Characters: The Aborted & The Wasted

[carolineg]

This.  I won't go into the 2019 return but they wasted Genie.  I think a lot of her time was spent with Victor and the faux Marlena stuff and the show just aborted the fairly popular RoJohn/Diana pairing.  The did have a wedding.  It was just 'for them' and not legal on purpose.

Weren't they teasing Holly/Mac?  Some of my first memories of Holly (before you tube) were of her, Mac, and Robin.

[Forever8]

I always wanted Nikki Langton to return with AJ's child. Imagine if it had been Nelle who was getting back at Sonny and Carly for taking away the father she never met. 

[Khan]

That's the thing: there WAS no pitch.  At least, not according to Genie herself.  DAYS signed Genie, then they gave her a "character" that was only supposed to last, like, an episode or two. 

At first, they tried pairing her with Michael T. Weiss (ex-Mike Horton), but when it was clear that wasn't going to work, they paired her up with Drake Hogestyn, which did work (much to many people's surprise, I imagine). 

Beyond that, however, DAYS never really knew what to do with Genie or Diana.

But with Lloyd Bridges and Geraldine Page obviously not committed to working beyond the pilot, how was that gonna be possible?  Either they should have cast both parts with actors willing to "slum it" on daytime, or just not bother with the characters at all.

IIRC, too, when Emma Samms did leave the second time, she talked to one of the soap mags (SOD?) about how disappointed she was in how the show treated her; like she felt that coming back might've been a mistake (which I guess it was?).

I wouldn't have minded Nikki Langton remaining in Port Charles and married to A.J., but they definitely needed to recast.

[Vee]

I actually loved the Lloyd Bridges/Geraldine Page thing in the Loving pilot. It was such a dark, strange story utilizing two major stars, and Page was amazing. It was ultimately on brand for how that show ended up, years later. But for it to really hit it needed to have deeper ramifications beyond just the pilot episode (minus Johnny Forbes' death) - and it would've been nice to secure those two for, say, a couple weeks or a month.

Edited February 13, 2022 by Vee

[DemetriKane]

Taylor Thompson (All My Children) I felt like this character was so refreshing not just for AMC, but daytime as a whole. You don't see a role like this everyday especially for a female. I believe Taylor could have became a fixture on this canvas, she was pretty unique from the start as a tomboyish ex-army brat, birth into a family full of men, she stood out in contrast with the beauty fusion girls.... AMC missed out on creating a beloved everywoman type of character. She was full of possibilities: Taylor should have been tested with Ryan, Tad, David, and Frankie and maybe Bianca. She could have had different political beliefs because she didn't come from money like Greenlee and Kendall.

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I agreed with you 100%. At that time on the show both could've flourished. It was brought up in the tribute thread that Taylor Miller was asking to be paired with David Canary and that storyline just writes itself with the Cortlandt/Chandler history. IMO, Adam was wasted and kept redoing the same thing after his storyline with Gloria. So i would have enjoyed him Honestly falling for Nina.

Erica was in a sweet spot before she kidnap Maria's child. I felt like they needed to focus more on her new friendships with Janet and Skye and how she learns to coexist with other women. More focus on her being a business mentor, Giving her and David a real chance at a romance etc....

Edited February 13, 2022 by DemetriKane

[Khan]

By that point, Beth Ehlers came across as too harsh and angry to work in any romantic pairing.  She would have needed to display some warmth and vulnerability, and she just didn't have that anymore.

I honestly would have loved to have seen Erica grapple (emotionally, as well as physically) with menopause, but that would have required admitting that she was getting older, lol.

[Soaplovers]

All My Children 

Dottie had a social climbing mom Edna, a warm step father Benny..and seemed insecure.  And I always thought Tad got off Scott free with how he messed with her mind and emotions.

The show had her scheme to keep him after she had a miscarriage..thus making him the victim..when he had dated her due to being paid.

After she and Tad parted ways, the show made some half attempts at keeping her in the mix (i.e. working as Erica's assistant, being roommates with Greg, and dating Palmer's step son)..but then saddled her back to Tad before she left town to start over. 

Tad was the Bermuda triangle in terms of most of his pairings losing their point of view/agency (Dottie, Hilary, Dixie, Gloria).

[John]

I think Beth Elhers attitude is what did her in

Yeah A month would have been great but it happened and was never talked about again

Would they have been open to continue the roles a while longer?

Edited February 13, 2022 by John

[dc11786]

Johnny Forbes was always set to die. In Nixon's bible for "Loving," the telelfilm is mentioned, but the story is not outlined. The story synopsis picks up with the daytime episodes. With that said, characters are described discussing some of the events of the film. Originally, Johnny was set to commit suicide after it was discovered that he was the one behind the prostitution ring. The scandal surrounding Johnny's demise was briefly addressed by Roger on a newsbroadcast and then it seemed to fade into the background. 

Marland did the incest storyline opposite the serial killer storyline on "New Day in Eden" around the same time. It creates a very dark story landscape. I don't think that really worked for what the early tone of "Loving." With that said, it makes an interesting point; the story of the telefilm doesn't really fit the general narrative of the daytime show. I would have liked to see the conflict between Merrill the reporter and Mike the cop continue. I think there was a way to do that by leaving Amelia's story a bit more open.

If instead she had been arrested, this would have given Mike and Merrill something to spar over if Merrill launched an investigation into Amelia's disappearance while Mike was also investigating the incident. Personally, I would have killed off Patrick Donovan instead of Johnny Forbes, which would have given the Donovans something more intense to play in those opening episodes. Also, if Johnny was alive, I would allow the characters to believe that Johnny helped Amelia escape on his boat, but it would turn out Cabot Alden was the one to help Amelia flee prosecution. This would have left the writers with several stories to begin with: the Donovan family's grief regarding the death of their patriarch, Mike's investigation into both Amelia and Johnny, Merrill and Roger's pursuit of Amelia in order to clear Johnny, Johnny's life as a pariah, and the secret regarding why Cabot Alden was so willing to help Amelia escape town. Instead, there is almost no story at the start. 

With that said, in this scenario, both Johnny and Amelia would have to be recast.

[Paul Raven]

Ok .How do you recast Geraldine Page??

[Joseph]

Dee Wallace from Lassie? Ha I would have enjoyed seeing her on a soap!

Indeed Diana was wasted she happened to be Drake's best Pairing in the years without Deidre, but instead of Developing their chemistry they kept A barrier between them with Marlena's ghost

As for 2019 I prefer to ignore it, they totally revamped the character, wouldn't it be easier to simply have brought Judith back as Anjelica?

Wow I would have loved to See Adam falling for Nina, Would have been great Imagine Brooke and Her fighting? 

Many people say that Tara's Return was totally wasted I agree, first They didn't seem to care about her appearance she was a contemporary of Erica yet she looked a dozen years older, second they could have used the chance to reignite the Original feud between Tara and Erica, I understand that Erica was Sleeping with Tara's son?

Good Question, Geraldine was quite one of a Kind

[DemetriKane]

@Khan That's true. She did start out on the show, with some decent charisma to me. So i'm not sure if she was ever content with the role. Yeah, I could get behind the menopause storyline. It should have been a priority to ground Erica and her family in more reality based storylines. It would have been nice to have her brother Mark around during the 2000s.

@Soaplovers I forgot all about Dottie. You're correct they did her dirty. I would have liked to see her return in a "look at me now" type of storyline. 

@JohnVery true.

@JosephYes, Nina and Brooke were best friends, so much drama to play. Add in her cousin Dixie with Adam too!

Tara did look awfully old LMAO. Erica did date her son before she returned though. I would love to see that feud play out. AMC did not play up their history enough, they was always focus on moving forward!!

Edited February 14, 2022 by DemetriKane

[DemetriKane]

Frankie Hubbard (ALL MY CHILDREN) This legacy character deserve better. They never had a clear focus on what to do with him. One moment he's into film making, then a doctor, then making films again, then a war hero, and than a doc again! I wasn't a fan of making another person of color a doctor LOL. I wanted him to have more edge than his parents did, I wish they pushed him into more business storylines with The Chandlers and Enchantment and Fusion. I was all game for Frankie and Colby, but i also wanted him with Kendall and Amanda. I didn't hate Randi, i expected more from that role and the actress just let me down.

Hannah Nichols (ALL MY CHILDREN) Another Character i had high hopes for. She was good angst for Zendall. I liked her entanglements with Josh and Sean too! 

[Khan]

Let's be honest: BE's time on AMC was doomed from the start.

First, she was supposed to be a Liza recast, or was heavily rumored to be.  Either way, the thought of anyone other than Marcy Walker playing Liza was unappealing to most long-time AMC fans.  (As Jamie Luner would learn all too tragically, lol.)

Next, just before she premiered, Chuck Pratt had to change her character's name, from "Taylor McBride" to "Taylor Thompson," either due to legal reasons, or because fans pointed out that he had used the exact same name once on MELROSE PLACE, I can't remember which.  (It's never good when the HW has to change your character's name before your first episode.)

Then, as if AMC fans weren't having a hard enough time warming up to her, BE shoots her own self in the foot by dissing her co-star, the very likeable JR Martinez (ex-Brot), as being not up to her standards, or some mess.  (She did say that while she was still on the show, right, @Vee?)

By the time they flirted with pairing Taylor with Tad, nobody cared.  So much so that the b***h literally vanished after being attacked in the ladies' room by psycho Annie, never to be seen or heard from again.

[Vee]

She sure did. I understood what she was trying to say from the soundbite I recall and the actual verbiage, and she was in some ways very complimentary to Martinez, but it was not something she should ever have said in public while still on the show. Especially since Martinez was taking off with the audience and she decidedly was not, and seemed discontent that she was unappreciated.

On paper I think the concept of a character like Taylor was a great idea for AMC - female military vet, conservative, etc. That's all in keeping with the show's traditions. And Ehlers was right for it IMO. The way they tanked it was in doing what Brian Frons so often did - taking something viable and overpromoting it, forcing it on the audience in lieu of other characters they want to see, and then getting the worst possible slanted writing c/o Pratt for it. (This happened with Jax and Sam on GH, a.k.a. "Jam!" the squish name the network invented for them and tried to push on the audience, a first and last in my experience - Kelly Monaco playing a treasure hunter with Ali McGraw vibes in her early appearances opposite dashing Jax was viable, especially on a show with GH's adventure pedigree. It's just the intense push and lousy rushed story that failed.)

AMC also tried to do the same trick that almost never works since the '70s (and with Jacquie Courtney and George Reinholt, the originals, it only worked until he got himself fired again) - re-pairing two actors from another show despite the fact that the current show's audience doesn't care. Ricky Paull Goldin's Jake was with Amanda and fans were into that, they weren't here to have a visibly spent Beth Ehlers from her fading GL days forced on them. There were other places and people for the Taylor character to go to story-wise. But by the time they stuck her with the suicide risk, post-Dixie Tad of that era they'd already given up.

Edited February 14, 2022 by Vee