The Bold and the Beautiful Watching The Bold and the Beautiful

[kenneth]

I am currently watching the first year on youtube and have just reached the point where Caroline is out on her own after Ridge and her father hurt her.

The sets where so lavish back then, the stories crips and to the point with flashbacks limited. The Logans are kind of a dull bunch but that should change when the families starts to interact.

Best part is how much of this I do not remember so it is like falling for the show all over again after losing all interest about a decade back.

 

[Brian Kinney]

The stories go fast?!? Apparently, John McCook never watched a full week of the soap, otherwise he would know that the stories are anything but fast-going.

But John McCook is almost 80. I'm almost 60 and think everything is faster than it was with 30. My niece isn't 20 yet and thinks everything is sooo sloooow. That's life and not exactly the same as storytelling on TV. But he probably doesn't watch it on TV, he is working in it and that should be considered. Imagine you have to learn so many lines each day. I barely remember what I've eaten two days ago. I watched last year when Sheila returned for a few days. It wasn't as slow as I remembered it from more than ten years ago and I was surprised that McCook's Eric had much more to do (thanks to the Quinn character?) than in the past where I watched it often.

Disagree with @kenneth about the look: last year the scenes between Sheila's son and that slut Steffie were filmed in Europe and looked beautiful, in the late 80s and 90s they barely had any location shoots on TB&TB and I noticed that in contrast to UK or German soaps who always had them (Australia probably too, certainly Neighbors). A soap where every episode is filmed in studios always looked a bit claustrophobic to me. I never understood why productions of US daily soaps, with their decades long history didn't invest in buying studio lots to shoot regularly outside.

 

[Alexis]

Edit, wrong thread!

 

[Monzo]

B&B is the only soap where I sometimes wonder what certain characters do when they are off-screen and especially off-screen as a single man. Bill always seems horny, so what does he do when neither Brooke nor Katie want him? Does he use escorts? What did Ridge do when neither Brooke nor Taylor wanted him and he left town to do soul searching? Was he celibate for months? And what about Liam, who always has to be in a relationship? What is he doing now? Does he use Tinder and has one night stands all the time?

 

[DallasFanForever]

Bill always seems horny, so what does he do when neither Brooke nor Katie want him?

He calls Lauren Fenmore or Tracy Abbott to talk

What did Ridge do when neither Brooke nor Taylor wanted him and he left town to do soul searching?

He would go to Caroline’s grave and ask her why she left him to deal with these two all these years.

Was he celibate for months?

I’m going to tentatively guess ‘probably not.’

And what about Liam, who always has to be in a relationship? What is he doing now? Does he use Tinder and has one night stands all the time?

He should definitely give it a go. This could actually make for a much better storyline than what he’s currently doing in my opinion.

 

[Emelee]

B&B is the only soap where I sometimes wonder what certain characters do when they are off-screen and especially off-screen as a single man. Bill always seems horny, so what does he do when neither Brooke nor Katie want him? Does he use escorts? What did Ridge do when neither Brooke nor Taylor wanted him and he left town to do soul searching? Was he celibate for months? And what about Liam, who always has to be in a relationship? What is he doing now? Does he use Tinder and has one night stands all the time?

Bill is probably on his yacht with a 30 year old model who is in it for some fun, just like he is.

Ridge was actually never away doing any soul searching. He was with Bill and the FBI guy in a small room watching Sheila's every move, listening to her every word. Waiting for ammunition to use against her. So he was probably taking care of his business on his own in between shifts.

Liam is likely still nagging about everything to Wyatt in between video chatting with Kelly and demanding that Steffy sits in on every call. Then he takes care of his business alone, with help of photos he has of Steffy on his phone.

 

[Monzo]

Does anyone expect Eric to die on the runway? You never know, although I don't think John McCook will leave. He might want to stay on the show as long as possible.

The only interesting thing about Lauren's visit would be meeting Sheila. Will that happen?

 

[Emelee]

Does anyone expect Eric to die on the runway? You never know, although I don't think John McCook will leave. He might want to stay on the show as long as possible.

The only interesting thing about Lauren's visit would be meeting Sheila. Will that happen?

1. I really don't think Eric/John is going anywhere. Miracle cure by Christmas?

2. Lauren & Sheila will absolutely NOT meet. They won't even discuss Sheila, because on Y&R, Sheila is dead. Gone and buried. When it comes to Sheila, the two soaps do different storylines. In B&B land, Sheila never had plastic surgery to look like Phyllis. She never had twins Ryder & Daisy. And she never died. That's just Y&R/Genoa City. So no Y&R character crossing over to B&B will meet Sheila.

 

[Emelee]

I really wish B&B would bring in former characters as guest stars like the other soaps do. Eric is giving his last collection and he didn't ask his other children to attend?

If everyone finds out about Eric's diagnosis, B&B MUST bring in Thorne, Kristen, Felicia, Rick and Bridget. At least for one episode. Anything else would be silly.

 

[Monzo]

Lauren & Sheila will absolutely NOT meet. They won't even discuss Sheila, because on Y&R, Sheila is dead. Gone and buried. When it comes to Sheila, the two soaps do different storylines. In B&B land, Sheila never had plastic surgery to look like Phyllis. She never had twins Ryder & Daisy. And she never died. That's just Y&R/Genoa City. So no Y&R character crossing over to B&B will meet Sheila.

But last Halloween, Lauren came to visit and rejoiced with Eric that Sheila had been killed by a bear. Personally, I think Eric told Lauren that Sheila is still alive, but that she decided not to let that affect her current visit, but that's just fan fiction. B&B can suddenly present a whole different explanation.

I don't know exactly why Esther had to cross over but it's interesting to see her on this soap.

 

[Emelee]

But last Halloween, Lauren came to visit and rejoiced with Eric that Sheila had been killed by a bear. Personally, I think Eric told Lauren that Sheila is still alive, but that she decided not to let that affect her current visit, but that's just fan fiction. B&B can suddenly present a whole different explanation.

I don't know exactly why Esther had to cross over but it's interesting to see her on this soap.

I guess it was ok to discuss that Sheila was dead. No matter how it happened. But with her being alive and with Deacon, another crossover character, I highly doubt that will ever be mentioned on Y&R. Sheila is just plain dead there.

It's silly, in my opinion. Everything else matches between the two soaps. But regarding Sheila, we're just gonna pretend we know nothing.

What is annoying on B&B though is that Sheila speaks as if Finn is her only child. Even on B&B alone, that is not true. It's time to bring in Mary Warwick again!

 

[Emelee]

B&Bs writing is a joke. Pretty much everyone knows Eric is dying but Ridge refuses to tell Zende. He told Thomas and Steffy. Brooke told Hope. But DON'T TELL ZENDE!! Ridge then caved and told Carter because he considers Carter family. But he's still refusing to tell Zende.

And if Carter is family, why isn't Taylor? Why can't she know either?

Where are Eric's other children in this? B&B just don't bother with them. Not even a one-sided phone call where you can't see or hear the other person on the line. But repetative dialogue, that's fine.

So Eric had his grand finale line, but now he's designing more gowns?

And since John McCook is not even leaving B&B, why even bother stretching this storyline?

I honestly feel that ChatGPT could write better scripts.

 

[Monzo]

I often wonder if it is the writers' intention to upset viewers, especially long-time viewers who know the history of the show. According to the motto: As long as you are upset about the plot, you are still interested in the show.

So much about Eric's illness doesn't make sense, including the fact that Eric doesn't consider that someone has revealed his illness to other family members and that's why everyone is so emotional towards him. Ridge has informed his siblings, at least Eric and Stephanie's children, about Eric's illness, but Felicia wouldn't let anything stop her from visiting. It's also surprising that Kristin didn't inform Zende. And if Carter knows the truth, why doesn't he tell his brother Marcus, whom Eric adopted? Why isn't Marcus mentioned at all now that Eric and Donna are back together? And what about Rick?

 

[DallasFanForever]

Since John is not leaving the show I’m interested to see how they get out of this storyline. I’m assuming some kind of “miracle cure” will find its way to Eric right around Christmas. Or perhaps it ends up being some kind of misdiagnosis?

I just hope they don’t go down the route of letting him die and then having him stick around as an angel. Sadly this wouldn’t surprise me.

 

[Emelee]

I just hope they don’t go down the route of letting him die and then having him stick around as an angel. Sadly this wouldn’t surprise me.

They don't do that stuff on B&B. Angel appearances have happened I think 4 times in total on the show, and only for a couple of scenes within the same episode. Caroline, Taylor, Darla & Stephanie. The Taylor one must have been a dream only since she didn't die.

 

[Emelee]

Can this Eric story just end already?! It's packed with flaws and pure nonsense.

Finn is suddenly a super fast researcher AND a surgeon. And he's allowed to work on his wife's grandfather. That's some achievement from a guy who recovered from being braindead 2 years ago!

Bridget is also now a surgeon and can scrub in to operate on her own father! (Los Angeles must not have any surgeons.) And with no information about the operation before joining.

Eric's doctor and the oncologists that looked over some test they did at the mansion (Eric refused to even visit the hospital) were too lazy to do the research Finn did in a couple of days?

If Eric refused treatment and tests, how did they come up with a proper diagnosis? And how did Eric get his hands on an oxygen tank?

80 year old Eric is too old and with too many previous illnesses to be rushed to 1st place for a transplant and experimental treatment.

It's been like 2 days since Thorne and Bridget learned that Eric was ill. And still no one has been able to reach Kristen, Felicia and Rick in Africa?

Ridge decides to pull the plug and the people present are allowed to say goodbye. Then he had to rush pulling the plug before asking the others in L.A. over? Thorne and Bridget could have been there in minutes but no one bothered to let them come over to say goodbye?

And we still don't know any diagnosis or how they will save Eric other than "transplant, clean the blood and immunotherapy". I assume it's some form of cancer, but no one has actually mentioned the C word.


B&B's writing is incredibly bad. So so so bad. Painfully bad. What on earth happened? I recall 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2004 being very strong years. They had some good storylines after 2004 too. But now...... The only reason I semi-follow the series is because of my favorite characters (Steffy, Taylor, Thomas, Li, Deacon, Sheila). Eric used to be a favorite, but not anymore.

 

[Daniel Avery]

I've taken to calling such storylines "Fraudulin Syndrome". Soap characters get disgnosed with something they refuse to name, that has inconsistent symptoms that may or may not be evident from day to day, and supposedly will kill them because there is no cure or treatment. At least until there is. Fraudulin Syndrome of course goes back to the earliest days of soap operas, which is probably why shows like B&B still think they can get away with being so vague and insulting the intelligence of the audience this way.

I'm currently watching January 1982 episodes of The Edge of Night that features a similar story afflicting Jinx Avery, a character who is facing an unnamed, terminal illness while looking perfectly beautiful and just fainting once in a while. It's frustrating and feels a bit manipulative, but at least I know that the character does eventually get killed off. She's a minor character likely brought in just to kill off. But Eric Forrester is a main character and everyone knew going into this that John McCook isn't leaving the show, so there is no real suspense.

 

[Sarah Danner]

Ridge likes to whisper a lot, have you noticed?

 

[Rove]

What on earth happened?

Two words...Bradley Bell. He doesn't have the Midas touch like his father did. B&B has become a swamp of rotating new faces on established characters. Yawn fest stories. Babies that become teenagers overnight; that's some growth hormone they're drinking over there on the B&B set.

I honestly don't know how it still exists.

 

[Monzo]

I honestly don't know how it still exists.

Y&R is the only reason some people in the US still watch B&B. This theory has been around for many years, but the proof came when B&B became the first soap to return after Covid and was on air for a few weeks without the support of Y&R. To date, these weeks are B&B's all-time low in viewers. Only when Y&R returned with new episodes did B&B's ratings slowly rise again. I wonder if As the World Turns would still be on the air today if it had remained Y&R's lead-out and if B&B would have survived in Capitol's time slot.

But as far as the current action is concerned, the "visit" in the latest episode was a bit of a shock for me. If it were Eric's swan song I could bear everything better, but I just want the plot to be over. The interruptions to RJ's lovelife while Eric dies (or not) could have been avoided. Otherwise B&B just tells one story, but right now, when the focus should be on Eric, you constantly see RJ, who was forgotten for years.

And as for the one who is no longer part of the show: It could have worked if they had given her a storyline without Ridge, maybe with Deacon, I would even have found Bill interesting as love interest.