Oh it was definitely about that, but I don't think it was such a huge priority that this had to happen. They'd kept Josh around for a few years after the reveal and only then was he killed. Stuff like Zach deliberately killing him was, IMO, Pratt's idea of hotness. Josh was just thrown in because they wanted some more drama.

Can I list a character who has been propped to death JASON MORGAN

The entire Quartermaine family was exterminated to prop that pointless boring piece of nothingness

Phillip/Harley: Beth kind of was thrown under the bus and went a little crazy in her quest to win Phillip back and it got worse when Phillip chose Harley over her. She brought an abuser into her daughter's life and exposed her to very unsafe conditions and ultimately her child murdered the abuser. That's just one of many horrible things Beth did. At the time I didn't think it was propping Pharley, and it was just "drama" to give Beth a story. But ultimately it did damage her character IMO and Beth fans were outraged.

Uh, I would diasgree with this right here. Beth and Phillip have had their turns at going a little crazy when the other found a new love interest. Phillip was obsessed with beth when she chose Lujack over him, but Phillip and Beth still had their moents. Phillip may have chosen Harley over Beth but he really didnt imo, he even called Beth his wife right in front og Harley who was his fiance at the time. If anything Harley was the sacrificed lamb for Beth/Phillip!

Oh...and remember when they trashed Nina to prop Ryan and Vicki on Y&R?

Y&R never really trashed Nina for Ryan/Victoria (since Victoria & Nina were fairly evenly matched).

As Carl said Nina went under the bus (to an extent) for Ryan/Tricia.

OLTL - Sky was completely and totally destroyed because the show realized how many had grown to despise Rex and Rex/Gigi.

.

Ooops. I was thinking Rex and Gigi weren't even on the show when Sky(e) was on. How quickly we forget.

"Propping" to me means someone gets trashed to facillitate another story. Like most terms, it's become overused to the point of ridiculousness (and I admit, at times I've used it to extremes, everyone does). Now people simply use it when a character everyone knows is an also ran gets thrown into a triangle

I guess anytime there's a quick, nonsensical shift in someone's character, the P-word starts flying.

It does, but it seems the more passionate the support or opposition is to the pairing, the quicker the online community is to whip out the "props". If you like the couple -- it's worth it.

Uh, I would diasgree with this right here. Beth and Phillip have had their turns at going a little crazy when the other found a new love interest. Phillip was obsessed with beth when she chose Lujack over him, but Phillip and Beth still had their moents. Phillip may have chosen Harley over Beth but he really didnt imo, he even called Beth his wife right in front og Harley who was his fiance at the time. If anything Harley was the sacrificed lamb for Beth/Phillip!

And to me this kind of defines the difference between propping and storytelling. That triangle had three strong POVs all well represented and allowed the audience to come to different conclusions about who (if anyone) was being propped. Perhaps it's only on the internet that the concept of propping really exists. Where we look at the storytelling strategies and who is supposed to be the "root for" pairing and analyze everything to death. And it seems more pronounced if a pairing is polarizing.

Am I mis-remembering Nina with a gun to her head, a quivering mess at the thought of losing Ryan to his teenage sex toy?

Am I mis-remembering Nina with a gun to her head, a quivering mess at the thought of losing Ryan to his teenage sex toy?

No. I hated the story, although I guess compared to Y&R today it was Gloria Steinem, since Nina at least got help and moved on with her life.

Uh, I would diasgree with this right here. Beth and Phillip have had their turns at going a little crazy when the other found a new love interest. Phillip was obsessed with beth when she chose Lujack over him, but Phillip and Beth still had their moents. Phillip may have chosen Harley over Beth but he really didnt imo, he even called Beth his wife right in front og Harley who was his fiance at the time. If anything Harley was the sacrificed lamb for Beth/Phillip!

Even though I loved Phillip & Harley in the late 90's, they definitely did the character of Beth no favors from the time of her late 1997 return til 2000. I stopped watching in late 2000, so I don't quite know how they finally split up PHarley for good, I just know that Beth eventually became Princess of San Cristobel and nearly died thanks to Edmund.

The fact that Soap Opera Digest nominated Beth Chamberlin (Beth) in the Best Villainess category at the 1999 SOD Awards shows how far off course they got with the character (although I think they would've nominated Wendy Moniz instead had she not just announced her departure, but that's moot)

Am I mis-remembering Nina with a gun to her head, a quivering mess at the thought of losing Ryan to his teenage sex toy?

Nope.

That was a GREAT story

I'd actually have to disagree about Nina being thrown under the bus for Ryan/Tricia. Sure Nina shooting herself was over the top but did a Ryan/Tricia pairing actually have fans? Nina survived and came out stronger as a successful independent woman. Ryan got swept up in Dennison family drama, lost touch with his once adopted son and ended up dead.

Now characters like Bobby Marsino, Hope and Paul being pushed out of the way for Victor/Nikki? That's simply quite wrong.

Probably the worst propping done for me was on ATWT when Jack and Katie were paired up while Carly was on the run and then she came back to town. They really trashed Carly's character with that storyline.

Josh and Annie were boring in 1995 and I think they were trying for Rick and Annie when they gave Annie that history which was a few months before Reva showed up in Springfield.

Nicole on Days has been frequently the sacrificial lamb over the years most notably for Brady/Chloe.

I hated the story

Why?

Now characters like Bobby Marsino, Hope and Paul being pushed out of the way for Victor/Nikki? That's simply quite wrong.

Don't forget Jack, Diane, Josh & Ashley.

Why?

I didn't like the history rewrite regarding Cole/Nina, and I'd never liked Ryan, so that just amplified it. At the time I was also very wary that Nina was going to be written out of the show. Once that didn't happen, I was more OK with the story, since they had the characters move on with their lives.

but if anyone on GH was ever propped it would have to be Emily and Nik, who managed to kill an army of interlopers in short order.

Lydia

Summer

Zander

Stefan

Connor

Mary

Who else was killed over them?

Edited October 19, 201114 yr by Cheap21

I'm not sure if Hope or Paul were sacrificial lambs for Victor/Nikki. We barely ever saw Paul most of the time after he was with Nikki. The show kept throwing Victor at various other women, for story purposes, like Diane. Hope just seemed to fade away due to lack of interest.

Probably one of the more blatant was Janice Frame on AW, who over the course of a year lost her mind over Mac and finally went on a poisoning and knifing spree. This packed more of a punch than the long list of people ruined for Nik/Emily, because you actually cared about everyone involved.