Soap characters we hated that we were supposed to like

[Soapsuds]

Yup....on the dvd's i bought it has Bob and Kim as friends before any of that began....I dont recall seeing the whole Jennifer/Bob/Kim stuff when it first aired....would have made a great dvd with Susan/Bob/Kim included..

[Gray Bunny]

Lillian Raines. Because of the actress. I like Tina Sloan I guess, but at the same time she's said some weird things in interviews. And I swear she thought she was the star of Guiding Light even during the 15 year stretch of zero storyline.

[juppiter]

Mack on Knots Landing. He was very likable during season 4. He was tolerable in season 5. After that he was a shouting self-righteous shrew who brought Karen right down with him. Nothing against Kevin Dobson who is a good actor but Mack went from anti-hero to saint and it was disgusting.

Karen as well. She was to die for seasons 1-5. She was liberal and outspoken yet a good mom at the same time, obnoxious but lovable like the crazy aunt you can't help but adore, treading the line between traditional and modern much like Roseanne would do on Roseanne 10 years later. When the Lechowicks took over in season 8 she became perfect and she became the antithesis to what she was. The Pollyanna speech will always make me barf, and season 1 Karen would've rolled her eyes at it.

[juppiter]

It is funny isn't it? Carrie was in the PR post, now Jennifer is. A self-righteous shrew we are supposed to like holds that same post 15 years later.

[Mathewson]

Sasha Roberts - DAYS. What an awful character/actress combo. The worst was when fans were supposed to feel sorry for her for being "forced" to become a hooker. I would have cared if the character didn't suck so much and if there was anything watchable about the godawful actress that played her. The only "positive" about her was that she obviously made me like MR/Jennifer A LOT by comparison (which clearly says something, since I think Jennifer has always been a hypocritical, self righteous bore).

Ben Davidson - OLTL. Though while he wasn't a great character, Mark Derwin was the biggest problem. I laughed and laughed when Niki Smith pushed him out the window!!! DID stories make me sick, but Erika Slezak's performances as Niki (2002 in particular) were sooooo hilarious and I obviously wanted Ben to go away anyway.

I was never that much of a GH watcher, but were we supposed to like Diane Miller? She was such an obnoxious twit even on paper, and Carolyn Hennesy just made it worse. Maybe even worse than whoever played Sasha Roberts on DAYS. I think at one point, RC and FV had the brilliant idea to bring the twit back for some episodes, ugh!!!!

[Lust4Life76]

Well, ALL MY CHILDREN, Greenlee, Ryan, and Kendall - and I know I am in the minority because of their big fan base...but frankly pretty much anyone who came on the show around 1996, save Leo and Bianca.

ONE LIFE TO LIVE - the Vega brothers, the numerous Rachel recasts until Daphne Duplaix nailed it and then got let go...and most of all, Gigi - loved the character at first, then when paired with Rex, she became a shrew.

And prime time - MELROSE PLACE - Peter and Jane, both characters - the second time around, as well as Jack, Bobby, Samantha, Kyle, Taylor, Megan, Jennifer, Craig, Coop, Lexi and Ryan - anybody who came into the story to try and fill the void of Billy, Alison, Jake, Jo, Sydney, Matt and Kimberly...

[Nate4]

FELIX GH O_O

[katie_9918]

Seconded.

He really is a piece of shyt.

[StevieM]

This is an interesting question. I think the people listed have to be characters who were written as if they are supposed to be major fan favorites, but don't even come close to having the level of support from the viewers that they have from the writers. Someone like Marlena on DAYS, who was the star of the show, with a huge fan base, but had a lot of bashers as well, would not qualify. Neither would Carly in the early 90s, even as people lamented her ridiculous amount of airtime, because she also had a ton of fans. Even Chloe, who was despised in the early 2000s, but was in a major triangle, with a lot of fans rooting for both couples, wouldn't qualify (although she would come close). It also has to be someone in a big part, not just any character who is written as a good guy, but isn't popular. Basically, someone who feels like they are being jammed down our throats, and doesn't even have a substantial fan base that is OK with that.

DAYS:

Wayne Northrop's Roman 91-94. The fans hated his return--Drake had been completely accepted as Roman. And everything felt weird with him. His contrived rivalry with Victor, taken over from RoJohn (who then became Victor's buddy), was noticeably off. And it was glaringly wrong when Christie Clark returned as Carrie, who had always been RoJohn's daughter--WN had been father to Andrea Barber's Carrie (Kimmie Gibbler!)

Max (the next big thing!)

Melanie

Chelsea, in a sense. It was noticeably awkward when Abby (Ashley Benson) was forced to play the role of her sidekick, rather than vice-versa.

Nicole, as a villain, in her first run. She was a perennial carpetbagger, who never caught on. She did have a lot more success in her second run, obviously.

Daniel. The ultimate forced hero. The ultimate forced leading man.

AW:

Morgan Winthrop

Lyla (Cass's fiance at the end)

Joe Carlino

Santa Barbara:

The Richards family (as the supposed rivals to the Capwells, in lieu of the Lockridges). To be fair, the show backed down very quickly.

Jack Wagner's Warren Lockridge

Kim Zimmer's Jodi

Eileen Davidson's Kellie Capwell

Chip's mom Eden. Having Eden suddenly replace Victoria as Chip's mom, for no reason, was disgusting to watch. The most unethical thing I have ever seen on daytime (which was presented as legitimate).

General Hospital:

Lilly and Miguel. I'll just list them together.

Roy Daluca (SOD: "We get it. Roy's a hero.")

Kristina Cassadine (Alexis's sister)

Courtney Matthews (after they broke her up with AJ, and made her one of the Fab Four)

Weird example, but I would say Greg Vaughn's Lucky in a certain way. We were supposed to accept him as a supporting character, perennially second to Nicholas, constantly and easily duped. It felt off. Even Jacob Young's Lucky never fell so low on the totum poll of character importance. So we were supposed to like him as a less popular and less important character, but most fans didn't want that for the role of Lucky Spencer.

OLTL:

The Ford Brothers

John McBain at various points. But his rivalry with TSJ Todd did have it's moments.

Dallas:

April Stevens. I'm not just listing her because she was no Pam (obviously). That isn't enough to make this list, based on the criteria I specified above. It's about the fact that she was totally forced as the show's lead heroine, who went from being Jack's scheming ex-wife, to being Bobby's second great love.

Michelle Stevens, as a villain

Carter McCay, as a villain/business rival to the Ewings. He was no Jeremy Wendell.

Knots Landing:

Aunt Ginny as a de facto replacement for Lilimae

Kate Whittaker. She was forced from the beginning. She was never as popular as Mary Frances (Greg's daughter, played by the same actress) who was killed off after a few episodes.

The Colbys:

Most of the show. Although I admit that I personally liked it (at the age of 12). And they had an amazing opening score (theme music).

Falcon Crest:

Dan Fix. He was suddenly made to be part of the gang, and a possible heir to Falcon Crest, supplanting Lance, Emma and Julia. Yeah right. His sister, played by Marissa Hargitay, was kind of fun though.

Pilar Ortega (they tried to give Kristian Alphonso the show, but the fans just wanted Ana-Alicia's Melissa Agretti).

Michael Sharp. He was the pivotal character of the final season, but to most fans he represented everything that had gone wrong with the show in it's final year.

Lauren, Michael's sister and Richard's girlfriend. Suddenly, and quickly, Maggie's replacement, and Michael and Kevin's new mother.

Beverly Hills 90210:

Noah (Donna's boyfriend). He came on before Luke Perry returned. And I remember saying to a friend at the time: Can we say "Wanna be Dillon"?

[ellabelle]

Stevie, no one was supposed to like Eric Kane. Erica was the only one who wanted to find him, and Mona warned her from the start that it was a bad idea.

[StevieM]

Thanks Ellabelle. I edited the post to remove Eric Kane. I am not sure why I listed him--I didn't think he was supposed to be a fan favorite. I actually didn't list him originally, but then I added a reference to him on edit. I think he just came to my mind as someone who was supposed to be a big arrival, that was long contemplated, and turned out to be a let down. That's not relevant to this subject though. I just wasn't thinking.