Poll: Top five most important characters from the history of each soap?

I think ATWT would be Bob, Kim, Lisa, John, and Lily. To me Bob and Kim are a brilliant couple, warm, funny, sharp, and when they were given the chance, more than able to still do high drama and remain together. Kim on her own is a fascinating character, as she represents so much of ATWT's upheaval in the 70s and the show smoothing itself out again in the mid-80s. Bob is a character who has remained vital in spite of his family being whittled away. Lisa isn't much of a character these days and hasn't been in over a decade but she was the face of ATWT for a long time and remained relevant for many years -- I almost left her off the list but I couldn't because of that superb story where she sued John for malpractice and the Hughes family were pitted against each other. This was the last truly great story ATWT had. John was such a crucial part of ATWT for me, he was an antihero, he was so complicated, he was so funny yet he could snap if you crossed him, he had such long and deep friendships, relationships, rivalries. He was so important to the canvas because he wasn't a saint but he also wasn't evil -- this is what you need to push stories and stop the "good" characters from being compromised. And Lily, I have never been a fan of Lily's, but she was the face of the show for much of the last 25 years and also one of the few soap heroines who, at least until Martha Byrne was pushed out, had been allowed to transition into being a stable wife and mother.

ATWT is hard because of its long run and could almost be broken down into two periods (1954-1999) and (1999-Present).

I don't think the list would be complete without Carly who has been the face of the show since the late 90's. Jack should also probably be counted. In addition, the show will probably always be remember for Luke due to the ground breaking nature of the story.

As for the pre-Goutman days, Nancy must be included seeing as she was the moral center and 'mother' of the show. Your points also got me thinking as to why Lisa got the shaft: She was the face of the show and her diminished role was TPTB saying this isn't your grandma's ATWT in an effort to boost demos.

I also think Janet should be counted because her first weeks on marked the first deadly drops in ATWT ratings.