B&B - May 2015 Discussion thread

[Ben]

When did it out-rate prime time shows? I checked Media Spy, and the show hasn't cracked the Top 20 recently. Monday's episode did increase to 458K, but considering it rated 420k the other day, that's not a huge increase.

That's how I felt, too. They basically glossed over it all, and it's quite jarring on screen. I don't trust Rick sincerity, even though it's written as if he's sincere.

[Paul Raven]

I stand corrected Ben. I went on a comment made on another site.

[Soaplovers]

I'm sure.the using Maya to get over Caroline angle will.be revisited once Caroline is back full time...imhp

[ChitHappens]

You think? How often does a heterosexual male hear something like that and just wants to be held by his gf? I guess this is the norm? Your significant other tells you they used to be of the opposite sex and nothing? Clusterfuck! PSA's are not for soaps. There was a way to do this big and dirty but still get a message out there.

Ridiculous crap!

[reallyhateskateonlost]

I just want everything to backfire on Bill.

They are all going to yell at him...lol

[edgeofnik]

ITA with the way the story is inconsistent. There are many times when characters like Brooke will say "Rick barely knows Maya." Huh? He's known her for 2.5 years! When did Caroline enter the picture - oh, yeah a whole 9 months earlier. It's just odd that they often skip that whole history (and how Caroline manipulated things to get Rick). Moreover, there should be more credit given to Maya that she fell for Rick without knowing who he was. I believe not reinforcing those facts misses out on an opportunity to give the relationship a stronger foundation.

[dragonflies]

LOL if you aren't convinced Rick loves Maya you ain't been watching then, cause he does. JY has sold that time and again. Caro was always obviously rebound after Maya the first time.

I should Erica Kane slap you for this

[Ms. Chandler Quartermaine]

I agree. It's obvious to me he loves her, there was nothing insincere about that proposal. Even that scene when she was about to walk out on him, he proved it, but there was still alot of hangover from the Caroline breakup.

Maybe it has more to do with KM/JY, but they work well together. The last tome I thought he worked this well with a female partner was with MCE on AMC.

[Cheap21]

Rick was fine with all of this until he found out Ridge knew first? Really? OKAY. He is so dumb. He thinks Bill can just take the articles down? Its on the internet. Its now out there forever

I cant stand this Nick person. STFU and go away,. Why are you even here. He's coming across way too preachy and I thought rude. Walking PSA.

Go Bill! I like that he alluded that he's gone after Rick as payback for shooting at his niece. Good for him

Katie shut up. Why is she even still around?

[marceline]

For real. I chalked it up to my being a new viewer but that confused me.

That was clunky all the way around but honestly I was still laughing at how Nick ended up in that office because there was no one at the reception desk. I would love for someone to do floor plans for soap building like they did for primetime shows.

They really did suck.

I feel like the writers split up a normal reaction to Maya's disclosure by giving half to Carter and half to Rick. Carter was allowed to get angry and call her out on lying to him. He was allowed to question his own judgment. Rick was given all the acceptance.

On one hand I liked Rick's reaction because that's the kind of reaction I want for anybody who has a hard thing to tell. Whether it's coming out of the closet, confessing to a medical issue or something intensely personal like having done time or rehab, etc..., it's hard not to relate to the level of risk someone is in when they make themselves vulnerable and KM has played the [!@#$%^&*] out of that. OTOH, it felt rushed because Rick didn't go through any of the stuff that Carter did and that I think most people would. I would've preferred that acceptance had taken a little longer and to see more of a struggle even if it was just him going for a walk to sort it all out in his head. (This is the moment when I realize just how much Agnes Nixon has influenced my soap tastes.)

[ChitHappens]

M, your eloquent observations are unrivaled. I know you want to say this is crap and not why we watch soaps but you won't. I dig that. I really do

This story had failure from eppy 2 and it should not be rewarded AS A SOAP! Folks are fogetting that this is a soap because Rick did, in your words, what they would like for him to do if it were them. The meat from this carcass was abandoned and the hyenas will be around shortly.

A writer from back in the day would have received EARNED awards that Bold will probably get for this stupid PSA as they did nothing bold or edge of your seat. #EPICFAIL

[marceline]

LOL! You need to stop. I've never had a problem calling out crap as crap when I think that's when it is and you know that. I think this is a case of you and I having different tastes.

I'm a soap fan who loves PSA stories. The longer and more emotional, the better. That's the kind of drama I gravitate towards but - as has been noted many times - B&B isn't a soap that does PSA stories well. I think they've done some good work with this. Even if the writing has been...haphazard, I think KM and JY have done excellent work and I'm always happy to see people in the genre take risks.

[SFK]

marceline, great observation about the Rick/Carter emotional reaction split. I think the show very purposely underplayed Rick's reaction for the sake of going where no other such denouement has gone before (i.e., the "duped" male beating his trans partner/getting sick to his stomach). The overall impression was a little lacklustre but maybe that uncomfortable, dissatisfied gray area that we're feeling is "a good thing"? We'll see...

[SFK]

I believe that he loves her, I just don't buy that he loves her as much as he professes. Such manic, obsessive love is seldom real. I think Rick, like a lot of people, has gotten caught up in the idea of loving Maya, worshipping her, putting her on this pedestal to get back at Caroline, and with time, he's fallen for his own lie. Again, not saying that there's no love there, as mentioned, he was quite enamored with her when she first came to town and all. But sometimes when you're feeling lonely/empty/broken, a prospect comes along and your emotions go into overload and you make your love for someone out to be more than it really is. (Personal experience, much? ) In real life, I think in a few months Rick would float back to reality and have a, "What the hell was I thinking?" moment when he looks back on how pressed and ridiculous he was for Maya.

All that said, I think the show is bending his love for Maya to something more genuine and sentimental for the sake of the subject matter. Respecting the tale of a transgender person is, at least for now, going to be more important than Rick playing games/being mixed up emotionally. They probably feel that they have to play his love as really real at this point in order to do justice to the storyline. If he is not really in love with her, there's nothing at stake.

[Ms. Chandler Quartermaine]

First off. My God none of Maya's friends can act..Nick, Othello..get her a actor friend please

Secondly, I like how they played him unknowingly hurting her with his "embarrassment, humiliation etc" complaints. He's making this all about himself, and he doesn't even see it

ETA: That bitch drove off