B&B: Bold from the beginning

[Forever8]

I would love both Felicia and Kristen to appear more even if it involves recasting both roles. But Brad will be Brad and by the second week would lose interest in writing for them. Even though Felicia returning to the canvas with her young adult son. And not to mention I could see her being protective of Eric regarding Quinn and throwing remarks at both Quinn and Carter. Imagine her possibly being paired with Bill as well. 

 

Who was a name back then that could've been a recast Kristen? I'm trying to think of one. 

[DramatistDreamer]

Apart from  few actors here and there, B&B was never really known as a playground for big talent, lol. 
I have long since ceased to watch but hearing what some are saying about Kristen and Felicia being off the canvas, it seems odd that they wouldn’t at least appear for short storyline arcs. 
Seeing these early years, I have developed a fondness for the original actress for Kristen. Yes, I know the acting was not the best but she and Daniel McVicar did have really really good chemistry, despite Clarke being a cad and her exit storyline being not very good.

Felicia and Kristen are both designers yet the fact that both have been marginalized seems so counterproductive to the very premise of this soap.

 

[Chris B]

Kristen is such a ruined character I don't know that I'd touch her now, but you could at least have regular (a couple times a year at least) appearances to deal with Zende's mess. Now Felicia? Lesli Kay was so successful in the role that it makes absolutely no sense that she doesn't pop up at all. I still hate her Y&R crossover didn't work out.

[kalbir]

Around 1996 it was rumored Bradley was going to recast Kristen with Melissa Reeves but as we know that didn't happen.

Also 1993, Marcy Walker turned down a part on B&B. I think it was Kristen, but I haven't seen anything to confirm that.

[DramatistDreamer]

I couldn’t see either one of them as Kristen.

[Liberty City]

I would've loved to have seen Brenda Epperson as Kristen prior to Melchior's casting.

The potential of Felicia's crossover was so missed. Lesli Kay had some amazing chemistry with Joshua Morrow.

[Huntress]

Probably, but Karen Moncrieff was only listed among the contract cast for 3 weeks. In episode 649, she was removed.

In turn, Michael Fox (Saul) was added to the contract cast in episode 659.

[DramatistDreamer]

1989 seemed to be the year this show was intent on making damn near everyone look sleazy. 
 

The writing of the female characters is so reductive, I am not sure how people found this acceptable even back then. Pretty much every woman except for Stephanie and Sally are written to look as desperate as humanly possible. 
 

And you can tell Kristen won’t be long for the canvas. They have decided to give her the worst, least dignified dialogue of anyone, and with some of these female characters who are beyond desperate, that’s saying a whole lot. Were they mad at Teri Ann Linn for leaving or something? 

Are there any interviews with Teri Ann where she talks about her time on the show or when/how she leaves? I would be interested in hearing how her exit came about and how she felt about it. 
‘The writing seems as if they just wanted Kristen off the canvas for the foreseeable future.

By the way, I also think Dr. Moncrieff was a prototype for Dr. Taylor Hayes.

Edited May 3, 2022 by DramatistDreamer

[Sapounopera]

I think that 1989 was way too soon for the show to give up on the "normal" characters. Beth was replaced by Sally, Macy took over from the Logan girls. From one point I understand that Bill Bell wanted to move the show to the 90s, focus on the fashion world and the rich LA people.But B&B lost something (its heart?) when it became all about the Forresters.

[Maxim]

I do not agree. I couldnt wait for Beth... Katie... Rocco... Mark... to go away... Sally Spectra coming gave the show more upbeat, funny energy... I do not think the dialogue is sleazy... its just real. I was tired from all the safe dialogue and boring undramatic scenes from the first couple of hundred of episodes. The show got better from mid 1989 and it gets better and better. I agree only that Kristens storyline seemed a bit rushed and the character of Mick Savage was very poorly acted by an actor that I find unbearable to watch. I think there are spots in 1992.1993 when its getting little cheap... but its overall the best of times. I find that the character that started losing dept later on... after 1991... was Stephanie. She started to go from 0 to 100 without the agression build up. She had a bully energy but no the sophisticated one from 1987.1991 ... she just seemed rushed by the writers. But I loved her...

[Videnbas]

I actually saw it the opposite way - with the introduction of the Spectras (which coincided with the phasing out of the Logans), the show *found* its heart. I saw a much warmer camaraderie and more solid family loyalty with the original Spectra core gang (Sally, Macy, Saul, Darla) than I ever did with the Logans. The Logans had just as much internal conflict as the Forresters in those early days (Donna flirting with Rocco while setting him up with Katie, Grandma and Beth at odds over Beth's affair with Eric, the family basically being divided into two opposing camps over Stephen's return, and eventually Brooke's relationship with her mother's "true love"). Besides, the "close Logan family" was not sustainable anyway because we were introduced to them at a point in time when all the kids were about to "leave the nest". That was bound to change the dynamic. 

I agree the show got more dynamic around 1989. And yes, out of all the characters, Stephanie is the one that has truly had a "negative" character development. She started out incredibly complex and then gradually started *losing* layers. Her subtlety in the early years was a joy to watch. At the end, she was a shadow of her former self.

[Maxim]

Everytime there is a cheap dialogue... I know Bradley Bell has been writing... Haha... Some episodes are so differently written... it's shocking.

[DramatistDreamer]

IMO, the moment the original actress who played Beth Logan, Judith Baldwin was gone and the show decided to replace her with an actress that looked like her complete opposite, it was only a matter of time until the Logans would fade in terms of prominence. Storm and Katie never had much story to speak of and Donna's stories usually faded fast and as of when I had been watching, Donna is a plot point in the poorly written Deveney and Thorne story. The writing made the Logans unsustainable and it became especially clear once Judith Baldwin was no longer a part of the cast.

[Maxim]

I agree that the Beth replacement was bad. That woman looked like she didn't fit in that family. It was inorganic. And she had that constant sad face... that just drank energy from the viewer. I couldn't wait for her to be gone.

[DramatistDreamer]

Seriously, Deveney's eyes were closed after the car went off the embankment. TPTB obviously reshot scenes with Deveney's eyes open and intercut them with the previously shot scenes. I hate it when production takes the viewers for fools.

Just terrible.