Sorry to be blunt but Caroline was better off dying than getting stuck in the triangle for 35 years! It was bad enough she left Thorne for rapey Ridge, imagine what character assassination would ensue over the years. Basically Taylor's storyline. 

1 hour ago, BoldRestless said:

Sorry to be blunt but Caroline was better off dying than getting stuck in the triangle for 35 years! It was bad enough she left Thorne for rapey Ridge, imagine what character assassination would ensue over the years. Basically Taylor's storyline. 

In the grand scheme of things, you're probably right.

I shudder at the thought of Bradley writing for Caroline.

19 hours ago, BoldRestless said:

Sorry to be blunt but Caroline was better off dying than getting stuck in the triangle for 35 years! It was bad enough she left Thorne for rapey Ridge, imagine what character assassination would ensue over the years. Basically Taylor's storyline. 

Agreed. Caroline would have had to endure what Taylor has (whether Taylor has deserved it or not is another matter altogether). We'd never have got one of the saddest, most permanent death scenes ever on B&B either. So very few characters stay dead on B&B, so whilst I missed JJ being there (and was so excited when she came back for a few years as Karen/Faith), I'm glad of the way Caroline's story ended (and it should never ever be reversed).

 

18 hours ago, kalbir said:

In the grand scheme of things, you're probably right.

I shudder at the thought of Bradley writing for Caroline.

I can't help but wonder... how much more incredible story we could have seen if Bill Bell had been 10-20 years younger and had kept writing the show for years to come. He handed over the reins to Bradley... just when Bold was reaching its peak... It was a show in perfect condition. And we all know what Bradley did with it. 1994 was a very hard year to swallow after 1992-1993.

22 hours ago, BoldRestless said:

Sorry to be blunt but Caroline was better off dying than getting stuck in the triangle for 35 years! It was bad enough she left Thorne for rapey Ridge, imagine what character assassination would ensue over the years. Basically Taylor's storyline. 

I can't believe TPTB even wrote this rape scene between Caridge and still married them a year later. This one was even worse than Bridge in 2006 (at least he didn't have all the informations with Brooke... with Caroline he knew exactly what he was doing, it was a calculated move). They probably thought Thorne shooting Ridge was Ridge's redemption story but I didn't see it that way. 

There are actually many parallels between Caridge 1988 and Willuna 2025. Ridge passed himself off as Thorne just like Luna did with Electra. Caroline didn't know because of the darkness, Will didn't know because of the masks. Small differences but very similar contexts. 

2 hours ago, Maxim said:

I can't help but wonder... how much more incredible story we could have seen if Bill Bell had been 10-20 years younger and had kept writing the show for years to come. He handed over the reins to Bradley... just when Bold was reaching its peak... It was a show in perfect condition. And we all know what Bradley did with it. 1994 was a very hard year to swallow after 1992-1993.

Who's to say how long Bill Bell would've continued writing B&B if not for his health issues. My guess is that he probably would've written the first 10 years and if there was an expansion to 1 hour he would've passed the reins to Bradley then.

14 minutes ago, Jennybold1974 said:

I can't believe TPTB even wrote this rape scene between Caridge ... with Caroline he knew exactly what he was doing, it was a calculated move). They probably thought Thorne shooting Ridge was Ridge's redemption story but I didn't see it that way. 

I did not like Ridge taking advantage of Caroline after she had overindulged in champagne, especially when considering she had been raped a year earlier.

In Bill Bell's defense that was during the writer's strike so who knows if it was even his idea.

I only recently discovered that Thorne shooting Ridge in the aftermath of finding out that Ridge and Caroline became involved and then not remembering the shooting was a redo of a Bill Bell Days storyline.

11 minutes ago, kalbir said:

Who's to say how long Bill Bell would've continued writing B&B if not for his health issues. My guess is that he probably would've written the first 10 years and if there was an expansion to 1 hour he would've passed the reins to Bradley then.

What do you think was the first significant storyline fail after Bradley took charge? Personally, I would argue it was the decision to make Taylor... Princess Leila. And the entire fiasco surrounding it. This cartoonish storyline clashed with the... up to that point... quite realistic tone of the show.

And yes... I understand that this storyline has its fans, but I am not among them. Moreover, it has not aged well over time. I can picture myself watching and somewhat enjoying this if I were a teenager... I mean... I used to watch bad telenovelas as a child and enjoy them. This was not that far from it.

 

33 minutes ago, Jennybold1974 said:

I can't believe TPTB even wrote this rape scene between Caridge and still married them a year later. This one was even worse than Bridge in 2006 (at least he didn't have all the informations with Brooke... with Caroline he knew exactly what he was doing, it was a calculated move). They probably thought Thorne shooting Ridge was Ridge's redemption story but I didn't see it that way. 

There was even a foreshadowing of the rape back when Caroline got her apartment. She was a virgin then. She'd fallen asleep, and Ridge climbed into bed, letting her wake up and think they had sex. She cleverly retorted it must not have been very good if she can't remember it, so he quickly confessed. He is such an ass. 

49 minutes ago, Maxim said:

What do you think was the first significant storyline fail after Bradley took charge?

B&B hit a lull from when the Catalina crossover ended until Ridge/Brooke beach wedding.

50 minutes ago, Maxim said:

Personally, I would argue it was the decision to make Taylor... Princess Leila. And the entire fiasco surrounding it. This cartoonish storyline clashed with the... up to that point... quite realistic tone of the show.

And yes... I understand that this storyline has its fans, but I am not among them. Moreover, it has not aged well over time. I can picture myself watching and somewhat enjoying this if I were a teenager... I mean... I used to watch bad telenovelas as a child and enjoy them. This was not that far from it.

Taylor the Desert Princess was cheesy and offensive and has not aged well.

8 hours ago, Maxim said:

What do you think was the first significant storyline fail after Bradley took charge? Personally, I would argue it was the decision to make Taylor... Princess Leila. And the entire fiasco surrounding it. This cartoonish storyline clashed with the... up to that point... quite realistic tone of the show.

And yes... I understand that this storyline has its fans, but I am not among them. Moreover, it has not aged well over time. I can picture myself watching and somewhat enjoying this if I were a teenager... I mean... I used to watch bad telenovelas as a child and enjoy them. This was not that far from it.

 

It was the earthquake storyline for me. The first ~2 months of 1994 are pretty good, but that laughable storyline heralds the mid-90s downturn era. It was even worse than the Princess Leila storyline, except not as interminably long. Or maybe it was Connor turning into a roofie rapist with Karen (I don’t remember if it happened simultaneously or slightly after).

As for the 1999-2002 silver era, the initial jump-the-shark was the superfast mid-2001 breakup of Brooke and Thorne, which was both insultingly rushed and signaled the show was unwilling to evolve its characters. If 1999 to mid-2001 uncharacteristically strong for Brad Bell, the late 2001 through 2002 is more like supremely enjoyable guilty pleasure trash. Then comes 2003, which killed the show.

1 hour ago, Anooj said:

It was the earthquake storyline for me. The first ~2 months of 1994 are pretty good, but that laughable storyline heralds the mid-90s downturn era. It was even worse than the Princess Leila storyline, except not as interminably long. Or maybe it was Connor turning into a roofie rapist with Karen (I don’t remember if it happened simultaneously or slightly after).

As for the 1999-2002 silver era, the initial jump-the-shark was the superfast mid-2001 breakup of Brooke and Thorne, which was both insultingly rushed and signaled the show was unwilling to evolve its characters. If 1999 to mid-2001 uncharacteristically strong for Brad Bell, the late 2001 through 2002 is more like supremely enjoyable guilty pleasure trash. Then comes 2003, which killed the show.

Oh I agree. I didn't like Taylor sleeping with James just because they were "dying". It felt like a character assassination. Up to that point Taylor had never done anything like that and was the complete antithesis to Brooke. Why make her cheat on Ridge like that... It made no sense.

And boy how right you are about 2003.

As usual... I just live for your analysis. 

The Karen intro is wild. Bill Bell wrote some bad stories, and dropped others completely. But this is this first story on Bold that feels like it was thought up on Friday and began shooting the next week.

Episode 1 has Blake seeing Caroline's portrait for the first time. In the next episode Karen is his waitress in Texas. In the one after that Margo sees the newspaper clipping (where Bill looks the same age as he does in 1991) of her kidnapping. As if Margo wouldn't have heard about this, Bill wasn't exactly a nobody.

She wasn't even needed storywise as the Brooke/Ridge/Taylor triangle was going full throttle. Anyone know the story here? Did Bell panic after seeing how popular Caroline was overseas?

 

One of my favorite lines of dialogue premiered on youtube in HD! (from 2007) 
"You're histrionic, you're narcissistic, quite frankly... I think you're borderline."

Honestly, I'm amazed how time has totally changed my perception of these episodes. Back in the day, I thought the show was in rough shape... so repetitive and bland... and for years later, I dismissed 2007 as just a forgettable mistake. But now that the official channel is finally gracing us with it in high definition, I find myself peeking at some episodes (not watching in full, just snippets here and there) and it feels like a work of art compared to the current mess that is the show in 2025. And... a million times better than the nightmare that is 2003... (we're still stuck at the end and haven't even bothered to watch in months. I might have to force watch through this nonsense.)

Overall, our little classic viewing project (my husband was a total Bold newbie and started with episode 1) went pretty smoothly from 1987 to 2002, but then we hit a brick wall with the 2003 episodes. I bet a lot of people threw in the towel back then. I have to check to see the ratings. The Ridge-Bridget incest saga killed the show... and the dialogue? Absolutely atrocious. Worse than what we have now... even. The only thing I can liken it to is... a bad telenovela - repetitive, characters rambling to themselves endlessly while violins weep in the background. Just bad. I have fonder memories of 2004 and I actually enjoyed 2005 for its sheer absurdity and craziness. We'll see if we can keep this going. But honestly, it's a struggle. Still, I think there are some storylines from 2004-2016 that I want my husband to experience. After that... who knows if I'll even bother to watch again. It's just that bad.

Edited November 11Nov 11 by Maxim

Another change in perception I've noticed. While watching a part of 2007 episode my husband came through the room and saw Taylor... Hunter Tylo... and commented - Oh my god, she's so beautiful, so gorgeous. And I started thinking... well... back then in 2007 most people were cringing at how HT looked and the overall consensus was that she looks too artificial and bizarre and that the surgery was not successful. But that was a different era almost. That was before the culmination of social media... before all the influencers with huge fake lips and botoxed faces... instagram where everyone looks the same... tik-tok - the goldmine of Kardashians-type junk food entertainment. I started thinking that if you look at how HT's Taylor looked back then... through today's lens... you would have such a different reaction. Some would say... as my husband did... that she looked amazing even. And yet... in 2005-2007 we were all shocked how different and plastic surgery-ed she seemed. By today's standards... it's nothing almost.

I don't know if this is a bad or a good sign of what has happened in society/social media/etc.