Bold and Beautiful: A (Not So) Guilty Pleasure?

The soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful" has been a staple of late-morning/early afternoon television for who-knows-how-many-years (o-k, 21 to be exact), and for at least 15 of those years the program continues to be a pretty solid hit in Italy. Of course, over on this side of the pond, Bold and Beautiful is just called "Beautiful" (www.beautiful-italia.com) and it airs weekdays around 2:00 in the afternoon. Because unlike America, 2:00 is the time when most women (and men) are home for Italy's famous 3 hour afternoon break-time better known as "intervalo (they don't really called it "siesta" anymore). Besides, the great gods of television know this is the best time to stick the soaps on Italian TV.

Anyway, because my wife likes the program, I tend to watch "Beautiful" for about a week at a time every 2-to-3 years. Why? Well, first of all I'd rather read a book. In the absence of that, 2-3 years seems just about right to me: not a whole lot changes on "Beautiful" from week to week. Not to mention that Italy is about 3 seasons behind the US (I believe over here they are on episode # 5150) so anything I'm even talking about now is long since yesterday's news to anyone who follows the soap back in the states. Unless of course you live over here.

Well, I watched an episode with my wife just the other day and what struck me most isn't so much that the cast has hardly aged, its how virtually the entire cast of characters on Bold and Beautiful has slept with each other. This is news only to me I'm sure, not to the millions of other viewers who watch the program. I'm really surprised that the Forrester-clan hasn't evolved into an in-bred bunch of banjo-playing, cross-eyed hillbillies or worse. Or maybe they already have, I just haven't seen enough of Bold and Beautiful to notice.

Don't believe me? Take Ridge (played by tall and lanky actor Ron Moss). Last time I watched Bold and Beautiful he was married to Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) but was really in love with Taylor (Hunter Tylo). Like I said that was the last time I watched. The other day, Ridge was back with Brooke but in love with someone else (I think her name is Ashley) while secretly lusting for his mother. (O-k that part's not true; I just thought I'd toss that in there).

Next is family patriarch Eric who -- last time I watched -- was married to his portly wife Stephanie. Since then my wife tells me he got married to Brooke, had a fling with Taylor, and is now I back with his wife Stephanie but is really having an affair with some blonde named Donna.

Brooke in the meantime is, has been married to or has slept with virtually every available man in the Beautiful cast. She has something like 4 last names. Well bless her little hips...I mean heart. She's had a few children -- not sure who the father is. Heck within the context of the show I'm not sure if she knows who the father is. The other day she was getting over the psychological affects of being raped by getting ready to hook up with Ridge yet again. Man oh man, if that doesn't cure her i guess nothing will.

In between all this is the usual gang of suspects -- that includes Ridge's brother, assorted children, the secretary, the competition pining for the latest secrets in the fashion world where the how takes place and a few other assorted flavors-of-the-week and all of them seem to have slept together as well.

I guess within the gene-pool of the fictional Forrester family of Bold and Beautiful it's easier to just swap partners every few weeks than it is to keep introducing new characters. At least that way a person knows what he or she is getting into. Gosh-forbid they actually show a couple that is happily married. You're right: what the heck was I thinking -- there's no place for that kind of plot development on a soap opera.

You gotta admire the writers of this soap opera because how can they keep coming up with this stuff day after day and week after week. And the cast -- how do you not bring this imaginary baggage home after endless days/weeks/months in front of the camera?

Like I said: in Italy, Bold and Beautiful has been on a long, long time. Certainly longer than any Italian-made attempts at a soap opera. And no doubt I've missed some important plot-threads along the way. There are probably been some folks who have received carpet burns that I'm not aware of. I'm sure there have been some hay-rides that I've lost track of.

I'm not worried though, I'll catch up on the latest in another 2-3 years.