edgeofnik

Yep, JMW/Steffy really have been central to B&B's success during the past decade. Fun fact: After KKL/JMcC, Heather Tom is the 3rd (2007) and JMW is next (2008) - minus the yearish when she left. I excluded KB and SK because they've had multiple years off and any recurring actors. If JMW wants it, she could follow KKL's path. Steffy certainly is a character that has plenty of stories left to tell. I can't imagine this domesticated version will last much longer. It's like they've 'Hoped' her...

@antmunoz Nikki as a business exec at Newman is plausible considering the decades she's been around Victor, who probably talks about NE 24/7! Both her children have been involved in the company for years. Despite it being this major corporation, I view it as more of a family business. Adding Nikki to the NE executive team was a good move. OC, she and Nick get overruled by Victor/Victoria 99% of the time anyway. This is a big contrast to Kay, who kind of became de facto business woman because the writers thought it'd be a good idea. I never bought Kay being business savvy at all. Was she ever shown at the office? At least Jill clawed her way through the ranks at Jabot.

Not in the same way he was a real leading man and good guy during the 80s - it helped that Carl and, especially, Mary gave the Williams family more importance. The Christine pairing didn't ignite the sparks that either had with previous relationships. That relationship became tainted forever after the forced encounter - a horrible decision by the writers. Isabella? Yikes. Ricky? Terrible. Dylan/Nikki, etc. It seemed that Paul was just given random stories because Doug was there. As I said, I like Doug, but if the choice between Paul or Brad - I would've sent Paul on a long undercover assignment and kept Brad. It doesn't matter now.

@Liberty City You got *that* right! As @AMCHistory points out, Brad had far more gas in the tank left than Paul. Even if Brad returned today, he could be a viable character based on his connections. Frankly, Paul's character really faltered after Cassandra was foolishly killed off. I have nothing against Davidson, but Don's 14 solid years on B&B more than make the point. I'm all for Christine/Danny reuniting. Why not? Plus with characters like Lauren, Traci, Daniel, Phyllis on canvas, it's not like they would be telling the story in a complete vacuum.

^ I'm really glad the ratings for soccer have been pretty horrific - like under 900K per match and 300K for demo in Feb and March! No idea why CBS, which is not a traditional soccer network, would pay for the rights to games that aren't of interest in US and air on weekday afternoon. I get airing these matching on Paramount+, but the main network is simply not the forum. You'd think CBS would've figured that out by now.

Hope falling for Thomas could've been somewhat plausible if they had kept Douglas with Steffy. Hope was unhinged for about 5 days before the story was dropped. If they kept going, Hope starts to spiral because her actions over the years have established she cares more about Douglas than her husband and bio child. Thomas-the-savior of HFTF, also gets Hope thinking that maybe Thomas isn't so bad after all. If she connects with Thomas, Douglas will call the judge and ask to return to Hope, etc. Certainly something along these lines isn't as far fetched as this 180. Having Brooke recount her S*ut of the Valley title and that Hope is nothing like her, blah, blah, blah, was a dead giveaway Hope is now going down that path. I'm all for major character personality shifts, but at least make it a logical evolution.

The Braylor friendship doesn't hit the same because it's not KKL/HT - that's where the 30 years of bad blood lies. I like KA she's done a great job in breathing new life to the character, but it's just not the seismic shift it's made out to be. If HT/KKL were hugging it out, having a girls night, etc. that *would* be mindblowing along the lines of the Brooke/Stephanie evolution, but somehow bigger. Brooke/Stephanie always felt like a mother/daughter relationship - they were never peers. Skip the girlfriend's aspect, keep them friendly, but both should move to different stories - preferably Brooke flinging with Hollis and Taylor with Deacon.

Based on the Phyllis' gala speech, I think she felt like she had no choice but to go with Jeremy's plan. It's probably as convoluted as the Sheila FBI sting mess on B&B. It's inconceivable Phyllis would let her children suffer to get revenge on Diane. I mean, Diane being with Jack only really impacts Jack. AL was a great find. It's good to see her get some really solid material.

Anyone doubting the rewrite, think of the warp speed with the way things unfolded in just 10 episodes. Every episode could've easily been a week worth material during a typical B&B repetitive dialogue story. The movement was shockingly fast and stupid. For example: $B asks Sheila to marry him. What happens next? 1. Sheila talks to Deacon, hems for 5 minutes, says yes and confesses to murder in 5 scenes. OR 2. Sheila be flashing that black diamond ring at Sinn, Li, Brooke, Taylor, Katie and anyone else who'd listen to 'I'm going to be Mrs. Bill Spencer!' The latter would've lasted 4 episodes minimum and been classic B&B.

Does Brooke know Taylor/Thomas knew about 'why did I drink?' Poor Deacon, his big 'Opening Night' got shafted during the rewrite - that should give an indication just how quickly they threw together this mess. How many times will we hear these fools say 'Sheila's reign of terror is over'? By November sweeps, Sheila's *brain tumor* will have been removed, her rich benefactor will arrange for an early release and Ridge/Finn's sister Diana hits LA to shake things up.

Oh, Li, I see you for who you really are! The same woman who let Steffy suffer needlessly for months. As a doctor, if Li couldn't/wouldn't provide treatment to the person who shot her son and almost killed her, she must ethically/morally remove herself from the situation. But they took it way too far encourage her son to forget his oath. Completely unnecessary to create a contrast to Finn, who always does the right thing. I don't get why Brad would make her such a terrible person because I really like NM. I suppose that makes Li the perfect 'bridge' for Ridge.

TL just landed a 'heavily recurring' role on a Paramount+ series. The credits bio at the end of the article mentioned several TV series, movies and his production company. Guess what was missing? I expect that TL will make a brief cameo as part of 50th, but that'll be all. The writer responsible for turning JT into a psycho ... ugh.

Once it was revealed that $B and BunHead were part of a ruse, they could've spaced out Sheila's downfall by featuring new stories. For example, 1. Katie and Carter get engaged, which would, of course, get derailed when Katie finds out $B is a hero. 2. Brooke casually dates Hollis. Taylor starts hanging with Deacon again. Ridge, shut out, turns to Li. 3. Donna worked her honey magic one too many times and gives Eric a heart attack. 4. Douglas stays with Steffy putting a real strain on her marriage and work. Even Finn finding out that Steffy cheated on Liam was dropped. How could he not be bother by that? And the fact that Taylor shot a man in cold blood, killed Darla and was involved with Dr. Buckingham. Finn starts to realize his mother-in-law is very flawed. There was plenty of potential drama that could've been interspersed while wrapping the *big* story. The LopeAs story is even more illogical than the Sheila nonsense. Perhaps, Brad's ultimate goal is to have Liam hook up with Brooke and Thomas is the route.

Faux Eve was abrasive, hard, cold and simply impossible to like or even love to hate. Super strange considering KDP's previous work.

@janea4old Awesome! I am disappointed they would share such crucial information 3 weeks in advance. Oh well.

@dragonflies That explains why Sheila closed the jacket in the last scene. They really did repurpose the footage. After the seeing the video posted by another show, I can officially bypass this really painful wrap-up.

There's a *huge* spoiler on how it all ends on James Corden show. Lil Nas X makes his acting debut on B&B and they show him in scenes that spill it all. It's on YouTube Carpool Karaoke. At least I don't have to watch.

Thrilled Christine and Jill called out Nina on her hypocrisy. Even better it was done with humor instead of some sort of lecture. So great to see TC.

Wait. I just realized there's a scene with Deacon and Sheila in the promo. Is that a new scene or from a previous week? If so: 1) Are we to assume that Sheila leaves Bill's after she's been played and then returns to confront him? That's illogical. 2) She survives the fall unscathed and runs to Deacon? Monday's episode was absolutely awful. I don't get why they wouldn't play this out - cat and mouse with Bill and Sheila. No way Sheila would ever fall for this, especially since Deacon is the one she *loves* not $B.

@Paul Raven Thanks for the great info on intros. I wonder if TEON (June 1980) was ahead of Texas and GL for P&G soaps. Of course, TEON always had a skyline in its intro. Maybe that's why I like it a little more than some.

Oh, wait! Today is the actual anniversary. Happy 50th Y&R!

@dragonflies Wow. I always though Bill loved C2. Awful. I could've sworn Bill did a balcony dive at some point, but maybe I'm thinking about the cliffhanging scene with Brooke.

Didn't someone else fall off that balcony? B&B desperately trying to wrap this story ASAP - they are skipping *most* repetitive dialog and spoiling everything in previews. Once this is done, at least we'll get non-stop Thomas/Hope/Liam because that's so compelling. Oh yeah, we'll get a couple of weeks of Ridge/Bill being hailed as heroes, but that's not a story.

So TSJ the *last* of the new contract players makes the intro. We wait for CH (2020), CF (2021), SW and AL (2022). Why Y&R the first US soap to include actor images in its intro?

The gala episodes actually *feel* like Classic Y&R - with the sets, wardrobe, characters that don't normally interact - friends, enemies and instigators - Leanna and Audra. The tribute to KSJ was a nice touch that also mined decades of history - Victor/Neil business and personal relationship. As a formerly faithful viewer who's struggled to stick with more than a week every 6 months now, I'm entertained enough to watch through the gala episodes. Budgeting and scheduling for non-contract and guests is a challenge so instead of nitpicking stuff, I'm enjoying celebrating actors/characters I've watched for since I was a teen. Everyone looks great, but it's awesome to see Brytni in something other than scrubs!