B&B Thom Bierdz could save the show!

[MarkH]

So, someone here postulated the brilliant idea that one way to save B&B is to rebuild the House of Spectra. They briefly toyed with Jackie Payne doing this...but obviously have decided against it.

The proposal was made (I forget by who...sorry) that one possibility would be to have CJ Garrison realize (while off canvas) that the reason none of his relationships with women worked out was because...he was not that into them. That he was gay.

The idea was that CJ would return as a gay male fashion diva, and restore camp and rivalry to the show. I think this is very promising.

But then, this weekend, I saw (the always sexy, amazing) Thom Bierdz (ex-Phillip III) in SID magazine. Tom works mostly as an artist now, and in the SID picture he was dark, unshaven, beautiful, and staring hauntingly at the camera.

In that shot, he suddenly reminded me SO MUCH of Tom Ford. You know Ford...the fashion icon, ruggedly handsome (always unshaven), with model boys always at his side. Tom Ford is NOT a camp queen. But he still has attitude and sex appeal...and he runs a fashion company.

It struck me that recasting CJ with Bierdz (who would infuse the role with his sexuality and with his soulful artistic sensibility) could really give us that Tom Ford vibe. Masculine and sexy (not effeminite camp queen), but still dripping with the kind of attitude and zest to succeed and weakness for big-jawed men that Sally would have had.

It could work!

[y&r_fan]

I'm all for Thom Bierdz joining B&B, but...

1. Why recast CJ? Mick Cain was a great CJ.

2. Bierdz is WAY too old to play CJ (Bierdz is 46; Cain is 30).

3. If B&B ever does a gay storyline, the less "camp" it is, the better. It promotes bad stereotypes (like when ATWT hired the most effeminate actor they could possibly find to play Luke ). However I doubt B&B would ever do a gay storyline - there are too many single women on the show.

4. According to the October spoilers,

.

[YRBB]

Sign me up, but I think I'd rather see him play another character who does all that!

[EricMontreal22]

I'd love to see him on a soap but does he wanna go back to acting?

I *despise* tom Ford though--I find him a creep on the highest order (Ia dmit this is based solely on two "aren't I hot and everyone wants me to [!@#$%^&*] them" interviews but it was enough)

[Cat]

Same here. Mick Cain's CJ struck me as boyish, defensive but always with a biting sense of humor and self-deprecation, a twinkle in his eye -- and very, very straight. LOL, the way he used to check out Amber, Kimberly and Becky when they weren't looking!

I wouldn't mind the beautiful and lovely Thom Bierdz returning to the show as another Garrison or even a Spectra nephew -- or possibly related to Owen Knight (they share a similar coloring).

I am intrigued by the possibilities of TB playing a Tom Ford-type character. I have to admit, I find Ford rather camp at the moment. Maybe it's because he is no longer at Gucci and has been flailing around looking for another project in recent years (which he now has -- bespoke men's tailoring and dressing Daniel Craig exclusively for James Bond).

Ford at Gucci was a slightly different figure than he is now. For a start, he was a raging workaholic and his intensity and commitment was very relatable and attractive. Secondly, he was a BIG flirt -- with both men and women. I saw it with my own eyes when he launched some perfume. Watching him undress the fashion press with his eyes in one-on-one interviews... he had those old biddies purring like kittens! His whole attitude at the time "Obviously I'm gay... but I like what I'm seeing in front of me, sexy lady." In fact, I am convinced his success was predicated in part on walking that fine, flirty line.

Thom Bierdz's work on Y&R suggests he could walk that fine line on B&B, sending some of the female as well as male characters a-flutterin'. And win over a lot of new fans in the process.

[EricMontreal22]

I haven't hidden my dislike of Ford, but I agree I find him VERY camp. No, not in a Nathan Lane/Birdcage type of way of course, but it's almso tlike he wears his masculinity as a sort of drag--if that makes *any* sense. But I agree both with part of his appeal being that he did flirt with both sexes--and it would make an interesting character especially for the fashion world of the show (which recently is such a wasted opportunity)

[MarkH]

I hear you. But you have to admit it is PRECISELY that attitude that could make for a GREAT "bastard" head of a rival fashion house. Think "gay JR Ewing" if you must .

[MarkH]

Okay, I loved Mick Cain too...so you have all convinced me that CJ should return, and we should find our Thom Bierdz/Tom Ford character some other plausible role at Spectra. I want this person biologically related to Sally...just because I want that bloodline to continue. But there is no reason that Sally couldn't have had a gaggle of nieces and nephews never mentioned. A minor retcon for the sake of story.

Is Bierdz REALLY 46. I'm thinking he could actually be around 40...but I will scan that SID picture. The man is BEAUTIFUL and looks not a day over 30. So, if there is a "Dorian Gray" vibe, even better!

My one hesitation now is that Bierdz has this soulful vulnerability. I wonder if he could pull of the "bastard" thing.

I agree that B&B may never do a gay story...not just because of all the women, but because of "Bell distaste" AND because I do think it could cost them viewership in their mediterranean, south american and middle eastern markets. Sigh.

The spoilers make me cringe. I want the characters you mention OFF THE SCREEN.

See, how you describe Ford just TOTALLY works for me. If the character HAS that sensual potential--he was once ON TOP of the fashion world--but NOW he has lost some of that "mojo", and has clearly seen better days...he has something to PROVE. So, he takes a failed fashion house, and he uses that as his 'canvas' to restore both the fashion house AND his reputation. That is classic Spectra, IMO.

I can't stand that so many of us see the need for a Spectra-style arc, with a fashion basis, on this show, but the creative team apparently doesn't.

Yes, yes, yes...there is that aggressively masculine gay archetype (wasn't "Brian" on Queer as Folk in that mood)...so beautiful, so strong, so predatory, AND SO ULTIMATELY EMOTIONALLY UNAVAILABLE...that he is totally compelling to all. They WANT to get past his beautiful shell...but he won't let them in.

I see no problem with a soap lead like that...no problem at all. But I am frustrating myself, because Brad Bell will NEVER have the ba... -- err -- guts to do that.

[EricMontreal22]

OK I agree there, (though I got tired of Brian's lack of growth on QAF--I agree with Russell Davies of the original UK version who said after 5 years of being that much of an [!@#$%^&*] he owuldn't have friends left...) and you've sold me

Bierdz has a more vulnerable side--at least since his memoir about his mentally ill brother and his murder of his mom--that's the last I saw him in the press a lot. He has a website--you should send him an email http://www.thombierdz.com/html/main.html

As for the Bell's--si there a distate against gay stories? I thought Bill woulda always been open to it--or am I wrong? (I know of the Katherine story in hte 70s of course). You're right it could upset their more conservative foreign market--but on the other hand in many of its other markets I can't help thinking th elack of gay characters on the soap feels even more out of touch than it does here.

Did Tom have bad blood with the Bells? Didn't he complain that "Cricket" was taking away screen time from him? Or was that one of the other now openly gay actors who left Y&R in the late 80s...

[Cat]

^^ That was Terry Lester (Jack), who was replaced with Peter Bergman.

I honestly think that this "gay SLs wouldn't wash in foreign countries" excuse is just plain wrong. Yeah, maybe ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia and Iran would have a problem with it (where B&B doesn't even air). But the UK? France? Italy? South America? Israel? Greece? Australia? Please! The most politically squeamish country with regards to gay characters on Daytime is the good ole US of A.

If B&B could outright avoid any hint of arch camp with this character (and that's a HUGE "if"), than Thom Bierdz would be perfect. TB was such a subtle, warm, soulful presence on Y&R. I don't need to see Mark from Ugly Betty recreated on daytime. I need some layered, sexy, intriguing characters I can invest in. Something plot-driven B&B is failing at right now.

For YEARS (decades, it feels like), Brad Bell credited the Taylor/Ridge/Brooke triangle as having powered B&B to the near-top of the ratings heap. I honestly believe that if Sally and Spectra hadn't been the eternal B-story during those years, people would have seriously lost the will to watch. I used to joke with a friend that there should also be an alternative-reality B&B involving the Spectras, CJ, the lovely Grant, troubled Morgan, Whip, James, Deacon, Becky and myriad other characters Bell never cared about because I would have watched that show in a jiffy.

[Faulkner]

Brilliant idea. And they then should make Brandon Beemer's character bi.

[boldfan01]

How about this scenario which would bring back Mick as CJ and bring on Thom in a way that connects him with Sally and doesn't even have to throw out the current status quo of Spectra as owned by Nick and Jackie, as well as tie in with a dropped plot thread thread? Jackie's just not cutting it at Spectra, since she hasn't been able to rip off any more designs from Forrester with security so tight after Stephanie's shooting, Eric's heart attack, Pam still at large etc. Moreover, her boutiques are suffering because her high priced Beverly Hills clients don't want to be associating with a knock-off queen. Jackie and Nick are desperate, since Nick spread himself thin acquiring all those distributors, and he can't afford to pump any more money from his sale of Forrester to Eric into Spectra without compromising his other holdings. But they get an out when Harvey Golden, the mystery man who sold Nick the east coast distribution chain in return for a favor to be named later, calls in his favor. He'll make it easy for Nick; turn over his and Jackie's stake in Spectra and they're even. Nick tells a reluctant Jackie to do it; he's tired of throwing good money after bad. But Jackie stalls too long and CJ is ready to take Spectra back. Golden sends his right hand man, played by Thom, to step in and he turns out to be the son of Sally's estranged sister, who turned her back on Sally when Sal was forced to become a knockoff queen to scrape by after Adam abandoned her. CJ tells Thom's character he's too late; Spectra is back in his family's hands, but Thom says his boss dealt in good faith. When all is said and done, CJ and his newfound cousin wind up co-owning Spectra and are at odd with both each other and with the Forresters, including CJ's once best buddy Rick. And Thom's character could be gay and ruthless to buck the expected stereotype of a gay character.

He played an abusive boyfriend on Melrose Place and its Models, Inc. spin-off in the 90s, so I think he could do it.

It probably would depend on how strong their viewership is in that region.

I can live with them, although I can see why many want them gone. But either way, I think they would have to be involved in some way, at least at the beginning, since they are part of the current status quo for the story your idea revolves around.

Amen to that. What's really said is that the generic description of B&B in cable viewing guides (which gets replaced by the daily previews each day) talks about the fashion house rivalry and we haven't seen a fashion show or storyline in almost a year.

[bandbfan]

Anymore news on that? Nothing is in the spoiler section.

[All My Shadows]

It's completely lost on me how that could "save" the show.

[detroitpiston]

You're not alone.