B&B: Old/Classic Discussion & Articles

[charholden5]

I always wondered why the show was so successful in Europe. That totally makes sense, Communism fell and it was like a whole new world. The former Communist countries got the American shows. I am so old, I was only 13 when that happened. The success of all the soaps was that there wasn't any internet I think. I remember having to read the spoilers from the magazines.

 

[BoldRestless]

Y&R and B&B seemed to have much less detailed spoilers than other shows. It would be more like a vague description of what would happen that week than day to day breakdowns. I liked that because there was still so much genuine surprise. I remember once someone wrote a letter so Soap Opera Digest complaining that Y&R and B&B were the most boring soaps. They "proved it" by the fact that the spoilers were not specific therefore nothing ever happened on the shows. The editors actually had to put in a clarification that the Bell shows chose not to give daily spoilers as policy.

 

One thing that fascinated me was B&B was so much more popular than Y&R even though Y&R was #1 in the US and the more serious show.... I guess it had a lot to do with the format with B&B being 30 minutes and a smaller cast and simpler storyline to follow with only a couple of core families. B&B seemed to have caught on like fire everywhere whereas Y&R really caught on in France but got cancelled in other countries like Italy.

Edited July 4, 2020 by BoldRestless

[charholden5]

I always wondered what B&B would be like if it went to an hour. Bill Bell was thinking about it. I think that was the time when he brought Lauren Fenmore over from Y&R. The whole Catalina Island storyline and the getting involved with Eric. She was there for a few years in the 90's.

[Maxim]

My mother actually remember that back in 1994, when the show first started airing in my country, it was so big, that people would skip everything to watch. Streets would be empty. And these were the first amazing years of episodes, so back then while I was in her tummy... she watched it and sometimes she jokes that maybe I heard the show inside and that's why I loved it when I grew up. It was my ritual to watch it and after it was perceived to girly for a boy to watch Bold, my father forbid it. I would not sleep to watch the early morning repeat, so that my father won't see me watching the girly show. Maybe that's why I become so obsessed. It was my first ever rebellion. I would tape and secretly watch the episodes again. I was in love with Stephanie and Brooke and Sheila... there were the silent moments of the morning, when everyone would sleep and I would be in my secret dark world of Bold and Beautiful. It changed my life.

[BoldRestless]

I'm female and my dad also banned me from watching at age 10 because it was too sexy. 

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 My mom would tape the shows for me and we'd watch them after school and I'd switch to educational programs when my dad got home from work! I remember once I really wanted to watch my first Daytime Emmys but it was on at night so I had to play sick so I could go to bed early and watch in my room. 

[GLATWT88]

That's sweet. It's nice that it meant so much and was so special for you. Did the perception of soaps in your country become seen as a girly thing over time or do you think your age may have been the issue? Like your dad was fine with you watching when you were younger, because he saw it as no big deal then but as you got older he saw it as threatening to your masculinity? Or maybe a bit of both.

[Maxim]

At the beginning, when I was very very young like 3-4-5 years old I don't think he minded it, because he didn't think I understand it. But when I was older... like 9-10... he started to worry that it's too feminine. He wanted me to play sports, while I was fantasizing about a soap opera and running around my room pretending to be Brooke or Stephanie. I am 25 years old and I am a proud Bold and Beautiful fan and I dont care about anymore. My father to this day laughs when I mention the series. He is used to it by now. Bold is essential for getting to know me.  I will forever love it. At least love the classic Bold.

[j swift]

So, now that I've found the B&B vault can someone tell me the episode number(s) or date(s) of Kristen's top bachelor in LA toga party when Ridge and her father tried to find her a date?  I've seen the pictures and read the articles and now I feel as if I am ready to see the actual episode.

[Marquise]

1988 - ep. 307 Party for Kristen

1989 - ep. 554 Ridge's bachelor party 

enjoy

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I was like about 10 when i started wathing it. It was when it started airing in my country. I watched it after school with my mom. And sometimes with my grandma. Even my grandfather watched it. It was a hit. I remember once going on vacation we watched it the whole family so not to miss it.  I used to collected magazines and sut out pictures. When we got cable TV i recorded the show on the German RTL, Austrian TM3, Danish tv, TV Norge and Swedish Kanal 5. On the scandinavians chanels it was in English so i was very excited. I watched like the years till 1990 on TM3, till 1997 on RTL. TV Norge used to air it morning  - classic episodes from 1990-1994 and in theafternoon from like 1997. So i remember good the years from 1990-1992/1993, and very well 1997-1998. Then my cable tv stoped these chanels and RTL i think topped airing B&B. I even watched some episodes on a Turkish Show tv, but since i do not know the language lol. The episodes were from 1999-2000. Then they stopped it there too. 

[Marquise]

In my coutry we used to watch Dallas. They showed olso As the world turns and stopped it. They showed Sunset Beach too. I think GH was never shown. I was so surpriced when like 10 years ago a tv chanel decided to air The young and the restless. It was never shown before. It started from nowehere like from 2008 i do not know becouse i do not watch it. Then the chanled shutt down so it was for like a 1-2 years.

[KristinG79]

 

Don't you mean Kanal 5 in Sweden? I'm from Norway and I know that TVNorge didn't do this. (Sorry, just nitpicking.)

Edited July 5, 2020 by KristinG79

[Marquise]

oh, my mistake, Kanal 5 did. It was 20 years ago i must have forgoten

[LuckyBold]

I guess that was the point. Plus the Friday cliffhangers 

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 We were so behind the US that the channel started airing two episodes per day, even on weekends at one point. The descriptions were obviously more detailed in magazines. I remember the day my family installed the Internet. I looked up B&B and the first thing I saw was Darla's death. I still recall that shock (it was around 2007 and at that point we had the episodes from 2001) when I read about Darla's story as we still had her as just a quite stupid secretary. Then I found out Taylor is gonna die and come back, I had enough of spoilers and decided to just watch without it  

 

It's very good question. Why do we love B&B so much?  I could never fathom it out. I guess Bell created such a wonderful world with amazing characters and good actors that made it irresistible not to watch.

 

As for Y&R, in Poland another channel broadcast it for a short period, but they just randomly selected episodes form 2001-2002 I think. I remember waking up at 7 a.m. and watching it. I recall a story with Rick Hearst, he was inside the mind of some crazy chick Tricia? There was supposed to be a wedding, and she attacked the bride and took her place at the altar. I think Victor escaped from some trial to that wedding?  I was a kid, but I remember that because I was surprised to see crazy Whip Jones there   But it never gained the popularity of B&B. 

 

 

Edited July 5, 2020 by LuckyBold

[charholden5]

I can't imagine the show being that so many years behind. I guess you were right about not reading the spoilers on the way internet. NOTHING would have been a surprise.

[Marquise]

Now when i watch the old episodes my mom says - they were so young and beautiful, and the houses and the fashion. When i started watching it my mom must have been at her 40's like Stephanie and Beth. It was her generation. When we had internet in my house the first thing was also to read recaps and download pictures and partial videos. I remember watching the episodes on Diva Tv but they must have been on youtube or somewhere else, becouse i did not downloaded them, and now i am sorry. I remember the fun i had downloading pictures/recaps/ stills from episodes. Still have a lot of them. There was a site called Anki's picture paradise with a huge amonth of pictures and another one called Bold down under. With tons of pictures. Does any of you know these sites? 

Btw now i get the stills from Celebrity City forum. Any athor good place you know?

I also used to download pics from https://www.fame10.com/ but since may something change and the quality of the pics is low and not HQ. They are .web and not jpg. May be i do not know how tho download them they use to be HQ before.

Edited July 5, 2020 by Marquise