ALL SOAPS: Best and Worst Recasts

[All My Shadows]

Tina! I knew that there was one other person who kept coming to me, and it was definitely Tina. The characters who feel deeply betrayed when their own schemes blow up in their faces. That's probably my favorite soap archetype right there. And the strutting lol...in the closing credits of the episode I watched, they were the type of credits where we see the action of the episode continuing on, but with no sound. At the end of the episode, Curtis tells her that she'll be sleeping alone that night, and so in the beginning of the credits, she does this half-strut/half-stomp into the room where everyone is at, grabs a little teacup from a table, and starts chatting with another character (I forgot who it was), acting as if NOTHING went wrong at all. There's just a certain quality in that type of character that I love. They're total trainwrecks, they're completely aware of it, but they'll be damned if they let everyone else know that they're aware of it. I think you can almost kinda add RH's Delia in there, too, but I haven't seen enough of her to really say that.

I haven't seen enough of early Erica or any of Strasser's Rachel to make a comparison, but your description of Erica here is just more of what I love about early Erica and the type like her. The delusions of grandeur are what does it, I think. They feel that everyone should treat them like socialites simply because they view themselves as such.

[EricMontreal22]

YES I love that episode!

But I didnt' watch back then--when I started in 91 I was already hooked on Peluso who really made the role her own (even if let's face it the role was Agnes Nixon reusing her Rachel/Erica Kane character)

I was SURE there was some Peluso Ava on youtube--but maybe I was thinking of the old WOST She wasn't killed by the Loving Murders was she? I wonder why they didn't take Ava to City--anyone remember her exit?

Lisa PEluso now works in real estate. I hope she's happy but it really is the soap world's waste (what happened to Roya? ROya wasn't even the first was she?)

[SteveFrame]

Eric, I do not know what happened to Roya. I know she got started by auditioning for Felicia on GH and the Loving cast director saw her or someone at ABC did and sent her audition to Loving. They cast her as Ava.

I have not looked but I think Marland was still head writing Loving when Ava came on. I know that many have said Ava was a rip off of Erica and Rachel, but I have always heard that Marland intended for her to be a lot like Nola Reardon on GL. I don't remember if he created Nola or not, but he wrote a great deal of her material.

[SFK]

Ava wasn't killed, I think things just fell apart with Alex and she took her kids and moved elsewhere while the others moved to SoHo. I'm not sure, but I'm guessing it was ABC's decision not to take the character to The City. There would be Sydney, Tess, and Alex would be paired with Jocelyn. Alls I know is she was Lila on AW about a year or so later.

Oh, and I looked up that story I was referring to in my last post... Lisa and her husband made news when a lady living on their property was basically starving herself and her children. It was terrible, Lisa and her husband were helping the family out, and the lady was obviously mentally ill. I remember how surprised I was to see Lisa on TV giving a statement.

[Heyou]

I forgot about a few:

Kelly Kruger as Mac/Y&R

Scott Seymour as Billy Abbott/Y&R

[DavidEvanSmith]

Ava moved to Florida, emotionally beaten by the Corinth murders. Alex and Jocelyn moved to the City where the began a relationship. Being that Jocelyn was introduced as a spoiler for Ava/Alex a while before Loving became The City, I imagine it was the executives decision not to continue with the Ava character, and I'm sure Lisa Lo Cicero (an unknown to daytime at that point) was a lot cheaper than Lisa Peluso. When you think about it, everyone that moved to the City were pretty much B-listers anyway. The most expensive players moved over were probably Angie/Jacob, and Alex. Maybe Tess.

There were many mentions of Ava during The City, since Alex was flying back to Florida a few times in The City's first few months, working out issues that his children (Sandy and Alexis) were having with his and Ava's divorce, and Jocelyn was left to feel insecure that Alex would never be over Ava. But all the Alex/Ava resolution happened off-screen. I think the last time Ava was mentioned, was by Tracy Quartermaine who said to Alex "Last I heard you were involved with that little brunette thing."

[SFK]

HA! Like Sydney referring to Erica as "What's-her-name"...

Speaking of Loving recasts, we were discussing Gwyn #2 in the LOV thread.

***

Daniel Hugh Kelly never quite fit as Travis to me. I like him, but that's the problem, he was almost too likeable as Travis. Larkin worked better in the role, he was a great stuffed shirt. Though his wind baggery made for a very obnoxious Clay Alden as I remember it. I liked his replacement, Dennis Parlato better.

So who was your favorite Isabelle? I thought they were all great, but I'm guessing most people will say that Patricia Barry's "disfigured by cold cream" Isabelle was the odd woman out.

[Paul Raven]

Patty Lotz was the first Ava.

Wasn't she introduced as a construction worker? Or am I totally imagining things?? I recall a photo of her in a helmet ,with a too lelt and wearing denims.

can anyone verify this?

[SFK]

I didn't even know what a Patty Lotz was until a few years ago at WoST. I wish I could verify the above. I think Patty was a big radio personality before Loving.

[Dr Neil Curtis]

Did anyone catch Marj Dusay's stint as Vivian Alamain?? was she good or bad??

[SteveFrame]

Ava was introduced with something to do at the construction site. That is where Jack met her. He was on the outs with his family. Don't remember if he had learned he was adopted at that point or what, but he was sporting a beard and was really angry. He went to work at the construction site, and that is where he met Ava.

I don't remember if she was working there as a construction worker or in the office.

[SFK]

I was looking forward to seeing MD as Vivian at the Museum of TV & Radio as she was listed in an ep on the computer search. I selected the ep, and was disappointed to discover that she wasn't in it, only her name in the closing credits.

[EricMontreal22]

I think he did create Nola--certainly she was a fave character of his. Still, I think Ava was pretty close to Erica--and especially when she did get to be wealthier, the older Erica. Agnes Nixon may have had a hand in that as she was invovled asa writer at verious times after Marland's mysterious first year end

[Soapsuds]

Glynis O'Connor as Margo Hughes

Susan Batten as Connor Walsh

Two of the worst recasts ever!

[EricMontreal22]

I prefered Larkin as Clay but I know next to no one agreed with me. Maybe it's just cuz that's who I saw first. I loved Celeste Holm as Isabelle maybe for the same reasons--also it waqs exciting to see her cuz I knew she was the first Ado Annie in Oklahoma and of course her work in All About Eve. Though Augusta Dabney was no slouch