Y&R Report (May 28, 2016): 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.


So now we've met Brittany . . . er . . . Bethany, the new character on Y&R.  Bad girl Bethany is going to be a real troublenmaker.  Billy Abbot had better watch out.  She's nothing but bad news and she loves to stir the pot.  She's already tried to tempt the gambling addict to join a poker game.

Jill has returned to Genoa City and she is not pleased about what has transpired during her absence. After a run-in with Hilary, in which the two played verbal volleyball, she decided to pay a visit to her wayward son, only to find him entertaining Bethany. She's not too happy about how messed up her Billy's life has become, although she doesn't know the whole story.  If she had any inkling about her son and Phyllis, she'd be even more distraught and very livid.  She'd be fit to be tied.  As it as, she's upset because he appears to be spending his time drinking and cavorting with bimbos.  Imagine if she knew the truth about Billy and his sister-in-law!

I couldn't help smiling when Jill railed against the new decor in the erstwhile Chancellor mansion.  She was so spot-on.  She didn't mince words either.  She referred to the paint colour as "hideous" and "mud grey."  She expressed her disappointment that Billy had turned the Chancellor estate into a "man cave," a man-child playground."  "Nothing of Katherine is left," she lamented."

Jill didn't stop there, though.  She chided her son, telling him that he needed a "kick in the pants and a shove in the right direction.  "You're an adult," she said, "but you've never grown up."  Billy Boy looked quite sheepish and somewhat remorseful when his mother departed.

Is there any character on Y&R more naive than Meredith Gates?  She is a doctor.  She is highly educated.  Why can't she not see through Victor Newman?  He plays her like a violin and she just can't resist his dubious charms.  Doesn't she realize how he's using her and manipulating her to get out of prison?  Is she so mesmerized by him that she doesn't care about his motives?  Is she so under his spell that she's willing to abandon her professional ethics?  Is she so entranced by his kisses that she's willing to jeopardize her career and her reputation for his sake.  Sadly, it would appear so.

Did Adam Newman kill Constance Bingham or has he been framed?  If Adam didn't kill Constance, then who did?  Adam has committed some wicked deeds in the past, but did he poison a disabled older woman?  There has been some online speculation that Sage actually murdered Constance Bingham. I don't buy that theory at all.  Victor must be involved in some way.  That man has his   grubby hands in almost all of the most reprehensible acts committed in Genoa City.  Okay, so he had nothing to do with Abby falling down the stairs!



VIEWER FORUM

If you have any comments on Y&R, please email them to me with "Viewer Forum in the subject line. I will be happy to publish your comments and reply to them  You do not have to use your real name.  

My email address:  jmadden16@yahoo.ca

Here are some comments from Maria in Manhattan, New York, NewYork.

* Dr Gates (Alicia Coppola) was on another soap and saw pics of her  She looks like the actress from Big Fat Greek Wedding (Nia Vardalos).  It will be a Victor and Dr Gates wedding!   Opa!

* Jack will have a fling with Hilary when he finds out about Billy and Phyllis.

* Soon you  will see Dr. Gates comes out of her nerdy shell around Victor, Her change will be similar to when Sandra Bullock was prepping her role in Miss Congeniality.

* Little Sully deserves a Baby Emmy.  Do you notice how calm and quiet he is ....... He's
adorable.  Will be glad when the story line with Sharon and Dylan is over.  Sharon needs Mr. Kitty, not Dylan.

* And  finally, Victoria and the bartender ...... Soon, the scandal will be all over the boardroom and bedroom.

Yes, Alicia Coppola was on another soap.  She played Lorna Devon on Another World from 1991 to 1993.

Well, Maria, here are photos of Dr Gates (Alicia Coppola) and Nia Vardalos.  I wouldn't say they are dead ringers, but I see a resemblance, especially around the eyes and eyebrows.  What do you think, readers and fans?

Alicia Coppola (Dr. Meredith Gates)

Nka Vardalos

Perhaps there will be a Victor and Meridith Gates wedding.  Who knows what the writers have in mind.  That could be the reason why Nikki is divorcing "The Moustache."  Dr. Gates seems as if she is ready to go rogue.  She could throw away her career and reputation for Victor's sake,  Maybe she'll marry him secretly and help him escape from prison.  It sounds over the top, but I wouldn't put anything past head writer Charles Pratt and company.

I think you may be right about Jack and Hillary hooking up.  They may become vulnerable to each other at the same time.  When Jack discovers the truth about Phyllis and Billy, he will feel angry and betrayed.  Meanwhile, Hilary's marriage to Devon doesn't appear too solid.  He has been been constantly forced to defend her and has been turned off by her selfishness and her conniving ways. Lily and Cane have come up with a strategy to stop Hilary in her tracks. They have decided to try to convince Devon to come on their side. Lily and Cane  reckon that Hilary will stop blackmailing Neil if she thinks it will deprive her of her husband's billions.  However, if Hilary believes that Devon has rejected her, she may turn to Jack for solace.  It hasn't escaped Lily's notice that Hilary is always smiling at Jack and trying to impress him.  When she pointed this out to Devon, he found the notion ridiculous. I disagree..  I think Lily's right.  Gold digger Hilary would love to latch on to an Abbott.

You are definitely right about baby Sully/Christian.  He really is adorable, an absolutely delightful child.  The kid is a born actor too! I noticed the expression on his little face when Sage died.

Here's a little treat for you, Maria, and for all the other baby Sully fans - a photo of the little guy with Sage (Kelly Sullivan).

CAST NEWS

Melissa Claire Egan (Chlsea) with Chrishell Stause (Bethany)

As I mentioned in the last edition of Y&R Report, Chrishell Stause (Brthany) is the girlfriend of Justin Hartley (Adam Newman).  Chrishell  is also good friends with Melissa Claire Egan, who plays Justin's onscreen wife, Chelsea, on the Y&R.  The two women have been friends since they were castmates on All My Children, where Melissa played Annie and Chrishell portrayed Amanda.



Y&R READERS' POLL

Who killed Constance Bingham, played by actress Sally Kellerman of M*A*S*H fame.  Who is responsible for the foul deed?  Was it Adam?  Sage?  Is Victor behind the murder?  (By the way, Sally Kellerman will turn 79 years old on June 2nd.  Eric Braeden (Victor) turned 75 in April.  He is only four years younger than Kellerman.  Yet his character is seen romancing a prison doctor played by 48-year-old Alicia Coppola. Amelia Heinle, who portrays Victor's daughter, Victoria, is 43 years old . . . just giving you the facts).

Do you think Adam killed Constance?

Yes, I do.

No, Victor set him up.

I don't know how it happened, but Adam didn't do it.

I don't know.

Other

Please Specify:

Quiz Maker

That's all for now.  The next edition of Y&R Report will appear in this space on Saturday, June 11, 2016.



- Joanne

Jason Priestly stars in new television show

Here's some good news for Jason Priestly fans.  The Vancouver-born actor stars in a new Canadian television series on Global TV called Private Eyes. The 10-episode drama makes its debut tonight.  It was filmed entirely in Toronto and will highlight the city's neighbourhoods.  "We're shooting Toronto, for Toronto," Priestly told Global News entertainment reporter Chris Jancelewicz.  “It’s a very international, multicultural and vibrant city. So why not celebrate it?”

Priestly plays the role of Matt Shade, an ex-professional hockey player turned detective. His co-star is fellow Canadian Cindy Sampson.  Sampson, a Halifax native, portrays private investigator Angie Everett, who has inherited a detective agency from her late father.  Sampson is known for her portrayal of Lisa Braeden in the U.S. TV series Supernatural.

Rounding out the cast of Private Eyes are: Barry Flatman (Fargo and Defiance) as Shade's working class father, Don; Jordyn Negri (Warehouse 13) as Shades visually impaired daughter, Jules; Clé Bennett (Rookie Blue) as Detective Nolanm, a cop who is not particularly fond of private investigators and  Ennis Esmer (The Listner) as Detective Kurtis Mazhari, a cop who is helpful to Angie Everett.

In the premiere episode, Shade is working as a hockey scout when his top pick collapses on the ice under suspicious circumstances.  He reluctantly teams up with Angie to investigate the matter. With Shades' hockey smarts and Angie's detective skills, the two become an improbable crime fighting duo.


END NOTES

* Music artists Kardinal Offishall and King Reign will appear on the show.  Former ormer Toronto Maple Leafs captain Doug Gilmour and professional poker player Daniel Negreanu, will also make guest appearances.  Gilmour has a cameo in the first episode of the series.

* Jason Priestly, best known for his portrayal of Brandon Walsh on Beverly Hills 90210, is a big hockey fan in real life.  His favourite team is the Vancouver Canucks.  Here's how he describes his passion for the game on his official website:

Straight up, I love hockey. I love to play it and love to watch it. I’m from Vancouver, BC. My team therefore is the Canucks and for the record, I like the new rules. The game is faster and I think the shooting is awesome.

*  Priestly is also a foodie.  He appeared on a wine show in Canada called Hollywood and Vines.  He created the show with his friend Terry David Mulligan, an actor and radio personality who is also from British Columbia.


EDITOR'S UPDATE (May 18, 2017) : The second season of Private Eyes will commence on Global TV on Thursday, May 25, 2017.


- Joanne

Remembering Chez Hélène

Canadian children in the 21st century could use a television show like Chez Hélène. This classic chidren's bilingual program aired for 14 seasons on CBC Television, from October 26 1959 until May 25, 1973.   I watched the show as a child and I remember it with great fondness.  It was how I and countless other English speaking Canadian youngsters learned our first words in French,  The first French word I recall from the show is "regardez" (look).  Host Hélène Baillargeon would say, "Reardez, Suzie" to a puppet named Suzie the Mouse.

Chez Hélène was a weekday program and it was only 15 minutes long.  According to a blurb on the CBC's Digital Archives, "its goal was to give English-speaking children exposure to the French language," but it sometimes served to give French-speaking children exposure to the English language. Chez Hélène had the good fortune to be broadcast between two other immensely popular Canadian children's shows - The Friendly Giant and Mr. Dressup.

It was Knowlton Nash, then chief of information programming for the CBC, who cancelled Chez Hélène in 1973.  He explained his reasoning for axing the show in a piece for The Globe and Mail. He wrote that the program was cancelled due to the Canadian version of Sesame Street, which began airing in 1972.  The Canadian Sesame Street contained five minutes of French per episode and Nash argued that it had "double the audience of Chez Hélène.  Another executive at the CBC opined that Chez Hélène was cancelled partly because it had been on the air so long.  The executive felt that it was time to end the show's life cycle.


 
Hélène Baillargeon

Hélène Baillargeon, a singer and folklorist from Quebec, hosted the program.  Hélène was born at St.-Martin-de-Beauce, south of Quebec City, on August 28, 1916.  According to The Canadian Encyclopedia, she studied voice in Quebec City from 1935 to 1938, in New York from 1939 to 1940 with Mrs. Franz Rupp, and in Montreal from 1940 to 1944 with prominent Canadian composer and pianist Alfred La Liberté (1882-1952).  It was La Liberté who introduced her to folk music.

In 1944, Hélène wed André Côté, a Montreal crown attorney.  From 1950 to 1955, she worked as a researcher with folklorist and anthropologist Marius Barbeau (1883-1969) at The National Museum of Man in Ottawa.  During the 1950s, she sang on many CBC French and English radio and television broadcasts.

Hélène  was named to the Order of Canada in 1973 and was appointed a Canadian Citizenship Court judge in 1974.  She continued in that role until 1984.  On September 25, 1997, Hélène she passed away in Montreal at the age of 81.

In 1978, Hélène Baillargeon appeared on CBC's 90 Minutes Live.  Host Peter Gzowski introduced her as a "Canaidan heroine."  Hélène modestly protested that the description was "much too much."



Madeline Kronby

Madeline Louise Kronby was Hélène's sidekick, was a versatile actress who played the role of Debbie in the 1959 independent Canadian film  A Cool Sound from Hell.  She portrayed the bilingual "Louise" on Chez Hélène.  After Chez Hélène went off the air, Madeline provided the voice of Pic in the English language version of Radio-Canada's Nic and Pic, a children's program about puppet mice who travel around the world in their balloon (in 1975, Nic and Pic was dubbed for the English language CBC network).

Madeline Kronby died of breast cancer on February 14, 2004 in Hamilton, Ontario.


Suzie the Mouse

Hélène with Suzie 

I can't forget my favourite character on Chez Hélène, the delightful Suzie the Mouse. Suzie, an English-speaking puppet, was voiced by Florence Shreiber and Corinne Orr.



- Joanne

Y&R Report (May 14, 2016): 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.

Fans, I have to admit that I've been disappointed with the Y&R during the May sweeps so far.  It's been all right, but not gripping.  It hasn't kept me really glued to my seat.  There is still time, however,  The month isn't over yet.  The writers had better ramp it up!

I expect that Luca Santori will make a big power play for control of Newman Enterprises. He already has the goods on Victoria.  His spy has caught her in her indiscretion with that flirty blond bar owner, Travis.  She's playing with fire where Travis is concerned.  Billy's behaviour and his involvement with Phyllis seems to have clouded her judgement and driven her into doing something she'll regret. Her tryst with the owner of the "dingy" bar will cost her big time.  She'll lose her position as CEO of Newman.  Adam will probably step in to save the company from the clutches of Santori.  He'll sit in Victor's chair for a while, but in the end Victor will win as usual.  It won't be too long before "The Moustache" will be back running the company again.  He certainly won't be spending a decade in prison.

As we have seen, Victor is capable of wreaking just as much havoc behind bars as he does when he is free.  He is the ultimate master manipulator.  No one is more aware of that than his own wife, Nikki, who is as addicted to Victor as she is to alcohol.  Nikki warned Dr. Meredith Gates about her husband.  She warned Meredith that Victor wasn't to be trusted and that he was a "chameleon."  Yet the good doctor insisted that she will try to get Victor's sentence reduced.  She is like putty in Victor's hands.  She has sympathy for the underdog, but she doesn't realize that Victor is not an underdog.  She has become so emotionally involved with him that she has abandoned her sense of professionalism.

There is going to be quite a custody battle over baby Christian/Sully.  That child is certainly gong to be messed up with so many people fighting over him.  Sharon won't want to give him up.  She'll argue that she's the only mother he's ever really known. Dylan, of course, will be devastated when he learns that Sharon hid her miscarriage from him and that he's not "Sully.s" biological child.  Yet he'll still want to be Sully's dad.  Adam and Chelsea will also seek custody of "Christian" when they discover that he is still alive.  After all, they will declare, Adam is his biological father  They will also like the idea of having a little brother for Connor.  Then there's Nick.  He will probably also seek custody of "Christian." too.  The wisdom of Solomon might not be enough to resolve that dispute.

By the way, I think that Mariah will be the one to let the cat out of the bag about "Christian."  She knows about Sharon's deception.  There's a reason why the writers had her moving back into her mother's place.

Now that Max Rayburn has been sent for psychiatric treatment, I wonder what will happen to his character.  Jared Breeze, the young actor who plays him, is very good in the role. The problem is that there doesn't seem to be much storyline left for Max.  

The Young and the Restless has to be concerned about how poorly the show fared at the 43rd Daytime Emmy Awards.  General Hospital took home most of the awards and Y&R, the top-rated soap on American television, only picked up one trophy and it went to someone who has left the show. Jessica Collins (ex-Avery Bailey Clark) won for Best Supporting Actress in a daytime drama.  

Unfortunately, the Daytime Emmys were not televised this year, a big disappointment for fans.  I really hope that won't be the case in 2017.

VIEWER FORUM

If you have any comments on Y&R, please email them to me with "Viewer Forum in the subject line. I will be happy to publish your comments and reply to them  You do not have to use your real name.  

My email address:  jmadden16@yahoo.ca

  

Fifi from Collingwood, Ontario says:

I think that new décor in Billy Abbott's home is awful.  I guess they are trying to make it appear masculine by choosing dark colours but in term of being pleasing to the eyes, the dark colours do not provide a good background to the characters and they are also depressing. 
The space (which used to be Mrs. Chancellor's mansion) looks so much smaller.

You are absolutely right, Fifi.  I couldn't agree with you more.  I am not impressed with Billy's makeover of the Chancellor estate and neither were the  respondents to a Y&R Report' poll on the subject.  The colours are dark and forbidding, a reflection of Billy's soul right now.  The place doesn't seem like a large estate anymore.  It definitely appears much smaller.  Mrs. Chancellor had servants because her mansion was so large.  Is Billy Boy taking care of the grand estate all by himself.  I haven't seen him doing any housework.  Chez Billy is so gloomy that its owner should hire Lurch from The Addams Family to be his butler.

As you can tell, I'm not pleased with what the writers have done to Billy Abbott's character.  Yes, he's always been careless and irresponsible.  Now, however, the writers have added a cruel, mean streak to him.  Where before he was mischievous and happy-go-lucky, he has become cold, vengeful and resentful.  He used to have a twinkle in his eye, especially when Billy Miller played the role.  Now he seldom smiles, laughs or jokes. My guess is that the writers decided to make his character resemble Phyllis' so that the two would have more in common and they could be "soulmates."  In the process, they have destroyed the Billy that many people liked, including myself.

CAST NEWS

Melissa Ordway and husband welcome new baby

Olivia

Melissa Ordway (Abby Newman, a.k.a. Mrs. Stitch 'em up) and her husband, Justin Michael Gaston (ex-Ben Weston, Days of our Lives), have adopted a beautiful baby girl named Olivia Christine Gaston.  The child was born on April 30, 2016 and Melissa posted a photo of her new daughter on Instagram with the caption "Every good and perfect gift is from above."

It must have been difficult for Melissa to portray Abby's fall on the stairs and the subsequent  loss of her baby while at the same time adopting one of her own.  Abby's baby was a girl too.



Justin Hartley (Adam Newman) will star in new NBC series

If you are a big fan of Justin Hartley as Adam Newman, I'd advise you to enjoy his performances you while you can.  His future on The Young and the Restless is up in the air.  That's because the NBC network has picked up the pilot for a new prime time series starring Hartley.  The show is called This is Us and it chronicles the lives of a number of character who have puzzling links to each other, including the same birthday.  Justin Hartley portrays Kevin, a flourishing television actor.  The rest of the cast includes Mandy Moore, Milo Ventimiglia, Sterling K. Brown, Chrissy Metz, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Sullivan, and Ron Cephas Jones.

If this series really takes off, it is doubtful that Justin will remain with Y&R.  If he leaves, the role of Adam Newman will probably be filled by another actor.  Since Adam is integral to the storyline, it is highly unlikely that the character will be written off or killed off.

Y&R REPORT READER'S POLL

What is your initial impression of bar owner Travis Crawford, played by Michael Roark?

Do you like Travis so far?

Yes, I like him.

No, he's sleazy.

No, I don't trust him.

I need to find out more about him.

Other

Other

Please Specify:

Quiz Maker

That's all for now.  Don't forget that the next edition of Y&R Report will appear in this space on Saturday, May 28, 2016.

- Joanne