B&B kicks off murder mystery storyline

[Daniel Avery]

I have no idea what will happen, but I think we need to wait a while longer to see if there is more to this than we've seen in a week's worth of shows. I have a feeling there is a lot more to this than a simple hit-and-run.

 

[DallasFanForever]

I really do hope there is more to it and ur right but I’m not gonna get my hopes too high. However, we still need to find out what Vinny was really doing walking along that highway at night all by himself and maybe once that is answered then we will know more? I have a feeling that’s the key to unraveling this whole thing.

 

[Monzo]

This could have been a better story if Flo was was the victim. Liam killing his soon to be sister-in-law and Bill covering for it would have had much conflict like when Taylor killed Darla or Brooke "killed" Macy. Looking back both car accidents appeared much better than Vinny's death.

 

[Emelee]

To save this story, I want to see that someone spied Liam hitting Vinny, then snook up after the Spencers took off and actually killed Vinny.

By the way, who bailed Vinny out of jail? Vinny himself with his drug dealing money or a mysterious person who wanted him out and free to be killed?

 

[Rove]

They killed Vinny? A character with few appearances? Lame.

 

[DallasFanForever]

Are the scenes between Bill and Liam since the accident supposed to be making me laugh? I feel bad for saying this but I’ve been cracking up all week. They are such polar opposites, one trying to cover it up while the other is almost in tears and hyperventilating. When Bill told Liam to forget all about his saying he hit a dead animal story I completely lost it!!

 

[Rove]

Are the scenes between Bill and Liam since the accident supposed to be making me laugh? I feel bad for saying this but I’ve been cracking up all week.

I don't think Brad Bell would be pleased with your critique. I believe the episodes you've been watching will air here in Australia next week. I'll take a look and see if I suffer the same reaction.

 

[Monzo]

Isn't it obvious that Liam once again is innocent? Just like when he thought he shot Bill. Maybe the real killer will be like in that "Who shot Bill?" storyline some once major character, Deacon comes to mind. Like Taylor back then he wants to protect his child, because Vinny caused Hope pain by switching the results.

 

[Rove]

Are the scenes between Bill and Liam since the accident supposed to be making me laugh?

I've caught some early stuff involving Vinny. The scenes between Liam and Bill are comedy gold. Really bad acting and directing.

 

[Monzo]

Didn't Ten used to air B&B episodes (a few hours) ahead of the US including a bonus scene? Why is Australia suddenly a week behind CBS?

 

[Emelee]

I've caught some early stuff involving Vinny. The scenes between Liam and Bill are comedy gold. Really bad acting and directing.

This is a big problem with the soaps these days. The loyal fans praise the actors for "knocking it out of the park". The soap mags have put them as performers of the week.

But........... I agree with you. It isn't very good. Script, directing & acting is not impressive.

I don't watch B&B very often. I often only read spoilers and recaps. I tuned in last week when it was on telly and all I could think was "that's bad acting!!".

Most actors appeared stiff. Almost robotic. No real feeling behind the words. Silly grinning and shocked reaction that was laughable at best. I found myself thinking that Scott Clifton was the only one that was animated and natural. The others even sounded strange, as though there was something slightly off with the audio on my TV.

 

[Daniel Avery]

The soap mags have put them as performers of the week.

The soap magazines have always been rather sycophantic toward the soaps they cover, but in recent years they have gotten much worse---and for obvious reasons. With so few soaps left, the soap mags "cheerlead" everything because they are desperate for material, and can't afford to make any producers or networks mad at them for writing anything less than glowing reviews. It's like two passengers in a life raft helping one another patch the holes to keep it from sinking.

 

[Monzo]

I read Soap Opera Digest frequently and I'm pretty sure Scott Clifton & Don Diamont will be performers of the week soon, also whole mystery will be editor's choice as being the best. SOD also got this thumps up / thumps down section and there's so many up stuff that should be down, but they can't put thumps down all the time. SOD fights for its life, so I get why they act they way they do, but I'm not happy with Daytime Emmys. Don Diamont is still waiting for his first Emmy nomination and I wouldn't be surprised if he's going to make it this time.

I got a feeling about 80 percent of Emmy voters don't watch soaps on an everyday basis. I remember B&B winning best drama when they submit clips Stephanie doing charity work. That might have been two or three episodes out of 250 and the rest of the year was pretty bad, but B&B still won, because voters haven't got a clue about what's going on. Everytime Heather Tom suddenly got a storyline and Katie cries a lot I know this is for her Emmy reel and we won't see much of her for the rest of the year, because she has delievered. Then when she gets nominated I think their plan worked once again while other actors who are really on their shows get snubbed.

 

[Daniel Avery]

They've tried for years to tweak rules about the blue-ribbon panels (the groups judging the Emmy submissions), but you are right---it's highly unlikely the panelists view the shows daily. They would have to know ahead of time who was going to be nominated in order to watch their work for the year leading up to the ceremonies! If you purposely picked people who have already been watching a certain soap, it stands to reason that they might be biased in favor of those actors over other actors on other soaps. The blue-ribbon panelists are typically working in 'the business' (cast or crew) but not in the area they judge (for example: a lighting designer might vote for Best Song, or an actress for Best Animated Series....but an actor will never vote in an acting category, writer in a writing category, etc.). Soaps have insane hours, so it would be very, very hard to find anyone in those fields who have critically watched all four soaps with any regularity. it really is a problem that can't be solved.

 

[Monzo]

The soap magazines have always been rather sycophantic toward the soaps they cover, but in recent years they have gotten much worse.

I read previews and spoilers in Soap Opera Digest which contain interviews with actors, but do these interviews actually happen? To be honest I think some soap actors don't seem to be very smart, so it's hard for me to imagine they are able to give accurate answers knowing what to spoil or not to spoil about a storyline they filmed weeks or even months ago. Anybody got guesses or inside knowledge about this?

 

[Daniel Avery]

Years ago, writers for the soap magazines would mention within the interview how/where the interview was being conducted (for example, mention they met X actor in their dressing room at the studio, or maybe at a restaurant) in order to "set the stage" and to provide some dimension to the article. The writer would typically bring along a photographer to take a few candid photos at the time of the interview to give it a bit more authenticity, as well. As the magazines' fortunes fell, they had to dispense with all that as a lot of 'interviews' were eventually not done in person; the material for the story would be gathered via telephone or a list of questions submitted and returned via email. Instead of the mags having photos they took (and copyrighted) to accompany the story, they have to rely on material provided by the network or maybe public-domain stuff like instagram.

If a writer just sends in a list of questions to an actor, the press relations department can actually write the answers and send them back, making sure no big storyline spoilers are revealed. These people also are charged with keeping the magazine editors "in line," maintaining that fine line between providing information and not providing too much information. I would not be surprised if entire articles were the product of the network's PR department, written and offered to the magazine for publication in much the same way businesses write "press releases" that newspapers will often publish verbatim.

 

[Rove]

The others even sounded strange, as though there was something slightly off with the audio on my TV.

May have something to do with Covid-19 social distancing rules during filming and post production.

 

[Monzo]

As the magazines' fortunes fell, they had to dispense with all that as a lot of 'interviews' were eventually not done in person; the material for the story would be gathered via telephone or a list of questions submitted and returned via email.

Thanks for these amazing informations! There's something else I'm curious about: Why do some actors never talk to soap press? Susan Flannery is the perfect example for it. I guess if People magazine would have wanted to do a feature she'd said yes, but to soap press she said no. Sadly, I got no example for a B&B actor right now, but there have been other soap actors, Billy Miller for example, who talked to soap press for years, but then they suddenly stopped. I've always been curious about why some actors say no from the beginning or others suddenly decide to ignore soap press. And do soap press editors really know what's going on behind the soap scenes or do they only act as if they know all gossip?

 

[Emelee]

Thanks for these amazing informations! There's something else I'm curious about: Why do some actors never talk to soap press? Susan Flannery is the perfect example for it. I guess if People magazine would have wanted to do a feature she'd said yes, but to soap press she said no. Sadly, I got no example for a B&B actor right now, but there have been other soap actors, Billy Miller for example, who talked to soap press for years, but then they suddenly stopped. I've always been curious about why some actors say no from the beginning or others suddenly decide to ignore soap press. And do soap press editors really know what's going on behind the soap scenes or do they only act as if they know all gossip?

Susan has always been private and seldom done interviews. She always wanted to separate her worklife and private life. She's done a number of interviews over the years. I have saved the clippings and I have seen/heard the video/audio clips. She didn't feel like talking so much about the plots as she wanted the work to speak for itself, plus she couldn't talk about what's ahead (spoilers), so she never really saw the purpose of doing lots of interviews.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Well, Susan Flannery is an easy example. When she was rising in Hollywood she was almost certainly told by bosses that if she came out as a lesbian, her career would be over. So while it was an open secret in Hollywood, it was never written about or allowed to become fodder for discussion among the rest of the country. Over time she likely got used to keeping her personal life out of interviews, and publicists likely had nodding agreements with the press to gloss over her personal life. Times obviously changed and it is not a career killer to come out of the closet, but people who have spent most of their lives being discreet about such things aren't likely to suddenly 'get their freak on' and broadcast their private lives to the world.

There are many other actors who shy away (or totally avoid) the press because they value their privacy and don't want people to profit off their private lives. Just because they perform on TV doesn't mean they owe anything to the public other than a good performance. Yes, many actors are by nature gregarious and (maybe) attention-seeking, but it's not universal. When an actor is young and single, it might not matter as much if they talk about their lives to the press. But once they acquire a spouse, kids, etc. they (like everyone else) develops a need to protect them from possible harm. Let's face it: some press outlets have no qualms about profiting off the misfortune or scandals (genuine or made up) of the subjects they cover, and this causes a lot of mistrust of the press. If you have a friend who makes up gossip about you or your family, you start to avoid that friend.

Some people think they can use the press to their advantage, while others understand that the press can use YOU to their advantage. So engaging with the press is often a double-edged sword that some choose not to handle.