Planet Soap

Erica & Dimitri vs Erica & Jackson.

writers need to learn that characters don't have to be married to be together. Constant marrying dullens the impact of relationships and divorces. OLTL: Viki's husbands. I'm torn between Joe Riley, Clint, and Ben. Joe was the OG and the father of her boys. Clint dealt with a lot. personality switches, and an affair. Ben brought out Viki's younger side, but ultimately it was her multiple personas that killed him. Ultimately, I'd have to pick Clint as Viki's best husband. Y&R Victor: I would say Hope was pretty great, because she called Victor out on his crap and she had the strength to walk away. Nikki tried to use Hope's blindness against her, saying that Hope used it to get sympathy from Victor. Ironically Hope was stronger than Nikki ever was.

thanks!

Same!!! Y&R still has some fire during the "red jazz open" era.

For soap charachters that have been down the aisle more than 2x, how did you feel about some of those marriages, or how would you rank each of the spouses that charachter had. For example: AMC: Who would you say was is the best husband for Erica Kane? I'm torn between Dmitri and Jackson. What was Viki's best marriage on OLTL. Joe, Clint, Ben?

B&B C+. It isnt the best but the writers tried with the Thomas fake phone call mess.

Surprised hasn't been mentioned yet, but Viki and Sloan on One Life to Live. The writing wasn't necessarily bad it's just the affair seemed needless. moreover, why would Vicky even bother to break up her marriage over a man she knew was dying? Clint Richie's Clint Buchannan got pushed to the backburner after that, until Jerry Ver Dorn came in.

I've been meaning to go back and watch this! I there a woman on Y&R that Brad hasn't or has not attempted to touch, lol. Only long term charachters I can think of that Brad hasn't messed with is Christine😭

Indeed, the Alexis story is what I'm referring to. Do you know if the Dobson butler masquerade story was well recieved?

GH: Claudia's sniper accidentally shoots Michael - from that stemmed Michael's coma, the SOARsing of Michael into the man we have today, Claudia kidnapping Carly, Michael killing Claudia sending him to prison where he was raped, and the feud between Sonny, Anthony and Johnny.

Fair points. OLTL's writers already damaged Viki when they wrote that Viki (not Nikki) subconsciously allowed Mitch to take Jessica after the twins' births. Even worse, they re-wrote that Nikki left childhood Jessica at bars where she was then molested. It always bad when RETCONS utilize outrageous story points despite what played out on screen. Again the main saving grace of the '05 Tess story is that she was a better written character than Nikki with a clear motivation. Selzak's (who I love) portrayal of Nikki became increasingly cartoonish into the 2000s with some cringe moments. WTH? Never heard of this plot. Was it well written...seems like an unnecessary story point to me.

I would like to see footage of Jeff and Monica. It would be cool to see that acknowledged on today's GH but Monica is nowhere to be found these days.

I wonder why they would just give up on the star of the show like that. Then again, similar thing happened to Viki on OLTL. Hard to argue with that. Especially Natalie.

I would like to have seen a Victor/Lori marriage play out.

Speaking of it girls, was there ever a point on AMC where Erica stopped getting as much stories and drifed from central focus. In the 2000s perhaps?

True. Women dominate when it comes to show focus and powerhouse performances.

When I say it guy, I mean a male charachter that writers focused heavily on. A charachter that dominated his show or got major material on his show. For example, on the "It Girl" thread, they listed Sarah Joy Brown because a lot of major storylines focused on her Carly during her run. Renaming the thread due to confusion around the definition of "it guy".

Wich two charachters, past or present, belong together once and for all.

Roger is a good one!

As a companion to @Soapfan8's insiteful thread, exploring important leading female characters on soaps, let's explore the men. Soaps are a genre where the female characters dominate but what were some examples of leading men that carried a show at a point in time? Easy ones: Y&R: Victor Newman. The most dominant male character on that whole soap hands down. Victor embodied old movie masculinity. Multiple women. A white colar businessman with blue collar capabilities like boxing and horse riding. He was a villain that morphed into an anti hero then back into a crusty ageable villain. GH: Sonny Corinthos was the center of General Hospital from about 1999 up until the mid-2010s. A large concensus would say to the show's detrement. Jason Moragn: Jason was the second male lead on the show for roughly that same period. OLTL: Todd Manning. So much focus was given to Todd especially during his 90s and 2000s runs. Dallas: JR Ewing. I prefered the the early days when Bobby and Pam were the center while JR was the main antagonist. It was however fun to see Hagman embrace the spotlight, and have the character's nefarious deeds take over the show.

Solid. Can't argue with that. One could say Amber belongs in that late 90s early 00s period.

Kay/Jill/Philli, and Victor Lord's death, are prime examples of landmark storylines. Sonething the show references and draws plot from for years! OLTL: Jessica's Kidnapping 1986 Baby Jessica's kidnapping by Alison Perkins reared its head again in 2001. Natalie came to town and it was eventually retconed that Mitch Laurence had orchestrated a baby switch. Viewers were led to believe that Natalie was Clint's and Jessica was Mitch's all the way until the series finale in 2012. OLTL Marty's rape: That event stained Todd's legacy for the remainder of the show and helped shape the character for better and worse. It became a huge factor again when Powell returned to Llanview in the late 2000s, when Blair accused "Todd" of rape in 2004, and the re-rape story with Todd dating amnesiac Marty. GH: Luke and Laura As @titan1978 in the left, handed boy storyline, I think we can conclude that Luke and Laura's initial action story had a trickle down effect in other soaps, including ATWT, GL, and DAYS for much of the 80s.

Good or bad, which soap plots affected the show's canvas significantly for years to come. For example: Y&R Newman takes over Jabot. When Jack convinced John to make the company go public, and Victor bought controlling interest, the takeover lasted 10 years! It wasn't until '99 when Jack was able to get Jabot back. GH: Carly's arrival, and Jason's accident. Those two events in 1996 would go on to shape the remainder of GH's history. Once Jason's personality changed, he got involved with Carly, and went to work for Sonny, the stage was set for those three characters to completely envelop the series. Rick Webber (2002). Vibrations from this disastrous story were being felt as late 2008. Laura ended up in the rocking chair, Alan and Monica suspected each other. Lulu was looking to clear her mother's name even as late as the Metro Court crisis. It was major. OLTL: Victor Lord's Murder/Affair with Irene. This event fueled nearly 30 years of story: The Secret Room, Nikki's 85 return, Dorian's murder trial, Todd Manning's birth, Viki's 95 breakdown, and Two Todds 2011. Next to Marty's rape, this was the most critical story in the show's history.

Never really considered this! Nikki aside, I never really felt any of Bergman's Jack's pairings were his true love or at least powerful.

EDIT: Which two soap charachters from any time period belong together once and for all. My list GH: Sonny and Brenda, Jason and Carly B&B: Eric and Brooke, Stephanie & Massimo (if they were alive), Ridge & Taylor, Steffy and Bill (both devious)....Hope & Liam I supoose? AMC: Can't decide if Erica belonged with Jackson or Dimitry?