B&B: Katherine Kelly Lang Slams Brad Bell - OMFG

[Evan]

Wow, I get the impression that KKL is very ready to leave B&B if the writing for her character doesn't improve:

Love her or hate her, you cannot ignore Brooke Logan, one of daytimes most talked about characters. In an exclusive interview Katherine Kelly Lang talks candidly about what she wants for the character that she breathes life into...

What are your feelings about the current story with Baby Jack and your renewed involvement in his life?

Well I have to be honest; I was surprised that the writers were revisiting the storyline with the baby. I thought it had all been settled when Taylor won custody of him. I thought that was a fair ending to it all. However, the writers are writing this as a story where the child cannot bond with his birth mother and yearns for his bio-mother. It is pretty farfetched but will be a defining moment in the lives of Brooke and Taylor as they come together and bond over a child they share. Taylor will once again put another persons needs before her own and Brooke's accepting the offer to raise the baby, will send her whole world into tumult.

Are you referring to Ridge's reaction when he finds out about Jack?

It's a given that Ridge will not be thrilled about the prospect of raising Nick's child. He had made it very clear that he did not want Brooke to be involved with the baby and Brooke had promised him that she would not interfere in Taylor’s life. So, it will be interesting to see whether he comes around or not. This could definitely put their relationship to the test.

Do you think this might lead Brooke back into Nick's world romantically?

I think that seems to be where the writers are headed. They share a child and that is a very strong bond. Since, Brooke is mothering Jack, she is spending a lot of time with Nick and one thing could lead to another.

How do you feel about the fact that Brooke might get close to Nick who has just betrayed her daughter, Bridget?

See that's the thing I want for Brooke. I want her to put her children first, much like Taylor does. I cannot imagine a woman even sharing the same room with a man who has cheated on her daughter but Brooke thinks with her heart and sometimes makes unwise choices because she leaps before she looks. The fact that there is a child involved now (Jack), does change things a lot too.

If you were to pick a man for Brooke to settle down with, whom would you pick?

Brooke has spent most of her life being in love with Ridge. I do not see any man replacing him in her heart. So, I would say Ridge but God only knows who she will be calling her destiny tomorrow.

If there is a storyline that you want to enact as Brooke, what would it be?

There’s so much that Brooke can do besides jumping from one relationship to another. Unfortunately, that is all she has been doing for years now and I am tiring of it. I mean she is nearing 50, has four beautiful children and is with the man she has wanted to be with all her life; so you would think she would settle down already. There are days when I read the script and groan because Brooke is supposed to be saying the exact opposite of what she just uttered a week back. There is no consistency at all. I would like some of that. A 180 change on a daily basis just leaves the character with no credibility.

Is that why you suggested the rape storyline to Brad Bell?

As an actor, one tires of the same old storylines. We all need something challenging to do. My husband came up with the idea and we took it to Brad who was kind of reluctant to do it at first . However, we were unrelenting and it was definitely a nice change for me as an actor to do that storyline. I would love for Brooke to something health related or something more than changing her destiny every three months. The writers also need to carry storylines through. Brooke should have been shown dealing with the aftermath of the rape a lot more. That never happened. It was like she was broken one day and healed the next day.

You have worked with some wonderful men on this show. Who are you the most comfortable with?

They are all absolutely fabulous. I love working with them all. No one can bring a smile to my face on the set faster than JMC. I just work seamlessly with RM. We do not even have to try to make our scenes work because we are just so comfortable with each other that it happens effortlessly.

Tell us about working with Susan Flannery?

We have such a blast working with one another. She is a class act. We both have similar working styles. We want to get it done in one take and we generally do

What does the future hold for you?

I’m busy with the show and my business interests. The spas are a huge venture and I want to be very hands on there. As far as the show goes, I have truly had my fill of Brooke’s daily destiny changes. I want something challenging to do. I loved LK’s work in the cancer story and Hunter did such an amazing job in the Baby Jack story. It is always so rewarding for an actor to be given material that they can make their own. Unfortunately, Brooke has never had many such storylines. So, I really hope that Brooke matures, settles down and deals with issues other than a fast changing love life

[Sylph]

Perhaps she and Susan should quit. That will force the show not to air the same old stories over and over again.

[dm.]

Well, something good should happen to that show. Anything.

[MarkH]

I feel delighted that even the actors are complaining about what we, as fans, are too. Ronn Moss, a few years ago (with the heart attack story) was similarly critical.

What is the source of this interview, please?

This show is broken AT THE CORE. That core, I think, is Brad Bell. It is clear that Alden/Smith have been allowed to have little creative influence on the show. (Or, is the case that the WORSENING of this show in the past year lays at their feet???).

If Brad Bell cannot perceive this, then he must be possessed of awful hubris.

When I see the foot washing, I wonder if he is writing for his highly Catholic/Orthodox international fans. I don't know, but the show feels like such an insult to my thinking mind...and while B&B occasionally does touch my feeling heart (Storm's suicide; Felicia's death, heck...even Stephanie slobbering over her ex-husband-on-a-coma-train...nah, that last one made me retch), I mostly feel manipulated after the fact.

THE SHOW IS BROKEN. The new modernizing scene cuts do not work...because the rest of the show is so antiquated in look, set design, staging. If you compare the BEAUTIFUL Y&R...it shows you just how cheap and old the sister soap looks.

I am a major fan of veterans. I love the intergenerational cast of Y&R. Lots of folks on that show have wrinkles. But on B&B, it all seems so unrelentingly OLD. Single Felicia, Single Thorne, Ridge...all slobbering over Eric like teenagers....no sense of maturity or 'it is time for a healthy, dignified passing'. The younger generation doesn't exist...or it is not viable. Again, notice the lack of airtime for Steffy or Marcus (neither of whom grab me). Not only is there a core incestuousness here (Ridge's daughter with Brooke's nephew)...but the romance was rushed and is "islanded" (cabana scenes not integrated with any other storyline), using newbies we don't yet care for. The sole saving grace there is that Steffy and Marcus have some playful chemistry...but it is not enough to save yet another dreadful plot. We know these characters aren't going to go anywhere.

Resting the show on Donna Logan's shoulders is appalling. I liked Gareis, I guess, as the semi-evil Grace Turner (whose bad intentions were softened by her return of Cassie to Sharon). But her weeping, soaking face--looking more ghastly than pretty (I am sorry to say)--makes her come across as a tranny drag queen (and that is not a good thing).

This show is a broken mess. It gets worse and worse...in part because it fails to learn and improve.

This show should be the second best on TV...both because of the creatively strong people it has, and because of all the international lucre that should enrich the canvas.

Instead, it just limps and limps and limps.

Indeed, I will go so far as to say (from the little I have watched) that GL is BETTER creatively (right now) that B&B. At least on GL the characters are relatable, act like human beings really do. One doesn't roll ones eyes (except, maybe, at Reva's pregnancy).

I'm going to start a thread, I think. It is time to replace Brad Bell.

[bandbfan]

I don't really get the impression that she's ready to leave. I do understand that she's not happy. But she's been repeating the same stuff for 21 years. She did get some good stuff after Storm's death but that didn't last long. And I really think it's the wrong time for Brooke to deal with something medically. We've had somebody have some kind of medical problem almost constantly for the past few months.

[MarkH]

I agree. There must be a 24 month moratorium on medical storylines, unless they want to adopt a new show name (Cedar Hospital), and let GH finally become "Love in Wartime".

I honestly find myself at a loss for what Brooke could do...other than be a "matriarch". She even seems to WANT this.

I guess, in my view, there is a lost element of Brooke. She started as a brilliant CHEMIST. Moreover, she was a hospital-based chemist (working in pharmaceutical research, no?). Thus, without any concrete ideas, I'd like to see stories that reawaken the real Brooke beyond 'destiny'. I would also add that I would like to see Taylor returned to sanity. My prayer is that her upcoming storyline will cause her to "clean house", remember who she is and what she wants out of life...and act like a proper mother to her children.

Ugh...why do I even talk about this? It all aggravates me.

[bandbfan]

I'm at a loss as well as to what Brooke could do. The thing is, the custody battle is relatively different from what she's used to dealing with. Although it was used earlier this year or last (they run togther in my mind), it's not something that Brooke used to do all the time. But I don't feel like they'll let Brooke get as emotional because she doesn't actually seem as emotionally connected to the baby as Taylor does.

[marceline]

Whether she leaves the show or not, it sounds like she's already gone in the way that truly matters.

[MarkH]

I feel the same way about Flannery and Moss.

[Sylph]

Did anyone on planet Earth ever really care about Ridge? Ever?

[MarkH]

He must once at least have had adoring female fans? At least in Italy?

[Sylph]

Oh, those... I forgot.

[boldfan01]

He still does, and even among the US based fans. Even though many fans soured on him because of the way Ridge has acted over the years, he still, very much like KKL/Brooke, has a loyal fan following who support the actor and the character, even if they don't like what Ridge the character is doing at the moment.

[boldfan01]

Moss has been critical about a number of things, although he sometimes changes his viewpoint. For instance, in 2007, he was campaigning heavily for Ridge/Ashley, saying that it was time for a relationship change for Ridge. These days, he seems to be back on the Ridge/Brooke train again, but even there, he's saying (like KKL) that they should finally settle down and move on to some other story rather than rehash what they've been doing for over 20 years yet again.

[detroitpiston]

Amen.