Episode 75 Morals

In plain English, these are the morals from Episode 75:

Bowled-Face Lies

Let me say right up front that I have no special desire to see the black characters beat each other up. I am simply following up on the line that is being pushed on the show, just as Episode 65 did with the Danny/Cricket matter, which was pushing a similar, very ugly line. I didn't create these situtations--I simply wanted an outlet to discuss the line being pushed. I think to be racially equitable, one must neither pursue certain storylines nor exempt people from certain storylines just on the basis of color. If this can happen, it can happen to either race, and in this case it's happening on the show to a black couple. So that's why I pursued that.

This story has multiple headers, but is really just one story. I wanted to point out partly that Neil's rage seems to put him on the edge of violence, and spousal abuse is a worthy topic. We saw it superficially touched on in the plotline with April, and there it ended in death, too. But I thought not enough was done with it. And it is certainly an important enough topic to bother repeating. I'd actually like on the show to see it end with Neil getting help--he doesn't have to die. (It isn't even clear he dies in my AWO story--I left it deliberately ambiguous so readers could make their own conclusion.) Kristoff is a fine actor and he oughtn't suffer just to make this storyline--but having a "bad guy" thing on his record would make him more interesting. How would Victor deal with him? Would Victor even find out?

I know from reading the newsgroup and talking around that many viewers are hugely upset at the way Dru has been portrayed as equally guilty as Neil. I just don't think it's so; it's not like he even left her any choice. It's not like he's been even remotely reasonable. But the writing on the show has continued to allow Neil to get the conversational upper hand--even to the point of making Dru apologize repeatedly. It's sickening to see her reduced to this. It is not in Dru's nature. This story I wrote was intended to highlight how completely out of control Neil is, while how mild Dru's "lie" was.

The ending tag about the daydream was my way of observing that Bill Bell is plenty bright enough to structure a story like this. By framing it this way, I was trying to say it was within his grasp and not just something that "only I could think up". What stands between the show and a story like this seems to be not skill, but the mere desire to have a plot of this kind. Y&R done some great stories before so I know Bill Bell's got it in him to go there. It's even true that a lot of the techniques I used in writing this story were learned by watching the expert way that Neil is written for the show.

There's nothing wrong with the Neil character per se--he really gets under the audience's skin, and that's ok. What's frustrating is the context in which Neil is perceived.. Olivia knows enough about Neil to know she'd be just as unhappy as Dru, yet she's still in love with Neil. Dru knows enough about life on the streets to deal with someone as pushy as Neil, but she chooses not to. Victoria Rowell has enormous energy as an actress--don't return her to the same old tired tears that women on soaps seem forever relegated to. Let her go head to head with Neil at his level. Let her fight back. Have her stand up to his rhetoric. If he fights, fight back. If he tricks her, trick back. They can be equals with no loss of drama. She need not act as inferior. The sponsors' target audience is women. Why not satisfy them? Show them a woman doesn't have to be a doormat. I think you can still make a dramatic show even if you make some of the female characters equals of the males. It doesn't even have to be all of them: Let Trisha Dennison be a wimp. Let Tim Reid be a wimp. It can happen. But don't have all the women be wimps. That's too easy, too unfair, and too boring.

That's all for Episode 75's morals. Don't miss Episode 76 and its morals!
If you missed any older episodes, see the index.