The Young and the Restless Watching The Young and the Restless

[Daniel Avery]

Yes, having actors date while having a story together has "burned" producers at times. It forces everyone to be unwilling participants in their off-screen dramas if they break up or have problems. It is almost preferable for them to keep their affair under wraps, since the effort toward secrecy keeps it "their business" and no one else's.

 

[DallasFanForever]

I really don't feel Sharon and Nick should be together. They aren't a fun couple, IMO. I'd rather they try something new with these characters. New matches.

I can definitely understand that. I guess they’ve always been one of my favorite couples so I’d like to see them get back together one day. I’ve never really been able to root for either one of them with anyone else.

 

[Monzo]

The arrival of Robert Newman has resulted in neither a rise nor a fall in ratings. So it's safe to assume that all GL fans are already watching Y&R or simply have no interest in seeing Robert Newman again.

Unfortunately, NuAshland and Victoria are more like uncle and niece than husband and wife. To me, it's not Robert Newman's fault, it's Amelia Heinle's. I like her a lot, but I find it really difficult to find someone she has chemistry with. Since Billy Miller, Richard Burgi was the first to make it work, so I'm afraid it will be years before they find a suitable actor for her again (unless Billy Miller or Richard Burgi are brought back).

 

[DallasFanForever]

I’ve always felt Amelia’s best chemistry was with Jason Thompson. I feel they bring out the best in each others’ characters but that’s just my take on it.

 

[Daniel Avery]

I like the idea of Victoria Newman and Billy Abbott together, since they are the heirs to the fortunes of the two most prominent families in town. If Y&R were to decide once and for all to make them an "endgame couple"--a pairing that avoids the endless break-up/make-up cycles of most couples on this show--then they would be able to take on the role of the next-generation power couple. They would create a core family of their own, separate from their immediate relatives but still connected via all the brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, etc. The show needs to create a new generation of strong couples and families because folks like Braeden, Scott, and Bergman aren't going to be around forever. Having middle-aged characters ready to take up the mantle of the seniors when/if they leave will make the transition a lot easier. It is also a good tool for the show to have at least one couple who can be counted on to stay together, since that creates loyalty in the viewers who feel they can count on the show not to screw up at least one coupling.

Just because V&B might be earmarked as "patriarch/matriarch in training" does not mean they have to tone them down or make them less flawed. ATWT had Bob and Kim as their town patriarch/matriarch, but also had Tom and Margo as their "patriarch/matriarch in training" (Tom being Bob's son). Their lives were never boring, and they even had occasional break-ups, but they always found their way back together. It was pretty much assumed they would--no writer was foolish enough to break them up permanently.

 

[DallasFanForever]

The show needs to create a new generation of strong couples and families because folks like Braeden, Scott, and Bergman aren't going to be around forever.

Sad but ultimately true! And that’s where I think the show has struggled. I can’t think of a strong couple that’s ready to take the reigns so to speak.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Eileen Davidson/Ashley has always struck me as the type of actress/character they could move into a more central role. The problem is obvious: many producing/writing regimes had no idea what to do with Ashley, so they let her slip through their fingers....or worse, they outright fired her. Yet she keeps coming back and the fans love her. But Ashley's been in and out of town so much that they haven't focused on giving her a romantic life. I mean, how long has it been? If the show decided to move Ashley into a more central role, they would need to find her a worthy romantic partner or invest in various storylines that kept worthy, intriguing men pursuing her. While Traci now functions as the heart of the Abbott family, Ashley (rather than Jack or Billy) could take on the role of the head of the family business.

 

[Monzo]

I think the future lies with Nick & Sharon. Once Victor or Nikki or both are gone I see Nick & Sharon as a solid couple. The audience knows their history from the beginning and the performers are still the same, which is a big plus. It certainly needs recasts for Noah and Faith, but Summer and Mariah are strong actresses as Nick and / or Sharon's offsprings.

Eileen Davidson seems to prefer it quieter these days. Stressful is the word she always uses when it comes to soaps or the Real Housewives. On contract is no longer an option for her she said, but I like that she's always been willing to come back for a few episodes when the Abbotts have something important going on.

 

[Rove]

I think the future lies with Nick & Sharon

Good grief is Nick still there? The last time I ventured into watching a Y&R episode Nick was parading around with his hands in his pockets passing off sage advice to some character I didn't recognize.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Yes, he's still around and still unable to make up his mind about....well, just about anything. My main objection to his characterization is how wishy-washy he is and his general lack of direction in life. He's a Newman so he will always have a job and be rich, but when you hold him up against driven, ambitious people like his father or even his sisters Victoria and Abby, he pales in comparison. And of course his love life has always been a train wreck.

 

[DallasFanForever]

I would assume the long awaited Nick and Sharon reunion has been held off because they’re both still relatively young and Nikki and Victor are still there. Once they decide to walk away from the show it leaves a huge hole obviously, as they are quite often the conscience of the show for the audience. Nick and Sharon will probably take over those roles in terms of being the super couple that everyone looks to for guidance and advice. I’d rather they reunite them now though, as I feel they’ve both hit a point where their characters are in danger of growing stale. They’ve really done everything else but reunite. It’s time.

 

[Monzo]

What I like about Y&R, it's still able to grab attention just like that, this time thanks to Keemo. I've already seen today's episode and the scene where Jack confided in Traci about Keemo was strong, the conversation between Jack and Victor was also worth watching, making even the awful Baby Chancellor drama bearable.

 

[Monzo]

I don't like it when too many plot holes happen at once. A person like Traci who cares about the whole family hasn't even checked in with her nephew Keemo in decades, it doesn't make sense.

Besides the fact how all that medical stuff can be faked for Nate and the hospital, Ashland Locke also has to be a method actor because there were moments when he was alone and desperate about his terminal illness, but I guess he wanted to be in character 24/7.

 

[Daniel Avery]

They also wrote that when Kyle was still a child and living with Diane off-screen, Jack was full of angst about not having a child (much less a wife) to share his life with. They were purposely writing dialogue like this that ignored the existence of Keemo, and had done so not only for Jack, but for the whole family. As you mention, it undermines Traci's character, but it also undermines the whole storyline (circa 2018) about "only a blood Abbott" having the right to run Jabot. They had all those tense meetings in the office where Jack, Ashley, Traci, Billy, and Kyle were depicted as the only ones who could assume such a role (and Jack even tried to ace Ashley out since she's not John's biological daughter). Not that Keemo would sail in and take over the CEO job; it was just talked about in terms of "no one else" was eligible, that the entire Abbott clan was in that room.

My mom is more of a Y&R fan than I will ever be, and when they did the Ashland switcheroo she was not pleased. She calls him Josh now, and half-jokingly said that Victoria ought to poison Josh and let everyone believe that "the cancer finally killed him". I think my mom watches too much Investigation Discovery in her non-Y&R hours.

 

[Monzo]

Nice to know that I'm not the only one having issues with NuAshland, but even without this recast, the fake cancer story would have been difficult to accept. I hope Ashland's going to die pretty soon, because Robert Newman is not the right man for the job.

I wonder if Y&R would have been so strict if a veteran made a mistake like Richard Burgi did. Would we now have NuNick, NuSharon or even NuVictor?

 

[DallasFanForever]

I wonder if Y&R would have been so strict if a veteran made a mistake like Richard Burgi did. Would we now have NuNick, NuSharon or even NuVictor?

Fair question! I would venture to guess their policy is taken very seriously by the powers that be but I’m sure like everything else in life certain people that have been on the show for about 40 years may get the proverbial slap on the wrist the first offense. Is it right? No, but it’s life.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Saw some of the show today. Ashland's doing his best to convince Nate and Victoria that he's innocent, but I got the feeling that neither of them are buying it as much as they let on. While Victor is relying on (missing) Michael coming through with proof from his Peruvian trip, I think Nate might be able to comb through some of HIS data (from his treating Ashland for "his illness") and come up with something Victor can use.

As for Victoria, I would not be surprised if the contract she offered up for Ashland to sign has been....shall we say "edited" somewhat when Ashland wasn't looking. She might be a fool for love, but she is Victor's daughter when it comes to the business. I would not be surprised if she put some new clauses in the agreement that allows her to retain overall control, or maybe even clauses that will allow her to take his holdings if they split up. That's why you should always read anything you sign.

 

[Monzo]

If Victor hadn't come up with the craziest schemes to separate Victoria from Billy, she might now believe him. I, too, hope that Victoria is smarter than she seems at the moment.

The Keemo is dead story could be good if it just focused on that, sort of closing for the fans who were always wondering what happened to Keemo and why Jack doesn't mention him anymore. A grandchild for Jack would actually just be Keemo 2.0 or maybe even Theo 2.0... Jack will take care of his grandchild for a while, if we're lucky viewers will embrace the new family member, but after a year or even less writers don't know what to do anymore do with the character.

 

[Emelee]

I think Victoria & Billy should be endgame and the matriarch & patriarch in the future. Both are driven opinionated characters, so they won't ever turn boring just because they're a solid couple. One Newman, one Abbott. One couple that both sides turns to.

 

[Daniel Avery]

I agree---the show seems obsessed with inter-linking the various members of the Abbott, Chancellor, Newman and Winters families, so Billy and Victoria would be the logical way to go. It might be an end-game pairing that might not be possible until Victor is (somehow) out of their way, though, whether Eric B retires or is carried out of the studio in a pine box.