Cat has just written a long post as a reply to Gumdrop’s question and I had to open a whole topic about it. I have never ever in my life seen nor heard about a tale as disgusting and insulting as this one! Never. We have talked about the insemination a lot when it was the story of the day, but to see it synopsized like this and remind yourself about it is something else. But what struck me in equal measure is the whole Brooke/Ridge/Taylor triangle... What a great story this one could have been and how appalling it is now... I am embarrassed to say that I have watched this show for so long and am still watching it. Absolutely shocked.

Yes, I was wondering if anyone knows who's parents on B&B is baby Jack?

Well. It's a complicated story.

Taylor & Nick were married and Taylor desperately wanted another kid to add to her growing Octomommy brood (Thomas, Steffy and Feeble -- I mean, Phoebe). However, the doctors said that her organs couldn't go it alone! So Taylor and Nick did the whole IVF/insemination thing with what they thought was a random chick's donor egg.

Dr. Bridget (before she became Madame X, International Designer of Mystery) volunteered to do the icktastic insemination. We even saw Taylor's feet in stirrups and Dr. Bridget in scrubs doing her thang. This was back when B&B thought it was GH for one hot minute and started filming every other scene on its pink hospital set. The reason I mention Bridget is that she and Nick were once married, but he couldn't stop his magic peen singing whenever it saw Brooke, Bridget's mother.

Did I mention that blonde Brooke and dark-haired Taylor fought over human-waxwork Ridge for more than 15 years? Yeah. They're still fighting over the Rigid one.

Anyhoo, back to our story! Apparently, Bridget and her incompetent hospital messed up on the egg samples and picked the wrong test-tube marked "Mrs. Marone"! See, once Brooke had been Mrs. Marone, too, when she was married to Nick for a hot minute. Taylor, Bridget and Brooke have all been Mrs. Marone at one time or another. B&B is kind of incestuous. You may have heard that criticism before.

Anyway, Taylor carried her baby to term, but not before collapsing when she was about to give birth in true Soap Opera fashion. Baby Jack was born but it had some bone-marrow problem. Quick! We need an insta-bone marrow transplant, STAT!

When Bridget went to track down Random Egg Donor Chick, she was shocked to discover that some administrative [!@#$%^&*]-up had been made and Brooke was the Donor. Brooke offered her marrow but the news leaked out and Taylor boohooed a lot about it. It even gave her troubles bonding with baby Jack. That is when Brooke, Ex-Slut-Now-Earth-Mother, became a big Buttinsky and decided Jack needed his real mother. Or as she says, his "weel muthuh." Nick compounded the whole mess by admitting he still had feeeeeelings for Brooke.

Taylor & Nick divorced, but not before there was much Tug-of-Love fighting over who gets custody of baby Jack. When Taylor started falling for younger man Rick (who happens to be Brooke's SON! Yes, Brooke has birthed many B&B characters), Brooke issued an ultimatum: Taylor had to choose between RICK or BABY JACK!

Taylor stupidly chose Rick. They broke up, like, two weeks later. Rick is currently trying to woo Steffy, Taylor's daughter.

Is your head starting to spin yet?

How is it possible that someone actually wrote this and how is it possible that so many people have seen it? I am still wondering... And have no answers.

Isn't this harsh and negative?

I agree totally. The "scrambled eggs" storyline turned into a clusterf*ck of epic proportions with no emotional payoff.

Cat's summary was excellent, and yet missed another lovely beat:

Taylor & Nick divorced, but not before there was much Tug-of-Love fighting over who gets custody of baby Jack. When Taylor started falling for younger man Rick (who happens to be Brooke's SON! Yes, Brooke has birthed many B&B characters), Brooke issued an ultimatum: Taylor had to choose between RICK or BABY JACK!

Taylor stupidly chose Rick. They broke up, like, two weeks later. Rick is currently trying to woo Steffy, Taylor's daughter.

Rick had previously dated Taylor's OTHER daughter Phoebe. Upon learning that Rick was with Taylor, Phoebe returned to town from a concert tour and--in an angry battle in a moving car with Rick--perished in an accident. Within DAYS of being responsible for Phoebe's death, Rick began an affair with her twin sister Steffy. This couple (Steffy + Rick) is affectionately known as "Sick".

Don't forget that.

How is it possible that someone actually wrote this and how is it possible that so many people have seen it? I am still wondering... And have no answers.

"Dream team" members including Patrick Mulcahey, Kay Alden, Jack Smith, and recently Martha Byrne have all added indelible excellence to this tale.

Isn't this harsh and negative?

It is. But I also expect it to be — completely realistic.

I agree totally. The "scrambled eggs" storyline turned into a clusterf*ck of epic proportions with no emotional payoff.

I have never expected an emotional payoff from such a ghastly, lurid tale. I just wanted it to end and prayed and unrealistically, idealistically hoped that somehow, in some miraculous way, it wouldn't be as shockingly horrible as it was...

Rick had previously dated Taylor's OTHER daughter Phoebe. Upon learning that Rick was with Taylor, Phoebe returned to town from a concert tour and--in an angry battle in a moving car with Rick--perished in an accident. Within DAYS of being responsible for Phoebe's death, Rick began an affair with her twin sister Steffy. This couple (Steffy + Rick) is affectionately known as "Sick".

Don't forget that.

How could I... That psychiatrist who's writing occasional columns for Marlena's blog should really enlighten me and explain why are so many daytime writers obsessed with rape and incest.

That show is pure cr*p. Bradley should be ashamed of what he had done to this show, at least in the recent few years.

"Dream team" members including Patrick Mulcahey, Kay Alden, Jack Smith, and recently Martha Byrne have all added indelible excellence to this tale.

Two of those four were also part of the Y&R "Dream Team" years ago. But I bet you praised everything they did on that show, including SpermGate.

Stone...meet your glass house!

How could I... That psychiatrist who's writing occasional columns for Marlena's blog should really enlighten me and explain why are so many daytime writers obsessed with rape and incest.

But, to the people doing these story projections, it's not "borderline incest," rather two people who are unrelated and need to be paired to stir up conflict. But I agree this way of thinking still sucks.

BTW, Sylph, is this considered more gross than the Turkey Baster Insemination on Sunset Beach??!

Edited May 20, 200916 yr by bellcurve

Wait a minute....I know that we're talking about B&B here, but Taylor GAVE UP her newborn baby boy (after she carried him for 9 months) for RICK?!

See, there's a reason why I stopped watching this show in 1990.

Cat has just written a long post as a reply to Gumdrop’s question and I had to open a whole topic about it. I have never ever in my life seen nor heard about a tale as disgusting and insulting as this one! Never. We have talked about the insemination a lot when it was the story of the day, but to see it synopsized like this and remind yourself about it is something else. But what struck me in equal measure is the whole Brooke/Ridge/Taylor triangle... What a great story this one could have been and how appalling it is now... I am embarrassed to say that I have watched this show for so long and am still watching it. Absolutely shocked.

The scrambled eggs story was actually a great concept, here I say it.

The problem was that the show went to hell in a handbasket the second Bradley reunited Brooke & Ridge amidst the rape storyline killing the promising Ashley & Ridge romance, the re-branding of Brooke and the emotional impact of baby Jack being Brooke's. The tale itself was good but the ending, dear lord. It didn't help one bit to have Rick AND Taylor ping-pong with closely related lovers in a monthly rhytm either. Not to mention that all "love stories" in 2008 were equally horried with Bridget then hopping into a triumphirate of horrendous proportions with Nick & Katie.

The scrambled eggs story was actually a great concept, here I say it.

No, it was not if the "eggs" were always supposed to be Brooke's. That's horrible. Horrible.

The problem was that the show went to hell in a handbasket the second Bradley reunited Brooke & Ridge amidst the rape storyline killing the promising Ashley & Ridge romance, the re-branding of Brooke and the emotional impact of baby Jack being Brooke's. The tale itself was good but the ending, dear lord. It didn't help one bit to have Rick AND Taylor ping-pong with closely related lovers in a monthly rhytm either. Not to mention that all "love stories" in 2008 were equally horried with Bridget then hopping into a triumphirate of horrendous proportions with Nick & Katie.

Word X 1000. Especially the "Rashley" stuff.

Ridge, for once, was mature and someone I could root for when Brooke dumped his ass for the umpteenth time for something silly and stupid.

No, it was not if the "eggs" were always supposed to be Brooke's. That's horrible. Horrible.

I agree and nevertheless feel differently: the secret should have been kept. By a tormented Bridget. Then by Nick. And then after a while a test could have been done, after Taylor had already bonded with the child. Swoosh, a great new dynamic between Taylor & Brooke. Mortal enemies by actual reason not libido distraction. Best of all, both woman without fault, allowing the writers to pitch fanbse against fanbase.

But how pathetic did they pull it off in reality? Unbelievable and ineed horrible.

Two of those four were also part of the Y&R "Dream Team" years ago. But I bet you praised everything they did on that show, including SpermGate.

Stone...meet your glass house!

I did like Spermgate...at least the first few years of it.

But if you read my stuff about Y&R, I did not have unbridled affection for Alden and Smith. I would not have removed them from the show (Indeed, I would have kept them and made them work with LML and Ed Scott...I would have kept that whole team and structured the power dynamics a bit differently).

But Y&R really lost its way, especially in the Smith era. Brittany, Bobby, Nikki as sudden stripper hostess, Sean Bridges, Paul raping Christine...

I didn't mind Cameron Kirsten. I didn't mind Nikki and Victor finding their way back to one another.

But I found it was a very mixed bag at that time.

I didn't post at SON then, so I can't "prove" it...but I definitely had likes and dislikes about Y&R back then...as I do now, by the way (don't believe propaganda that I'm globally positive).

I had GREAT HOPES for Alden and Smith at B&B. Indeed, I thought they were going to SAVE the show. I thought their coming to B&B (and Shaughnessy too...and briefly Houghton and Esser...) was going to make B&B into Y&R-style gold.

Alas. It was the opposite.

I agree and nevertheless feel differently: the secret should have been kept. By a tormented Bridget. Then by Nick. And then after a while a test could have been done, after Taylor had already bonded with the child. Swoosh, a great new dynamic between Taylor & Brooke. Mortal enemies by actual reason not libido distraction. Best of all, both woman without fault, allowing the writers to pitch fanbse against fanbase.

But how pathetic did they pull it off in reality? Unbelievable and ineed horrible.

What do you think happens? Really?

Remember, it was also possible that the baby was Bridget's...since the test tube only said "B. Forrester". That story could have gone in a million interesting directions.

What derails it? How do they take such terrific potential and squander it?

Same with Katie. Getting her suicidal brother's heart, in Heather Tom's hands, could have been amazing. Instead, it set up seeing sea demons and having prom-island-off-camera-impregnating-sex.

How do all these GREAT premises quickly decompose into manure.

I'm sorry if that seems harsh and judgmental....

This has to be the worst B&B storyline EVER and another sign how much Brad Bell hates Taylor. She would never give up her baby, neither would Brooke, since there periods on B&B when either Bridget or Katie serve as the boy's mother. I guess Bell wants to leave it open, so once Jack grows up, TPTB will choose who his mother is.

A) Jack Sick C) Bridget/Nick/Katie.. All this within a year??? I guess they are intentionally making the show so bad so that it can compete with the telenovelas in Europe.