ALL: Re-casts that changed a storyline?

[cassadine1991]

I did love when OLTL did it in 2002-2003

[edgeofnik]

She was sweet, but it really wasn't that far off who Ashley was up until spermgate. Frankly, it was the Victor affair that was out of character for Ashley. I always viewed Ashley as more of a morally grounded (except for Victor), goodhearted, well-mannered and smart woman. She was the only one who could somewhat keep Jack in line or at least call him out. I checked out Brenda's YouTube page and saw a clip from one of her recent infomercials. - she's still beautiful. I think it's funny that both ED/BE both look great so many years later. Oh, and I wouldn't have a problem if they brought BE as Ashley's fraternal twin - make her John's bio daughter. JK.

[DeeeDee]

Victor & Ashley's affair wasn't out of character for Ashley.

Bell softened the character quite a bit after Eileen's exit to accommodate Epperson's strengths as a more traditional soap heroine but the changes didn't ruin Ashley as much as marginalize her. Under Epperson Ashley went from edgy co-lead heroine to an aimless supporting character. By the time the role was recast with Shari Ashley was reduced to swing dancing & fighting with Victoria.

[Skin]

Disagree to an extent. Babe was one of the most sexualized female leads on All My Children during it's last ten years. Only Kendell from her same generation had more pairings then her it seemed. Babe had a revolving door of love interests in competition for her attention at the same time. Babe always had at least three paramours per year when Alexa was in the role. She was perpetually involved in love triangles, most of them included JR as the one returning for her affection. You had the JR/Babe/Jamie love triangle that went on from 2003-2005, you had the JR/Babe/Josh triangle that went on from 2005-2007 and you had the JR/Babe/Wes-Ritchie triangle toward the end of Alexa's run that played a bit for Amanda Bakers 1 year reign which was used to fortify the Jabe as true love story for the character.

Babe was ultimately defined by her love interests and romantic stories and used as a plot device to further drama in other circles, usually for the Kane family. Ultimately Alexa sold it well, so she was able to mask a fair bit of question to Babe's utility as a true character but that magic show ended with the recast. Which was why she was killed off, and rebooted with the Marissa Tasker character. I will say that Amanda Baker did change the character. She was JR's version of Babe, in which Babe ceased to be a truly living and breathing character and became his version of a Madonna. The mother of his beloved son, his eternal, only true wife and sole true love. Outside of JR, it felt like Babe ceased to exist because Baker didn't have the magnetism Alexa did in the role and couldn't nourish her previous relationships with those outside of him.

Sabine portrayed Greenlee very differently. To the point where she was basically playing a different character. Greenlee was never that outwardly vulnerable. Overall she never gelled with the core group that Greenlee was immersed in when she left, and her return was so weird as well. She had more chemistry with the model types such as Aiden and Josh which is why she tested well with them. But yeah Sabine's Greenlee sticks out as someone who changed a storyline immensely.

I agree with this. I felt that Kendell lost a great deal of her vitality by 2003, to the point where I felt there was no longer a use for her after the Micheal Cambias murder. I would have rather her have went to prison for life to protect Bianca. I think that would have been more impactful than any other storyline Kendell had from 2004 onward.

[ellabelle]

Jill Larson as Opal on AMC. Her Opal was still quirky and often over the top, but she wasn't nearly as harsh and brash as Dorothy Lyman's Opal. I can't see Palmer Cortlandt EVER falling for Dorothy's Opal!

[Cheap21]

we have completely different definitions of what a sexpot is. Someone like Erica was. Babe outside of her initial story was not. Being in multiple triangles doesn't make one that. Babe was very sexually charged early on and they had her own it. They weren't trying to sell her as a heroine as she was a vixen that used sex to get what she wanted and she was almost like some femme fatale. The character changed with the baby switch when they decided they wanted to sell Babe as a heroine and the writing for her and those around he changed to accommodate propping her up as this misunderstood good girl that does the wrong things for the right reasons. They de-emphasized her sexuality to accommodate that and I can't see how anyone who actually watched her run can argue that Babe under Alexa wasn't different than the one we were introduced to in 2003.

As far as AB, again the point is missed. It's one thing to dislike her in the role and not like what she brought to it, but her casting did not change the direction of Babe's storyline. She slipped right into that triangle and they proceeded with what they were already writing when AH was around

honestly, it was hard to imagine him falling for JL. What an odd couple

[Dr Neil Curtis]

Two totally different Kates.

[Dr Neil Curtis]

I can see Deborah Adair's Kate battling it out with Sami but I surely don't see her as Stefano's former hooker. A former lover but certainly not his hooker.

I oftentimes wonder what Another World's redeemed Rachel be like if Robin Strasser continued on with the character.

[robbwolff]

They are not the same character. Bill just happened to have affairs with two different Kate's. Wikipedia (surprise, surprise) erroneously says they're one and the same character. Winograd was a doctor. I imagine if they were the same character that there would have been reference to Kate Roberts' medical background some time in the past two decades.

[Cheap21]

I swear that question gets asked every 6 months

[YRBB]

It was high time for the bi-monthly, "Is Kate Winograd the same as Kate Roberts?" question!

[~bl~]

Brad on ATWT...during the character's first run the actor who played the part abruptly left, then the recasts were just odd. Then years later they brought in Austin Peck as Brad who was now Jack's younger brother, when he had been Jack's older brother during the first run.

[Vee]

I think I'll take another twenty years of Kendall vs. another twenty minutes of Babe. And I liked her more than most around here.

[Skin]

What I felt the poster was saying was that Babe was a man magnet, not unlike Brooke Logan from B&B and with that description, in All My Children's capacity I would agree. I don't think one has to be a villain to be a strongly sexualized character, nor does it mean using sex as a weapon. I consider the definition to be someone who is extremely desirable, and whose storylines involve that character being seen as irresistible or extremely sexy to other characters and suitors. Which I believe Babe fits the qualifications for, as most of her storylines involved multiple romances and sexual interactions. There were very few women on that show who received so much male attention during AMC's last years, outside of Kendell Hart who was the titular lead of the show. Babe was constantly surrounded by suitors who pined and wished to be with her. She had an endless parade and line of men who longed for her attention. AB's Babe conversely was not written that way. She was much more centralized around JR and that OTP, we saw that very early after a few months with the recast and the Ritchie/Wes portion of her storyline ended quite quickly in engaging with that party line. In that respect Alexa's Babe was considered more of a "sexpot" than Amanda Baker's. Baker's Babe was matured into JR's ideal woman, and that was shown through the recast.

I don't see what one has to do with the other. I think both of them outlived their usefulness after a certain time period. I would say Babe lost a great deal of her utility after the Satin Slayer Storyline in the spring of 2007. It would have been better for her to have stayed dead, especially since Alexa wasn't going to resign her contract. It would have also given that storyline greater gravitas and it would have been a more memorable death.

[amybrickwallace]

Wasn't the only reason John McCook left Y&R is because it was in the process of expanding to an hour and he didn't want to do an hour show? I guess that argument has validity as he has been with B&B for its entire 27+ year run, and it's been a half-hour show for its entire run.