The Bold and the Beautiful

From Free net encyclopedia

Template:Infobox Television Soap Opera The Bold and the Beautiful is a U.S. television soap opera, created by Lee Phillip Bell and William J. Bell. It debuted on March 23, 1987, and still screens in the United States on the CBS network, and in almost 100 countries around the world. With more than 300 million viewers around the globe (most notably in Italy, where it airs under the title Beautiful, and in the Francophone world, where it airs under the titles Top models and Amour, gloire & beauté), The Bold and the Beautiful is claimed to be the most watched television series in the world. It is also the only soap opera to simulcast in a Spanish language track for Hispanic viewers in the United States (under the title Belleza y poder). It is also the only soap currently airing on US television that runs for 30 minutes instead of the typical hour.

Contents

[edit]

Background & History

The series focuses upon the Forrester family and its Los Angeles fashion empire, called Forrester Creations. Spectra Couture (formally Spectra Designs) is Forrester's main rival, headed by Sally Spectra.

At the helm of Forrester is patriarch Eric, who has also been helped by his sometime wife Stephanie and his two sons, Ridge and Thorne. Daughters Angela, Felicia and Kristen are seen less often, while Eric and Brooke's daughter Bridget is currently an integral part of the show but has little to do with Forrester Creations. At Spectra, Sally was usually helped by her daughter Macy, and Sally's receptionist, Darla. Also seen often was fashion designer Clarke Garrison, who fathered C.J., Sally's son.

Sally, a larger-than-life character with outrageous clothes and a sizable red coiffure, helmed both comedic and dramatic storylines, with the help of ditzy receptionist Darla (in a double entendre, it was revealed that her last name was Einstein). Sally's competitions with Forrester Creations were both formidable (Sally successfully stole many Forrester family members to work for her), and laughable (on two occasions, Sally got into a physical fight with Stephanie, only to be publicly humiliated, most recently by falling in a lake at Portofino in Italy). Sally's daughter Macy underwent many traumas, most notably becoming an alcoholic, before marrying Thorne Forrester, who was the true love of her life.

Another key plot element in the serial are the seductions of Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang). Brooke has been showcased as a key character in the entire history of the serial. Originally from a middle-class background, her love affair with Ridge Forrester set up much story these last eighteen years.

Every so often, Ridge and Brooke would break up, and Ridge would invariably find comfort (in most cases, this would lead to marriage) with Dr. Taylor Hayes (Hunter Tylo). Ridge's mother Stephanie preferred Taylor over Brooke, as Stephanie thought Brooke had loose morals (in reality, Stephanie uses this excuse to cover up her true emotions; Stephanie sees a lot of her old self in Brooke and doesn't want her family "marrying down" the social ladder). The fights that resulted between Stephanie and Brooke impacted her children as well as her husband, Eric, who married Brooke once when he and Stephanie were divorced. Brooke gave birth to two of Eric's children and are still very close, but Eric eventually reconciled with Stephanie and the two have since remarried, divorced after Stephanie's faux heart attack in the summer 2005, and remarried again in January 2006.

Image:JMcC.jpg

One infamous incident of conflict between Ridge, Taylor and Brooke occurred in 1994. En route to a psychiatrists' conference in Egypt, Taylor's plane crashed in Morocco and she was presumed dead. Taylor was whisked away to a prince's palace and since she had amnesia, she was led to believe that she was named Laila and was to marry the virgin prince so he could claim his right to the Moroccan throne. At home, Ridge grieved for Taylor; but then realizing that Brooke was about to marry James Warwick, he pursued Brooke and stopped her ceremony to James. James punched Ridge, but Ridge continued to pursue Brooke. He filled Brooke's office with dozens and dozens of roses and presented her with a ring, saying he was not going to ask her to marry him anymore (he'd already proposed multiple times before in his pursuit). Brooke finally accepted. Then Brooke and Ridge (called Bridge by their fans) held a surprise wedding on the beach attended by both of their families. Kristen, Ridge's sister, happily stood in as maid of honor for Brooke and Storm was Ridge's best man. By the time Taylor remembered her love for Ridge and escaped the compound in Morocco, she was too late. Ridge was now again conflicted as he loved Brooke but their marriage was now annulled due to Taylor's presence. In a surprising move, Ridge told Taylor that he loved Brooke and chose to stay with Brooke. Taylor turned to the bottle and she and Stephanie went into overdrive trying to convince Ridge that he should be with her, including covering up Taylor's one-night-stand with James at Big Bear. Stephanie told Taylor that if she told Ridge about the Big Bear affair with James, that she would never get him back. Suddenly, in a dramatic twist, a letter was placed in Ridge's favorite book accusing Brooke of paying a doctor one million dollars to say that Bridget was Ridge's daughter. Brooke denied that she'd done this and then the doctor turned up dead. Ridge's faith in Brooke was shaken. Then a new paternity test showed that Bridget was Eric's daughter. Brooke had a nervous breakdown and disappeared. Ridge went on a mission to find her. He located her in Barbados where she was playing with dolls (having suffered a psychotic break). He took her back to LA where Stephanie had taken her children from her. Eventually Brooke got her kids back and postponed her wedding to Ridge so that Bridget could adjust to the changes in her life. When a new designer came to town (that Taylor had a hidden relationship with sometime in the past but wanted it to remain hidden), Stephanie and Taylor used him to drive a wedge between Brooke and Ridge. Taylor hypocritically claimed that she would never betray Ridge as Brooke surely was with Grant, and Ridge misunderstood a kiss that he was between Brooke and Grant and then married Taylor instead.

In 2002, when Taylor supposedly died after having been shot by Sheila Carter, Brooke again helped Ridge to grieve and they fell in love again. They married, but not before an ugly episode where Ridge and Bridget had a 'confusing' dalliance. In 2005, we again learned Taylor had been whisked away by the prince, and was in fact very much alive. The Taylor/Ridge/Brooke triangle was revived, but it was temporarily resolved when Stephanie faked her heart attack, bringing Taylor and Ridge together. The faux heart attack was revealed and Stephanie's marriage to Eric ended, leading him to divorce her secretly and re-marry Brooke. Brooke and Eric soon annulled their marriage. Ridge struggled in his marriage to Taylor, unable to forget his love for Brooke. Taylor sought counseling for them and even tried to use Hector to make her husband jealous. It did not work. Finally, after Ridge didn't come home from the holidays (he was working at Forrester International putting out fires due to his mother's poor business choices), Taylor turned to Hector and kissed him while wearing a very skimpy negligee. Meanwhile, Brooke came in downstairs to drop RJ off for Ridge and she inadvertently walked in on the kiss between Taylor and Hector. Taylor tried to explain, but Brooke told her that she needed to tell Ridge. Taylor, fearing that Brooke would tell Ridge, confessed her kiss to Hector and then confessed her long-hidden lovemaking session with James while they were trapped up at Big Bear (while Taylor was still married to Ridge). Ridge forgave Taylor for Hector and even James, but what he could not forgive her for was the hypocrisy she'd displayed for nearly 2 decades and the way she always looked down on Brooke and presented herself (Taylor) as the 'better woman'. Ridge left Taylor and went to declare his love for Brooke. Taylor turned to the bottle as her marriage was annulled (just as she had the last time she and Ridge were not together). Stephanie tried to stop Ridge, but Ridge declared that he and Brooke would finally have the life together that they'd been struggling to have for decades. Taylor confessed to Eric that both of them (Eric and Taylor) had only been bit players in the lovestory of Brooke and Ridge. She wished that someone would love her the way that Ridge loves Brooke.

[edit]

Theme song and title sequence

The theme song of B&B, "High Upon This Love," was written by Jack Allocco and David Kurtz. A saxophone is played by well known saxophonist Eric Marienthal. From November 1998 to July 1999 in the United States, a vocal version of the theme song performed by Dionne Warwick was played during the end credits.

The title sequence for the first seventeen years featured still photos of the show's current cast members interspersed with photos from fashion shoots. The theme tune was tweaked slightly through the years, and the cast photos were replaced occasionally. In July 2004, the theme was revamped to go along with a completely revamped title sequence, featuring video headshots of the current cast members (accompanied by the character name and since 2005, the actor's name), and a "B&B" monogram logo above the show's title. Four versions are used, the full open with the cast video headshots, a shortened open with the cast video headshots, and two without the cast video headshots. Three out of the four title sequences open with a mock magazine cover which morphs into a photo shoot. The fourth open has been added recently and is the shortest opener currently on B&B.

[edit]

Ratings History

When it debuted in 1987, Bold and the Beautiful replaced Capitol in CBS daytime lineup and also took its 8th place in the ratings. However, B&B aired at 1:30 p.m. EST follwing The Young and the Restless, while Captiol had aired an hour later at 2:30 pm. ET. Initially CBS' lowest-rated soap, its numbers were still respectable (reflecting the strength and consistency of CBS daytime lineup) and began to climb. By 1993, after a crossover with Young and the Restless, it had climbed to 3rd. Since then it has moved up to 2nd and has generally remained there.

In the early 90s, the rise in ratings for the show, led some CBS stations that had never aired The Bold and the Beautiful (mainly since they had dropped Capitol from the schedule in the mid-80s) to start running the show. CBS affiliates including WTVT in Tampa, FL, KIRO in Seattle, KOIN in Portland, OR, and KMGH in Denver had pre-empted B&B since its 1987 premiere. Today, the only CBS affiliate not carrying B&B in daytime is KOTV in Oklahoma City. The station chooses to air an hour of local news airing B&B late at night.

During 2005, as soap viewership continued to erode, B&B was one of the very few soaps whose ratings remained stable remaining the #2 soap behind The Young and the Restless. Y&R and B&B continue to do crossovers with characters from time to time.

[edit]

Programing Oddities

Many cities in the US aired B&B since its inception in March 1987, however in some cities, it wasn't the case when local CBS affiliates aired local progamming instead. Mostly it was cities in the Pacific Northwest part of the US, like Seattle until September 1994, several cities in Oregon such as Portland, Eugene, Roseburg, Coos Bay, and several others outside of the region like Denver, Colorado Springs, Tulsa, and Tampa. CBS affiliate KOTV in Tulsa has cleared B&B, but it is aired overnights as the station remains committed to an hour long local newscast in the midday.

[edit]

Cast

[edit]

Current cast members

U.S. daytime soap operas
currently on the air:
All My Children
As the World Turns
The Bold and the Beautiful
Days of our Lives
General Hospital
Guiding Light
One Life to Live
Passions
The Young and the Restless
Edit this box
[edit]

Recurring cast members

[edit]

Coming and going cast members

  • None
[edit]

Awards

[edit]

Emmy Awards

  • 2004 "Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series" Jennifer Finnigan (ex-Bridget Forrester)
  • 2003 "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" Susan Flannery (Stephanie Douglas Forrester)
  • 2003 "Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series" Jennifer Finnigan (ex-Bridget Forrester)
  • 2002 "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" Susan Flannery (Stephanie Douglas Forrester)
  • 2002 "Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series" Jennifer Finnigan (ex-Bridget Forrester Sharpe)
  • 2001 "Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series" Justin Torkildsen (Rick Forrester)
  • 2001 "Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series" Adrienne Frantz (ex-Amber Moore Forrester)
  • 2000 "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" Susan Flannery (Stephanie Douglas Forrester)
  • 1997 "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" Ian Buchanan (ex-Dr. James Warwick)
[edit]

TV Soap Golden Boomerang Awards

  • 2006 "Best Show" The Bold and the Beautiful
  • 2006 "Best Actress" Katherine Kelly Lang (Brooke Logan Forrester)
  • 2006 "Best Actor" Jack Wagner (Dominick Marone)
  • 2006 "Best Younger Actress" Ashley Jones (Bridget Forrester Marone)
  • 2006 "Best Supporting Actor" Winsor Harmon (Thorne Forrester)
  • 2006 "Best Supporting Actress" Lesley-Anne Down (Jacqueline Payne Marone)
[edit]

External links

fr:Top Models it:Beautiful nl:The Bold and the Beautiful pl:Moda na sukces simple:The Bold and the Beautiful fi:Kauniit ja rohkeat sv:Glamour

Retrieved from "http://www.netipedia.com/index.php/The_Bold_and_the_Beautiful"