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Ann Gillespe was a great Siobhan, although many found her whiny. Sarah Felder should've never been fired, but Gillespe did a good job and fit the type well. I know many loved Marg Helgenberger but I thought her look was too different and she felt like a different character. A good one, but different. And Barbara Blackburn had such potential and I hate she didn't make it big in soaps.

Right now I'm at work so I can't watch these vids but I can't wait to see Kelli Maroney in particular, asTina.

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I don't think Gillespie fit the type at all. She was hired precisely because she didn't fit what Siobhan was supposed to be - ABC wanted a more attractive woman.

She was OK at first, when Siobhan was written as having some personality, but as soon as Joe came back, Siobhan died as a character. It was non-stop sniveling, not helped by Ann sounding like she had a cold most of the time. Someone thought it was good conflict to have Siobhan work as a cop, which would clash with Joe's life, but I didn't buy that either (and wouldn't have with Felder) - Siobhan was always trying to change the system from the outside. That was the whole point. There was this horrible scene of her running around an obstacle course that I still cringe at.

I was also really disappointed that one of the cornerstones of Siobhan - her relationship with Jack - was reduced to Jack hectoring her and Siobhan whining to him. I guess that was the writing but I don't think Gillespie and Levin had chemistry.

I haven't seen much of Helgenberger but to me Siobhan never ever should have been saddled with Joe permanently, and this Max Dubujak doesn't sound a lot better.

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Losing Marg Helgenberger was a blow, IMO, to the character of Siobhan and to RYAN'S HOPE. As you've said, Carl, it was tough, if not impossible, to buy Siobhan as a cop (even w/ the Ryans' long-standing involvement with law enforcement); yet, there was something in Helgenberger's disposition that made that transition at least somewhat credible. (Not surprising, given what she's doing these days, lol.) If she had been handed better writing, or if she had stayed around for Claire Labine's return in '87, she would've been a terrific combo of romantic heroine and level-headed "career woman"...and well, she was just gorgeous to look at, too, lol, in a completely non-soap-standard sort of way. I'd definitely rank her alongside Nancy Addison (Jillian), Helen Gallagher (Maeve), Ilene Kristen (Delia) and Kate Mulgrew (Mary) as RH's five best actresses.

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I don't buy that. For one thing, it seems like a waste of production time and money (even if CR was dumped w/in a matter of days). More importantly, though, what if the audience had loved her performance so much in a so-bad-it's-good kind of way that TPTB felt compelled to keep her on? :-)

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What did you think of Sarah Felder? I loved her but I think a lot of that was down more to energy, chemistry with cast members, and emotion (she was a good actress, just not as good as some others).

I wonder how Frances Fisher would have been - they supposedly asked her to replace Gillespie.

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Frances Fisher would have been perfect for RYAN'S HOPE -- but not as Siobhan, lol. IMO, she was/is too eccentric for that kind of character. I'd much rather see as one of the Ryan's relatives from Chicago; those seemed to be a more motley crew.

As for Sarah Felder...? Bear in mind, it wasn't until SoapNet that I actually saw any of her work on the show. Therefore, I tend to be biased toward Helgenberger. Having said that, I think Felder was terrific (probably the Second Coming of Kate Mulgrew, if you know what I mean) and it's a shame that she was let go because she didn't some idiot at ABC's standards of "pretty." Was she the definitive Siobhan? No. But she's definitely the second-best person for that role (at least to me).

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I watched Days pretty faithfully in the '80s and I honestly don't remember anyone other than Frank Parker and Peggy McCay in the roles of Shawn & Caroline. The other actors didn't make an impression on me, at least. Now, Elaine Princi as Linda Anderson made an enormous impression on me -- all negative. It wasn't the actress fault, but that character was not Linda Patterson by any stretch of the imagination. I never could figure why the writers didn't just invent a new character, since this Linda bore no resemblance to Margaret Mason's. I suppose it was because the character of Melissa (Linda's daughter) was front and center. But the "Madam" storyline was ill-conceived all around. (Though I did like Patsy Pease's performance -- I've always felt she's been underrated for her contribution to Days.)

AS for Ryan's Hope, I liked Sarah Felder, but Marg Helgenberger was Siobahn for me. Though years later, I saw a number of shows with Kate Mulgrew in the role, and she was dazzling.

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