Jump to content

Acting Police: Soaps’ worst actors


Recommended Posts

  • Members

JP is right.

Heather is NOT and should not be a "tough as nails DA".

She's a sweet young girl with a bangin' bod, who is fairly recently out of Princeton and law school. She is professional and has ambitions and goals, but she should be in a mentorship position (yup--much as Christine was with Michael when he was -- unfortunately -- a sexual harrasser), and she should be dreaming of her man and ... having all the adventures of a young ingenue. She should be having trust issues with men because of evil stepdad and abandoning father. She should be trying to discover her roots--and that should be leading to a rebuild of the Williams clan.

If they could take her OUT of the "sanctimonious" bin and the "tough prosecutor" bin (neither of which the actress is well suited for -- either in talent or in age) and let her be like (don't hit me) Lily or Colleen or any of the other young women...that would work.

Susan Seaforth Hayes said in her book that Bill Bell once said to her something like -- I am paraphrasing -- that the "heat off the brow of a young woman" would fuel story for years. Making romantic mistakes. Desperately loving someone who gets tied to another. All that classic sh!t.

Vail would be GREAT in that, especially because (even yesterday) there is a connection with Chris Engen that just works.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 84
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

Yes, I believe it was discussed a couple of times already. They just won't and don't know how to write for half of their characters. She isn't believable as the asst. D.A., but to the writers she is just someone they need to use to get through those storylines. If there weren't any, she'd be gone.

Once again, I feel as if they just write as they go along. If a storyline falls into their lap they'll use it, if not they'll keep the character and have them do nothing.

MarkH, I love how much time you invest in most of your posts; always so detailed. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Multi-board/site politics is fascinating to me, and the closer we get to cancellation with some of these shows, the more I'm intrigued by the general nature of all of these boards/pundits/opinions, and how they feed and thrive off of each other. By the way, I'm including myself in this as well. I don't think any of us are blameless either. It's fascinating to me to hop from one board to the next, and see the way one board/site reacts affects another -- sometimes by copying them, and sometimes by intentionally going against whatever they said just to go against the grain. Somewhere in here, there's a statement on fanbase psychology, but God help me if I know what it is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

In defense of two of the people on this list:

Jacqueline MacInnes Wood still has alot of potential. I think she's saddled with a crap story and doesn't want to try anymore. The "Can You Feel Me" stuff on the Forrester Terrace was awful, but I loved her scenes in the morgue. But, yeah, I can admit she's no Jennifer Finnigan.

And as for Ronn Moss, he's no Peter Bergman or Tony Geary, but that doesn't mean that he has always been bloody, bloody awful. There have been times where he has stepped up his game. He was great during Shane's shooting and his entire romance with Ashley Abbott. But yeah, those two stories are old news.

---

Also, I agree with the sentiment of some of the people here. Vail isn't BAAAAD. Her character just sucks and always has.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Well. It's no surprise that Ronn Moss is close to headlining the list. :lol:

RoboColby probably belongs on there, too. And Maurice Benard who can barely stumble through a scene now without the support of Megan Ward, Sarah Brown and some cue cards. Sigh. Once upon a time, he was on the ball.

But Nelson -- who I always enjoy reading -- has not dared touch any of the "big stars" of Daytime. He's picked young kids almost exclusively (Big Ronn excepted) and gone for some easy "newbie" choices. I mean, isn't poor Crystal Hunt universally despised by the OLTL faithful right now?

And Nathan Parsons may play the world's most annoyingly toothy newbie, but I honestly do not think he is a bad actor. In fact, he is a very confident one. His overrated screen partner Julie Marie Berman, on the other hand? Should be on this list instead.

And picking on Vail Bloom is just mean. She's no Susan Flannery. But she delivers all her lines with conviction and rarely does she sound robotic or merely reading words off a page. That's more than can be said for many others.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Once upon a time indeed!! The actor is probably bored out of his wits going witht he easy money. This is not the GH i used to watch Sonny used to vbe one of my top 5 daytime characters. So was Luke but last time I checked I don't even know who they are anymore.

*edit* Thank God Genie Francis got away from that mess

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

THere are sooo many to choose from:

The grand prize goes to: Lawrence St. Victor as Remy; he doesn't even know how to try to act. Poor dear

Michelle Ray Smith, former Ava

the first and second Eden on Y&R

3/4 of the cast of the defunct Passions

the guy playing Rafe the lawyer on Y&R..he's awful

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Yes, and that is, with some exceptions, fanbases, message boards, etc. operate on a herd mentality; and that whoever has the conch, is the leader.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Alright--I'll go meta on this.

I do not -- NOT -- understand the function of negativity in this universe. It causes pain, but it never repairs behavior.

Why oh why single out these well intentioned individuals? It will not change behavior--indeed, it could cause to defensively circle the wagons around their offended stars, because such a negative column questions the judgment of TPTB.

Why not do a list of the ten best (if a list must be done), and hope the accolade helps promote similar future good choices?

Why leave ten mostly young performers sitting there feeling bad? Why not let ten performers feel good.

Damn--I also enjoy NB's column, and I will defend it to the end--but I feel tainted when I read a "hair model" list like this. (Hypocrisy alert: It won't stop me from going back). I want to send that man everything ever written by Leo Buscaglia.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • Errol already confirmed she is back at Y&R and in a non-producing role; this alludes to she is not credited for the role she has.
    • I don't think Lisa served a purpose after the serial killer storyline. The writers never gave her anything to do but be Vicky's nemesis. Joanna Going deserved better. Another example of a character taking over the show and then the writers not having a longterm plan for the character.  Exhibit B: Sally Spencer. Such a missed opportunity. It really angers me how they misused her. She could sing and act and they just threw her away in that sexist nonsense storyline. Once the story was over, they wrote her off. The McKinnons should have lasted for years. I will give the show credit for how they introduced Sandra Ferguson as Amanda. I thought it was expertly done. She comes in and she immediately connected to RKK's Sam. She has chemistry with Matthew and she has realistic conversations with MAc and Rachel. That's how it is done. 
    • Great points, and it has not completely vanished. Leslie on Beyond the Gates fits the trope (she's still not over that Ted lovin' two decades later), though I will say there does seem to be an effort to make her more complex.
    • I understand why people speculate, but I have to say it doesn’t sound very plausible that Jill Farren Phelps would be working at Y&R in any uncredited role. CBS daytime shows are tightly bound by union contracts and corporate oversight, and that kind of informal arrangement would be a major liability in 2025. Before the mergers of SAG-AFTRA and the two WGA branches, it may have been easier to hire someone quietly or off the books. But those days are behind us. With digital payroll, tighter pension tracking, and increased scrutiny from legal and compliance departments, it’s just not the kind of thing anyone can get away with anymore. Most union members, especially producers nearing retirement, would not risk their eligibility or benefits to take an uncredited role. The Producers Guild of America is also very clear about crediting. To even receive the PGA mark, a producer has to be verified through a formal review process. According to their credit certification guidelines (source), "only individuals who performed a majority of the producing functions on a motion picture or television production" are eligible for credit, and those credits must be official and recorded. If someone is functioning in that capacity, they are not supposed to be uncredited. Studios that are union signatories, like CBS and Sony, know better than to skirt those rules. If anyone has a legitimate, primary source confirming that CBS is hiring someone like Phelps in an uncredited production role, I’d honestly be curious to read it. But without that, this just feels like rumor—not reality.
    • I keep thinking about the persistent trend of eroticizing mental illness on Guiding Light. Sonni and Annie were never more compelling, or more attractive to the show, than when they were manic. It played into a recurring theme: strong women undone by their unhinged reaction to sex. The writers were likely inspired by Basic Instinct and the broader wave of neo-noir films in the late '80s and early '90s, where female sexuality was often equated with instability. The result was a crude portrayal, not just of mental illness, but of womanhood itself. Both Sonni and Annie were introduced as sharp, capable women, brought in specifically as formidable antagonists to Reva. They were logical and composed, standing in contrast to Reva’s emotional volatility. That difference made them threatening, but not especially “sexy”—until desire became their undoing. In a very male fantasy, their strength unraveled the moment they slept with Joshua. As soon as they got a taste of Lewis lovin’, they spiraled into scheming lunatics, willing to torch everything to hold on to him. It was part of a larger trend in the culture. Fatal Attraction, Single White Female, and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle all traded on the idea that female desire was dangerous, barely held in check, and always teetering on the edge of madness. Looking back, it's a pretty grim trope. And while it's not completely vanished, I'm grateful we don't see it quite as often today.
    • Elements of it were silly, but it was a small price to pay to get Zas back. I should say there's a difference between in town and out of town returns. It's understandable for Roger to skulk around town in a bad wig and clown suit when he's in Springfield and running the risk of bumping in to people he knows.  Taking us out of town to find someone always has a short shelf life. Then it usually becomes about another character knowing X is alive but determined to keep them out of Springfield. Like Alan discovering Amish Reva. I don't know how long it went on, but it was probably twice as long as necessary.
    • Elizabeth Dennehy complained on the Locher Room about how ridiculous so much of the writing was for Roger's return. She laughed at so much of Roger's antics and how it was hard for her to take them seriously. Probably another reason she was fired as she didn't play the game.  
    • Only thing I enjoyed was Abby / Olivia, etc., and the addiction storyline. Otherwise, I could do without the season.
    • Right? Vanessa had a ball gown for every occasion.
    • Roger's return storyline may have been silly but Roger's return was what lead to GL's last golden era.  It was the combination of Roger's return and Robert Calhoun becoming EP that got GL to finally hit it's stride after some really bad years. It will always disappoint me that the ratings during Robert Calhoun's run didn't reflect the quality of the show.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy