Videnbas

Agreed, the impact of the affair would have been lot greater if it had been emotional as well as sexual. And Justin's desire to take over SP really comes out of the blue (and makes no sense - even if Bill and Liam are in prison, Justin is still just an employee who owns nothing of the company and answers to Bill). Besides, we have had zero indication that Justin has any interest in anything but the legal aspects of the company. What is it that he wishes to DO with this new-found power? Spencer Publications is a publishing/media corporation. Is it really Justin's lifelong dream to, say, start a new magazine or news channel? Have a say in what gets published and what doesn't? Gain control of the media? Do even the writers have any idea what SP actually DOES these days? Sometimes it seems the company is just a generic "big international business empire" and nobody really remembers they are in fact in the publishing business. Yes, I've noticed this weird pacing problem as well. The storylines manage to be simultaneously repetitive and rushed. I think the thing is that Bell's "storytelling" moves by quantum leaps rather than a gradual progression. So his idea of a "dramatic" storyline is: 1) Sudden twist that starts a new storyline 2) Stuck in a holding pattern of people either talking about 1) or trying to keep quiet about 1), for several months 3) Sudden quick and unsatisfying resolution of storyline (often simply consisting of someone failing to keep quiet and just blurting out the big bad secret, and everyone else going "oh, okay then" and moving on with their lives). Sometimes there's not even a lot of drama or twists involved, and then it goes like: 1) THING happens out of the blue. 2) Everybody says "oh, look, THING happened". 3) THING stops happening with no explanation. 4) Nobody ever mentions THING again. This is, for the most part, how he does "romance".

I have never really understood that logic. Brooke's (or anyone's) past, or whether or not it is hypocritical for her to call someone else out for doing what she has done herself, is beside the point. When someone cheats on her husband it is wrong and hurtful, regardless of who does the cheating. And the person cheating deserves to be held accountable, regardless of who does the exposing. Just because Brooke did the same thing doesn't mean she must forever hold her peace whenever she finds out that someone else is cheating (that would amount to siding with the cheater over the cheated). It's not about Brooke's "right to tell", it's about Eric's "right to know". And Brooke, or anyone else who ever cheated on a spouse, staying silent simply because they were not guilt-free enough to "throw the first stone" would amount to another betrayal of Eric.

That is something I've noticed overall in those old episodes - how new storylines, characters and plot twists are subtly introduced many months or even years in advance. It's really impressive. Like the Angela storyline which started in late 1988 after we had been wondering for about a year and a half where Stephanie disappeared to once a week. Or Sally's introduction in early 1989 after we had heard stories for over a year about Spectra and how much the Forresters loathed the company. Or Felicia who was always the youngest Forrester sibling but wasn't shown on screen for years although she was mentioned regularly. It really shows how much thought and planning went into creating the B&B universe in those early years.

Hi, I've been lurking for a while and finally managed to register (had some problems with the validation e-mail). I just want to say a big THANK YOU to all you angels out there! It really is a dream come true to be able to watch all these classic episodes! I just watched Sally Spectra's 1989 introduction and it's so fascinating to see. I wonder if the writers initially had a more villain-like character in mind and then gradually softened her and gave her more layers. It seems she is very tough, even cruel, in her scenes with Clarke but in the first scene she has alone with Saul you start to see that camaraderie subtly shining through in the non-verbal interactions. It also makes you wonder exactly what went on between Sally and Bucky prior to Sally's introduction - the way I read it, it was heavily implied they were lovers at some point. I also absolutely love the dry humor Susan Flannery brings to Stephanie. I realize I was too young to appreciate it when I first saw those early episodes but it is gold.