HOLIDAY MIRACLE: Prospect Park Back On Track To Revive AMC and OLTL

[SFK]

With the five year jump, I say the more "legacy" teens the better. For those of you with your *fantasies*, that gives for more opportunities for hitherto established backstory. "One time, at Pine Valley band camp..."

[DRW50]

I mostly remember Hansis relying on bitchfaces and pouting in his last years as Luke.

I flinched when that new AJ was compared to the frog's ass Spinelli. He looks a little more gawky cute and a lot less stoner roadkill.

At any rate, it's nice to see that NY-based actors still have a chance at soaps. That's something that I thought was gone for good.

[jfung79]

Jacob Young's JR was just a butcher version of that.

[DRW50]

When Jacob Young is butcher than someone, then we're entering Lyle the Effeminate Heterosexual territory.

[SFK]

If I was JY, I would NEVER return to AMC if I found out that VH was playing my SON!

[jfung79]

No, we're just speculating that VH might be taking over JY's role, as JR.

LOL Carl. Van was playing a gay character. How he was as Luke doesn't mean he can't play straight (regardless of what he is in real life).

[Vee]

I don't believe he can play straight. Many gay actors can and do. I don't believe I can buy Van Hansis doing that.

[SFK]

Oh, okay, well that would be a deSORAS that would conflict with the five year jump. VH is in between imaginary J.R. and A.J. ages.

VH I would sooner believe as a Petey.

[IcyOne]

VH would play JR like a Kids In the Hall sketch. There's no way he could pull off a character like JR. No way. He's severely limited; I can't imagine him being able to play anything but Luke-type characters.

[jfung79]

I guess to me the bar for JR is not that hard to reach because Jacob Young was just a walking talking robot to me who sucked the life out of most scenes. It's not a bad thing to de-SORAS a bit from the cynical, older than his years JR and go back to a more innocent, idealistic, optimistic take on the character.

Van is 31 now and he's a lot older and more mature than the young Van and the young Luke people may be thinking of from 7 years ago. JR's issues with Adam and Luke's issues with Damian also have some similarities.

Anyway it's probably not going to be Van. The only reason that's even out there is that random Twitter rumor about an ATWT vet.

[JackPeyton]

I would never buy JR as any degree of innocent, idealistic, or optimistic... at all. Im not sure how anyone would.

[jfung79]

Jonathan Bennett's JR was angry but he had an innocence about him too. So did Jesse McCartney's. Jacob Young's JR that became Adam is not the only JR.

One reason to explain why JR would be different and more optimistic -- the return of his mother, Dixie, to his life. JR isn't just Adam's son, he's Dixie's son. Also when he wakes up from his coma he could reflect on the damage he has caused to his life and try to turn over a new leaf. Some amnesia might be there too.

JR feeling younger than he is, dealing with a teenage kid who's aged 5 years JR wasn't there for, that could make for good story, and it would almost require a JR who was more vulnerable and expressive than the 40-year-old seeming but really early 30s Jacob Young interpretation.

[JackPeyton]

No he is not the only JR, but he is the only adult JR. He is the last JR, the JR that became that man in very believable and realistic ways. It wasnt a sudden shift and out of nowhere, JYs JR wasnt always like he was those final 3 years, but he became that way. Life made him that way, and to ignore that just because dark, kinf of evil and hard to root for characters arent as appealing as light fun would be bullshit.

[Eric83]

Not trying to be rude, but I can't believe some can imagine VH as JR. I can't see that AT ALL.

[jfung79]

Dixie wasn't there most of the time. She is now. It's not "bullshit" to think a character would change greatly with their mother's full-time love back in their life.

Besides I've seen far worse "bullshit" when they recast characters. Recasts are supposed to "send the character in a new direction" often, and it's part of the soap tradition.