Trademarks of Different Creators/EPs/Writers

[kalbir]

Y&R initial set up was an upper class family headed by a newspaper publisher and a working class family headed by a factory worker single mother. As we saw in the first two episodes during the 2020 classics, the upper class Brooks family didn't live in a mansion with a staff, matriarch Jennifer Brooks prepared dinner for her family, and they ate at the kitchen table. Y&R did introduce wealth and business in the 1970s (Chancellor, Prentiss) but it wasn't until the 1980s that wealth and business became the focus and that was due to Dallas/Dynasty influence.

Bill Bell used the two family set up on B&B with the wealthy family that owned a fashion label and a working class family headed by a single mother that worked as a caterer.

Edited January 9, 2023 by kalbir

[soapfan770]

Wow this was bad lol, really bad. I forgot how much I hated Blair Baker  and Rita Madison. I know people are making the connection to JFP, but to add on to trademarks this was the era written right before Margaret DePriest with her two back to back serial killer storylines. Did DePriest ever write a soap after 1980 that didn’t include some type of serial killer storyline plot?

Edited January 9, 2023 by soapfan770

[Soaplovers]

She did head-write All my Children for almost a year in 1989.. and there wasn't a serial killer story.  In fact, she helped streamline the canvas... and actually created some interesting couples (Jack/Erica, Tad/Dixie,) 

[Planet Soap]

You are correct. The evolution to luxury happened early in both shows runs to the point where I'm associating them wilth wealth.

Edited January 9, 2023 by ironlion

[Paul Raven]

One of Doug Marland's trademarks would be the large working class family with various siblings not on the canvas at the one time headed by a down to earth matriach.

He may have been influenced by the Frame family when he worked under Harding Lemay on AW.

When he branched out on his own he extended the Dancy family an incorporated those elements. On GH Luke,Bobbie and Ruby spencer represented that thrust and I believe he planned to introduce Pat but departed.

On GL it was the Reardons, ATWT the Snyders.

Was the Rescott family on Loving a Marland creation?

And of course Agnes was known for the scheming daughter/put upon mother trope represented by Rachel/Ada, Erica/Mona and Ava/Kate.

However, I don't believe she used that at GL or OLTL in her stints there.

Edited January 9, 2023 by Paul Raven

[kalbir]

Bill Bell also had the working class single mother with a vixen daughter that was all about the come up w/ Liz/Jill and Beth/Brooke.

[Paul Raven]

Bill Bell liked to throw in a little quasi incest to spice things up -see Tommy/Marie on Days, Lorie/Mark, Cole/Victoria and Scott/Christine on Y&R.

Was there anything like this on B&B? can't recall offhand.

[kalbir]

 

I don't believe so.

Other elements Bill Bell used

Brothers fighting over a girl: Snapper/Greg, Lance/Lucas, Jazz/Tyrone, Victor/Matt, Ridge/Thorne, Neil/Malcolm

Sisters fighting over a guy: Leslie/Lorie, Donna/Katie, Ashley/Traci, Olivia/Dru

Virgin heroines that are rape victims: Chris, Peggy, Caroline, Cricket

Working class young woman in conflict with wealthy older woman: Jill/Katherine, Nikki/Allison, Brooke/Stephanie, Nina/Jill, Sharon/Nikki

Mothers that attempt to control their son's love lives: Vanessa, Allison, Mary, Stephanie, Nikki, Jill

Messy wealthy matriarchs: Jennifer, Katherine, Vanessa, Allison, Dina, JoAnna, Stephanie

Educated professional that has a troublemaking sibling: Casey/Nikki, Olivia/Dru, Neil/Malcolm

[Paul Raven]

Bill Bell used the man - Victor/Mickey - retreating from turmoil landing at a farm run by sweet/disabled woman -  Hope/Maggie - and finds peace and love despite presence of distrustful, jealous rival - Cliff/Jay on Days and Y&R.

Both times it was a success.

Surprised Ridge Forrester didn't end up at a farm owned by a deaf woman...

That story first appeared on radio in the 40's on Young Dr Malone, I think. Bill Bell said he used to listen to radio soaps.

[kalbir]

@Paul Raven I had no idea Victor meeting Hope in Kansas was a redo of a Bill Bell Days storyline 

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[Paul Raven]

The circumstances were different-Mickey had amnesia, Victor was carjacked but overall it was the same template.

And Bill used the plot of the novel written by one character-  Lorie/Eric 'In My Sister's/Brother's Shadow' that detailed a private matter concerning another -Leslie's breakdown/Susan's rape.

And the unlucky in love French restaurateur Robert/Pierre who marries the younger pregnant woman - Rebecca/Sally to give the baby a name.

Producer Jacquie Babbin loved a murder mystery and introduced one eaach at AMC and Loving.

[Maxim]

Bradley Bell trademarks.

1. Start a storyline with a stupid or over the top plot twist... sometimes it works... but then desert the storyline after 3 weeks without even progressing it.

2. Make the story only obsess over 1 or 2 plots at a time. There were years where there would only be 1 main storyline and all other character will comment on it like gossip for months! This makes the show seem boring and unrealistic. I mean... Thomas has had moments when for months at a time only sits there commenting how Brooke is bad for this father. This is a 30 something beautiful young man! In real life will he sit and obsess with a near 70 year old woman and her sex life. Nope.

3. Some characters are there as plot devices... they dont have souls or dimensions.

4. Its all about Brooke. Sorry but this is the truth. Bradley Bell is not capable of writing for anyone else BUT Brooke. Even if he tries to shift the focus... he always comes back to Brooke and... this comes at point 5.

5. Sex scandals. Sex scandals. Sex scandals. In his world a mother sleeps with all the daughters husbands and gives birth to their children. Its like a horror story from reddit. And after 2002 and Deacon... it started getting disgusting... by 2012 Brooke would have been in jail or a mental facility if this was real life.

6. He ignores fan's opinion. I mean... he probably knows that people hate his storylines but continues going into the most absurd directions.

7. If he somehow succeeds in something and the show gets interesting... it will never... never stay consistent.

I will compare him to his father. 

With Bill Bell it was - good... better... very good... amazing... wow... cant wait to see more... masterpiece and then a culmination. Every story was like that... It build up and got better and better.

With Bradley its like this - bad... good...bad...good...amazing...very bad... culmination..bad...good...bad...

IT IS MESSY. 

Thats it... in other words... a bad writer is a bad writer.

[kalbir]

Do not give Bradley ideas.

Then again, Bradley did reuse his father's work in the late 1990s. Amber/Rick/Kimberly was Bradley's version of Nina/Phillip/Cricket.

[AbcNbc247]

Haha tying it back to the thread, serial killer storylines was DePriest’s trademark

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[Broderick]

With Y&R's budget evidently being $2.38 per episode, it's a shame they've veered away from the Bill Bell Trademark of a lower-income family interacting with an upper middle-class family.  In the early days, most of the scenes were in the Foster house, the Brooks house, a nightclub, and a newspaper office.  Later, they added Kay Chancellor's house and the Prentiss house (both of which were extremely nice sets), but they were seen as "impressive enough" to overwhelm even Lorie Brooks, who was from the wealthier of the two main families.  

Y&R really lost its way (in my opinion) when they began trying to tell stories in which everyone is a zillionaire.  Especially on a budget of $2.38 per episode.