Stars you're surprised have lasted so long on daytime

[carolineg]

 

Agreed. Something about Brenda just seems very 90's.  Not that the character couldn't hold up now it's just Brenda/Jax/Sonny is everything about late 90's GH. I mean, I feel like I have said this before, but Sonny as a character should have been put to rest in 1997. Leaving Brenda at the altar was literally the best ending for a character like that.   And aside from looking very pretty together there is absolutely no reason in the world Jax would want Carly.  It makes 0 sense for him as a character.  Like can't he go find Skye or something?  Or recast Miranda?  The idea of Miranda wasn't bad they just needed to find an actress that didn't always look bored and had some chemistry with IR.

[edgeofnik]

Current Character/Actor that have surprised me (and should be gone): 

B&B: Eric/JMcC.

DAYS: John/DH. 

Y&R: Devon/Bryton. This is a matter of mostly weak s/l. I saw his multiple episode arc on TVD and he was shockingly good. I kept thinking, why am I not seeing this on Y&R.

 

Character/Actor that I didn't think would last, but glad they're around:

B&B: Quinn/RS - she just kills it when given material. 

DAYS: Nicole/AZ - she really has evolved as an actor and her comedic skills are surprisingly good. Nicole fierce awesome; StepNicole - not so much. I think she hates weepy Nicole as much as we do.

 

 

 

 

[Wendy]

Sorry, @edgeofnik, but I have to disagree with the Drake Hogestyn pick. Sure, he isn't Olivier, but he still has charm and at least he has always been a cheerleader for this show and has remained loyal. Agree to disagree there. The rest, however, I will give you.

[kalbir]

Someone else I just thought of, Don Diamont. Between B&B, Y&R, and Days, he's been on daytime for the better part of the last 35 or so years.

[carolineg]

 

I agree with you.  While he certainly isn't the greatest he has a distinct place on the show. And he manages to be charming and generate chemistry with Deidre Hall.   Someone like Roman to me is much more aimless of a character.  Obviously John and Roman basically cancel each other out because they are pretty much the same character but the 2 DH's carried the show through a lot of nonsense in the 90's and are more important to me on Days.  I'd nominate Josh Taylor's run as Roman for this thread.  It doesn't seem like much until you realize he's been unpopular on the show for almost a quarter of a century.

[Paul Raven]

From what we've read Roman only remains to give Josh Taylor a job. At least Ken Corday is a loyal friend.

 

I wonder what other examples exist, past and present , of some characters being untouchable due to edicts from those above?

[carolineg]

I mean again he's not the most offensive but like no to Shawn and Belle?  Or Carrie?  I think Olivia on GH is so useless too

[Antoyne]

I couldn’t imagine DAYS without Drake/John Black. He’ll never be the greatest but that man has never phoned it in once. I loved RoboJohn as well.

[Khan]

 

Agree.  You can appreciate when an actor who's very limited shows up to act nevertheless.  You can forgive a lot more than when someone's just there for the paycheck.

[edgeofnik]

@Antoyne @Khan I'll concede that Drake isn't a slacker or not engaged - it's just truly surprising he's lasted decades. I'm separating the 'acting' from the 'actor' because he seems like a good guy and appreciates the work. 

[carolineg]

 

I get what you are saying but I think it's basically a testament to Drake's popularity and likability that John Black has survived as a character.  He probably has the most ridiculous, most changed backstory in the history of tv and his character is honestly the hero that saves Marlena once a year .Besides he relates well to his costars and to me that's more important than crazy acting talent.  Wayne Northrup didn't survive and he was a much better actor than either the DH's.  Someone like Greg Vaughn surprises me.  I mean he's a handsome guy for sure, but he plays such important legacy characters on the soaps and he's just such a downer as an actor. I don't think he clicks well with his love interests either.  I actually think Galen Gering is more charismatic than Greg

[KMan101]

I think Greg Vaughan chooses to play Eric as depressed and down and "heavy" and it's not really appealing. I felt he was much better before the Daniel death story. I think he still plays that. Just a thought. Is he the most amazing actor? No. But I've always liked him. He plays Eric like the weight of the world is on his shoulders. It also doesn't help the writers have Eric always turning on Nicole and yelling at her and hating her for things he could forgive Sarah for. Anywho ...

 

Amelia Heinle surprises me. She's been tragic on Y&R from the word go. Sure she has a history. I had no issues with her from what I saw on Loving and I watched her on AMC. Nope. No thanks. Lethargy thy name is Amelia. 

 

Kelly Monaco also comes to mind. I think she seems like a fun girl I'd have some beers with and snark on everyone with, but she's been a mess lately on-screen and has been phoning it in for like a decade now.

[carolineg]

I think GV played Lucky like that too except Lucky seemed dumber as well.

I liked Amelia Heinle on Loving.  She is really miscast as Victoria and I guess Y&R will just ignore that forever.

Kelly Monaco is probably a super fun time.  I don't think she was ever "checked in" on GH so it really just nearly 2 decades of the same.  She was decent on PC if I remember correctly but she has never played Sam with any other emotion than bored..Maybe those first few months when the where awkwardly inserting into stories that she was never supposed to be a part of.

[KMan101]

 

She WAS decent on Port Charles from what I remember ... right? lol. She was always sort of forced onto the canvas and they had no idea what to do with her. True on her never being checked in, but I have watched past scenes during Guza's reign of horror where she's far more checked in and actually gives effort. It's like night and day! lol

 

I love Greg Vaughan, probably a bit biased, but I really wasn't the biggest fan of his Lucky at the time for whatever reason. The writing was awful, of course. Lucky yelled and was pretty unlikeable. You had that Summer garbage ... etc. Dumber is a good way to describe his Lucky. LOL. Ironically though I really liked Greg and Kelly together on-screen. LOL

Edited March 27, 2020 by KMan101

[carolineg]

Lol!  I was going to say I loved Lucky and Sam but really got creeped out when JJ returned to the role because they really wouldn't have worked with him.  Even though JJ is older than me he still seems super young. Greg Vaughn played a stupid, hunkier version of Lucky that was just wrong for the character.  I am also probably a little biased because I loved, loved Jensen Ackles as Eric.  Not sure why because outside of dating Nicole, I really can't tell you a single thing JA's Eric did.  I also thought he really  looked like Marlena's kid and Sami's twin.

Anyway, Sam is kinda of silly character with all her odd backstories and nonsense and her weird insertion into Jax and Sonny's lives out of nowhere but she wasn't that bad in the beginning and was pretty good when she was the bad girl after Liason had sex.  But I think she was really touted by the soap press to be the next big thing when she was on PC.