I find David a little annoying, but I find the idea of the people responsible for David behind the scenes even more annoying. I don't think that actors in positions like Eden's or Tuc's look at their returns as falling back per se. It takes a lot of energy to be a soap actor, especially a front burner one. I don't know if everyone else caught it, but I saw Alexa Havins age before my very eyes being worked to death as Babe. If you're a popular character like Bianca or David and you have a few dollars in the bank, I can see why you'd want a break from that daily grind. I can also see how you might miss the job that made you a star working with people who you genuinely enjoy. If the show and the audience is hungry for you and you're up to it, why not go back? If a fan feels yanked around, I am more inclined to blame tptb than the actor, after all, they allowed it. Folks, you can NEVER blame an actor for wanting to act/jumping at an opportunity. There is just not enough work to go around. But you can get pissy with tiic who convince themselves that they're giving us what we want by bowing and scraping to "popular" actors (according to whom? the societies of nutjob fans who write five letters a day?) which often results in characters being shoved down our throats.

I'm with Steve. People have no patience. And I happen to think Tuc's short runs work perfectly with the mercurial character. I'd love to have him on a full contract again, but we still get plenty of David "bang" for our buck.