dialogue that this seems to be what their kidnapper is doing--forcing a "reset" of their feuding ways. The whole family and their adjacent friends, etc. would all benefit from the two ladies toning down the war, so my suspicion is that Victor is behind it "for the sake of the family" but he's also enlisted someone else to help like Michael Baldwin who can see the end that would justify these means.

He should actually have his own employee who constantly checks whether this or that criminal is still behind bars or whether (as with Ian) there is a parole hearing coming up that Victor would then thwart.

I like this idea. He (or she!) could be like Brick, Sonny's mostly off-screen associate who keeps him apprised of various threats to his business on General Hospital.
Hopefully someone who is a better actor than Stephen Smith, though.

 

[Monzo]

Diane really put a lot of effort into renovating the Abbott Mansion. At least it's not as bad as I feared; I like that the dark mood the living room always emanated has been preserved.

Cole is back after a long absence, but what about the cough?

If Billy Flynn is playing Aristotle Dumas, he'll have to make an effort to make the character interesting, because I have the feeling he's already getting on a lot of fans' nerves. Aristotle Dumas has been talked about for too long when veterans could be given long-awaited storylines.

 

[Monzo]

At the beginning of March, it was announced that Billy Flynn would be joining Y&R. I assumed he would show up a week or two after that announcement, but so far nothing has happened, so I think his character is supposed to turn the world upside down on the show like Stephen Nichols and Steve Burton did back in the day, neither of which I particularly liked back then. Since I assume Josh Griffith is as big a fan of Billy Flynn as Jill Farren Phelps once was of Steve Burton, I assume Billy Flynn, as Aristotle Dumas, is related to someone. Since he's so keen to meet up with Billy, he could be Jill's son, but who is the father? Jack or maybe even Victor? In any case, someone very important, so it's clear that this new character absolutely belongs on the show, just like Steve Burton's Dylan was back in the day. I've also heard that Aristotle Dumas is supposed to be a son of Tucker, which I would definitely prefer to a blood relationship with the Newmans or the Abbotts.

What has been puzzling me for some time now is how front and center Victor is. A few years ago, there was a time when Victor slowly faded into the background and the focus was on conflicts below his children, but now Victor is everywhere. Josh Griffith writes as if Eric Braeden would live forever, but if he couldn't work from one day to the next, the show would have a real problem. Actually, all characters (even Sharon and Phyllis) get along now; the only one who disrupts the harmony is Victor. I wish Josh Griffith would create more new conflicts for the next generation.

 

[Rove]

Josh Griffith writes as if Eric Braeden would live forever

That wouldn't be a problem. I caught a rare glimpse of Y&R this week and once again Victor was sitting in his armchair arguing with Nikki. If anything terrible was to happen to Eric the writers and producers could just have other characters pretending to speak with Victor who has his back to camera. With the monotonous dialogue it shouldn't be an issue for the director to dub in Victor's voice.

 

[Monzo]

I wouldn't mind if Y&R made a habit of letting former CBS daytime veterans make surprise appearances on Y&R: first Colleen Zenk and now Michael Swan, who immediately has the psycho attitude that Colleen Zenk also had. It's nice to be surprised by a familiar face instead of waiting months for one, as is currently the case with Billy Flynn.

As for Claire, it's a bit interesting that she's like a sweet country girl, because the longer this goes on, the greater the fallout will be if she suddenly snaps, but sometimes I worry that it will never happen and she remain this boring way. Claire's love story with Kyle isn't very interesting because a girl like Claire doesn't appeal to Kyle in the long run, and the Kyle we know certainly wouldn't risk five million dollars for her, especially not to impress Victor. Why is it so important for everyone to impress Victor anyway? He's only nice as long as everyone else does what he wants. That's why I don't understand Michael's fixation on Victor. He's explained that Victor is like a father to him, but does it really make sense? By the way, I wouldn't mind if Michael Gross returned as Michael's father.

 

[Monzo]

I'm usually pretty lenient when it comes to Y&R, but this week is a tough watch. First, the characters hung out in a small (very exclusive, or rather cheap, you decide) train car, and then they slithered through a (cheap) maze to an exclusive dinner. The whole time, they talk about how rich this event is, and even more they talk about Dumas 24/7.

Because I wanted to know who Dumas really is, I watched the end of Friday's episode (thanks to Canada airing a day ahead), and now I know his idendity, although after what many suspected, it wasn't a surprise anymore. If you don't know who Billy Flynn plays, don't read the next paragraph.

What bothers me right now is that some fans claim that Cane had to be recast because Daniel Goddard is on GH. Presumably some people in the Y&R PR department are saying it, because Dumas has been a topic on air for six months, which is why I think the story was created last fall and Daniel Goddard wasn't on GH back then. I think it's more likely that Josh Griffith absolutely wanted to hire Billy Flynn and that they had come to an agreement long before Billy Flynn's contract on Days expired, which is why the build-up for the Dumas reveal took so long. I was never a Cane fan, so I wouldn't have needed the character back, especially with so many plot and character holes. How did Cane become so successful, and didn't Cane once think he was Chance's father? The problem is actually exactly the same as with Trevor St. John: The recast is too young for the role. In retrospect, Tucker's return was a total waste, especially given Trevor St. John's talent. Can things get better with nuCane?

 

[Monzo]

I could always rely on Y&R, not that it's always good, but that it's never bad. Unfortunately, things are different now. For a few weeks now, since the main plot took place in France, Y&R has been almost unbearable. I'm trying to console myself with the fact that this is the worst time Y&R has ever had, and that someday I'll look back and think, thankfully, it will never be this bad again, and thankfully I persevered and didn't give up on the show.

I always liked the way the characters talked to each other on Y&R. It was a bit boring, and that's probably why it relaxed me, but now the characters talk like they do on B&B, and in every scene there are one or two statements that make absolutely no sense. It's as if the characters have lost their minds in the maze.

In soaps, you always have to turn a blind eye to logic, but right now Y&R is demanding a lot from viewers. Not just the one with the dead zone on the Rivera, where the rich can always be online, but also the fact that rich people agree to go to a (then) stranger who can't guarantee any medical help in an emergency. Shouldn't Victor insist that a doctor be available 24/7, especially for Nikki, who has multiple sclerosis—or does she even still have it?

I was actually surprised by one plot twist. I thought Lily would only get together with Damian because he wasn't particularly popular, and fans therefore preferred the idea of Lily and nuCane as a couple, as the best of the worst options, so to speak. That's why I was surprised that Damian died, but this murder mystery, which is very reminiscent of Agatha Christie (perhaps a novel idea that she threw in the trash), isn't exciting at all, because the only reason Cane has an assistant, if he only talks to Amanda about his plans anyway, is because Carter is the killer.

As for nuCane, it was funny for five minutes when characters mention that Cane is a completely different person, a new Cane, but when it's mentioned at least twice in every episode, it's no longer funny, it's just annoying. What's Billy Flynn like as Cane? Much like Trevor St. John as Tucker, it just doesn't fit. Unfortunately, Billy Flynn does something annoying: he tries to impress. You can tell in every scene that he wants to be particularly good as a recast, and this eventually has the opposite effect. Trevor St. John simply immersed himself in the role of Tucker, no matter how little sense it made. Billy Flynn seems to be afraid to fail.

As for Cane's master plan, it's very predictable. He'll actually be able to take over one company after another, eventually ending up with Newman Enterprises. And then Victor strikes back, because Victor always wins. The only uncertainty in this story, which will presumably continue until 2026, is Eric Braeden. You never know if a man his age will still be fit in a year, and that could jeopardize Josh Griffith's grand plan.

I never really hope for ratings to drop for any soap, but since Y&R is renewed until 2028 anyway, I wouldn't mind a ratings drop this summer that will result in Josh Griffith's dismissal. Six years under his regime are enough, and Y&R needs someone for whom corporate takeovers and job changes aren't the most important plot points.

 

[Rove]

I could always rely on Y&R, not that it's always good, but that it's never bad. Unfortunately, things are different now. For a few weeks now, since the main plot took place in France, Y&R has been almost unbearable.

Funny you mention this. Suffering from a case of insomnia I decided to check in with Y&R in the vain hope it would lull me back to sleep. Instead I found myself in the never-ending France drama currently playing out. It's garbage beyond belief. Characters drift from a train carriage to some weird maze interspersed with horrible conversations. Do you any of these clowns think to wander off the estate? Worse still? The producers thinking the characters are actually in France. There is escapism and downright insulting the intelligence of the viewer.

Once upon a time you could immerse yourself in a good soap because we cared about characters. I felt no empathy for any of them. If the Abbott and Newman characters were all in that train carriage and it tumbled down the hill killing all the characters I'd shed a tear...from laughing so hard.

 

[Daniel Avery]

The plot also reminds me of an oft-mentioned criticism of Gilligan's Island. The longer these people stay in "France" the more implausible it is that they have this endless supply of clothes. Was there a separate railway car for their steamer trunks full of clothing? Or will we soon see ::shudders:: characters wearing the same outfit twice? The ladies would likely have preferred that "railway car tumbling down the hill" thing with them in it.