edgeofnik

When Karen Spencer returned after a years-long absence, she revealed she was gay. Joanna Johnson who portrays Karen came out around the same time. JJ left B&B to be a producer for 'The Fosters' - JJ has been very successful behind the camera - she created the ABC comedy 'Hope & Faith.' Karen is sorely missed because she could keep Bill in check. I wish they've could've gotten her back for all the Douglas stuff since she's his grandmother.

I wish they had cast RB as Taylor's younger sister since B&B thrives on family, um, connections. KKL and AN continued to kill it this week. KKL even brought out the tears. The writing for those scenes has been unusually good. I loved Brooke persistence - she never rationalized or excused Hope's behavior. It really rang true that Brooke doesn't want Hope to follow her path. If Brooke refuses to defend Hope to Steffy, I'll be as shocked as Steffy and Taylor! I hope they go that route because it would be fresh take on the very tired Forrester v Logan drama.

Steffy: Hope kissed you! How could you?!!! Finn: You slept with Liam's father, tried to ruin Bil's engagement and marriage to Katie, and had to do a paternity test on Kelly because you didn't know if she was Bill's or Liam's. Steffy: Apples and oranges. How dare you sl*t shame me!

AMC: Bianca's attack. I happen to tune in for the episode because I was hoping it was a fake-out. It was disgusting on so many levels that I never watched AMC again. Heartbreaking because AMC was not only my first soap, but I was the only one in my family who watched it - so it was *mine* Y&R: Adam sleeping with Rafe to throw him off the trail during the Ashley gaslighting mess.

The scenes between KKL and AN have been quite good. I love how Hope is a saying it without saying it: 'Mom, I'm acting like you and it's makes me sick!' At the same time, Brooke knows this. KKL does a great job communicating that with her delivery and expressions. Does Finn know about Steffy kissing Liam? If not, it's another example of the faux Forrester superiority. I've always like the concept of STEAM, but the execution sometimes fails - like now. Emasculating Finn is a terrible way to go. Finn was the victim of a crime. It's like when women were blamed for attacks because they wore sexy clothes. Finn groveling ''I should've listened to you, Mommy' is gross. Finn and STEAM would be better served by having Finn stand his ground on certain issues: 'Sheila's my bio mom and if I want to forgive her, that's my choice. Oh, and Eric casually mentioned that you shot Sheila in that hotel room, but she chose not to report you. Call it even and move on.'

I hope manipulating the DNA test costs Sheila Li her medical license. No real surprise that Finn's mothers have a lot in common. I was done with Li when she intentionally withheld the truth about Finn from his wife, Steffy Forrester Finnegan, who is the surviving twin daughter of Dr. Taylor Hayes and Ridge Forrester. I suspect we'll get a variation of that during the first few weeks of RB!

It appears B&B is predicting the future! lol You can collect at home, but it still needs to go to a lab. DD has endured a rough 18 months between the Sheila romance turned retcon scam to Poppy/Luna. C'mon, $B has been neutered - it's really ridiculous. Even Liam seems like an Alpha compared to BetaBill.

If they go down the Lunacy path, it will be used to exonerate Zende. The retcon will be that Luna wasn't under the influence of the mints, it was her alter that *pretended* to be high. If she's capable of kissing the man she thought was her father 2 minutes earlier... I'd be good with this because tarnishing Zende was a big misstep.

Only on B&B can a drunken non-mutual kiss turn into an 'ultimate betrayal' Did anyone witness the Steam ultimate betrayals?

Wasn't it strange when Poppy randomly blurted out to Li, 'And I didn’t alter the paternity test either. I swear!” when they were only talking about the murders? Li never mentioned Lunacy's paternity. I wasn't watching, but I thought Li collected the samples. How would it have been possible for Poppy to alter them if Li controlled the samples? I feel like something got messed up in the script. At this point, Jack or Finn have to be the father both for Poppy to hide the truth + Li to alter the test.

Well, week 3 of my returning to watching has definitely paid off. At least B&B has several different stories going on - not just one story with everyone talking about the same thing. It's official. B&B is back to its normal self. That Buna kiss was as classic B&B as Brooke modeling lingerie. Can't wait for that sanctimonious Finn to get knocked off his pedestal when he finds out about Steffy/Liam. If Finn truly cared about Steffy + the family, he'd realize a kiss planted on him isn't worth blowing everything up. Finn's proper response to Hope: We'll never be alone together again, no texting, no calling, etc. if you make any type of move on me, then I tell Steffy. RB is a pro. Her scenes were well done, but it's going to take a long time to accept her as Taylor.

B&B is clearly rewriting stories. I swore that Bill + Li had a wink-wink about the first test guaranteeing that Bill would be Luna's father. If that's the case, why did Bill have so much angst about doing the test again? Maybe Li actually tampered with the test without Bill's, which isn't surprising considering she's proven to be a horrible person. Li's true colors were revealed the day she intentionally withheld from Steffy that Finn was alive because she saw Liam comforting her. If she rigged the test, she now betrayed the man who saved her life.

@Soapsuds Agreed! Zende and Thomas got away with exactly the same crime. It's disgusting. At least Luna didn't end up with her own *Douglas*. The real question is why Brad decided to use that specific storyline for a third time - Thomas was 2nd. Bill Bell gifted us with the original drugged woman 'seduction' - Malcolm/Dru on Y&R. At least, Bill admitted that story was a terrible mistake. Was Brad planning on getting rid of Zende? Yuk. Anyway, back to the topic. I wish RB all the best in the role. The odds are definitely against her.

I'm sure others made the suggestion, but RB would've made a great Kristen recast. With the *social media marvel* Zende being reformed quicker than Thomas, having Kristen back would've made sense. Eric has five biological children and *none* are on canvas! That's bizarre to me.

Wow. I had no idea the bio-ages were so close. It's a credit to Down and Wagner to pull it off for so many years. It was still a weird relationship, but we know B&B loves that kind of innuendo. I wonder if that's a soap record for the smallest age difference between parent and child? I suppose a soap may have pulled some sort of Golden Girls thing where Estelle Getty was a year younger than her TV daughter Bea Arthur!

I'm sure RB will take the early 40s as a compliment. While 'Taylor' always looked younger than her age, I think RB's shorter hair and color makes the transition more jarring. I'm assuming KA had shorter hair when she started, which is why they gave her that hideous mop. Perhaps, RB objected to that indignation! They obviously tested a lot of actors for the role. Perhaps, Greenlee and Zach Slater have chemistry? Did TK/RB cross paths on AMC? Honestly, if this puts a stake in Bridge, it's worth it. KKL and DD are my end game. BTW - TK is only 58! RB is 51/KA 53; JMW is 37 and MA is 35. SORAS really gets strange when parents get de-aged.

I do love that AS has always been so positive about DAYS. I honestly believe she's excited to go back for these brief stints.

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.