The Bold and the Beautiful: Day One

Once upon a time, there was a great man named William J. Bell.  He worked with the Mother of Soaps, Irna Phillips, on shows such as As the World Turns and The Guiding Light.  Later he co-created Another World and was an early head writer on Days of our Lives, where he created the stories that would become the staple of every soap:  love triangles, questions about paternity, amnesiac characters coming back from the dead, rogues turned romantic heroes, and young heroines who relentlessly pursue love, romance, and acceptance, though not always in that order.   Prior to leaving his post at Days, Bell created The Young and the Restless, which would become the gold standard of soaps by the time it reached its fifteenth birthday.  As a counterpart to the social climbing and corporate intrigue of Genoa City, he created The Bold and the Beautiful, intended to be a glamorous behind-the-scenes look at the fashion world of Los Angeles.  The vast majority of daytime soaps are created to take place within fictional environs; why be constrained by the geography and culture of a real city when you can make one from scratch?  Your town can have rich folks, poor folks, exiled royalty, vampires, and everyone in between.  It can have the beach and the mountains; you can have brutal winters as well as summer heatwaves.  But instead of the constraint of the real City of Angels, B&B evolved to become an imaginary version of a city of millions, where the same two or three families marry within each other an endless number of times.  In the beginning, however, the show was actually quite pedestrian.  The primary focus was on the fashion house Forrester Creations, run successfully by Eric and Stephanie Forrester, alongside their two sons, Ridge and Thorne.  Their two daughters, Kristen and Felicia, would show up later.  Also on the scene were widowed publishing tycoon Bill Spencer and his daughter, Caroline.  Across town living much more humbly were Beth Logan and her passel of children:  Storm (Stephen, Jr.), Brooke, Donna, and Katie.  Beth was a college classmate of Eric and Stephanie, though this fact wouldn’t be revealed for several episodes.  Brooke had a long-term boyfriend named Dave who was a cop, while Storm was in law school and the younger two remained in high school.  Returning across town, Ridge was the typical spoiled playboy who wanted to have his cake and eat it too—he was dating Caroline and wanted to get more serious, but she had opted to save herself for marriage.

The episode opens backstage at a Forrester fashion show, where Ridge is unhappy with the designs his father is peddling this season.  He tells the long-suffering Thorne (second-best son in the family, now and forever) that the designs just aren’t sexy enough.  While observing Eric discuss something with his assistant, Margo Lynley (Lauren Koslow between Y&R and DAYS), he also speculates on whether or not they have ever been intimate.  It’s probably none of your business, Rigid.  Thorne figures Ridge is just angling to replace their father as president of Forrester Creations.  Ridge leaves to go call up Caroline, who tells him that they can meet that night, as her father won’t be home.  Scandalous!

On the dark side of town, Katie Logan is fretting over her acne and slipping into fantasies that her dream man will see only her and not her skin condition.  Brooke runs home after having escaped an attack by the Campus Rapist.  Not to make light of rape, but this is one of the few times Brooke will ever turn down a man’s advances.  Katie wants to help but Brooke kind of ignores her, as people are wont to do to Katie in her original incarnation.  Brooke’s boyfriend Dave arrives, having heard over dispatch of the incident.  She gives him a rundown of what happened:  two men in a blue van tried to abduct her, but she apparently fought them off and they gave up.  Dave tries to reassure her that the perpetrators will be caught, and that not all men are so malicious.  That’s it for the Logan family in this episode.  Fast forward twenty-plus years and they would take over the show, for better or worse.

Back at Forrester, the fashion show has completed and Ridge confronts his father over the designs.  Eric tells his arrogant son that he has no understanding in regard the psychology of the women who buy their clothes.  Ridge is informed that Bill Spencer is waiting for him in his office, and the conversation the two have is not pleasant:  Bill lets Ridge know that he wants the charming playboy to end the relationship with his daughter before she gets hurt.  Ridge scoffs and Bill leaves, cane in hand.  I have no idea what happened to Bill’s cane, or why he needed it in the first place.

The final scene of the episode finds Ridge at Bill Spencer’s palatial apartment.  He tells Caroline that her father annoys him like no man ever has.  They start kissing and she pushes him away, vowing that the man she marries is the only one who will ever get in her cookie jar.  So Ridge proposes and she accepts.  End of episode, but certainly not the end of the story.

It’s interesting to note, given the importance of both Stephanie and her portrayer, Susan Flannery, in the history of soapdom, that neither appears until episode two.  For me, she carried the show on her back the entire time she was on, and since her departure it has barely been worth watching.  At the beginning, though, there was no real indication of what was to come.  B&B was very humdrum and in need of some kind of shakeup.  Thankfully Bill Bell wasn’t one to rest on his laurels, and within a few years he had jettisoned every Logan save for Brooke, while creating the unsinkable Sally Spectra, played to the hilt by the late Darlene Conley, to rival the Forresters in the fashion business, if only in her head.  By the mid-nineties, Margo and the Spencers would disappear from the show, too.  While Spectra may have never been able to seriously challenge Forrester Creations, the introductions of her family and work crew (Macy, Saul, and Darla) as well as Clarke Garrison helped create the fashion wars and high drama for which B&B would come to be beloved around the world.  In 1990 he created one of the show’s most popular characters, Dr. Taylor Hayes, played by the beautiful Hunter Tylo.  That was definitely my favorite era of the show, when Ridge and Taylor were a couple and the storylines actually concerned fashion as well as family drama.  No American daytime drama has ever attained the same level of worldwide popularity, though that has slipped in recent years as the show continues to tread the same ground endlessly:  love triangles that never seem to conclude but roil endlessly in a pool of tepid drama.  Brad Bell has taken his father’s creation and both of their years of hard work and flushed it down the drain in a concerted effort to make it The Brooke Show.  Critics may be wowed by his ability to spin a yarn in this era of declining interest and slashed budgets, but for me The Old and the Pitiful is a more apt description these days.

For any fans who might be interested, the first sixteen episodes are available from Amazon.com as a MOD set.  The volume is rather flat, but I have had no problems with playback or picture quality.  I also own two import sets from Australia:  a best-of set that covers the years 1987-2007, as well as a Best of Weddings set that covers 1987 to 2009.  The latter is my favorite of the two, as classic soap weddings were always filled with romance and high drama.

All images are the copyright of Bell-Philip Dramatic Serial Corporation and CBS

 

Christmas in Bay City

It may seem hard to believe now, but in its heyday Another World was the crown jewel of NBC’s daytime lineup.  For decades viewers tuned in to watch the trials and tribulations of the Frames, Matthews, Hudsons, and of course the Corys—generations of viewers followed the story of Rachel Davis Cory, and the many romantic entanglements, marriages, and children that punctuated her life.  The daytime drama ran for thirty-five years and more than 8800 episodes, until NBC, in its infinite lack of wisdom, decided to pull the plug.

Picture it:  Bay City, December 25, 1991.  Frankie Frame is wrapping Christmas presents when her cousin Dean bounds downstairs, off to visit his girlfriend Jenna.  “Merry Christmas, Mary Frances,” she mutters while wrapping presents.  There isn’t much holiday spirit in the house, though—Frankie became estranged from her beau, Cass Winthrop, when his presumed dead wife, Kathleen, returned to town, only to leave again when she realized Cass had found someone better suited for him.  They became further estranged after the death of her Aunt Sharlene left a void in the lives of John Hudson and his young son, Gregory, and thus Frankie and John grew closer when she stepped in as a surrogate mother.  All hope is not lost, though.  Cass is moping at the office when his friend, Felicia, swoops in as only she can and conscripts him to play Santa for a group of orphans.  He tries to protest, but she reminds him that he has a Santa suit in his attic.  A-ha!  If he agrees to stand in as Santa—and of course he does, because Felicia is his best friend and he could never ignore such a noble cause—it means he will have to come face-to-face with his lady love.  It works out for the best, because everything should on Soap Opera Christmas.  They find the suit, she puts some blush on his cheeks to give him a rosier complexion, and he recruits her to be Santa’s helper in handing out children’s gifts.  Afterward they return home and reminisce, leading to some spontaneous decorating (for Dean’s sake, they try to convince themselves) and finally a Christmas kiss, no mistletoe required.

Meanwhile across town, the Cory house is filling up quickly.  Ada and Rachel are there, naturally, as well as Rachel’s children Jamie Frame and Amanda.  Amanda’s husband Sam Fowler and their daughter Alli are there, as well as Hannah, who works as an underling for Iris.  Paulina, recently separated from everyone’s favorite scoundrel Jake McKinnon, isn’t much for celebrating either, and spends much of the episode hiding in either her room or the study.  Rachel’s son, Matt, has gone to visit Lorna, with whom he works at the record label he cofounded with Dean.  He invites his new love to dinner, much to Rachel’s chagrin.  At the same time, Liz Matthews has called and Rachel invites her to dinner, too; this creates discomfort as she is bringing her niece, Olivia, with whom Sam had an affair while he wasn’t with Amanda.  Olivia is now pregnant, and claiming Sam is the daddy, while the truth of the matter is that Olivia is carrying the child of Dennis Wheeler, the son of Iris.  Of course Dennis shows up to spend Christmas with his mother; he and Olivia pretend to be mere acquaintances rather than former lovers.  Iris has brought Spencer Harrison as her date, while Rachel invited the DA Kevin Anderson, who had an indictment pending against Spencer.  Adding to the tension-filled atmosphere, Paulina attempts to contact Spencer’s son Grant, with whom she was briefly involved.  Spencer tells her to move on, because his son already has.  Dinner occurs off-screen, presumably because they would need a table the length of Brooklyn to seat everyone.  At some point, Vicky Hudson shows up and offers to be a surrogate for ex-husband Jamie and barren twin sister Marley (who is too upset to appear at the Cory home); these scenes attempt to play up the tension between Vicky and Paulina, who would both love and lose Jake more than once, but unless you were a regular viewer of the show, the scene falls a bit flat.  The Vicky-Jamie -Marley-Jake-Paulina pentagon is further complicated by the fact that—shh!—Paulina was hiding the fact that she had shot Jake, which left him comatose.  The list of suspects was both long and justified; Jake broke hearts everywhere he went.

Elsewhere Dean has arrived at the home of Lucas and Felicia, who are Jenna’s adopted parents.  Lucas isn’t really a member of the Dean Frame Fan Club, but he does want his daughter to be happy and thus lets Dean play a part in decorating the Christmas tree.  Afterward he takes her on a horse-drawn sleigh ride through the woods, where he has decorated a tree for just the two of them. The snow is falling, and the tree lights up.  It’s very romantic but I have no clue where he found an outlet in the forest.  Back at home, Lucas and Felicia share a candlelight dinner and toast to their love for each other.

At day’s end, various couples celebrate, and while Ada remarks that they might not be the Waltons, they did manage to pull off Christmas.  Rachel says that while her family may be imperfect, she wouldn’t trade it for anything.  Sadly, this marked Ada’s final appearance at Christmastime; Constance Ford was too ill to work after November 1992 and passed away in early 1993.  The character of Ada died that spring.  Throughout the episode, Christmas carols play in the background, including “Blue Christmas” by Elvis.  Obviously this episode is nearly twenty-five years old, but it harkens back to another time and place, when soaps had the budgets to create elaborate holiday celebrations and utilize music to tell a story.  I think we can all agree that, for whatever foibles may have crippled the show in its final years, our friends in Bay City are much-missed.  

Note:  All photos and captures and character background contained herein is the copyright of Proctor & Gamble Productions and the NBC network who originally aired the episode.

Ship of Dreams

Was there ever a more star-crossed pair of lovers in the history of Soapdom than Steven Earl “Patch” Johnson and Kayla Caroline Brady?  Over the course of five years, these two met crisis after crisis head-on, dealing with everything from rapes, murders, assaults, stabbings, jewel thefts, marriages, divorces, long-lost relatives, organ donations, adoption and pregnancy, even deafness.  And they did it all while earning legions of fans that followed the couple for decades, to other soaps and shows and projects and personal appearances.  Their long-awaited wedding sent Days of our Lives to number one in the Nielsen ratings back in 1988 for what would be the final time.  Their union and chemistry have proven unbreakable by long-distance separation, prison cells, kidnappings, and even death.

Initially presented as a villain, Patch was the one-time best friend of Kayla’s younger brother, Bo, who was responsible for the removal of Steve’s eye and thus the subject of a revenge plot that culminated in a wildly-popular remote sequence filmed in Miami.  This renegade and wildcard seemed the most unlikely romantic lead imaginable for Kayla, the sweet younger sister of Detective Roman Brady (initially Wayne Northrop, later Drake Hogestyn), a woman whose caring and compassion were perfectly suited to her career as a nurse.  While she was initially wary of the roguish young man who made his way to Salem, his charms and mullet ultimately proved too much for her to resist, and within a year of meeting they took off on one soapy adventure after another.  Their travels would take them to Stockholm in search of jewels, a journey that cemented the early stages of their romance.  But Steve was always getting himself

into one jam or another, and on the night they shared their first kiss, he was stabbed down at the Salem pier (a dark, dangerous place that seems to have been wiped from the show’s canvas).

By the time their wedding day arrived, S&K had dealt with all manner of delicious soapy complications:  the arrival of his long-lost sister Adrienne and parents Duke and Jo Johnson (not exactly Ward and June Cleaver); the arrival of Senator Harper Deveraux, his wretched wife Angelica, and son Jack (née Billy Johnson), who would soon form side three of the Steve-Kayla love triangle; Steve being hired to shoot Harper, only to be betrayed and having to go on the run with Kayla, Adrienne, and Justin Kiriakis (a storyline worth its own blog); Kayla marrying Jack and being poisoned by Harper; and Kayla being attacked by the Riverfront Knifer and coming down with a case of hysterical deafness, inspiring Steve to learn sign-language in an incredibly poignant story so that he could communicate with his Sweetness.  Along the way there was a lab

explosion, rape, murder, mayhem, a trip to Greece, resolved sexual tension, Victor Kiriakis, Shane and Kimberly, and adultery, along with some incredibly huge, permed 80s hair.  The ever-beautiful Genie Francis as Dr. Diana Colville and Michael T. Weiss’s Dr. Mike Horton were there for the fun too, along with Steve’s childhood pal Dr. Marcus Hunter, played by the late Richard Biggs.

Allow me to set the stage for the day of the wedding:  an old friend of Steve’s from his merchant marine days loaned a yacht for the ceremony, which took place on the Salem waterfront.  And as any soap fan knows, the waterfront always looks much nicer when you see a real blue sky as opposed to a dank, dreary set.  The groom’s attendants included Kayla’s brothers Frankie and Roman, Kayla’s brother-in-law Shane Donovan, Steve’s best friend Marcus, and a very young Max Brady as the ring bearer.  Attending the bride were her sister Kimberly, Steve’s sister Adrienne, Kayla’s former roommate Dr. Diana Colville, and her niece Carrie Brady as the flower girl.  The ship, beautifully decked out with flowers, was a manifestation of Kayla’s dream wedding, and recalled a ceremony she had witnessed as a girl in the harbor near Brady’s Fresh Fish.  The morning of the wedding, Steve watched from afar as his Sweetness utilized sign language to declare her love for both him and the beautiful decorations.  After she departs, Steve comes onto the deck of the boat and thanks God for his good fortune at finding a woman to love him and provide his life with meaning. 

As preparations continue, Steve’s brother-in-law Justin Kiriakis drops by to wish him well, while Calliope tries to enhance Kayla’s makeup.  Kayla is gifted with her mother’s veil to wear for the ceremony.  Everyone has departed the dressing room when Jack arrives.  Kayla indicates to him that while she is unable to talk, she can hear the words spoken by others.  He apologizes for Harper’s attack on her, and recalls their own marriage, but she is less than accepting of his platitudes and contrition.  Jack tells Kayla he realizes that she’s the one thing he can never have.  He seems to be in denial of the fact that she is marrying his brother, even questioning it, but thankfully he departs without inflicting any further harm on his ex-wife.  In the groom’s quarters, Jo tells Steve that she is proud of him; I just wish she would have shown it more often, as Mama Johnson seemed prone to blaming her first-born for everything short of the Holocaust. 

On deck, we get to glimpse the beloved Dr. Tom and Alice Horton, as well as their granddaughter Jennifer.  Soon Mickey and Maggie and their daughter Melissa arrive.  Kayla thanks Kimberly for giving her the gift of communication, and tells her that no matter what happens with her voice, she and Steve can communicate their love through emotions far deeper than just words.

The wedding procession begins, with the mother of the groom escorted by Dr. Neil Curtis, and the mother of the bride escorted by Frankie.  Since it was 1988, the wedding march was replete with saxophone.  Kayla was escorted by her father, Shawn. 

“There never was a more beautiful bride” he expounds.  “Take care of her, son.”

“I will,” Steve replies enthusiastically.

Before the actual vows take place, we are treated to the musical stylings of Eddie Maine—er, Justin.  Wally Kurth has a nice voice, which he would later put to good use on General Hospital.  During the song, we get to see an assortment of flashbacks from Steve and Kayla’s love story.  The officiant has known Steve since his days as a merchant marine, and recounts how Kayla has brought about dramatic change within his friend.  Steve speaks his vows, then Kimberly vocalizes while Kayla signs hers in return.  As she stands there, seeing love written all over her groom’s face, Kayla regains the ability to verbalize and speaks the remaining vows herself.  Rings are exchanged, as well as self-written vows.  The vows were remarkably heartfelt and romantic—the writers of these episodes are to be commended.  The Johnsons are declared husband and wife, presented to everyone, and Angel Steve—the one with two good eyes—exchanges a thumbs-up with the ecstatic groom before vanishing.  A jealous Jack watched from a hidden spot atop the boat, glowering as his brother married the woman each man had coveted.  Afterward he confesses to Melissa that his entire life is falling apart, and she provides a modicum of comfort despite her misgivings at his sudden, uninvited appearance.

At the reception, Steve and Kayla are greeted by their guests and share their first dance as a married couple.  The couple had several songs throughout the course of their romance—“The Rose”, “The Lady in Red”, “The Woman in Me”—but for this scene their specially-written theme, “If Your Heart Comes out Tonight”, was played.  Marcus toasted the couple, as did Roman; he also read a telegram sent by Bo and Hope, who at that time were still sailing around the world with infant Shawn-Douglas.  As darkness fell, the couples danced to the strains of “When I Fall in Love”.  The bride and groom then carved the cake and fed pieces to each other.  The bouquet was caught by Diana, while Roman captured the garter.  Sadly, their marriage was not to be; Genie Francis departed the following year for contractual reasons, and Roman’s romantic story shifted toward Isabella.  Their pairing proved quite popular in its own right, though.  The reception ended when Steve and Kayla sailed away on a Venetian gondola, sharing their wedding night as romantically as the bride had dreamed it would be.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the presence of Abe Carver, Eve Donovan, Emilio Ramirez, and his sister, April, at the wedding.  The couple also had some special guests—a man whom Steve assisted with various personal problems, as well as some deaf children Kayla had befriended during her recovery.  It appeared as though, in stark contrast to today’s barren soap weddings, that nearly the entire cast was on hand for the wedding, and in the background NBC seemed to have allowed some incredibly lucky fans to watch the festivities.  Taken as a whole, it is easy to see why this couple’s fans remain devoted, even though more than three decades have passed since they first appeared on our screens.

                          Photo:  NBC Daytime/Sony

                         Photo:  NBC Daytime/Sony