Y&R’s Greatest WTF Moments

By ETCanada.com Staff. 26 Mar 2018 9:51 AM

You have to admire “The Young And The Restless“. In a TV world where the daytime soaps are dying off or heading to the Internet, it remains. As the long-running show celebrates its 45th anniversary this week, “Y&R” continues to offer up crazy plot twists to a new generation of soap fans.

For those who weren’t alive for much of the show’s run, here are just a few of its best WTF moments from its 45-year history.

“Y&R” airs weekdays at 4:30 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on Global. You can also watch full episodes online.

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You're A Suspect! And You're A Suspect...

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Remember that WTF moment when Sally threw out her birth control pills and got pregnant from Snapper? Yeah, "The Young and The Restless" established itself early with a frank approach to sex — embodied best by '70s hunk Dr. Snapper (played by William Espy, then David Hasselhoff). He was always having girl troubles. Though maybe "trouble" is the wrong word...
Remember that time when a dying Vanessa pretended to throw herself off the balcony to frame Lorie? "What are you doing, Lorie? Ahhhh..." And it almost worked. Vanessa (K.T. Stevens) was better known early on as the Lady In The Veil due to some awful accident in her youth. She eventually had surgery and dropped the veil, but succumbed to a soap opera disease in 1981. Her plot to frame Lorie was one of her final gestures of hate.
The Moustache From Hell

Remember that episode where Victor Newman chained up Julie's boyfriend in the basement and made him watch them have sex on closed circuit TV? Man, that was messed up. Beginning as a short-term character in 1980, Victor (Eric Braeden) was so loved he stuck around. He eventually transformed into a more reasoned, likeable Victor and is today one of the most loved and enduring soap opera characters ever.
Remember that one where Katherine got the facelift? Actress Jeanne Cooper wanted to have some cosmetic surgery. So, in 1984, Y&R wrote it into a storyline, leading up to a stunning reveal. OK, maybe it wasn't THAT shocking, but it was a unique television moment in its day.
Victor vs. Jack
Remember the one where Katherine got a little too close to friend Joanne? It took soaps quite awhile to deal with homosexuality. Y&R gave it a (tentative) stab a few times in the early years. Katherine once got a little flirty with rival Jill when she was drunk. And in 1977, there was that storyline in which a troubled Katherine developed romantic feelings for her friend and companion Joanne (Kay Heberle). It only amounted to a touching of hands, but it was still groundbreaking for daytime TV.
Remember that one where Katherine discovered her archenemy Jill (Jess Walton) was actually her daughter? Yeah, it was quite a plot twist, sending Katherine into all manner of emotional turmoil. Fortunately, the 2003 revelation didn't patch up the animosity between these two ladies. Nothing beats a good, ol' fashioned soap rivalry.
Kath And Jill... Again
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When Katherine and Jill subsequently learned they actually WEREN'T mother and daughter, they marked the occasion with an epic food fight with a giant cake that played like a deleted scene from "Animal House".
Remember the one with the Clear Springs explosion? This 2007 storyline found most of the cast trapped after an explosion and building collapse. It was a bold move by the soap, and was publicized with a sexy ad campaign ('Rivalries fall. Heroes rise.'). But it didn't seem to help ratings all that much.
Crash Landing

Not knowing that Adam (Michael Muhney) was the one who faked the death of her baby, Sharon (Sharon Case) wound up marrying him. Flying back from the wedding, their plane crashed; Adam, thinking Sharon was near death, confessed, showing her a note proving her baby was alive. But then she hit her head and got amnesia, forgetting the bombshell that had just been dropped.
Cane's Dead... Or Is He?
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The citizens of Genoa City mourned the death of Cane Ashby (Daniel Goddard) when he jumped in front of a bullet meant for wife Lily and their twins. Turns out the person who was killed was actually Caleb, who was disguised as Cane, while Cane had been posing as Caleb.
She Stole WHAT?
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There have been a lot of babies conceived over the course of 45 years on "Y&R", but probably the oddest conception is that of Abby Newman, daughter of Ashley Abbott (Eileen Davidson), who stole Victor's sperm and artificially inseminated herself in order to bear his child.
You're A Suspect! And You're A Suspect...
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When Diane Jenkins is murdered, the list of suspects includes... everybody! It took six months for viewers to find out that it was Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) who killed Diane, although it was in self-defence.
Remember when there were a lot of soaps on TV? Though it's not the powerhouse it once was, Y&R is still around. And that's something. When it celebrated its 40th year on the air, "The Young And The Restless" was the top-rated soap around, a title it has held since 1988 — and continues to hold as it enters its 45th year on the air.

Y&R’s Greatest WTF Moments

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