B&B: Old/Classic Discussion & Articles

[charholden5]

Thanks so much!!

[Videnbas]

I just came across this clip today when I was randomly browsing Youtube (I'm sure you've all seen it, it's been around for quite a lot of years and I occasionally stumble upon it when looking for old B&B clips online):

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And besides being a pretty powerful scene in its own right, it got me thinking about the archetype/mythology angle again, because out of all the storylines I remember on B&B, this one has always stood out to me as particularly influenced by classic tragedy (not any one in particular, but in terms of its underlying structure).

This entire storyline had this undercurrent of inevitability and impending disaster, starting almost a year before this scene, and the irony of how trying to escape a tragic outcome can actually cause the very outcome you were trying to avoid (kind of like the plot in Greek tragedies about how you can't escape fate). It also had a great sense of dramatic symmetry where it had a kind of mirror form and events at the beginning of the plot were repeated at the end. And every single character involved had a character flaw that propelled the story forward to its "predestined" conclusion (meaning everyone made wrong choices, but they weren't really choices at all because they were a consequence of their inner character).

* Brooke and Thorne were a perfect storm of colliding obsessions (Brooke's pattern of going after Forrester men as replacements for Ridge, Thorne's pattern of going after women who were rebounding from Ridge) - Taylor called it "folie à deux" early on and she was pretty accurate.
* The storyline ended the way it had begun, with the revelation of Brooke and Thorne's affair causing Stephanie to have an extreme reaction and collapse in a stroke/TIA.
* A lot of dramatic irony in play: The threat against Stephanie's life made everyone agree to keep the affair a secret, and this secrecy caused Macy to miss vital information that could have saved her from disaster. In the end, the attempt to save Stephanie (the Venice scheme) caused Macy's death (she was doomed from the moment she met Thorne in Venice - from that point, the snowball was set in motion and there was no going back). Everybody was so focused on the threat to Stephanie's health that the threat to Macy's health flew under the radar until it was too late.
* Macy's downfall began with one impulsive journey to save Thorne from Brooke (Venice), and concluded with a second impulsive journey to save Thorne from Brooke (Big Bear), closing her character arc symmetrically.

There, I'm done over-analyzing B&B for now! (though I do enjoy it...)

Do you have any favorite storylines in terms of narrative structure or references to archetypal/classic stories?

[BoldRestless]

 

Oh, I didn't know these were still online! I remember when these were discussed last summer. 

I think this one is missing too. I can upload a  better version of Stephanie & Brooke's confrontation

 

July 31, 2009 # 5,619 Brooke on horseback stops the wedding (I think we only have full German and partial English)

https://10play.com.au/the-bold-and-the-beautiful-fast-tracked/episodes/season-2020/best-location-shoots-ridge-and-taylor-in-barbados-part-3/tpv200428sbnqy

[Marquise]

this user has the Brooke's bedroom show and also posts some 1992 episodes

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[Marquise]

anyone know a free vpn extension for chrome couse i can not open the links - wrong region 

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Edited November 15, 2021 by Marquise

[charholden5]

Hola

[Marquise]

thanks! 

[Pedro]

I'm just wondering sometimes what if Y&R were broadcast somewhere, maybe not from scratch, but since more valuable and prominent episodes, cause I am watching some scenes on YouTube and they seem to be interesting, but there are sooo many episodes that I am not sure any platform would invest in it. On the other hand wouldn't it be good for those who missed out on good years to catch up with them? 

[Maxim]

I've been checking the vault for new 1992 episodes... and I pray every day you angel upload them. I really hope everything is allright. God bless.

[Videnbas]

I have a question for all of you who are rewatching old episodes after several decades:

Are there any characters that you see completely differently this time around, compared to the first time you watched these episodes? 

For me, the big one is Stephanie. I used to think that she was the villain to Brooke's young heroine. Now I find myself understanding Stephanie's point of view and siding with her against Brooke, and this time around I see Stephanie as the misunderstood flawed heroine, fighting every way she can to keep her family together. Meanwhile, young Brooke is clearly a pretty self-centered girl with little understanding for what love really is beyond the fantasy of it.

But I also see Eric and Ridge as a lot more flawed now than I remember. 

[Marquise]

When i started to rewatch the episodes i disliked Brooke. I used think she was cute, naive girl, who wanted to find real love. But when she started an affair whit Eric and i rewatched it thought that she did not really loved him may be just wanted some simpathy.

I find not Bill sr. not be as scary and serious i used to know him - the episodes when he started to fall for Donna, the episodes now with Darla.... 

I find the dialogs between him and Stepahnie quite inetersting.

But may be it was the idea of the writters - the charavters to change in a way 

[BoldKara]

I adored OG Caroline the first time around, rooted for her against Brooke. This time around I saw the nasty side of her, which shocked me. She treated Brooke quite poorly (some deserved of course), and the way she spoke to Stephanie sometimes made my jaw drop. Really rude, high and mighty princess. This time around, I’ve been rooting for Brooke, even though I knew what would happen with Ridge. I guess after 34 years of watching Brooke, she had gained my loyalty due to the time spent with her compared to the little time with Caroline in comparison. So my view of Caroline did change. Although I still cried a little when she died a week ago in my re-watch! 

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Oh and I don’t remember thinking Jake MacLaine was anything special looks-wise, but OMG he is gorgeous this time around! Maybe I did find him attractive, but I just can’t remember! Easily one of the best looking men in the show’s history. Hubba hubba! 

[Marquise]

I totaly agree with you about the way Caroline spoke to Stephanie. I did not noticed that previously.

[Soapfan8]

I co sign Caroline 

How would you all rank the all time best characters of b&b in a top 10 editions 

[BoldKara]

I also picked up this time around that Caroline treated Thorne quite horribly too, stringing him along for months on end without a sex life while fantasising about Ridge. I think my youth and inexperience of life back in the late 80s blinded me from that side of Caroline. Now I’m older and wiser and I’m like you B*!! 

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1 Sheila

2 Stephanie

3 Brooke

4 Hope

5 OG Caroline

6 Taylor

7 Quinn

8 OG Sally Spectra

9 Katie

10 $Bill

The men fare poorly with me. I find most of them uninteresting…especially now. Deacon is the saving grace of men on the show at the moment.