ALL: Temporary Replacements

[Liberty City]

 

[Khan]

I think that's due to Ken Corday's personal loyalty to Melissa Reeves more than anything else.  MR has been with DAYS off-and-on since the '80's.  From Corday's perspective, that probably makes her a "legacy performer" worth retaining.

Personally, I get that MR has been a part of DAYS for close to four decades and therefore deserves a measure of respect, but I also think CM managed, in a very brief period of time, to do what MR, frankly, never could, and that's make me actually care about Jennifer Horton Deveraux.  Plus, if Emmy awards still meant anything at all, it would be very telling how CM also managed to win an Emmy for her brief stint as Jennifer, whereas MR has been nominated twice for the award and has yet to take one home.

[Liberty City]

Oh, definitely. But, I also believe Reeves is more settled in Tennessee or wherever it is where she and the family are residing, and it seemed like TPTB were open to keeping McClain in the role, and allowing Reeves to come in when / if available.But, if I am being honest, McClain did wonders in the role and would love to see Janet Drucker re-hire her full-time.

[1974mdp]

CM actually made me care about Jennifer and revitalized the character, in my opinion.

[Liberty City]

Same. And made me LIKE Jennifer for the first time ever.

[DRW50]

Thank you @Toups for unlocking the thread...what a nice Christmas gift.

A big reason I was hoping for the revival was AWHP mentioning that Linda De Coff played Janice Frame on Another World - October 27, 1972. I couldn't find that here, although I may have missed it.

The photo they used:

 

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Edited December 20, 2023 by DRW50

[Khan]

 

 

If nothing else, having CM play Jennifer full-time would mean having a Jennifer who didn't get her hair and fashion tips from Granny Clampett.

[Liberty City]

YES! Not to mention, McClain had wonderful chemistry with everyone on the canvas she worked with. Jennifer vs. Kate worked so well because McClain was in the role.

[Contessa Donatella]

I am so very pleased to read more people who appreciate Cady's Jennifer Rose, as much as I do! 

My reasons for being against having Missy back are known & numerous & don't need restating. 

I've been furious with Ron over his treatment of Laura, Jenn & Jack, all 3, ever since he let Gwen Rice Chex kill Laura with absolute impunity. 

[Khan]

I agree.  LK had a worthier sparring partner in scenes w/ CM as Jennifer than she would have had with MR.  Jennifer is supposed to be a middle-aged woman who has gone through it multiple times.  Yet, I swear, there were/are times when MR still plays her like she did in the '80's, all pouty, adenoidal and weepy-eyed, like your typical teenager who just wants to grab an Orange Julius and crush on boys at the mall.  LK's Kate would have wiped the proverbial floor with her Jennifer.

Ironically, when news broke that CM would be stepping in, I was not entirely sure whether she could pull it off.  For one thing, the track record of former ABCD or P&G actors doing as well on DAYS is...not great.  Obviously, Jane Elliot is an exception. (Judi Evans is another. Genie Francis might have been a third, had Diana been a real character).  But when I think about the ones who tried and failed, like Robert S. Woods, or Robin Strasser, or even Sarah Joy Brown*....!

Working on DAYS and the Bell soaps requires a different skill set for actors, one that is more about image and style than about digging deep and finding nuances or layers, like it traditionally would be on the other shows; and I had witnessed enough of CM's work on Y&R to feel very, very afraid.  (I mean, God bless Cady for never being the type to phone in any performance - and, I know, the failure of Kelly as a character can't be laid entirely at her feet, as the writing reeked, too - but great Caesar's ghost, that was such a trainwreck to watch!)

I never thought much of Jennifer or of MR beyond Missy's years on the show or Jennifer's connection to the rest of the Hortons.  Nevertheless, I knew CM had enormous shoes to fill - certainly, more enormous than the ones she had filled on AMC and ATWT - even if she would be filling them only temporarily.  Yet, as I've said before, she managed in a relatively brief period of time to make me care or at least be interested in Jennifer for the very first time in all my years of watching DAYS, to the point where I actually WANT Jennifer to be a permanent fixture on this show - if not at the center of its' canvas, then definitely somewhere near it. 

Heck, I even would put up with her going another 10,000 rounds with Jack if it meant watching CM and Matthew Ashford play together!  MR never made me feel that way.  Stephanie Cameron damn sure didn't make me feel that way.  But CM did, and does, make me feel that way.

 

(*But, in SJB's case, backstage issues that have followed her throughout her career ultimately were to blame.)

Edited December 20, 2023 by Khan

[1974mdp]

I would LOVE to see CM's Jennifer and Kate go at it again. To me, the obvious story is for Kate to have an affair with a returned Mike. Jennifer would hit the roof that the woman who broke up her parents' marriage and almost hers was now getting freaky with her brother. Pairing Kate with Roman is yawn inducing for such a dynamic character.

[detroitpiston]

There was a temp Abigail recast on DOOl around the time Ashley Benson was wrapping up her stint and I remember really liking her and wondering why they wrote the character off instead of keeping them. She had scenes with Matt Ashford and Abigail and Jack were out of town for some reason.

[John]

Emily Montague

[DRW50]

'General Hospital' Temporarily Recasts the Role of Maxie Jones with Nicole Paggi (soapoperanetwork.com)

[Contessa Donatella]

That would be a great B story!!! What actor do you have in your mind as a NuMike?