The Young and the Restless: Story Line Makes it Best Soap on TV

I have been a big fan of The Young & Restless soap opera since almost the beginning. Y&R made its debut in 1973, when I was just 18. I remember trying to catch the show during my lunch break where I worked. The one good thing about soaps is that if you miss an episode, you can watch a few days later and catch up on everything.

Y&R is centered around 2 rival families, the Newman's and the Abbott's, in the town of Genoa City, Wisconsin. Victor Newman, played by Eric Braeden, is a ruthless business man who is used to getting his way and will stop at nothing to make sure he does. Victor is head of Newman Enterprises and nothing to him, not even family, is more important than his company. His business competitor and rival is the Abbott family. The Abbott family used to own Jabot Cosmetics but lost it due to some bad business deals. Jack Abbott, played by Peter Bergman, son of Jabot Cosmetics founder John Abbott, is Victor's worst enemy. There is nothing Victor wouldn't do to ruin Jack and vise versa. Victor is married to Nikki Reed, played by Melody Thomas Scott, and they have been married and divorced twice. Victor met Nikki when she worked at a strip club when she was very young. Victor took her under his wing and transformed her into a classy lady. In between their marriages, Victor and Nikki were both married to other people. Nikki was once married to Victor's enemy, Jack Abbott and Victor was once married to Jack's sister, Ashley. But through it all Victor and Nikki always come back to each other.