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, another restaurant has been torched on Y&R. The show certainly has a history of burning down eateries and nightclubs. I have compiled a list of them.
* Gina's restaurant was set on fire by Kevin Fisher in 2003. Kevin locked Colleen Carlton inside, but J.T. Hellstrom rescued her.
* In 2012, Gloria's popular Genoa City nightclub, Gloworm, burned to the ground.
* In 2015, there was an inferno at the Top of the Tower Halloween gala. In 2017, just two years later, another restaurant went up in flames, also on Halloween.
I realize that Y&R is a soap and it can't be completely realistic, but the The Underground fire story had more holes in its plot than a piece of Swiss cheese. First of all, why did Dina wander into Nick's restaurant?. Why would she choose to go there? I realize she has some form of dementia, but why couldn't the writers have come up with another arsonist or another reason for the fire.
I understand why Billy was chosen to be the hero, the one who rescued the teen brigade from the inferno. He's been such a jerk and so reckless that the writers probably wanted to redeem him in some way. They wanted to demonstrate that he does have some good qualities.
Although Billy managed to save the kids, he got left behind as The Underground collapsed. His situation became dire and he firefighters declared that he was in danger of losing his leg. Then, Jack insisted on going in to help his wayward brother. There is no way, absolutely no way, the responders would have allowed Jack to enter such a dangerous place. Then, miracle of miracle, Jack walked out with Billy and neither was seriously injured. In fact, Billy was not even rushed to the hospital (Can you still hear that Hallelujah Chorus?). Much to Princess Victoria Newman's disappointment, the unlikely hero was sturdy enough to embrace Phyllis. However, he was was later seen with crutches.
Of all Victor's children, Victoria is the most like her father. When Billy hugged Phyllis after surviving his ordeal, the Princess was not a happy camper. She coolly thanked him for rescuing her son, Reed. Then, without skipping a beat, she fired him as her right-hand man at Brass & Sassy. I don't think Billy would have wanted to work at Newman anyway, given how he feels about his former father-in-law and Victor wouldn't have wanted him there either. Yet, Billy wasn't even given a choice. One of the reason's Victoria threw him under the bus was to please Daddy. Another reason, of course, was that he chose Phyllis over her.
Victoria made a huge power play by putting Brass & Sassy under the wing of Newman Enterprises again. It was the only way she could save her precious company. She has really aligned herself with Daddy this time, hasn't she? However, she was tough, with Victor.and made several demands on him before she would return to Newman Enterprises. She is now Chief Operating Officer. of Newman, although you can be sure that "The Moustache" will always have the final say. The announcement of Victoria's appointment as C.O.O. was an absolute fiasco as Newman Enterprises' ties to the sex trafficking ring were revealed. It was a public relations disaster for the Princess.
I had to laugh when Abby bragged to Scott that she was a good judge of character. Really, Abby? Is that why your boyfriend was involved in a sex trafficking ring and you didn't have a clue? You and Paul Williams should star in a new show called The Young and the Clueless.
I'm not really surprised that Juliet died in childbirth. New head writer Mal Young obviously wanted to remove her from the storyline. That was the quickest and easiest way to do it. However,Juiet did give birth to a son, who may or may not be Cane's biological child. Now that she's dead, we may find out some secrets that Juliet left behind. At the moment, it seems as if Cane and Lily will reconcile and raise the baby, whom Lily named "Sam" after Cane's late twin sister, Samantha.
It also seems that Mal Young is purging Y&R of characters he think fit into his storylines or the direction he's taking the show. The departure of Laur Allen (Juliet Helton) was really abrupt. I think most viewers, including myself, thought Juliet would stay around a while and continue to complicate the lives of Cane and Lily. She would probably still be a member of the cast if Sally Sussman were still the head writer.
It looks as if Zack is on his way out too. He sure surrendered Abby to Scott without much of fight, didn't he. Was that a way to quickly get rid of him too? It also seems as if Graham didn't fit into Mal's plans either. He may be back, though. Who knows?
So, Noah has agreed to be manager of Top of the Tower. Victor offered him the job. but Aunt Victoria talked him into it. It may not be a corporate position but once again, he's allowing himself to be sucked into the orbit of Grandpa Victor. No good can come of that for Noah because he's going to be under Victor's control. Poor Noah! He just can't do anything right and his luck is as bad as his judgement. Just think of his last three girlfriends: Courtney, an undercover cop, was murdered before their wedding ceremony, Marisa, the former girlfriend of a drug lord, chose to live in Spain with her daughter and his current girlfriend, Tessa, is more attracted to his sister, Mariah than to him. Yikes! Noah's record in the romance department has been egregious and he's going to have his heart broken again when he finds out about Tessa and Mariah.
It seems as if the whole Newman family, except for Nick, is under Victor's thumb again., I expect Nikki to return to him eventuallyn too. She always does, even though she tries valiantly to resist. As for Nick, it will be fascinating to see how he'll occupy himself now that he doesn't have The Underground anymore.
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
I received some comments from Helen in Scarborough. Here is what Helen had to say:
Message to Mal Young: You suck!
Zack's final confrontation scene with Scott featured Scott as Batman, Dina as Batgirl (hiding in the car) and Zack as The Joker. All we needed was Robin, the Boy Wonder. How about Noah for the part?
I received some comments from Helen in Scarborough. Here is what Helen had to say:
Message to Mal Young: You suck!
Zack's final confrontation scene with Scott featured Scott as Batman, Dina as Batgirl (hiding in the car) and Zack as The Joker. All we needed was Robin, the Boy Wonder. How about Noah for the part?
Helen also thinks that Juliet's father may turn up to cause problems for Lily and Cane. After all. Cane phoned him twice and there may be a reason for that. Even though he didn't express any interest in Juliet or his grandchild, that could change. Perhaps he'll try to get custody of the child, especially if Mr. Sato, not Cane, turns out to be the father.
CAST NEWS
J.T. Hellstrom (Thad Luckinbill) is returning to Genoa City
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| Thad Luckinbill |
Blockbuster news for fans! Thad Luckinbill is reprising his role as J.T. Hellstrom on The Young and the Restless after an absence of seven years. Luckinbill portrayed J.T. from 1999 until 2010.
In March of 2007, Thad married his Y&R castmate, Amelia Heinle (Victoria Newman).
They have two children together, a son and a daughter. However, Thad filed for divorce on March 1, 2017, citing irreconcilable differences. Their Y&R characters, Victoria and J.T., also wed. They had a son named Reed, but the marriage didn't work out. J.T. then married Mackenzie and the couple made a fresh start in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, Victoria tied the knot with Billy Abbott three times (their first marriage in Jamaica wasn't legal).
The last we heard, J.T. and Mackenzie were expecting a new baby and had moved to Poland. An unhappy Reed ran off to live with his mother in Genoa City. When J.T. returns, it will be interesting to see how her interacts with his ex-wife, Victoria, and their teenage son, Reed.
Thad Luckinbill will return to Y&R just in time Geona City's Christmas and New Year's festivities. His first appearance is scheduled for Tuesday, December 12 (CBS) and Monday, December 11 (Global-TV).
CAST NOTES
* Jill (Jess Walton) will return to Genoa City in December.
* Justin Hartley ex-Adam Newman and star of This is Us, wed his long-time girlfriend Chrishell Stause on October 28, 2017. The ceremony took place in Malibu, California.
Y&R REPORT READERS' POLL
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| Mal Young |
In an interview with Soap Opera Digest, Y&R's head writer, was asked about his vision for the show. Here's how he replied:
My overall vision is to keep it fresh, never rest on our laurels. My mantra is, “What is good is today’s show,” and the minute the viewers watch that, it goes into the history archives and they’re saying, “But what next? And what’s next?” And that’s our job, to keep the viewers guessing and enthralled and entertained and surprised. Not just to do what everyone thinks a soap should do, and fall into the same old tropes. I think our job is to constantly question where we’re going with the show and keep it feeling contemporary and exciting and entertaining.
Are you pleased with the work of Y&R's new head writer, Mal Young?
The sixth annual Y&R OpportuniTea with Kate Linder (high tea in support of the March of Dimes) will be held at the Royal York Hotel on December 3, 2017. Kate (Esther Valentine) will be joined by Christian LeBlanc (Michael Baldwin), Abhi Sinha (Ravi Shapour) and Daniel Hall (Scott Grainger). For more details, click on the link below.
That's all for now. Don't forget that the next edition of Y&R Report will appear in this space on Saturday, November 25, 2017. The November Sweeps are underway. I am looking forward to the return of J.T. and Christmas and New Year's in Genoa City.
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