Ah, how I have longed for the good 'ol days when Brooke and Taylor fought like two cats in heat over God's gift to women, Ridge Forrester. Seems like just yesterday when they last sparred over him and now we are right back to square one with each hoping to be the next and last Mrs. Redwood Ridge. Those were some classic moments back in the day, but as I watched the goings-on this week, I began to feel like things had changed too much for it to be as entertaining as it used to be. Indeed, I began to feel that though I may love a good catfight like the next person, this particular one has just lost its luster.
When Taylor first came on the scene, I loved the idea of someone 'besting' Brooke as she seemed a little cheap and slutty to me when she was trying to get Ridge away from the more pristine Caroline. 'Opportunist' actually came to mind. So here came Dr. Hayes and her brains coupled with her crazy good looks, seemed to be a toe-to-toe match for Brooke and obviously she did a good job of getting Ridge to fall for her over and over again. We can't rewrite history as it is what it is. I liked the Forrester family with Taylor in it and liked the centered and grounded Ridge A LOT more than the pompous Brooke-inspired Ridge of late.
As the years went on and Brooke began to see the error of her loose ways, she became a more believable and sympathetic character. I liked how strong she was when she was with Nick (I know, no big revelation there, right?) and really felt that going back to Ridge would be terrible for both of them. I was right. Now Taylor comes back from the Great Beyond and shakes the very core of that relationship that I am convinced has more to do with SEX than actual love. Taylor still loves Ridge and wants him but Brooke feels she has the right to have him since they married and produced RJ. Ok, we all knew all the pleasant posturing and good manners wouldn't last too long, especially not with Stephanie returning to form as Taylor's cheerleader. So we are ready for Round One.
Like two experienced fighters entering the ring, they both bobbed and weaved a little before Taylor leveled the first blow after hearing about the Deacon boink and the Foundry boink. The shock! The horror! Come on 'Doc', are you really that surprised? I mean, she may have not had nearly as many sexual escapades as Brooke but she has had a few dalliances of her own. Not with her son-in-law, but no one, not even Taylor, is perfect. I understand she wants a good role model for her kids, though, and do agree with her disgust from that perspective. My biggest problem here is that now you are talking about teenagers and since no one seems to want to let Taylor in on who Thomas was screwing for months, I suspect Taylor will have her hands full without worrying about who Brooke slept with years ago. I think we can safely put all that to 'bed' (excuse the pun) and move on to the piece of information that Taylor MUST know and QUICKLY before she gets too far into the idea of resuming married life with Ridge. Can anyone say...Bridget?
In Stephanie's effort to air everyone's dirty laundry, I noticed she forgot to mention the kiss Ridge shared with Bridget or Thomas' sexcapade with Amber. Hmmm...so the only bad behavior in LA these last few years has been all on Brooke's side of the street? Yeah, sure. I like Stephanie some of the time but I really lost several notches of respect for her last week. Taylor needs to know the sick nature of the attraction between Ridge and Bridget before anything. That should garner one Hell of a parental lecture for both of them and while she is at it, she can smack the boy wonder upside the head and ask him why he was mattress-dancing with a woman almost twice his age? Geez, dead for only a few years and the whole world goes to Hell!!
Round Two of the fight had Brooke countering back by making it clear she is not giving up on being Mrs. Ridge Forrester and that they deserve to be together after so many years 'fighting to get back to each other'. Okay, let me get this straight...all those OTHER marriages Ridge had were all just to get back to Brooke? No, I think he has LOVED two women and had the best sex with ONE other, that's it. Honestly, how can Brooke say all that with a straight face? She is already busy playing the 'RJ card' and that may be the saving grace for her and Ridge. He may not leave them and opt to have the teens live with Mom. I said in the very beginning that may be the best and most realistic route this story could take. I have to admit one thing...I did like the line from Taylor about not having to play dirty and that she felt Ridge would make the right decision. Very classy. Now exactly WHICH decision would be the best, though? Oh Taylor, you know what happens when we ASSUME!
What do I see for Round Three in the 'Rumble for Ridge'? I see Taylor trying to do her best Stephanie imitation and stir up some trouble on the Shady Marlin. Poor Nick has to be tired of people coming onboard to tell him to dump Bridget and go after Brooke. I'm sure Taylor will do the same. Brooke will push the RJ angle harder than ever with Ridge and anyone else in the Forrester clan that will listen. She will appear in the bedroom nearly naked and use her wiles to entice Ridge to pick a life with her. Taylor will counter with the teens and the threat of Brooke's deeply buried feelings for Nick to place doubt in Ridge's mind. In short...ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
Same ol, same ol...it really is like being in a sick time-warp to the early nineties. I have said before that in MY perfect world, both women show him the door and get on with their lives. Ridge lives alone in Big Bear and becomes a hermit. Would that be so bad? Hey, it gives much-needed screen-time to OTHER cast members and their stories. Remember when there were OTHER people to watch on this show? For weeks now it has been nonstop Dysfunction Junction with only a few glimpses of Thorne, Sally and Massimo. I'm on resurrection burnout.
My rant for the week...exactly when did Brooke do ALL these motherly things with the kids? I never saw help with homework, parent-teacher conferences, or anything even remotely resembling maternal behavior with the kids. Nothing. Maybe that would be boring programming on a soap but they could at least imply it through some little bit of dialogue. Everyone is reaching when it comes to Brooke's influence on the older kids and as it is she doesn't have too much to do with her own these days either. The nanny gets all that duty. So before we go overboard on how much of a great and involved mother she was to Thomas and the Doublemint Twins, lets make sure we are more accurate. After all, what did she really try to do about the Thomas-Amber situation anyway? Not too much if I recall correctly. She has recently become much more family centered, yes but no June Cleaver awards just yet, ok?
Thanks to the readers who emailed to correct me about Taylor knowing before her death about Hope's paternity. I really thought she knew but I stand corrected.
As for the answers I received on the question I posed last week, well, there weren't that many. I suppose it was a boring question. Those that did email in seemed to favor bring back Grant from the dead to curl Brooke's toes once again. There was one vote for Caroline just so that Ridge could have the hat trick with THREE wives to help him pack a van to some country where he may have a better chance of getting away with it.
With all the Taylor hating that continues even in this very hour, I thought of a very appropriate question for this week that speaks to the Brooke fans amongst you readers. In fairness I have asked in the recent past what people liked or disliked about Taylor and I don't think I have ever asked...
What makes Brooke such a good character? What is drawing all the fan loyalty to her all these years? Tell me why I should be a Brooke supporter and don't hold back. I can take it.
Who's on the Soapbox?
Rose writes... '...I have been watching B&B for many years but when (Gaby) appears in a scene, I leave the room.' Amen, Rose. That girl is as engaging as a doorstop.
P Morgan writes... ...I wish just once Taylor would not win. I have quit watching the show because she is back. Our office watched it everyday but no more. How many more times is she going to die? Get real!'
Until next week, stay in touch with your thoughts...it's the best part of my week when I hear from everybody!
