20180131

TELEVISION

In September 1992, 'All My Children' was "supplanted in second place" when Sheila Carter from 'The Young and the Restless' turned up on sister show 'The Bold And The Beautiful'. Considered "a novel crossover for daytime", the 'Los Angeles Times' reported, "Once he (William J. Bell) hit upon the idea of a soap switcheroo, Bell embarked upon a two-month (around March and April 1992) series of behind-the-scenes machinations to keep it a surprise. 

"Creative staff and network executives were informed of the development on a need-to-know basis. Kimberlin Brown (as Sheila) was sworn to secrecy, allowed only to tell her husband and agent. The pages of 'The Young and the Restless' script that contained the revelation that Sheila was still alive weren't distributed until the last minute." 

In 1990 on 'The Young and the Restless', Sheila Carter, a nurse, fell in love with a married doctor, Scott Grainger, seduced Scott and got pregnant by him. At the time, Scott was married to Lauren Fenmore, the owner of a department store, who was also pregnant with Scott's child. Scott left Lauren for Sheila feeling responsible for the baby Sheila was carrying. Both women were understood to have delivered at the same time.

However, it was learnt Sheila "suffered a miscarriage, faked a full-term pregnancy then swapped Scott and Lauren's baby in the hospital with a child she bought through a baby broker, passing off Lauren's baby as her own." The truth about the baby switch came out when it was discovered Sheila tried to remove a birthmark on the baby's waist. Lauren's baby that Sheila obtained from the black-market died of meningitis. Sheila was presumed dead in a fire in an old farm house during a confrontation with Lauren but she managed to escape. 

Kimberlin Brown confessed in 1992, "The cast was pumping me left and right. It was the hardest thing in my life, having that utmost secrecy. The most exciting day was when I could open my mouth and tell everyone. They seemed extremely happy for me … Sheila looks for men that are in a weak state. I feel, and it's strictly my personal view — the writers or producers have never said this to me – something had to have happened in my character's childhood, my father must have left and my mother (Molly) must have blamed me. She can never give herself enough credit. That's how I prepare for this role as an actress … Sheila is just a character. I play her the way she's written. My personal life is so different from my work life." 

In taking the Sheila story from 'The Young and the Restless' to 'The Bold And The Beautiful', Bill Bell explained, "Sheila was never originally meant to be a heavy. She emerged. The pressures of her story, her situation as a character, made her do things that otherwise she might not have done. She loved this baby and tried everything she could to get him. She lost it where Lauren was concerned … I had found Sheila to be a very provocative character. She was damn interesting, in the way her mind worked. I knew this was a classic character that the audience loved to hate. As the story was winding down, there was not a day that I didn't have great regrets that I was going to lose her." 

Speaking to the press in 1993, Tracey E. Bregman pointed out, "Sheila's a lot meaner than Lauren was in her day. They're really in two completely different leagues. Sheila is a total wacko. She is crazy, while Lauren was never wacko. She was just malicious, and it all stemmed from her own insecurity. Sheila is just plain nuts!" Tracey also told 'The Palm Beach Post', "As the victim/heroine in the Lauren/Sheila storyline, everyone was pulling for me. They were rooting for me, although when Lauren had the affair with Brad, everyone flipped. They did not like that at all.

"It was tough for me not to be the one in control, because I'd always been so used to it. But Sheila was in control, and two people can't be in control. It was tough for me to lose it completely and have to go over the edge. Lauren and I are getting closer as the years go on. We're starting to cross. Sometimes it's hard to see where Lauren stops and I start (in 1993).  

"Whenever anyone's contract is up, I tell them not to look at me. I didn't mourn for (on-screen husband) Scott too long. I mean, (actor) Peter (Barton) already had a nighttime gig ('Burke’s Law'). As for (on-screen lover) Brad's (played by Don Diamont) heart attack, it is what every woman fears, but Don plays it like Jerry Lewis. I'm going crazy thinking Brad is dying, and Don is doing shtick off camera. Believe me, it does not help."

Michael Brockman of CBS observed, "The serial field is very specialized. Not many people have the capability to develop and write these shows with their complicated plot lines involving many characters." 'Page-Up Service' reported, "Every soap has a bible, which details the lives and backgrounds of the major characters and what happens to them during the show's first year, if not longer. Unlike most prime-time series, daytime soap operas were generally allowed at least a year to find an audience. Soap operas are difficult to establish because viewers are reluctant to break their viewing habits." 

As mentioned, "Daytime fans who watch their shows five days a week take plot developments as being day-to-day reality." Of the ratings breakthrough, Kimberlin Brown offered, "I think it's very interesting to tune in and watch Sheila. You never know what will happen next. She's always getting away with things. That's part of her intrigue. People get frustrated by her. They want to see her deception end, but they are also excited when it doesn't end." 

Bill Bell told 'The Central New Jersey Home News' in 1988, "There wouldn't be a 'Bold And The Beautiful' if it wasn't for my kids. I saw the children's emerging interest in my field, I thought the greatest experience they could have would be to see the birth of a serial, to watch the concept and scripts develop, the hiring of the production unit, the design and building of the sets, the casting. It's been something they will remember forever, it will be the most significant learning experience for when they take over all this." 

Bill Bell also added, "It's exciting to create something from nothing and then creating the characters and the relationships and casting it and seeing all these pieces come to life. I can't tell you how euphoric it is! These are your children, these are your people, and you have such a responsibility to them because you love them and are involved with them. 

"You have to get inside the moment. I tell you, it's fascinating. When you're doing something long enough, strange things happen. I was in a crunch and had decided to have this new character Kurt (played by Leigh McCloskey), but didn't know what I wanted to do with him. I just sat down and I start writing and got deep inside. In 20 minutes, I had the whole thing worked out. When you've been doing for 40 years (1956-1996) you have a little head start." 

It was not easy to get a new soap on a network schedule. Michael Brockman elaborated, "We do not have a yearly development session when we listen to pitches and shoot pilots. Our department is not developing new products as much as strengthening what we have on the air." Lee Phillip Bell noted, "Nighttime (programming) seems fierce to us. (In it, you) must tell a story that begins and ends in an episode, with some exceptions. In daytime we are continually developing characters in a deeper sense, step by step." Bill Bell also stated, "Nighttime programming has a studio-full of people involved in every direction, I prefer daytime serials, my control is total." 

In 1987, five episodes of 30-minute daytime programming costed roughly the same as one episode of a half-hour sitcom in prime time, approximately $500,000. Lee Phillip Bell maintained, "We are pleased with our budget, although we have to work hard to stay within it." Bill Bell had also told 'Fairfax Media' in 1987, "We honestly wouldn't have done another show if the kids had not become interested in the whole thing. When we found they were, we had to give them the chance to go through the whole process – from the idea to actually getting it on air rather than bringing them in on something already well established. It's a very good learning experience. The bible is more than just concept."

Lee Phillip Bell insisted, "It's something we put together which tells the essence of the characters and the story for the next year. The reason 'The Bold And The Beautiful' is different is that we are starting with young people, today (in 1987). Ten years from now (say 1997) those people, and the people who watch them will be older and we'll have to introduce new characters. You see when 'The Young and the Restless' came out (in 1973) it was about young people and now, 15 years later (in 1987), the characters are 15 years older. The audience grows with the show. We are starting the whole process again with 'The Bold And The Beautiful'." 

Bill Bell expressed, "There's nothing more exciting than daytime television because every day, what you do comes to life. For the first couple of years of 'The Young and the Restless' (1973-75) we had a yearly bible. Now (in 1987) I just make it up as I go along. We come up with so many different ideas. I've been doing this kind of work for 32 years now (since 1956) without missing a day. You try and create very different characters and once you have them they direct the types of story lines applicable to them."

By 1994, Lucy Johnson of CBS conceded, "It still comes down to the writing. When you see Bill Bell's shows, you see amazing writing. Bill Bell tells stories that come from the emotions of the characters. He stays very clear, in the way he tells this … It's the peeling back of the onion, so to speak." Bill Bell told 'The Desert Sun' in 1992, "Obviously, your characters are what count. You need people you'd love to have as your friends, people you hate, people you respect … They must have an impact. They cannot be bland …  It's a trap to get stuck with too many regulars. The audience wants continuity. You have to hook your audience emotionally, not superficially. The play's the thing." 

In 1994, Leigh McCloskey played Damian Smith on 'General Hospital'. At one stage, "The way I'm headed, I think I should change the number on my apartment door to 666. In real life, most people lead reactive lives. In drama, it's the same thing. Most characters go on an even keel. When Damian was introduced, suddenly Bobbie and Tony were reacting to a foreign body, suddenly there was doubt that tomorrow was going to be the same as today. You need someone to bring in a sense of uncertainty. Damian's there to make people not as comfortable. It's more fun playing a catalyst."

James Reilly of 'Days of our Lives' told 'Entertainment News Service', "People love to watch villain because they know they're a catalyst, that something's going to happen. It's like a bolt of lightning. They feel, 'We have to watch, to see what's going to go on.' Villains have their own set of laws and moral codes. They believe the ends justify the means. 

"There's a little seed of justification, where they think what they do is right. If people wouldn't do things to get in his (Stefano DiMera) way, he wouldn't have to do anything to them. The audience understands what the classic villains do. They may not agree with it, but I think that deep down, everyone has wanted to do something evil. They have the feeling, 'There but for the grace of God could have gone I.'"

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