One Bell Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest!

Enjoy this little conversation between Steve Kent at Sony Television and Maria Arena Bell the head "writer" at the Young and the Restless.  If only Steve would actually do something about the Maria problem. Now let us collectively cross our fingers.

Maria Bell Could Learn a Thing or Two from DOOL

With the deteriorating state of soaps on my mind, I caught John Carrozza's We Love Soaps interview of Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn. The interview contains fun stories and gives fans a nice treat in seeing these two back together. However more than that, Drake's comments show that he has a clear understanding about the fan's perspective and what fans are looking for in a story.

He states that the writers at DOOL are “very respectful of the audience and the history of the show and the audience's knowledge of what the characters have been through, so therefore the storylines that we can do right now are character driven. And whatever the plots are, it's like, 'yeah the character would react that way in the storyline.' It's not like a plot driven storyline where the audience goes 'Well she would never do that...Well she would never do that!' That's when you lose the audience.”

As I listened to that I had to stop and cheer and shout “EXACTLY!” DOOL seems to get this, and if I could waive my magic wand, I'd magically impart that same understanding to Maria Arena Bell and Sony. Bell's humorous statements (thought she was serious) about her scripts being character driven just show her lack of understanding, and SHE'S the writer (or the one who is being paid to write anyway). Drake (talented actor and experienced soap icon) should be hired by CBS to mentor Bell and get her on the right track.

Drake continued, “And that's what throws the audience most. Over my years that I've been there, we had some writers that would like, reinvent the character or change the history and the audience says, 'No that did not happen!' And they know the exact day that this did happen and what he said, and it's like, you don't fool, you don't mess with them. That's what Marlene and Darrell are doing. They're being very respectful of the show.”

Again, I cheer this very keen insight, and am baffled at why the logic of this completely misses the gray matter of Maria Arena Bell and Sony. But then the word “respect” comes into play. The lack of respect from The Young and the Restless is easily seen in the scripts (reasons Drake listed), and in the quotes from Bell and her writing team about what they are planning (which typically anymore falls flat or dies off quickly).

Deidre notes that the audience finds comfort and reassurance in seeing the couple together. “It's also a comfort. When there are hard times out there you want to see families pull together and take care of each other and that's what we're doing.” Drake sees the need to share words of hope with fans and followed that with, “If you have each other, you can get through this.”

In a time when the whole daytime drama format is on the ropes, we need someone to step up and transform the soaps that are dying, and recreate them into something that pleases fans (which brings in higher ratings and creates revenue) and introduces the genre to a new group of viewers. My history teachers taught that we learn history to avoid the mistakes of the past. Why can't the network execs and soap producers learn from history. They should be looking for a modern day Gloria Monty, who took a dying soap and turned it around into an iconic state.

But then throwing together a cheap talk/yak/cook show is easier I guess.

The Real Y&R Mystery

The Young and the Restless used to be the template for all soaps to follow. What happened to change this once great show? Viewers don't just quit watching out of the blue. There has to be a causal event that triggers a chain reaction to produce such an outcome.

There's no mystery on this one. The one common complaint of viewers is the writing and direction of the show. If the writing leaves a majority of the viewers disconnected, they will leave. When they leave, the ratings go down, which in turn leads the network to believe that people don't care about soaps anymore. Viewers aren't watching for a reason: they don't care about are poorly written stories.

Sony can fix the problem of a declining viewership by fixing the writing problem. Sony needs to ring a Bell, and do it ASAP. Stop the stunt casting and stop the madness- PLEASE! Who cares about the overdone mystery of Diane's death. I want this one solved: The mystery of the disappearing characters and dropped storylines. Forget the laughable investigation of Colin, and investigate how Bell can keep her job when this show is imploding!

The stunt casting is especially problematic. I don't buy the line about a “bloated cast” because Bell has been on a hiring spree of baffling proportions. Bell is the Oprah of stunt casting, walking through Hollywood shouting at anyone who comes near, “And you get a role, and YOU get a role, AND YOU GET A ROLE. EVERYBODY GETS A ROLE!” If budget is a concern, and if screen time for current players is a concern, then logic says, DON'T HIRE ANYONE ELSE!

Good business sense and logic have flown out of the Y&R offices on a pink unicorn, floating on a cloud of cotton candy, escorted by the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. Maybe we need to get Logic to Occupy Bell's Office. We want to get back great stories like Colin and Jill. We want a show that makes us oooo and ahhhh instead of urp and arrgh! The biggest mystery of all is why Sony hasn't voted Bell off the island yet.

Investigative Report: The Secrets of Y&R Magic Revealed

Where does Head Writer Maria Arena Bell get her ideas for plots and for the new characters for what she called an already "bloated cast." How does the magic at Y&R happen?

Maria Bell watched Oprah, saw Genie Francis and got the big idea to hire her as a new character on Y&R. Fans were told that something exciting was going to happen with the Atkinson/Ashby clan. Hopes were high that they would give the Newmans and Abbotts a refreshing new rival. So we connect Oprah to Genevieve's arrival in Genoa City.

Then, according to her latest interview, Maria went to a performance of Hairspray, saw Diana DeGarmo, and voila, Y&R got another new character... for an already “bloated cast.”

Ahhh, so our collective lightbulbs turn on and we begin to understand the workings of the Bell brain. She goes out on the town and POOF ideas just come running. We recently had an investigative reporter shadow Bell's evening activities so we could get figure out what new characters are on the Y&R horizon.

Bell attended a Comic-Con event and came up with a side kick for Super Cane. She met up-and-coming Luke Skywalker imitator Frank Nardo who will be joining Y&R as an Aussie Platypus wrangler named Bruce. Bruce spends all his time saying things like, “Wow Cane you ARE a hero” only pausing in the constant the hero worship to iron Cane's cape.

Attempting to replace the Aussie accent of Tristan Rogers, Bell was inspired by a Geico commercial and hired the Cockney Mr. Gecko. Mr. Gecko announced that he has now saved Y&R 15% by hiring him, and she confided to him that no one will notice the change in accent.  "They're all the same... right?” she stated confidently.

Bell then announced that Judge Joe Brown had been added to the cast after watching him bang a gavel and roll his eyes. She hired the judge to act and to help her research the intricacies of what happens during a trial. “Research is so important” she said. “The trial thing of Diane's murderer is going to be fantastic. It will last about a year because there's laws and stuff like that. The interpols send a new detective, played by THE Inspector Gadget- I watch his show faithfully” she confided. “They use the google from the internets to do really investigative things” she quipped. “I hope I'm not to technical for you” she explained.

After she stopped at Jack-in-the-Box for a quick bite to eat, she signed Jack-in-the-box spokesman, Jack, on the spot to do a 12 week stint as Jack Abbott's twin brother Jack. She told a puzzled bystander, “He'll have a major storyline in which he accidentally chokes the other Jack with a Jumbo Jack or a Sourdough Jack, with cheese, lots of swiss cheese, the kind with great big holes in it. Maybe some fries. I like fries, so I'll use lots of that, and maybe Swiss cheese fries too... What was the question?”

At this point our investigator in the shadows reported that Bell started playing with the Jack-in-the-Box head that she purchased with the meal. She tossed it up a few times, then... yes, she dropped the ball- which then rolled out of her window, onto the street, only to be crushed by a big yellow bus.

So, cheers to Maria Arena Bell. Where does she get these great ideas and how will she use her next set of great ideas? Only time will tell... if we HAVE time that is.

The Redemption of Cane

Remember seeing those movies that do a rewrite at the end so you can have options to choose from on your DVD?  It's your own Burger King edition of a film- you get to have it your own way.  That may work for movies, but not for daytime drama.  I'm convinced that Maria Bell and her team of writers are confused as to the necessity of constantly rewriting The Young and the Restless. They give us one ending, then switch and give us a different one.  First Cane was Philip, then he was blood kin to Katherine, then not, then he was, then he was Cane, then he was Caleb, then he was Cane.  He was a liar, then he was a hero... no a liar... no a hero, no wait, he gaslighted Lily, no wait, he was really a good guy, or not....? 

In a story that is character driven, the character assassinations don't rule the day according to the whims of the writer or the financial concerns of the producers.  Y&R's claims to be character driven are a slap in the face to the fans who clearly know the difference.  Bell has an agenda.  First it was to destroy and get rid of Cane.  And then she was forced to bring Daniel Goddard back.  I was glad to see him back because he was giving us some of his best acting in scenes with Tristan Rogers.  There was a whole new story to tell there of Cane's lingering secrets and his newly revealed family.  Whew! Finally something we can sink out teeth into again.  Finally there was something to get us through the lame re-dos of the other plots MAB was making us sleep though.

But here's the kicker, Bell, a "professional" writer who's modus operandi is to leave stories dangling till they disappear, couldn't figure out a single way to redeem both Cane and Colin.  Neither could Hamner. This is mind boggling that they couldn't summon up a single creative brain wave to give a reasonable explanation that would let us enjoy the Atkinson/Ashby family for years to come.  As a writer, I would be too embarrassed to announce that publicly, but yet they proudly proclaim, "Hey people, we have no imagination and can't write our way out of a paper bag.  Thanks and keep watching." 

Seriously?  Bell kills Cane so dead, so very very dead and puts her brand of an exclamation mark in that whole death scene and follow up.  Yes, we got it, Maria.  The guy is dead.  But wait.  It is a miracle.  That was Caleb.  Really?  A twin?  How inventive.  Not... But then she wastes Cane's reinsertion into Genoa City with more non sequiturial writing.  It is an insult to fans that we are supposed to believe the trite set up and rewrite, lame clues, and the limp twists.  With the lame material Ronan and Chance have in this "investigation" I don't know how they can do theses scenes without laughing.  It is all one stinking mess, and Sony knows it.

Sony could fix this by calling for Tristan's return, which means that they'd need a writer with a sense of logic and imagination, who could write a return, and explain it without going the twin route.  Let us have Colin back and find out that he was framed or some other plausible story.  Sony needs have their own redemptive act to save Y&R.  They need to invite Bell and her undynamic duo to take a break from the daily phoning in of their scripts, and then bring in someone who will simply write a great story that will bring fans back.  Come on Sony, get on the ball.

Losing Tristan Rogers is a lose lose situation

Having just read a twit about the validity of Tristan Rogers leaving Y&R, I must first say that the opiner recognizes Tristan's great talent.  I'll nod and agree with that.  But to say that Tristan's character Colin had no real reason to be on Y&R is quite short sighted.  If memory serves, it seems like Robert Scorpio was simply to show up and make Luke's life a little harder on General Hospital, and then leave.  Just a bit part.  Nothing more.  No real reason for Robert Scorpio to be in Port Charles.

However, Glory Monty was a visionary who could take a single moment or a peek at a character, and turn it into something that exploded onto our screens.  She took a dying soap and created a cultural change.  She took a bit part and created a timeless character and authorized Tristan to bring Robert to life.  Tristan's talent was what marveled the fans, but he had to have producers and writers who prepared the canvas for his performance.

That was then.  This is now.  No we can't live in the past, and entertainment must change with the times. However, the basics of the art of telling a captivating story do not really change.  Soap fans demand good storytelling, then and now.  That means we need soap producers and writers that have a vision and a love of the genre.  We demand great acting.  Bill Bell created something marvelous, enough so that it has had top ratings throughout its tenure.  But along comes Maria Arena Bell, who seems to have no love for soaps, no vision, and no discernment between character and plot driven writing.  The episodic evidence shows a lack of understanding of good storytelling that begins, stretches, builds and ends a story, only pausing to connect it to the next story.

When fans are bombarded with the hype for the next big thing on a soap, we'll test the waters and if it's good, we'll jump in with both feet.  That is what happened on GH with Robert Scorpio, and that is also what happened on Y&R with Colin.  Actually, Colin had more reason to be in GC: family.  There were all the questions about Cane when he was in Australia.  There was already a mystery, and what it seemed like at the beginning, was that we were going to get more of the story.  It was interesting, mysterious, intriguing.  Fans became hooked on Colin and Jill.  You can't give fans a reason to watch faithfully and then back peddle, saying that we must lose the stuff we're tuning in to see and replace it with a slew of others that have nothing to do with any current story or family.

What had so much promise was purposefully turned into a train wreck by Bell.  Colin and Jill became a huge draw, a diversion from the mundane rewrites of rewritten rewrites as well as the multitude of dropped storylines.  Colin and Jill made us laugh and cry amid stories that left us apathetic and questioning why we even watch Y&R anymore.

Y&R used to have core families, but now we are left with a handful of Bell's favorites who get screen time.  Those who displease the Queen of Mean get nice long vacations.  She has run over core relationships one too many times and now there is no trust in what she writes.  IF she were to tell great stories and execute it well... IF that were the case, then fans wouldn't be bitching.  Actors and pundits are bitching.  Y&R is unfortunately on its way out, left to the devises of the current leadership.  Ratings are down and just because we say the Emperor has beautiful clothes on, doesn't make him any less naked.

Sony can pull a Frons, or they can fix this.  Our loss in turn will be their loss.

A Bloated Cast... or Writer's Room?

Guess what?  Y&R has hired more actors.  (Not hearing any applause here.)  I thought the execs had declared that their cast was "too bloated" and therefore needed to be weeded out.  That's what they said anyway.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that those execs look down from their ivory towers and only see their own reflection in the office window.  The fans are completely invisible and exist only to add to the ratings and thusly fill the network and corporation pockets.

At one time, wasn't the viewer/network relationship supposed to be a symbiotic relationship where each entity brought something to the table and received something valuable in return?  The network's job was to put on an entertaining show that brought viewers in to watch.  The hoped for response was two fold: 1) enjoy the show enough to return every day and 2) watch the commercials and buy the products of the sponsors.  This in turn put money in the sponsor's pockets, who then continued to sponsor the show and pay the networks for the privilege.

But somehow this symbiotic relationship became more of an Emperor/serf dynamic.  The Emperor puts on a show and tells the serfs that they will enjoy it, no matter how crappy it is.  (Reminds me of Monty Python's Holy Grail line about how you know he is the king... "He hasn't got s**t all over him).  I digress, but the premise is applicable.  We, the serfs, should be receiving something pleasing.  We tune in to see these characters that we invite into our homes every day- characters we care about.  And though no writer has ever pleased all of the fans all of the time, these are dark days for the fans, across the board.

Take for example Y&R's statement about having a bloated cast.  Tristan Rogers entered Genoa City as Colin, a part of Cane's family and then swept Jill off her feet.  There was a clear purpose for his presence there that was promised to solve some mystery and create others.  Both new and long time fans found Jill's renewed presence on screen to be playful and strong.  Watching Jill and Colin left fans smiling and wanting more.  Fans still want more and urge for his return.

But in the mind of Maria Arena Bell, there was no other way to redeem Cane than to throw Colin under the bus.  If the cast is so bloated, why has Y&R hired even more actors (Melissa Claire Egan, Debbi Morgan, Eddie Mekka, Diana DeGarmo, Peter Porte to name a few)?  These are characters that we could easily do without.  Debbi Morgan is a fine actress, but why add to the GC scene when it robs the fans of current characters and stories?  Why buy into her character of Yolanda (or rather Bell's rewrite of "Harmony") or that story when we know that it will be dropped when the next new thing peeks around the corner?

I submit that it is the executive branch of Y&R that is bloated.  The writers room is overstaffed by at least three, and the Executive Producer's chair needs to be filled by someone who loves soaps, loves the fans, and recognizes the dire problems that are taking this show to the bottom of the sea.  If the execs don't key in to the fact that they depend on the fans, the ratings will continue to dive... dive... dive...

Pulling a Fronsie on CBS

I'm thinking back to my high school days and reading the weekly student magazine that came out of the journalism department.  Every week we'd sit around reading the editor's letter which was usually very witty and well written.  THAT was high school, and the dialogue found inside that magazine was infinitely more interesting than the daily fare doled out on Y&R for some time now.

Anyone who has checked any forum online within the last year knows that most fans spend time rooting for their favorite characters and talking about the storylines they like.  And then there is the back and forth of who's the best on the show.  But these days, most fans seem to be of one mind.  The super majority of fans daily shake their heads and wonder where it all went wrong.  Plots are promised and hyped by the network.  Stories begin and suddenly end without a climax or dénouement (thank you high school literature classes).  Characters are written against type in ways that only confuse history and future growth of that character.  Humor is written in and receives a huge response, and then is only revisited very sparingly.  And the carousel of actors turns and abruptly stops, tossing off someone we have specifically been tuning in to see.  Sounds like a great show, huh?

What happened to the show we loved to watch?  Be it long time fans, or new viewers who tuned in within the past few years, love for the show has turned to disbelief, which turned to anger, which turned to apathy, and that makes one stop watching altogether.  Thanks CBS and Sony, for your great leadership in bringing down yet another dearly loved soap.  We now have a term for that.  It's called a Fronsie. 

But if you maintain that Maria Bell is the best you can do and your hands are tied... (yeah, right) then at least give us back the actors who make the show not so putrid.  Let's begin with Tristan Rogers, whose brilliance shines through the dimness of the script.  Colin and Jill made us find a smile.  Odd feeling that was, finding joy in the show after such a drought.  But even when their scenes were far and few between, they left so many of us with that happy feeling from oh so long ago.  I even stop banging my head against the wall for those moments- a nice relief at that.

So either fix this thing, or go with a full Fronsal attack and put us out of our misery.  I plead for the former... in oh so many ways.

No Colin? No Sony TV.

Missing Colin? Me too. So DO Something!

The terrible news that Tristan Rogers is leaving Y&R has caused quite a stir.  Tristan's fans have been enjoying Colin's antics on Y&R.  They have professed their love for Colin and Jill on many a message board and now are sharing their frustrations about his departure. The root of the fans' disappointment lies in the poor decision making that comes from Sony and the Bells, the big kahunas of this gig.  

Tristan brought so much to the show.  He made Colin into a character that is just wonderfully enjoyable.  Whether we are into the drama of a tense situation, or the tears of sadness, or the humor, watching Colin just made our day.  I would watch and leave wanting more.  But the inconsistent writing, the wild goose chases, and the dropped plots just give me a headache.  The moments of watching Colin and Jill are so great that even with a weak script I find them entertaining.

I miss seeing Colin and Jill!  But what can we do about it?  It seems to me that since Hollywood is focused on the dollar, that is a good place to begin.  Y&R lives on its ratings.  They want us to watch, not to enjoy the show but to build up ratings and watch commercials.  Well, they don't really care if we watch commercials, but the sponsors do.  And, Sony wants us to buy Sony products of course.  So in their eyes, we fans exist solely to fill their pockets.  When was the last time you rewarded someone for punching you in the gut?

So here's a thought.  Some of us are calling and emailing and snail mailing Y&R, CBS and Sony, to tell them we want Tristan back on the show.  That's a good start that we can build on.  How about sending them pictures of you out shopping and buying non-Sony products?  What if they get a mailbox full of pictures of us NOT buying Sony?  What if we post pictures/videos of us saying how much we love watching Tristan, and tell Sony about which computer we prefer over Sony?

How creative can we get in posting things like that on Facebook and Twitter?  What kind of entertaining commentary can you leave on YouTube?  I know I'd like to see what people are saying about this situation.  I know I'd like Sony to hear about how much this means to us and that our money follows our hearts.  I know I heart watching Colin, so.... bring back Tristan Rogers!!!

What are you all going to do?

Y&R Sponsors I Won't Use

I have taken note of just who is sponsoring Y&R.  In looking at this list, I'm seeing some products that are now off my shopping list.  These businesses need to know that we won't support them if they are sponsoring a program that is allowing Maria Arena Bell to destroy Y&R.  This is especially true now that she has made a huge error by firing Tristan Rogers, the one bright spot on Y&R.  They keep Tristan and I'll return to using these products/companies:

Sponsors on 9/16

CBS Watch magazine

Tidy Cats

Wanchai Ferry

Loreal Sublime Mousse

Lysol

Olay

Liquid Plummer

Pur

Cheez-it

Disney

Dr. Scholl's Freeze away

V8

Vagisil

Progressive

Hillshire Farm

Airwick

Salonpas

Hershey's

Advair

Maybelline

Charmin

Old El Paso

Empiretoday.com

The Dump

Chef Boy-ar-dee

Latisse

Purina

Pledge

Post Honey Bunches of Oats

Kashi Foods

Colgate

Vicks

Freshpet

Stanley Steamer

Ocean Spray

Go-gurt

Hidden Valley

Disney Gummies

Crest and Oral B

Nature Valley

Puffs

Garnier

Almond Joy

French's French Fried Onions

Windex

Keep Tristan Rogers on Y&R

What a travesty.  The queen of plot-driven character-changing writing has continued her drive to stamp out anything that is enjoyable and fun in Genoa City.  The murder trial was boring before it began.  Victor is doing his evil bit again, with no consequences.  Katherine has become a Gladys Kravitz.  The show has become a snorefest that tears people apart instead of letting us enjoy the story of people in love or people enjoying life.  I get the same warm and fuzzy feeling from watching the 10 O'clock news.

The one bright spot in Y&R has been watching Colin and Jill.  They are playful and support each other.  Their early flirting and their current rekindling just made you happy for them.  The times they shared tears over Cane's death, made you grab your box of kleenex.  Tristan takes a scene that has no substance and makes it come alive.  His grins and growls both work to keep you glued to the set.  Jill is strong again, allowing Jess to have more time on screen, a good move there.

What ticks me off, and many of you, is that Maria Arena Bell is given free reign to tear apart what used to be a great show.  She wanted to get ride of Cane, so she killed him- dead, dead, dead.  Then Sony made her bring him back, and she put little effort into doing so in a realistic way.  And, though I like Genie Francis, Genevieve has only served to clutter up the story.  And now Bell has decided that if she has to keep Cane, she'll show us all (I can hear her maniacal laugh)- she'll kill off Colin.  This makes no sense!

How is taking a character, in fact a very important character, out of Cane's life going to enhance Cane's story?  Nope.  It's just a power play... a game move... a finger in the air, pointing at all those who don't agree with her royal status of Bell-dom.

This is why we must band together and contact CBS and Sony and demand that they fix this epic fail.  If you ever enjoyed a single scene, take part in our efforts to restore the fun to Y&R.  Tell TPTB how much you enjoy Colin and Jill.  Tell them how much you love watching Tristan and that you want him back on the show.

email this group:

audsvcs@cbs.com, margot.wain@cbs.com, nancy.tellem@cbs.com, nina.tassler@cbs.com, paula_askanas@spe.sony.com, steve_kent@spe.sony.com, steve_mosko@spe.sony.com, yrbb@tvc.cbs.com

call here and leave a voicemail: 323-575-2345 or 323-575-4955 

I Feel Bad For...

I watched the show today and the train wreck is happening in slow motion before our very eyes. For some time I've just tried to enjoy the show because there were good things promised in future episodes. We were told we'd find out more about the Atkinson family. We were told that Genie Francis would come in and be a strong woman.  Hasn't happened.  And now I've had to admit that my hopefulness was ill used. I feel so bad for daytime fans because with each day I'm seeing this beloved genre being tainted by execs with no love for soaps.

Today's episode continues to make Katherine unrecognizable as someone I used to enjoy.  With the Genevieve, Colin and Jill scene at the end, Gen's craziness ruins the soup and GF is forced to overact yet again. Then when that triad of scenes plays at the end, we see Jill's calmness and Colin's fury both expressed perfectly, in juxtaposition to the campiness they require of Gen.

I feel bad for:

The fans- We invite these characters into our homes every day. We get to know them well and look forward to a continuation of their stories. We put our trust in writers who should share that same affection for them and appreciate them in that same familial feeling.

The Sony execs- They have ownership in this show, but yet are allowing one woman to bring this long-loved soap to its knees. The way things work is that the show is created to make money by entertaining viewers. The viewers watch it and are entertained and become faithful fans. The more fans that watch, the higher the ratings go. The higher the ratings go, the more money the network execs can charge for commercials. The more money they charge, the more money they make, thus completing the original goal. But when fans aren't entertained, they aren't watching, ratings go down, fans aren't watching commercials either and not adding to sponsor's pockets either. So I feel bad for Sony as they lose money under the direction of Maria Arena Bell.

The actors- There are some great actors on Y&R and what amazes me most is how they can make those characters believable when they have such drivel scripted for them. I'm not saying it is all drivel, but the good stuff is rare, and only makes you to start caring about them again. And that is right before the writers yank away the very reasons you began to watch in the first place. Poor Genie Frances, who was lured in by MAB and promised the role of a strong woman. That didn't happen and MAB's put GF in a bad spot instead. Tristan Rogers brought a fresh breeze into the show and is now being shown the door, just when things have yet another hope for a great story. Daniel Goddard has been yanked around once already. Is phase 2 far behind?

Have you made your call to Y&R today?

Contact Y&R Execs Now

For those of you who want to let Y&R, CBS and Sony all know that the fans have had enough, here are some addresses.  Sony already has problems with head writer Maria Arena Bell, so they need your input.  Let them know you want to keep Tristan Rogers on Y&R.  When he goes.  I go.  When I go, I quit watching their commercials.  When enough go, the ratings fall.  At some point, something has to wake them up.

Phone:

Y&R comment line: (323) 575-2345

Email:

Margot Wain-  margot.wain@cbs.com
Michelle Newman-  Michelle.newman@cbs.com
Nancy Tellem- nancy.tellem@cbs.com
Nina Tassler- nina.tassler@cbs.com
Steve Kent- steve_kent@spe.sony.com
Steve Mosko- steve_mosko@spe.sony.com
Y&R tv cbs- yrbb@tvc.cbs.com

Snail mail to Sony:

Sony Pictures Entertainment Global Communications

10202 West Washington Blvd.

Culver City, California, 90232 

Also write: 

Michael Lynton, Chairman & CEO, Sony Pictures Entertainment

Amy Pascal, Co-Chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group

Jeff Blake, Vice Chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Chairman, Worldwide Marketing and Distribution, Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group

Maria Arena Bell Kills Y&R

Earlier today Tristan Rogers tweeted "seems Colin is leaving GC." What a very low blow to fans who have come to see Colin as one of the highlights of The Young and the Restless.  Tristan is one of the finest actors in daytime.  He's the one who created the iconic role of Robert Scorpio and never gave us a dull moment.  But when he went to Y&R as Colin, even die-hard Scorpio fans came to not only accept him, but embrace this new character of Colin.  I am a former General Hospital fan who quit daytime altogether due to terrible stories and the destruction of once great soaps on ABC.  But Tristan and Jess Walton's great chemistry made daytime fun again and worth watching.

But in my careful study of Y&R, I began to see the downfall of this soap, and a death charge led in full force by head writer Maria Arena Bell.  But she is not alone in that dastardly deed.  The CBS execs are fully responsible for allowing someone to drive a popular soap into the ground.  From the top down, the fault lies with CBS, who may just be allowing their daytime lineup to die, just like Frons has done with All My Children and One Life to Life.  CBS knows their ratings are down, but yet they allow Bell to continue her power-hungry reign of terror.  Sony supposedly has big issues with Bell, but yet no one has the cojones to do anything about releasing her yet.

With Bell, where does one begin with the problems there?  First, she has no direction or clarity in her writing. Plots are begun, they begin to grow into something interesting, and then they flounder miserably- over and over again. She adds characters with all the attention span of a gnat. I am convinced that Y&R should install a revolving door at the gate so that the rotation of entering and exiting characters can go more smoothly.  New actors are introduced and we are led to believe that they are going to be a great part of the landscape.  But then fans get yanked around according to the senseless whims of MAB.  We're supposed to take it and say thank you?  No thank you.

MAB's efforts to write a decent story misses the basic points of writing that most high school literature students know.  A plot has a certain dramatic structure that moves through exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and dénouement (Hey MAB, try googling that).  Yet MAB avoids basic writing techniques and is devoid of creative storytelling that connects viewers to the story.  How long will CBS allow this farce to continue?  My guess, all the way to thy daytime graveyard.

Case in point, Tristan Rogers.  What a great addition he was to the cast.  But now MAB has put her kiss of death on Colin. Things were going well until MAB saw Genie Francis on Oprah and made her power play to grab her up for Y&R.  This was also a chance to thumb her nose at ABC.  Francis was obviously promised a strong role, opposite of Laura, the poor doormat on GH.  But Francis went from a GH doormat to a Y&R "crazypants."  This move came on the tail end of MAB undoing an early fail of killing Cane, and then writing him back into life. Her efforts just completely miss the mark.

Well, maybe CBS will get their way and garner some of their own here-today-gone-tomorrow daytime cook/talk shows in place of Y&R and B&B.  But where does that leave MAB?  Without a job.  She's only shooting herself in the foot... reloading, and shooting again... reloading and...

"How Not To Wreck a Show"

Douglas Marland was a well respected writer on a number of soaps.  He wrote for GH during the Glory Monty era and helped bring GH from near cancellation to a number one soap.  He revitalized ATWT and had a keen eye for bringing characters and a story to life that would turn mere viewers into soap fans.  His rules for "How Not To Wreck a Show" served him well and it would behoove CBS to require  the writers for Y&R to employ these techniques.


Douglas Marland's "How Not To Wreck a Show"

1. Watch the show.

2. Learn the history of the show. You would be surprised at the ideas that you can get from the back story of your characters.

3. Read the fan mail. The very characters that are not thrilling to you may be the audience's favorites.

4. Be objective. When I came in to ATWT, the first thing I said was, what is pleasing the audience? You have to put your own personal likes and dislikes aside and develop the characters that the audience wants to see.

5. Talk to everyone; writers and actors especially. There may be something in a character's history that will work beautifully for you, and who would know better than the actor who has been playing the role?

6. Don't change a core character. You can certainly give them edges they didn't have before, or give them a logical reason to change their behavior. But when the audience says, "He would never do that," then you have failed.

7. Build new characters slowly. Everyone knows that it takes six months to a year for an audience to care about a new character. Tie them in to existing characters. Don't shove them down the viewers' throats.

8. If you feel staff changes are in order, look within the organization first. P&G (Procter & Gamble) does a lot of promoting from within. Almost all of our producers worked their way up from staff positions, and that means they know the show.

9. Don't fire anyone for six months. I feel very deeply that you should look at the show's canvas before you do anything.

10. Good soap opera is good storytelling. It's very simple.

Y&R Open Letter

I want to share a link to an open letter written by a Y&R fan that makes a number of good points.

I do want to say that I agree with most of what is said. Two notable exceptions are found in #14 of the letter: "The talent of Tristan Rodgers and Genie Francis is being wasted. Genevieve is really too campy."

First, it is "Rogers" and second, I believe the campiness to be the fault of the writers and the director.  Genie was looking for a role that exuded power, not helplessness or craziness.  If that were the case, she would have returned to General Hospital during the Guza reign of terror.  I DO agree that Tristan and Genie's talent is being wasted, just like the talent of a number of other Y&R actors who sit on the sidelines during the "Newman Hour".

I also want to say there is one glaring error- Jess Walton is not mentioned.  I wonder if the writer was so overcome with frustration that that she/he just overloaded and missed intended comments about Jess?  But other than those two issues, I stand and applaud the article.  Now everyone go out and email it to CBS/Sony.

Sitting beside the deathbed

Sounds morbid, I know, but I'm so afraid that that is the picture of the future of daytime.  Currently there are two more soaps that have been sent to hospice by the networks where they are to be given care until their demise.  One Life to Life and All My Children know that their time is short (I'll deal with those topics in detail later) and the disease of "easy money" has infected the networks to the degree that is mind blowing.  Profit is obviously the goal, yet the question that remains is "Are cheap warmed over talk/reality shows the only way to go?"

The Young and the Restless has consistently been a top rated show and long time fans can tell you why.  The characters and the writing have brought us back day after day, for years and years.  Mothers and daughters, friends and neighbors alike have shared the 411 on who's doing what when.  The residents of Genoa City have become welcomed friends who enter our homes on a daily basis.

But now there is a dark cloud that is threatening Y&R, and makes fans acknowledge a growing fear that Y&R may find itself on its own deathbed one day, if things don't turn around.  The key, of course, is the ratings system that provides the numbers, which turn viewer numbers into big bucks for the networks.  Cash is king.

All of this is to say that fans recognize that:

1.  Y&R is a time honored soap that has been superior in creating/maintaining characters and stories

2.  Things have changed drastically, enough to warrant a deeper look