What other instances have there been of an actor taking over a popular role (or even a new role) and tanking so badly that they were ushered off the show quickly (as in, 3 months or less)? My choices would be:

Y&R: Scott Seymour as Billy

B&B: Emily Harrison as Bridget

Edited March 23, 201312 yr by y&r_fan

Fool didn't even bother to attempt an Australian accent.

No. He didn't. It was like watching some pod-Jax. Someone called Jax but there's no way in hell they are really the same Jax.

The temp Aiden on AMC was MUCH MUCH worse than anything the temp Jax could've done.l

Could temp Aiden have been any worse than actual Aiden?

No. He didn't. It was like watching some pod-Jax. Someone called Jax but there's no way in hell they are really the same Jax.

As harsh as the Jax stans were on the guy, I couldn't bring myself to feel sorry for him after that half-ass job onscreen.

Y&R

Sarah Aldrich as Victoria Newman.Big shoes to fill and TPTB obviously realized that she all wrong and gave her little to do before she was canned.

Bond Gideon as Jill.

Alan White as Chris Hughes on ATWT. There were a lot of Chris Hughes recasts and many of them were pretty bad but he was cringeworthy and not helped by the major change in the character and awful dialogue and bad/awkward chemistry with Kristina Sisco. He was nice to look at but luckily I don't think he lasted a month...

Edited March 24, 201312 yr by juppiter

Charity Rhaimer is my show's Charity Rhaimer. haha

I'm always a fan of "giving a character a rest" between recasts of any character who has been played by the same actor for any length of time (even 2+years really)... Even if they write in that the character is out of town visiting family for a month or two, out on business, or just mentioned and not seen... it helps the transition from one actor to another for any character who has been played by the same actor for any good length of time. Charity Rhaimer helps prove this point.

The trio of Pierce Riley. The character was decent with RM's Janet Green, but his romance with Brooke felt forced and completely wrong, but it just got worse with Jim Fitzpatrick's abrupt departure, and the introduction of Greg Wrangler's version - who looked more like he could be JB's younger brother than a good choice for her current lover. Greg was only supposed to be a temporary replacement, so they could wrap up the story, but then like a bad penny, Pierce came back again in the form of Maxwell Caulfield, who didn't know for the first week that he character wasn't Australian - and he adopted a horrible American accent that made he acting, if possible, even more atrocious.

Charity Rhaimer is my show's Charity Rhaimer. haha

I'm always a fan of "giving a character a rest" between recasts of any character who has been played by the same actor for any length of time (even 2+years really)... Even if they write in that the character is out of town visiting family for a month or two, out on business, or just mentioned and not seen... it helps the transition from one actor to another for any character who has been played by the same actor for any good length of time. Charity Rhaimer helps prove this point.

I agree. In fact I think they did this a lot more in the good old days, and if the recast came on straight away unless it was during the middle of a crucial storyline they would be on at most a few times a month for the first few months, then they would get more story.

I would add Days of Our Lives Steve Wilder to the mix, though he was on more than 3 months (about 8 months), I thought he was so awful. It was also the most bizarre recast moment with him taking over the role mid shower.

Wilder was gay porn Jack. That's what he looked so much like and he seemed to only have chemistry with men.

Edited March 24, 201312 yr by CarlD2

Charity Rhaimer is my show's Charity Rhaimer. haha

I'm always a fan of "giving a character a rest" between recasts of any character who has been played by the same actor for any length of time (even 2+years really)... Even if they write in that the character is out of town visiting family for a month or two, out on business, or just mentioned and not seen... it helps the transition from one actor to another for any character who has been played by the same actor for any good length of time. Charity Rhaimer helps prove this point.

I like the dive right in approach myself, complete with "The role of ___ is now being played by __" -- or even more descriptively, "Returning to the role of ____ is ____" as they did on AW with Sandra Ferguson (Amanda) and possibly Matt Crane (Matt) when they came back in 1998.

I'm sad they don't do that intro voiceover for recasts anymore. I don't mind, it doesn't take me out of believing in what I'm watching. For some reason that narration allows me to reset and accept a recast as "official."

I can't think of any recast that has bombed so bad for the producers that they yanked them right away on any of the shows I watched while I was watching.

Edited March 24, 201312 yr by jfung79

I like the dive right in approach myself, complete with "The role of ___ is now being played by __." I'm sad they don't do that intro voiceover anymore.

The Bell shows do.

The Bell shows do.

Yay! Anyone else still do that?

I don't think anything can beat the Alexa Havins/Amanda Baker swap-out. 

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LS4F2vvEPUM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

Few come close to Charity Rahmer, whose reputation is only slightly overblown. Jessica Morris in her first two years on OLTL as Jen Rappaport did so for me, though. She only marginally improved later. Also horrible: the "I Want To Be A Soap Star" reality show winner, Mikey Jerome(?), supposedly crowned the winner and handpicked for his contract role on OLTL by a panel of industry judges that I believe included Frank Valentini himself. Mikey lasted about five minutes onscreen as one of Vincent Jones's goons before they mercifully killed him off. Vincent and the actor playing him were also horrible, BTW, a Dena Higley creation who all but replaced R.J. on the show for a couple years. Here's Mikey now, in one of his slightly more animate moments.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijaJjHawL8I

At least one of the two Jans of DAYS was also really terrible despite the relentless adoration of seemingly every soap-watching gay teen on the Internet in the last ten years, desperate to relieve a hazily-remembered '90s through a psycho chick, any psycho chick - I think it was the first Jan that sucked so hard.

Brianne Moncrief as Colby on AMC - unwatchable.

Danica Stewart as Maxie. Terrible, crass "actress" who had no business on my TV.

Jessica Kaye as Rebecca Lewis. Not only a profound assassination of one of my favorite childhood characters by Ron Carlivati which he didn't bother to even remotely explain, but a truly horrible recast played by a woman who couldn't act her way out of a paper bag.

Andrew Trischitta was deeply awful when he started on OLTL as Jack, as was Shenell Edmonds as Destiny. Both were in the running for this prize, and both marginally improved over time, Andrew much more quickly than Shenell, and he seems to work opposite KDP and RH, which gives me hope for his future. If he doesn't measure up, at least he'll have his hair.