B&B: Week of 9/10

[NYC123]

Discuss. Looks like a great week is in store for us!

[soapfan770]

Did Stephanie learn what Andy did to Brooke and that's why she left? What was Stephanie's reaction?

[JamesF]

I can't believe more people aren't talking about this week. I only saw bits of the beginning and loved Stephanie's confrontation with Donna and the silly slap attempt. I don't know if something went awry but it seemed strangely edited, almost as they got carried away and had to pick the scene up again.

Saw Friday's episode in its entirety and that was some seriously dramatic stuff! KKL did a very good job with what is an extremely difficult rewrite given SF's untimely absence. Stephanie's contrition in the letter really wasn't good enough and I was glad Brooke smashed all those photos to give the scene some dramatic punch. Nice forebearer of things to come as well with her vowing to be more powerful than ever.

Still not up to Patrick Mulcahey's usual standard (he's really slipped in the past few months) but it was good nevertheless.

[Cheap21]

I like Katie! The first and only Logan woman I can say that about. I like that she isnt a skank and that she actually has some sense and morals unlike her ho sisters. She is fair and seems unbiased. I like that. Id keep her and ditch Donna, who really is nothing more than mini-Brooke. She doesnt have a clearly defined character other than being a younger version of her big sister.

[AddictedToSoaps]

The editing was pretty noticable there. Originally, Donna and Stephanie were standing close together in that scene, but when Stephanie pushed Donna's arm away, Donna was standing much further away from Stephanie.

Anyway, I just finished watching Friday's ep and god KKL is amazing! Her scene where she read Stephanie's letter and smashed all the picture frames was simply fantastic. When SF returns I can't wait to see the showdown between the two of them.

and btw I really like Katie too. She's pretty level headed and doesn't act like her sisters do. Heather Tom is a great addition to the cast and she really plays Katie well.

[JamesF]

Yeah and the shouting seemed choppy. I think that Susan must have accidentally twisted Jennifer's arm or something and they had to cut. In a way it kind of made it look a little more realistic and less choreographed than your average soap slap defence.

Agreed. What makes it all the more interesting is that Brooke is angrier than she's ever been and Stephanie seems remorseful. It totally alters the power balance.

Totally with you on that too. I haven't seen all of her scenes but I like that she doesn't seem to have any vendetta and isn't on anybody's "side." She was suitably snarky and dismissive of Stephanie's ranting but also intolerant of Donna's scheming. She's a little like an older Bridget but hopefully less of a glutton for punishment.

[Cheap21]

I dont get why they are making such a big deal out of Stephanie's connection with Andy. Brooke wants to press charges? WTF? What crime did Stephanie commit. They act like Stephanie conspired to get Brooke raped and that she told Andy to do that. She was oblivous. She is not at fault for what happened to Brooke. and I dont see how she can go to jail.

Bridget sure was lying to Brooke when she said anyone would be lucky to have her as a mom. LMAO, after she slept with your husband and got pregnant right?

Once a ho, always a ho. I cant beleive Brooke is thinking of using her rape as a means to get Ridge from Ashley. Actually I can beleive that bc she's always been a skank. Any sympathy I had for her went out the window with her talk with Bridget. She makes me sick

[JamesF]

To be fair I thought it was Ridge who brought up pressing charges and Brooke ignored the suggestion. I still think Stephanie is culpable and I don't understand those who think she's faultless. The issue is not that Stephanie told Andy to rape Brooke -- it's the fact that she didn't give a [!@#$%^&*] what he did so long as she could use him to give Dorothy Bascomb some ammo.

As I've said before if this was real life and I (or anyone who isn't a sociopath) was in Stephanie's position, I'd be beside myself with guilt. I don't think it deserves legal charges but if Brooke had been murdered and the cops found out Stephanie carelessly abetted Andy getting into the house, she'd be screwed.

I also think a lot of it will die down when Stephanie returns and "explains" that her actions were careless rather than direct involvement. At the moment nobody in the family nor Brooke knows anything other than that Stephanie was in league with Andy and given her mental history, I'm not surprised they're reluctant to give her the benefit of the doubt.

The Ridge/Brooke stuff I've not really seen this week but that is disgusting. I'm over liking the Brooke character and that stupid pairing but I still think Stephanie needs to learn a lesson.

[RuAsRuAnAu]

Mulcahey seems to be daytime most overrated script writers (he's slipped with every script he's written in 2007, so far), while Susan Wald is the most underrated, followed by Karen Harris. I was impressed with Peter Brash on ATWT- thought he'd be bad. I'm disspointed with Janice Ferri Esser. It would suggest that she's truly on Y&R writer b/c camp, or extreme camp for that matter, is not her style. I still think JFE is underrated- she wrote Victoria Rowell's last ep on Y&R in 2007. If she wants to remain on B&B, JFE should stick to story consulting. If not, Y&R would welcome her with open arms (I hope).

[JamesF]

I've never watched a poor Patrick Mulcahey script until this year on B&B. Not on Santa Barbara nor on B&B. He usually writes with a level of intelligence, eloquence and character voice that is unparalleled. James Houghton is underrated - he did some good stuff when he scripted B&B though I'm unfamiliar with his work on Y&R.

[AddictedToSoaps]

Yeah that's true. Stephanie didn't go up to Andy and ask him to rape Brooke. She didn't know that he was a psycho or what he was capable of. She wasn't really trying to do anything bad, that's just the way it turned out.

[RuAsRuAnAu]

Mulcahey sure is resting on his laurels b/c he knows Bell would never fire him.

I think Houghton was primarily a BDW/AHW during his tenure on Y&R. I'd like to see more BDW write scripts for their respective shows.

McCaffrey was really good at Y&R.

I was pleasantly surprised with Abbott on Y&R- I want LML to re-hire him as a SW.

Does anyone want Minnis to return to Y&R?

Birn is a much better BDW than he is a SC.

I think JFE is overworked. She has to learn the history of B&B to consult & write 8 scripts per month!?

[Matt P.]

I hate Katie's character and feel as if she's a blabbermouth. After learning what Stephanie did to her sister, I really hope she kicks herself in the butt for telling Thorne. I'm sure there'll be a Blabbermouth/Thorne/Donna love triangle.

KKL was amazing yet again. Though the fake was set that she was screaming at, I truly believed her words echoed over The Hills of LA. Seriously give her an emmy. I'm thinking that Thorne loves Brooke but feels more love for Ashley by the way he finger kissed her during the end of Friday's episode. Can't wait until Brooke hunts down Stephanie.

[Cheap21]

why should she kick herself? Donna is out for revenge on Stephanie and she's willing to screw over 2 innocent people to do that. After losing Darla, Thorne only has Allie left and he has been doing the best to focus on her. Donna doesnt give a damn about them and was ready to hurt them just to get to Stephanie. Tormenting Stephanie isnt worth hurting Thorne and Allie as they dont deserve to be dragged into this mess. I applaud Katie for what she did and I dont think she should feel guilty

[sheilaforever]

I absolutely LOVED Thursday's and Friday's show.

I absolutely cherished the dialogue - don't see a drop in Mulcahey's scripts at all - and the setting. The Bridget/Brooke-scenes were beautiful, loved seeing so much of Eric, KKL was amazing with that last scene and so on.

HOWEVER: Dear soapwriters, what happened to climaxing??? Susan Flannery is off; so what better way to stretch the excitement and the story for a few weeks? If all those people in charge of soap opera land want to know why viewership is done, this is it: For decades one used to look forward to the pay-offs, there was excitement because those were monumental scenes after weeks, months or years of build-up. Nowadays its BOOM and DONE. WTF!?

I'm sure B&B will still do a little conf rontation as soon as Flannery is back but I thought one could and should done this differently - even if this meant ripping us off KKL's tour de force performance.