The Bold and the Beautiful Watching The Bold and the Beautiful

[cws]

I was skeptical when DD left an established character with a lot of history behind to go play Bill Spencer but I think it worked out well for him.

As for Massimo, I loved the character. I thought he was a great addition to the show but I think Joseph Mascolo will always be remembered primarily for just one character. And that’s probably as it should be.

The problem I had with Bill, Jr. Is not with Don Diamont, but with Brad Bell. It was a total re-write that came out of nowhere.

 

[Daniel Avery]

During contract negotiations, if an actor refuses to take a pay cut on his or her per-episode salary, the producers will often cut their "guarantee"--that is, the guaranteed number of episodes in which the actor will appear, which accomplishes the same goal of saving money for the show. The show tries not to exceed an actor's guarantee because they have to pay the actor extra for the extra appearances. The show might have cut his guarantee once they realized he was not going to be front-burner for the next few months, or he might have simply asked for more time off while other stories are playing out.

Longer-term actors (or those with better relationships with the producers) might get more leeway in WHEN those appearances happen--that is, they might be able to negotiate a longer vacation and have the show write around the actor's unavailability. Of course that will hinge on whether their character is needed. In Don D's case, it might be a good chance for him to take a longer period away from the show as the show is focused so much on Sheila and Deacon right now. If, for example he was guaranteed seven episodes per month (7x12=84 episodes per year) but took two months off for a vacation or another project, then his 84 episodes would occur over a ten-month period, putting him onscreen more often than he otherwise would have been (about 8.5 episodes per month versus seven). A guarantee works both ways--he gets paid for those episodes whether he appears in them or not--so it's in the show's best interest to get their money's worth by having him (or any other actor) appearing in those episodes.

Several years ago on Y&R they had a situation where an actress (Melody Thomas Scott) had already fulfilled her guarantee well before the end of her contract, and the show's budget was being run so strictly that they had to abruptly write her character out of some major, front-burner stories. Well, they didn't HAVE to; they could have just continued to write her into episodes and just paid the actress for those extra appearances. But money was apparently so tight that they sacrificed quality of storylines to the Almighty Budget. MTS sat out a few months (IIRC) and waited for her next contract cycle to begin before the show was willing/able to write her character back in...all while the fans were up in arms over her sudden disappearance. So these per-episode guarantees are VERY important to the bean-counters behind the scenes--sometimes more important than story considerations.

 

[Monzo]

Why doesn't Steffy say to Finn during breakfast: "By the way, my aunt is your sister."

This would be the perfect time to introduce Diana. Is she crazy like her mother or a powerhouse like her father? I would prefer a strong personality like Massimo. Could she run the Marone empire? Maybe she would be the right fit for Bill. Katie could get jealous if she sees Bill in love with a woman who's not Brooke.

 

[Emelee]

Why doesn't Steffy say to Finn during breakfast: "By the way, my aunt is your sister."

This would be the perfect time to introduce Diana. Is she crazy like her mother or a powerhouse like her father? I would prefer a strong personality like Massimo. Could she run the Marone empire? Maybe she would be the right fit for Bill. Katie could get jealous if she sees Bill in love with a woman who's not Brooke.

I personally don't think that kid is Sheila's. I think she kidnapped a kid to pass off as hers with Massimo so he wouldn't have her thrown in jail.

I'd rather see Mary Warwick back, to bond with her brother and warn him about what kind of mother Sheila was to her.

 

[Monzo]

I hoped the Finnigans would be become the new Avants aka a family with strong personalities, but there's nothing. I felt nothing when Jack confessed to Li, same with Finn. Li is a stranger and I still don't like the way Finn trashes his adoptive parents behind their backs, because all of his life he has thought about who his birth parents are. And that exicted look when he was getting to know who his birth father would be was a slap in the face for his adoptive parents.

 

[Monzo]

Were Ridge and Brooke together when she allowed Deacon to seduce her? Ridge said something like that, but I'm not sure if he's rewriting history. Wasn't he with Taylor at that time? Who was dating Brooke back then, maybe Whip as an alibi, so nobody would get curious about her and Deacon.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Were Ridge and Brooke together when she allowed Deacon to seduce her? Ridge said something like that, but I'm not sure if he's rewriting history. Wasn't he with Taylor at that time? Who was dating Brooke back then, maybe Whip as an alibi, so nobody would get curious about her and Deacon.

I don’t think they were together at the time but I could be wrong on that one. I’m pretty sure he was with Taylor instead but it gets confusing sometimes remembering the history with these characters.

 

[Emelee]

Were Ridge and Brooke together when she allowed Deacon to seduce her? Ridge said something like that, but I'm not sure if he's rewriting history. Wasn't he with Taylor at that time? Who was dating Brooke back then, maybe Whip as an alibi, so nobody would get curious about her and Deacon.

Brooke was married to Thorne when she decided she wanted Ridge back. Ridge was married to Taylor but Brooke decided to seduce him away from Taylor. She failed, Ridge turned Brooke down to stay with Taylor. So Brooke was feeling sad and decided to focus on getting Bridget to leave Deacon. In that process, Brooke and Deacon felt a strong passion between them and ended up sleeping together a number of times. Brooke got pregnant and quickly married Whip Jones to pass of the kid as his. But the truth came out. Bridget divorced Deacon and Brooke decided to raise Hope alone. Brooke and Ridge got back together 2 years later when Taylor was presumed dead.

 

[DallasFanForever]

And the moral of that story is that Brooke always lands on her feet.

Or back, depending on how you look at it I guess.

 

[Rove]

Bridget divorced Deacon

Another legacy character completely forgotten about. Brad Bell has a knack for this. I wish he would realize the importance of these legacy characters and get them back. I'd prefer to see Jennifer Finnigan reprise the role alongside Jacob Young as Rick. Since they currently have Deacon back I would love to see Bridget return. And what's happened to Brooke's other snots?

 

[Daniel Avery]

No leading lady "of a certain age" wants their character's adult children around too much, since they serve as a visual reminder to the audience just how old the character would have to be, even if she doesn't look that old. I could name a dozen such instances off the top of my head where a female character's adult kids are banished from the show as she wants to continue to present herself as being child-bearing age. Late-in-life pregnancies are often written in just to reinforce the gaslighting of the audience--isn't she already a grandmother? Why is she having a baby now? Add in the extreme SORAS-ing that B&B excels at and having the leading lady's kids all in one room ends up looking ridiculous.

As I said this is not unique to Brooke, so I'm not bashing her in particular. When a leading lady stays in her role for an extended period of time, the uneven, rapid aging of her onscreen kids ends up making the actress's own age come into question.

 

[Monzo]

Suddenly everyone is talking about Taylor as if she were in the other room, even though she has been on another continent for years.

For the fact that Liam doesn't want to control his wife, he only thinks about how he can control her.

The only difference between Bill and Deacon is money. If Bill hadn't had a rich father, he would have ended the same way like Deacon. At least Deacon has only tried to kill one person so far, while Bill has a few more. When it comes to alcohol money makes all the difference. A rich man like Bill drinks too much because he is strong, a poor man drinks because he is weak - at least in the black and white B&B world.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Suddenly everyone is talking about Taylor as if she were in the other room, even though she has been on another continent for years.

I always loved this about soaps. It’s the oldest trick in the book but very effective. Let’s have everyone start mentioning someone in passing to foreshadow their return. Of course it worked much better in the pre-internet age when unless we read the monthly Digest we had no clue the character was returning.

 

[Monzo]

I don't like the idea of seeing Ridge and Taylor recasts as a couple, on the other hand, I was never thrilled by the chemistry between Thorsten Kaye and Katherine Kelly Lang. It was the kind of good chemistry KKL had with every love interest, but there was only one magic chemistry for her: Ronn Moss. KKL and Sean Kanan still got a sexy chemistry, so I'm not against a Brooke & Deacon reunion.

 

[DallasFanForever]

I don't like the idea of seeing Ridge and Taylor recasts as a couple

Nothing against either actor/actress but there’s no way I can ever buy them as Taylor and Ridge. I just won’t be able to get vested in them if it’s not Hunter and Ronn

I was never thrilled by the chemistry between Thorsten Kaye and Katherine Kelly Lang.

Me neither. Again, it’s not Thorsten’s fault but they could never have the same chemistry as KKL and RM. There’s just too much history there.

KKL and Sean Kanan still got a sexy chemistry, so I'm not against a Brooke & Deacon reunion.

I’m not against it either. I’m kind of tired of Bridge at this point so I think a shakeup would be fine. I’m really not a big Deacon fan but I will say that I did enjoy him with Brooke. They were an exciting couple, whereas I haven’t felt an excitement about Bridge in quite awhile.

 

[Emelee]

If I were Brad Bell, I'd have...
Brooke with Deacon
Ridge with Caroline, despite the age difference
Quinn with Bill
Taylor with Thorne
Steffy in a love triangle with Liam & Finn
Jack with Sheila
Thomas with Hope
Zende with Sasha
Katie with Carter

 

[Rove]

Thorsten Kaye and Katherine Kelly Lang

I'll give them (writers) points for trying but there is zero chemistry between Thorsten and Katherine. Unfortunately for Thorsten another actor played the role of Ridge for 25 years. Why would you even think of recasting such an iconic character? The heart and soul was ripped out of B&B when Susan and Ronn retired from the series.

I happened to catch an episode yesterday and once again that couple were back on again...Liam and Hope. Screen hogs. And for the love of God can the writers please make some attempt to have the characters working for a living? It's become a farce that everyone has all this time sitting around talking...and talking...and talking.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Quinn with Bill

I find this one very intriguing. I can see this working. I think there’s possible chemistry there.

The heart and soul was ripped out of B&B when Susan and Ronn retired from the series.

The show has never been the same. And it never will be again.

And for the love of God can the writers please make some attempt to have the characters working for a living? It's become a farce that everyone has all this time sitting around talking...and talking...and talking.

This bothers me as well. It’s not realistic, even for the rich characters. The characters used to come off looking so driven and passionate about their careers and livelihoods, and now that is sadly not the case for the most part. There’s very little talk of business anymore.

 

[Rove]

There’s very little talk of business anymore.

Is Forrester Creations a publicly listed company? I don't believe it is but if it was I'd love to see an outsider swoop in and take ownership while the Forrester and Logan families were partaking in small talk. I thinks its time for Brad Bell to bring in a new family.

 

[Emelee]

I find this one very intriguing. I can see this working. I think there’s possible chemistry there.

They had terrific chemistry when they had a short reunion a number of years ago when Quinn was new on B&B. They were quite wild together in the bedroom. Wyatt's parents have it.