For the last few years of penning this column each week, I have taken a beating from time to time for my comments, good or bad, about one Ms. Brooke Logan. As one of only 4 remaining original characters on B&B, Brooke has become the ultimate daytime TV lightening rod for controversy and there has admittedly been no shortage of that in my own column! So when I was thinking forward to what the focus of this week's column should be, I thought I would simply put out the question of why exactly you all love her or hate her and dedicate a column to my readers opinions rather than my own. Actually, it will likely be more entertaining reading than much of what I write!! Here are a sample of some of them...enjoy...
Leanne writes- '...I've been a Brooke-hater for multiple reasons...I think the writing for her character is awful...her hair is almost as badly styled as Donald Trump...I hate Ridge so I hate her for thinking he's so wonderful...she goes after whomever she wants no matter who it hurts...I don't know how you could like someone with such morals.'
Midge writes- '...I love Brooke! She is a good hearted person that always gets in the wrong situation...I love your scoops...you're right on the money!'
Tracy writes- '...I hate Brooke with a passion...any woman that can look at herself in the mirror after bedding an entire brotherhood and their father and then manage to bed the half-brother is beyond me...I think it's disgusting...this soap often sinks to the lowest pits of sleaziness and 9 out of 10 times Brooke is at the center of it...enough already.'
Shonagon writes- '...I admire the professional skills of the actress that plays Brooke Logan...she brings out all the sex appeal in every actor that plays opposite her...every actor on the show wants to work with her because it makes them look better.'
Elizabeth writes- '...the reason I have consistently disliked Brooke over the years...first, the writers have made her a sex goddess and that Brooke believes this herself...second, she has always gone after any man she wanted regardless of the innocent people she hurts such as Taylor and Macy...third, with the exception of the nauseating sacrifice for Bridget, she is a crappy mother and she was highly hypocritical of her to whine about Ridge walking out on her and RJ when several years ago Brooke had no problem trying to manipulate things so Ridge would never find out about his son Thomas and Taylor would be raising Thomas all by herself.'
Kelly writes- '...why do I like Brooke? She is smart, beautiful, confident and fearless...she is more like a normal person...she is from a middle class family and she actually worked for a living...she isn't perfect and never claimed to be...I have not liked everything she has ever done but that just makes her human...my dad always told me that we choose friends that we either see a part of ourselves in or hope to one day.'
Merriellen writes- '...I have never liked Brooke because she is supremely involved with herself...I get confused about someone supposedly a successful CEO who has the emotional maturity of a teenager in the throes of a hormonal storm.'
Alice writes- '...I am a Brooke fan...she has always been my favorite character...maybe because of the way Stephanie has treated her and I always root for the underdog...'
CJAM457 writes- '...I have disliked her for all 19 years of his show because of her crying, begging, manipulation and bedding every Forrester man just to achieve what she wanted to be 'nothing but a Forrester'...since Nick came, I have softened on the character and actually love them together.'
Cheri writes- '...I like Brooke because she is a genuine, caring, beautiful person...oh, I know she had her faults but when you look at her outlook on life and the way she treats others, she stands above the rest...she is great with Nick and you could almost believe they were truly great lovers.'
Margaret writes- '...do I like Brooke? I love the Brooke who laughs with Nick and plays wit Hope and loves life...I dislike the Brooke who is whiny, needy, and controlled by the Forresters.'
I have to say that of the 30 or 35 emails weighing in on whether Brooke is a saint or the devil, this last one was the most telling I believe and closest to my own current opinion of Brooke. I like watching her when she is self-assured and focused on positive actions and beliefs. She does smile more when she is with Nick, for better or for worse. And I agree that her constant crying and ongoing obsession with being Mrs. Ridge Forrester really makes her difficult to watch for me most days. I want to put my support behind her but damn does it become hard!!! I like her with Nick and I like that she seems to like HERSELF more when she is with him. I believe this show would be a lot different without her character and I have to say that Brooke Logan is NOT a character that you could ever re-cast. Her resume of misdeeds is an extensive one and nothing short of abhorrent in some cases but I believe that if completely Ridge-free, she could be a more positive female lead than anyone could imagine. That's what it comes down to for me, though...Ridge-free or eternally screwed. No gray area.
I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to send me their thoughts on Brooke and it goes to show that I have the most articulate and insightful readership of any column on the Net! With all the preaching and screaming from my soapbox, it's nice to shine the spotlight on those that have just as interesting (in some cases, more interesting) opinions and counterpoints to my own. Lord know I am not the Oracle of B&B and don't pretend to be one, just a fan like all of you who, through thick and thin, keeps on tunin' in every week not matter how many times I get frustrated and end up throwing something at my TV! Brad sure has become a master at keeping many of us on a hook every day and I suppose for that he deserves some respect, huh? I'm pretty brutal with him, too but his knack for polarizing this viewer-ship has kept people personally involved with these characters for nearly 20 years. That takes SOME talent, doesn't it? I know he loves reading my column...he just won't admit it! It's not too late, Brad...I can still come out to LA and help out! Brad....I'm waiting.....
Well, while I am waiting for my phone to ring or for the FedEx man to bring my plane ticket, I wish everyone a great week!
