B&B: Bold from the beginning

[j swift]

Agreed, I also ate it up with a spoon when Angela's shifts into a villain and they use it as an opportunity to resolve Thorne shooting Ridge.

[Chris B]

I have become so obsessed that I am falling behind on all of my other shows. I'm deep in 1990 (around the time of Sally/Clarke's wedding) and this year has been nonstop! I feel like the show has been good from the beginning, but lots of growing pains/slow periods, but it was good solid setup. Now it seems we're getting all of those payoffs. The storylines are being spread out amongst the cast, the supporting characters are good, we have comedy elements with Saul and Darla who are excellent and Sally has been a brilliant find. Watching these old episodes, it makes me sad they don't commit to a Darla/Saul and a character like Sally.

Another thing that has surprised me is how much I'm enjoying the new Thorne. As a child I didn't care for him or Macy, but I think he's better than the original, has chemistry with everyone and the character feels more important with him in the role. I also liked how they handled the triangle with Donna and Macy, which felt more mature than Brooke/Ridge/Caroline. 

Up until now I don't feel they've used Stephanie to the best of their ability, but this year she is brilliant. I'm glad we're seeing her in a story as opposed to supporting her childrens storylines. This rivalry with Brooke is insanely good and their chemistry is undeniable. She also has great chemistry with Sally. 

As for new characters, I'm enjoying nuStorm, Felicia is fantastic and I can't believe she didn't last longer and Jake is showing potential. The one thing I don't like is how they swapped Kristen for Felicia. I feel like there was potential to keep her around and do a triangle with Storm.

[Liberty City]

1989 (S3 E48) FULL EPISODE 541

The scenes between Sally & Stephanie are gold... especially when Stephanie insisted on calling the bank to ensure funds were in the bank.

Thus far, the third season is stronger than the second.

[kalbir]

For whatever reason Bill Bell didn't explore Kristen/Felicia sister relationship. I could see them fighting over Clarke. I remember Felicia having some flirtation with Clarke but it ended up not going anywhere.

The writer's strike was over and Sally arrived. That's when B&B really hit its stride.

[sheilaforever]

Season 2 had its golden moments like Kristen/Clarke and the Angela suspense (plus some super strong acting of Susan Flannery!), yet everything pales in comaprison to the 1990-1992 Spectra clan. Everything feels just so fresh and organic with all of these characters (minus Mick Savage) that it is just great TV.

[Liberty City]

Sally came in headstrong and shook the canvas us. Love it. And yeah, it seems like William J. Bell swapped out Kristen for Felicia; reminds me of no one allowing Kate on Days of Our Lives having no more than one-son on the canvas at the same time.

The Angela storyline was golden!

[kalbir]

We often point out the similarities between the early years of B&B and 1970s Y&R but how about similarities between the early years of B&B and Y&R at around the same time? It was mentioned earlier in the thread that Katie being the shy insecure sister because of her acne was similar to Traci being the shy insecure sister because of her weight.

Another comparison I thought of could be Caroline/Brooke rivalry similar to Ashley/Nikki rivalry. Caroline/Ashley, both from wealthy families. Brooke/Nikki, both from working class backgrounds. Some differences though. Caroline was a clear-cut heroine but Ashley (at least ED's 1982-1988 version) wasn't, and Brooke was a clear-cut vixen but Nikki wasn't. Also Caroline to me didn't initially come across as goal oriented the way Ashley initially was and I felt Brooke was always on the lookout for a come up more so than Nikki was (and oddly enough Nikki got the come up with her marriage to Victor).

Edited October 1, 2022 by kalbir

[Troppo]

I still don't understand why the official channel is uploading duplicates of previous seasons. Season 24 & 25 were already uploaded over a decade ago, in HD quality.

Just concentrate on filling the gaps and correct mistakes. Work smart, not hard!

[Huntress]

Contract Changes between episodes 890 and 1200:
Note: Full closing credits are not shown regularly. Usually, they appear every 5th episode, but sometimes there aren't any credits for up to 10 episodes.

Episode 897:

• Sherilyn Wolter – Dr. Taylor Hayes (temporary recast, removed)

Episode 967:

• Michelle Davison – Ruthanne Owens (added)

Episode 994:

• John Brandon – Ben Maclaine (removed)

Episode 1002:

• Peter Brown – Blake Hayes (added)
• Brian Patrick Clarke – Storm Logan #2 (removed)
• Carrie Mitchum – Donna Logan #1 (removed; last appeared in episode 991; was briefly replaced by Mary Sheldon for 3 episodes; Sheldon was not credited for her appearances)

Episode 1087:

• Michelle Davison – Ruthanne Owens (removed; demoted to recurring status)

Episode 1129:

• Jane Rogers – Julie Delorean (removed, demoted to recurring status)
• Jim Storm – Bill Spencer (removed, demoted to recurring status)

Episode 1185:

• Joanna Johnson – Faith Roberts aka Karen Spencer (added)

Episode 1188:

• Dorothy Lyman – Bonnie Roberts (added)

[Huntress]

Dorothy Lyman (Bonnie Roberts) was only on contract for a few weeks. She was bumped to recurring in episode 1230 and made a few more appearances before departing the show for good.

Little jump to season 10: The following cast members were on contract in September 1996.

• Landry Allbright – Bridget Forrester
• Tracey E. Bregman – Lauren Fenmore
• Kimberlin Brown – Sheila Carter
• Ian Buchanan – James Warwick
• Darlene Conley – Sally Spectra
• Barbara Crampton – Maggie Forrester
• Bobbie Eakes – Macy Alexander
• Susan Flannery – Stephanie Forrester
• Charles Grant – Grant Chambers
• Brent Jasmer – Sly Donovan
• Katherine Kelly Lang – Brooke Logan
• John McCook – Eric Forrester
• Daniel McVicar – Clarke Garrison
• Ronn Moss – Ridge Forrester
• Dylan Neal – Dylan Shaw
• Lindsay Price – Michael Lai
• Kyle Sahiby – C.J. Garrison
• Lark Voorhies – Jasmine Malone
• Maitland Ward – Jessica Forrester

Despite being featured on the opening credits, Jeff Trachta (Thorne) and Schae Harrison (Darla) were only recurring. In turn, Brent Jasmer (and child actors Allbright and Sahiby) were not included in the opening credits.

[yrfan1983]

Thanks, love these details! Dorothy Lyman was also recurring at the time on "Life Goes On" as Chad Lowe's mom, so maybe she wasn't available enough for BnB.  

Interesting in '96 that Bridget is on contract but her older brother Rick isn't.

[I Am A Swede]

No Taylor?  

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[kalbir]

Fall 1996 it looked like B&B was getting ready to expand to 1 hour in time for the 10th anniversary but as we all know that didn't happen. I also think the expansion plans falling through lead to the Spring 1997 cast purge.

[Huntress]

Hunter Tylo had quit B&B in June 1996 after receiving the part of Taylor McBride on Melrose Place. However, she was fired from that show prior to filming any scenes because of her pregnancy (which led to a much discussed lawsuit back in the day). Tylo returned to B&B in August 1996, but she wasn't listed in the closing credits in the first season 10 episodes that have so far been uploaded to YouTube. She'll probably pop in the next bunch of episodes.

[Liberty City]

So, Ridge now knows the truth about Brooke concealing Caroline's letter. End of the 550 episode range during season three. Great scenes. William J. Bell knew what he was doing. Wasn't drawn out too much or rushed too soon.