B&B: Old/Classic Discussion & Articles

[Huntress]

I just finished watching 1993 for the very first time, and while this was probably the best year of the show I've seen so far, there were also some very strange storyline decisions.

First of all, why are Thorne and Macy still married? At this point, they've been enstranged for over a year, having been with Karen / Sly in the meantime, and their constant yelling of "I need a break from our marriage!" in each other's face doesn't make sense since they've been on a break for ages.

Speaking of Sly – what a wasted character. I liked him when they briefly tested him with Felicia in 1992, but after that, he was merely a plot point for Macy's alcoholism. IMO, it wasn't really clear what his true intentions with Macy were. Somehow he just stopped appearing and was bumped to recurring status in December.

I loved Darla and Bill's romance and it was so sad that it just abruptly ended with no explanation. When Bill wanted to close down Spectra, he and Darla acted as if they didn't know each other.

The worst storyline had to be Sally's fake pregnancy. All the characters involved in that story were much to old for these type of shenanigans. I don't mind Chris Robinson as Jack, but he didn't have any chemistry with either Sally or Stephanie. It was also weird that after Stephanie had exposed Sally's lies, there was no real follow-up that Jack and Stephanie got back together. They continue spending time together, but they come across as friends rather than lovers.

Of the "new" cast additions, I only like Anthony.  Connor is a sleazebag. In one episode, he sleeps with Karen, and in the next, he wants to bang Brooke in her office. In B&B Land, it's apparently okay if a guy dates/sleeps with two women at the same time, but if a woman does the same, she's deemed a slut (especially by other female characters). The women are only angry at their female rival, but never angry at their love interest.

The James/Taylor storyline is boring, and Keith and Kevin are such non-characters. Thankfully they have already been reduced to background characters (even though they are still on contract at this point).

My favorites in this era are Stephanie, Sally, Brooke, Sheila ... and Darla. I don't mind Karen but the writing for the character is seriously lacking. Of the males, only Eric is mildly tolerable.

Edited February 15, 2023 by Huntress

[Maxim]

The official youtube channel has started to upload only damaged episodes from season 10... without background music and very low quality. Its like a complete disregard for fans and disrespect to the show itself. They should just stop it already... we will just watch on videoland. Its unbearable to watch episodes without background music. What they are doing is damaging the legacy of the show.

[BoldRestless]

Ugh. Thanks for the warning. I've been saving but not watching. I hope someone lets us know if they replace the episodes. That's ridiculous.

[Maxim]

Yes. The last 20-30 episodes have been uploaded like that. I think someone wants the views to die down so that they need to stop uploading. 

[Marquise]

I keep donloading and watching but it is not the same without music

[sheilaforever]

I would not go that far that the episodes are now unwatchable (some of Taylor/Thorne had that label even with music... ;-))) but I noticed it too over the weekend. No closing credits and no background music for the past 20+ episodes. Very weird - indeed I'm also hoping for the continuing videoland uploads.

[YRfan23]

Why??

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  I mean this was the nicest thing the show did was make this channel and air these episodes and now they decide to butcher them??....I shudder to think how old Y&R videos would look now on an official channel if they keep up with this.  

Is at least Season 7/ 1993 ok? since they are still uploading those?

[Soapysoap]

My two cents. The show is still intend to upload all seasons, according to spokesperson on Facebook. There’s still huge audience watching and uploading wont just fade away. For quality, I dunno. Maybe the show does not actually have copies of all episodes as it should be but I doubt that. For me, I enjoy the storyline and in middle of all excitement I don’t think about the quality. I’m really looking forward for 1998 episodes. 

[Vizion]

It wasn't just hinted at. Grant's very first scenes on the show, Eric is taking him around the Forrester offices and he meets Taylor and there is a definite spark there but they act like they don't know each other. Later on he goes to Taylor's office, they start kissing and she says "what took you so long." Then it is revealed they went to college together and were an item then. They definitely position Taylor as "the one that got away" for Grant and while he is sort of having no strings attached sex with Sheila he is chasing Taylor. It was pretty clear they were the plan but Tylo left for Melrose Place and it all got completely derailed. They pulled her back into Ridge's orbit to get some Tridge scenes in before she exits the show.

[Vizion]

I was always a Taylor fan but watching the show back now it is kind of unfathomable to me how often they let Hunter come and go. I mean, I feel like stories from 94-96 are nearly completely derailed because of her being so in and out. 

-94 she leaves to film a miniseries

-Late 94 she returns (but apparently stayed away longer than anticipated- though they always knew she was coming back)

-Early 96 she leaves for Melrose Place

-Late 96 she returns (only for a few weeks though because she immediately goes on maternity leave)

Prior to the 94 exit it seemed like there was an obvious set up for Taylor to get pregnant and be unsure of who the father was (she and Ridge had been trying to get pregnant non-stop and she slept with James at Big Bear). They were clearly tting up a very messy quadrangle. 

When Hunter returned in 94, it felt like the show was not sure how long she would stick around (with good reason) so they stuck her in a nothing romance with Eric that never went anywhere and they never even had sex.

Then it seems like they get somewhat confident Tylo is going to stick around so they cast Charles Grant as an ex-lover who wants another chance only for Tylo to actually leave shortly after and they pivot to that very lazy Grant/Brooke/Ridge whatever.

Then Tylo returns in 96 and in one of the most nonsensical moments ever on the show accepts Ridge's marriage proposal even though they barely had 5 conversations since her return. Then she disappears to go on maternity leave. 

I don't like mid 94-96 of the show very much and I think its partly because you can see them stopping and starting stories and doing all these strange pivots because of this. 

 

Also I will always wonder what the original point was of the letter Taylor wrote confessing to Ridge. Was that Bill's idea that Bradley didn't like so he just dropped it? Stephanie took it and never gave it to Ridge but it makes no sense to me that they didn't use it as part of Taylor's 94 return when they KNEW that Hunter was coming back. It was just a very bizarre and dumb choice? I heard they brought it up again in 2005 and I couldn't care less about that or anything after 2002, but I really don't get having a story where she sleeps with James, writes a letter confessing, Stephanie intercepts and then NEVER addressing it again in 94, 95 or 96 when she returned.

Edited February 19, 2023 by Vizion

[Franko]

I didn't feel like bumping my old thread about actors quickly moving onto their next roles, but Michael Sabatino deserves a mention. His last day on DAYS was Monday, Oct. 18, 1993. According to the B&B YouTube channel, Michael began on BOLD on Friday, Oct. 15. Is that the correct date, or are they off and he premiered on Friday the 22nd?

[kalbir]

@Vizion I haven't rewatched any 1996 B&B, that's why my memory of Grant's introduction was off. I agree that Hunter Tylo being so in and out from 1994-1998 derailed alot of storylines.

[Vizion]

Looking back you didn't miss much. There was wayyyyy wayyyyy too much focus on Rick and Bridget, good God, those kids ate the show and dominated nearly every story. Also trying to put Brooke in a domestic role and turn Lauren into Brooke did not work at all. 

As far as Tylo was concerned, it was a bit crazy that Bill Bell allowed that. I was just looking because I was trying to establish a timeline for some B&B stuff and this is an article from The Washington Post:

She was playing psychiatrist Taylor Forrester on a daytime soap opera, "The Bold and the Beautiful," when, in late 1995, she joined the "Melrose Place" cast in the role of Taylor McBride. The popular evening soap, serialized on the Fox network, tracks the intricately interwoven lives of the uniformly sexy inhabitants of an apartment building in Southern California. A melange of skin, deceit and improbabilities, the program is the brainchild of Aaron Spelling, a producer legendary for his frothy, racy touch.

According to attorney Goldberg, Tylo told the "Melrose Place" producers that she was pregnant in March 1996, when she was only a month along. It was her third child; the baby, Isabella, was born in November 1996.

The producers decided to fire her "within five or 10 minutes," Goldberg said, and informed her by letter on April 10, 1996. 

So they knew in late 1995 that Hunter was going to leave B&B a few months later in 1996 (seemingly for good). She had barely been back a year from her last exit!

[Maxim]

Guys please let's bombard the official youtube channel with messages to fix the audio. Please. They should know its absurd and disrespectful. Please write on the new 1997 uploads. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[boldau]

They don’t care. They know the problems exist, yet do nothing. We are still waiting on missing episodes from season 4 which they promised. Seasons 22-26 were uploaded twice (the second time as a daily episode and in worse quality than the initial release). Only left or right audio for half of season 4 into season 5. No background score music or closing credits on season 10. 360p resolution from about season 3 onwards, yet we got 720p/1080p for seasons 1&2. Interns would do a better job.

Sorry for the rant lol