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@AlexGrimaldi Yes, Bill Bell wrote Caroline's rape two years before Cricket's date rape and Caroline's rape storyline was redo of Chris Brooks' rape storyline. Bill Bell did cover all the bases with both Caroline and Cricket (physical/emotional effects, medical/legal aspects) but Cricket's rape was presented as more of a summer social issue storyline than Caroline's rape was.

On the Entertainment Tonight 50th Anniversary Special where there was the segment on social issue storylines, LLB talks about Cricket's date rape and how she was injured during the filming of the rape scene. She mentions that Bill Bell wanted to tell that story properly. Did anyone else get the feeling that it was sort of a swipe towards how other soaps told rape storylines in the 1980s?

Exactly. MTS has said that Bill Bell saw the connection between her and EB before she and EB themselves even realized it was there. I guess the audience saw the connection too because the My Fair Lady storyline took off.

@Vee Thanks again for the excellent recaps. The final 10 episodes of season 6 are the peak of the series. As I pointed out before, Knots Landing is more community-based so its not the type of soap you'd expect to venture into action thriller/James Bond territory but I think they got Wolfbridge in season 5 right, Empire Valley started good in season 6 but became a mess in season 7, and Jean Hackney in season 8 was awful.

This is good news.

@divinemotion Your breakdown is on point. @Vizion Remember too that 1994-1997 Y&R/B&B were both shaken up by the huge rise of their time slot rival Reilly's Days. I will forever maintain two things about B&B: Belief was Bill Bell's last hurrah before he passed the reigns to Bradley, and Bradley did not inherit his father's talent.

1988/89 the writer’s strike delayed season. NBC sitcoms still dominating, taking 5 of the Top 10 spots. The Cosby Show fourth consecutive #1 season but it wasn’t as dominant as the previous three seasons. 12 out 25 episodes finished #1 in the week of their original broadcast, 10 episodes finished 2nd, two episodes finished 3rd, and one episode finished in the Top 10. This season The Cosby Show saw its dominance threatened by the breakout success of Roseanne. On a win-loss basis, new episodes of The Cosby Show were 14-5 vs. new episodes of Roseanne. Roseanne was the breakout hit of the season and the first show to threaten The Cosby Show’s dominance. Six out of 23 episodes finished #1 in the week of their original broadcast. Roseanne came along at a time when the popular family sitcoms embodied mid-1980s Reagan era ideals and Roseanne was the anti-Reagan era ideal family sitcom. The breakout success of Roseanne was a sign that times and tastes were changing. No change to the network rankings from the previous season: NBC #1, ABC 2nd, CBS 3rd. 1988/89 was another season w/ not a lot of hit dramas. CBS: Murder, She Wrote was still a Top 10 hit but Knots Landing, Dallas, and Falcon Crest were aging (they had all gone off the rails plus budget mode kicked in), and Beauty and the Beast, Jake and the Fatman, Tour of Duty, and Wiseguy were not showing growth. Spring 1989 saw the end of Simon & Simon and The Equalizer. The new drama from 1988/89 that would return was Paradise. ABC: MacGyver, Thirtysomething, and China Beach were not showing growth. Spring 1989 saw the end of Moonlighting, Dynasty, and HeartBeat. The new drama from 1988/89 that would return was Mission: Impossible. NBC: Matlock, L.A. Law, In the Heat of the Night, and Hunter were Top 20 hits. Spring 1989 saw the end of Miami Vice, Highway to Heaven, and Sonny Spoon. The new dramas from 1988/89 that would return were Midnight Caller and Quantum Leap. On the whole 1988/89 wasn’t a very good season. The combination of after effects of the writer’s strike and changing times caused so many shows to feel off.

@Broderick Did you consider Lauren a vixen BITD? I thought of her as more spoiled brat/daddy's little princess. I'd say Bill Bell's clear cut vixens were BD original recipe Jill, Lorie, Brooke.

The Colbys was a spin off done wrong. It did not carve its own identity apart from its parent show Dynasty and was basically a second hour of Dynasty in a different setting. The Colbys was also doomed once it was in its regular time slot Thursday 9 pm head-to-head w/ Cheers and Night Court. At least Aaron Spelling learned his lesson by the time the Fox shows came around. Melrose Place successfully carved its own identity apart from Beverly Hills 90210.

He also made a comment about the scene where Victor collapsed and Jack kicked him and I got the impression the kick was not part of the scene as written, that PB added it in himself.

@Paul Raven May 26, 1988.

Maybe ED meant the first on Y&R, who knows. Yeah, that was not cool. PB should be reminded that his first two Emmy wins were the result of weak competition in the Lead Actor category.

@Broderick So Bill Bell was trying to evolve Lorie from vixen daughter of the main upper class family to anti-heroine?

@vetsoapfan Thank you for answering. It's too bad so little of the early years of Y&R is out there.

Cricket's date rape was a Bill Bell summer social issue storyline complete with PSA dialog. I will give LLB credit for improving as an actress during that storyline. There was one part of that storyline that stood out to me. During the medical exam, Cricket was given emergency medication. I think Bill Bell included that in response to the flack he got for Ashley having an emotional breakdown in the aftermath of ending her pregnancy.

Season 4 is still good but signs of tanking are showing. The abrupt end of the war crimes storyline derailed all the momentum that had been built during the course of the series.

Start from the beginning. Season 1 is a good start and builds the foundation. Seasons 2 and 3 are the peak.

What are your thoughts on these storylines from the early years: Snapper/Chris relationship with the surrounding storylines of Stuart exposing Snapper's cheating to Chris, Chris's rape, Greg falling for Chris, Stuart disapproving of Snapper and preferring Greg. Brad falling for Leslie but being pursued by Lorie and the surrounding storyline of Leslie's emotional breakdown. Leslie/Lorie/Lance/Lucas quadrangle with Vanessa in the background. I picked these three because they showed Bill Bell elements that we would see in later Y&R storylines and in the early years of B&B.

BD original recipe Jill, yes, but during her 1983-1987 run BD got way too extra halfway through.

From Chance's 2009 return, there was John Driscoll, Donny Boaz, Connor Floyd. If you count Justin Gaston, even though he was a fill-in, then four. Noah from his 2008 SORAS owns this thread for me. Maybe also Kyle from his 2012 SORAS.

@Soapsuds February 10, 1984

In My Sister's Shadow was first, then Naked at Dawn.

EB Twitter never mentioned any health issues after the knee surgery. Hopefully he recovers quickly.

To think the three of them haven't worked together in 46 years.

Mamie/Jill was the highlight today.