4 hours ago, titan1978 said:

I think Susan Flannery had a lot to do with that in the early years. I admit to not seeing much of Vanessa, or being a Bold fan, but early Stephanie walks a delicate balance thanks to Flannery. I know Jane Elliot was cast then let go before the show started, and while Jane is an excellent actress, I think she would have run too hot as Stephanie.

I didn’t know JE was almost Stephanie! I guess her and Flannery have subtle similarities but I couldn’t see her playing the role long term like SF did

Susan Seaforth Hayes was also mentioned for Stephanie. I always found John McCook a little dull. Things might have been different with another actor as Eric.

3 minutes ago, Paul Raven said:

Susan Seaforth Hayes was also mentioned for Stephanie. I always found John McCook a little dull. Things might have been different with another actor as Eric.

So did I, although Eric was always a dullard and a patsy, so I guess it fits.

18 hours ago, Wendy said:

Not a B&B viewer, so I can't comment on the stories themselves, but...I think ALL soap writers reuse their own material!

While before my time, I know Bill Bell did a mother/daughter triangle on Days of Our Lives with Doug Williams, Addie Horton, and Addie's daughter, Julie (which is how Doug's daughter with Addie Horton, Hope, has half-sister Julie also as her stepmother. LOL!), and, as I recall from SOD, was basically done again with Brooke, Deacon, and Bridget.

Brooke/Deacon/Bridget was Bradley Bell. Even Bradley has dusted off his father's work.

6 hours ago, bongobong said:

Did anyone else get the vibe that Storm played Bill like he had more of an interest in Thorne than just as a suitable husband for his daughter? His involvement with Margo seemed more like an arrangement. His flirtations were with women like Stephanie & Donna he probably knew he couldn't form a relationship with. And he owned Stud Magazine!

I felt Bill Spencer Sr. original characterization was a villainous version of Stuart Brooks, but I don't think Bill Sr. was intended to be a villain. Bill Bell never really had a villain on B&B. Some may say Clarke was a villain, but I think his original characterization was cut from the Brad Carlton mold (employed by the business-owning family, has conflicts with the business-owning family's playboy son, pursues one of the daughters of the business-owning family).

On 2/18/2026 at 8:50 PM, Maxim said:

I feel like the first season of Bold had a distinct fairytale vibe. I was truly astonished by how many storylines were happening simultaneously while I watched it for the first time... because these days, Bradley can hardly manage two at once. Quite frankly, he struggles with one. Bill Bell managed to have nearly every character pursuing their own thing while still interacting with the others in a natural way. It didn't feel crowded or busy like some other shows do when there are too many things going on. Everyone had something. Donna wanted to be a model. Katie had pimples and low self-esteem. Brooke was ambitious and envious of the rich and famous, wanting to experience first hand the glitz and glamour from the magazines. The fashion house side was also pretty well crafted, even if some of these characters are cliched archetypes - Ridge - the spoiled favorite son/Don Juan cheating player, Thorne - the anti-Ridge/good-hearted underdog, Eric - the horny ageing rich guy, Stephanie - the controlling frustrated matriarch with a sharp tongue. The season wasn't flawless, but it laid the groundwork for what was to come in the years ahead. For example... Bill Bell was consistently dropping hints about Stephanie going somewhere behind Eric's back. You would think she had a secret gigolo waiting in his briefs in some hotel somewhere, but no... that mystery continued well into the second year... until it was finally revealed that she was concealing a secret daughter. It was eerie, yet so brilliantly executed and thoughtfully crafted FROM THE GET GO. 300+ episodes of build-up. We also saw Brooke being set up as a social climber right from week one. Reading about Ridge and the Forresters, imagining herself in their world. It's pretty amazing that Bill Bell stuck to this storyline for thousand plus episodes after that. It was RIGHT THERE from the start.

And that's what I adore about that first season. To me, it’s absolutely essential viewing... if you want to fully grasp these characters and witness their evolution... even if it has its dull moments - Donna's boyfriend bored me to death, Beth and Eric just didn't work as supposed to and they QUICKLY got that and moved on (in a way Brooke took over that path). That reminds me of the one thing that changed slowly but progressively - the level of involvement of the entire Logan family in the narrative. Initially, they gave nearly everyone their little place in the spotlight. We even got to see Brooke's grandma occasionally... but once Brooke stepped into the realm of the rich and famous... the other Logan relatives started to fade away and received less and less screen time. The dynamics changed. And couple of years later... when they were acting as Brooke's babysitters, helpers... people who we see once a month consoling her... - it was over. I would cringe when Donna or Katie would be babysitting for Brooke and being given 1 line a week, when I remember how essential they felt to me in the beginning. 😄 So yeah... the conflict and contrast shifted from rich family/working class family to Brooke's fairytale/nightmare into the Forrester mansion and her war with Stephanie. The rest is history as they say.

Once Sally Spectra joined the show in 1989... along with Macy (who was so fresh in the beginning), the show was running like a well oiled machine. But even now, I think some of the most iconic moments from the entire series happened in that very first season. I can still remember the concrete dialogue. I remember Stephanie warning Eric, Ridge, and Thorne about Brooke being an opportunist... just a week or two after they met her. And then there was that moment when Stephanie told Eric what Brooke was going to do... it was like she was reading the script of the future seasons. Like a trailer for what's to come. Everything unfolded just as she predicted. As time went on, Stephanie's foresight only made her character appear stronger, a sort of wink from the writers to the viewers... "If we let this girl into our home... she’s going to do this and this..." And guess what? SHE DID.

The first years of Bold are so underrated by many soap opera fans. Some of them have barely watched more than a couple of episodes... yet they still bash that period. But I love these years and I always rewatch them. Every single time it's like a new experience. Season 1 is again... like a fairytale to me.

Early B&B was perfection for me. I was furious when the Logans were replaced by the Spectra gang. It is amazing that all these years later, B&B still follows the same story. The Forrester family, the fashion house and Brooke's drama.

I never understood why they never chose a more vibrant and dynamic for the part of Beth. Denise Alexander would be perfect. And they were stupid to let Margo go, but I understand that in many ways Brooke took over from both Beth and Margo

The arrival of the Spectras and the Thorne recast ruined it for me.

BTW am I crazy to think that JER was a consultant during the (amazing) Deveney Dixon madness?

On 2/19/2026 at 11:02 AM, bongobong said:

The Stone storyline gets too much blame for the ratings going down. IMO, the problem was that it overlapped with Monica's story. IIRC, Stone getting his diagnosis happened around the same time as Emily's mom dying. Both stories were well written & acted but running them at the same time was just too much.

On 2/19/2026 at 11:37 AM, titan1978 said:

I agree. In the same six months we had Brenda/Sonny and the wire, Laura kicking Luke out after the mob shootout, Monica’s breast cancer and Emily’s mom, Stone was HIV+ and declining rapidly, and Robin was at risk of being HIV+ and had her first test, waiting to be cleared by her second test. Most of the show was miserable (although JFP and Guza would later demonstrate how bad it could get as far as misery).

And to think there was even talk of poor Audrey Hardy being diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease around the same time (although, that might have been just rumor).

1 minute ago, Khan said:

And to think there was even talk of poor Audrey Hardy being diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease around the same time (although, that might have been just rumor).

This is one of those times I wished I still had soap magazine back issues, because I know I read that this was the idea and it was scrapped. I just cannot remember if it was ever a direct quote by Labine or Riche, or unnamed sources. Riche was sometimes very candid in interviews back then, before 1999ish or so when she and Guza were fully at odds.

15 hours ago, Khan said:

And to think there was even talk of poor Audrey Hardy being diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease around the same time (although, that might have been just rumor).

I'm so glad that didn't go ahead. Some of Rachel Ames' last big scenes were telling Elizabeth in '98 about Tom Baldwin raping her, and she was just incredible in that material.

I'm perturbed she didn't get a more full sendoff - I assume she's not able now as she's nearly 100. I think Audrey's last (largely voice) appearance was writing Liz a letter about marrying Franco, IIRC of all things. But still, they did a lovely tribute to her in 2013 for the 50th, when Audrey visited the GH hub and blessed the new memorial or something. The entire cast and extras broke into applause mid-scene after she said her lines, and judging by the look on Ames' face I am fairly convinced she didn't know it was coming. I do appreciate Frank Valentini for that, and for what he did for John Ingle's last request among others.

Edited 3 hours ago3 hr by Vee

Really soaps should always give long term characters some sort of decent send off.

I'm annoyed Y&R didn't do a tribute to Brock. Over the years he was involved with so many characters and with Beau Kayzer gone, Brock should have died also.

Back on topic The Doctors saw a change in format in the the first year. Originally they planned to tell a story a day but I think low ratings and the difficulty involved in mounting basically a new producttion each day saw them move to 5 episode stories. Then just over a year after the debut TD became a full on continuing story in the traditional soap format.