IMO, I have a hard time believing that Bell would be responsible for these multiple health storylines simply because it's unprecedented in B&B history. There have been health storylines before (Macy's cancer, Taylor's TB, Steph's stroke), but it's comparatively rare and I can't think of any time when so many were going on roughly around the same time. It just doesn't seem like the kind of thing that would interest Bell.

I also have a hard time believing that Kay's style will lend itself to B&B. Her style was slow in the first place and B&B has half the time to tell these stories. It would just automatically make all stories twice as long in addition to already existing slowness.

In a perfect world, the excitement and camp Brad can bring to B&B (and often has) would mesh greatly with the slower pace, far more rational, human stories that Kay can bring to the table. Kay would get to make Brooke the way she was during the strike (the first time in years that I really liked Brooke). Brad would get to relax and have a little more time to think up stories. Kay would allow Brad to do his naughty cliffhangers and Brad would let Kay handle their pairings. A dreamer's world. The truth is that Kay would be an 100% fit for Y&R, even though I like this move.

Well it was about time,I´ll say.Brad has had far to many years to trash this show with his incest,degrading of women and use rape as some casual thing.Plus perhaps now B&B can hire more male actors for the starving women on there.I do´t miond Katie,I think HeTh is a great actress,it´s the writing that $ucks,it $ucked before Katie got major story so..

Now this is unexpected although Brad sure needs a co-head right now.

I'm extatic because B&B is at its last straw with me these days but Sylph is gonna hate this beyond words.

A BOLD Promotion

BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL scribe Kay Alden will now share the title of head writer with Executive Producer Bradley Bell. Alden had written for YOUNG AND RESTLESS since 1974 and was let go in 2006, but snapped up by B&B. Both shows were created by Bell's parents William and Lee Bell. Their son was a former writer for Y&R and was named associate producer of B&B in 1989, then supervising producer in 1992. The following year, Bell took over head writing reins from his dad and also became executive producer in 1995.

http://www.soapoperadigest.com/news/breaking/

Hopefully Alden will restore pacing and sense to L.A. - this is my dream writing team pairing. I hope it will pan out - if it doesn't I guess all blame will be on me.

Let's get the press release correct, folks. Alden wasn't "snapped up" by B&B after being fired from Y&R and as an ABC consultant. In SOD, she admitted that, after not being picked up by ABC as a consultant (or as headwriter of AMC, she went to Brad and asked for a job at B&B. He didn't approach or "snap her up." She went searching for a job and he created a spot for her.

Me neither.

Brad always has his thing for the new families he created. He loves Jennifer Gareis, he loves Heather Tom - so this makes perfect sense. He's trying to rectify Marone-Mania from 2004 which failed miserably to amp the show past the Forresters, this time around with the Logans. This time the casting definitely is there and the characters used to be refined until Brad botched everything post-strike.

B&B has some kind of balance these days although I don't like the focus. The main problem is that there is zero motiviation for the viewer to invest because stories last about a week. There's no build-up, no tension, no pay-off as a result. Medical drama follows medical which is followed by yet another family drama. This is so frustrating and as a result the show totally sucks for me.

Here is where I hope Kay Alden will intervene. This is exactly what she criticized about "the show she was consulting on" -> AMC in her MIT interview. Too much happens without any reason or sense.

One thing I wonder is that with Kay being co-head (who can do camp pretty well, IMO - crazy-ass Pam was her idea), my guess is that either Brad or Jack Smith could soon do double duty over Y&R... And as Sylph mentioned Meg Bennett, no thank you. She's the last thing B&B or Y&R needs, there's sth. about her writing style/taste that totally riles me up. She should slap her hubby back and forth at GH to get his act together but that's about it.

Correction: the character of "crazy Pam" was Brad's creation and Brad's alone. Kay wasn't even on the B&B writing team when Pam was first introduced, then later reintroduced. She may have played into the craziness of Pam during the strike, but Pam isn't her creation in the least.

Eh. I'm sure I'll be corrected, but I don't think much will change. She's pretty much been the head writer since she came on. I don't think the viewers will see much of a difference in the show from what it's been for the last seven months.

What source do you have for saying Alden's "pretty much been the headwriter" since she came on? True, she head wrote during the strike, but what makes you think she's been more than an associate headwriter until this promotion?

I HATED B&B during the stike, and Alden's style is way too dark and Logan-centric for my taste. I don't think she's a good match to be Co-HW, they should've just kept her as AHW.

The thing I'm curious about is why Michael Minnis wasn't promoted to co-head? He's been with the show as an associate headwriter much longer than Alden. She hasn't even been there a year. I'd love to see what he'd do with the show. Alden's old hat. We all know the kind of drawn out stories she tells, not to mention the repetitive scenes and dialogue. I'd love to see what another member of the Bell team would do. Minnis seems like the logical choice.

OMFG

And I never use that expression!

I don't know whether to be delighted (the Bell-loyalist in me is) or dismayed (the watcher of the show since she joined it is).

WHAT has motivated Brad to agree to this? I'm beyond shocked. Was he pushed, or is he tired?

Where is Jack Smith now? Still consulting?

Jack Smith is writing scripts. He took Rex M. Best's scriptwriting position when Best left early this year. He is not a consultant with the show.

Yeah, I keep wondering why they don't go with anybody from the times when B&B was, you know, actually good? Like in the mid and after mid 90s or early 2000s. Both Smith and Alden are relatively recent people (at least compared to B&B's overall history) and precisely the recent times haven't really convinced me too much in the writing department. Nor does it seem to convince the viewer judging by the not awful, but not great, falling togeether with everybody else ratings.

Not with Kay. Sigh.

I love her. I personally loved her time on Y&R. I thought her MIT talk was great and insightful and plain-spoken.

But B&B is camp. I don't see that as Kay's forte.

What will Brad's role be? I imagine he will remain as a STRONG EP, giving specific story direction insights, don't you think?

I actually hope Brad is okay. He is a young man...living out his father's legacy. What could have motivated this? Maybe he was upset about B&B's recent all time low? If yes, he is not to blame...the whole genre fell precipitously that week.

ETA: With both Bell shows headed by FiCores (Alden at B&B, MAB/Sheffer at Y&R), what will the CONSEQUENCES of this be?

If Brad was upset that B&B hit a new low recently, how does he figure promoting Alden will change anything? The show's rating have continued to drop since she joined B&B. She hasn't stopped the bleeding. She hasn't brought the ratings up. And for those that say B&B's ratings are tied to Y&R's sagging ratings, that just doesn't hold water. OLTL generally does better than its lead-in AMC. If B&B were a really strong show, it would hold its audience, or build in it, despite Y&R's rise or fall.

Correction: the character of "crazy Pam" was Brad's creation and Brad's alone. Kay wasn't even on the B&B writing team when Pam was first introduced, then later reintroduced. She may have played into the craziness of Pam during the strike, but Pam isn't her creation in the least.

Nope, you got me wrong. Brad's Pam was a loving Doris Day.

After Alden joined B&B Pam returned for Stephanie's shooting and was suddenly the CrazyAss she now is and especially was during the strike when ALden was head-writing for Jack Smith's scripts...

I love both incarnations of Pam because Alley Mills is damn fine.

@ Nicknack: Jack Smith is far from being a recent hiring. He was a pivotal part of B&B's history and success 1987 - 2002 as script writer, breakdowner and eventually co-headwriter...

Edited July 19, 200817 yr by sheilaforever

Nope, you got me wrong. Brad's Pam was a loving Doris Day.

After Alden joined B&B Pam returned for Stephanie's shooting and was suddenly the CrazyAss she now is and especially was during the strike when ALden was head-writing for Jack Smith's scripts...

I love both incarnations of Pam because Alley Mills is damn fine.

@ Nicknack: Jack Smith is far from being a recent hiring. He was a pivotal part of B&B's history and success 1987 - 2002 as script writer, breakdowner and eventually co-headwriter...

Jack Smith didn't go fi-core (LIKE ALDEN), so he wasn't writing scripts during the strike. He wasn't hired by B&B until March or so. As for Smith being a recent hire, of course he is. He's been away from the show for years. Yes, he was with the show for a long time previously, but he's just scriptwriting at this point. He has no story input. He doesn't edit scripts (weird how the woman he replaced as HW at Y&R is now ediiting his scripts!), his input this go-round is marginal at best.

Jack Smith didn't go fi-core (LIKE ALDEN), so he wasn't writing scripts during the strike. He wasn't hired by B&B until March or so. As for Smith being a recent hire, of course he is. He's been away from the show for years. Yes, he was with the show for a long time previously, but he's just scriptwriting at this point. He has no story input. He doesn't edit scripts (weird how the woman he replaced as HW at Y&R is now ediiting his scripts!), his input this go-round is marginal at best.

He DID go fi-co.

Jack Smith didn't go fi-core (LIKE ALDEN), so he wasn't writing scripts during the strike. He wasn't hired by B&B until March or so. As for Smith being a recent hire, of course he is. He's been away from the show for years. Yes, he was with the show for a long time previously, but he's just scriptwriting at this point. He has no story input. He doesn't edit scripts (weird how the woman he replaced as HW at Y&R is now ediiting his scripts!), his input this go-round is marginal at best.

And this is for the best - him writing scripts or outlines. Because as a HW he's just lazy. He always seemed to start up stories with too much gusto and then lost steam as they progressed. So the end result was pretty unsatisfactory.

Hmmm ... I thought she was decent at Y&R (my only real complaint was that she made the women a pathetic mess and had everyone trying to get GoatDaddy's sperm), but if she's responsible for what's currently going on with B&B, ehhh. It's boring and loss all of it's fun and camp, and I highly doubt Brad Bell's writing style has suddenly changed.

Then again, I really liked May sweeps and a lot of the writer's strike period.

I think they problem is together, Brad Bell and Kay Alden are horrible, on their own, they are better. It think they've been struggling to find what works for the both of them and the result is what is airing right now.

I do like Kay Alden's influence on Steffy and Marcus, the slow pacing and all, but the medical storylines got to stop. The heart transplant story was really good (Kay Alden with little or no Brad Bell influence), the latest round of Logan drama not so much (Brad Bell's impatience with medical drama is showing).

Edited July 19, 200817 yr by crc