edgeofnik

I think it's safe to say that we all agree: 1) Taylor's character was ruined in the mid-1990s. Sleeping with James + then the illogical Taylor in the Morocco storyline. Brad was aware because he used Phyllis Diller's character to echo the insanity of it all. 2) HT will always be Taylor. The funny thing is that if HT came back as Taylor and just started acting like the original Taylor, all of us would buy it. Forget shooting $B, buying a stolen baby, flirting with Brooke, etc. I'm glad I was unaware of that disgusting scene with Taylor on her knees. C'mon that's way out of bounds. The real Taylor would've accepted responsibility for her acting, not beg her nemesis for mercy. I'd have quit too.

That's fair. It reminds me of 'Another World' when Anna Stuart was recast with Philece Sampler. Yikes! Though nothing tops Chistel Khalil (Lily, Y&R) being mom to 17-year old kids. I think she may have been 32 or 33 at the time. So wrong.

It's shocking, but RB is only 2 years younger than KA, so people really can't use the age gripe. RB has definitely put her time in the genre, so it's not like she isn't qualified. While I'd love nothing more than HT to return to the role, I'm willing to give RB a chance. Like everyone else, making Taylor a loser to make Brooke a winner is unnecessary. The show can, and should, have both women portrayed as strong - just in different ways.

With the huge storyline shift/pace energy + RB being cast, I'm betting CBS ordered Brad to shape up. Why? B&B will be 'The Gates' lead-in in almost every market. A strong B&B can only help TG's launch

RB certainly checks all the boxes. While I think she'd fit in B&B better as a new character, I'll give her a chance based on her soap history. I'll say this, Brad has certainly upped his game during the past month. After not watching for over a year, I binged last week's episodes. The show is finally moving in the right direction. I hope it stick.

@Maxim Last year, I watched the episodes starting with Sheila's debut + Belief. I'll admit, I was wrong about RM because he captured Ridge's true essence - an arrogant, narcissistic, stylish, impulsive and flighty fashion designer. I always focused on his *acting* but seeing the difference between then and now.... I like TK as an actor, but plays Ridge so seriously and logically. That's absolutely *not* Ridge. Strangely, he may have worked as a Thorne recast. I just watched Ridge's speech in Monoco and it was the most passionless speech about a man singing the praises of the love of his life. If RM gave that same speech about *Logan* it would've been far more electric. Oh well.

After more than a year, I decided to binge last week's B&B. As others have pointed out, the show finally has a few stories going on. Using the umbrella story of the Tom/Hollis murders made the interactions between Katie/Poppy a lot more interesting. This is the version of Katie (Victoria) I strongly prefer. It was interesting enough that I'll binge this week's over the weekend.

@Maxim Spot-on with the writing ruining Taylor. She served as the perfect complement to both Brooke's 'open heart' + also the harshness of Stephanie. Not a coincidence that both Taylor + Sheila were destroyed around the same era.... Seriously Taylor shooting her grandchild's paternal grandfather in the back and leaving him for dead. What? KA did a great job, despite the pathetic writing and stories. HT will always be Taylor so I'd absolutely love to see her back. KKL + HT had such great acting chemistry. You really believed they were rivals.

This isn't that unusual. Plenty of actors and musicians who had some degree of success or fame have fallen on hard times because the moneymaking years are quite short. In Tom's case, it may have been losing whatever money he had to drugs or that he couldn't get well-paying gigs and simply ran out of money. Unfortunately, B&B gave absolutely no opportunity for us to learn enough about Tom's history to understand or, frankly, care. He might as well have been a 5-line dayplayer.

Luna being the killer + not $B daughter = quick exit from the show. Luna's DID will be twisted into a weapon that victimized Zende. B&B previously whitewashed almost the exact same thing Thomas/Caroline, which we also saw onscreen. Starting the episode after her exit, Luna, Tom, Hollis + the mints will never be mentioned again. Within a week, Zende will start making the moves on Paris.

@ranger1rg Re: Brooke/Hope. Brooke should pull at a Moonstruck on Hope - 'Snap out of it!' If you want pure lust, go to your father's pizza parlor and ask to sit on at Hollis' table.

@dragonflies @Maxim is correct. I meant Sheila will the *prime suspect* on screen, but is absolutely innocent. As if we don't know that Steffy, Li, Ridge, etc. will rant for weeks that 'Sheila is toxic, murderer, a deadly threat' 'She needs to be locked away for us to ever to *safe* again' 'Finn needs to stay away from that monster!' Sheila is getting a long overdue reform/redemption story. Hopefully, Brad won't backtrack. The someone redeemed Quinn, who we know was really a Sheila-derivative being played by RS. They finally got to the point where Quinn was integrated into the Forresters, but still on enough on the outside to stir up drama. This is what should've happened with Sheila decades ago.

I spoke too soon about the show righting itself. Um, Sheila's sudden death was weird. Now, they murder a character that's been on for like 10 episodes - and the suspects are Li, Jack, Poppy, Justin and Sheila. Are you kidding me? It's obvious Sheila is suspect #1, but is innocent. The others? Who cares? Just bizarre. Justin has been horribly underused for years. I always hoped Donna/Justin would reunite with Marcus back.

B&B ratings are down because not one story during the past 2 years has stuck. In fact, most have been met with indifference that I have to think hard about what's happened on the show! The only highlight was the SINN reunion in Monaco, but that disastrous story origin was exactly the start of the decline. Remember all the 'it's never been done before in soaps' + 'B&B will never be the same' - well, they were right! B&B has bombed out so bad that a lot of loyalists like me won't watch until the ship gets righted. I'm hopeful we're seeing the beginning of that change now.

@Maxim 100%. Honestly, Poppy and Luna are so peripheral. It's not like Li is a character that's had any real impact to care about her family. What could've worked in a very soapy way: $B and Li started an affair after he found her in 2022. That would've been something that could've helped further integrate Li into the canvas. Li and $B announce their engagement -- Poppy and Luna slither into town. At least, we might have been mildly interested.

I honestly thought they'd make Finn Luna's dad. It'd justify Li's anger, but I'd be glad if they just make it Jack. I suspect Poppy and Luna will be off canvas by September. That promo pic of Crew instantly made me think of JM when he first joined. KKL looks great. Now get Brooke away from Ridge.

B&B is untouchable when it comes to remotes. While last year's was a rare miss, this is something the show has done incredibly well. Fingers crossed that B&B is finally course-correcting after two incredibly bad years where everything, except the SINN reunion in Monaco, landed flat. Putting KKL front-and-center as the show's *matriarch* is long overdue. Brooke and B&B are synonymous. Brooke + Steffy leading FC should've happened a long time ago. I hope this is the beginning of a solid era. I miss my show.

At least this week has a theme.... Monday: Steffy’s worries Tues: Brooke concerned Wed: [Brooke] highly concerned and worried Thur: Steffy says she was more concerned

Something that's always struck me as a B&B soap oddity: none of the Forresters have had an unrevealed/long lost child. None of the children or even Eric. Angela would've worked, but clearly they changed direction. Considering Ridge's playboy reputation, you'd think that would've been a slam dunk! Of course, Thorne was teased as Liam's dad for a minute. I guess that was a blessing! lol That said, after Aly was foolishly killed off, a long-lost child from the 'only Forrester/Douglas son' would show up to try to get control of FC. Imagine if Macy had a secret child: that'd be the Forrester/Douglas/Spectra trifecta! It's not like the soap hasn't used this trope. The Logans: Donna/Marcus and, obviously, the Spencers. I wonder why the Forresters were exempt?

'My birth mother is ALIVE!' The writers act is if B&B gains viewers who've never watched the show by the thousands daily. In fact, this type of dialogue has the exact opposite effect.

Something that's distinguished Sheila from other soap villains who've committed major atrocities and, yet, somehow are well integrated within their shows: family, romances, careers, etc.: Extreme Wealth. Some examples Y&R: Adam, Victor. DAYS: Stefano, Kristin GH: Sonny, Ava. Her only brush with wealth was during her marriage to Eric and the 2 months with $B. Have there been times were vague comments about 'resources' - sure. But Sheila's never owned a nice home, has always had to work, etc. Except for the weird $B/Bunhead plot, Sheila's never had the 'buy my way out' ticket. Sheila has always had to outsmart, outmaneuver or manipulate her way out of jams. I think that's a big reason why Sheila has such a huge fan base.

“Are you a doctor now or do you just play one on TV?” - Nice callback to PB's commercial when he was on AMC.

Another way to look at it: If the only thing you watch on Peacock are the 22 monthly episodes: that's 0.36 an episode for the month subscription. Watch other stuff and obviously the cost goes down further. Are subscription increases annoying? Yes! I only cancelled Netflix after all the CW shows I watched were done. I realized that was 95% of my viewing and what I enjoyed the most. If I was still into DAYS, I'd keep it.

As we've always said: 'in case of emergency...' While KB may have been in the dark, this was Brad's ultimate plan for two reasons: 1. Why kill off Sheila with absolutely no build up? The same events could've happened, except you parade numerous suspects during the night with the reveal being Steffy holding a bloody knife over Sheila's body. 2. How on earth could there be no Steffy gets arrested, goes on trial, etc.? That makes no sense at all. Why wouldn't you milk that drama for weeks? This was the same show that had us crying 'Muh-dah!' for months. 3, Steffy gets convicted and is about to go to jail when Deacon and Finn find Sheila is alive... SINN reunion. Steffy realizes holding on to her hatred of Sheila is destructive and decides to keep an open mind about Sheila and Finn.

Exactly. I couldn't figure out why they wouldn't position Dina as the Kay replacement for GC. Dina had ties to everybody in town - Chancellors/Hamiltons via her best friend Katherine; Newmans through Ashley/Abby, etc. She could've been put in a scene with almost character on canvas and have a connection. MA initial run was amazing. Even though it was implausible to believe that a woman who looked like Dina would be even vaguely unrecognizable to her children after 12 years, MA and the rest sold it so well. Like others, I wish they'd brought her back more frequently. A class act all the way.