Ruffles and Ridges

If you're a Spencer and your family calls off one engagement, what do you do? Replace it with another, of course! But who cares about that when B&B is about to attempt the recast of the (quarter) century? The role of Two Scoops columnist is now being played by Mike!

Has your week been bold and beautiful? Did you decide rock-climbing would be more fun than having rocks in your head? Did you and your cousin swap engagements? Did you get a new face after 25 years? These and more situations faced the Forresters et al this week!

You know that potato chip slogan, "Ruffles have Ridges," right? Well, there may be no better time to paraphrase it. You know what I'm talking about...but first, like any good soap cliffhanger, let's deal with other aspects of the show and really build up the suspense. Particularly because what we saw on our screens these past five episodes wasn't all that suspenseful...not compared to the real-life goings-on in B&B's casting department, which has been more exhilarating than scaling a mountain peak!

Brill's big story of late is Bill wanting to take Brooke rock climbing. Given her predilection for (ahem) hard things, I'm surprised she didn't take this up ages ago. But watching them discuss it was actually pretty boring, and finding out it's a run-up to B&B's three-thousandth visit to Aspen came as a disappointment. Really, guys; get a new location. What's the takeaway here? That someone's going to fall off a mountain out there? Brooke already fell of the Eiffel Tower once, so she's an expert!

Bill is convinced that Katie will run Spencer Publications into the ground. Yo, Dollah -- she's been running the company three months now, and it's still there. I actually find myself glad that Katie is still in the CEO seat! I was sure B&B would undo her takeover in a matter of weeks. Even though I get the impression Katie wants Bill back (why, girl?), I love that she's not backing down. Question: when is Bill and Katie's divorce supposed to be final? It's been 90 days. Shouldn't Katie be a Logan again by now?

Speaking of people who may or may not be single by now, Liam is in a mess of trouble, and, true to form, Liam/Hope/Wyatt dominated the entire week. Maybe we should upgrade that triangle to a quadrangle, since Steffy seems to be factor in absentia. Is this B&B's way of keeping Miss Forrester on the canvas? No matter, because Liam is finally getting what he deserves. After two years of bouncing between Steffy and Hope, he now knows what it feels like on the pointy end of the triangle.

Seriously, most of the story was a yawner, but I did have to resist clapping my hands with glee when Liam walked in on Wyatt and Hope kissing. That's called karma, Liam, served piping hot. That would have been the extent of it were it not for a pleasantly unexpected slam-bang performance by one Scott Clifton! Frustrated that Hope pulled the plug on him again, he railed at her for demanding perfection and said he was allowed to have a past! Has he been to a ball game? Because he suddenly got a couple!

But Liam's argument would have held more water if he hadn't been such a Waffle King for so long. Hope might be overreacting if all he had ever done was send a tribute to his ex-wife. It's just that Hope's not wrong: her own video was special until Liam cranked one out for Steffy as well. "You have been enjoying having the two of us fighting over you so long, you don't know how to be with just me," Hope scolded. Wow! Usually they're like watching paint dry, but here they were approaching compelling!

Wyatt was right, too: Liam has treated Hope like crap. But is this guy not in the least bit concerned about rebound? He keeps yapping about Hope spending her life with him as if she hadn't been emotionally entrenched with someone for three years. Although I did love it when Liam ripped his half-brother a new one. Oh, if Liam had only been this assertive all along! I hope Strong Liam sticks around, but let's face it: Lope is over. Even they're tired, and the soap gods know I am.

Then we had the big to-do over the Bell-Tree Diamond Event at Forrester's boutique. (So sick of that cue already!) Charlie the Security Guard was enough to protect a $100 million gem that wasn't even shielded by glass? Good one, Quinn -- wonder how Ricardo will react when he finds out you exposed his diamond to the elements like that! No one was allowed to touch it, yet she handled it without gloves of any kind! She calls herself a gemologist?

Apparently Quinn is also not terribly adept at covering her tracks, because Wyatt figured out that his mother sent the incendiary video faster than you can say "rock 'n' roll." How did he clue in so quickly? Not that he cared; he actually thanked Mama for getting Hope unengaged, then became Pushy Wyatt again as he campaigned for Hope to move on with him, despite her being single less than a day. Until Liam walked through a conveniently unlocked door to do a little stumping of his own.

And, who knew, we got two good Lope convos this week. Liam felt Hope was letting the past hold them hostage. Hope countered "it isn't the past if it keeps repeating itself," then confessed that she did have some feelings for Wyatt! Steffy isn't a direct factor this time, and Liam made the interesting observation that all that stands between him and Hope now is their own lack of faith. Some solid sentiments, but too much has happened with these two. Does anyone care anymore?

Then, long story short, Maya went out to lunch with Carter and saw Rick with Caroline. Carter's an idiot, blabbing on about wedding dates when Maya practically went white in Rick's presence. Is Carter just choosing not to see that Maya's not into him? Meanwhile, Maya confided in her gal pal Dayzee about her persisting feelings for Forrester's president. Since when are Dayzee and Maya so chummy? Didn't Dayzee pretty well write Maya off when she first developed an interest in Rick? Now they're BFFs?

Don't get me wrong; a true friendship between Maya and Dayzee would be cool. No one has friends on this show! But now Dayzee was A-OK about Rick and encouraged Maya to express herself, "you know you know you've got to." Maya took Madonna's words seriously, running to the Forrester boutique to lay it on the line for Rick. Too bad Rick had already procured a ring from Quinn Artisan Jewelers to do some question-popping with Caroline. It was nice to see Wyatt in a different story for a moment!

Did you really think Caroline would say no to Rick's rock? Please! Who are we talking about? It's funny -- not long ago, Caroline was the interloper; now it feels like Maya is the interloper, letting herself into Rick's house. I don't see any doubt in Rick's mind about Caroline now, do you? That proposal of his, recreating her limo arrival at Forrester, was actually one of B&B's best proposals in a while. Who else was good at creative proposals? Hmm...let me see... Oh, yeah -- Ridge Forrester!

Yes, unless you've been living under one of the Bill's rocks, you've undoubtedly heard by now that "the role of Ridge Forrester will now be played by Thorsten Kaye." Now, if you've been reading my columns at all since Ronn Moss exited B&B last year, you know that I was and have been vehemently against a recast. I even mentioned it again in my last column in reference to Karen Spencer being recast. Not possible, I said.

So no one was more surprised than I was when I heard about a new Ridge, and my reaction was, "Huh! That could be interesting!" I mean, I agree with a lot of you -- after 25 years in the role, Ronn Moss will always be Ridge, and it's hard to see anyone else playing him. I never watched Thorsten Kaye on All My Children or One Life to Live, but I know he's a talented actor, and up there with the greats. Could a capable performer make an iconic role like Ridge his own?

It's hard to know for sure, but I find myself wanting to give it a chance. It will be weird; no one else has played Ridge except when Lane Davies stepped in for him for a few days in 1990. Moss's Ridge was always the chiseled designer, the ultimate California boy. Kaye is more rugged with an accent that he may or may not be able to cover. But I have to admit, there are possibilities here. Ridge is currently set to return December 13. What has he been doing, and how will he affect the canvas?

Of course, the first consideration is, what is Ridge going to think when he comes back to find his "Logan" engaged to Bill Spencer? (Will Ridge's return interrupt their wedding?) Ridge is no fan of Bill's, and, since Ridge dumped Brooke over texting Deacon (which, since she was trying to protect Hope, was stupid), he's not going to like that Brooke has gotten with someone who's hurt Hope himself, to say nothing of Brooke screwing over her own sister. Ridge will not stay quiet about that!

Ridge has always been Brooke's "destiny." Should Bill be worried? I don't know if that "Bridge" will be rebuilt, but I bet Bill will at least squirm a little. What of Ridge's other longtime love, Taylor? Surely Ridge has seen Taylor now that she's in Paris. I'm guessing a Tridge reunion ain't happening if "Doc" isn't returning on Ridge's arm. But a man like Ridge won't stay single for long. Could he end up competing with Eric for Quinn? Will Katie get some poetic justice by moving on with the love of Brooke's life?

Some fans have wondered if we'll finally see Ridge react to the death of his mother, Stephanie. Will it still count if another actor has the reaction? How will Ridge explain away the fact that he didn't come back to say his final goodbyes? If B&B does this right, Kaye could have some meaty material there, dealing with the guilt and agony of Ridge having no closure with the mother he was always a little too close to. Was that pain the reason he stayed away?

And what has Ridge been doing the past year? Has he continued with an international branch of Forrester? Gone solo? Dated scads of French mademoiselles? Gone solo? Are Ridge's activities since he's been gone responsible for his more rugged appearance? Then there's Forrester: will he accept Rick being in the president's seat, or will Ridge pull rank and want to run the company again himself? Maybe he'll want his own design house, doing up pant suits in honor of Stephanie. (Not a bad idea, really.)

How will Ridge interact with his relatives? With Aly coming back, Thorne will be in the picture more often, too. What will a nuRidge/Thorne relationship be like? Will they function as a team, or be at each other's throats? What about Thomas? It's ironic that Adam Gregory was cast because he resembled Ronn Moss so much. Maybe it's time to bring back Drew Tyler Bell, who looks more like Thorsten Kaye!

And you may have heard that Ridge's other son, R.J., is being recast as well. Though the word is, the kid's being SORASed to a 10-year-old. That's not much of a SORAS; R.J. was born in 2004, which already makes him 9. Aly was born the same year -- now she's going to be older than R.J.? Oh, the problems of aging soap kiddies. But I digress. It looks like Ridge is about to take a more active role in his younger son's life. That could provide more than a little bit of drama as well.

I don't know what B&B has in mind for Ridge, but I'll tell you this: he needs to be a power player. He needs to come in strong and confident -- not as a product of his trademark arrogance -- and shake things up. In other words, he needs to kick some ass and take some names. His mother is gone, and it gives him a chance to live without being under her influence for the first time. He needs to make the ladies drool and the men quake in their boots. Bill will hate it!

How do you feel about a recast Ridge? Pop off on the Soap Central message boards or the comments section. Send email or leave a voicemail. Or go tell it on the Facebook mountain below. Your comments could end up in a future column. Like these!

• "Can someone explain to me how Steffy and Liam are able to get an annulment? There was no fraud with this marriage and they certainly consummated it, so just how does this work?" -- Mary

• "[Maya and Carter] together because of their GL connection? Are you freaking kidding me? B&B needs to step into the 21st century and stop playing footsie with interracial relationships and really get a writer who knows how to show them as people and not as color." -- Georgia (AUTHOR'S NOTE: Just to clarify, Georgia, yes, I think of Carter and Maya as endgame because Lawrence Saint-Victor and Karla Mosley played a couple on that show...but only for that reason. For me, color never entered into it.)

• "I am not exactly close to my two sisters...[but] I do think sisters can be competitive. And so can brothers or even half-brothers [like] Liam and Wyatt...whether or not you care about a sister is probably something you have or you don't and in a lot of cases sexual attraction trumps family relationships." -- Mary R.

• "I think [Alexandria would] be a good match for Thomas. They're just related enough (sharing grandmother Stephanie) to have the 'eww' factor the show seems to require in a romantic pairing. And then there's the 'my mom killed your mom' thing. Also, Thorne and Thomas may no longer be basement buddies once the latter goes after the former's daughter..." -- Michael

I love it, Michael! Though I'd prefer it to be a "your mom killed my mom" thing. Aly could pursue Thomas for the express purpose of exacting revenge on Taylor! I so want to see Aly twisted and angry and not end up another member of the Kiddie Patrol! Ah, a guy can dream. In the meantime, here are some other Points to Ponder:

Much was said about the diamond being seen by the public for the first time. Wasn't it seen at the HFTF fashion show?... Hope has grown: she told the fan asking about Liam that she wanted to keep her personal and professional lives separate. And hey, the last time a mother wanted an autograph, Hope was accused of being an adulteress! Progress!... Why did Hope credit Wyatt with the reboot? Caroline revamped the line weeks before Wyatt got the diamond in there...

Why was Marcus in South Africa? Nice to see FaceTime works from opposite ends of the globe, but, from my calculations, it might be hard to have daylight in both places at the same time, since they're nine hours apart... Maya said it was hard to find parking because it was so busy. Um, honey, it's Beverly Hills; parking is impossible even on quiet days, and usually involves a meter or an expensive garage... "When did you start treating me with such disrespect?" Katie asked Bill. How far back does your calendar go, Katie?

It was nice to see Dani, but how about a real story for her instead of just being Katie's confidant... Trippy to hear Maya tell Carter that her family wouldn't care about attending their wedding, and later she impressively remembered she had a dead daughter. But why did Carter tell Maya her wedding could be whatever she wanted in one breath and suggest a Halloween theme the next?... "I miss everything at Forrester Creations," Maya admitted to Dayzee. Is Maya pining for Rick or her career?

When Maya commented what a wonderful family the Forresters are, Dayzee replied, "Yeah, we are." Dayzee would do well to remember that Marcus is only a Forrester by an unnecessary adoption. The way she sounded, would Dayzee be as into Marcus if he had to live as a Walton or a Barber?... "I don't know if you noticed," Caroline mentioned to Rick, "but I was horrible at [being sneaky]." Maybe her bitchiness a few months ago really wasn't in her character!

Okay, shutting up now. Tracy will be back with you next week, and I'll kick off November Sweeps by Scooping for you again November 4. Keep watching, be alert, and most of all, be bold!

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