By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman I remember it well. It was in early March 1987 and I was visiting the office of the late Bill Bell Senior, the stupendously successful executive producer/headwriter of the The Young and the Restless at CBS Television City in Hollywood. Mr. Bell (“call me Bill”) was gloating because the … [Read more...]
The Bold and the Beautiful’s Most Excellent 7000th Episode Celebration
January 25, 2015 by 2 Comments
General Hospital and The Bold and the Beautiful: The Decisions of Great Showmen
April 13, 2013 by 14 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman For the last year, I have been writing what great showmen executive producer Frank Valentini and headwriter Ron Carlivati are with their crackerjack rescue of General Hospital. As I wrote last week, the Nurses Week was a blast, with the windup this week as wonderful as its beginnings. I … [Read more...]
A “Bah Humbug” Christmas … Plus, The Borg is Back!
December 29, 2012 by 6 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman Oh how I miss soap Christmases the way they used to be. Today, all soaps have been scrubbed of religion. This year only two of the four soaps -- Days of Our Lives and The Bold and the Beautiful -- continued with at least some of the traditions that made the holiday a really special time to … [Read more...]
Sunday Reflections 21: Two Award-worthy Stories on The Bold and the Beautiful … On General Hospital – Maxie, Forget Being a Surrogate Mother!
December 1, 2012 by 3 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman The Bold and the Beautiful: While the rest of us were distracted by the fireworks of General Hospital’s highly entertaining, twist-filled November sweeps (A.J. back from the dead! Duke is Faison!), perhaps the finest dramatic work of the month or even the year was going on over at The Bold … [Read more...]
B&B: Does One Show-Eating Storyline Work?
July 8, 2012 by 5 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman Bradley Bell has been trying a bold soap experiment the last three quarters of a year on The Bold and Beautiful, featuring one storyline, the Hope-Liam-Steffy triangle, almost to the exclusion of most others. And he's been succeeding -- the ratings are still comparatively healthy. So I ask … [Read more...]
The Mega-successful, Classy World of Bill Bell
July 5, 2012 by 2 Comments
By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passlacqua Hayman When I was a girl soap reporter, I called him "Mr. Bell" during interviews because of Bill Bell's exalted status in the soap industry. And Bill Bell (1927-2005) would just laugh and go ahead to speak about what one always talked to him about: the work. He was the only person I ever … [Read more...]
Daytime Emmys 2009: The Beginning of the End?
August 31, 2009 by 2 Comments
By Ed Martin Watching the 36th annual Daytime Emmy Awards on The CW during the dog days of August confirmed what I already knew: These are dark days indeed for the daypart overall and for soap operas in particular. It's not that the telecast was all bad: I actually prefer smaller venues for the Daytime Emmy celebration (the Orpheum Theater … [Read more...]
The Bold and the Beautiful: Brilliant and Baffling
December 11, 2007 by 8 Comments
By Patrick Erwin On paper, The Bold and the Beautiful should be the most solid show on daytime. The show was created by daytime legend Bill Bell and taken over by his son Bradley when he retired. In an era in which shows seem to change creative teams with the change of seasons, Bradley Bell has been head writer and producer for well over a … [Read more...]
