Games - The Young and the Restless

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The Young and the Restless (commonly abbreviated to Y&R) is an American soap opera that takes place in Genoa City, Wisconsin (named after a vacation spot that series creators William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell visited annually). It first debuted on the CBS television network on March 26, 1973, replacing Where the Heart Is and Love is a Many Splendored Thing. Y&R has aired over eight thousand episodes.

Since late 1988, the show has been the highest-rated serial in the daytime ratings. The Young and the Restless has seen the ratings decline steadily since it first ranked #1. From 1988 to 2006, the show has lost more than 25% of its audience, from eight million viewers to fewer than six million. It should also be noted that all soaps have seen a similar decline in ratings.

On March 16, 2006, Sony Pictures Television announced that Y&R would be joining the 24 hour soap cable network, Soapnet, starting in April.

Production and writing

The key to the show winning the ratings week after week is due in part to the tight-knit writing and production staff. For the most part, the writers and producers of the show have stayed unchanged since the 1980s, with the only high-profile departure being William J. Bell himself, who retired from writing the program in 1998 after twenty-five years — although Bell stayed closely involved with the series, serving as executive producer and story consultant until his death in 2005.

The writers, in turn, have involved the same fan favorite characters (with few exceptions) in the storylines du jour. These long-term characters, in most cases, have been played by the same actor since their introduction, allowing viewers to invest not only in character but actor, as well. Even actors that took over long term roles from their original portrayers have managed to carve their own niche in the roles (notably Jess Walton, Peter Bergman and Susan Walters).

The writers of the show found their niche in the stories surrounding the Newman Enterprises and Jabot Cosmetics conglomerates, and focused on the problems in the relationships stemming from the business deals and love lives of its principal members. The show was twice nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for best written daytime serial and won it twice, in 2003 and 2006. In late February 2006, Lynn Marie Latham was named the show's head writer, while Kay Alden and John F. Smith now serve as members of the writing staff. This behind-the-scenes shake up has been well-received by critics, fans and the actors of the show, allowing for a quicker pace and a reintroduction of character history and interaction that became almost secondary under the tenure of Alden and Smith. Moreover, this shakeup eliminated the post of Smith as executive producer.

History

The Young and the Restless stood out from other soaps on the air for its brightness, both literal and figurative. Soap operas at the time tended to be comparatively darkly-lit and lugubrious in tone. The Young and the Restless infused light, humor and youth into the genre. In its early years, The Young and the Restless centered around the Foster and Brooks families. William and Elizabeth Foster had three children: Snapper, Greg, and Jill. Stuart and Jennifer Brooks had four daughters: Leslie, Chris, Peggy, and Lauralee (nicknamed Lorie and played by Jaime Lyn Bauer; her father would turn out to be Elizabeth Foster's brother, Bruce Henderson). At the core of the show was a class struggle: the Brooks family was rich while the Fosters were poor. The young cast was derided by some soap fans, who mocked the show by calling it "The Young and the Chestless". Leslie and Lorie fought over first Brad Eliot and then Lance Prentiss, a triangle stretched into four when Lance's sea captain brother Lucas arrived.

One of Y&Rs first and longest-lasting storylines involved the rivalry between Katherine Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper) and Jill Foster (Jess Walton). In 1973 Jill (then played by Brenda Dickson ) went to work as Kay's manicurist & personal secretary to help her struggling family pay the bills. Kay was a boozy matron trapped in a loveless marriage to Phillip Chancellor (Donnelly Rhodes). Jill and Phillip fell in love but when Phillip and Kay were on their way to get a divorce, Kay crashed the car (with decades of speculation on whether she did so intentionally). Phillip, on his deathbed, married Jill and bequeathed her and their child Phillip III his fortune, but Kay successfully contested his decision. An embittered Jill (then Brenda Dickson) became a vixen and the two ladies fought over beautician Derek Thurston. Jill then married tycoon John Abbott (Jerry Douglas) while Kay went through groundbreaking stories about alcoholism and facelifts. Years later Jill, after her two marriages to John were over and her son Phillip was dead from a car crash, went back to court and the judge declared she owned half of the Chancellor mansion. Jill and Kay fought over the new arrangement as well as Jill's son Billy dating Kay's granddaughter Mackenzie. In 2003 Jill discovered that Katherine was her birth mother, and told Billy and Mac moments before they consummated their relationship. In 2004 Jill's birth father Arthur Hendricks (David Hedison) briefly visited, and mother and daughter fought over him while Kay again battled her drinking problem.
[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for The Young and the Restless ]

Games - The Young and the Restless

Production and writing

History

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