Nelson Branco's SOAP OPERA UNCENSORED: Issue 47

by Nelson Branco

don’t know, sitting here at home in my pajamas working, how exalted I feel, but OK. Honestly, there are moments of exaltation between my myself and my laptop living the lives of these imaginary people who I really feel [pauses] close to. Again, I’m not psychotic!

  The viewers feel the same way.

  Each of them has a quality that [I understand].

  One of my readers, @MarkHSoap on Twitter, wanted me to ask you how you navigate through the different writing styles each scribe brings to the show. Your writing style is very unique…

  I don’t think about blending our different writing [styles] but I do always think about being faithful to the character. The other thing I do is I write from the top of the script to the bottom of the script. On this show, that’s what I do. On many shows, you want to write the big scenes first so you can see how much space you have for the other scenes. In this show, we have so little time and everything has to be so concise that you have to keep the sense of forward movement going that I always want to feel like the drop of one of scene is forcibly picked up by the next one. Whether it’s comically or whether we need a change of tone or suddenly something fast becomes slow, I want to remain real alert to the change the audience will experience in tone and pacing when they watch the show.

  Do you watch the show every day?

  I don’t usually watch them every day. I usually save the shows on my DVR and watch them on the weekend.

  How do you feel about Y&R’s new creative direction? It’s your lead-in so Y&R impacts B&B.

  I have to admit, I don’t watch the show. I was a little bit shocked after the sudden, dramatic change that happened [with Maria Arena Bell’s firing] but I’m not in the position to have an opinion because I just don’t watch the show. Not out of any animosity, of course, just because I’m so busy writing my own show.

  Final question, Stephanie and Brooke’s relationship, the eternal story on B&B…

  Yes, it sure is!

  Without spoiling future story — and perhaps this couple’s end game – can viewers be confident that we’ll get a major storyline involving them before Susan Flannery leaves? I mean, Stephanie and Brooke really are the show’s greatest love story.

  It really is an incredible story. The relationship between those two women...

  Are you inspired as to what’s coming up?

  [Sighs] I’m full of feeling about it, that’s for sure. The determination of how we’re going to tell it lies with Brad. We’ve talked about it. I think it’s going to be great.

  Are you worried that losing Stephanie and Brooke’s relationship will hurt the show? When you tell a story involving these two women, you rarely, if ever, fuck it up. I’m going to miss that.

  Every change creates a new possibility. That’s how I feel about it. If we don’t have Stephanie, who will inherit that mantle? Interesting question.

  I vote for Felicia Forrester! Why do you think KKL is so effective and beloved on B&B? What’s the secret to her magical impact on the audience and the B&B canvas?

  Well, that’s a great question. It makes me think why she’s so effective. Listen, I don’t know this woman at all so I can only guess. The quality of her performance is that she’s unafraid of herself, she’s not worried about how she looks, and she has awesome powers of buying into material. I mean, this is a woman who never says, “I’m not doing that! Change that line!” Never. It has to be a spiritual practice for her to buy into the scene, story, moment, and give it everything.

  She is everything. It pisses me off she’s never been nominated for a Daytime Emmy — you have no idea! I’m in therapy because of it!

  Yes, Kelly should have been recognized for this achievement a long time ago. But you know what? She already has the prize. She has the curiosity and awareness. A lot of our actors resist and have to be sold the material. This woman says, “Wow, this is an interesting situation for Brooke to be in.” That’s big. That’s everything I want in an actor. Even when Brooke’s nagging Liam, Kelly’s still 100 percent committed as she is when she is playing a love scene. I guess the other thing is that Brooke doesn’t try to erase her sexual past and Kelly [always coveys that].

  I think that’s why gay men love her. She’s also a feminist character in many ways. Camille Paglia probably loves Brooke!

  Katherine, the actress, isn’t ashamed of what the character has done. She likes the character. I really love some of those scenes Kelly and Kim Matula have played regarding Hope’s sexuality. When it comes to the subject of love and sex, you can see that they don’t understand each other; but they still love each other anyway. I love that Kelly will let herself have blinders on the same way Brooke does! [Laughs]

  I just worry — like many fans — that B&B is going to lose focus on how integral Brooke and Kelly are to the show’s future and DNA.

  We won’t. Never. There’s no chance we will lose sight of how important Brooke is.

  As a gay man, do you prefer writing for the divas?

  No, I like writing for everyone. I love writing for Kelly, Kim, Flannery, and Jackie MacInnes. I love writing for Don Diamont. I love writing John McCook.

  I loved, loved, loved John McCook’s Emmy reel where Eric spoke with Stephanie rather frankly about his sexual needs. Did you write that?

  Yes, I did. John and Susan sold it. Beautiful stuff. That’s never been done on daytime before. I was proud. And you know what? That came right from Brad. It really did.

  What TV shows do you watch?

  Well, because of time, I prefer to read when it comes to entertainment but I like HOMELAND, MAD MEN. I think MAD MEN is so wonderfully written. I have never been able to get into TRUE BLOOD. I have not watched BREAKING BAD. It’s funny, because I was on LOVING with Bryan Cranston. Listen, this is the thing about writing TV: you never get to watch a lot of it! [Laughs] I love GIRLS, too! I think it’s wonderful. Characters you’ve never seen on TV before.

  Speaking of groundbreaking stuff, I love the Crystal Chappell and Joanna Johnson gay story a lot. One of B&B’s best moves in recent history.

  Oh, yes! And the actors are great. I’m pretty happy that we have a gay storyline on the show. In fact, I think I kind of nagged Brad into it, I think. We have never really talked about it but I kept asking him, “Why is Caroline’s last name Spencer? Who’s her father? Where did she come from?” And then in two months, we learned [she had two mommies]!

  Are you surprised you’re a writer for B&B? I sill am!

  [Laughs hysterically]

  I mean, if someone had told me ten years ago that Patrick Mulcahey would end up on B&B, I’d have tightened their straightjacket!

  That’s such a funny question, Nelson. I don’t remain surprised but I was surprised at one time. Brad and I started talking when his Dad was dying and my Mother was dying and I was not interested in being on the show — and he kind of knew that — but we kind of bonded over having the same experience at the same time. I had a taste of him as a person before I ever thought about working with him. I always looked forward to us calling each other once a week to discuss what was happening with our parents. It felt very good and natural. It resulted in a very surprising friendship. Then, things happened in my life where I needed money and another writing job so I called him up. He said, “sure.” I don’t even have an agent! I immediately saw how easy this could be. I’ve never been — and this is going to be bad — on a TV show where there hasn’t been knives out going for each other’s backs. Where someone wasn’t trying to climb the ladder on the bodies of everyone around them. Well, there’s no ladder here! Brad’s in charge — and he’s always going to be in charge. So there’s no deceit or backstabbing. Brad doesn’t put up with that — not at all. All you have to think about is your work.

  Also, Brad’s not blind when things don’t work. But he doesn’t chew his guts out about it, either. And he doesn’t chew anyone else out, either. He says, “OK, we learned from that, but there are more shows to do, so let’s go!” There was this guy chasing me ar
ound the Internet saying, “Why, why, why hasn’t B&B done a gay storyline yet?” When I told Brad this, he said, “Well, you know we’re not done yet.”

  No you’re not!

  Special Feature

  SUMMER SOAPS: WINNERS AND LOSERS

  Who came out on top – and who came out on the bottom this season!

  THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL — A New Chapter

  After 25 years on air, B&B is preparing for its first big cast shake-up!

  Winner: Jacob Young is finally getting a lead storyline!

  Loser: Ronn Moss. He quit over a pay cut, a prophetic dressing room clock, and the young adult storyline hogging up all the airtime.

  Winner: Brad Bell for threatening to recast the role of Ridge with a younger actor if Moss doesn’t return. No one puts B&B in a corner… especially when ratings are increasing.

  Loser: The viewers for having to endure the exhausting and soul murdering Hope/Liam/Steffy triangle.

  Winner: B&B finally featured a gay storyline starring Joanna Johnson and Crystal Chappell after Karen brought her lover, Dani, to town!

  Loser: One step forward, two steps backwards: Chappell is simmering on the backburner until Johnson returns from filming her new primetime series EMILY OWENS, M.D.

  Winner: Prodigal soap star Sean