Prime Video (via Shout!) continues to air the 1987 year, as well as 2011 to 2013, and the stark contrast in quality is apparent. William J. Bell had a true vision that Bradley Bell has destroyed.

52 minutes ago, Liberty City said:

William J. Bell had a true vision that Bradley Bell has destroyed.

I will forever maintain that Bradley did not inherit his father's talent.

I know I keep saying it but it bears repeating whenever the opportunity presents itself.

56 minutes ago, Maxim said:

It is! The first 7 years... 1987 to 1993 are really... special. Especially 1989 to 1993.

100% this.

Just now, kalbir said:

I will forever maintain that Bradley did not inherit his father's talent.

I know I keep saying it but it bears repeating whenever the opportunity presents itself.

He clearly did not, which is a shame because of the legacy both of his parents had in the industry. It's night and day watching the 1987 versus what comes next on the Shout! channel. Truly is. All of those wonderful qualities in terms of production and writing have been stripped away to nothing.

18 minutes ago, kalbir said:

100% this.

Sometimes I randomly type an episode number into the YouTube search bar... anything from 1 to 1700. Then I just watch whatever comes up. I've seen all these episodes multiple times by now. I know half of the iconic scenes by heart. I can recite the famous Stephanie-Brooke confrontation from 1993 word for word while I'm in the shower. Sometimes my husband even finishes the lines, LOL.

But no matter what episode number comes up... I'm always amazed at how clever, witty, and genuine the dialogue is. And the acting, God... For every cringe Ronn Moss scene... we had Susan Flannery giving Emmy-worthy performances. She delivered on such high level that I rarely even see on primetime. How she did this... every... single... episode... is beyond me. 

That's when you remember why you fell in love with this show. Because, honestly, some days when I watch the current state of Bold... I start to believe it was ALWAYS like this. It feels like a deep stench of rotten garbage... You can hardly remember how it used to be.

Anything after 1994... is unfortunately not comparable to the golden years. Yes, even Bradley Bell had his good years, but compared to his father's work... it's NOTHING. Yet most people only know Bold from the Bradley era and they label the entire show as trash. That's why I'm so thankful they uploaded the early classic years on YouTube. Now people have the opportunity to see that we weren't all idiots for loving this show. There was so much to love!

14 hours ago, rsclassicfanforever said:

Im uploading the rest of S13. But Episode 3345 is only a tv recording and episode 3361 will be replaced when both episodes aired on VL

Thank you so much Angel! Curious - did the YouTube versions of 3256, 3264, 3281 and 3283 have issues and that's why you have the VL versions? I couldn't find anything wrong with those YT versions but then again I didn't watch them fully through and just did a quick scan for errors.

Edited August 1Aug 1 by BoldKara
Mistake re 3278, YT version is better than VL.

Ron Moss on the 80's show "The Judge". This uploader who does mostly game shows has started uploading episodes of 1980's courtroom dramas. Meredith MacRae appears in another episode.

I used to watch these fake court series as a kid back then and I remember a lot of soap actors appearing on them like Tonya Lee Williams, Joanna Johnson etc... 

 

42 minutes ago, SoapDope78 said:

Ron Moss on the 80's show "The Judge". This uploader who does mostly game shows has started uploading episodes of 1980's courtroom dramas. Meredith MacRae appears in another episode.

Thanks for letting us know. The scripted court show is a lost era (and more interesting than all the People's Court/Judge Judy sister and brother shows). It's hard to find these episodes and even harder to find info on them, as you can see from the shambolic IMDB entries. I hope someone out there can start sorting out dates, casts, etc.

Edited August 2Aug 2 by DRW50

On 8/1/2025 at 11:28 AM, Maxim said:

And the acting, God... For every cringe Ronn Moss scene... we had Susan Flannery giving Emmy-worthy performances. She delivered on such high level that I rarely even see on primetime. How she did this... every... single... episode... is beyond me. 

 

SF took all the no talents back to acting school. It was the combination of SF acting and Bill Bell writing that made Stephanie a complex and layered character and not the one-dimensional villainess she became under Bradley. It's a shame that SF did not get any love from the Daytime Emmys during the Bill Bell years.

As for RM, he was very fortunate to have SF as a scene partner to carry him through his scenes and Bill Bell writing that allowed the audience to ignore his bad acting. RM acting got progressively worse during the 1990s and Bradley writing didn't help either.

 

On 8/1/2025 at 11:28 AM, Maxim said:

Anything after 1994... is unfortunately not comparable to the golden years. Yes, even Bradley Bell had his good years, but compared to his father's work... it's NOTHING. 

Bill Bell last hurrah was Belief. Bradley took over not long after. There was a lull from the end of the Catalina crossover until Ridge and Brooke beach wedding. Bradley peak was Fall 1994 through first half of 1995 when all the storylines culminated. Second half of 1995 was the start of the tanking era and we know the rest.

Edited August 2Aug 2 by kalbir

Here’s pretty rare photos from Finnish magazine I found, Susan Flannery at her home. Captions says she prefers hair bun on her days off since Stephanie’s hairdo is pretty uncomfortable 😅

Just now, Soapysoap said:

Here’s pretty rare photos from Finnish magazine I found, Susan Flannery at her home. Captions says she prefers hair bun on her days off since Stephanie’s hairdo is pretty uncomfortable 😅

Thank you! This is truly rare. Never seen it before. Amazing. 

21 hours ago, kalbir said:

 

SF took all the no talents back to acting school. It was the combination of SF acting and Bill Bell writing that made Stephanie a complex and layered character and not the one-dimensional villainess she became under Bradley. It's a shame that SF did not get any love from the Daytime Emmys during the Bill Bell years.

As for RM, he was very fortunate to have SF as a scene partner to carry him through his scenes and Bill Bell writing that allowed the audience to ignore his bad acting. RM acting got progressively worse during the 1990s and Bradley writing didn't help either.

 

Bill Bell last hurrah was Belief. Bradley took over not long after. There was a lull from the end of the Catalina crossover until Ridge and Brooke beach wedding. Bradley peak was Fall 1994 through first half of 1995 when all the storylines culminated. Second half of 1995 was the start of the tanking era and we know the rest.

You captured the essence of Susan Flannery perfectly. She truly was a masterclass in soap opera acting. Correction. Acting, period. I haven't witnessed performances like hers since then. She has saved the show countless times. In my opinion, Bold... lost its last remaining heartbeat with her departure in 2012.

1 hour ago, Maxim said:

You captured the essence of Susan Flannery perfectly. She truly was a masterclass in soap opera acting. Correction. Acting, period. I haven't witnessed performances like hers since then. She has saved the show countless times. In my opinion, Bold... lost its last remaining heartbeat with her departure in 2012.

So true. B&B was always at its best when it was Stephanie vs Brooke, and when Stephanie left she left a huge hole. Steffy vs Hope doesn't work as a rivalry since Brad Bell's writing is clearly lopsided in favour of Steffy in a way that it never was with Stephanie/Brooke.

2 hours ago, Soapysoap said:

Here’s pretty rare photos from Finnish magazine I found, Susan Flannery at her home. Captions says she prefers hair bun on her days off since Stephanie’s hairdo is pretty uncomfortable 😅

Wow! She looks beautiful. What year was this if you know?

4 hours ago, BoldRestless said:

Wow! She looks beautiful. What year was this if you know?

The magazine is dated September 20, 1996 but I’m not 100% sure how old the pictures are 🤔