ALL: Characters you are surprised lasted so long

[Forever8]

Sally Spectra - The Young and Restless should be a contender too. 

Sasha and Brando - General Hospital 

 

[carolineg]

 

I won't give you any backlash on Alexis/NLG.  There have been things and stories I really liked her in, but overall she's had more duds than wins in the story department.  I personally wouldn't be torn up if Alexis left the show, but she is popular.  I still think it's more of a case of NLG making it work than Alexis actually being a good character tbh.  If I were to chose a Cassadine to have long term it definitely would be Stefan because like you said they never use that side of her character.  And outside of Sam, they barely use her kids.

[dragonflies]

Flo on Bold and Beautiful, they DESTROYED Her with the selling a baby money stuff yet she's still around UGHHH

[kalbir]

In a way Bill Bell did, with the intros of the Barber sisters and Winters brothers, and the SORASing of Victoria and Nick.

[Planet Soap]

GH: Ana Devane - I'm surprised that since her 2012 return she hasn't been back backburnered like some of her other counterparts such as Bobby, Scott, Robert, and Mac.

Speaking of Mac seems like they just stopped writing for him and Felicia once Frank took over.

Edited November 10, 2021 by ironlion

[FrenchBug82]

I should start by saying that I am in the firm belief that no character is ever useless or played out.
There is plenty of life to be found in any character if/when the people making the show are inspired by it and are/or when unexpected things happen like chemistry with another actor.

That being said, within the narrow premise of the question of who I am *surprised* has lasted this long - in the sense that I wouldn't have predicted it when they first started.

I think ATWT Henry and YR Michaels are excellent examples.
Spinelli (if his regular appearances count) is another one.
Days Nicole also really didn't start off feeling like she'd be a tentpole of the show twenty five years later.
While I am less surprised by Days Chloe, I do agree the fact she has driven a lot more stories than Belle - even if most of it has been bad - is surprising.
OLTL Marcie is another one I did not get and am still surprised she lasted this long.
As a matter of fact, while I liked the Vega brothers on OLTL, I would never have pegged them at the beginning to be the only younger-generation leading men on the show that would actually last past one contract, let alone 15 years.
Based on Bell's history and the generic nature - at first glance - of their characters, I also thought B&B Liam and Wyatt would cycle out after their first contract had ended. 
 

Agree. He did introduce plenty of viable new characters. Problem (by thais version of what's ailing the show) is that he didn't really drop any.
Which means Y&R now has a much heavier "vet" load than other shows and a lot less flexibility because they usually didn't come and go.
It has upsides - in terms of audience loyalty and familiarity - that I think helps explains why Y&R has continued to be number one but it can be creatively stifling, that is true enough.

[Vee]

Felicia was not on the show before Frank Valentini took over. FV and RC brought her back after many years and reunited Mac and Felicia. Say what you will about the current EP and the regimes of the 2010s, but they are the only reason JJY and KW are present at all.

[Planet Soap]

Writers in general I should say seem to have given up on the both of them. In 2010/11 I was seeing a bit of Mac on screen but since Frank I've barely seen him. Felicia on the other hand, yes, has been seen more often under this regime of writers.

[titan1978]

NLG has more than once said Alexis has always been ill defined and that she is often in plot driven stories rather than character driven ones on GH.  While she has been given a more leading role than Kate on DAYS, it’s kind of a similar plot device kind of writing.

I have no idea why Kate is still there either.  Nothing against her, it’s just she has outlasted so many more vitally important characters and always has something going on.

[Paul Raven]

On point.

Exactly what went wrong for Y&R. I still think Victoria and Nick were SORASED too soon.

 

[titan1978]

And then mentally stuck at about 22-25 for another 20 years.

But Bill Bell also proved that if the characters had motivation and a point of view, he could use them for decades.  His original Y&R characters.  I bet if JLB had decided to stay, the show would look very different today.  And his DAYS was essentially the same handful of leads for a decade inside the same character orbits.  But they were at least allowed to mature and go through stages of life.

I think the most important thing for a soap is the natural progression.  If the characters are set up well- families, children, jobs that allow for growth, they can still be major players without always dominating stories.  Doesn’t mean they should never get a story again, just that they will not always be leading story like they did at certain points.

Under Riche, when GH wrote out Sean and Tiffany, it sucked.  But I don’t think it was the worst idea.  I would have brought Tiffany back later with a media company, but at the time, I didn’t disagree that they needed a rest.  Whereas someone like Alan I felt was still very viable when he was killed off.

[carolineg]

I would say Mac fell out of favor after the tale of 2 Macs story and Felicia after the Luke affair, so it isn't Frank's fault.  I think the show could/should write for them, but they are such a boring couple.  I like them both, but the only time they ever have had much drama is when Felicia was abandoning and/or cheating on him.

NLG seems to have more purpose than Kate on Days, but she definitely is ill defined now.  LK seems to have a lot of guarantees compared to the rest of her age range.  A lot more than Marlena, John, Steve, Kayla etc.  As far as Alexis, I think the character started off as a certain type of strong willed, no nonsense character and has devolved into whatever the mess she is now.

[Wendy]

I think even NLG would agree insofar as Alexis and her stories went. I recall some chat years ago when NLG was asked about what character was her favorite to play. And, even after playing Alexis for a lot longer by that point, she named Julia Wainwright, her Santa Barbara character, as her favorite.

And I'll say it, with the exception of Julia's final year on SB (the entire show was crumbling), she did get MUCH better stories and writing there.

[Nicholas Blair]

So many good examples already. Phyllis, Victor Newman, and Michael Baldwin on Y&R were all supposed to be short-term characters.

Another obvious one: on OLTL Todd Manning was brought on as a short-term rapist-villain, not at all expected to become the "hero" of the show.

Clarice (Gail Brown) on AW was supposed to be on for one or two shows, blowing bubble gum at Iris' swanky party, but the audience wanted more, so she became a regular for a few years. Not bad for a day player!

Carolee Campbell began on TD as a non-contract player in the background at the nurses' station, then her character got a name, then she became one of the central actors on the show, to the extent that when Carolee Campbell left the show years later, her role was recast with a major star.

[carolineg]

Well, if we are talking about short term characters making it big 

Luke on GH was supposed to die instead of Roy

Sonny was supposed to have a six month arc

Marlena on Days was only supposed to bridge the 'blonde shrink' gap between Laura recasts

And here we are...I think it does happen a lot, which is pretty cool.

It could be a whole other thread to talk about characters that shows had big plans for that were scrapped after they tanked like Miranda on GH or Kit on AMC or Taylor on Days.  Every stunt casting decision they have made on B&B lol....