Most random soap returns

[DRW50]

We've heard all about the best and the worst soap returns, but what are the returns that just made you go, "Why?" or, "Really??"

For me it would go to B&B, which in recent years, not counting the botched returns of the Logan family (which presumably at least had a point initially), had some very random reappearances from Rocco and Jake McClain. While I am always happy to see half-naked Todd McKee, and apparently he said that this was done mostly because he's friends with the producer and it's a side thing to his real job, I was still bewildered.

[Mr. Vixen]

Skye - GH. There was a lot of potential, and it SHOULDN'T have been random. But it was poorly random and left everyone with a WTF thought train.

B&B - Whip. Need I say more?

Y&R - Daisy. All it's done is make lauren look pathetic. Like juniorz1 said, this bitch has battled sheila like 7 times but yet daisy is the one who scares her?

AMC- Greenlee. yawn.

Echo, OLTL - At first was a HUGE wtf and seemed like they just wanted Zimmer because she was Zimmer. It actually turned out pretty well though, so the what the fuckery of the situation has gone away.

[Khan]

AMC - Julia Santos. Random, and in the end, a huge waste of time.

[Cheap21]

What was random about her return? It was pretty much set up as she exited and they kept hinting at it over the year prior to her return. It wasnt random; it was all but expected

[Mr. Vixen]

I suppose random wasn't the right word.

But i don't feel it was necessary really. And I'm bored with it. So while it was expected, I suppose, it just didn't really do anything important.

[Cheap21]

I kept hoping David's mystery patient would be Babe. Wouldnt have made much sense, but Id have preferred her over Greenlee and defeinetly Marissa

[lovely_m]

Here are some Y&R ones:

Deacon after the Terroni disaster, especially since Amber had already left. It seems like he was brought back because the soap press went gaga for the chemistry he had with Stafford then they dropped that to make him Meggie's henchman. I'm assuming they were going to do Phyllis/Deacon, but when they got Maura West they decided to do Phyllis/Jack/Diane instead. His part in the Nikki/Victor triangle could have been used by anybody but they brought Deacon on to give Kanan work.

Raul, while I was happy to see him again it seemed like his history past the year 2000 was forgotten.

[Jonathan]

Cecily returning without Nico.

[DRW50]

I remember that Cecily was supposed to be brought back as a troublemaker or something, and interact with Phoebe. None of that happened.

Skye was one of those "give me a job" things too -- who cares about storytelling.

I had forgotten about Whip.

I guess there's also Lee Halpern on OLTL, although supposedly that was down to someone casting the actress without knowing she was the same woman who'd played Lee.

And Rebecca on OLTL. What a fiasco.

Liza's 2009 return was also very random -- while Jamie Luner has made the role her own, very little has ever tied her to the character's history, aside from the stupid stuff with Colby.

[soapfan770]

I'd go with Margo's return in 2002 on B&B to introduce Clarke's son Mark as random and pointless, especially since the Mascolo part of the bargain was never used and because both Clarke and Mark are now long forgotten on B&B. Same goes with James' random appearances being a therapist to Taylor and Brooke.

On Y&R, Leanna Love returning to do a special interview with David Chow was odd I wonder if one of the LML staffers was a Nick and Mindy fan? I agree that the return of Deacon to Y&R has been random but this being MAB/Sheffer/Rauch/Hamner what else can on expect?

On Days, it had to be Colin Murphy alive and well on that island then disappearing again.

[Pine Charles]

AMC - Del

I mean, he was an OK character as played by Winsor Harmon, but what was the point of bringing the character back? He left with SMG's Kendall, but then when he returned (played by.... can't remember the name) Kendall and he barely interacted. Awkward. I don't think he even had a storyline.

[Khan]

I complained loudly when Frank hired Janet Zarish to play a new and completely unrelated character and just assumed we would either not remember her as Lee or not care. But, when I suggested making "Janet," in fact, Lee, it was with the idea of exploring larger possibilities, such as making Marty her and Tom Dennison's other daughter, and in turn, Kevin and Joey's cousin (since Tom and Joe Riley were twins). I didn't expect they'd retcon her as Lee just to kill her off again.

[StevieM]

The return of Nicole and Chloe to DAYS was pretty random. Both characters were wrapped up, and their families were gone. Nicole was especially random, since she had no significant fan base when she was on the show. She was the ultimate example of a character who you wouldn't expect to see again, kind of like Gretta Von Amberg. Dena brought the characters back because she liked them and she wanted to rehash--and this time win--old battles about how the characters should be written. You could tell from her first run that she hated Brady/Chloe, so it must have been a joy for her to casually end their marriage, make Brady a drug-addict and totally separate the two characters to distinct parts of the canvas.

The return of Phillip in 03--also shortly after Dena took over--was pretty insane. The character had been neatly wrapped up, and joined the Marines as our country prepared for war. Then, as we watched our troops invading Iraq, we learned that the chief concern of the Marines was to make sure that Phillip took part in a dating reality show. And, of course, he was an ISA superhero, partnered with John Black. Obviously, Dena liked this character and hated the direction he took. So she brought him back and made him a mega-star. She even took revenge on Broe fans by having Brady follow Philip and Chloe around town (like Philip used to do to them) and having Philip lecture Brady about Chloe's needs. Brady wouldn't even hold her too much in their final days. She then had them break up, and Brady immediately moved on with Nicole the next day. (BTW, I wasn't a Broe or Phloe fan--I hated all three. But even I could see how ridiculous it was).

Steve

[Khan]

Nope, just a lot of tight-fitting gray t-shirts.

[DRW50]

I still don't know why they killed Lee off again. What a waste.

The stuff about Nicole and Chloe and Phillip is really interesting. I felt like when Nicole returned they had a lot of story mapped out for her -- so you think that's because Dena liked the character and had been waiting to bring her back again? I know she sort of whimpered out when she left in 2006.

That felt like they just wanted to use the footage they filmed of Margo as part of their deal with DAYS. I don't remember if DAYS ever used their footage of Stefano.

I thought Calliope's returns were both pretty random too. Didn't they have her betray Anna this last time?

Whatever happened to Anna anyway?

While it was a nice nod to history, I was surprised when Paula tracked down her old foster sister, Hannah, to hide out with her in early 1998.

I never knew why GL brought Alan Michael back in 2005 (?).