Has your week been bold and beautiful? Were you and your brother pressured to change your last names to Brady? Did you flunk out of spy school? Did you come out of the basement like decorations at Christmastime? These and more situations faced the Forresters et al this week!
Smile! You're on Two Scoops Camera! That's right, it's Mike again, ready to pop off about another week of The Bold and the Beautiful. How amazing was it that the grown-ups got to dominate the proceedings for a change? And soo-wee! Thorne's back, and with a bit of a new attitude at that. Grab yourself some of Pammie's popcorn and let's settle in for some columnizing, shall we?
Hope was surprisingly giddy watching Liam go all Rocky on kissing bug Wyatt. This is a girl who once needed a pill to justify sleeping with Liam while he was only technically married. Now she's decided she likes the attention from her competing studs and happily blabbed about how she caught a glimpse of Wyatt's camping equipment. Doesn't that seem a little liberated for the ordinarily uptight Hope? Maybe she's just getting a little revenge on Liam for two years of his waffling ways!
And excuse me, but did Liam have a hypocrite sandwich for lunch? Wrong as Wyatt might have been for coming on to Hope in his new brother's house, Liam had some nerve being that pissed about it. He kissed Steffy in the driveway while engaged to Hope, which started this whole mess! Liam got all offended thinking Wyatt was lecturing him about Hope and Steffy, but Wyatt has the outsider's point of view on this, and it's a much clearer one.
Nevertheless, Liam booted Wyatt out in an unprecedented display of machismo. Maybe Liam's more like Bill than anyone thought! Meanwhile, Wyatt hightailed it to the Forrester Sky Lounge to have a series of needless flashbacks. Why was Wyatt allowed up there? He doesn't even work at Forrester! Why didn't he get a motel or at least try to hash things out with Quinn? Oh, yeah: too much money to create a new set or hire Rena Sofer back for a few more episodes.
Meanwhile, Miss Perfect Wedding herself opted to have a Vegas ceremony simply because Steffy wouldn't find them there. Okay, then. If all the other Leffy/Lope stuff was online for Wyatt to see, then Steffy would just have to log on to TMZ. And now, after all Hope's caterwauling, she's fine with waiting out the six months? You know this wedding isn't going to happen either, right? Especially after Hope and Liam's lovey-dovey repartee, which is always a sure indicator of fans and things ultimately hitting them.
Upon hearing that Liam and the brother he's known for a day and a half had a little spat, Bill ordered them to kiss and make up, pulling rank about Casa Spencer being his house. I thought Bill bought the house for Liam! And Bill would think that Wyatt kissing Hope and Liam punching Wyatt was cool beans. By the way, why was Bill lounging in his old chair as if he still worked at Spencer? Doesn't Liam have an office? Bad enough Liam avoided a problem at work to futz with Wyatt and Hope as it was.
Was Liam seriously okay leaving Wyatt and Hope alone after all that? Wyatt apologized to Liam, but smiled doing it, which makes me think Wyatt didn't really mean it. What do we know about Wyatt, anyway? I get the feeling more will be revealed. Cheesy as Hope's Brady Bunch sighs were as the brothers tried to connect, I liked Liam admitting, "At least you have a mother," and encouraging Wyatt to make things up with Quinn, since she wouldn't be around forever. Though this triangle might be!
Have you noticed that every single story on B&B has to do with a triangle? There are no couples just struggling with their own issues, and anyone who's single is pretty much out to pasture. Marcus and Dayzee are the only non-triangle couple on the show, and even they were only there for the big premiere of Room 8. Saw the first episode of the real thing on Thursday, and I have to say I was a little underwhelmed. Karla Mosley and Lawrence Saint-Victor are great, but I'm not sure about the writing (I know it's theirs), and the corny laugh track wasn't necessary. But it's an interesting tie-in.
Maya felt for Rick as the walls closed in on him at Forrester, but she wasn't having Caroline's nice-girl switchover, either. "The prize for Caroline is you!" Maya warned. But Rick asked for Maya to trust him, so Maya trotted off to Room 8's screening. Would a web series be screened in a theatre, much less allow for big gushy speeches by its leads? Maybe that's petty, but Maya and Carter are unknowns at this point, not Oscar winners. They didn't even get to sit in the front row!
Maya was bummed that Rick's chair was empty, not knowing that Thomas and Uncle Thorne were nipping at Rick's heels! How cool was it to see Thorne large and in charge as he got up off the backburner and decided he would make a better president at Forrester? It was mad cool! But it did come out of nowhere, then steamrolled pretty fast. Never mind that, as 2013 began, Eric offered Thorne that same presidency. Thorne demurely turned that down to step aside for the kiddies. Now he wants it?
I read some interesting articles this week, in which Thorne's portrayer, Winsor Harmon, and Joshua Morrow (Nick, The Young and the Restless) discussed the changes in daytime's production schedule over the years. Both spoke of how actors are now pressured to nail their scenes in one take. "It's not like we're fleshing things out," Morrow said. Sounds like an assembly line! And I started thinking, maybe this on-set whip-cracking extends to the writers, too. How else to explain things like Thorne suddenly wanting to be president?
If writers are also having to crank it out lightning fast, no wonder they're missing so many wonderful beats that would add substance to the show. And isn't it faster to write characters repeating information constantly than to come up with new dialogue for them? Details and plausibility would go out the window! And it's a shame, because, while daytime might have to produce 250 episodes a year, there is such a thing as quality being more important than quantity.
The big rush also explains the almost daily flashbacks we get. You know what's wrong with flashbacks? They make the audience lazy. We know we don't have to tune in every day, because we'll just get a recap at any given moment anyway. Doesn't that defeat soaps' purpose? They should be making every moment must-see so viewers won't want to miss an episode. Cut the flashbacks, up the continuity, and give us multi-layered stories! Surely quality can still be produced quickly? But I digress.
Thorne should be president of Forrester. I'm just questioning his hostility in going about it. "This isn't an ambush," Thorne told Eric, "but tell Rick he's done!" Thorne's last takeover bid with Thomas didn't go too well, did it? Of course, Ridge and Taylor blocked that, and they're not in the picture now. Hey, anything that gives Thorne the legacy visibility he deserves works for me. Will his rise from the basement be long-term? I hope so. Even if he's only back to fuel the Maya/Rick/Caroline triangle!
As for Thomas, he still seems as entitled as he ever was, assuming Thorne will hand him the presidency "when he's done with it." All right, so I'll give Thomas extra points for mentioning Thorne's daughter (does that mean we might see Alexandria sometime soon?). But I was kind of glad when Caroline's whiz-bang Hope for the Future redo caused Eric to shoot Thomas down. Thorne, not so much. But it sounds like we have another fashion show to look forward to, rushed as it will end up being!
It's a wonder Katie hasn't run Spencer Publications into the ground, since all she's done since taking over is watch Bill and Brooke on her nanny cams. Couldn't she just record the footage and fast-forward through it at home? Donna is supposed to be manning phones at Forrester -- why is she always hanging around Katie? And Brooke has a job, too -- how is she always able to sit for Will? At least Bill is out of work, so he can devote his time to wooing Katie back into his seemingly calmer lion's den.
Bill even got a chance to use Wyatt's appearance as a way of getting back into Katie's good graces. You'd have thought Katie would have been more annoyed that Bill's "Midas touch" turned another vagina to gold! Instead, she only snarked about Hope's propensity for uniting families and smiled at Bill's tender reassurances. Good thing Katie returned to mistrustfully monitoring babies Brooke and Bill. It was more like a chess match that way. Would Katie capture her pawns?
Brooke and Bill marveled at how they always ended up babysitting together yet didn't pursue it further. Wouldn't Bill, the king of setups, smell one a mile away? Instead, he prattled on about Katie teaching him the importance of family, later showing up at his/Katie's office to ask Katie to dinner. An office where Katie left her laptop open! Dumb move, but I liked the suspense it created. Would Bill see the spy cam footage, even in the reflection of his big giant window?
No, because the laptop's screen saver came on after fifteen seconds. Sure it did. Again, why was Bill even in that office? No matter, because he was dispatched back to diaper duty, this time with Katie laying out booze as bait. Bill chafed that Katie had gotten rid of his Scotch, only to bring it all back when he moved out. What sense did that make? No red flags for Bill, even with the glasses laid out perfectly?
Bill acted as if he hadn't had a drink in weeks, forgetting he'd just slugged a few back with Wyatt and Liam the night before. But then he dumped out his favorite elixir in deference to how Will would remember him, and that was all Katie needed to hear: she was ready to call off the divorce. Especially since Bill and Brooke kept things G-rated, despite a few soapy close calls. Too bad Bill responded to Will's baby monitor and found Katie's cameras instead. Baby monitors get these folks in more trouble!
After much coaxing, Brooke boarded a plane to Monte Carlo to rep Brooke's Bedroom. Never mind that these media events take weeks, even months, to plan, and it seemed like Forrester didn't even have any idea Brooke was going. And why take Donna along? She's a receptionist! Oh, right: so we can have Brooke recap how Bill happened to drop his towel, justifying his nickname "Stallion." Giggle giggle, blush blush. Brooke, this isn't doing much for your soiled reputation. I'm just letting you know!
But then Bill let Katie know he was onto her secret surveillance! "What are you, a child? Setting up cameras?" Liam must have shared his hypocrite sandwich with Bill, because where did Bill get off being angry he'd been spied on? He spied on Liam and Steffy to make sure they'd have sex, not to mention bugged Hope's sessions with Dr. Barton! And Bill's going to make noise about never trusting Katie again? Ha! Bill just didn't like being one-upped! And Katie gave it right back to him. Good girl!
Yes, Don Diamont and Heather Tom killed this scene. And was I relieved Bill said it would make the divorce easier to swallow -- not for Bill's sake, but for Katie's! She's so better off without him! Because the first thing he did was jump on a plane to follow Brooke to Monte Carlo! Between this newest B&B remote and Thorne's resurgence, next week should be pretty good. Even if it's all just to serve triangles!
Serve up your thoughts on the Soap Central message boards or the comments section. Send e-mail or leave a voicemail. Or pop off using Facebook below. Your comments could end up in a future column. Like these!
• "What point was Donna trying to make when she talked to Brooke on the plane? Katie should ditch both her sisters and get some real friends." -- Julia
• "OMG I love your posts...hilarious...and you always say what I'm thinking or questioning. I've only been a B&B fan for 2+ years since the death of All My Children on ABC...now I cannot live without B&B...I rewind all the Hope/Wyatt scenes. He is so yummy!" -- Hilary
• "I like the idea of Thorne being Liam's true daddy...then Thorne could be like [Stephanie] and be just as manipulative and get Liam permanently tied up with the Forrester clan...how about Thorne [romancing] Quinn which'll raise Bill's ire because that means his son's stepfather is a 'puny' Forrester! Come on, BOLD -- [give] Bill a true nemesis in Thorne!" -- Kevin
• "I wish...Liam [would be] a little more aggressive and not so passive. But that is a soap opera for ya....what [are the] possibilities of B&B going to a full hour?" -- Allan [EDITOR'S NOTE: That's been the question for 26 years, Allan, but doubt it'll happen now: twice the air time, twice the budget!]
"This is new, two guys about to go to blows over me," Hope beamed. Oliver might disagree... "I'm not big on secret plots or schemes," Thomas told Thorne, forgetting he was all over both during Berrygate... I had to bite my lip when Caroline said Lassie was her role model. You mean because they're both bitches?... Only Pam would show up to a screening with lemon bars in her purse. For once, can she be on-screen without mentioning those damn things?... Rafael had to reshoot Room 8 from scratch -- and he was ready to have a premiere a couple of soap days later?
Funny that Hope didn't know if Brooke was still the face of Brooke's Bedroom, and that Brooke hedged about promoting the line. Maybe that's why Forrester numbers are down... Why are Donna and Brooke so hot for Katie to take Bill back? Cheating with Brooke was only the latest in a long line of sins; you'd think Katie's sisters would tell her to run for the hills!... Donna observing that Brooke was more like Bill didn't sound like much of a compliment to me. And, the Logans grew up working class in the Valley. How could they afford for Brooke to ride horses?
Of course Donna needed to read a travel magazine to Brooke to explain Monte Carlo to the audience. But, before, Brooke had said, "I love Monte Carlo," meaning she'd already been there and didn't need it described to her... Wouldn't it have been a cooler twist if Bill had discovered Katie and Donna discussing his surveillance on the very laptop she was using to spy on him? Or, if Bill had been smart, he would have left the cameras where they were and let Katie think she still had something on him before turning things around on her, Dollar Bill-style!
Guess what? My music video, "Change My Mind", is up for emPower Music & Arts Best Posi Music Video of 2013! Would you do a brother a solid and vote for me? Just visit www.empowerma.com and follow the instructions. The winner performs at their music festival this winter in Orlando. Kind of like a B&B remote, only in real life! Thanks in advance for helping get my song about positive thinking in front of more people!
Next week, Tracy will be on hand to monitor the melodrama in Monte Carlo, and I will take up my Scoop again August 26. Keep watching, be alert, and most of all, be bold!
What are your thoughts on The Bold and the Beautiful? What did you think of this week's Two Scoops? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
