Iconic on more than one soap

[titan1978]

Actually, in the cancelled soaps thread, the year over year ratings numbers for GL did not go up significantly under Calhoun/JFP and Curlee.  The show was unquestionably excellent for several years there, but according to several posts with the actual Nielsen data the early years of Reva were very successful for GL, and the ratings don’t collapse until the late 1980’s, and never got back to their old heights.  Much like GH, which last saw 8’s in the ratings during the very early part of Monty’s return, before collapsing and never hitting that high again (even if they did climb back up the chart position wise, there were not as many people watching to get their higher rank for the week). 
 

And that resurgence you spoke of in the post about Laura Wright was in large part due to the Annie Dutton story, which featured Reva and Josh as the focal points of her insanity.  Everyone was talking about that story.

 

She was also hardly featured that much on OLTL at the end.  Kim Zimmer is annoying, and Reva did eat the show alive, but to blame all of that on her is hyperbole.

Also I am not a fan of Laura Wright as Carly, she plays a completely different character than Sarah Brown or TB.  However, you may not enjoy her work but I didn’t even watch Loving and I knew she was on that soap and her pairing there with PAS.  And her GL story, especially against WM as Dinah, was pretty entertaining.  She’s played Carly the longest, even if she’s burned through a lot of story I don’t enjoy.  I blame that mostly on Guza and Phelps than her.

 

If you want to talk ratings since 1998, you could justify anything on every show because they all collapsed.  All of them.

Edited October 21, 2020 by titan1978

[Meredith]

Peter Bergman was on Y&R and All My Children. 

[Planet Soap]

I liked Laura Wright as Cassie & Carly. To me she ranks 3rd of the 4 Carlys, but she tries. I saw some shades of Sarah in her early run going against Robin. I don't like that she's a heroine now. They need to make her a villain again to spice things up. 

[amybrickwallace]

They made the same mistake on GH with Carly that they did on DAYS with Sami. Once they're declawed they are utterly, mind-numbingly boring.

[Mitch]

I was getting my dry cleaning and they have ABC on the monitor and who do I look up and see snarling at me from the screen Ms. Laura Wright..I thought Cassie is on GH?  Wright should always play a villain or at least a sharp shrew who occasionally someone will call out. She always comes off as the mean girl head cheer leader to me..fake nice until someone dares to cross her. On GL I thought after the airy fairy princess crap and Richard bit the big one, and she was pissed at Reva, she was going in that direction, (paired with Danny) but MADD could not break formula and broke that down.  I think Wright is good, but she is older now and I think her talents lie in another direction then the sainted heroine.

Zimmer is okay as long as they keep her on a leash and Reva is part of the mix..NOT the whole show. It was more fun on GL when they let other people be annoyed and bitch at Reva as anyone would. Reva was great on the first run of the show...I think Reva is like Nola...only one writer ever "got" her. In her interviews Kimmer actually "gets" what made GL..GL...she should have gone into production...(and no doubt would have them write in a annual cameo for her as an actress) I actually loved "older, chubbier, kind of tired of everyone's bullshit" Reva at the end..without Rauch around Reva was kind of allowed to grow into what Reva would have been at that stage.

Edited October 27, 2020 by Mitch

[amybrickwallace]

In what I've seen of her work on TD, KZ was fine as Nola. Then again, she was just part of the ensemble and not the star - which sometimes makes all the difference.

[titan1978]

I remember reading an interview at the time with Rauch where he was touting the fact that GL was only telling two stories at a time, which lead to huge sections of the cast being supporting players or not really seen all that much.  And Reva was always featured or the focus of one of those two stories each time.  This was during JHB and BE tenure as HW.

Hard not to get sick of a character and performer under those conditions.  I know she was a huge focus in the 1980’s, but it seemed that there was more balance back then.

[StepBack]

Gina Tognoni as Kelly on OLTL, Dinah on GL, and Phyllis on Y&R

[NiqueAlexis2020]

I like to add Kirsten Storms as Belle on Days & Maxie on GH

 

Greg Vaughan Lucky GH/Eric Days

 

I'm not sure if he was mentioned Stephen Nichols as Steve Days/Stefan GH

 

Mary Beth Evans Kayla Days/Sierra ATWT

 

[titan1978]

I don’t think Greg was quite as successful as Lucky.  He never had the depth to play against Tony and Genie (in her brief returns), and his Lucky became generic soap hunk.  I like him, I thought he was hot, and I preferred him to Jacob Young (although JY has shown on B&B and AMC that he has the chops now that maybe he didn’t show off much on GH).

 

Now if we are saying which Lucky had the more iconic ass, then Greg will win always!

 

As much as I have come to be apathetic towards Maxie, I agree KS counts.

[carolineg]

I am not sure I agree about storms. She basically was given 2 iconic characters to play and unless you were charity rahmer level awful the odds are it was going to go your way.  Shes not bad. I just dont think she rises above the material or built a strong character from the ground up.  

[DramatistDreamer]

Mary Beth Evans was pleasant as Sierra but iconic? I'd disagree.

[titan1978]

I think the argument could be made.  And I’m far from a fan!

 

Maxie has the personality she created for the character.  They tried to make her just a scheming vixen, but she did bring enough to the character that they allowed her humor and she does play the layers when the material is good.  She reminds me much more of Lucy Coe than just a soap bitch, and I credit that to her, not the writing.

 

Her Belle was also the only version that has truly worked.  Martha Madison has always skewed too matronly for me.

 

For many DAYS fans that was a successful time on the show, and stories for her age set on GH have revolved around her longest.  She outlived Georgie (still a mistake), and she has been given more material and love interests than Lulu since ER took over. 

Edited November 1, 2020 by titan1978

[NiqueAlexis2020]

Not necessarily just cause you're given a iconic character to play doesn't mean you're automatically going to be successful or it's going to go your way or fans are going to take to you to a point whether you considered Beloved/Iconic in the role. Especially when you're replacing a actress that grew up in the role & was beloved by fans who then was fired. She never had it easy it wasn't her replacing Danica Stewart like MM replacing CR. It's not even in the same league.

 

ER/Lulu is one prime example of that, I liked him GV but I know he is a mixed bag. Look at NL as Emily just cause you play one doesn't mean you're going to be accepted widely. Then there is Carly but the character is polarizing period so despite the heads in tails diff btw 1/2-4. JT as Patrick iconic as Pattycakes but not as Billy. Same for Billy Miller, SB on GH/YR

 

How many who have played more than 1 iconic character on more than 1 show have built a character from the ground up that either no one has played or ? Very few.

 

Naturally I feel differently & it's pretty much a testament to her, her acting, what we know she is capable of that frankly Maxie is still even hugely popular given GH doesn't a [!@#$%^&*] about the character. It ani't the writing. I can honestly tell you the last time Maxie got it was 2 damn near 3 yrs ago when Nathan was killed. I wish someone gave a damn about the character let alone her family(Jones). 

 

 

 

[carolineg]

True. True. I did like her belle.  I just dont think it was anything special. Belle wasn't that deep. And I do think mm is a bit matronly as belle now and too old for the part. But I can take or leave ks's maxie. 

But overall I get the argument for sure. Shes just kinda meh to me.  She does give maxie layers so I can see why people like her.