B&B: Bold from the beginning

[Videnbas]

It's an interesting question when the decline of Brooke's character began. 

I'd say she was pretty consistent for many years. She was fascinated by the Forresters and drawn to Ridge. I think even her brief infatuation with Eric was believable in terms of a rebound (with a little subconscious revenge on Stephanie thrown in).

For me, the moment when Brooke went off the rails was when she suddenly set her sights on Thorne in 1999 and proclaimed he was her new destiny. That was just such a shift for the character who up until that point had been all about Ridge (with Thorne firmly in the friend zone). The fact that Thorne was her third Forrester didn't exactly help. It just felt unhealthy at best, and out of character at worst, for both characters.

After that, Brooke became the scandalous woman who will sleep with anyone no matter who he is married to, including family members. And that part of her grew bigger as her other roles (as a professional woman and a mother) were pushed to the background.

I also feel this coupling signaled a shift in the show as a whole towards a more "anything goes" attitude in terms of which characters could be paired up. 

Edited October 20, 2021 by Videnbas

[Videnbas]

I have to say, I almost miss this early attitude towards recasts. The writers clearly had a story to tell with the character and weren't dependent on any one actor to tell it. It's a refreshing change from the current actor-centered writing where the story tends to be adjusted according to which actors are available. 

[Forever8]

And wasn't Donna a journalist or at least a journalism student when Carrie Mitchum was in the role? Years later they acted as if JG Donna was some "blonde bimbo" who never been anywhere higher than high school. 

[Liberty City]

Yeah; it was such a jarring switch, and they kept using the voiceover for a few episodes. Such a bad change.

Switching from Clayton Norcross to Jeff Trachta was such a downgrade. For me, Norcross was the best in the role, followed by Winsor Harmon. Do we know why the switch between Norcross and Trachta happened? Or is it another Judith Baldwin/Nancy Burnett situation?
Thankfully, William J. Bell had this unspoken rule (at least I believe it was unspoken) to not recast a character more than three times.

[Videnbas]

Yes, at least for a while she pretended to be an intern at Spencer Publications and she wrote an article that Bill found genuinely impressive. Donna was really ruined by the recast when they pretended she was just a "dumb blonde".

Actually, I think recasting Thorne with Jeff Trachta worked really well, even though I liked Norcross as well. Trachta's Thorne had the same softness and sweetness that Norcross did, but added a more humorous and extraverted side to Thorne which worked well in his interactions with Macy and the Spectras (in fact, it was needed to match them). I also think Thorne's scenes with Stephanie became more interesting after the recast.

For me, recasting Trachta with Harmon was far more jarring because his Thorne was completely different from the character played by either Trachta or Norcross. We got a less refined version of Thorne, and the qualities that made Thorne Thorne - the softness, the contrast to Ridge's playboy style, the vulnerability - were downplayed.

[j swift]

The amount of time that Ridge spends in a speedo by the pool is remarkable.  Today he was in a black bikini by the pool talking to his mother, and it was nightime!  At least put on some shorts dude.

[DramatistDreamer]

Yes, I remember seeing a scene where Ridge is lying down and the camera pans over his silhouette and in a very obvious way lingers over the outline of his body and uh, bulge, for lack of a better word.

Thinking back, B&B was the first daytime soap in my personal memory where sex was "sold" in a manner that was so blatantly obvious. 

[Franko]

Have you all seen the episode where Ridge is chilling on a sleeping Caroline's bed in just a pair of red manties? That was a bit of a surprise.

It feels like the flesh parade really kicks off beginning on Memorial Day 1987. Might as well hook the young/summertime viewers, I guess.

I'm also amused by Ridge/Ronn strictly wearing Speedos or briefs, whereas Thorne/Clayton and Eric/John are in shorts.

[DramatistDreamer]

Also, they were competing with the likes of cable television, not to mention MTV, (which was only expanding a large fanbase among that demographic) which had more freedom to air more risqué content. 

I suppose that B&B, being a new serial at the end of the 1980s, might have been seen as an easier vehicle in which to push the boundaries than its predecessors, which were likely already being held to stricter standards.

Yeah, but B&B made it fairly obvious where they believed their bread and butter were. In the first episode, if memory serves me correctly, Ridge may have even stated that sex sells while grousing to Margo his disapproval of his father's conservative design practices.

[j swift]

I also recall on Y&R when the Abbotts or Newmans would have their annual 4th of July celebrations, Brad was always in a speedo while Nick and Jack stuck to shorts. 

In neither case were male bikinis considered to be in style at the time, it was just an opportunity to show some flesh.

[Dion]

I do recall a SOD article from summer 1997 that was discussing the renewed popularity of swim shorts on soaps (they'd gone in and out of fashion throughout the years) and (amongst other soap characters) the article mentioned Thorne (then played by Winsor Harmon of course) wearing shorts then specifically added the line "Ridge will never change" lol

[YRfan23]

Ryan also wore Speedo’s at a July 4th party once, and Danny wore them on his Hawaiian honeymoon with Cricket. 

[DramatistDreamer]

One thing this look back has afforded me is the opportunity to realize that people like Brenda Epperson appeared on soaps before her stint on Y&R. I guess that's how she entered the Bell soaps universe.

[BoldRestless]

They're almost done posting August 1987 and no preemptions for Iran-Contra. They have the show airing every day in July and August so far. I wonder if they are not posting the actual airdates but the planned airdates from ths scripts. That would mean they might jump ahead and have a bunch of "missing days" in September to catch up.

[Soaplovers]

I think Bell shifting away from the original recipe Logans after a year or two did hurt the show.  Shame the show couldn't have kept them..along with introducing the Spectras.