All Soaps: Great Actors who justified Horrible Roles or Bad Writing

[VirginiaHamilton]

Lynn Herring as Lucy Coe. Her early years on GH as a two-faced conniving ho who'd think of nothing to sleep with other women's husbands the other was the epitome of a one-dimensional horrible role, yet Lynn infused that humor and (later) warmth into the character that would eventually make her one of the most beloved non-legacy characters of that soap. A lesser actress would've deep-sixed Lucy's time on the canvas and we would've never been treated to her becoming a mother to Serena, her Deception storylines, her bond with Sigmund the Duck, her fabulous rivalry with Katherine Bell, her unlikely friendships, and her being the MC of the Nurses Ball.

[DRW50]

Ryan's Hope.

[ellabelle]

I have to admit, my first thought was Alexa Havins on AMC. She was trailer trash, a slut who slept her husband's brother and didn't know who the father of her baby was. She let her best friend - a character who was essentially the show's heroine at that point - believe her baby was dead, when she was raising the child herself, and then fled town with her brother-in-law/lover and kidnapped her real son. Based on all of that, Babe should not have lasted long AT ALL. Alexa made it work, and she made the character somehow likeable in a way that her replacement just couldn't come close to doing.

[Skin]

I wasn't going to bring her up because I thought that would be too fannish But safe to say I agree. I definitely think Alexa was the life and breath of that character.

[DRW50]

I would put Bobbie Eakes in this category over Alexa. Both had bad writing, but I felt like they tried to shield Babe a little more. Krystal was a disgusting character but Bobbie made her somewhat likeable and understandable, and I think that's the only reason she hung around as long as she did.

[Darn]

Can you recognize a character had potential, were played by a talented actor and still wish they had been written off almost as soon as they were introduced? That's how I feel about Babe. The damage she did to AMC far outweighed Alexa's talent.

Same goes for RH.

[ellabelle]

^ Personally, I hated Krystal. There was nothing redeeming about Krystal, and not even Bobbie Eakes could salvage her for me. I have no clue why she lasted so long.

[DRW50]

I'd probably say that about Michael Muhney, although not as much, since the character of Adam, and Y&R itself, were destroyed before his arrival. But his being popular, and being good at self-promotion, did mean even further degradation of Sharon, and also endless fan outrage towards Ashley for not being BFF with a man who killed her child and had someone sexually assault her in the guise of an examination.

[quartermainefan]

I would say Constance Towers owns this thread. Initially she had great writing, but in recent years on GH she has had horrible writing but through sheer force of talent turns horrible scenes and makes then fun. Her character has turned into an inept, ineffectual serial threat maker who never follows through, but Towers always delivers. It's a great role because she makes it great.

Drake Hogestyn also owns this thread I think. He has been the victim of bad writing but his willingness to approach every ridiculous line of dialogue and bizarre plot element as if it was just as worthy as Hamlet goes a long way to selling the stories. He never gives a scene less than 100% no matter how ridiculous the scene is. His talent is not great but just from his willingness to believe what he is saying and believe in the scene he makes it work. Making a scene work isn't always about talent. It's about a willingness to commit.

[Ryan Chamberlain]

I always loved that shot of her from the opening.

I loved Alexa's Babe. But, when Amanda Baker took over that character was shot to hell for me. Too bad the switch is happening soon on the reruns.

[Skin]

I think all of them could apply (comments to RH, AH and BE). It was the actors work which made those characters interesting, even though the writing was horrible and that in itself should have led to a different interpretation of them. I definitely think Eakes completely changed and overhauled her character though and to an extent I think Alexa did the same but was aided a bit more by the writing putting her in a different light part of the way threw. Same with RH.

How about Cathrine Hickland and Lindsey? She was a lot more then a sex crazed insane nymph that they made her out to be.

[DRW50]

I also have to include Katherine Kelly Lang, who is often underrated or ignored, but who did her best for a long time to sell material which was just weak and, at times, odious. She just about singlehandedly made that awful Deacon/Brooke mess watchable.

And the wonderful Olivia Birkelund, brought to AMC over and over solely to play the pathetic mother from hell Hayley would sneer at and pity. She always transcended the writing, she attacked it, making Arlene's dysfunction much uglier and more fascinating than it ever was on paper. Her work in the Alec story was especially unforgettable - that is the main reason I started watching AMC. She was so good that somehow, in spite of everything, they even gave Arlene a happy ending (for Arlene, anyway).

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Where is MissLlandviewPA to pimp Fiona Hutchison?

Fiona often did it with both Gabrielle and Jenna.

[Darn]

I thought Arlene died at Hayley's hand. Or did she come back?

[ellabelle]

No, she was really alive and living it up on some tropical island.