34 minutes ago, Liberty City said:

Damn, they steamrolled Caroline's illness. It's almost as if William J. Bell were hoping and praying plans to recast worked out or that Joanna Johnson would change her mind. Damn... what a riveting storyline. I have never seen it play out, and wow... almost to the end of Caroline's life, and I want to just cry.

Joanna Johnson announced her departure in December 1989 and it was to be at the end of her initial contract in March 1990, but it ended up being four months later in July 1990.

I think some soap names thrown around in the soap press as a potential Caroline recast were Genie Francis and Tonja Walker but I could be mistaken.

My theory is that Bill Bell realized he rushed into recasting Y&R Ashley (Eileen Davidson didn't get a proper exit storyline and Brenda Epperson floundered for her first six months) so he decided to kill off Caroline and replace her role on the show with Taylor.

Caroline death was sad but Joanna Johnson was irreplaceable. She was so natural and real in the role. In the grand scheme of things it was probably for the best that she left. I shudder at the thought of Bradley writing for Caroline. It all worked out in the end as Joanna Johnson went on to have success in her post-B&B writing and directing career.

2 hours ago, kalbir said:

Joanna Johnson announced her departure in December 1989 and it was to be at the end of her initial contract in March 1990, but it ended up being four months later in July 1990.

I think some soap names thrown around in the soap press as a potential Caroline recast were Genie Francis and Tonja Walker but I could be mistaken.

My theory is that Bill Bell realized he rushed into recasting Y&R Ashley (Eileen Davidson didn't get a proper exit storyline and Brenda Epperson floundered for her first six months) so he decided to kill off Caroline and replace her role on the show with Taylor.

Caroline death was sad but Joanna Johnson was irreplaceable. She was so natural and real in the role. In the grand scheme of things it was probably for the best that she left. I shudder at the thought of Bradley writing for Caroline. It all worked out in the end as Joanna Johnson went on to have success in her post-B&B writing and directing career.

I get why he killed off Caroline ⏤ the first Caroline, anyway. But it was also a hasty decision, considering Joanna Johnson returned mere months later as Faith Roberts (a.k.a. Karen Spencer). And to think Katherine Kelly Lang at one point auditioned to be Caroline, as well. In [finally] watching the full Caroline arc, I can safely say had Johnson not left the role or Bell not killed the character off, Caroline truly would have been the woman for Ridge. I kind of wish Bell had just allowed Johnson some time-off to pursue other projects, and written Caroline out on assignment for Eye on Fashion, etc.

Genie Francis would have been a suitable recast for Caroline, too. I do think she would have been a reset for the character. But her career took her to the east coast, and back to the warzone of ABC.

4 minutes ago, Liberty City said:

I get why he killed off Caroline ⏤ the first Caroline, anyway. But it was also a hasty decision, considering Joanna Johnson returned mere months later as Faith Roberts (a.k.a. Karen Spencer).

Joanna Johnson return was December 1991, so almost a year and a half later. Her second departure was Spring 1994 (can't remember the exact month off hand).

Honestly... Ronn Moss with the facial hair? That changes things for me, I'm not going to lie.

The fact Brooke is heavily pregnant with Eric's baby, engaged to him, and Caroline just died... and she's daydreaming about being Ridge's already. 🤣

The Ridge/Thorne/Caroline/Brooke quad got derailed with the Thorne recast, Joanna Johnson announcing her departure, and KKL real-life pregnancy. Thus Bill Bell had Ridge/Caroline marry and set up Thorne/Macy and Eric/Brooke.

On 6/15/2026 at 10:50 PM, Liberty City said:

I get why he killed off Caroline ⏤ the first Caroline, anyway. But it was also a hasty decision, considering Joanna Johnson returned mere months later as Faith Roberts (a.k.a. Karen Spencer). And to think Katherine Kelly Lang at one point auditioned to be Caroline, as well. In [finally] watching the full Caroline arc, I can safely say had Johnson not left the role or Bell not killed the character off, Caroline truly would have been the woman for Ridge. I kind of wish Bell had just allowed Johnson some time-off to pursue other projects, and written Caroline out on assignment for Eye on Fashion, etc.

Genie Francis would have been a suitable recast for Caroline, too. I do think she would have been a reset for the character. But her career took her to the east coast, and back to the warzone of ABC.

Hunter Tylo said that when she auditioned for the show, she was auditioning for both Caroline’s doctor and Caroline herself. Bill Bell was trying so hard to find a suitable recast for Caroline and then just realized it was futile and decided to have her succumb to cancer.

I have been watching from the beginning and season one, episode 120 is so bizarre. Suddenly Stephanie is showing up at the Logan house to see Caroline for the first time AGAIN. She meets Beth for the first time again, even though all this happened a few episodes ago. Except now Caroline has already identified her attacker in the lineup. There’s all new scenes with Storm and Beth and Stephanie together in the Logan kitchen….it’s all so bizarre.

I feel like they decided to move around some scenes after they were already shot and they accidentally messed up the continuity. Surprised no one noticed before it aired or else they DID notice and weren’t going to spend the money for even more reshoots. 🤷🏻‍♂️

I have struggled with the show for a long time but finally have become interested again. I'd say April 1994 was the turning point for me. THey wrapped up the awful James/Taylor story, she's finally dead for a little while and Sheila is back. The Spectra stories are weak but the return of Sheila, Stephanie and Eric at the forefront and Brooke/Ridge/James are all working for me.

I'm happy I got past that rough patch and am excited for whats to come. I know we have some new characters coming like Jessica Forrester and Karen will thankfully be leaving soon. Excited to see what these changes bring!

6 hours ago, Chris B said:

I have struggled with the show for a long time but finally have become interested again. I'd say April 1994 was the turning point for me. THey wrapped up the awful James/Taylor story, she's finally dead for a little while and Sheila is back. The Spectra stories are weak but the return of Sheila, Stephanie and Eric at the forefront and Brooke/Ridge/James are all working for me.

I'm happy I got past that rough patch and am excited for whats to come. I know we have some new characters coming like Jessica Forrester and Karen will thankfully be leaving soon. Excited to see what these changes bring!

What storylines do you consider to be the rough patch?

On 6/16/2026 at 8:10 PM, kalbir said:

The Ridge/Thorne/Caroline/Brooke quad got derailed with the Thorne recast

It was pretty much over by the time they they recast. One of Norcross' last scenes was meeting Macy.

9 hours ago, Chris B said:

I'm happy I got past that rough patch and am excited for whats to come. I know we have some new characters coming like Jessica Forrester and Karen will thankfully be leaving soon.

I couldn't stand Karen at first but really enjoyed her once she left Thorne's orbit. I thought her romance with Connor and her uneasy friendships with Brooke, Macy & Sally were all great. Sadly, Spectra as a viable second main setting kind of falls apart after she leaves.

Speaking of Thorne, casting Eric's offspring, aside from Ronn Moss, was a major black mark on Bill Bell's tenure on the show:

-Clayton Norcross looked like a Forrester but was a very limited actor

-Terri Ann Linn was the worst actor in B&B history who somehow made it 3 years. To be fair, the writing was all over the place for Kristin: we were supposed to believe she was a kind soul who also encouraged Clarke to abandon his son; who did nothing but stupid things in front of other characters who commented how smart she was...

-Jeff Trachta was a decent actor, but he couldn't generate any heat with any of his love interests

-Colleen Dion was the best bunch but she really struggled in confrontation scenes

To Brad Bell's credit, he knocked it out of the park with his first crack at Thorne (Windsor Harmon), Rick (Jacob Young) & adult Bridget (Jennifer Finnegan). His subsequent tries with that trio though weren't nearly as successful.

4 hours ago, Romalotti said:

What storylines do you consider to be the rough patch?

I found the show to be difficult to watch most of 1993. Kristen and Felicia had fizzled out and I haven't been a fan of Taylor in this initial run. Sheila has been a shot in the arm for the show but once Brad Bell took over I noticed a big shift in quality. I also hated James' introduction and interactions with Taylor. I find he works much better now that he is in Brooke, Stephanie and Sheila's orbit. Another thing I didn't love was breaking up Thorne and Macy.

On 6/15/2026 at 11:50 PM, Liberty City said:

Genie Francis would have been a suitable recast for Caroline, too. I do think she would have been a reset for the character. But her career took her to the east coast, and back to the warzone of ABC.

One of the problems with Genie is she was so known that the name/face overpowered the roles. The only part which would have interested me is if she'd gone head-to-head with Susan Flannery.

1 minute ago, DRW50 said:

One of the problems with Genie is she was so known that the name/face overpowered the roles. The only part which would have interested me is if she'd gone head-to-head with Susan Flannery.

That would have been delicious. So delicious! Omg!!!!!

Those "who's that man" promos are still so hilarious and bad 30 years later.