Favorite ghostly visits?

[DRW50]

I know a lot of people are tired of yet another return from Y&R's Cassie or John, or AMC's Dixie. I don't think that a ghost appearance has to be bad, if the writing is there and if the return is used for something beyond offensive propping or whitewashing of tacky behavior (which is the #1 I am tired of seeing Cassie, or, at one time, John).

There were also occasions where some of my favorite characters were brought back as ghosts, and I was happy, but something didn't quite feel right, or I wanted to see more of them, like Maureen and Nadine on GL.

So what were the ghost appearances on soaps that you thought were the best, or moved you the most?

I would pick Natalie on AMC. I was very moved by her appearing to Tim when he was driven away by the romance between Janet and Trevor. Then when she returned before the wedding to hash things out with Janet once and for all. And her surprise appearance when Harold the dog died. At the time some laughed because of her huge wedding ring or because of the idea of someone returning to see a dog to Heaven, but what I can say, I was very choked up.

I would also pick when Kate Mulgrew returned to Ryan's Hope in 1986 as Mary Ryan, AKA "Aunt Moira", to make sure someone was with her daughter Ryan during her wedding. The part where we saw Mary watching the wedding through the window...it really stayed with me.

The last would be ATWT, when Kim was in a coma after too much smoke inhalation, and her sister Jennifer did a "It's a Wonderful Life" type of journey. I wasn't as interested as I was in the drama between Kim and Jennifer, as the show addressed the anger and guilt over Kim having a happy ending with Bob when Jennifer never could, and when Kim had cheated with Bob while he was married to Jennifer. Gillian Spencer was radiant in that episode.

[You're Soaking in it]

I'm so glad you brought that up, Carl, because otherwise I wouldn't have thought to consider this story. I couldn't agree more. It was so beautifully done, and had this ambiguity about it that made it all the more intriguing (she looks like Mary, but Ryan doesn't recognize her... is she a person? a spirit?). What was equally impressive was how Kate Mulgrew and Yasmine Bleeth (Ryan) just immediately clicked as mother and daughter - even though they had never yet worked together - and in spite of the ambiguity I mentioned. It was definitely a beautiful, bright spot in RH's later years.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I loved this episode too. I wasn't alive in the 70's to see Kim and Jennifer in their heyday, but everything felt right in this episode. I immediately understood their history and their sisterly bond. Gillian Spencer is a great unsung hero of daytime television.

I wasn't crazy about the story, but I admit, I loved when deceased relatives visited Viki in Heaven during the original Heaven storyline on OLTL.

[DRW50]

I think what made Mary's returns work is that they were brief and felt important. She was there to try to break through to her mother and Jack over their grief, then with Ryan, and then briefly at the end you heard her talk to Jack on his wedding day to Leigh. RH did an awful number on Mary after Kate Mulgrew left and those appearances reminded you of just how special she was.

The same was true with Jennifer, in that this was ground ATWT had never really dealt with. It was easy for viewers to forget, or never even know, about the complicated Bob/Kim/Jennifer history, and the show managed to deal with this while still showing the bond between sisters. They also worked in the "look to this day" poem that Jennifer used in her own life.

The scenes where she had to deal with Victor and Mitch were very strong (especially if you don't think about later retcons!). And her final goodbye to Joe. It's a bit odd when you think about it because he had a lookalike on the show at the time, but you still bought him as Joe, and as Viki's soulmate. They didn't do anything to trash that just because she was now with Clint. I really liked that "I love you!" she yelled/wailed to him in that Viki voice as she returned to Earth.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

They worked in old flashbacks great in this episode too. I loved getting to see some of those old scenes with Bob, Kim, and John at that time.

And of course Jennifer wanting to comfort Barbara, who had just had a miscarriage, but she couldn't was a nice touch, and of course the flashback with Frannie asking Kim if she could call her "mom." Most people who started watching after the 70's probably wouldn't know that Jennifer is Barbara and Frannie's mother.

[You're Soaking in it]

That was just fun... to see all those characters. But what it did for me, especially, was teach me a little more about OLTL's history. I was just a kid, and I'm not sure if my age made the outlandish storytelling any more or less appealing to me.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Funny enough, the week Viki went to Heaven was the only time OLTL went to #1 in the ratings.

[Cheap21]

I dont believe in ghosts on soaps. To me they are just a figment of that character's that they vist imagination

[You're Soaking in it]

Somewhere out there, a soap writer is smiling, Cheap21! Your perspective comes in handy whenever they decide to resurrect a character after a "spiritual visit" has occurred.

[DRW50]

The sad thing is even after Jesse came back twice as a ghost I was still happy they made him undead.

(whether his writing has been worth it is another story)

[You're Soaking in it]

Ditto that.

[Soapsuds]

Probably the only thing FMB and Lorraine Broderick did right in Kim/Jennifer story.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Broderick wasn't credited as HW until like March 1998. FMB was there though and had already been there for nearly a year. It was interim HW's Addie Walsh and Mel Brez that did this story.

You can see the credits for this episode at the end of this clip, I believe it originally aired in November or December 1997. I vividly remember watching it during the holiday season that year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O8QvTj2Fbg

[DRW50]

Yes, this was around Thanksgiving I believe.

[Paul Raven]

On AMC Tad had a visit from Ray(his father)Did Kim Delaney appear as a ghost along with Jesse?

On GL Maureen made some ghostly visits to Michelle.

Isabella on Days also appeared as a ghost.

Does anyone know which show first did this?

Was it used previously to the 90's?