Do we even like the characters? (General)

I liked Eric until this last affair with Donna. That is about when I quit watching.

Do you think there are any adult characters on the bold and the beautiful who are universally liked? Do other soaps have adult characters most people like? This show killed off or ruined the characters I liked - Phoebe and Storm!

I did not like KMs version of Hope (no disrespect to the actress, I think she's adorable and have made it a point to try and watch whatever else she's in). Her Hope was naive, immature and easily influenced. She didn't know how to hold her own. In many ways she was just a child. I am really liking ANs Hope. She is mature, level headed, a great mum and supportive daughter to both her mum and dad and she's a good wife too.

I also liked Steffy when she first came on screen and was paired with Rick. And then she started her Logan vendetta and became unrecognizable. I liked both Katie and Donna's younger versions. The older ones not so much. And I liked the original Kristen Forrester. And Macy of course.

There used to be a lot of really likable characters on the show in the past. Today, not so much.

Past Likable/Lovable characters…
Darla
Macy
Saul
Original Sally & Young Sally
Pam
Rocco
Grandma Logan especially when she had cute scenes with Rocco
Original Donna, & current Donna but not nearly as much as OG Donna
Original Caroline
CJ
Maggie Forrester
James Warwick
Amber Moore
Amber’s sleazy mother
Ally
Original Taylor, not new Taylor
Original Felicia Forrester
Jackie Marone
Owen, Jackie’s younger husband
And many more….

I like the characters unconditionally. It is because I watch on and off. When they damage my favourite and make her or him unlikable, I take a pause and visit the board from time to time until I feel like watching again. My first favourite was Caroline 1 ! I didn’t watch for years when she died. Then I liked Taylor! And Steffy and Tom because they are Taylor’s children.

Soap characters are not necessarily always meant to be likeable, as much as MEMORABLE, I think. Characters like Susan Lucci's Erica Kane from AMC and of course Victor and Nikki Newman from Y&R for instance have been immensely popular over the decades, whether or not they would be "likeable" as real people.

I wish they had kept the ORIGINAL Storm too, or even the 2nd Storm from the early 90s - both versions were great, although I probably prefer the 80s Storm overall!! Was not a fan of the last Storm AT ALL.

Overall, my all-time FAVOURITE character on the show is Taylor, of course, and I have come to like Krista Allen as much I was into Hunter Tylo, albeit in different ways. Hunter Tylo's Taylor was an always well-intentioned and admirable person who ended up going off the rails after losing Ridge. Krista Allen's Taylor is a woman who has spent time dealing with her inner demons and emerged on the other side having recaptured both the sense of propriety AND fun that Taylor possessed in the 1990s.

My other favourite B&B characters are Kimberly Fairchild and Mary Warwick/Erica Lovejoy - I LOVE how these two were VERY HAPPY to be virgins throughout their time on the show, and actually left the show with their virginities intact. They were still more than capable of fighting and holding their own against the 'vixen' types like Brooke and Amber of course. I will never forget the scene where Kimberly broke into Brooke's office, as a hooded figure, and terrorized her before revealing who she was. I miss Kimberly and Mary/Erica very much.

In fact, I see NO PURPOSE in keeping Sheila around anymore, unless they bring Mary/Erica back. That would also give Finn more of a storyline - having his half-sister in town, and Steffy, Ridge and the Forresters will have to determine to what extent they are comfortable with her or not (although they would presumably be fine with her now since she has spent the past 2 decades primarily in the company of James Warwick).

Hope to me is a CHEAP KNOCK-OFF of the younger, more 'innocent' Kimberly.

From the more recent characters, I am pretty much only a fan of Nicole Avant, who was a beautiful, sensitive, very nuanced character.

Back in the day, I was also a fan of Maggie Forrester and Carmen (Deacon's very first girlfriend). Becky Moore was very sympathetic and sweet - was sorry to see her go - and Tawny Moore was very ENTERTAINING as a pseudo-villainess.

I definitely DON'T think I would be watching right now AT ALL if Taylor weren't back, however. Even though it's always great to see Steffy and Thomas doubling down and COUNTERING Brooke, I wouldn't be nearly as invested if Taylor wasn't in the picture. Couldn't imagine anyone other than Hunter Tylo playing her at first, but now I'm happy to have Krista Allen, and think it may prove to be a GOOD thing for Taylor in the long run.

Do you think there are any adult characters on the bold and the beautiful who are universally liked? Do other soaps have adult characters most people like? This show killed off or ruined the characters I liked - Phoebe and Storm!

Most you are glad are not relatives

I know of no soap where any character is universally liked. After all the audience is comprised of a variety of people with a variety of priorities and a variety of life experiences, not to mention different ages, genders, marital status, etc. etc. Art imitates life. Not every person is universally liked… even MotherTherese was not .

Do you think there are any adult characters on the bold and the beautiful who are universally liked? Do other soaps have adult characters most people like? This show killed off or ruined the characters I liked - Phoebe and Storm!

Here is my take of them"

Ridge - weak wimp who never protects his wife.

Tom - sociopath

Steffy - very mean nasty bully

Taylor - the worse of the lot for me, listening to her talk in that whispery voice repulses me.

Bill - really enjoy him

Liam - I like him a lot right now

Finn - another wimp.

Hope - too passive

Brooke - love her, she is the beleaguered heroine of the show.

Donna - I like her

Eric - I like him

Deacon - he is likable and the most entertaining.

Sheila - she is being wasted

Wyatt - wish he was on more.

Paris - meh

Carter - meh

Zende - meh

I think that is a major problem with the current show - there are literally NO characters left who are likeable!

There used to be a lot of characters on this show that I genuinely liked/loved and rooted for. Characters I could picture being friends with in real life. I loved the original Spectra gang (Sally, Macy, Saul, Darla) the most. They were such a fun and warm-hearted bunch.

(If the comments on the classic B&B episodes on Youtube are anything to go by, I think Original Sally is as close as this show has ever come to having a character who is universally loved.)

But I found many other characters likeable as well (CJ, Becky, Bridget, Aly, Ruthanne, Keith, Kevin...). In fact, even the characters who weren't necessarily supposed to be "good" I often liked because I found them thoroughly entertaining (Stephanie, Sheila, Mike, Deacon, Bill Sr, Clarke, Anthony...).

Nowadays, there is not a single character on the show that feels human to me. There is no genuine warmth. No intelligence, wit, or sense of humor. No friendliness, no genuine connection between family members or friends. Each and every character speaks in that same annoying dumbed down "confrontational reality TV" type dialogue and as a result, I don't think there is a single character I can stand because I cringe every time they speak.

The only characters I root for right now are Sheila and Deacon and that is mainly because I'm hoping they will cause trouble for the rest of the characters (also, I like the actors and wish they were given better material). Because both these characters are only shadows of their former selves - especially Sheila who used to be so much cleverer.

I guess this is why I am currently four weeks behind in my viewing of the new episodes while I'm keeping totally up to date with the classic episodes.