How "Y & R" has become so unwatchable in the last days of the Maria Arena Bell regime...
Boy, this show is just all over the place - bad stories, even worse acting, inconclusive scenes, etc. I have been trying SO HARD to sit myself down and watch "Y & R", a show I have been viewing since the Summer of 1981 and just really trying to pinpoint where this show has plummetted downhill. My only guess at this point is that MAB saw the writing on the wall and decided to sabotage the show as much as possible before getting canned like a tuna!!
My two-cents:
Am I the only one who is wondering just how much the "1994 Phyllis/Paul/Christine hit-and-run" redux is WAY off tangent??? The moving of dead shrinks' bodies, stunt-casting of known alcoholics (sorry, Brett Butler, but you are one!), now Ronan is pledging his love for Phyllis - WHAT???? Where has this story, or better yet, WHY has this story veered off into such silly places?? Dumdum Kevin (who wasn't a dumdum when he came onto the show in 2003) helping Phyllis move Dr. Tim's corpse then being sucked into Red's drama - WHAT WAS THAT??? Also, since when do District Attorneys work out of the police department??? C'mon, Michael - D.A.s have large offices and the like and you are always at the GCPD (the only law enforement annex in GC - really?)
The whole Cane/Lily/"Claude Shirl" storyline is a HUGE BUST - does anyone really care at this point...???
Jack walking again - REALLY?!? He was shot point-blank on his wedding day back in February and 7 months later he is able to walk and flash his smirk - REALLY?!?
Victor/Genevieve/Tucker/Newman Enterprises - since when can billionaires procure anti-transplant rejection meds?!? REALLY???
Sharon in the Nut House - why do they have Sharon Case going all "Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford" on us?!? Is this supposed to be entertaining?? It's hard to watch, IMO....
The unnecessary SORAS'ing of Fenmore, Summer and especially Kyle - WHY WAS THIS DONE?!? These kids cannot act for the life of them especially this Blake Hood kid - JUST AWFUL!!! With any luck, JFP and JG can un-SORAS these brats or just deep-six them into oblivion!!
My hope is that Josh Griffith gets back the basics of what made "Y & R" great long ago: character-driven stories, characters one can root for or against and most importantly, romance!! Sorry, but all these silly marriages/non-marriages that have happened during MAB's reign of terror have been comical at best and come off as farce! As I have said before, perhaps having a separate Head Writer and a seperate Executive Producer can un-do all the damage that has been done since the Lynn Marie Latham era - I for one will be keeping an open mind and hope for the best - it has to get better than the stuff being spewed at us for the last 5-6 years!!!
AMEN Bartman!!!!!!
This is soooo awful I don't watch, on occasion I will watch on Utube, if someone says a certain scene is worth watching, the updates are hard enough to read.
I caught about 15 seconds of Kyle the other day, and all I could think is this the best they can do, he was the worst.
Buck up dude, looks like Jill is coming back!!!! I hear all the complaining about JFP, but so far all the firing decision have been right on...
I have it on in the background, usually doing something else, unless DAISY is on screen...
I have it on in the background, usually doing something else, unless DAISY is on screen...
I agree with your assessment. Like you I have been bored to tears the last couple of weeks watching everybody reacting to nothing important. It baffles me how that show killer Maria Bell is mystified by her firing. She has turned Y&R into the show about nothing. Her definition of good tv is definitely an acquired taste. The Phyllis story started of promising but like every other story Maria told with potential quickly detoured into moronic television. MAB is truly the worst thing to ever happen to this show. Even worse than LML. I'm so glad she's gone!!! I truly despise her for what she has done to this show. I can't wait til we no longer have to see her name on the bottom part of our screens.
I don't envy the new regime. Frankly I don't know how they are going to fix Y&R. But if they can pull a rabbit out of their hat they will have my utmost respect. Oct 12th cannot come soon enough.
Leave it to Maria Bell to get fired in late July and make us suffer with her meager material til October. Just more time to do more damage.
The show's been very uneven. Restless TV and Tag and Grab remind me of something LML would have aired. But then today's episode had some great moments.... Chris' line to Paul ...."I just tripped over some trash"....is classic.
Here is the brand new interview from Josh Griffith, published Sep 24th 2012.
http://www.tvguide.com/News/Young-Restless-Writer555-5555.aspx
All I can say is - Goodbye Y&R!
That interview is a must-read for every Y&R fan.
Thanks, Yoryla.
There are clues there and outright giveaways about where the show is headed for the rest of the year. One of the interesting parts was the following exchange:
TV Guide Magazine: ...Word is, Billy Miller made the decision to leave the show back while Maria was still in charge.
Griffith: I'm not sure that's 100 percent.
SoapArmageddon...I did and posted it on the board. Excellent direction
