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Saturday, February 14, 2015

Y&R Report (February 14, 2015): The Latest on The Young and the Restless




Hey Y&R fans, every second Saturday TV Banter discusses the latest happenings and provides commentary on your favourite daytime drama. Note to U.S. readers - SPOILER ALERT: Here in Canada, I watch the show on Global TV which is one episode ahead of CBS.  I will inevitably refer to incidents you haven't seen yet. Read at your own risk.  If you are the curious type, though, you may prefer to discover some things in advance.

Well fans, there is a great deal happening in Genoa City right now and I must say that the writing has improved under new head scribe Charles Pratt.  Let's see. Where do I start?  How about the custody case concerning the minor, Faith Newman?  As regular readers know, I am firmly on Sharon's side of the dispute. However, I do think she was way out of line to expect Mariah and Noah to commit perjury in order to help her gain custody of her daughter.  Mariah is to be commended for telling the truth on the witness stand.  As for Noah, he is the Son in the Middle.  It seems he's always trying to help his parents clean up their messy lives.  He's more mature than they are.

Does any character on the show have a thicker skull than Nicholas Newman.  Faith is obviously distraught over the custody battle and prefers to live with her mother. Meanwhile, Nick repeatedly states that his intention is not to punish Sharon.  I don't believe that any more than I believed his constant assertions that he would stand by Sharon no matter what.

By the way, have you noticed that Sharon and Dylan have been in quite a few scenes together lately? I wouldn't be surprised if he becomes romantically involved with her, a least for awhile, once he breaks up with Avery.  From the way Avery's been daydreaming about her past with Joe Clark, that's going to happen soon.  No, I don't believe Joe's statement to Avery that he's decided to leave town. He'll stick around to cause trouble.

Now that Maureen (Meridith Baxter) has left Genoa City, Nikki has a new drinking buddy - namely Neil Winters.  The two have good reason to feel wronged by their respective spouses and are both very bitter.  I can't blame Nikki for not wanting Phyllis to be a house guest for an unspecified amount of time, especially since Victor did not even have the decency to consult with her about the mercurial redhead taking up residence at the Newman ranch.

This Valentine's Day, there is plenty of intrigue in Genoa City.  Victor has made alliances with both Phyllis and Kelly.  He's playing his cards carefully and his ultimate goal is to bring down Jack Abbott and Jabot.  Phyllis doesn't trust the Black Knight.  She's well aware that he's using her for his own purposes,  However, she feels it's to her advantage to align herself with The Moustache right now.  

Abby sent mysterious Valentine invitations to many of the younger residents of GC, including Mariah, Supergirl Summer, Austin, Fen and Noah.  They all gathered at the Abbott cabin and played a game called "Never Have I Ever . . .and Austin reacted strangely to "never have I ever committed murder. "  He became upset and walked away.  When he returned he explained that the subject of murder reminded him of the murder of his mother.  In the next scene, a male hand was shown spiking the punch and everyone fell asleep for a time - except Austin.  He was later shown outside on the ground in the cold. Strange happenings . . .

The Winters family's Valentines Day vacation turned into a disaster.  An angry Neil revealed to everyone on board the plane that he had regained his eyesight and he exposed Devon and Hilary's treachery.  According to online spoilers, their plane will go down and they will be faced with a life or death situation.  Regular reader Fifi from Collingwood thinks that Neil will have to save his son Devon's life despite Devon's betrayal of him.

Another online scoop has revealed that someone in Genoa City will not survive Valentine's Day. Whom will it be?  It has to be a character who is expendable, someone Y&R can do without or someone who is leaving the show.  Could it be someone aboard the Winters' plane?  Hilary perhaps? Will she be needed much longer now that Neil knows her secret?

One of the few happy couples on Y&R seems destined for trouble.  I'm  referring to Lily and Cane. Candy Cane just couldn't bring himself to tell Lily about Devon and Hilary. He tried to tell her but kept getting interrupted.  That's a soap tactic to prevent a secret from coming out.  Now that Lily knows the truth, will the Aussie charmer find himself in the doghouse?   Will there be trouble in paradise. Why didn't  he just tell her anyway? The answer is that there wouldn't be any conflict if he had told her.

Valentine's Day is also poor Delia's birthday.  Although I'm not a huge fan of Burgess Jenkins, the actor currently portraying Billy Boy Abbott, I've got to give him credit for his touching performance in the scene at his late daughter's roadside memorial.  He really conveyed a father's grief in a most poignant manner.


VIEWER FORUM

CC from Etobicoke, Ontario wrote:


I like your analysis of Y & R situations.  But what makes you so sure Kelly is the one behind Delia's hit and run?  She does appear to be a plausible candidate after the fact of course which is how it is expected to be.
Since Phyllis is a longstanding key character it seems quite credible that she would not be the crazy one even though she seems to have the gift and smarts head over heels above Kelly.
From the beginning I thought Kelly had the makings of a future Sheila.
Now Kelly looks better and acts sweeter than Phyllis. 
If this all pans out to be true then Phyllis will never let Jack forget it.
No matter what though they will never be able to rise above the major bungle of killing Delia off. With the personality they gave her she was destined to become a major player character unlike Abby who turned out to be a dud, and Faith who has the potential to be a clone of Sharon.

The next week or so should reveal more to us.

Actually, CC, I am not so sure Kelly is the one behind Delia's hit and run.  I wrote that she "may" have been the one behind Delia's hit and run.  It's a definite possibility and I wouldn't rule it out.  I still think that Kelly will turn out to be the one who is mentally unbalanced.  It's certainly true that right now. as you put it, Kelly "looks better and acts sweeter than Phyllis."  However, I think it's all a ruse on Kelly's part to confuse Jack and to gain his sympathy.  She recently let her guard down when she pointed a table knife at Avery during a heated argument between the two women.  I also suspect that Kelly poisoned herself to set Phyllis up.  She only drank a tiny bit of the tea so that she would survive.

I think Delia was killed off in order to create friction between Billy and Victoria and break up their marriage.  However, I think they could have found another way rather than having Delia die.


Fifi from Collingwood, Ontario wrote:

Some Y and R comments for you.
I thought Victoria looked lovely in the pink dress at the baptism.
Jill is also looking mighty fine.
Does Victor really have a good side?
I thought that maybe Phyllis was one up on everyone and is setting her own plan into action, testing Jack to go back with Kelly and testing Kelly to slip up.  Or maybe Police Commissioner Paul will realize he has the wrong person in jail when it is discovered that Kelly killed Delia.
February sweeps this week.  Should be good!

Yes Fifi, Victoria radiant in the pink dress and I agree that Jill is also looking good.

Victor is a very complex man.  Yes, he is domineering, controlling, overbearing and ruthless.  He is certainly a villain, but not a cartoonish villain.  There are shades of grey in The Big Man's makeup. In his mind, he truly loves his family and he loves Nikki.  He can also be surprising and unpredictable. He is capable of terrible cruelty and has no qualms about breaking the law if it gets in his way.  It's all part of doing business for him.  At the same time, he has tender side to him which he displays occasionally.  For example, he sincerely respected and admired the late Katherine Chancellor.  He valued her friendship and misses her deeply.

Newman's personality has been shaped by his childhood years.  He was an orphan, felt rejected and clawed his way to success in business.


CAST NEWS

The Daytime Emmys will take place on April 26, 2015 and 22 Y&R cast members have earned pre-nominations, leading all the other soaps.  Remember that the final nominees will be announced on March 26, 2015. Unfortunately, no plans have been announced yet to televise the event.  I hope that will change, but if not, the show will likely be available online.  Below are the Y&R pre-nominations.

LEAD ACTRESS

Tracy E. Bregman (Lauren Fenmore)
Jessica Collins (Avery Bailey Clark)
Melissa Claire Egan (Chelsea Lawson Newman)
Gina Tognoni (Phyllis Newman)

LEAD ACTOR

Peter Bergman (Jack Abbott)
Eric Braeden (Victor Newman)
Doug Davidson (Paul Williams)
Justin Hartley (Adam Newman)
Christian LeBlanc (Michael Baldwin)
Billy Miller (ex-Billy Abbott)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amelia Heinle (Victoria Newman)
Elizabeth Hendrickson (ex-Chloe Mitchell)
Cady McClain (Kelly Andrews)
Kelly Sullivan (Sage Warner)

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR

Steve Burton (Dylan McAvoy)
Steve Carrigan (Dr Ben "Stitch" Russell)
Bryton James (Devon Hamilton)
Kristoff St. John (Neil Winters)

OUTSTANDING YOUNGER ACTRESS

Camryn Grimes (Mariah Copeland)
Hunter King (Summer Newman)

OUTSTANDING YOUNGER ACTOR

Max Elrich (Fenmore Baldwin)
Max Page (Reed Hellstrom)

Some comments:
There must be a lack of younger actors on daytime soaps.  No offense against Max Page (Reed), but he is rarely ever appears on the show - three times a year at most.

I would consider Kristoff St. John  (Neil Winters) to be a lead actor.

If Billy Miller (ex-Billy Abbott) is regarded as a lead actor why isn't Amelia Heinle regarded as a lead actress rather than a supporting actress?  Also, if Jessica Collins (Avery) is in the lead actress category, why isn't Dylan in the lead actor category rather than supporting actor?


BEST LINES

A best line goes to Mariah for her comment to Sharon as Supergirl Summer entered the courtroom at Faith's custody trial.

MARIAH (referring to Summer): Great!  Princess Whiny Pants.  Get ready for some waterworks when she takes the stand.

Add "Princess Whiny Pants" to "Snowflake," Mariah's other sobriquet for Summer.  If she keeps this up, she'll have as many nicknames for Summer as Jack has for Victor.


Another best line goes to Phyllis.  It comes from a scene where she and her lawyer sister, Avery, were discussing the charge that she attempted to poison Kelly.

PHYLLIS: Cricket hates me.  She shouldn't be anywhere near my case.  I mean, seriously, isn't that your job as my lawyer?  "Bug" removal?


Y&R REPORT READER'S POLL

Redhead versus Blonde


Gina Tognoni (Phyllis)


Cady McClain (Kelly)



Do you think Phyllis or Kelly is unbalanced?

I think Phyllis is mentally unbalanced due to her coma.
Kelly is definitely off kilter.
They are both unbalanced.
Don't know.
Poll Maker




That's all for now.  Happy Valentine's Day!  Don't forget to check the next edition of Y&R Report on Saturday, February 28, 2015.


- Joanne

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