ALL: Who or what is a "vet"

[frequentsoapfan]

I consider 20+ years vet status.

[dragonflies]

Yeah how is NLG not a vet, but Jane is, you're contradicting yourself

[quartermainefan]

I am not contradicting myself at all. I am saying there is no hard and fast rule for what makes a vet imo. Big Alice has been on the show years, probably more years than Heather, but she is not a vet. Vet of what? Maybe if they revived Santa Barbara NLG would be a vet on that show, but there is nothing vetty about her on GH because her character is so of the modern era. I would challenge the notion Maurice Benard is a vet because he defined the current GH all his tenure. As I said, I define a vet as "I know them when I see them"

[Dr Neil Curtis]

AWWW Come on Now, Nancy Lee has been in the industry for years she is a Daytime Vet and been on GH since 1996 she is a vet of GH. If Alice has been on 10+ years, recurring or not, she is still a vet. Obviously you know Nancy when you see her, you named another show she was on....you know them when you see them.

[dragonflies]

That makes not one lick of sense. A vet has always been defined as someone who has been on a show for more than 10 years.

Just because you don't like someone doesn't mean they're not a vet. NLG is one

[quartermainefan]

If vet had a set in stone definition there would not be this thread.

[marceline]

Thank you. I was wondering why no one pointed me toward the Soap Opera Dictionary where all was explained.

[quartermainefan]

The first thing I look for is was this actor on during the show's glory era? In GH's case this is pretty easy to figure out, so therefore despite only being on the show a few years Rick Springfield is a vet. Bradford Anderson, who starred on the show longer, is not. Then if the answer is no but they were still on a long time, I go to "were they on the show before the current GH was born? In this case the current GH is the mob era. So Sean Kanan qualifies as a vet as does Steve Burton perhaps. Then just to be sure I ask myself "are they most associated with an era that is not the modern one?". So Jonathan Jackson, a contemporary of Nancy Lee Grahn, is a vet thanks to his years of absence. Rebeca Herbst not so much because her tenure is most mired in the 00s as is Grahn's. They are current, Jackson is a throwback to the past, therefore he is a vet and they are not. Kanan is a vet because he is of yesterday, Burton perhaps not because he defines today. It's not a scientific way of looking at things, but it works for me. For DOOL the glory era would be the 90s and before, for GH it is the 80s.

[All My Shadows]

To be honest, if longevity's not the top factor in determining whether or not someone is a "veteran" of something, then the word "veteran" is being misused.

[~bl~]

Years ago I would have said 10 years makes a vet, now I see the number as closer to 20 as so many people make it to 10 that it is sort of meaningless. That said for certain shows there are actors who I'd consider vets of that program even if they were on less than 10 years if it was a short lived soap opera (like Sunset Beach, Passions, Santa Barbara, Ryan's Hope, all of these lasted less than 15 years...)

That said I think there are show vets and industry vets, tho some people are both. For example Lucci or Slezak are both AMC and OLTL vets respectively and industry vets. For example someone like Judi Evans I'd see as an industry vet, and not a Days vet as while she's been on that show on and off within a 25 year period, she's also well known for her prior roles on GL and AW.

[carolineg]

So would you guys consider someone like Vanessa Marcil a vet? She certainly hasn't played the character for ten years collectively, but created it twenty years ago and was the only actress to play the role and was the lead young heroine in her age range in her heyday? Or someone like Eva La Rue, who was quite popular but wasn't on the ten year minimum? Or Jonathon Jackson, who wasn't the only Lucky (or most definitive in some fans eyes), but started the role as a child? These are roles that are harder to define as meeting the criteria as vets, but certainly deserve consideration amongst the likes of KA as Starr and CK as Lily.

[Dr Neil Curtis]

BIN F'IN GO!!!!!

[y&r_fan]

Technically she did take a year off so it'll be a year before she's a vet.

[BoldBeauty]

Daytime vet or specific show vet?

A show-vet has to IMO been on the show on contract for over 10 years.

A daytime vet........? It is IMO bigger to be a Daytime vet than a specific show vet, so I'd say the person has to have been like 20 years on daytime TV to be a Daytime vet.

[MissLlanviewPA]

That is all.

ETA: This one is actually perfect--KDP went to IU for two years! AWESOME!