B&B: Daytimes Biggest Clusterf*ck?

[ian]

I was just thinking about it, and B&B, even though it has many merits, and I love it in its own little way... is it the biggest clusterfuck in daytime? I mean like you're screwed if you do screwed if you dont... it's just a mess. It really is. With them constantly breaking the time-space continuum with parents like 9 years younger than their kids, and the rampant incest, the ultra-sluttage on the parts of both men and women and the fact that they've built the show around a singer-wannabe-hairmodel who's never acted a day in his life. It's the small cast of people who supposedly live in one of the biggest cities in USA, its the least diverse, the most overall messed up, and only goes in circles. As a soap its a little embarassing, but still a soap in its own right, Bill Bell's own retarded red-headed stepchild, Y&R's demented younger sister and worth watching for the likes of Susan Flannery and Lesli Kay.

B&B may be the second rated show but it'll always be screwed like a stray pooch in chinatown. Just my opinion

[BadZoe]

I thought you were spoiling that the Forrester's were going to do what they've always wanted: have a family Orgy.

[ian]

MUAHAHAH I thought the thread got deleted, I posted it in the wrong forum. I'm sorry. Could this be moved to DTS?

[DaytimeFan]

I love B&B, even when it's a mess I find it so enjoyable.

It's like pizza. It's not good for you (nor is it bad for you really, the lycopene found in the tomato sauce prevents some cancers, the cheese provides calcium and protein), it's always satisfying, it's fun, it's light, it's bubbly...however, it can make you fat, bloated, lethargic...how many times have I said to myself "I'm never having pizza again!"

And yet, I always return for my slice of pie.

B&B is my soap opera equivalent. It's love and it always will be for me.

[nicknack]

B&B at its (rarely occuring best) can be a lot of glee-like fun. B&B at its worst is really boring. But B&B at its mediocre normal self if the definition of soap comfort soap. It doesn't try to be deep or intellectual, you see the same characters you have always seen and who you know at the back of your hand. The soap ages with you and doesn't constantly respawn. It's just there and to me it will always feel more comfortable than all the other wannabes. It's like those sitcoms that quietly run for 9 or 11 seasons while the great newly hyped Fireflys or Veronica Mars get done in in less than half the time.

[Cheap21]

no GH is the biggest one

[Vee]

I will never understand why people think B&B is a good soap. Every time I have ever turned it on, it is extremely stilted dialogue and incest, or Brooke going back and forth between various members of Ridge's family and occasionally some stepchildren.

[Cheap21]

Yout must have caught it during one of its down times. B&B is very inconsistent. When its good, its REALLY good but when its bad, its really bad. It is the show that has the best ability to rebound and it always goes through cycles of being on fire and then a mess.

[nicknack]

And because storylines change every 5 minutes (ok, more like every 6 months), that means that it constantly changes back and forth between good and bad. Which also means that when it really annoys you you can check back 6 months later and have a decent chance to catch an "up" time, with the same characters you know and love.

Besides, who says it has to be good? It just needs to be entertaining and/or likable. I would classify rarely any soap as good (especially the ones like ATWT that just look cheap) and the ones that aren't bad often are way too pretenious in my eyes.

Generally there are very few people who try to argue that B&B is seriously good in quality outside of a few isolated time periods (I thought Throoke was genuinely good, as was Bridget reacting to the Breacon affair, as are several of the location shoots). Other than that B&B generally has the amusement factor of having a cage full off cage fighter rodents who go at each other at different times in different situation. Brooke vs. Steph, Brooke vs. Taylor, Brooke vs. Amber, Ridge vs. Rick, Ridge vs. Nick, Bridget vs. Katie, Jackie vs. Stephanie, etc.

It's amusing because you know that at the end nobody gets hurt because rarely anybody important ever gets written off.

Man, I think I just compared B&B to a soap version of WWE.

Sure, the downside is that I can't even remember when B&B managed to create a moment of genuine feeling emotion (Taylor losing her kids? Bridget grieving over dead baby Nicole? Some people would argue Storm but to me that felt like too much of a drama stunt), they used to be better at that. Still, beats a lot of other soaps to me that come across as positively desperate to me when it comes to creating those moments.

[bellcurve]

God knows I love B&B. I've been watching this show for nearly a decade now and I understand it rides a wave of good and bad. The problem I have is that the show has been one consistent blob of BAD for awhile now. Way longer than the usual three months it takes for this show to get its crap together.

I never expected highbrow art from B&B, but I do expect stories to make sense and for the characters to be consistent. Although I remember barking at DaytimeFan and others on the board for this, I do have to ask again why does stuff like Crazy Pam, Nick's Siren Vision, "Rick, Rick, Rick," get a free pass on this show?

B&B wasn't always like this. There was a point in time when the show took itself seriously, even when they brought aboard Sheila(at least the first time around). Yes, the show has had its campy moments over the years, but the difference between camp and downright stupidity is that at least the show played it straight when it was campy(which is kind of the definition of camp anyway).

Yes, B&B is one big cluster***k. And it's annoying because the potential for greatness is there. B&B doesn't have to stoop to lame car chases and telenovela-style acting to get recognized. The show should never give up on it's domestic audience or assume that it will always be safe behind Y&R. In a day and age where stations are a.) cutting costs and b.) looking to get more bang for the buck, who's to say stations in bigger markets won't eventually turn their back on B&B and air an hourlong newscast, the way the Tulsa affiliate treats it?

I don't think the show should be dreary like a JFP/McTavish/Guza show, but I mean write, act, and produce the material like it's the best thing you've ever done and don't always assume people here in the states won't appreciate it. Even IF it bombs, people will respect you more than if you just throw in the towel altogether and go for the cheap quick fix.

I thought Storm's death did provide alot of emotional drama, even if it was a sweeps stunt. Just about anything Patrick Mulcahey wrote used to had a vast amount of emotional depth and characterization. Ashley Abbott's arrival to B&B and her romance with Ridge was one of the more mature, slow-building, sweeping romances this show saw in awhile. It totally pissed me off when Ridge cheated on Ashley with Brooke and chose to be with her. B&B does try to force the viewer to feel for the characters, but sometimes, it's absolutely genuine(whether it is through the writing and/or the way the actors play it).

[MarkH]

This may be my all time favorite thread title, and I agree with most of what is said here.

It is so ironic, because I was preparing a blog on this topic...because B&B just SCREAMS "wasted potential" to me on every level.

You see the bones of a great show down there...still possible. But they keep heading south, like some kind of Higley-soap.

Oh look, Jackie hates Katie today! Yesterday, she loved her...and tomorrow she will too.

[bandbfan]

It's just way too inconsistent. It goes from really bad, to great, to bad again, within a month or less.

[sheilaforever]

Well put.

I'm usually one of the shows biggest defenders, praise Brad Bell for writing some of the best storylines ever (in my book at least), but I think they've lost me.

I can't take it anymore. It's got basically the right characters & actors to be enjoyable but the writing and most of all focus leave me back bewildered. It just lacks heart - and this is sth. B&B did ALWAYS deliver. It felt true to itself. I've been missing that for 13 months now...

[All My Shadows]

This.

B&B is always watchable to me, even when it is complete and utter crap. It still feels like the exact same show that it was 10-15 years ago, and so it's just *pleasant* to watch. I love it. The half-hour just flies by, too, and so that's a plus.

[SOAPSFOREVER]

"... retarded red-headed stepchild." Could you be any more insensitive?? Are you a complete jerk???