Fantastic Returns

[Fevuh]

Martha Byrne as Lily - ATWT.  Heather Rattray was never Lily to me.

[Soapsuds]

First off I loved Rattray as Lily. When she left I was heartbroken. 

 

I was going to mention Martha's return in 1993 because I loved the remote with her and Holden. It was a great way to bring her back. It's a shame it wasn't a ratings grabber. Heather's exist a year before had higher nielsen numbers.

[Antoyne]

Eileen Davidson returning as Kristen was AMAZING. And each subsequent return was awful. No wonder she won’t come back.

[will81]

Agreed, I actually started watching the show again because of her initial return. It was frustrating. The show had so much potential back then, and it was wasted. Eileen really found a different groove for Kristen that worked for the more modern Days and just nailed it. 

[titan1978]

Until this site, I never saw people that went for Rattray as Lily this hard.  It’s interesting how often people sing her praises here.

 

I get it, I really liked Carrie Genzel as Sky Chandler.

[Fevuh]

The only way it worked somewhat was because they gave her business stories/plots.  She was more cold and didn't have chemistry with the guys she was with.  I didn't see her as romantic at all.  When she was on I just didn't care about Lily and Holden at all.  Or Lily and any guy.  She was good with Elizabeth Hubbard but La Liz pretty much had chemistry with any actor/actress she worked with.  

[applcin]

I wonder what would have happened had GF not become pregnant around the same time. Would there have been a Lulu born then? Would L & L have resumed with a focus on the action stories as opposed to Laura settling into Ward House, becoming an Earth Mother and conflicting with Luke's adventurous and risky nature? She has said she hadn't picked that specific time to get pregnant but it was written in so it did obviously change the course of some things that may have been planned before.

Still on GH...Scotty catching the bouquet at L & L's wedding was the perfect, classic soap return. It was a surprise to the characters and to the viewers. Now he was not only embittered and angry but set on the road to becoming Not-Mr.-Nice-Guy-Anymore. Scotty becoming a bad boy made sense given his rejection and humiliation and it led to all sorts of story for years.

 

 

Edited January 8, 2021 by applcin

[titan1978]

That was the most epic end to that wedding.  And the fact that nobody knew it was coming was probably incredible at the time.  It’s my favorite scene from the oft repeated wedding, Laura in her purple suit, and Scotty throwing the bouquet back at Luke.  I remember Geary saying in an interview that they improvised the jump down, and when he was hanging there he thought this looks like a larger drop than I thought it was.

[DramatistDreamer]

The return of Penny Hughes (Rosemary Prinz) for Bob and Kim's wedding was done very well, I thought, especially since it had been nearly fifteen years since the character had been in Oakdale. I wasn't even born when Prinz ended her run in 1971 but it always gives me a warm feeling to see Penny stroll into that Hughes kitchen and to see the reactions of the other characters. The actors themselves look genuinely happy to see her.

[DRW50]

 

I think when they gave Heather more personal stories and not just business, she did alright - the miscarriage story with Holden, for instance. I also thought her work in the scenes where Lily learned The Truth About Aaron was very strong. 

 

I can't judge fairly because she was my first Lily. I did not see Martha until she returned. I never really got the hype. I did think she had chemistry with Paolo Seganti, but otherwise I enjoyed her more as Rose. I think it's something where if you were not watching when she first came on as a young girl, then you didn't have a connection. She is actually my least favorite of the three Lilys. 

[Fevuh]

Yeah you missed out.  

[Dr Neil Curtis]

Tony DiMera (though it was Andre) return in 2001 at the Penthouse Grille 

 

Alexandra Spaulding return in the form of Joan Collins, I enjoyed that stint. 
 

I loved Eileen’s return as Kristen, just didn’t like that whole “oh ok, she’s alive.” thing. No shock value from John nor Marlena, only EJ who thought it was his mother in disguise. 

[Darn]

 

Martha was the only Lily I ever saw and I never liked her. I don't think she's a very good actress, Lily was a miserable character and she played her like a cold fish. I started watching during Hogan Sheffer's tenure (let's not) and I truly did not understand why she was a lead, hell I didn't like Carly either but Maura West was captivating. I was so confused by Simon's obsession with her, she looked and acted like his mom.

[beebs]

I mean, after the number of DiMeras that had faked their deaths by that point, I probably wouldn't be too shocked either tbf.

Edited January 11, 2021 by beebs

[Chris B]

Angie and Jesse’s return to AMC has to be one of the greatest of all time. To be gone for so long and fall back in so seamlessly was impressive. The promotional campaign, music used, location shooting and everything was fantastic. AMC was lucky to have them from that point on.