"We are unlike other shows where different writers and producers come in and change everything, and then the characters lose credibility with the audience by doing things they never would have done," says executive producer David Shaughnessy. "We've been so successful at keeping the characters absolutely true."

There are 32 regular characters on the show. Six to eight story lines are ongoing, with about three featured each day usually played along for three or four episodes before crossing over to alternative plots.

Despite the television industry's increasing emphasis on the youth market, "The Young and the Restless" will continue to weave younger characters into a multigenerational story mix.

Alden says experience has taught her "the best way to bring in young people is to make sure they are tied to some of our important existing characters."

"The main core characters are what keeps the show going," says Joshua Morrow, who plays the Newmans' son, Nicholas. "I don't think the show needs to get massively younger."

The 28-year-old actor got his job 10 years ago because "they basically needed someone to take their clothes off and get in fights and stuff." He's still filling that bill.

Jeanne Cooper, 75, who's played wealthy doyenne Katherine Chancellor since 1973, says of the show's longevity: "I've never had a marriage that lasted this long. This has been much kinder to me than marriage."