ALL: What makes a good llve triangle?

[Manny]

Okay, I was reading lately how Frankie/Cass/Kathleen triangle on AW reruns is a great one and it got me thinking, what truly makes a good love triangle?

I don't know the Frankie/Cass/Kathleen story, but I was hoping someone could elaborate why it (or some other triangle) is/was so good!

Is a triangle good when all three people in it are positive characters, that got tangled up in it, without having some vixen or a villain?

What gives?

[KLN]

Well first, there's a difference between a "triangle" and a "love triangle."

A love triangle implies that there is love involved on both sides. For example, the Brady/Chloe/Phillip triangle... Chloe loved them both, and she didn't know who she wanted to be with, hence a "love triangle." A regular old triangle, on the other hand, can come in the form of anything. A psychopath keeping a couple apart because he/she wants to be with one of the partners is a good example...

Anyway, I like both types, as long as they aren't predictable. In a love triangle, I hate whenever it's obvious who will be together in the end... I prefer to be kept on my toes. As long as there are plenty of surprising, interesting and fun twists and turns, I'm happy. The minute it becomes stagnant and predictable, I'm done.

Anyone can write a love triangle -- it's not that hard. It takes a real talent to take it from being an overused soap staple and reinventing it in a new way.

[Manny]

I just notices I messed up the title of the topic.. lol Can someone please edit it? Thanks!

Anyway, since you mentioned Brady/Chloe/Philip triangle.. I always hated that triangle, because I thought that Philip was trashed, just so that Brady would look good... maybe I am wrong, but... And you could see by the way they were writing Philip that Chloe would end up with Brady (which I always hated lol)

I liked Ricardo/Gabi/Antonio triangle. She loved Ricardo, but had sex with Antonio. Now, maybe they did sleep together becuase they thought they'd die, but I think it was just an excuse and it would have happened sooner or later. And after that, they both denied their feelings, but if SuBe had continued, we would have seen Gabi even more torn between two brothers. And it was so good because neither wanted to hurt Ricardo, because they loved him...

[xDaysAddict]

Have to disagree about the Brady/Chloe/Philip triangle.the way they wrote philip was the way he always was - A Jerk.let's not forget he only invited chloe to the dance since he's lost a bet,then while he stared at her cleavage during the dance he suddenly became obsessive over her.I must say I find JKJ acting not any diffrent now then it was when he was a teen,expect screaming about chloe he screams about claire.big miscast or the mature hurtfull character he is supposed to be now JMO.

one of the worst triangle's I have EVER seen was the horrible Frankie/Jennifer/Jack story in 2005-2006.ruined all the characters and it made no sense.

[KLN]

I completely, 100% agree. He conveys anger by screaming. He doesn't know the meaning of the word "subtle" at all. And his screams aren't even threatening. His screams sound like that of a little boy in the supermarket, crying because his mommy wont buy him a chocolate bar. "I want my Butterfinger! I want my daughter! I want my Butterfinger! I want my daughter! MOOOOOMMY!" It's beyond annoying, and not menacing in the least. How people enjoy him, I'll never know. He talks about Claire like she's a belonging of his rather than a human being. Ugh... never should've brought that talentless boy back. The dimples don't make his sh!t sparkle, either. He's a big ole bust.

I could just strangle those idiotic viewers from the "Salem High" era for planting the seed in the minds of TBTB that he should be brought back.

[ZaraB]

I agree with some of the others. There has to be two viable couples, not just one with some type of 'obstacle'. For that to happen, there has to be a relationship with the centerpiece with both, and rootablitly for both. No character should be trashed to make the other look good.

[Raven04]

if you look on Lost, the Sawyer/Kate/Jack triangle- though I think sawyer and kate are so much better, and evi and josh have some of the best chemistry on tv....there is still a feeling does Kate want to go with the guy that maybe turn her into the perfect little housewife-redemption, or the guy who is just like her, the bad boy, does not judge her. You don't know what will happen in the end

[psychofan]

What makes me love a triangle? A PSYCHO!!!!

Jan/Shawn/Belle

Lauren/Scott/Sheila

Sheridan/Beth/Luis

Margaret/Todd/Blair (BEFORE Spencer's entrance)

*sigh* I miss my psychos

[poohbear19]

A good triangle is one where both couple are absolutely rootable. Now, there's been some that I can't stand, one couple to another (GH's Sonny/Brenda/Jax comes to mind, I couldn't stand Sonny/Brenda)... but I have to be able to not deny that the other couple definitely had some rootable qualities. Ones where both couples have moments that cause you to go back and forth on who's the best for the main person as well as more interesting, because when it's all over you want more to happen to them (Y&R's Phyllis/Nick got more boring than before).

The "love" triangles that are played out, majorly in soaps are the guy/crazy woman/nice (or bad, but definitely better than the crazy) woman; and that's because they seem to happen all the time or atleast more than the woman/crazy guy/"regular" guy ones. I thank Passions for my hatred of nontriangle/one-sided triangles; the ones where there's an obvious couple to cheer for and third person is thrown in as just an obstacle.

[Pest Spray]

IMO, the best love triangle on daytime was Roman/Marlena/John from 1991 until 1993. Both couples were supercouples, both were popular, leading lady had hot chemistry with both leading men... and most importantly for me, none of the characters were trashed to make the other(s) seem better (like, say, Brady/Chloe/Phillip or Sonny/Alexis/Ric ... or Sam/Ric/Alexis for that matter).

And the best psycho!triangle, hands down Stefano/Marlena/John. Hands down. It was magnificent. You had Stefano, his pawn and the queen of the night who was also his worst enemy (because to me, Marlena was, without a doubt Stefano's worst enemy).

[DaysGal]

Having the audience torn between two couples is the best way to go.

Bill/Laura/Mickey; John/Marlena/Roman; Philip/Chloe/Brady; and if you want to get more technical Philip/Belle/Shawn/Mimi.

All of these pairing had remarkable chemistry together and had the support of the viewers as well.

Days is really lacking in that department now, and seriously needs to step up and provide the fans with some romance from their favorite couples.

[SteveFrame]

I agree about John/Marlena/Roman - they were a great love triangle. They are right there with Cass/Kathleen/Frankie.

Both couples were rootable. None of them were the villian in the piece. Both couples had great chemistry. No one was ruined for the sake of the triangle. And the outcome with both could have went either way.

I have enjoyed the "psycho" triangles too but for me they weren't as enjoyable because they were too predictable. I mean you knew in the end the psycho was going to lose so you couldn't get invested. Todd wasn't going to choose Margaret and Shawn wasn't going to choose Jan, etc.

That is another reason I couldn't enjoy the John/Stefano/Marlena triangle as much. I liked it and it was good but you knew in the end that the other couple wasn't viable.

Some of my other favorite triangles through the years:

Steve/Alice/Rachel (AW) - Steve/Alice were the root couple but Steve couldn't deny his passion for Rachel

Mac/Rachel/Mitch (AW) - you always felt that Rachel loved both men and that it could go either way

Julie/Doug/Addie (Days) - Doug truly loved both women and was truly torn; Julie was a little !@#$%^&*] then but couldn't hurt her Mom

Liz/Neil/Marie (Days) - both women were ultimately good and the whole thing was brought about by a strange series of circumstances; it was one of Days best ever triangles

The triangle I always wanted to see was a Mac/Rachel/Steve on AW triangle. We sort of got it when David Canary returned as Steve but it was intended. Steve was brought back solely for Alice, but David Canary had so much chemistry with Victoria Wyndham that writers couldn't deny it. It just didn't have the same punch without George Reinholt as Steve.

I would have loved him in the role, and seen Rachel truly torn between the two great loves of her life.

[SteveFrame]

I agree about John/Marlena/Roman - they were a great love triangle. They are right there with Cass/Kathleen/Frankie.

Both couples were rootable. None of them were the villian in the piece. Both couples had great chemistry. No one was ruined for the sake of the triangle. And the outcome with both could have went either way.

I have enjoyed the "psycho" triangles too but for me they weren't as enjoyable because they were too predictable. I mean you knew in the end the psycho was going to lose so you couldn't get invested. Todd wasn't going to choose Margaret and Shawn wasn't going to choose Jan, etc.

That is another reason I couldn't enjoy the John/Stefano/Marlena triangle as much. I liked it and it was good but you knew in the end that the other couple wasn't viable.

Some of my other favorite triangles through the years:

Steve/Alice/Rachel (AW) - Steve/Alice were the root couple but Steve couldn't deny his passion for Rachel

Mac/Rachel/Mitch (AW) - you always felt that Rachel loved both men and that it could go either way

Julie/Doug/Addie (Days) - Doug truly loved both women and was truly torn; Julie was a little !@#$%^&*] then but couldn't hurt her Mom

Liz/Neil/Marie (Days) - both women were ultimately good and the whole thing was brought about by a strange series of circumstances; it was one of Days best ever triangles

The triangle I always wanted to see was a Mac/Rachel/Steve on AW triangle. We sort of got it when David Canary returned as Steve but it was intended. Steve was brought back solely for Alice, but David Canary had so much chemistry with Victoria Wyndham that writers couldn't deny it. It just didn't have the same punch without George Reinholt as Steve.

I would have loved him in the role, and seen Rachel truly torn between the two great loves of her life.

[Pest Spray]

I agree, we always knew it was J&M in the end, but the fun was watching what Stefano would do next, and watching these two lovebirds fighting to win.

[Ponz]

The one DAYS triangle I was impressed with was John/Marlena/Roman in the early 90's. The context was such that you could sympathise with all of the character's involved. I liked that the affair wasn't glamorised to prop John/Marlena and that the writers didn't gloss over the pain caused to Roman.

However, I think love triangles are generally a bad thing. They inevitably result in TPTB trying to play couples/fanbases against each other and end up alienating both.