"the young and the restless": utterly torturous

We're not in Genoa City anymore, Toto.

No, this feels as if we are doing time in some ink-stained writers' room at CBS where scenarists are desperately struggling - but failing -  to restore the greatness of one of the network's crown jewels. That would be "The Young and the Restless," once a resounding sensation of either the station's daytime or nighttime schedule - but now virtually unwatchable.

I've written previously about the pure pleasure of daytime dramas that my wife and I have enjoyed for decades, recently singling out "The Young and the Restlest" here and here, the former of which celebrated the writing - for the show's female cast in particular. But almost immediately, the writing went into a serious decline, with one actress after another dropping out.

The show never rebounded. Frankly, matters have become worse, exacerbated by the bad casting decision to bring back old characters (to appease the fan base) and other decisions - artistic, narrative or otherwise - that border on the grotesque. It's been utterly painful to watch.

One could blame the writing exclusively, but the pathetic writing and other dubious decisions are ostensibly based on executive orders.

While my eyes were once glued to the screen for each plot turn, I now find myself taking mental notes (pick up dry cleaning, take Peanut to the vet's) or simply walking away from the TV for minutes at a time, confident that I am missing ... nothing. I tried to make sense of the addlepated decisions.

Case in point: The Genoa City Athletic Club (also called the GCAC and The Club), the cozy, woody, viewer-friendly hotel-gym-bar-restaurant combo that has been seemingly abandoned without notice for the awfulness of a trendy new place called The Grand Phoenix. This new place boasts a discordant production design that’s truly unattractive, almost toxic.

Its lobby looks as if some out-of-control production designer simply threw ugly furniture and decor against the walls, letting the mess stay where it all landed; the guest rooms are even worse - uninhabitable.

Perhaps The Grand Phoenix is supposed to reflect the messed-up personality of  Phyllis who allegedly designed the place. More likely, it's the result of a professional's inept design. The bottom line: I miss the GCAC!  In my mind, I always wanted to stay in a room there and share a drink with Jack or Abby at the bar or join Nick in the gym. One can dream.

Moving on, what's with the show's preoccupation with the letter "C" - Chelsea, Chloe, Connor, Christian, Cane, Charlie? Cccconfusing. A minor complaint but also unnecessarily annoying. And Chelsea always screaming for and shouting at Connor is like chalk against a blackboard for me.

Which brings to the show's worst offense - its cast of characters. 

In a naked attempt to pander to the show's so-called fan base, the producers have restored recently departed familiar faces to the canvas – Chelsea, Chloe, Kevin and Hillary (now named Amanda). Chelsea has been given the most to do, which largely means looking nervous and edgy in scene after repetitive scene. In the two or three months since she's been back, Chelsea has struggled to crack a smile, producing a performance dominated by darting eyes. Not good. Meanwhile, the charmless Kevin wore out his welcome at least several comebacks ago.

And a little bit of Chloe - whinny, mannered and bad-quirky - goes a long, long way, while a recast Phyllis (recast with the original) has been a bust.

Other characters have morphed (in a bad way), seemingly taking the show hostage. There's Billy. Once an incorrigible schemer, he's now an unattractive, judgmental prig. Much worse is Mariah, an unctuous know-it-all who seemingly is in every scene with every other character, except (strangely enough) for Tess. Tess, yes, Tess. She is supposed to be Mariah's inamorata, involved in a curiuos lesbian relationship that is strictly non-sexual, so as not to turn off the show's right-leaning fan base.

The routine Mariah-Tess romance goes as such: The template is always the same - some grotesque gourmet dinner, always planned by Mariah, that ends with Mariah (always again) praising Tess to high heaven in an overdone testimonial and then planting a tiny, chaste kiss on Tess's tear-stained face. Tess, easily the most useless character on the show, never reciprocates. Never. She behaves like a piece of wood.

Meanwhile, the once-promising character of Kyle is currently in the throes of being rethought into an entitled baby; Rey remains a big snooze; Cane the most repellent among all the characters, hands-down; Nate a pointless addition to the cast; Adam recast by a reptilian stick-figure; Devon continuing to make no sense whatsoever in terms of anything/everything he does, and Jill, who has become reason not to watch the show at all. 

So does anyone, any character, make the quickly-declining show worth watching these days? Well, actually, yes - and it has everything to do with the joy in their work that the actors achieve, in spite of the bad material.

First and foremost, Sharon and Jack, followed by Summer, Traci, Abby, Lola, Dina and the fabulous new addition, Theo. Wishing them my best.

Now, if only I can join Jack and Sharon at the GCAC bar for a Scotch neat.

If only.

Note in Passing: Sharon Case (as Sharon), who has incredible chemistry with everyone in the cast, remains the best actor on daytime, hands-down, and Peter Bergman (as Jack) always seems to be having a blast.

Their enthusiasm can be - and is - contagious.

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~Where terminal daytime dramas go when the end is close