The Young and the Restless

What an awful display of everything. From the soft camera lenses to the pitiful acting. "The Young and the Restless" is a soap that delivers nothing but long, overdrawn, depressing and ultimately pathetic storylines, which move so slowly they would have to speed up to stop. This program is a true winner to the people of modern society with nothing to do in their lives. You see it's not that they love this show, it's just they have nothing better to do.

I plead with the people, try and get out of the trap of wasting your lives. There is hope for you yet. If you can convince yourself to do anything apart from watching this program then life will be better for not only you, but the human race itself. It's an evil program, promoting horrific ethics, and over indulgence on the sofa, when exercise beckons.

Think carefully, act wisely, and you will truly become a better person.

Yep, I was there on the first day from day one for "The Young and the Restless". Let me set the stage for all the younger viewers so they know where I'm coming from...

Back in the late 60's early 70's there wasn't much fare for young pre-teen children like me for Soap Opreas. They were all "adult" and handled "adult" themes, that were, honestly, way over our heads to keep us viewed day in and day out. We were of the "Dark Shadows" generation. To look at a soap, we wanted one that was exciting, different and on our level. Along came "The Young and the Restless" in 1973.

I knew it was for me and my pre-adolescent girl-pals, our parents didn't like it much. Our parents were watching "Somerset", "The Secret Storm", "Edge of Night", "Another World" and before "General Hospital" got hip, these soaps were dry and people didn't speak about much on network TV. Everyone had the same disease, everyone sat on the bed by themselves and yuck! that organ music!

It was exciting back then to see a daytime soap storyline wrap around themes that young ladies and young gentlemen were dealing with of those times, and it spoke to us on OUR level. Even the "older" more adult cast were speaking on our level, so it caught on quickly for us.

It's now 2003, 30 years later and "The Young and the Restless" is still a soap I will watch. Like all soaps, it has its moments...it goes up and down. But the "Young and the Restless" was NOT afraid to tackle the social, moral and racial issues of our day... STD's, AIDS, Cults, Alcoholism, Older women going after younger men (it was always the other way around!), Gigilos, Strippers, Rock Musicians, Models, oh my goodness!!! Now, yes, its more common place and these themes aren't much but "The Young and the Restless" was one of the first to tackle these head on and not subtly either!

The writing was crisp, young, on-target, just the right thing for us. Some of the best characters in my soap lifetime of watching the "Young and the Restless" that were dear to me were:

The Brooks Sisters -- Yes, the one who played the piano was the one I centered on because at the time, I could understand her problems. And "Pumpkin" poor, "Pumpkin", her story line really made me cry.

Nikki Reed -- Nikki and her family were tough. Nikki was a stripper. Nikki got money. Nikki got...around. Boy, we loved Nikki!

Katherine Chancellor -- This is the Y&R grand dame. Katherine and her younger men, Katherine and her money, Katherine and her alcoholism, Katherine and her face-lifts! Cosmetic plastic surgery was not mentioned on SOAPS! This character brought it on! I really wish they would show this soap in repeats, Katherine Chancellor kicked royal butt!

Victor Newman -- At first I thought this character wasn't going anywhere but wow, he developed nicely and I cannot see the program without him. Rich, powerful, handsome, -- flawed. What else could you ask for? The Newman Clan -- Victoria and Nicolas growing up quite nice and spoiled and unsure as we would expect.

The Abbott Clan -- In the 80's, Ashley Abbott and I were on the same career track. except I didn't do it through family, I made it up the corporate ladder the hard way, but boy was I glad to see Ashley Abbott go through the turmoil, the backbiting: her brother Jack who crushed HER at every corner and had his own problems, the father and head of a HUGE fragrance corporation John, the dear Tracey Abbott who was going through almost EVERY teenage girls' nightmare, being pretty, smart and second banana to her svelte sister, the mother Deena who had an affair and...well..lets just say not all Abbotts are Abbotts and when that eventually comes out (it's 2003 now and not EVERYBODY knows) what a thrill.

There are so many more such as...Neil Winters who really worked his way up through the ranks; streetwise, Drucilla Barber and her over-achieving sister Olivia, Paul Williams and his detective firm, what a thrill they were in the 80's (and not to mention that little STD Paul had when coming to Genoa City, and not to mention the Cult!!) Cricket Christine Blair who was the summer entry we all looked forward to in Jr. Jabot, the scheming Diane, the unsuspecting Andy, and so on and so on and so on!!!

The "Young and the Restless" has kept true to its title always bringing in young and restless story lines as well as keeping older viewers like me interested as well. That's a tough thing to do day after day, year after year, decade after decade. Some story lines and characters won't jell with everyone -- and that's okay, that's a soap. This is one that will be bold, go out on a limb and come right into your face with current and past material, young, middle aged and older story lines that no matter how old you are you could get involved with, (maybe not!) but the Young and the Restless is still, to me, one of the best daytime soaps out there for it is young..and very restless.

I love Y&R. I've been watching it for years and I've seen some great moments on this show but I continue to run into the same problems with it. First, the show is predictable and they recycle story lines repeatedly. Billy and Victoria are eventually going to get back together. Nicki and Victor are eventually going to get back together so let them be together and let's move on to something else. Their roller-coaster relationships are no longer interesting. Second, BRING ADAM BACK. Bring Adam Newman back to the show and stop killing him off. Adam is a likable character that also stirs the pot in Genoa City. Him coming back will turn the Newman family upside down. His brother who is unknowingly raising his son is in a committed relationship with his wife. If Adam comes back Nick's whole world will fall apart and I would love to see that happen. Nick is self-righteous and annoying. Chelsea belongs with Adam. Theirs is a love story that I'm actually invested in. Finally, I have to address Cane and how his life has crumbled around him. He deserved it. It was his fault he lost his job and his family. Lily was right to leave him and I wish her the best but Jordan is not a good replacement. Jordan looks like he's about to fall in love with every woman he speaks to. Lily needs to focus on herself and her kids for five minutes before she runs into the arms of another selfish man. The conflict with Mattie and Reed dating is ridiculous. They're like sixteen years old. Plenty of sixteen year old's date and naturally break up without their parents needing to get involved. Cane and Juliet were not at all interested in one another for months. They were friendly colleagues even after sleeping with one another. She needs to stop walking around holding her belly and speaking for two when she's fifteen minutes pregnant. I've had enough of her, I hate her voice and I would be satisfied if they revealed that Cane is not the father before killing the baby or both the baby and Juliet off of the show.

I have watched Young & Restless since almost the very beginning. When I was in Elementary school I'd run home from the bus stop to watch it with my Mother. I feel as though I've grown up with most of these people. Y&R has improved so much over the years with the added realism of the story lines by adding in humor and clever little comments that us ordinary folks might say in daily life. So many other soaps are so dramatic because they seem like they're always trying to win an Oscar. The story lines on other soaps are not like real life and perhaps that's what some people like but for me I like having something I can relate too.

Y&R has the best actors/actresses and writers. My only hope is one day they start releasing episodes on DVD.

This is one of those soaps that keeps you hooked. (It's the only one I watch, though.) The writing, performances, and storylines are all crisp and first rate. Eric Braeden is perfect as Victor Newman, and the rest of the cast does well too. It keeps you hooked by developing new ones just as others are beginning to wind down, and most of them are intertwined, as the new ones are frequently related to the old ones.

My favorite couples in the show are Nick/Sharon and Billy/Mac. I think they are great together. Other characters such as Michael Baldwin, Christine Blair, and Paul Williams make for a good mix.

All in all, a good soap whose writers know how to keep you hooked.