edgeofnik

Soaps have always been built on women being victims. Brad's goal here: Get Zende with Luna, but we need to keep Luna as the 'good girl' for RJ. If Luna voluntarily hooked up with Zende, she'd be pegged by the 70 yo B&B demo as another SFTV. That kind of sexual freedom is an absolute no-no on B&B, except for Brooke, who is following her heart.... It's too bad B&B's audience wants to watch rich, 20-something get married/babies by 25, instead of a more realistic decadent lifestyle of partying, clubbing, experimentation, sexual freedom, etc. Brad decide to follow the Thomas/C2/Douglas template. Honestly, Brad probably got that idea from his father who did the Dru cough medicine hook-up with Malcolm on Y&R resulting in Lily. Bill Bell did some disgusting stories, but those get whitewashed because overall, he produced far more winners than losers.

@janea4old + @Soapsuds B&B will treat it the same way as Thomas + C2. No way that was consent under the law, but it somehow didn't matter. Since B&B average viewer is almost 70, I suppose it's not as offensive to them as younger generation. Consent wasn't recognized as a *thing* back in the day. Fortunately, times have changed.

Honestly, LG's comments are part of Corday's legal narrative: 'See, we fixed the problem.' The timing of her comments is too perfect. If I were representing Corday, that's exactly what I would do. The case will get settled, AZ will be offered a better contract. It's clear she loves her job - but it'll be her choice. It'll be interesting if all this publicity actually increases streaming numbers. There really is no such thing as bad publicity.

No doubt. I can't believe how fans lose their minds over such an obvious ploy. No way that shoestring budget *allows* for an existing set to be scrapped or replaced. Same set with maybe 3 new throw pillows: 'Here's a sneak peak at the all-new, Horton family room set!"

Anyone read AA's lawyer's statement? Yep, they're really going there. '...[AZ] is now – again – trying to exploit vile stereotypes to denigrate and demean a Black man who was in a position of power. Well, enough is enough...' I should clarify my statement about Sony settling. I should've said Sony and Peacock will pressure Corday to settle. Whether they are named defendants is irrelevant - every article mentioning this case will mention Sony and Peacock.

Not surprised at all. I long suspected AZ was caught up in this wretched mess. She'd win on #1, but not on #2. Sony will settle and move on. No way this is going to trial.

JG is 53 and JMcC is 79. You'd never guess. Heaven forbid they paired JG with Aaron Spears again (Justin) and bring back Marcus! The funny thing about Donna being portrayed as a bimbo: JG got her MBA at Pepperdine. The story that should be told: Brooke marries Eric shortly before he dies. Brooke is officially crowned the Forrester Matriarch. Brooke should be running FC with Steffy. The kicker: since Brooke is now a mainstay in Bel-Air social circles, she wants to keep FC as a classic couture. Steffy is the one pushing edgier fashion to the brand relevant (except no bedroom line).

Season 1! What about the following 36 years! lol @ranger1rg Honestly, it like the worked off the Sally2 'dying' scripts. Same vague nonsense. It's shameful.

@ranger1rg Isn't fascinating that B&B is the only US soap in history that can't do soap staples: doctors, lawyers, trials or murder mysteries well? In fact, most attempts have been outright failures. I get not being able to do one, but all of them? The Belief ownership saga was actually the only time they knocked it out of the park on legal.

@BoldRestless Yes, that's the article. The Y&R numbers are mixed up, but it's safe to assume the average age of soap viewers is close to 70! The article doesn't say it directly, but like my recently passed 89 y.o. mother, the audience is tuning out, but not by choice. I wish the networks would publicly release demo data for streaming. They obviously have it and share it with advertisers. Clearly, if you combined streaming/linear demos that age number drops significantly. It also makes sense why a Colleen Zenk would resonate with the audience more than expected. Even if they didn't watch ATWT regularly or at all, some probably recognize her from the CBS promos.

Fans sometimes forget there's a reason why it's called Show *Business* Keep in mind Y&R's average linear viewer age is 69 y.o. according to last week's article in Deadline. Of course, the age of those who stream will be significantly lower, but still. Ads aren't going to command big $$$ and, therefore, licensing fees will be less, etc. I'm just glad it's still on. I hope that Sony will follow B&B's model and put all the old episodes on a YouTube channel. That's been super fun to watch.

B&B's canvas is so stale, there's literally only three *shock* pairings possible: Hope/Finn, Brooke/Liam or Hope/Ridge (pukes). Now, if B&B had fluid characters, it'd open up more options, but they don't. The edge goes to Hinn simply because it reignites the Steffy/Hope drama. Thomas battles with his brother-in-law, Ridge/Brooke fight over it, etc. They could milk that for a few months, especially with the inevitable WTD story thrown in.

'Devon's world is shaken up by the sudden return of a lost lover....' Shaken up is a bit OTT. MM is only making a quick drop-by, so she has to be Amanda. @dragonflies exactly what I was going to write. OC, Brooke will have one, get high, forget she slept with someone and spend the next six months saying: 'Why did I ...?'

Exactly. And it'd be a return to *classic* B&B - borderline family relationships that are *OK* because of loopholes - Brooke and Taylor (Forrester + Marone brothers), Ridge/Bridget, Rick/Steffy. Finn and Poppy aren't *related* - Finn would've been an adult. Finn needs that halo knocked off for the character's own good. It's icky and really gross, but so was Brooke sleeping Deacon and Oliver. It's not like Steffy (Liam/Bill/Rick) or any of the Forresters could judge him - they've all done far worse! Fear not, B&B has been so bad the past 18 months, they won't go there. Just like the Taylor/Brooke and Brooke/Liam teases. Equally repulsive, but would've been must-watch trash TV. This is simply a PR drop to get the SINN stans feathers riled up.

Finally! I'm guessing this is the big story that's been hinted at for Sheila. B&B desperately needs new blood. It took them several years/attempts to get a new generation going until Steffy/Liam/Hope.

I do wonder if KA's Taylor was phased out because HT wants back in. Taylor is an essential character with Steffy/Thomas being prominent characters and with Ridge, Brooke still around. Brooke/Taylor scenes over Thomas/Hope are easy writes and certainly watchable. The whole recurring offer seems like a case where they knew KA wouldn't accept it. KA managed the tough balancing act of keeping the essential Taylor characteristic while adding a fresh spin to a 30-year character. It's a shame.

TPIR had significant drops (300K+), so it's not surprising the rest of the lineup dropped as well. The Talk - all you need to do is look at the audience spike LMAD 1 to see that it's a spectacular failure. It's got a solid and consistent lead-in B&B and leadout (LMAD). The show simply can't be that profitable with those numbers.

Thomas' downfall/reverting to psycho is a typical Brad move when the show is sliding hard. How many times did he do this with Sheila and, then, Quinn? After Thomas was kicked out of the Forrester family a year ago, Thomas underwent 3 weeks of intense therapy, was cured, went on apology tour, returned to the family+ FC, saved HFTF and won Hope over. None of this was plausible, but it was somewhat acceptable because there's no logical reason or explanation why Thomas was so awful. Thomas could've simply been a leading man with a dark/edge side like $B. Instead of writing the story we want - EviLiam - ratings continue sliding so it's *break glass in emergency* aka Thomas reverting into a psycho (Feb Sweeps). If this fails, Sheila (May), Deacon (July) and $B (Nov) will follow until the hemorrhaging stops.

@1974mdp Agreed on Sheila/Eric. Certainly, there could've been a scene between them. It wasn't that long ago when Eric/Sheila were reconnected and, ironically, Steffy shot Sheila. Has that even been mentioned since the Steffy/Finn shootings? In a perfect world, Sheila would've somehow been Eric's unofficial nurse - even for a short period of time. So much history that could've been mined - especially with years of relevant archival footage.

JMW for the WIN! Emmy winner, Baby #4 and even with Maternity Leave leads the year.

Yeah, it's icky, but it was 15 years ago - Rick is off-canvas, probably never to return, Phoebe sadly was killed off. The Ridge/Bridget thing was disgusting regardless because Ridge raised her as his own child for several years! But they went there anyway because B&B has always flirted with these types of familial taboos. Gosh, the way Brooke (Forrester/Marone), Taylor (Forrester/Marone), Eric (Logan), Bill (Logan), Steffy (Spencer) and Hope (Spencer) have climbed the different family trees is a B&B hallmark. Ridge being Eric's son and his children being full Forresters far outweighs the Rick thing. In fact, it'd actually be an interesting story if Rick came back and Rick/Steffy had to work through what this awful lie did to them. Fortunately, no children were involved.

Ever since they made the massive mistake of having Sheila shoot Finn/Steffy, it feels like the show is constantly trying to do reboots ala 'The NEW Plan to SAVE DAYS!' How many whiplashes have we been through during the past 18 months? Finn alive, Sheila *faking* her death, Ridge/Taylor, Thomas insta-reformed, Sheila/Bill, Taylor/Brooke, Bill/Ridge, Brooke dating, Thomas/Hope, Eric dying, etc. All of these stories has come literally out of nowhere and every one has been a disorganized mess. The execution has been abysmal. B&B has always been quick to abandon bad stories on a dime. Far faster than any modern soap. Historically, B&B has pivoted to something good enough to make you forget these bad stories, which, of course, are never mentioned again anyway. The show is in a very bad place. Strangely the only story that's managed to work: Deacon/Sheila and that's probably based on KB/SK ability to sell it. We need a Brooke scandal with Liam! Have Sheila discover via Diana that Mossimo altered the Ridge DNA test.

Thanks @soapfan770 ! Wishing you a prosperous, healthy and safe 2024!

I abandoned AMC as soon as I saw the beginning of that scene until the Prospect Park version. AMC was my first soap and it while it had up-and-downs, it was never extreme or vile. Absolutely shameful.

Definitely. Here's the fundamental difference between B&B and the 3 other soaps - those other shows produce twice the content. Therefore, recurring on an hour show means a lot more possibilities for getting incorporated into episodes and minor storylines. In fact, those recurring players are essential to those shows business model. Those established characters have so much history and connections to their respective canvases that they could be pulled into major stories easily. Not so on B&B. Elizabeth Hendrickson (Chloe) on Y&R, she's been recurring for years, but she's still on and even in the opening credits. Ironically, as a fashion designer, she's been long erased on B&B.