You are thinking of The Bold and The Beautiful. The Bells put out two new soap operas in the late 70's/early 80's. The Young and the Restless and the Bold & the Beautiful. What is remarkable about them is that they're still going while all the other Procter & Gamble soaps have gone the way of the Dodo. These are run on CBS. I never really spent a great deal of time watching other networks, but mostly because my mother was too lazy to change the channel and she'd have nonstop CBS soaps running all afternoon. This is how I became conversant with them. It's not something that I deliberately consumed. But I guess it's like having nonstop foreign language tapes running in the background. You're bound to pick up a few phrases.
The YTR featured two main protagonists, Victor and Nikki Newman. Victor is a handsome ruthless businessman who has lots of enemies. His kids are a major focus now. They run Newman Industries. I haven't a clue what the company does. I think there's also a perfume business, Jerbaud, run by a rival family. There's so much incest and wife swapping that you really need a program guide to keep it straight. David Hasslehoff got his start on the YTR as Snapper Foster, a young doctor. There were the Fosters, a blue collar family and the Chancellors, wealthy people, sort of snobbish. Catherine Chancellor was a real character who suffered through her husband's infidelities, alcoholism, and a facelift. She would make unlikely alliances from time to time. She was pretty entertaining. I can't really figure out how all these guys were linked but they were. I barely remember this show, but I do remember that one time when Nikki Newman was fighting alcoholism herself (vodka to fight back pain), Victor forced her into the hospital until she got her problems under control. I remember talking to my sister about this at the Safeway checkout line and the cashier piped up, "she'd better stay in the hospital or Victor's gonna get those kids." Honestly, it was like so many people were hooked into this daytime drama. I don't know anyone who watches it anymore. But they must.
B&B has a fashion house, in fact some competing ones. Lots of industrial espionage and skullduggery because of it along with the usual marital infidelity and scheming. I watched it less. It comes on right after YTR. The evils you refer to are still on there creating mischief. I always found it more boring.
I was amazed at how dull and flat the acting was on the episode that I spent about 10 minutes fast forwarding through of the YTR last night. Still, they must have some kind of following, as they're still on after 40 years.
