We’ve all heard the whispers. Some of us have even probably been on
the receiving end of the corporate downsizing that is going on across our nation
today. But has your dismissal from your job, ever had to do with sagging
ratings, poorly written storylines or even lack luster pairings with one or more
of your fellow colleagues?
In most cases, probably not. But in the world of daytime,
those are some of the reasons that are given when actors are dismissed and
characters meet their makers, leave town or just simply fade off into the
woodwork, only to be mentioned from time
to time. Over the past week or so,
news broke that CBS’ top rated daytime drama, The Young and the Restless
had provided a few of it’s current cast members with their pink slips, much to
the shock of many of the show’s cast members. The reason, ratings being lower
than what Sony and the show execs would like.
One of the performers, to receive their pink slip is none other
than the talented Vincent Irizarry, who joined the show almost 2 years ago as
the mysterious David Chow. As we know, David Chow came to town looking for
answers surrounding the death of his former lover Carmen Mesa. He eventually
began gas lighting Drucilla Winters (who he thought was responsible for her
death), only to later become Nikki Newman’s campaign manager and next hubby.
Viewers were
never really given much insight into the character of David Chow or his back
story until the recent months. Perhaps if we had been given all of this
information and a chance to invest in the character of David Chow, the
announcement of Irizarry’s departure might not be the talk of the daytime
message boards right now!
So what’s in store for the devilishly, delicious mystery
man? Who knows, but now that Paul has exposed his past and his connections
with the mob something tells me that David might be swimmin with the fishes
before too long.
And poor Nikki will stuck holding the bag, as she continues to
reel from all of the lies and secrets David kept from her. Will his mob
connections come after Nikki? Hey he does owe a lot of money and she is a
successful businesswoman at that. If I were Nikki, I think I would hire Paul
Williams to stand guard outside my door or better yet pack up my belongings and
move back to the Newman ranch. Something tells me that her ex-hubby Victor will
not let anything happen to the mother of his children, no matter how strained
their relationship with one another is.
Unfortunately, Victor might have to answer to his current
Mrs. Sabrina. Since debuting in the role of Victoria’s friend Sabrina,
actress (and daytime newbie) Raya Meddine has quickly begun to win over viewers
and had the potential of becoming one of Y&R’s heavy hitters and a star in the
genre of daytime. That is why her firing has caused even more shockwaves
through the cast and crew of the show.
While I was impressed with Meddine when she first debuted, like
many other viewers I had a very difficult time when the writers decided to move
Sabrina into Victor Newman’s orbit and start a romance between the two. Sabrina
is obviously young enough to run around in the same social circles as Victoria,
therefore Victor romancing her is equivalent to him romancing his own daughter.
Personally, I would’ve preferred to see Sabrina romancing the
likes of Paul Williams, Brad Carlton, or even one of Victor’s sons Adam or
Nicholas. Could you imagine the Sabrina/Phyllis feud if she and Nicholas
started a romance?
Unfortunately, it appears as we won’t know what could’ve
happened with the character of Sabrina. I just can’t help but wonder how they
will write Meddine out. Will Victor face another divorce or will Sabrina fall
victim to a mysterious soap opera virus, the common (and seems to be favorite)
way to write characters out amongst daytime writers.
Or maybe Victor will move Nikki back into the Newman ranch,
upsetting his new wife and she will pack her things and head back to Florence
and then in 4 years, the show will recycle yet another storyline and have Victor
head over to Florence to meet his child with Sabrina.
But the two questions that can’t stop running through my head
are whether or not the releases of Irizarry and Meddine will actually
contribute to a rise in the ratings and which performers will be the next to
receive their pink slips? Personally, it is going to take more than just
releasing performers (and characters) that viewers do not like to bring up
ratings.
Yes, releasing newbies and those not going over well with fans
is a definite start, but these storylines your writers pen also contribute to
whether or not viewers are going to tune into your show.
We want a balance between our veteran cast members and newbies,
we want gripping, emotionally charged storylines, we want light comedic moments
and we want good love stories. Intertwine all these things together and boom
you might just get a rise in ratings.
Do I think Y&R needs to continue trimming the cast? Yes I
do….some characters have no place or ties to any characters on the show past or
present, while some other characters need to be brought back for more than just
a few visits….case in point, Eileen Davidson as Ashley Abbott Carlton.
So Long and Farewell Vincent and Raya. Something tells me that
we will be seeing you perhaps sooner than later back in daytime once again.
Do you think other pink slips are coming at Y&R Who do you think or hope will
be the next one to receive their pink slip? What do you think needs to be done
to get this show back on track? Click on the link below and send me
your thoughts and opinions.
