True story.
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the legendary show, and as I write this ode to this indelible artistic work, I am watching the latest episode.
Just like always.
Y&R has captivated me for decades and it has always been must-see TV for me. In elementary school in the 1980's, I would set my VCR to record the episodes because I couldn't be home to watch them. Then, on summer vacations, I would get a huge thrill because I could watch the episodes daily without the obligation of school hanging over my head. I remember classic storylines with great clarity, including the rock concerts with Danny Romalotti (Michael Damian) in 1985-86 and the "just say no to drugs" storyline. I remember that crazed lunatic Lisa kidnapping Brad Carlton (Doug Diamont) in 1988 and holding him captive in a cage. I remember the Cassandra Rollins storyline with Paul Williams (Doug Davidson) as well as the Leanna Love storyline.
The 1990's were no different. In high school, I used to cut school to come home and watch the show because it was that important to me. It might sound crazy, but anywhere I lived, any new place I moved to...any public place I happened to be at 12:30pm EST weekdays, I would have Y&R on my mind and search for the nearest television so I could watch it.
Through all of the amazing, interesting and strange characters on the show over the years, the one true standout has obviously been the great Victor Newman (masterfully played by Eric Braeden). I have admired him endlessly for decades and actually inspired by him. The Newman character, however, is a prime example of the high-quality, nuanced writing that the show has popularized for a long time. Victor is a billionaire tycoon with a ruthless and often cold disposition to rule everyone in his path. He can be downright immoral in his vengeance, however, he can also be incredibly sweet and compassionate. That takes amazing storytelling and even better acting to bring these stories to life.
In recent years, Y&R has broadcast their episodes online as well as television. This has allowed me more flexibility to do things during the day during that "happy hour" since I know I can catch every episode later on the Internet. Even still, when 12:30pm rolls around, I always get a little uneasiness inside if I am unable to watch the show when it airs because I can "feel" that I'm missing it. That never goes away until i finally go online and watch what I missed.
That is powerful.
In conclusion, I wish to thank all of the super amazing cast, especially the very long tenured ones such as Braeden and Kristoff St. John (Neil Winters), Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki Newman), Peter Bergman (Jack Abbott), Jeanne Cooper (Katherine Chancellor), Michelle Stafford (Phyllis Newman), Christian Jules LeBlanc (Michael Baldwin) Joshua Morrow (Nick Newman) and Sharon Case (Sharon Newman). I also want to salute the late William J. Bell, Sr. for creating this remarkable show that has dominated my lifetime to this point.
I will always feel "young and restless" because of this show, which is far more than a soap opera to me and always has been.
Happy 40th!
