My Y & R Obsession

When it comes to guilty pleasure TV, the ultimate indulgence is the soap opera. I blame (or actually thank) my grandmother Catherine for an obsession that has lasted for decades. From the daily cold open and that all familiar song to the closing credits, I have been a loyal fan of the Young and The Restless for over 40 years.

I was first introduced to the world of Victor Newman, The Abbots and the rest of the larger than life characters of Genoa City in 1979 while living with my grandmother. She and my grandfather raised me the first 6 years of my life after my mother died. In my last year of high school, I moved back in with her to help out when her health was failing.

On the first day after moving in I came home from school to find her in the dining room, a place she had long ago converted to a “TV room” as she called it. “I’m watching my program” she yelled as I walked through the hall. I walked into the TV room and sat down. “What are you watching?” I asked. “My soap” she replied, “The Young and The Restless.”

I had heard of this soap but at 18 I really didn’t have any interest in such things. She on the other hand seemed quite into it as she went on to describe the back story of every character and relationship. She filled me in on the Fosters, the Brooks, Katherine Chancellor, the Abbots, and of course the diabolical Victor Newman, as if she were gossiping about neighbours. I settled in to watch with her on the first day of what would become my continuing guilty pleasure addiction to a soap now known simply as The Y & R.

It didn’t take long for me to soon become wrapped up in the lives and drama of the characters of this particular soap. As the weeks and months went by, 4:30 on CBS became a daily ritual for us. The Y & R gave us a place and space for conversation, laughter and outrage at the hysterically implausible story lines and characters. I mean how many times can someone have amnesia AND an evil missing twin who comes back from the dead? Apparently it happens more than you think. How could Victor hold his wife’s boyfriend hostage in a bomb shelter? How could Snapper (who names their kid this?) be in a love triangle with Chris and Sally? How could Leslie be in a love triangle with Brad and her sister Lori of all people? What was she thinking? The discussion possibilities were endless.

Our “soap time” chats also became a springboard for conversations about other things. I learned about how she and my grandfather met and how he courted her. I learned about a son she lost at childbirth and how heartbroken she was. I learned more about my mother and what she was like as a child and as a young woman my age. And I learned that she thought Nixon was behind JFK’s assassination. She never trusted that guy.

She passed away just before I started university. It was devastating to loose her. One of the things that got me through it and still holds me up today is the memories of our time together and our daily Y &R sessions analyzing the complex lives of the citizens of Genoa City.

I started university that same year, choosing to live on campus on the 4th floor of Brandon Hall, a woman’s residence at that time. Shortly after moving in our floor decided to host Wednesday afternoon soap parties with our brother floor at Woodstock. Every Wednesday we got together in the commons room with a well stocked beer fridge and copious quantities of junk food for sustenance to carry us through an afternoon soap marathon. It always ended with the Y & R which fast became everyone’s favourite. We would take bets on Victor’s next move and critique characters and storylines. Then there was the fashion. This was the ‘80s – the time of neon spandex, padded shoulders and big hair. As with everything else in soap-land the Y & R put those fashion trends on steroids. While this may not have been the highest best use of my Wed afternoons in uni, it stands out as one of my favourite memories. In a weird way those weekly soapfests made me feel like I was continuing the ritual started with my grandmother. I think she would have loved it. Well maybe not the skipping class and drinking beer part.

Many years later the Y & R is still my guilty pleasure. Sometimes I vigilantly watch daily. Other times I binge watch an entire week or two at once. Occasionally I’ll go a week or more without watching at it all. One of the great things about soaps and the Y & R is that you don’t always have to watch every episode. You can miss entire weeks and still catch up on the story lines within 1-2 episodes. The plots moved like peanut butter.

There is something about soap operas, and the Y & R in particular that sets it apart from other guilty pleasures on TV. With a story spanning 5 decades, the depths and layers of the past weave through the many outrageous and cringe worthy moments and characters that have made the Y & R one of the most successful soap operas in history.

The Y & R takes place in the fictitious town of Genoa City Wisconsin, which also apparently serves as the centre of the universe. Wouldn’t we all want to live in this place? Zillionaires and business tycoons, superstar musicians and record producers, media tycoons and fashion moguls, all of whom can have their pick of anywhere in the world to live have chosen Genoa City to live and headquarter their empires. The best doctors and surgeons in the entire world also call this town their home. The best hotels and restaurants are here. Everyone has a beautiful stately home with elaborately laid out bars with liquor in crystal decanters. They have private jets that can take them from Genoa City to any city around the world in minutes. It seems you can time travel here. They also have the best schools because despite having access to any one of the best private higher learning institutions in the world, the richest of the rich in Genoa city all send their kids to the local Walnut Grove Academy and Genoa City University. That is of course unless they are sent away to a private boarding school for a couple of years so they can come back 10 years older.

The Y & R is addictive in part because many of the main characters are so relatable, even as they approach the absurd. We get them. Even at their craziest there is part of us rooting for them, that can see ourselves in them. They can feel like family to us. And then there are times when truth really is stranger than fiction. There have been times when I've looked at a story line on the Y & R and say “pfft, this is nothing compared to my life right now.” I speak from experience when I say this: when your life becomes stranger than your soap, you may want to re-think your choices.

Many of the characters on the Y & R have been on the soap for years. Some characters grow and evolve, even turning their lives around while others seemingly become better people for a while only to have their dark side take over in some horrible plot twist, or just because of bad writing. I’ve literally seen certain actors and their characters grow up and grow old on this soap. I mourned the loss of Katherine/Kay Chancellor after Jeanne Cooper passed away. Jeanne played Mrs. C from 1973 until right before her death in 2013. Her epic battles with Jill Abbot made Alexis and Krystle Carrington look like BFF’s. Then there is the incomparable Victor Newman, a classic narcissist on steroids, who is in a category of guilty pleasure all his own. He is the ultimate power hungry, controlling, self made mogul who stops at nothing to get what he wants and squashes anyone who gets in his way. Even his own children don’t get a pass as he sometimes abuses, sometimes spoils, usually rescues and always demands unconditional loyalty from them. Everyone knows the name. Everyone knows the legend.

No where else will you experience the completely outrageous story lines and characters that is the world of the Young and the Restless. There is so much fun to be had here! From people returning from the dead (usually more than once if they are a main character) to switching paternity tests and multiple cases of amnesia, the Y & R asks us every day to suspend disbelief and go along with the crazy. Where else can an evil arch nemesis kidnap you, get plastic surgery to look like you and fool everyone, including your spouse. Where else can this happen several times because people don’t catch on after the first time. People have really short memories on this soap. Characters and story lines suddenly seem to drop off a cliff without explanation because well, who knows.

Arch rivals never really let go of a good grudge. Even when they seem to play nice there is always something simmering in the background. They topple each other’s empires, romance each others spouse and even turn each others’ children against each other. Their feuds rival the best known legends and last for decades, even at times extending to the next generation.

People literally get away with everything on the Y & R - murder (even burying the body to cover up their crime), fraud, cyber hacking, kidnapping, identity theft...nothing touches the great citizens of Genoa City. They may stand trial and even spend a short period of time in jail but usually not for long.

With a city that boasts having some of the most well to do citizens in the world, you would think they would be able to afford a decent police and fire department. More often than not, the good citizens of Genoa City seem to be the ones who solve the mystery, the crime, find the real killer, and rescue people from fires, explosions, and various natural disasters.

And then there is the glamour. Everyone dresses like they are ready for a catwalk emergency, even the coffee shop owner. When was the last time you ordered a latte from someone in a sequinned blazer and Jimmy Choo’s? My favourite over-the-top extravagance episode has to be #1.4707 from 1991 – The Masquerade Ball. Google it and be prepared for something completely out of this world.

There are certain inalienable truths in the world of the Y & R. There is always another chance at love, perhaps even with the same person. I have lost track of how many times Victor and Nicky have tied the knot with each other, let alone all of the other spouses they’ve each married. Weddings are usually interrupted by someone intent on messing with the happy couple. Galas, whether they be New Year’s celebrations or charity events always end in some kind of disaster. People always seem to get stuck in elevators and with people they hate. Sometimes they end up having sex. Also, you have a greater than average chance that if you are in a private plane you will crash on some remote island and have amnesia. Some local will take you in and look after you, not knowing how rich and powerful you are. You will fall in love with them until you go back to the “real world” and you both realize they don’t fit into your world. There are variations on this theme but they usually all involve amnesia.

The world of the Y & R is the perfect great escape from reality - to be temporarily submersed in the lives of people whose dysfunctional families and epic fails make my life look like an episode of The Brady bunch. Sadly, soaps seem to be a bit of a dying art in the world of television. For many reasons younger generations are just not picking up to soap gauntlet. Maybe the story lines don’t resonate with them or they just don’t want to make that kind of commitment. Most don’t even watch cable TV anymore. Whatever the reason, I can’t help but think they are missing out on the kind of opportunity I had with my grandmother for connection, to bond over a shared love of something so frivolous and fun. I for one will continue to enjoy the guilty pleasure of indulging in a world that, for a short while, can make you forget about your problems, or at least make them pale in comparison to those of the larger than life illustrious young and restless citizens of Genoa City.