Ratings the Replacements SPW 8/3/99

[DRW50]

ARA CELI

Raquel - AMC

Predecessor: Carolyn Neff

CHARACTER PROFILE: Raquel turned out to be Mateo's first wife, which was startling news to Mateo's current wife, Hayley. If her sudden arrival in Pine Valley last year wasn't bad enough, she unveiled Max, her 5-year-old son with Mateo. Hayley, who then thought she couldn't have children, had a lot to deal with. Viewers soon learned Raquel was still very much in love with Mateo, and that she'd been telling Max that once "we find Daddy we'll be a happy family."

CRITIQUE: Celi brings a certain softness to the role that seemed to have eluded Neff. (The change in character is not completely due to the recast; the writers clearly did some softening of Raquel as well). During Raquel's first month, she seemed hellbent on hurting Hayley, seducing Mateo and using her son in all of her machinations. Her actions plus Neff's hard edge made Raquel unlikable. However, the longer she stayed in town - especially when Celi took over - the nice Raquel seemed to get, which is really the only way viewers could accept any threat of a Mateo and Hayley breakup. Celi has added more layers to Raquel, which makes it easier to understand why Mateo fell in love with her in the first place.

My only complaint is directed at the writers. Celi is one hot number. If she can't get it together with Mateo, plans should be made to hook her up with someone else. Also, she needs to be seen salsa dancing at SOS.

FINAL ANALYSIS: Celi's charm may help win Mateo's heart. - Gabrielle Winkel

JOIE LENZ

Michelle - GL

Predecessor: Rebecca Budig

CHARACTER PROFILE: Michelle turned the Bauer household upside down when she got involved with mobster Danny Santos. The sweet, simple candy striper became a rebel virtually overnight, standing up to bossy brother Rick and tough-cookie mother-in-law Carmen by standing by her new husband.

CRITIQUE: In most cases, it takes a while to get used to a replacement, but the transition was immediate - and believable - when Lenz took over from Budig. It was at a crucial storyline point, no less: Michelle had just killed Mick Santos in self-defense. To Lenz's credit, we didn't even think of her as Clone Reva, a role she had played several months earlier. She was Michelle, instantly, even if this was a very different Michelle. What also greatly helped the transition was Lenz's instant chemistry with Paul Anthony Stewart (Danny), who brings out the best in every actor, especially the much less experienced ones, like Lenz. Lenz won rave reviewers as the clone, but that was a two-week gambit. She has a lot to prove in this role, and with experience and perhaps some help from an acting coach, she's sure to evolve into a really solid actress. My biggest complaint is that she tends to overemote. Then again, some of the material Lenz is asked to play is so campy, any unseasoned (and even some seasoned!) actor could fall into that trap.

FINAL ANALYSIS: Less would definitely be more. - Mark McGarry

KAM HESKIN

Caitlin - Sunset

Predecessor: Vanessa Dorman

CHARACTER PROFILE: Although she is Gregory and Olivia Richards' spoiled-little-rich-girl daughter, Caitlin's life has been anything but easy. Recently, the poor girl discovered she was raising her mother's child, found out her husband, Cole, and her mother had an affair, and was jailed for Francesca's murder. Currently, she is reeling from the "death" of her father, and working toward reconciliations with both her husband and her mother.

CRITIQUE: Recasting a role is difficult enough, but recasting a key player at the height of an important storyline is a trial by fire for the actor stepping in. When Sunset axed Dorman last year at the climax of the baby-switch saga, Heskin - looking like a deer in the headlights - was suddenly shoved in viewers' faces. Her performance could only be described as tepid. The wide range of emotions that Dorman had displayed were suddenly gone in Heskin's Catlin. Not only did Heskin look uncomfortable in the character's skin but her delivery was wooden, and worst of all, she had absolutely no chemistry with the gorgeous Eddie Cibrian (gasp!). Gradually, though, Heskin began warming to the role, finally hitting her stride earlier this year when Caitlin learned she was raising Olivia's child, had to break the news to Cole, then discovered her husband and mother's affair. Heskin seemed to cry for days during what surely must have been exhausting scenes. Amazingly, with the tears was born a confidence, making her and the character more accessible to the audience.

FINAL ANALYSIS: Now, Heskin can more than hold her own with the show's seasoned actors. And, yes, now she even has chemistry with Cibrian. - Tony Calega

[Cheap21]

No grades on these? Ara Celi was a horrible recast. I didnt like her. She was just too bland and the story took a nosedive when she came on board. I dont think she lasted too long as there really was nothing special about her. I thought the originial Raquel had more fire in her and I didnt care for the 180

Joie Lenz on the other hand was an amazng recast. I only saw a month of Rebecca Budig's work so I didnt have the strong attachment to her. Lenz was so endearing and likeable and she gave Michelle so many layers. It was a big loss when she left

Heskin as Caitlin was kinda bland. Granted I only watched after VD left the role, so I cant comment on how she ranks as a replacement but she was a weak actress. She was pretty but never really impressed me

[DRW50]

They'd stopped doing the grades by this time, sadly.

Oddly enough I thought that Neff had more softness than Celi, even though the writing for Neff was harder. Neff I remember as barely able to read her lines, but Celi I didn't think ever really fit in. Raquel was a pointless character and probably should have been sent packing immediately, not recast. I can't remember if they tried to pair her with anyone else but Mateo.

Budig was so cold and although she warmed up a bit by the end of her run as Michelle it was still not past a slightly open Frigidaire. Lenz could be annoying sometimes but she did capture the energy and vibrancy of the character. It's a shame none of the adult Michelles had the thoughtful, dreamlike quality of Rachel Miner, but then that's gone from soap heroines now anyway.

I thought Dorman was a better presence, and I thought she fit the role of the princess daughter better. I never knew why they fired her.

[dm.]

At the moment (of my watching) Dorman can be quite annoying, but that's just because Caitlin is trying to find herself a baby.

Otherwise, Dorman definitely has a stronger presence as Caitlin. She's more active in the role, hard like her father.

Meanwhile, I've seen several episodes from July '98 to January '99 of Heskin and she was fine in the role, but she was way calmer. It was definitely a different Caitlin.

[LeClerc]

Gabrielle was very kind to Carolyn Neff, completely glossing over the fact that she was one of the worst actresses ever on AMC (and possibly soaps in general). Didn't they have use cue cards for her and John Callahan blew a gasket on set one day over how she held up production?

[Darcy]

I don't think Carolyn Neff ever got one line right unless it was one word (usually "Mateo") or if it was a good day two words ("Oh, Mateo"). Other than that, she was stumped. And I am not being facetious.

[bellcurve]

Since Toups hasn't said it, I think I'll jump in with what I think about Kam Heskin's Caitlin.

COOOOOOOOOOOOOOLE!

[Mitch]

Budig was cold as Chele, but they could have explained that by showing that it was a response to her mother's death and her father leaving her high and dry. But they just acted like she was sweet Chele. I thought Lenz totally captured what Chele would be, a combination of the wildness and unsteadiness of Ed and Claire, coupled with the firm foundation of being raised by Maureen. Lenz showed all of those warring qualities and they could have made that storyline make sense if they grounded it by doing several things, toning down over the top Carmen, obscured the outright mob ties and simply made the Santos a family with ties to less then savory people and the criminal element, but most importantly showing that Michelle clung to Danny and their marriage not because of TWU WUV and SoulMate crap, but because she is desperate to create a family to replace her fractured one. Plus, Lenz had great chemistry with Mary Stuart as Aunt Meta.

And then they brought in Nancy St. Dull and it was like I was watching some suburban boring soccer mom burning evidence.

[DRW50]

St. Alban was also so cold -- I think that in their last years GL just did not know how to do heroines like Michelle could have been. I see what you mean about Lenz. It was a big mistake to never try to bring Ed back when she was around.

[Gray Bunny]

I agree for the most part about your assessment of Lenz as Michelle. She was one of those cases where you didn't realize what you had until she was gone. They definitely thrust her into way too much story with way too many new characters initially. But that was the dumb writers' fault. She definitely grew as an actress in her short but story-filled two years. I think initially she was way too surrounded with Santoses and Jesse/Drew/Selena stuff so we couldn't really identify with her as a Bauer. But as the story went on and she had more scenes with Rick, Meta, etc., she really fit in and gave the Michelle character an identity.

St. Alban's Michelle just got worse and worse, especially her final year with that awful amnesia story with nuTony. I don't know how she was during her first year or so since I stopped watching for awhile, but she was reasonably good from 2002-2004, but nothing stand-out great. She definitely fits the mold as a suburban soccer mom, just as she has reverted to already in commercials.

[EricMontreal22]

Oh dear, the beloved character of Raquel. I think I prefered Celi--but she really didn't last long as the recast anyway, did she? Didn't she just timidly move away (with Max?)? Speaking of, that reminds me we were meant to see Max back at the show... oh well. I do remember that Neff was perhaps the worst major actress I had seen on AMC up to that time...

I prefered Dorman on Sube too though I think I stopped watching regularly soon after the replacement. I do remember at the time people saying cruel things abotu Dorman's appearance online, and I always thought oddly that's why she was replaced. I admit, I had completely forgotten Budig was on GL--was she fired and then immediately hired at AMC?

[DRW50]

Budig left GL of her own choice I believe. She was at the show for about three years. I always remember her exit because she and Drew were fighting with Mick Santos and Michelle hit him over the head with a rock. That was Budig. The next day they reprised the scene and Lenz hit him over the head with a rock.

I think Celi was on for at least six months or more. I don't remember a lot about her as I don't remember a lot of AMC then, but I think they tried to make us feel sorry for her to tease her and Mateo while they were also teasing Hayley/Ryan. I think that they some story where a bookcase fell on her and she refused to take pain meds or something didn't they? She seemed pointless. I mostly remember her for a SPW interview where she did various dances and she bent over backwards. It was fitting, because if you want to be involved with most AMC men, you're going to need to bend over backwards...

[Gray Bunny]

Oh yes, I remember it like it was yesterday. It was such a brief scene and filled with loud dialogue that that voiceover man didn't even do the "The role of Michelle Bauer is now being played by Joie Lenz" until her next scene at Millennium when she rushed in, fresh from knocking Mick out.

The voiceover man got a lot of work that day because it was also the same time that Another World's Amy Carlson was subbing for Beth Ehlers, who was having maternity issues and needed to be out for a couple weeks.

And yes, it was Budig's decision to leave. Sadly, the show had just replaced Bryan Buffinton (ex-Bill) with bland Ryan Brown so that he'd look more age-appropriate with Budig's Michelle, and shortly after they bring on fresh-faced Lenz as the Michelle replacement. Wonder if her and Buffinton would've had sparks together? Oh, well...

[DRW50]

Ryan Brown was AWFUL. I was so annoyed when they fired Bryan Buffinton, who was a good actor and had not gone into awkward aging as some child actors do when they hit their later teens. He was just a bore and had no chemistry with anyone -- he was lucky to even stay around as long as he did. He was one of many bit players basically standing around during the time Labine was headwriter. I think his last scene was with Pilar in the Bauer kitchen, talking about skis or something. Why do I have such random memories...

[Michael]

Didn't Ryan Brown turn up on Y&R as the Billy recast, too? Ugh. He was soooo bland.

I remember being so shocked by how electric Budig was when she debuted as Greenlee on AMC, because she seemed to be the epitome of dull, generic blonde soap teen on GL.