miamama

So true. And his fiancee has been in Russia for awhile and his daughters are not little kids any more and so no doubt have busy lives, so he's been really alone. His last tweet about show (with a link to some dreadful ratings) was pretty pointed. He was thrilled JG was back to focus on the vets. He added the treatment of DD was brutal and he was really looking forward to having a HW who knows and respects the show. I mean Mal had Ashley break up with Neil by text before she left. He had no scenes during Lily's monumental trial and incarceration and Mal just moved him out of GC. I mean WTF? How many scenes of Phyllis having sex or Rey and Mia have we seen in that time??? These last few scenes he had were JG tweaks imo (they were filmed AFTER Mal was fired). I am positive Mal had moved Neil off show for good a la Paul. Boy if Mal wasn't fired before he would have been now. I'm kind of stunned at the widespread coverage of KSJ's death and how impactful he has been for people's memories of Y&R (people who stopped watching years ago are reacting emotionally). I think show is a bit stunned too. The reaction has been a real repudiation of the "we need to phase out vets asap" approach of Mal (and others). Good fucking riddance Mal.

oh goodness that poor poor man.

Right. I get you. But to me that doesn’t honour his work in the same way. It implies Neil is a throwaway character. Sort of like Paul and how Mal just ghosted him away assuming viewers wouldn’t notice (and newer viewers probably didn’t). As a long time viewer. I want the *character* KSJ brought to life honoured as well as the actor. My guess is they haven’t decided what to do yet. They probably want to be sensitive to his family and co-stars and it’s way too soon to gauge/ask. So the Feb 8 tribute will likely be a montage of clips and a few comments from colleagues. And that may be it for some time (or totally).

Someone tweeted disgust that KSJ didn’t have any scenes after today’s episode (in other words his last film date was more than a month ago) and EB replied Mal was determined to diminish all the vets or established characters as he called them. He also flat out said in a Daily Beast interview yesterday that Mal heavily cutting back KSJ’s schedule no doubt contributed to his emotional difficulties. I have no doubt Mal was quickly phasing out the vets. PB was the only one with any story and Mal basically put him out to pasture. In a matter of time he’d have broken up with Kerry (who would move on to Nate or someone young) and drift away like Paul, Neil and Victor. As it is Jack has no ties to Jabot thanks to Mal. His ONLY story is dating a newbie less than half his age.

I see killing off Neil as a way to honour KSJ. Neil Winters was central to this show’s success in its heyday. (Something new viewers likely don’t know.) IMO an exit via memorial is a powerful way to honour the man who played such an important character for almost 30 years. It’s like retiring an athlete’s number/jersey - it’s an acknowledgment the person was special and is irreplaceable. I don’t see it as blurring real and reel in this case.

All these posts and Eric. Yep I'm crying again. He's not on social media. It's not really his style to go out of his way and issue a statement so I'm not surprised we've heard nothing from him yet. But yeah they worked together a lot, on addiction/emotional issues dialogue no less. I always wondered how KSJ felt about some of the handling of mental illness on show, especially the disgusting language about "crazy Sharon" etc.

So sorry for your loss @bannana. That must have been especially tough at 13. To lose your brother and also your parents in a sense. And I agree. I think KSJ’s death is resonating for many (this has been heavily covered in mainstream press) because he was in the prime of his life, gorgeous, fit, comfortably rich, and yet he was so tormented he couldn’t bear it. If anyone doubted how devastating mental health issues are this ought to snap them out of it.

I know. Now I’m crying again.

I feel so bad about this. It's so strange. Usually when a celebrity/actor/person I don't know in any real way dies I am startled and feel sorry for his/her loved ones but it all feels unreal, like I'm watching a movie. But I just feel sooo sad about Kristoff (like reading posts on social media is making me weep). The poor man was living with so much agony and he kept trying to function, working (when Mal bothered to give him half a scene), posting happy or inspiring pics on Instagram, getting engaged even, and fighting that legal battle with his son's hospital (can you imagine the torture of having to relive the horrid details of your child's final moments again and again in a legal case; as if losing him weren't enough), posting positivity on his Twitter, talking to INSANE soap Twitter fans who hate on him for a fictional couple. I don't know. It's just sad. Nothing but sad. :(

I don’t know about VR because she’s still in battle with CBS (so it might be hard) but Shemar and Tonya would be lovely as a one off return. They need to kill off Neil and devote an episode to his farewell. Anything less is shameful imo. The character has deep ties so it would be good. CK and BJ in particular would break my heart (they were kids as his kids). ATWT did this with Benjamin Hendrickson, an offscreen death for Hal followed by memorial. It took a while (a couple of months I think) to write. Could do same for KSJ.

This is just sooooo sad.

I feel like this happened before where young actors shared audition clips from Y&R that show asked them to take down because they gave away story.

I don't know; it's a tough one. If I were dating a guy, knowing I absolutely want to have babies one day, and falling for him and he absolutely did not ever want children in his life I would want to know that asap. So Jack has learned she wants to have children (not necessarily with him) but it's very important to her to have a baby and he does not, no way no how. That is a non-negotiable for him. He is allowed to have a position on that. He's not telling her what to do with her body or her eggs. He's just saying, listen I'm not budging on this so maybe you need to be with a guy who shares this desire with you.

Oh and I was thinking (I'm getting a little excited JT could be out so bear with me) Billy Miller is clearly uninspired over at GH. I mean I'm not saying Y&R will beg for him to come back or anything BUT it does impact JT's negotiating power that show has a potential backup who is actually better suited to the role and would be immediately embraced by many viewers if he returned. I have no doubt JFP way way way overpaid him. (Plus he's the last big hire of her regime still on show, right?) And every EP gets to decide how to allocate his budget. Morina/Griffith don't necessarily want Thompson eating up so much salary. He's no Braeden/Bergman when it comes to importance to this particular show by a long shot (though I suspect his salary matches theirs). Mal was different. He floved JT and Philly. I'd be here for a mid-season trade between GH and Y&R -- JT for BM.

Well Branco’s second tweet (since deleted but I saw yesterday) said he “still has the same sources” at Y&R so he outed whoever that was, lol.

I just noticed Branco deleted the tweet and any references to it, FWIW.

If Branco isn’t full of shit (and that’s a big if) my guess is JT. He must be pulling in a hefty salary (JFP lured him from GH and she paid massive salaries to her pets). Also there was a blind item in a mag (more legit source than Branco) saying an actor’s salary demands may leave him without a job. That Jordi guy will have come way cheaper and he is the same age and more of a potential lead because Rey isn’t related to half the characters. Also JT is the only relatively new guy anyone (though not me) might call a superstar, lol. Show certainly treated him like one with his own big promo and almost standalone first episode.

Chance is honest, forthright and charming. They might have given him more backstory to give him some edges. I don’t know. I’d be surprised if they recast Adam but also I’m always surprised by decisions about show so what do I know.

The problem with bringing Adam back is Connor. He wouldn’t be ok with his son being AWOL and so the whole Chelsea angle would need to be addressed. Then it becomes a package deal - an Adam return means a Chelsea return, which is possible I suppose. JG loved MCE.

So funny.

The character of Victor is a mess for sure but I get EB’s point (buried beneath his ego). The bigger issue was Mal’s attitude towards the show as a whole. He had no respect for history, character and vets. He just made up a new show using Y&R character names and the Y&R brand. Billy and Phyllis were two people who had nothing to do with the characters Bell created. They were GT and JT in a romcom. Jack was neutered. Nick and Phyllis suddenly replaced Victor and Nikki as the new dark “power couple.” I mean change it up by all means because the vets are all old now but none of this was *earned*. Mal just pretended 40+ years of foundation meant nothing. And the Rosales family suddenly eating up the show? Yikes.

It is very enlightening. I’m far more intrigued about BTS shenanigans than show. So the rumours that Mal was doing his utmost to push out EB were true. And I totally agree @valleycliffe, I expect the new team to significantly scale back The Gina Hour. I still cannot believe Phyllis runs Jabot??!!??!!

It’s a shame it took so long to fire Mal. He was breathtakingly incompetent. He literally doesn’t know how to be write (character, story), doesn’t understand pacing and plot development and how to introduce new characters onto a long running ensemble, and they had him in control of a show that airs 250 episodes a year.

What I find amusing and I must admit somewhat entertaining about this story is I loathe both Billy and Cane and so watching them go nuclear on each other will be really satisfying. I mean Cane is absolutely going to find out about the Billy-Summer hook up now and he'll out it in the most public way possible I would hope. That they are doing this over a few kisses is funny too. Victoria is NOT with Billy and has made that clear to him. Nor is she actually having an affair with Cane. So the storyline really only further taints these loathsome idiots Billy and Cane. And that works for me. Best use of either I've seen in years.

Yeah as long as Mal is in the building (as it were) I won’t trust the writing. And he for sure has mapped out the storylines we are seeing (JG may have tweaked but no more), so Philly will be alive in some form. I picture it as one of those gruesome creatures in sci-fi movies that JUST WON’T DIE. It keeps writhing around and at times goes on the attack. I prefer Villy only because it keeps characters (esp Billy) true to who they are. And it ensures the hideous Philly beast dies.