Why Are Folks Here Much Tougher on Y&R Than on B&B?

[bluejeanbaby3]

I haven't watched B&B since 2008. I have picked up on what's going on from message boards and such and I just always think to myself --- Bell drug Taylor/Brooke/Ridge out for 25 yrs., so why are people surprised with what is going on now with Steffy/Hope/Liam? I mean no offense.

[frequentsoapfan]

It's because Steffy/Hope/Liam eat up all the airtime with no room for anyone else.

[JellicleCat]

Taylor/Ridge/Brooke wasn't on for 25 years. Taylor didn't appear on the show until 1990, and the triangle didn't really start until 1991 or 1992. And then Taylor was off the show for several years in the early 2000s.

That triangle also never monopolized the airtime to the extent that Steffy/Liam/Hope do, and it was better written for a long time.

[Chris B]

Brooke/Ridge/Taylor was COMPLETELY different! At the same time you also had Lauren/Sheila, the Spectra's and Stephanie always had story. It was a triangle that went on forever, but it was never the only story, which is the problem now. Steffy/Liam/Hope IS the only story. That's ridiculous. They throw a bone like this horrible Dayzee/Marcus story, but you can tell that was short term. I also think its pretty insulting to finally bring back the black people to do a silly social issue story. Treat them like everyone else.

[DRW50]

Unfortunately aside from the short-lived mess with Jasmine, that's all they've ever done with black characters on B&B.

[bluejeanbaby3]

I read an article recently that stated the 25 year triangle of R/B/T was finally over. That's where my reference comes from. Sorry if the author wasn't accurate. It's not that important to me. Again, no offense.

[Cheap21]

What's sad is that B&B probably has the strongest representation of black characters on daytime today

[hot20]

Growing up, my mother and grandma watched the CBS soaps so naturally I developed a fondness for them. However, Guiding Light was always my favorite and the only one of the four CBS soaps that I watched religiously from 1990 through 2005. I said that to say this, while I've never been a diehard fan of Young and the Restless, I've always appreciated the quality of the show. The only thing that kept me from becoming a diehard fan was the pacing. I could not stand that the show would spend years on one story. For instance during the height of the Sheila Lauren story, Sheila's mother had a stroke and it took her months to say baby (she was trying to warn Lauren that Sheila had stolen Lauren's baby).

Somebody in an earlier post compared it to Shakespeare and I couldn't agree more. Every aspect of the Young and the Restless worked together harmoniously like a grand orchestra. The background music was outstanding, the sets were lush and beautiful, the cast was glamorous and sexy, and the storylines were outstandingly written. Again, I never watched the show religiously but I understood why my daddy, mom, and grandmother did. Young and the Restless was the gold standard of soap operas and when you're at that level and fall, you have a long ways to fall. Consequently, people are going to notice.

I turned to Young and Restless a few months ago after not seeing it in years and I was shocked at the mediocrity I was witnessing. I could not believe the show that was once a classic was now churning out stories that reminded me of the stuff you'd see on Passions. I think this is the reason people are complaining so loudly. I'm sure it is hard for fans to swallow the show in its current state after the show was so brilliant for decades. The Bold and beautiful has had its moments but it will never be what Y and R was in its heydays.

[Cat]

I love your entire post and absolutely agree with it but I did just want to stick up for B&B.

Back in its hey-day (which for me was 1987-98, roughly), B&B was equally as glamourous as Y&R but in a slightly different way. It was set in LA, so we had the California "bright lights of sunshine" but there was always a dark, psychological undertow there. The dynamics of wealthy, dysfunctional families was explored with depth and maturity, helped not least by the founding lynchpin performances of Susan Flannery, Joanna Johnson, Jim Storm, Lauren Koslow, Katherine Kelly Lang, etc. When Kimberlin Brown joined, that darkness and multi-faceted character study reached a zenith. If Flannery was the show's dark heart, Darlene Conley was its relatable soul, giving balance to what could have been a stifling show.

I loved the show then, especially in its early days when it was this "little jewel." But the quality has since deteriorated, much earlier than Y&R's decline and fall. If people criticize Y&R now, it is because the erosion in quality has been (in Bell soap terms) relatively recent -- less than a decade maybe? With B&B, that erosion has occurred over the better part of 15-20 years. So it's not so newsworthy, luckily for Brad Bell.

[DRW50]

B&B started to go to pot in 1995 (I'd say early 1994). Since then it's been up and down. I think 2000-2001 was another decent period, and then another crash.

[Cat]

1998 was a random ballpark figure... I was trying to include a period which included CJ, Rick, even Kimberly because there was some good stuff there. But IA that 1995 was probably the start of the dumbing-down and plot-by-numbers writing.

[DRW50]

My first REAL issue with B&B was the Jessica/Dylan statutory rape story. There was no need for this, they were the only young couple on the show, I thought they were sweet (not supercouple but sweet), and then after a few months or less of dating, suddenly he's on trial for statutory rape. I thought it was just a leaden social issue story which took away from a nice little love story. The characters never recovered, IMO.

B&B had had social issue stories for a long time but until then they'd usually been woven into the drama. This was the first one where social issue triumphed over all else, which, looking back, is when I think Brad Bell truly took over as headwriter.

[DRW50]

This was also around the time of the James/Taylor "don't let me die a virgin" story, which I thought was very offputting, and apparently someone at the show agreed, as this was dropped for over a decade.

[MontyB]

......but Ridge and Brooke have been on since the beginning and they've always been involved in a triangle of some sort. It's been the same story over and over. No one really expects much from B&B.

[hot20]

You're right about B&B. I went on so long with my review of Young and Restless that I didn't want to prolong my post with details about B&B. I couldn't agree with you more. The Bold and Beautiful has had great moments and in the early days it was just as glamorous as Young and the Restless. To be honest, B&B still has its glamorous look. The sets are still lush and beautiful and I feel that their background music still has that Bill Bell kind of quality if you know what I mean. B&B's biggest problem is that it has had the same writer/executive producer for years. Since the Bells own the show, I don't see that changing anytime soon. Bradley Bell has lost his way and he has been criticized for years for not having a "B" storyline.

This show has been known to spend months on one story without a break. That works out great when you're enjoying the story but when you have the mess that is Liam/Steffi/Hope you are bored to tears. B&B write too many love triangles. If Brad gave viewers some variety I think things would be better. Why does he never write murder mysteries and or psycho stories? An evil twin story would be more welcome than the endless barrage of love triangles. Another problem this show has is the knack of focusing on a handful of characters. The show has spent decades writing for Ridge, Brook, and Taylor with a side of Stephanie and Eric. For a while the show became obsessed with Bridget and Nick and now it seems to be focused on Liam, Hope, and Steffi.

Most soap operas have loads of legacy characters. The Bold and the Beautiful doesn't. The show is good about snapping up legendary actors and doing nothing with it. For example, Rick Hearst, Sidney Penny, Linda Gray, Patrick Duffy, Crystal Chappell, Hillary B. Smith, Matt Borlenghi, Sarah Brown, Sarah Buxton, Brian Gaskill, Dax Griffin, Lesli Kay, Lorenzo Lamas, Debbi Morgan, Antonio Sabato Jr., and I could go on and on but you get the point. While some the characters these actors played had stories, they were mostly used for throwaway characters for the core four. Many of the aforementioned actors had created memorable characters on previous soaps but B&B wrote forgettable characters for them to play. Had this show been balanced correctly, Susan Flannery and Ron Moss's exits would not have been so devastating. The show could have pulled in some legacy characters but unfortunately this show has none.

Who’s going to carry this show now? Ron Moss may not be a good actor but he is popular and he has played a popular character for over two decades. Like it or not, his departure will leave a great void and while I always detested Stephanie's medaling, she gave the show a certain class and that will definitely be missed. I do have fond memories of the B&B's past. I miss the days when the Katie and Donna were both in love with Rocco. I loved Lauren Koslows Margo and the story about her uncle molesting her brother Jake. I enjoyed Sheila's "the hand that rocks the cradle" type of story in the early nineties. I hate that they killed Caroline off and turned Brook into a slut. Remember when Brook was innocent. Remember when she was the girl from the wrong side of the tracks that long to be with the rich prince Ridge? Had they kept Brook's character in that form, she and Ridge would have had a more endearing love story. Why can't soaps be the way they use to be?