When did "Bold and the Beautiful" stop being good to you?

[will81]

Does anyone else notice Y&R and B&B had a similar trajectory. Classic until about 94ish or 95 Okay until 02/03 Watchable but not great until 05ish. Although we never discuss it, I think Bell's illness started hitting him in the mid 90's. I think B&B following a similar path confirms my hunch that Bell was very much involved in B&B even after he stepped down in 1993. 2002 was definitely the turning point for both soaps and I wonder if Bell was just too sick by that point that he had little to no input. The fact Bell's Y&R Senior Exec title was stripped from him before his death says a lot.

 

As for the show. For me it was the destruction of Brooke. Bell spent years highlighting the fact that despite Brooke's faults, she was a good mother. Even Stephanie said it multiple times. Then the affair with Deacon just threw all that away. It wasn't just the story, it was the trashy nature of it all as well. She was now the whore of the valley. Though the character was never the same to me when she hooked up with Thorne. Hated that, degraded Brooke's entire character arc of feeling she was meant for Ridge, even when she was with Eric she never talked of him the way she did Ridge, and she even cheated on Eric with Ridge. Suddenly now Thorne is the love of her life and the only man she was meant for. They should have either had Brooke marry Ridge and Taylor marry Thorne and kept Thomas' paternity a secret (to come out at a much later date) or moved her on. To me, Ridge and Taylor were so boring. Brooke caused trouble and made things exciting. Imagine her spending years worrying about Ridge finding out Thomas was his son, and the fireworks when it finally came out.

 

I also gotta say at the time I cared little for Macy's dad and sister (Kimberley????) the blonde who was infatuated with Rick. Also thought Taylor and the hypnotist were boring too, I barely remember it to be honest. 1999 was when I started dipping in and out. 

 

Then there was Susan Flannery. She gave up at some point. She left that show emotionally long before she did physically. A poorly written Brooke and Susan not caring and Ridge and Taylor married made me tune out fairly often. 

 

Not related but I had this strange memory of the show. Does anyone else remember when Sheila got out of jail or the mental institution and was living in that house and everyone kept turning up at her door to tell her to stay away from them, haha. Don't know why it popped in my head. Must have been 95 or 96.

 

SHEILA: Stephanie, what are you doing here?

STEPHANIE: I came here to tell you to stay away from me and my family

SHEILA: I haven't even left the house

STEPHANIE: And I will see to it you never will

Edited February 21, 2021 by will81

[sheilaforever]

This DID happen in January 1996. Ridge, Lauren, Stephanie - they all visited to tell Sheila exactly that. The only one with whom Sheila sought contact was Brooke.

Edited February 21, 2021 by sheilaforever

[Soapsuds]

When Stephanie left. 

[will81]

Lol, I thought so. Thanks for confirming

[ChitHappens]

The moment Steffy hit her head and became obsessed with Liam was the year Bold and Beautiful died!  

[soapfave06]

Will81, that was a great assessment as I didn't really watch before 2009. I kept up in the magazines but nothing grabbed my attention, attempted to get into the show in 2009 but got briefly hooked the summer of 2010-I was so excited to see Amber back only for them to waste her, and loved Brooke sleeping with Oliver as a newer viewer. However I was bored with the umpteenth pregnancy story until late 2011 and totally invested in the Steffy/Liam/Hope triangle and Jacob Young back as Rick. 

 

I agree with the other poster who said 2011-2016 wasn't bad. Amber/Rick/Maya had potential and Aly and Oliver were adorable while the Avants were a great addition. But they killed any and all momentum and I lost investment. 

 

Had they invested more in business oriented storylines and kept a focus on fashion with some occasional psychological drama instead of monthly PSAs that were poorly written and the same conversation about the main triangle for all characters I think the show could have been on fire. 

[juppiter]

It was never consistently good, but it used to have like a 2 week period every 6 months or so where it was must-see TV. But it could never sustain anything because Bradley writes like he has ADHD. I pretty much gave up after one of the Sheila returns where she had a daughter (Erica) and they kind of just dropped it with no payoff, and I gave up for good for good when Susan Flannery retired.

It cannot be exaggerated how awful the recasts are. I can't even tune in every once in a while like I do with DAYS because the B&B recasts immediately repulse me.

Edited February 22, 2021 by juppiter

[DRW50]

I've never been a hardcore fan of B&B, even when I watched I was often likely to complain (especially about characters like Ridge or Taylor), but for me the show is just not the same after somewhere around the period that Brad Bell takes more control. That would probably be somewhere around 1994 or 1995. That's when the show starts to lose its glossy, pulpy identity and you start getting the glut of really bad, stupid, embarrassing stories like James and Taylor having sex at Big Bear mid-avalanche because he didn't want to die a virgin, Brooke having a breakdown on the Virgin Islands and clutching dolls after it was revealed that Bridget was Eric's daughter, moments like Thorne divorcing Macy by fax, the writing that was too biased on Stephanie's side and made her into a gorgon, the truly gross treatment of Jessica Forrester (especially her rape storyline),  etc. 

 

There are still some decent moments here and there from that point on (and I even got back into the show more heavily around the late '90s), but that is the line, to me.

Edited February 22, 2021 by DRW50

[ccroom50]

------Also When The Bold and the Beautiful(B&B)Stopped Being Good To Me------

When Bradley Bell Stopped Writing Businesses and Corporations Stories That Is The Bread and Butter Of The Show

 

When Bradley Bell Refuses To Add Any Albino Actors and Actresses and Characters On The Show To Add To The Diversity Of The Show

 

When Bradley Bell Refuses To Listen To Us Fans/TV Viewers That We Don't Like Either The Show Or Characters Or You Focuses On The Wrong Things and Don't Change Nothing and Make This Soap Opera The Iconic "Late" Bill Bell and Lee Phillip Bell Shows That It Used To Be

 

When Bradley Bell Refuses To Have and Show The Forrester Family and Spencer Family and Portray Them Like Actual Rich Families With Millions and Billons Of Dollars Like They Do On Shows Like: Lifestyles Of The Rich and Famous, Dallas, Dynasty, Falcon Crest, The Colbys, Etc.

 

When Bradley Bell Refuses To Give B&B Female Characters An Actual Job Or Purpose On The Show, Characters Like: Shauna Fulton, Flo Fulton Logan

 

When Bradley Bell Bring In Or Add New Characters and Don't Interact Them Properly With The Rest Of The Cast, Characters Like: Shauna Fulton, Flo Fulton Logan, Zoe Buckingham, Paris Buckingham, Zende Forrester Dominguez, Etc.

 

When Bradley Bell Refuses To Many and Several Public Places and For People To Hanging Out In and Enjoy Themselves and Have Great Conversations In

 

When Bradley Bell Refuses To Have Many and Several Restaurants, Fast Foods, Businesses and Corporations To Make B&B's Los Angeles and Beverly Hills Look Like United States Of America

 

When Bradley Bell Listen and Incorporate Social Medias and Focus Groups Opinions About The Show Instead Of Us Fans/TV Viewers Opinions About The Show

 

 

 

 

Edited February 22, 2021 by ccroom50

[Soap-princess]

For me it was when Taylor died in 2002?