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Y&R’s Michelle Stafford Takes A Look Back At Some Of Phyllis’ Most Memorable Moments

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This week, Michelle Stafford is back on-screen on The Young and the Restless coming home to play her signature soap opera role of Phyllis Summers.  To kick things off, Y&R and CBS.com put together another one of their look backs, where the actors sit in front of a screen and unrehearsed watch scenes of themselves as their character through the years.

In Michelle’s, she comments and watches her very first Y&R scene and its with Michael Damian (Danny), then another with Lauralee Bell(Christine).  Who could forger the Cricket/Phyllis rivalry over Danny?  Later, we fast forward in time to when Nick(Joshua Morrow) and Phyllis passion ignited and they began their relationship which came to a screeching halt sometime later, when Phyllis caught Nick kissing his ex Sharon (Sharon Case) in Paris.

What fun it was to see Stafford commenting on the footage and getting us all ready for her Phyllis to take on Genoa City again!

Watch the video below. Then let us know, are you excited to see how Michelle’s Phyllis gets into the thick of things?  What was your favorite Y&R storyline of the past featuring Michelle? Comment below.

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It’s so damn irritating with so many viewers and Canadian followers of MFTV that we are unable to view these videos.

hi GramS
You don’t have Youtube in Canada??
youtube is worldwide ..
it is a youtube video.

Well, I was rather partial to Gina Tognoni. However, that said, when did soaps stop announcing the recast? Why, when the recast for GH’s Nina, did we not hear a voice over saying,”The role of Nina will now be played by Cynthia Watros? Or when the recast took over for Y&R’s Phyllis, why did we not hear,”The role of Nina will now be played by Godzilla”? I don’t get it.

About right now I am feeling badly for Gina this is the problem with Social Media I sure hope she is not reading this stuff it’s like they are trying to erase her she gave the job 100 percent she is not the first one however that the original portrayer came back I can name tons of them but still feeling bad for her. I know Case wrote lively words about her and others did also

I agree. The cast and crew adored Gina. I really appreciated her ability
To play Phyllis without imitating Stafford and without chewing up the scenery like Godzilla of Genoa city.

But, Harry, my love—-you hit the nail on the head!! You inadvertently prove my point…Gina destroyed the stuff Phyllis was/is made of!! Gina could never imitate Michelle, the real Phyllis.
As much as I adore Gina, her Phyllis lacked complexity; that innately elusive quirk which comes so easily for Michelle.
There is an ocean between Gina and Michelle–Gina tried swimming , yet she never made it to the other shore.
I noticed that a different light shone on Phyllis ( Gina) in the last few episodes……The old Phyllis was pushing through, preparing us for Michelle….
….the PTB tried injecting Phyllis/Gina with Satan’s naughty potion—- didn’t work for me and it didn’t work for Gina. She never measured up to Michelle’s finess of working the audience with her no-good intentions. Gina was too sedate to be Phyllis.
I was used to Michelle’s portrayal of “spunk”—-
The nuNina ( GH) has a steep and rocky mountain to climb, as well. Here goes another bitter-taste-in-the-mouth. No VAVA-VOOM!!

Harry,
Where have you been? Missed you….
I want to make another point. I think that there are many actors/actresses who take over another’s role and become the “victors”, such as Billy Miller, as Billy Abbott…..JH and MM as Adam Newman—-they were both better than the original.
Sometimes, if we hold an antipathy for the actor/actress himself/herself, we will possibly not give said actors a fair shake. In my case I do love Gina—very much—so…..
Correction: finesse.❤️

@Harry……..On the positive side, at least she’s not chewing up Port Charles anymore!!! Unfortunately, GH still has more than its own share of scenery chompers, and NuNina is a bust….not much of an improvement over our much-loathed original version.

Harry, I think they only did that voice over thing when we didn’t know ahead of time about the recast. I guess they figured with all the news and hype about the switch, that it wasn’t needed, and would give it more of an element of surprise when it happened.

Okay Violet. Like when Joan Crawford filled in for her daughter Christina on The Doctors? Okay. I guess I was trying to be funny with the Godzilla comment. Thud!!!

Harry,
That was funny about Crawford, and to me she WAS Godzilla. So, take your thud back.

Well, that was fun..
Of course, I didn’t know all that, so was fun to see it..

I see Michelle put some red in her hair, a Phillis trait.

Talking of hair;
Michael.. my Gawd! I hope the makeup dept takes that awful rug/hairpiece/wig thing off his head..
it is very unnatural and obvious, not cool, just be natural.
Y&R is overkill with attempting to make the seniors look ridiculously young.

I hope Michelle puts her Phillis mean on..
(the new Nina at GH, I dunno.. time will tell.)

I’m really liking new Adam..

Wish I was enjoying the show again I just feel like I am being taken back in time disappointed but I guess the veteran actors are happy again .

Hi, SusieQ,
I did it again…..posted prematurely…
Yes, it was fun….love Michelle. She lights up my screen; always, regardless her role.
I hope the character keeps her “sort of middle ground”. Sometimes a bad girl, yet other times, a loving, albeit mysterious femme fatale—-something which seemed to have escaped Tognoni. Phyllis is finally home. I’m sure her storyline will bear delicious fruit, yet reap a stormy and intriging outcome. Bring back Ronan!! Who can the Chancellor link be? So many possibilities. Phillip? His son with Nina?
I cannot say the same for Tracy and Cane—what a stupid, boring story—I love seeing Tracy; but please get her away from Cane. He is so superfluous—-definitely not needed. I think he’s kept around waiting for a story to break—-help me, ye soap gods!! I FF whenever he darkens the stage—unfortunately, Tracy gets FFed with him.
I pray these two will not become an item. Sacrebleu!!

Oh, I’ve been out of town. When was Gina’s last day on screen?

Oh hell yes, that was terrific. would love to watch Michelle Stafford play Phyllis the rest of my life, and watching the scenes from the past, could do it all day every day. So happy you are back!!!!

Thank GOD the stars have lined up again! Now, lets get rid of that Billy Abbott impostor!

Hey Timmm,
I Think he’s the best Billy we’ve ever had, except for Billy Miller of course. I just think he’s strong enough to play opposite the likes of Victoria, Victor, Chloe, Adam or anyone else that seems to be on him for one thing or another.

Hey Timmm
Sorry, but I like J.T as Billy. I think, except for Billy Miller, he’s been the only one strong enough to stand up to Victoria, Victor, Phyllis, Adam, etc.characters. The other two were not as good. I hear Billy Miller is leaving GH, so maybe Y&R will woo him back, as they did Michelle Stafford. One can only hope, right?

Say it again, T. Billy Miller, albeit not the original BA, kicked butt as the charmer, the gorgeous, the lover, the indisputable good/bad boy Abbott❤️

I love love love her and her character. So happy you are back.

Sorry not impressed! Gina rocked it in this role for five years I was glued to Y&R only to see her acting skills which just a killer, awesome, great, and she rocked it everyday. The cast fell in love with her and so did many. I am going to miss Gina T dearly. The way these two dump idiots at CBS too away of the best actress of our generation is mind blowing. What are they thinking? How did the TOP executives at CBS let these two fools do this to Gina T. She was rocking the Y&R for five years. To bring back Stafford who said she SHE WOULD NEVER COME BACK and boy here is she is unbelievable. Back to boring on the Y&R it will NEVER be the same without Gina T. period.

CBS you messed up!

So thrilled that Michelle Stafford is back! She is one of a kind! I remember back in 2005, when I gave up on GH and switched to Y&R — I had to replace one addiction with another, didn’t I?!?! — I found Stafford’s acting to be so authentic and enjoyable. GH was lucky to have her for her tenure there, but it’s great to see her back in her iconic role.

PS: Gina Tognoni did an excellent job, as is typical of her acting as well!

Thank you, James….agree with you to the hilt. We understand “Phyllis” and each other, my friend.
I suppose Gina did make Phyllis her own, as many suggest. But, that’s the crux of the matter—-The true Phyllis; the mischievous, yet enigmatic Phyllis; the never-turn-your-back-on-me Phyllis; the love-you-forever Phyllis was lost on Gina. ….I am not disputing Gina’s acting skills; they are as sharp as a tack—-she simply never conquered the character without changing Phyllis’ basic nature.
Besides, compare the two. When Gina, as Phyllis walked into a room, I was not compelled to do a double-take!! Michelle is “Poetry In Motion”!! As my husband said, MS exudes sex-appeal ( LOL), unlike Gina—-
❤️

Celia! Thanks so much for your reply! You have made my day!

So good to see we feel the same about Ms. Stafford — just an incomparable talent. I like and agree with your assessment here. I also share the opinion of you and your husband regarding Ms. Stafford’s sex appeal!

Have a good one, Friend!

I am wondering what happened to our Michael Fairman blog. It took me forever to find anything familiar, and all formatted differently. Someone, please help me to maneuver around here, or is it easier than it looks?

Well, it’s certainly more time-consuming, Violet! Perhaps that is the method to the madness of so many more threads….to make us spend longer hours on this website! It can try one’s patience, that’s for sure, especially when it’s hectic in “realville!” I do try to stop in as often as possible, but sometimes it’s just not realistic to pour over the entire contents in order to keep in touch with one’s favorites! By the way, I did finally reply to your—and others—-responses on the “facial hair inquiry” subject. Hope it posts and gets through to your inbox! Later……

Would you like to know the real reason why she left gh ??? I feel like I have been driven back in time same old same old good luck ! Eric got his way still a washed up actor who is so intimated that he is what he is yesterday’s news they look like a bunch of wrinkling old people ! The old and the useless

I never doubt your astute insights, Kay! You are definitely on to something, although I also think that a certain someone didn’t appreciate the competition at GH from another nameless soap queen who has managed to grab both the spotlight and most of the show’s acting accolades. (Not that I care for her either….) There were also whispers that extreme displeasure with one of the current major storylines factored into the departure, and that makes sense, too, when you ponder the recent hot burner tale being told. Plus, I imagine that the almighty $, not to mention, regaining one’s former position of prominence, played into the decision, as well. As a GH fan who was quite gladdened by this development, the “whys” matter none to me—just the end result—although I do feel for Gina Tognoni’s considerable fanbase and the actress herself. She truly got a raw deal.

My best moment was when Phyllis stalked Cricket and Paul on their honeymoon, showing up everywhere they went, including putting little creatures in their bed.

Breaking News

Kim Kardashian, Emma Roberts and Marlene King Land ‘Calabasas’, a Soap in the Vein of the ‘O.C’ and ‘Beverly Hills 90210’, at Netflix

There has been lot of soapy projects coming to life and in the works of late, and now comes word that Kim Kardashian is executive producing a new series in development for Netflix called Calabasas.

After a bidding war last week, it looks like Netflix cemented the development deal from Kim, and her producing partners American Horror Story co-star Emma Roberts (pictured below) and Pretty Little Liars creators Marlene King and Alexandra Milchan.

The concept of Calabasas is based on the book If You Lived Here You’d Be Famous By Now by Via Bleidner.  King set to write the adaptation and will serve as the series showrunner.

Photo: JPI

According to Deadline, Calabasas is said to be in the vein of primetime young teen and young adult soaps the O.C. and Beverly Hills 90210. The story follows “Via, a 16-year-old sheltered Midwestern Catholic school girl whose world is turned upside down when her family moves and she’s forced to transfer to the fast world of Calabasas High where nothing is as it appears and where everyone is trying to be someone else. It’s a place where dreams come true … but not without complications and sometimes unforeseen consequences.”

Photo: Hulu

As fans of the Kardashians know, Kim and her family made the town of Calabasas a household and worldwide name. Kim being attached to this project helped make its sale. This marks her fourth project to sell since the writers and actors strikes concluded at the end of last summer.

So, would you be interested to see a teen soap called ‘Calabasas’ on Netflix from Kim and company? Comment below.

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General Hospital

Ellen Travolta Makes Another Return to General Hospital

If General Hospital’s Chase (Josh Swickard) and Brook Lynn’s (Amanda Setton) nuptials are on, you didn’t think Grandma Gloria Cerullo would miss out on the festivities, now did you?

Casting news from Soap Opera Digest reveals that Ellen Travolta is back taping scenes that will air the week of May 13th on the ABC daytime drama series.  When viewers learned that Carmine Cerullo, was also on his way back to Port Charles, now in the face and body of actor George Russo, it only made sense that Grandma Gloria would join Grandpa Cerullo. Look for them both mid-May.

As most people know, Ellen is the older sister to John Travolta. She first make appearances as Gloria back on GH in the mid-90s. Most recently, she returned to the Quartermaine mansion to meet up with daughter, Lois (Rena Sofer) and granddaughter Brook Lynn for Thanksgiving in Port Charles in 2023.  Michael Fairman TV interviewed Rena Sofer and Amanda Setton late last year where they shared what it had been liking working with Ellen, who remains very close to Sofer in real-life.

Photo: JPI

Amanda shared: “We fell in love immediately. What’s crazy is my maternal grandmother was Grandma Gloria. I had her till I was 30 and we were so close. She was really like a second mom to me. So, when I got this script and I’m reading “Grandma Gloria”, it was so bizarre. And then in meeting Ellen, she looks like my grandma – same haircut, same high cheekbones. It really did feel like I had a few days with my grandma. It was very, very special for me. Ellen is sweet, prepared, professional, talented and funny to boot. So, it was one of the best weeks I’ve had at work. I hope she comes back. My fingers are crossed.”

Photo: ABC

Now, we can’t imagine Brook Lynn and Chase’s wedding day to be smooth sailing, in fact, expect just the opposite, but could it be Grandma Gloria who is ultimately the hero or the calming voice of reason for any pre-wedding jitters? Stay tuned.

So, glad to know that Ellen Travolta will be back for Brook Lynn and Chase’s big day? Comment below.

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Days Of Our Lives

Kristian Alfonso Returns to Days of our Lives for Tribute to The Late Bill Hayes

After a few weeks of Days of our Lives fans being upset that Kristian Alfonso (Hope Williams) was not on the first list of initial returns for Doug Williams’ funeral and episodes honoring his portrayer, the late Bill Hayes, comes word that the popular star is back and taping scenes.

Kristian reported to work on the Peacock streaming soap opera on Monday, April 22nd. She shared how important it is for her to be back for this particular return to the show that made her a household name.

“My return is very bittersweet,” Alfonso told TV Insider,  “because it is the end of an era with Bill gone. So to return to Days is very sad. I am appreciative that they came to me to include me in their series of shows honoring Doug and I’m very happy to see everyone, but I’m entering the studio with a heavy heart.”

Photo: JPI

It was back in 1983 that Kristian first debuted as Doug’s daughter, and now 41 years later looking back at it, and her time with Bill Hayes is very emotional for her.

“I remember my first scenes with him/ He was very loving, very welcoming. That he was very talented and an incredible actor and an icon, that all goes without saying, but my personal relationship and my working relationship with Bill, it was home,” expressed Alfonso. “Doing the scenes with Bill, I felt like I was with my dad because there was so much warmth and reality.”

Photo: JPI

Alfonso did express some deep regret, in that she had wanted to work with Bill Hayes during her last appearance on the soap back in 2023, but according to the iconic actress, there was something in the works but it never materialized.  “I’m sad that I did not get the opportunity to do the storyline that Ron (Carlivati, head writer) had planned/ It was great; we returned to Salem to reunite with our families and I would have had father/daughter scenes with Billy. What Ron had written was beautiful and emotional and it was a fantastic story. I was 100 percent for it and the fans would have loved it.”

Photo: JPI

As for if Bo (Peter Reckell) and Hope will be back on-screen together anytime soon, Kristian would only say, “What I will say is don’t give up hope.” Doug’s passing and memorial episodes will stream later this year come late November into December.

So, are you happy to learn that Kristian Alfonso is back taping episodes surrounding Doug’s memorial episodes? Comment below.

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