Ideas I have to fix this hot mess of a soap in the form of alternative storytelling.
Last week on The Bold and the Beautiful, Bill and Sheila came out as a freaky new couple, while Steffy and Finn fretted and recapped a lot about it and Carter and Katie… well, they were there, too.
This week, Bill’s plan and a corrupt judge set Sheila free, Steffy and Finn kept fretting, and Taylor vowed to make things right by sacrificing herself… and then changed her mind.
Making sense of nonsense
Trying to make sense of what’s happening is a losing game when the writers don’t care about details, character history or common sense.
But making sense and making suggestions is what I’m here for, so hold your nose and let’s jump into this trash heap.
A legacy is being ruined
Can we sue a soap opera writer for criminal negligence?
I’m that mad at the careless way B&B and its legacy are being handled.
We’ve given hours to watching and this is how we’re rewarded – with putrid writing and stupid plotting not worthy of community theater improv classes.
When I say this show is a hot mess, it’s not a compliment. Think more “crowded subway platform on the hottest day in August during a garbage strike.”
That’s how bad B&B stinks right now.
It’s time for a change
It’s an embarrassing time to be a fan of this show. Something needs to change, while there’s still time.
I’m not minimizing the work that goes into creating hours of a show every year.
Lots of people are working hard to make B&B happen. But one of them is not and you know who it is.
It’s time for executive producer Brad Bell to pass the writing baton to someone who can do it right.
Sooner rather than later, please.
Let the good guys win!
I don’t have a high tolerance for stories with no moral code and that’s a big problem on B&B right now.
In these cynical tales, law enforcement officials are corrupt and everyone else is dumb and helpless, so the bad guys get away with their nefarious schemes.
That kind of story is fine once in a while, but it’s happening too often now.
When I watch a soap opera, I want to have hope.
Sure, I want DRAMA! and misery and tears, but I also want to see the good guys figure things out and the bad guys get what’s coming to them.
Otherwise, why even bother?
Sheila’s been defanged
Full disclosure: I don’t care for Sheila and haven’t for a while.
All Sheila does is scowl, make vague threats in a husky whisper and flash her pearly whites.
There’s just nothing much there anymore. Nurse Carter has been completely defanged.
Annoying? Yes. Scary? Not so much.
Voodoo Bill
Horny chat and dumb disguises. I’m taking what I’ve said about Sheila’s time in Deacon’s squalid apartment back.
I no longer think all those weeks of horny chit-chat and dumb disguises were just lackluster filler.
I suspect it was a story that got aborted because the mask was labor-intensive and laughably bad, so now we have voodoo Bill instead.
Not an upgrade so far, but at least we don’t have to see that sad love nest again.
What about Deacon?
After spending a chunk of 2022 canoodling with her, Deacon should have immediately sussed out that Sheila was up to something when he visited her in jail.
Plus, Deacon hates Bill and might welcome the opportunity to take him down.
Sheila maybe loves Deacon and might want to protect him from Bill.
DRAMA!
Taylor should have insight
A psychiatrist on a soap opera should have insight into people and see things others don’t.
Taylor isn’t typically written that way, which is a shame because it would make her unique from the other female characters and make her viewpoint important to the story.
Taylor wants to turn herself in, which is the only logical thing that’s happened in this… I’ll generously call it a story arc.
Unsurprisingly, the writers came up with a half-baked reason for Taylor not confessing, because organic drama must always be avoided on B&B.
Put Taylor in the action
Here’s a story idea.
Taylor goes to Il Giardino and has a chat with a nervous Deacon. Taylor can see something is off and Deacon bolts.
Taylor stays and meets a guy at the bar. They hit it off and talk until he realizes who Taylor is and Taylor realizes he’s Sheila’s crooked lawyer.
Crooked Lawyer freaks out and makes a hasty exit, calling Bill to report “We have a problem.”
Taylor runs to spill the tea with her new bestie Brooke and the two put their heads together and try to figure out what’s going on.
Now you’ve got three characters with conflicting agendas who’ve started to figure out how Sheila got her get-out-of-jail-free card.
DRAMA!
Forresters & Logans unite against the enemy
I love when an ensemble cast of characters unite against a common enemy, temporarily putting aside their differences for the greater good.
Surprising partnerships happen, old flames reunite, and the bad guys get what’s coming to them thanks to the smarts and derring-do of the characters we love.
Why not have the Forresters and Logans make an uneasy pact to combine their efforts to take Bill and Sheila down?
Ultimately, Thomas could get into the drama, pull a fast one on Sheila and save the day.
His efforts to put Sheila away earns him a second chance with his family and the company.
Related Links:
Get SoapsSpoilers’ new post notifications
B&B opinion: What’s Bill getting out of being with Sheila?
Carter and Katie need something to do
What do you get when you pair arguably the sexiest actor on B&B with a multi-Emmy-winning actress?
Not much in the case of Carter and Katie.
Most of the time, they’ve got more of a co-worker energy than a new lover’s energy, but that hasn’t stopped Carter from ignoring Katie’s boundaries and inserting himself in her life, which qualifies as courtship on B&B.
Bring Will back home
This romantic duo needs their own story so we care about them as a couple.
What better obstacle to Katie’s love that a sullen teenage boy who’s inherited his dad’s sly ways of making people do what he wants?
William Spencer III, aka Bill and Katie’s son Will, should return as a teen to meddle in his parents’ lives and kick off a new teen scene on B&B.
Will makes a deal with the devil
A newly teenage Will could be instrumental to two plots.
In my story idea, Katie forbids Will from going to Bill’s house, but he does anyway.
Sheila’s there and tries to charm Will, but he’s smart enough to know his stepmonster is trying to manipulate him.
Sheila makes a deal with Will: she’ll help him keep Carter and Katie apart if Will pretends to like Sheila.
Naturally, something will go terribly wrong and someone ends up in the hospital and someone else gets arrested.
DRAMA!
Quote of the week!
Bill, to Sheila: “Freedom looks good on you. A lot better than that disguise.”
Now there’s something we can all agree on!
What do you think?
Is Bill under Sheila’s spell or just really horny?
Who will take Sheila down?
Is any of this show making sense to you?
Leave a comment and feel free to read more of my opinions on B&B on SoapsSpoilers, which includes some fun alternative storytelling ideas!
Feel free to
which appears in your email inbox once daily around 8 PM EST.
Or if you like, you can sign up for SoapsSpoilers new post notifications which send a notification to your cell phone when a new post goes up. (It’s 4 times per day, except when the spoilers or comings and goings come in which could add one or two more notifications on those days.)
Either option is free, and you can unsubscribe at any time or try each and use the one that works best for you.