I have been very consistent in watching The Bold & the Beautiful since its debut in 1987. If I missed story lines, it was because I was in school as a child; however, I was able to watch a lot of the show even when I was in school. My mother was also a faithful soap watcher, and she recorded the CBS soap operas, which my brothers and I watched with her sometimes. For many years, The Bold & the Beautiful has been my favorite soap opera after surpassing my love of The Young & the Restless in the mid 90s. I always loved The Bold & the Beautiful because of its difference from other soaps. The fashion and glamor of the show was something that appealed to me along with lovable characters, acting, and story lines. While I fell in and out of love with other soaps, I never fell in and out of love with The Bold & the Beautiful until recently.

I think I can speak for all soap fans when I say we understand that no show can maintain story lines that you love forever. We look at “jump the shark” moments on soaps and try to get past them (if they aren’t too absurd). We wait patiently for our favorite disbanded couples to reunite. As soap fans, we suffer through angst, joy, pain, frustration, and many shenanigans because we love a show. However, I reached a level where I just could not take any more of the ridiculousness that The Bold & the Beautiful became in spring 2008.

For the first time since 1987, I put down my favorite soap opera and vowed that I would not return for at least 6 months-1 year until things improved. I stuck to my vow and returned to the show December 2008, but I have been experiencing a light bulb (off and on) relationship with the show. I have a laundry list of items that makes me quit The Bold & the Beautiful for weeks (or months) at a time, and I am going to lay them out on the table for everyone to see.

The Passions Ghost is Haunting The Bold & the Beautiful

While I loved the now defunct Passions soap opera in the very early years, I watched that show degenerate into something so idiotic that I gave up on it. I could only take so much of the wanna be Dark Shadows imitation with their portables to hell via a closet, singing mermaids, and reincarnation stories. Unfortunately, when Passions died, its ghost began to haunt The Bold & the Beautiful.

I cannot believe the preposterous and I do mean preposterous things I have seen on The Bold & the Beautiful – when I am able to suffer through this show. The one crucial moment that made me quit the show in 2008 was the Storm Logan/Joker/angel scene with the character of Katy Logan. In fact, that entire episode was a “jump the shark” moment into Passions territory. I can honestly say I was appalled and shocked when I finished the episode. My brain just could not wrap around what I had seen on my TV screen because nothing about that episode made sense. After discussing the episode with my youngest brother – who also was experiencing what I was – I just could not reconcile my mind to accept what occurred with The Bold & the Beautiful. Again, there are things I can and do accept on soaps operas; however, that moment was one thing I could not, which is why I quit it for six months. Unfortunately, when I returned, the Passions ghost was still haunting The Bold & the Beautiful.

The Bold & the Beautiful has incorporated Passions other bad aspects, such as hokey story lines and camp factor. I do not mind a funny, campy moment or two on The Bold & the Beautiful, but there is just far too much of it. Here are a few quick examples:

• The continuous “honey bear” exchanges with Donna (Logan) Forrester and Eric Forrester is just too much for me to bear. I really wish a bear would eat these two at the cabin in Big Bear and call it a day already!
• The stalking story line with Rick Forrester and Thomas Forrester was outright ridiculous; where did Thomas learn how to make explosives again? At Forrester International? At college? Was he writing the Unabomber?
• The weird hospital and rooftop scene where Steffy Forrester was languishing over the death of her twin sister, Phoebe, was far too much. Since Steffy’s return, I had no indication that she was that close to Phoebe, so her over-emoting in those scenes was out of place and just plain bad. It was scenery chewing at its worst. Oh and let me remind everyone that Phoebe and Steffy were always established as identical twin sisters and not fraternal twins, but that’s just a whole other “jump the shark” moment that I don’t want to get into.

While there have been some (very) minor improvements since I returned to the show, the ghost of Passions continues to haunt The Bold & the Beautiful. That show needs an exorcist. I would be more than happy to dial up Zelda Rubinstien to seek out the ghosts and cleanse the show.

There is a Lack of Balance in the Use of Characters

I realize that The Bold & the Beautiful only has 30 minutes to tell stories and that they cannot write for the entire cast…so I’ve heard. There is a way to write for everyone if head writers Bradley Bell and Kay Alden took a six-month approach to storytelling (at a minimum). My youngest brother and I have discussed how characters who have been backburnered for years could have some time to shine by doing the following:

• Select a group of characters to tell a couple of front-burner story lines for the first six months.
• Select a couple of characters to tell “under the radar” story lines during the first six-month period. Other characters can be in supporting roles where appropriate.
• Wrap up some but not all of the front-burner story lines being told during the first six months. There is nothing wrong with telling a story over a year.
• Use the “under the radar” story lines that you have been gradually writing during the first half of the year, and front-burner those story lines in the second half of the year.
• Backburner characters who have been in front-burner story lines during the previous six-month period. Give them supporting roles while developing “under the radar” story lines that would later become front-burner story lines.

I know my brother and I are living in a dream world with those ideas, and I realize there are behind the scene politics to consider. Nevertheless, if we had total and complete control, my brother and I would use this approach for the show. This would give an opportunity for the appropriate characters to have front-burner story lines. Some characters are just supporting roles and need to remain so until there is proper development with their characters (i.e. Donna Logan and Katy Logan).

I just feel like the show has oversaturated viewers with characters people are sick of or just do not like. It’s too much, and The Bold & the Beautiful needs to hit the reset button and offer the fans proper balance. In any case, this approach would relieve some of my frustrations with The Bold & the Beautiful but not all.

Right now, one source of frustration for me is watching (or not watching) characters who sorely need a story line continue to be relegated to 1-2 lines…if they happen to be on that week. I am so tired of watching Lesli Kay (Felicia Forrester) and Winsor Harmon (Thorne Forrester) sit in the wings while the black hole – Ridge/Brooke/Rick/Taylor Forrester – sucks up TV time. Those two actors have some great chemistry together. Their comedic scenes are laugh out loud funny (whenever Bradley Bell and Kay Alden remember they exist), and they are enjoyable to watch whenever they are on together. If it weren’t for the fact that Kay’s and Harmon’s characters were brother and sister, I would say pair them up together. There is some interesting chemistry, which isn’t always brotherly and sisterly. While I do hate the incestuous nature of characters on this show (more on that later), I know I’m not the only one who noticed their chemistry is better than pairings who aren’t brother and sister on The Bold & the Beautiful.

As for other characters who needed a story line, to my infinite relief, Lesley-Anne Down (Jackie Marone) finally got one! Of course, it only took a few years for that to happen. Jackie’s last story line, of course, involved her affair with Deacon Sharpe. For the past few years, fans have watched Jackie function as Nick Marone’s brain…because he doesn’t have one, just like the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz. Her character has been too busy telling her “Darling Nicky” who he should be with and of course, flip-flopping on the woman she pushed on him as “meant to be.” Jackie finally has a life now cougaring around with Owen Knight, which is actually enjoyable…when it makes sense. The quadrangle between her character, Owen, Bridget Forrester, and Nick is just not making sense to me but whatever. What does make sense on this show?

There Are Too Many “Incestuous” Relationships

Because The Bold & the Beautiful is a 30-minute show, I understand why they have a small cast. However, that does not excuse the continuous incestuous relationships between the Forrester/Logan/Marone families. In soaps, it is not uncommon for a character to be romantically involved with two members (or more) of the same family. I understand this adds (or once did) an interesting dynamic to story lines. I can accept this aspect of soaps…when there isn’t too much of it. The Bold & the Beautiful goes overboard with this soap cliché. In fact, they have sunken to the bottom of the ocean like the Titanic with this cliché. I am to a point where many of the characters on the show disgust me because they continuously sleep with each other’s ex partners. It’s one thing to have one character (Brooke Logan) engage in this behavior, but there is a real problem when nearly the entire cast has done the same. There is something seriously wrong when you have the following scenarios:

• Nick Marone sleeping and marrying his way through the Logan family - He’s slept with Bridget Forrester (married her), Katy Logan (currently engaged), and of course, Brooke Logan (married her). I’m still waiting on Beth Logan and Donna Logan’s turn. As soon as Bradley Bell and Kay Alden SORAS Brooke’s little girl Hope, she will be next. Mark my words when I say that Hope will be romantically involved “Uncle Nick” one day.
• Taylor Hayes Forrester becoming the new Brooke Logan – I’m fine with Hunter Tylo wanting the character of Taylor to be less perfect and less of a saint with more edge. However, I am not fine with Bradley Bell and Kay Alden turning her into Brooke Logan part deux. Since she has come back from the grave (twice…twice people), Taylor has slept her way through the Marone, Logan, and Forrester men. She’s been with Thorne Forrester (engaged), Nick Marone (married), Rick Forrester (engaged), and most disgusting of all, Stephen Logan (one night stand). Eric is the only one she has not had yet; however, I won’t be shocked if this happens one day. The writers once toyed with this idea many years ago. It made me want to vomit back then. How do you think it would make me feel now? A bucket wouldn’t be big enough!
• Eric Forrester sleeping with his sons’ ex wives and girlfriends - Eric must really love second helpings because he obviously likes taking his sons’ sloppy seconds. He’s been involved with Brooke Logan and Donna Logan (and their mother, Beth Logan). Brooke has been engaged/married/divorced to and from Ridge a billion times, married to Thorne, and of course, she married Eric where they procreated their own little Forrester clan. Donna was dating Ridge (never slept together), and she was engaged to Thorne (they did the nasty). Again, Eric still has not managed to sample any of Taylor’s goodies…yet. However, he sure lusted after her like an old hound dog back in the day.
• Rick Forrester sleeping his way through the other Forrester/Marone clan - Granted, he’s not related by blood to Phoebe Forrester, Steffy Forrester, and Taylor Forrester, but they’re still all in the same family. His mother, Brooke, has a child with Ridge Forrester (and technically, he’s a Marone). Ridge was married to Taylor, and they had three children: Thomas, Phoebe, and Steffy. While Rick never slept with Phoebe Forrester, he sure took a ride on the Honeymoon Express with Taylor and Steffy Forrester. Who’s next for Rick? Thomas Forrester? Or maybe Taylor had some mystery daughter with Omar while she was in a coma…for the second time when she supposedly died…the second time!

The only reason that I haven’t included Brooke Logan Forrester on this list is because her character is “the slut of the Valley” as Stephanie Forrester would say. In this weird world known as The Bold & the Beautiful, her character sleeping with various men makes perfect sense. Imagine that!

This show needs some new blood in a bad way, mostly men. They need to bring back CJ Garrison, Oscar Marone, Deacon Sharpe, Harry (Nick’s friend that mysteriously disappeared without any explanation), and other non-Forrester/Logan men. I’m aware that they’re bringing Bill Spencer Jr. onto the show (portrayed by Don Diamont who played Brad Carlton on The Young & The Restless); however, Bradley Bell and Kay Alden plan to pair him with the “honey queen” herself, Donna Logan. Would you like to know what my reaction to this news was? Poof! Yes, people, that was the sound of my head exploding when I heard that news. Bradley Bell and Kay Alden…do you even remember that Felicia Forrester exists and hasn’t had a man since Dante Damiano? Felicia should be climbing up the celibacy walls by now!

Characters are Written Stupidly with Dialog that Makes No Sense

One of the things that frustrate me more than anything with The Bold & the Beautiful is how the writers write the show’s characters. These characters say things that do not make sense! Here is a very recent example with a Bold & the Beautiful episode the week of May 4:

Rick Forrester and Brooke Forrester are objecting to Thomas Forrester working at Forrester Creations. What are the reasons for Brooke and Rick’s objections? Thomas is too dangerous because he tried to kill Rick. So…Thomas is too dangerous? I do recall that Rick Forrester actually shot and tried to kill a man himself. His name was Grant Chambers, and he was his mom’s (Brooke’s) husband. Yet, I didn’t hear a single character in the room (i.e. Taylor, Ridge) bring that up. If someone had (and they should have), it would have shut down any objections Brooke and Rick would have had about Thomas working at Forrester Creations.

There are so many other examples of dialog that characters on The Bold & the Beautiful would not say that I could write a book!

As for the writing of characters on The Bold & the Beautiful…I have a couple of burning question I’d like to pose.

1) Do Bradley Bell and Kay Alden like the female characters on this show?

The characters of Bridget Forrester and Taylor Forrester in particular are written stupidly and inconsistently. Bridget should never have taken Nick back after their marriage ended the first time. She would not have touched him again in a million years, not after what Deacon Sharpe did to her. As for Bridget recently telling Owen that she does not have one-night stands, I threw my hands up in the air in frustration. She did have a one-night stand…with Nick on the Shady Marlin when they were both drunk. I would definitely call what they did a one-night stand.

When it comes to the character of Taylor, I am extremely disheartened with how this character has been destroyed since her return from the dead (twice, you know). Bradley Bell and Kay Alden have taken a character that I loved the most and turned her from a “housewife into a ho.” It pains me to say that about the character of Taylor but it’s the truth. I have watched how she vehemently swore a year ago that she was finished with Ridge and any other man who was romantically linked to Brooke. She wanted a man who could love her and only her. Well, she found love with Rick Forrester – and yes, they were in love no matter how they’re rewriting it now. However, after getting thrilled by a younger man in her bed, she all of sudden thinks about Ridge and inexplicably wants him back. She wants back a man who can’t love her and only her after saying the exact opposite months before. Now, she is chasing “King Ridge” again to my dismay and eternal frustration. So, Bradley Bell and Kay Alden…does that mean that I am suppose to forget what Taylor said a year ago about Ridge? No! I along with the rest of the fans do have long memories, and this is just idiotic and inconsistent writing for Taylor’s character. In fact, this character has been damaged to a point where I don’t even like to watch her anymore. I just cannot watch “Brooke Logan lite” without taking antacid.

Aside from Bridge and Taylor, the other character I most disappointed with is Katy Logan. I actually loved Katy Logan when Heather Tom first started portraying the character in 2007. Katy was established initially as a different and opposite character from her sisters – Brooke and Donna. Katy had honor, integrity, and morals, unlike her older siblings. The character of Katy actually reminded me of Jennifer Finnigan’s Bridget Forrester in the early days. Of course, all of that changed when the writers decided to make her just like the other Logan women by having her sleep with Nick (off camera of course) while he was married to Bridget. After jumping the shark with her character, I cannot tolerate Katy Logan when she is on my screen. When Katy has any scenes with Nick, I do not hesitate in fast forwarding right through those scenes. I love Heather Tom, but Bradley Bell and Kay Alden have damaged the character of Katy to a point of disrepair for me. If they killed the character of Katy Logan, I honestly would not care. I would not shed a frakin tear. That’s how much I detest the Katy Logan character now, which is extremely disheartening after loving the character so much in the beginning.

2) Do Bradley Bell and Kay Alden have any kind of roadmap for story lines for these characters?

When I suffer through The Bold & the Beautiful, it is becoming very easy for me to see that actors are not given any kind of direction on story line and how they should play the character (for the story line). A perfect example is the Rick Forrester and Steffy Forrester – aka SICK cause it makes you sick – story line. One minute, Rick is playing Steffy to get at Ridge. The next minute, he’s really in love with Steffy. Now, he’s playing Steffy again to get back at Ridge. Today, he might be in love with her again. The “yo-yo writing” of this story line is making me dizzy and yes, sick!

While the SICK story line is one example where I see a lack of roadmap for story lines, there are plenty of others. Allow me to name a few:

• The rape story line involving Brooke Logan - It is almost as if she was never raped. Look at how quickly the character recovered from the psychological damage so quickly. It wasn’t long before Brooke was donning Frederick’s of Hollywood lingerie and hopping back into Ridge’s bed like nothing happened. The way the story was wrapped up was a disservice to rape victims, and I have heard that Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke Logan) was disappointed by the story line’s outcome.
• The dementia story line involving Beth Logan – This story line could have been told similar to the dementia story in the film, The Savages. In fact, there even could have been a little bit of In Treatment goodness used for this story line by pairing Taylor and Beth up in therapy sessions. Instead, Bradley Bell and Kay Alden buried this story and ended it with Taylor’s diagnosis of “depression.” I didn’t know depression and dementia were the same, but with The Bold & the Beautiful, I learn something stupid every day!
• The lost/adopted son story line involving Donna Logan and Marcus Walton – Getting past the fact that Texas Battle (Marcus Walton) is too old to play Donna’s son, where is this character’s back story? He claimed he was raised by loving adoptive parents, but he doesn’t call them, text them, or even Twitter them, much less see them. Nor do his adoptive parents come to visit him, which should have happened a year ago. The other thing that bothers me about this story line is the whereabouts of Marcus’ father. Marcus went all the way to Los Angeles to seek out his mother, but he has not asked her a single question about who his father is. The viewer is left with a bad impression that Marcus’ father is a deadbeat dad, but we really do not know if that is true. Why? Because this story was never finished, which is not surprising.

As a viewer, it is unbelievably maddening to watch characters behave and say things they shouldn’t. As a fan of this show, it is downright insulting and degrading to be treated as if I don’t know how a character should behave and act.

The Bold & the Beautiful Is Trying to Mirror the Guiding Light’s Production/Music Model

I hate to break it to you Bold & the Beautiful, but you are not the Guiding Light. I do not want to see the Guiding Light’s production model on The Bold & the Beautiful. To paraphrase Outkast, your new music selections are “roses that really smell like boo boo.” The new music choices do not mix well with the beautifully composed music you have used for the past 22 years. I know exactly what you are trying to do with the new music and production model.

Let me break it down for you Bold & the Beautiful so we are real clear. The music and production model works for Guiding Light, not for you. I will be the first to admit that I had a very hard time dealing with Guiding Light’s production model when I returned to the show in January 2009. At times, I did not like Guiding Light’s new music format either. I was holding on to an old image of what Guiding Light use to be. My memories were frozen in time (1993 to be exact). However, I very recently reached a breakthrough with Guiding Light’s new production model, and it has its good points, which make the show unique. Obviously, The Bold & the Beautiful saw early on what I could not see with Guiding Light’s production and music model, which is why they’re imitating it and giving me heartburn in the process. I want to watch The Bold & the Beautiful and see the things that make this show unique, not a Guiding Light imitation with the production/music model. To put it simply Bold & the Beautiful, be you. Don’t swagger jack!

I am a viewer who is standing on the ledge, holding on to the windowsills with my fingertips, and looking down at the ground from the 20^th floor when it comes to The Bold & the Beautiful now. It is excruciatingly difficult to get through 30 minutes of this show, and I often fall behind because I have such a hard time watching. I can barely tolerate this show because I see such stupidity presented to me with every episode. Nearly every day, Bradley Bell and Kay Alden give me something completely absurd! Just when I get ready to jump from the ledge and quit this show, there is a potential golden nugget in the dark cave known as The Bold & the Beautiful. However, those nuggets end up being fake gold rather than the real thing. I love this show, but right now, I hate this show because I am being insulting as a soap fan. I feel sorry for the actors and the crew who work so hard on a show that has mostly terrible material. I feel like Bradley Bell and Kay Alden need to step aside as head writers and “pass the pen” to someone else. I’m tired of being insulted. I’m tired of the rewrites. I’m tired of being treated like I don’t remember story lines from 20, 15, 10, or 5 years ago. I’m tired of the insanity that this show has degenerated into the past year. I’m looking down that ledge. I’m ready to jump. I’m ready to quit this show for another six months, a year, or years. So I have one very important question Bold & the Beautiful. Are you going to shove me off the ledge, or are you going to talk me down?

Tags: bold & the beautiful, entertainment, review, soap operas, stupidity, tv

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 at 1:04 am and is filed under Commentary, Life, Play, Reviews. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.