The Young and the Restless - MESSAGE BOARDS

I don't think viewers are whining about Sharon and Nick's baby, Its wrong
no matter how you look at it. Sharon and Nick already lost Cassey. I think
the writers switched the baby to keep Phillis and Nick together because
if Faith would of been with Sharon like she should have, her and Nick would
still be together. Faith is Nick and Sharon's daughter and i pray that she will
know her real parents before she's a teenager.

I can see the logic behind the madness, but doesn't mean that I have to like it. You could see the story coming a mile away and Adam seems to be like a rat that can fit into any crevice and tote off a block of cheese without being noticed. Pick on the adults, not children - and especially babies when their younger years are to be forged and bonded with their REAL parents (except if they were given up for adoption for the greater good of the child). This baby switch couldn't have happened to the two most NON DESERVING actresses on this show. For Sharon to think that she & Nick have lost 3 daughters is unconscionable. How does Adam keep lurking, snooping, conniving, scheming - and keeps getting away with murder and mayhem. I don't care what the ratings say - I delete what's on my DVR if it's crap. This is crap. I read the spoilers and if I don't like it - I just delete it, I have other things that need to be done in my house vice wasting 45 mins of my day. There is no way that Ashley couldn't tell she did or didn't have a baby. I've had four, you are sore downstairs (maybe even an episiotomy), you bleed for nearly two months, your boobs are bursting with milk. Then, what Ashley "all of a sudden" remembers nearly hitting Nikki, but doesn't remember stupid ADUMB in a purple dress causing her to fall down the staircase & asking him why would he do this to her??? And that there's soooo much blood...... HELLLLLLOOOOO????? The public are not idiots. Y&R will begin to lose a bunch of faithful watchers. Bring on more believable and tactful storylines.

You know I read these posts all the time and I'm amazed at the number of people that are upset about this s/l and Adam. I talk to my friends/co-workers and family about the show all the time and don't get the same reaction. They all take it in stride, accept it's a soap opera and it will change soon. No one I talk too cares that much or has boycotted. Even when Victor was leaving they were ok, he's old time to go, bring on some new people.
I come on here though and you'd think the sky was falling half the time. I don't think the writers and producers take alot of stock on what they read here as most of it is negative anyways. There is a difference between complaining and constructive criticism.

I respectfully disagree Pinchy. It's not just the message boards but the emails that viewers have sent in as well. If the writers DON'T pay attention to us, they will make the same mistakes over and over with the storylines. Because they tape about a month in advance, we can't change things overnight. But if we say nothing, then we get nothing/crap.

I started watching the young and the restless when i was 6, I watched it every afternoon with my mom when i got home from school. My mom started watching the show when it first aired with my grandmother. So it's kind of a family thing. Nick and Sharon have always been my favorite couple (although colleen and Jt came a close 2nd). I've now been a Y &R fan for 15 years.

I can honestly say that since the writers have killed CC's character off the show and taken away another child from Nick and Sharon, I haven't watched the show since.

I find a huge difference when I don't read these boards and when I do. The boards tell a different story from the storyline itself. What I read and what I see are very different. When ou watch you then get the whole picture, not just the written words. The fans seem to want to influence the writers instead of letting the writers just tell their story. This is a soap opera not written by the fans, but the writers themselves. I have been guilty of accusing the writers, many times, of not getting their facts straight or of not writing the show the way I would like to see it play out, but I have to remind myself that I watch it because I like it, I really have no interest in writing it or trying to sway the writers in writing it for me. Everyday brings on a new drama, a new story. Frankly, I wouldn't want the writers to write the show the way I would want them to. It is a soap opera and the writers are telling a story. They are writing it. It is like a new chapter everyday to a book. I can't say that I want to rush the baby back to Sharon because I am too interested to see why they want to play this out, just as I am for the other storylines as well. I figure if you like the show you will watch it and if you don't, then you will stop and someone else will watch in your place. It is a story that they are telling, I don't feel that I should be telling them how to write it because I am too interested in watching to see what is coming next.

The only time I want to influence the writers is when a storyline is just waaay too outrageous or totally disgusting. I have written emails about different plotlines expressing my disappointment but I have also sent in emails praising the writing as well. Feedback is a good thing.

Different strokes for different folks. The reason I think so many people have been complaining about this show is because they really DO care about this show, especially long-time viewers, and the show is no where near the quality - in any respect, that it once was (pre-LML). There are many, many message boards out there with tons of really good critical analyses of what viewers find wrong with the writing and why. This is the information, I would think, the show's "lurkers" would find most helpful as to what fans like and dislike about the show. Polls are a very, very miniscule piece of that feedback, the most unreliable, however, for the reasons Suegerry pointed out upthread. MBs, on the other hand, can't be manipulated and reflect a much broader range of what online fans think about all storylines - not just the select questions chosen by the websites/soap magazines from month to month. I'm sure there are many, many posters here on this board, for example, that do not vote in online polls on any regular basis, if at all,but post their opinions on characters, storylines, etc. on a much more regular basis.

Re the effect of viewers complaints, well, anyone watching this show must know from past history how complaints - via MBs (in recent years), letters, e-mails, phone calls and even poll questions have proven to be VERY effective at getting storylines changed. A perfect example would be the story of Neil and Victoria. Long-time viewers know exactly what happened to that storyline and why: Fan protest pure and simple. It's been commented on by previous writers of the show in interviews/articles that overwhelming viewer protest and anger is what nixed that storyline. We've seen certain "potential" storylines in recent years get nixed as well (Phyllis and Adam, for example), the Tyra and Ana story, the departure of David Chow, and others. Why? Fan protest. Did fan protest and the real threat the show would lose many viewers if EB didn't come back influence negotiations? I'm betting it did. Don't ever underestimate the power of the consumer/viewer because it's a two-way street: the writers write what they want, but if fans aren't watching the show, they lose their jobs (see Lynn Marie Latham's history on this show as HW for an excellent example . Any signficant drop in ratings is a big deal for CBS/Sony and they watch the trends over a period of time to gauge whether overall fans are tuning in, or out. I'm betting the Adam kidnapping of Sharon's baby will wrap much sooner than the writers initially planned because of the overwhelming viewer protest (even the Soap mags are commenting on how much this storyline is hated).

MB buzz about the show - pro or con- is not the same thing as watching the show. Heck, I haven't watched the show in months and I do not need to because I know what's going on - not every detail, but part of the reason I stopped watching in the first place is because, like many other viewers, I found the overall quality of the show and the storylines stunk and I won't waste my time watching garbage and so don't really care about many of the current s/ls and characters (the Scooby Gang anyone? ) . Does that mean I won't or can't participate in MBs or discussions? Of course not because the characters, storylines I'm interested in are the ones I follow on MBs updates (and some are much better than actually watching!) and can comment based on that. By not watching, viewers send TPTB a very strong message that they won't be able to ignore for very long because the only thing that matters to Sony/CBS is the numbers, i.e. ratings. Having a lot of people buzzing on the boards, but not actually watching/recording the show isn't good enough, and if things continue the way they have been, something will change. I'm betting it'll be the writing team. $ talks and it's well known the numbers for the show are noticeably down, compared to last year, and have been for months now. LML's tenure as HW and EP had higher ratings for Y&R in general than the current HWs and EPs. Yet where is LML now?

LOVE your post soul!!!!! Extremely well thought out and expressed.

Yes, during LML tenure the overall ratings, on a month to month basis were higher than they've been, on average, compared to the current writing teams. BUT those numbers were still down compared to the previous writing regime(s) and that's what caused so many to lombast LML's writing - she ignored character history completely and changed the direction of the show too much. Many viewers who tuned out were the long-time viewers who've supported the show for decades, and the studio/Sony finally took notice and did something about it (and I won't even get into how much many of the vet actors did NOT like LML's changes on and off the script pages ).

My main point is, regardless of what HW is in place, when the numbers keep going down for the show, it doesn't matter if 10 million people are talking and blogging about the show online if they are NOT WATCHING the show. The ratings drop during the past 11 months is irrefutable evidence of that. And that's all Sony cares about - $, via ad dollars. So viewer protest about characters/storylines DO make a difference because the writers know that too many unhappy viewers = more dropped ratings (see Guiding Light as the latest poster child of what happens when too many viewers tune out over time).