Live From LA: I still get jealous

Has your week been bold and beautiful? Were you even more Jealous than Nick Jonas? Did your steamy fantasy come true in less than 24 hours? Did you write Two Scoops from yet another B&B location? Find out where in the world Two Scoops' Mike is this time and read about all the Forrester-Spencer-Logan entanglements!

Has your week been bold and beautiful? Were you even more Jealous than Nick Jonas? Did your steamy fantasy come true in less than 24 hours? Did you write Two Scoops from yet another B&B location? These and more situations faced the Forrester-Logan-Spencer clan this week!

It doesn't get more bold and beautiful than this, Scoopers! Not only is my book, The Bewitched Continuum (click the link to join the Facebook group), coming out October 21, but my travels in L.A. continue -- and I am writing this column right outside the fence of CBS Television Studios in Hollywood! If you're gonna do it, do it right! Haven't seen any B&B stars yet, but there is the outside possibility it was Joey Fatone who had to slow down for me as he motored out of the studio.

This is a good week to be here, too, because these past five soap installments were pretty rockin'! Anyone who's read my column for any length of time knows I can be very critical about continuity, the direction the stories go in, the implausibilities, etc. As I sit here among the fallen bougainvillea (hey, it's a nice shady spot that isn't a bus bench), I have no, or at least very little, such complaints. We got a focus on some other characters, the dialogue was good, and the connections were tight. Now if the ants would just stay off me!

Heck, even Hope had some welcome material as she pissed off Big Bad Mama Quinn. I know Miss Logan has worked about all of our last nerves this past year (or more), but this week, I had to give it up to her for how strong she was. She knows Quinn is dangerous -- after all, the woman tried to kill Liam. I am completely behind her wanting to keep Quinn out of her child's life. Not too sure I'm hanging with Hope putting words in Wyatt's mouth regarding his mom, but in this case, you can hardly blame her.

I also loved that Quinn tried to sweet-talk her way out of her threats when Wyatt arrived -- and that Hope called B.S. instead of letting herself be intimidated into shutting up! You don't see this out of Hope every day. Wyatt may be still defending his mom by merely saying "she goes to extremes" (the understatement of the year), but at least he showed Quinn the door. Man, that encounter rocked Hope's world! I'd love to see Quinn go after Hope, Sheila-style. That would be different.

That would also put Quinn in jail, which, frankly, needs to happen. Instead, she returned home to find Deacon had turned on the charm; all he was missing was a Barry White record. Deacon melted the volatile vixen and talked her into some merrymaking -- I know he likes the bad girls, but at least Amber and Brooke didn't try to kill anybody. "Hope would never talk to me again if she found out," Deacon admitted, and that is the most intriguing thing about this DeQuinn dalliance. So you know it'll happen.

Over at the Forrester manse, Eric's brother, John was grilling Liam like he was a steak at Memorial Day. John fell asleep as Liam went on about Ivy's virtues; I kind of did, too. How about Liam taking a break for a year before getting involved again? Of course, that's life, not a soap. John also continued getting on Charlie's nerves by flirting with Pam, and the eldest Forrester even called Eric "Ricky boy!" After 27 years, I can't tell you how novel that is. Yet, it makes complete sense!

John apparently only came to dinner despite flying in from Australia, which is a shame, because I had the feeling that there was something a little darker going on with the man. I guess we aren't going to find out, though John's adventures did get Eric thinking. I also loved the continuing references to Stephanie. He's done his grieving; maybe it is time he considered the new possibilities that lie before him.

I know Ridge and Caroline are! This week, I discovered that new Nick Jonas song, Jealous, and I swear, I immediately thought of Rick. The Forrester president felt neglected, since his wife was spending all her time with Ridge, and he pooh-poohed Katie's contention that it was only business. Rick burned as he smelled a rat, and that's probably because Jacob Young is seriously smokin' right now, given the chance for a story with some intensity.

Forrester may have to have some new fire alarms installed, because the real heat was coming from Ridge and Caroline as they designed up a storm. I know: Ridge was once in love with Caroline's namesake aunt, and he's old enough to be this Caroline's father. So what? They are fiyah. The only thing I would say is, I don't need more "I'm not sure how to draw this/Show me" dialogue. I know it's to refresh the audience, but we've already heard it more than once. Just set fire to the page -- and the screen.

And they did, which Rick walked in and saw. Like Nick Jonas in the song, he puffed up his chest (though he neglected to put his cheer music on) and wanted answers from Caroline. Well, Caroline spilled, and Rick was furious to think that Ridge was using his wife to be able to draw. There were some interesting intellectual property dilemmas that came with that: whose designs are they, anyway? Caroline said both, Rick said they were Caroline's. I'd love to see what a court had to say on the subject.

Rick, however, tried and convicted Ridge by shoving a pencil into his hand to get him to draw on his own. Of course, Ridge couldn't, and Rick cried fraud before demanding a resignation from his half-brother/former stepfather. Hold the phone! Ridge isn't just an employee -- he's a co-vice president and a shareholder. Not to mention, Rick didn't have a problem calling Amber's designs his own when she was his silent partner. Of anyone, Rick should understand Ridge's dilemma instead of blowing up.

I never quite got the Ridge/Rick feud, anyway. There wasn't one until Kyle Lowder took over the role in 2007 and started romancing Ridge's daughters. Yeah, I think there was some business rivalry before that, during Justin Torkildsen's final years. But come on: Rick shot Grant as a child, and Ridge willingly went to jail to keep Rick out of trouble. Plus, Ridge raised Rick for years. Something in the water of this conflict does not compute.

Caroline was right: Rick was willing to put the company in jeopardy over his jealousy. Forrester needs a line; Ridge and Caroline are creating a kick-ass one. Ridge was sorry he asked Caroline to lie to her husband, but a strength and conviction came out of the usually superficial sister, and I have never liked her more. "As if I would ever let that happen," she said when Rick insisted Ridge was using her. "Hi, I'm sorry, have we met?" Snark and depth. What a combination!

And this is where Jacob Young brought that emotionality, with Rick fighting back tears as he walked out, telling Caroline he had to clear his head. It would be one thing for Rick to stomp around like an elephant, but now we got some vulnerability. This is the kind of writing we should always have. Rick came home and apologized, again taking down his wall, but only after Caroline had a hot dream about Ridge walking in and frenching her in the very bed she was sleeping in! Uh-oh! Her wheels are turning!

Maya knows it, too. Admittedly, she's beyond obnoxious in this storyline, and I can't fathom why she'd confide any of this to Carter after the way she treated him. But I like that Carter is keeping his wallet in his pocket, not buying anything Maya has to say. Hearing Maya say that Rick was a package deal that wouldn't involve sacrificing anything, Carter sniped, "Like you did for me." Maya's whole face changed; the smirk was gone, and the heart we originally saw in her showed through. Excellent.

Maya even felt bad when she spoke with Othello about how Carter was still hurting, admitting she didn't consciously set out to break his heart. That's so much better than the Cartoon Maya we've been getting lately. Interestingly, when Maya later scoffed that Caroline was unbalanced, Carter actually acknowledged the Maya/Caroline personality switch! So many times, B&B shows us things and then pretends they didn't happen; this was a perfect way to incorporate a story facet and move on.

If anyone needs a reminder of past storylines, it's Katie. Isn't Brooke taking off so Katie can be with Bill the same as Katie taking off so Brooke can be with Bill? And come on -- why would Katie even consider taking Bill back? He taunted her, damn near left her for Steffy, and then locked her in a tower! Even Bill owned his crappy treatment of her and apologized, which was another fascinating layer we got this week. Even so, Katie...I know Dollah looks good, but just be friends with the man!

Katie's judgment also needed calibrating when she found out Caroline had told Rick about Ridge's inability to draw -- Katie blamed Caroline for not keeping the secret! All right, Katie has probably been playing Nick Jonas' Jealous on repeat, too; that had to be the filter that comment came out of. Or maybe Katie's engagement string is fraying from listening to Ridge go on about how he'd never be able to repay Caroline: thanks to their connection, Ridge's drawing ability was coming back!

Then the convo split off into some new directions. Ridge bemoaned the fact that Rick is president of Forrester, and Katie wondered if that would be the case if Eric was Ridge's biological father instead of Massimo Marone. Wow! Way to layer a story! In another office, Rick told Eric that Ridge's designs weren't wholly his own, and the Forrester patriarch was cut to the quick. Rick admitted he felt for Ridge but then tried to convince his pop that there was no place for Ridge, who needed to go.

Maybe Rick's spider senses were tingling, because, in that moment, his wife was trying to tell Ridge that she had developed a schoolgirl crush on him. This was interrupted by Eric, who shared a wonderful, warm moment with Ridge upon finding out that the designing ability that had always sustained him was gone. Eric was hurt, too, that Ridge didn't confide in him about it or allow him to help. "You don't need anything from me anymore," Eric said as he sighed. A little out of nowhere, but very real nonetheless.

Then Eric announced he was stepping down as CEO. More like "CE Uh-oh," I thought. I mean, all we need is another scuffle over who's going to sit in the big chair. That particular corporate angle has been overdone these past few years. But it still allowed for some killer dialogue. "You're the only grownup in the room when no one else can be," Caroline admitted. And Eric admitted that he was envious of his brother's free-wheeling lifestyle and deserved a little adventure himself.

So now, Eric has another decision to render. I do think that's one of the weaker plots of the week, but the reasoning behind it carried so much weight. Eric is rudderless: Stephanie is gone, and his attempts to move on with Taylor, and then his brief flirtation with Quinn, went nowhere. I'm against it if it means having less of John McCook on our screens, but who could blame him for wanting to demote himself to "CEO emeritus" and go and live life a little?

Eric even had an appealing, fatherly warmth with Ivy, who's really a stranger to us outside of her interest in Liam; suddenly, it felt like she really belonged. With John McCook and Katherine Kelly Lang the only two original cast members left, I can't help feeling that I'd like to see Eric and Brooke get back together -- when she comes back from Italy, anyway. With all the focus on the kiddies, Eric isn't on our screens often enough; I hope all this talk of traveling doesn't mean there will be even less of him.

Finally, Ridge wanted to address Caroline's crush on him. She said she felt unusually confident with him and that usually she just tried to "impersonate" confidence by being obnoxious. Dude! I can't get enough of characters owning their behavior this week. But B&B didn't leave it there. Ridge told Caroline she'd only ever be Rick's ornamental wife and that she deserved more, and then he planted a real kiss on her! They were diving in like a pool on a summer day! "It's hot in here," Caroline said. You betcha!

Will Hope find out Daddy Deacon is sleeping with her worst nightmare? Which Forrester son will finally get a chance to run Forrester Creations? And will Caroline let her attraction to Ridge ruin her marriage to Rick? Share your thoughts below this column in the Comments section, post a message on the Soap Central message boards, or simply click here to submit Feedback. Your comments could wind up in a future column, like these! Check it out!

• "I am soooooo bored with B & B story line right now. Come on writers get some new story lines. I am so sick of Quinn and Wyatt. Wyatt sucking up to Hope like a little dog in heat. Let Hope go to the doctor and find out she either is not really pregnant or is further along and maybe the baby is Liam's. And I am also sick of Maya trying to break up Rick and Caroline, Maya makes me sick. And let Deacon follow Brooke to Italy and get her to marry him they are so hot together. What ever happened to the Mexican investigators coming to question Wyatt and Quinn about the murder, that just dropped like a hot potato. Come on writers get real." -- Jewel

• "Brooke will truly be missed on the Bold & Beautiful while she's gone. Hopefully when she gets back Bill and her can finally get married! I personally like them as a couple." -- Ricky

• "A Dangerous Decision indeed now for the Forbidden Romance or should we call it Ridge robbing the Baby CarRidge?" -- B&B Screencaps

• "How about Ridge kissing his brother's wifey? Hypocrisy at its finest." -- Zara

Once again, I'm going to hold off on Points to Ponder: I can't sit amongst these bougainvillea leaves all day, and did I mention there are ants and thorns? And I don't mean Thorne, either. It's been worth it, though; I have gotten a real kick out of writing columns "on location" while I'm in L.A. Alas, this is the last one...and I won't be back until November 10. With my book coming out, I've got promotion to do! Listen to me yap about The Bewitched Continuum on the archived, 250th installment of Soap Central Live. I will also be joining our very own Dan J. Kroll on Kroll Call October 24. You're not gonna wanna miss that! Talk about being on location...

If you're a Bewitched fan, visit @magicallyAMJ), why aren't you? As for The Bold and the Beautiful, Tracy will be here next week to Scoop about the aftermath of the Ridge/Caroline kiss. That's it for me -- live from CBS Television City (or from outside its fence, anyway), keep watching, be alert, and most of all, be bold!

What are your thoughts on ? What did you think of this week's Two Scoops? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.