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Your best and worst (soap by soap)


DRW50

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Favorite Female Character AND Best Recast: Robin Mattson as Janet

A big reason I kept watching through the nineties. Never had someone been so awful, and yet, I felt sorry for her. Which is why I hated what they did with her once Kate Collins returned to the role. (Although I liked Collins' Janet the first time around)

Least Favorite Female Character: Simone Torres

Why did this character exist? She came on during one of the worst storylines (Proteus) as a journalist who was falling in love with Mateo, and the next thing I know she's a dimwit who rides Fusion's coattails. She never had any storylines, and the running joke with her and officer Kenny got old quickly. And, to boot, I actually was starting to like her with Ethan when he died. Of course, she died soon after.

Most Surprising Female Character: Melissa Clare Egan as Annie Lavery

I was so ready to be done with milquetoast Annie when, wonder of wonders, I found out Egan was actually quite the performer when she became Insannie. And under the pen of Pratt too!? Egan kept me entertained during some WTF times at AMC. Loved her crazy ass in the wedding dress, stabbing La Kane; loved her whipped-up hysteria on the phone after "crashing" her car in the woods and was beside myself when she handcuffed Colby in the cabin. Never did cray look like so much fun!

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Favorite Character (Male): Nick Davis. For me, AMC seldom featured truly strong interesting male characters. The ladies were the attraction at AMC. A notable exception was Nick Davis, played so wonderfully by the late Larry Keith. No matter how mundane, he made any scene pop. I miss him.

Least Favorite Character (Male): J.R. Chandler. I do not know if it was unbalanced writing or Jacob Young’s dark take on him, but I loathed J.R. and never mustered an ounce of compassion for him. He was one of the reasons I virtually never watched AMC in the final years.

Favorite Character (Female): Brooke English. I wrote of this in another thread, but I loved the development of Brooke from a spoiled, selfish teen to complex young woman and finally a warm, sensible, beloved vet. Ironically, I found Julia Barr’s acting to be rather poor in the beginning, but as her character blossomed, so did her performances.

Least Favorite Character (Female): Lanie Cortlandt. Paige Turco packed up her milquetoast Dinah Marler on GL and unloaded it in Pine Valley. I have nothing against chaste, innocent young women when written and played well, but Lanie was regrettably neither.

Favorite Couple: Greg & Jenny. They were not the first young love story on AMC (and I saw them all beginning with Phil and Tara), but Greg and Jenny were my favorite. Interesting characters, ingratiating performances, and storylines blended so well into the canvas of other characters and stories. They simply worked, and so amazingly well.

Least Favorite Couple: Tad and Hilary. I realize Marcy and Jennifer had gone, and most anything immediately following would be a let down, but really, was this the best AMC could do? Followed closely by Cecily/Nico/Julie and Hayley/Mateo.

Favorite Storyline: Ann/Nick/Kitty/Paul. Ann and Nick’s storyline was classic soap opera, fraught with coincidences, misunderstandings, and people plotting to keep them apart. They loved one another but faced immediate problems from their dissimilar backgrounds. Nick allowed those things to break them up because he could not give Ann a child. As soon as they divorced, Nick took up with the neurotic Kitty. Just as he learned he was not sterile after all, Ann married Paul Martin on the rebound. Nick vowed to get her back anyway, but Kitty threw a spanner in the works by becoming pregnant with Nick’s baby, losing the child, and then taking a drug overdose. Nick stayed with her out of pity until Dr. Polk could make her sane again. Meanwhile, Ann admitted she loved Nick, and they began an affair. He followed her to New York on a buying trip for the boutique. Driving back, Nick begged Ann to divorce Paul and marry him. But, Ann had a stunning revelation. She had actually fallen in love with Paul and wanted to save their marriage. Ann and Nick argued, and their car skidded off the icy highway and crashed. When Ann came to and couldn’t remember the last few days, Nick lied that she had decided to leave Paul and marry him! It was fantastic and soapy. And for those who think soaps were slow as molasses in that era, this all happened in the span of a year.

Least Favorite Storyline: Erica’s retconned unabortion. In 45 years of soap watching, I am accustomed to history being re-written at whim, but nothing angered me more than this –the greatest affront of all to AMC fans. Erica’s abortion was the first legal one on television, and it was the first time a soap character aborted for no other reason than convenience. It truly defined the character of Erica. There was no good reason, no payoff, nothing in changing the storyline, except to validate the worst denigrations of daytime drama.

Favorite Scene: Monique Jonvil confessing on the witness stand that she was in fact Daisy Cortlandt, and watching in horror as Nina collapsed. Also, the initial scenes between Phoebe and Myrtle when Pheebs hired her to play Kitty's absent mother Lucy Carpenter. Eileen Herlie was pure gold.

Least Favorite Scene: The last scenes of the series. Granted, Prospect Park promised a continuation, but bringing half the town back from the dead was beyond silly, even for soap standards, and the final scene was so hoary and cheap. A gun goes off. Cut to black. Really? Is that the most creative cliffhanger the lazy arsed writers could think of? It had some panache when it concluded the second season of Falcon Crest, but geez, that was 30 years ago.

Funniest Scene: Any scene with a drunken Phoebe ranting at the Chateau.

Best Recast: Judith Barcroft as Ann Tyler and Julia Barr as Brooke English. Joanna Miles and Elissa Leeds were not bad, but Barcroft and Barr took their characters to heights their predecessors would have never achieved.

Worst Recast: Harriet Hall (Brooke), Alice Haining (Liza), Hugo Napier (Mike Roy), Heather Stanford (Nina). Such shockingly woeful miscasts. I know cocaine flowed like water on the AMC set in those days, but there's no excuse for these.

What epitomized All My Children: Diversity in every way. AMC had young, middle aged, and old, black and white, gay and straight, comedy, drama, social issue, classic soap, and mystery. Especially in the late 70s and first half of the 80s, AMC had a little of something for everyone. It followed the old adage of make ‘em laugh, make ‘em cry, and keep ‘em coming back for more. It was the most entertaining soap opera on the air.

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I was just about to start with ATWT!!

Like I did for AMC, I'll only stick to the years I actually watched on a day-to-day basis, which, granted, were way, way, way, wayyyyy past the show's glory days and will probably produce some laughable answers for yall. Here goes.

Favorite male character

Will Munson

Least favorite male character

Paul Ryan

Favorite female character

Susan Stewart

Least favorite female character

Meg Snyder

Favorite couple

Bob & Kim Hughes

Least favorite couple

Paul Ryan & Meg Snyder

Favorite story

Luke Comes Out (2006)

Least favorite story

Carly/Jack/Janet triangle

Funniest scene

Favorite scene

Jennifer says goodbye to her family on her deathbed.

Least favorite scene.

Best recast

Billy Magnussen as Casey Hughes

Worst recast

Davida Williams as Jade Taylor

If there were one or two characters you wished you could put on another show (or movie, or book, or play, anything), who are they, and what would you do with them?

The Z twins go to Pine Valley and try to fortune hunt their way to the top of PV society by way of sex, deception, and blackmail.

And what epitomized ATWT to you

Quintessential soap opera. Slow-moving, lots and lots of talking. Older characters having coffee. Riveting drama derived primarily from domestic situations. Watching ATWT on a good day would put me in an extremely happy place, where a soap was truly a soap.

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Favorite male character:

If I had to choose, I'd probably say Hal Munson. He always broke my heart.

Favorite female character:

So many. Few soaps could compare to ATWT for strong female characters. I know other characters were better, more lasting, had bigger stories, but I'd probably have to go with Lyla Peretti. I always just connected with her, and her steely warmth and sly humor. Honorable mention to Lucinda, Kim, Melanie Smith's Emily, Barbara, Susan, Iva, Julie. I adored them all.

Least favorite male character:

There were a lot of men I grew to hate that I had once liked with better actors in the role. I guess I shouldn't count them. Instead I will go with Mike Kasnoff. I spent well over a year wanting him to be punched out, and the years when they actually hired someone likeable for the role, I was not watching. I also did not like Blake Stevens. And I despised Holden through his first run. Despised.

Least favorite female character:

Julia Lindsey. Boring, badly acted, offensive, tacky, desperate, pathetic.

Honorable mention - Lily Walsh. Rosanna Cabot 1.0, both of whom often deserved to be dropkicked into the Snyder Pond. Katie Peretti, an asexual sociopath.

Favorite couple:

Bob and Kim.

Least favorite couple:

Mike and Rosanna. Hate hate hate these entitled, whiny brats. Holden and Lily. Just tedious and corny.

Favorite story:

Lucinda loses Walsh Enterprises. Margo pulls Casey's plug. Meg/Josh - oof, that was a sublime story, pure electricity. Barbara stalks herself.

Least favorite story:

James Stenbeck's 1997 return. Horrible and pointless. Julia raping Jack - sorry, SOD, it wasn't funny, or entertaining. Rosanna/Mike car racing, on the run, death of her father, anything. Holden's brain damage and Lily obsession. Holden stealing Aaron from Iva. I never forgot that.

Funniest scene:

Anything with Lucinda. Usually intentionally. I'd probably go with her horror at seeing Lisa dressed in white for wedding #5 or #6.

Favorite scene:

Margo disconnecting Casey's life support. Daryl jumping on the ski lift to confront Frannie. Frannie discovering the secret room Doug had for Kim. Orlena killing Eduardo.

Least favorite scene:

Any time Lily or Holden said, "We're a part of each other." Julia punching Jack. Ben cursing God for not killing Andy (an innocent man with a young child, who just happened to be married to a woman Ben loved). Tom Hughes yelling for 15 years. Anything ever written by Hogan Sheffer.

Best recast:

Melanie Smith as Emily Stewart/Hillary B. Smith as Margo Hughes

Worst recast:

Hunt Block as Craig Montgomery *spit*

What ATWT epitomized for me:

History, family, continuity. Slow-building stories with huge, years-long payoffs. Hope. Class. Consistency. Respect. It made me feel like I belonged, even when nothing else did.

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Favorite male character:

John Dixon

Favorite female character:

Susan Burke Stewart

Least favorite male character:

Bradley Hollister

Least favorite female character:

Dana McFarland

Favorite couple:

Bob and Kim/John and Lucinda/Grant and Lisa (tie)

Least favorite couple:

Tom and Margo in the final years of the show.

Favorite story:

Bob cheating on Kim with Susan (honorable mention - the whole Grant/Joyce/Lisa storyline from the mid/late 1970's).

Least favorite story:

Holden's brain damage - completely agree, Carl.

Funniest scene:

John. Lucinda. Hot Tub. 1987.

Favorite scene:

The tribute to Chris and Nancy (I think singing "Always"?) from the 30th Anniversary Episode in 1986.

Least favorite scene:

Anything with Mike and Rosanna

Best recast:

Gregg Marx as Tom Hughes

Worst recast:

Hunt Block as Craig Montgomery - completely agree, again!

What ATWT epitomized for me:

Carl said it best: "History, family, continuity" (especially during the Marland years).

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Favorite Character (Male): Dr. John Dixon. Intended to be a short-term role, Larry Bryggman’s superb performances motivated Irna Phillips to develop John into one of the most fascinating characters in daytime history. In John’s era, physicians tended to be saints or psychopaths, but he was neither. I loved his mercurial nature, how his emotions could turn on a dime, with Bryggman impeccable every time. There was never another character quite like John, though Scott Bryce’s Craig was a close contender in the early years.

Least Favorite Character (Male): Dusty Donovan, all incarnations. I know Brian Bloom is hot, and I probably wouldn’t kick Grayson McCouch out of my bed either, but I generally loathe sullen, brooding, petulant man/boys. I always thought Dusty and Lily (or Yvonne Perry’s Rosanna) should have ended up together to collectively whinge and pout about their privileged lives while the rest of Oakdale enjoyed life.

Favorite Character (Female): Dr. Susan Stewart. I should not write a single word about Susan, as I have raved about her and the fabulous Marie Masters in so many other posts. A female John Dixon. Subtle, complicated, unpredictable. Neither a saint nor a sinner. A woman who, sadly, was her own worst enemy. When she walked through the deserted Stewart home looking for her ex-husband and kids and lamented, “who told them I was coming”, I wanted to hold her and comfort her. That is great acting, folks.

Least Favorite Character (Female): Sarah Kasnoff & supermodel friendgirl Zoe, two of the most obnoxious characters to ever grace any soap opera, let alone As the World Turns.

Favorite Couple: Hal and Barbara. In some ways they reminded me of Billy and Vanessa from GL, termed by Pam Long as The Lady and the Cowboy. Hal and Babs possessed a similar opposites-attract dynamic. The late (much lamented) Ben Hendrickson and Colleen Zenk were pure gold together. No matter how many times they betrayed one another or split up due to their disparate natures, you knew they true soul mates, destined to be together. It slayed me that things turned out as they did, onscreen and off.

Least Favorite Couple: Bob and Dana McFarland (wake me when they’re over). Bob and Miranda Bishop (WTF were the Dobsons thinking?), Rosanna and anybody,

Favorite Storyline: My all-time favorite was the long, tortured marriage of Kim and John. It lasted years, revealed a great deal about John’s past and characterization, and was fraught with so many twists, turns, and plots: Kim married John to give her illegitimate baby a name, she lost the baby and then could not extricate herself from John, who fell over a railing and was paralyzed. He recovered, Kim went to divorce him for Dan Stewart but lost her memory in a tornado. She stayed with John, who schemed with Susan to keep Dan and Kim apart. Kim got her memory back the day Dan was leaving Oakdale for South America. Susan erased the tape on Dan’s answering machine. Dan took up with Valerie on the rebound, which forced Susan to confess all her sins to Kim, but Kim was too clever, and realizing Susan wanted it revealed to stop Dan’s marriage to Valerie told Susan to go to hell. Dan found out anyway and wanted Kim back but she was pregnant with Andy. John kidnapped Andy, and when Dan went after him, John shot himself and framed Dan for the crime. It went on and on and on with one preposterous event flowing logically into another. I also loved the legendary Douglas Cummings mystery, which ranks right up there with any Slesarian plot ever devised (and totally hoodwinked me). I loved any storyline with takeovers and business intrigue involving Worldwide, Walsh Enterprises, and M&A, which were so reflective of the late 80s/early 90s era. Finally, I loved Lisa’s lawsuit over Eduardo’s death and her subsequent public humiliation. This was truly one of the post-Marland bright spots.

Least Favorite Storyline: The Curse of Castle McKechnie, both literally and figuratively. Lilith’s kidnapping of Shannon and sending Duncan her (supposedly) shrunken head –tasteless and too cartoony for my liking. The seemingly endless Gavin Kruger saga, and I could not have cared less. The Rosanna/Hutch/Debbie Simon triangle. Rosanna irritated, Debbie bored, and Hutch appeared one of Marland’s legendary male fantasies: hunky, but like a Brawny paper towel, double thick. Everything Hogan Sheffer wrote, except Barbara’s descent to the dark side and The Spa of Death, which I quite astonishingly enjoyed.

Favorite Scene: Christmas 1992 & 1993 because those were the final holidays when Oakdale seemed like Oakdale and all the Hughes family were together in their real home. Kim and Frannie realizing that Doug Cummings was Kim’s stalker. Richard Fairchild shooting Bob “for” John, and John forced to save Bob’s life in the O.R.

Least Favorite Scene: Hands down, Jack’s rape by Julia. On daytime television, I have never witnessed anything so irresponsible in my life. It was made all the more appalling because had it been executed with taste and sensitivity, it could have been one of the most memorable, compelling stories ever penned for the series. Goutman and Sheffer could not contain their frat boy sensibilities, though.

Funniest Scene:

Unintentional: David Stewart taking wife Ellen to a cocktail lounge to break the news that their son Paul had died from a brain tumor, to which Ellen stoically replied, “Oh well, David. You always say ‘life goes on’.” Had this aired as one of Carol Burnett’s As the Stomach Turns skits, the audience would have rolled in the aisles with laughter.

Intentional: Susan telling Bob after they slept together, “I always thought you were a stuffed shirt.” To which Bob replied, “I am.”

Best Recast: Hillary Bailey Smith’s Margo Hughes and Gregg Marx as Tom. HBS somewhat resembled her predecessor Margaret Colin, but had an even better sense of comic timing and drama. Marx was nothing like his predecessors, but he worked beautifully with HBS and CZP.

Worst Recast: Susan Batten as Connor Walsh. I knew instantly that Felicia Minei Behr had a mandate to make World Turns more like an ABC soap, and IMO, this was the slippery slope leading to a complete loss of identity.

What epitomized As the World Turns: Community. I loved that Oakdale seemed a real place with such a strong community feeling. I loved all the joking about Margo’s bad cooking and how they sent out for pizza or Chinese or ordered food from The Pampered Palate. I loved the little details like Iva’s affinity for vodka stingers and fried chicken being the sole dish Julie Wendell could cook. I loved WOAK and the Yardley Motel. I loved everyone stopping by the Hughes living room for their annual Christmas open house (when they still owned a living room). I loved all the eavesdropping at The Mona Lisa and Worldwide. I loved Barbara and Lisa bitching at one another whilst wrapping customers’ packages in the storeroom at Fashions. I miss seeing character reactions to shocking events as the reverberations of tragedy rippled out to touch every Oakdalian in some way. I just miss Oakdale. I miss the Oakdale of my youth and the Oakdale I grew to love so terribly as an adult. I miss the Oakdale that existed before P&G, Lucy Johnson, Chris Goutman, and Hogan Sheffer morphed it into some place I seldom wanted to visit.

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Thanks so much for the replies! Dana McFarland not a fan favorite, obviously. The little I've seen is very dull.

When was the Fairchild story again? I wish I'd seen it.

Can't believe I forgot about Gregg Marx. I love his work as Tom. I think he epitomized everything the character should have been.

Very accurate and funny description of Hutch.

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