Wedding bell blues

Compared to Brooke and Ridge's other trips to the altar, their latest simple living room wedding at the Forrester mansion looked kind of meager. And with Ronn Moss leaving, this is really the end of Ridge and Brooke as we know them. Should he have gotten a bigger, grander send-off. Then there was also Bill teaching Liam how to be a man. Cigars and port? That's what makes a man? Come on. Is Rick Forrester the next Ridge Forrester, or is someone else on deck? Find out as we serve up this week's Two Scoops.

All the while I was watching Ridge and Brooke's wedding #23 (I think it was 23; I may have lost count), I was gripped with a deep sadness. There's no way around it. The knowledge that Ronn Moss is leaving the show colored my feelings. I know that this is not going to be a "happily ever after" scenario. Very soon, we're going to see Brooke crying even more, only they won't be happy tears. Something is going to happen -- the spoilers I read were all over the map -- but Ridge will be out of the picture, and Brooke will have a new man in her life, Dr. "No Name" Meade. So instead of seeing this wedding as some culmination of destiny's darlingdarlings, I just knew it was about the end of a classic soap combination. Goodbye, Ronn.

While we're on the subject of sadness, it was profoundly sad to see Taylor still carrying on about Ridge getting married again. Holy cow, how many times will they serve up this malarkey? Taylor should be over Ridge and living her life. How many ex-wives do you think spend their former spouse's wedding day wallowing in self-pity and missing him? It was really demeaning to Taylor. I don't care if you are a great fan of the Taylor-Ridge pairing; seeing her in pain (again) was sad.

Imagine this, friends, what if Thorne went looking for Taylor, and she wasn't home. Suddenly, she came rushing into the mansion with a dozen shopping bags, glowing and happy. She tells Thorne that there was a big sale at Neiman's, and she went out to lunch with a friend, lost track of time, and was having a great day out on the town! Then, when Thorne mentions Brooke and Ridge's wedding, Taylor says, "Oh, was that today?"

But no, we have to have morose Taylor, still carrying the torch for Ridge and looking like a loser -- which she is not! Brad Bell doesn't get that, at a certain point, Taylor's never-ending love for Ridge just looks pathetic. She's too beautiful, accomplished, and self-possessed to think that Ridge was the only great love of her life. Let her put it in the past and stop talking about him. Maybe Brad needs to spend some time in a women's spa or go to a seminar of the female psyche because he's out of touch with what women really feel these days.

It's not that all women think exactly the same, but there are some consistent themes. As a reader pointed out in an email this week, the success of a book like 50 Shades of Grey reveals that women seek romance, albeit even a kinky variation. But go back to classic stories, like Gone With the Wind. One female fantasy that's tried and true is the desire to be swept off your feet by love. Could you ever think of Rhett Butler as a guy who couldn't make up his mind or flip-flopped back and forth between two women? You'd never confuse Liam for Rhett Butler, would you? Here's a thought for Liam; : don't take lessons from Bill, or Bob Hope movies! Start watching Clark Gable pictures!

Okay, maybe Turner Classic Movies isn't the answer for all of Liam's problems, but getting away from Bill might be. Bill is a terrible parent. You can see that he has no experience as a father, and whatever he learned from his father was utterly useless. Drinking port, smoking cigars, wearing sword necklaces? That's all superficial nonsense. Bill claims it's all symbolic, but of what? Being masculine and tough? It doesn't inform Liam about how to understand what he truly wants in a life partner. Between you and me, I don't think Liam knows what he wants.

You can make a good case for Liam being right with either Hope or Steffy. The way Brad Bell has written this story line, Liam has more in common with Steffy and enjoys being with her more than with Hope. And yet Brad also writes that Liam is yearning for Hope, that he still sees his future with her.

This is why fans are up in arms; both story lines could work. There are fans for both pairings. But Brad Bell seems content to just drag this out and frustrate us with the back and forth. Perhaps it worked in years past with Ridge, Brooke, and Taylor, but it's not clicking with these three young stars.

To me, it always seemed that it was not Ridge's indecisiveness as much as it was the situations that kept Ridge and, Brooke, and Taylor locked in the triangle. After all, there were years when Taylor was presumed dead. And years when Brooke was involved with Eric, and Nick, and other men. Ridge wasn't just waffling all the time.

Since I seem to be piling on Brad, I guess it's time to express my take on the idea that he's put forth about Rick being the next Ridge for The Bold and the Beautiful. Oh, goodness, I hope not. There's no groundwork to make that work. For starters, Ridge was essentially a prince when the soap began. He was the favored son, the genius fashion designer who was key to Forrester Creation's success, God's gift to women, and -- as originally created -- the heir apparent

Rick has been a black sheep and always will be. Rick is also not a real designer, and he's a terrible businessman. Yes, he is Eric's son, thus he is a Forrester, but his mother is a Logan. If there's a true heir apparent to Eric's legacy, it is Thomas. But for whatever reason, Rick is going to get the big story line build build-up. Having watched Jacob Young for years on soaps, he's not my cup of tea. He's certainly not the hero type.

Even at Brooke and Ridge's wedding, he was sucking up to Caroline, making her think that with Ridge out of the way on his honeymoon, they could take over Forrester Creations. That kind of naked ambition from someone who is already in the corporate suite is just smarmy. Rick has already had chances to run the company and proved that he's a rank amateur. And Caroline's been there all of two minutes. Give me a break; what about earning your way?

I guess that's an old fashioned idea. I actually have more respect for Thomas, since he's put in time in the basement with poor Uncle Thorne, doing penance for the berries and the lies. So Thomas has earned his way back to the executive offices. Thorne, on the other hand, might as well be a member of some family not named Forrester, considering how shabbily his mother and father have treated him! Thorne deserves better.

Speaking of Thorne, while it was very sweet of him to be there for Taylor on her day of sadness, has he really forgotten that his daughter, Allie, has no mother because Taylor killed Darla in a drunk drunk-driving accident? Where's a little moment of remembrance for something truly sad, Darla's death. That would be more appropriate than all the tiresome residual longings that Taylor has for Thorne's big brother. All things considered, it was a pretty dull wedding for Ridge and Brooke. When you looked at those photos from the past, especially the Mexican Aztec wedding, this one was rather plain. Ridge has dressed better to go to the office. I would have preferred seeing him in a tuxedo or a toga, something more befitting the occasion. Brooke, for some reason, wore white.

There was another flashback segment to make us think that Stephanie and Brooke are really friends now. I don't know; if Susan Flannery were not leaving the show at the end of the year, I'm certain these two would be at each other's throats again. Remember, it's it was not that long ago that Stephanie bribed Thomas to destroy Brooke's reputation with Ridge and the rest of the world. Stephanie even had Brooke convinced that she'd eaten the psychedelic berries and had sex with Thomas! Brooke was beside herself with remorse, and she hadn't done anything. It was all lies. That's the real Stephanie, so forgive me if I don't really buy that she doesn't still think Brooke is the slut from the valley whose mucked up her Beverly Hills family.

But that's all water under the bridge, I guess. Brad Bell's moving on and changing many of the story lines we've come to depend upon. It remains to be seen how successful he'll be. Losing the real Ridge and Stephanie are going towill make it harder and harder to recognize that this is the show we've known and loved for about a quarter of a century.

So here's my final word of advice for Brad; : remember what your mom and pop taught you. They helped invent soap operas, and they knew what they were doing. Don't be influenced by demographics and shows like One Tree Hill or Gossip Girl. Remember the best of the soaps and keep it all on The Bold and the Beautiful.

So, that's it for me. Please share your thoughts with me about what's going to happen in the weeks ahead... And if you are wondering where Mike is, he has been enjoying some well-deserved time off. But he will be back next week with his take on all things bold and beautiful! I'm anxious to read what he has to say.

So, till next week, please share your thoughts with me about what's going to happen in the weeks ahead... Your comments are always welcome at Soap Central, so stay in touch. And tell me which other characters you want to see fixed or changed -- or return to the show. All you have to do is click here to send me a message. And keep on reading Two Scoops every week!

Meanwhile, here are some letters from the readers!

• I think that Liam should be with Hope. Hope seems to bring out the good in Liam and Steffy the bad. The writers need to bring in a NEW GUY for Steffy. I'm so tired of this love triangle and its time to move on. Let Hope find out that she's having Liam's baby and they get married and Steffy finds her real true love. Bill's lies (all of them) come to light, after Katie has their baby and she finally leaves him and Bill goes back to his young true love Steffy but she's in a relationship with a NEW GUY. -- Nita

• One of the reasons that "the triangle" is so awful (and this is a major mistake the soaps always make) is that day after day we have to watch two women fight over a man. It's demoralizing! Most women love romance and they would prefer to see the love-sick man in pursuit of his dream girl. Consider the popularity of 50 Shades of Grey - steamy sex aside, women enjoy the fantasy of this perfect guy who is hopelessly in love with an "average" girl. Who doesn't dream of being adored like that? Remember Guiding Light way back when Alan Michael was in love with Eleni? He once told her that he spent his days dreaming of ways to make her eyes light up. It was so romantic that I still remember it! Also, it makes absolutely no sense that someone like Steffy isn't being hotly pursued by other men. B&B needs to cast a gorgeous, sophisticated man to turn her head and make her realize she deserves more than second best! - Lisa

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