Happy New Year!
Out with the old and in with the new? Yes! But before we do that let’s just take one final look back at 2018. We are counting down our soaps (yeah there are only four but it sounds more exciting that way lol) and giving each of The Final Four their Final Grade for 2018.
First disclaimer; any tough language is only out of tough love. We love our soaps and want them to overachieve so any “negativity” isn’t just to be negative but rather in the hopes that somebody somewhere will fix it.
Second disclaimer; these are just our thoughts. Everyone will have and is entitled to their own. These are just ours.
We will begin out West with The Bold and The Beautiful. William “Bill” Bell, Jr, Bold’s showrunner, is the son and namesake of The William J. Bell, Sr. Bill carries his father’s mantle and his lineage lives on through him. This should always be recognized, honored and revered.
Let’s begin with our praise. Bold is by far the prettiest soap of the four. The Fashion Shows remain a high point, glam glam glam. Did you see Bold’s Holiday episode this year? It was breathtaking and glitzy glitzy glitzy. Another plus for Bold this past year was while half of the other soaps went newbie crazy, you could tune into Bold daily to see the veteran characters you knew and loved. Taylor’s return delivered a much-needed boost. We can never have too much Hunter and Katherine. They have given us one of the top soap rivalries of all time. And we love us some multi-generational storytelling. Momma vs momma and their daughter’s vs each other, we can never get enough.
Now, the not so good stuff. It’s baffling how Bold has 15-20 minutes of tape for each episode yet has the most recycled, repeated and redundant storylines. Furthermore, the redundant storylines are all too often paint by number stories void of any real depth or creativity. Here are a few tips. They are hardly revolutionary or ones that haven’t been recommended before. But still critically necessary.
1) Tell multiple stories at the same time in the same episode i.e. if one set of characters’ story is playing out on screen, we don’t need other characters talking about it. Hint, give them their own story and let it play out in the same episode.
2) Liam’s carousel of women. Enough. Enough. Enough. Yes, we know Bold was built on Brooke’s many triangles, Brooke/Stephanie/Eric, Brooke/Taylor/Ridge. But it’s been over 30 years try something new.
3) After you stop Liam’s carousel, then stop all the partner swapping and wedding overload. Katie kissed Thorne in April and married him in September. Now, Ingo Rademacher is off contract so it won’t be long before Katie is back on the carousel. Enough.
Storylines in 2018 were; Who Shot Bill, Bill’s Pursuit of Steffy, Will’s Custody Case and Liam’s back and forth with Steffy and Hope impregnating them both. We got a lot of Dollar Bill which is always a good thing. We didn’t get a lot of Quinn this year. We are hoping Donna being back on set will change that.
Our 2019 wish is that Bold will a) Expand the actual number of their storylines. They have enough characters to do so. b) Expand the breadth and depth of their storylines also. Dig deeper. c) Stop the partner swapping carousel. It is entirely possible to tell well-written angst layered storylines that don’t involve characters getting new partners and/or spouses every six months. It is possible. (d) Bring back Sam Meyerson as Leo and pair him with Jacqueline MacInnes Wood’s Steffy Forrester. Their very short scene was full of chemistry and had viewers talking and requesting more.
The good news is Bill Bell is a storyteller (it’s in his genes). It’s an easy fix so maybe…..
The production, the glamour, the sets, the setting and seeing our beloved vets were the best things about Bold in 2018. Their grade for this year is a C.
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