Characters that ATE their Soaps

[Contessa Donatella]

Every year Susan had an Emmy s/l. Now that could be annoying. But, you just had to accept it. It was like a Quest, for gosh sakes! But, places when she would be in other stories, she belonged; she fit.

[carolineg]

With Erica she always got a lead story, but the entire cast wasn't reacting to Erica or involved with Erica.  They had their own stories like others have said.   There were A/B/C stories in general.

Like @Darn said, at the height of Sonny/Jason/Carly/Sam(Courtney)-no one else had a story unless their story was reacting to something one of those 4 did.  Even most of the B or C stories connected back to them.  That's eating a show.

I am surprised more people here haven't mentioned Sami or EJ on Days.  I probably did at some point, but in the mid 2000's everything was about Sami or Sami's love life.  Her and James Scott playing Colleen and Santo in the Brady vendetta crap might be the pinnacle of the two's airtime.  Not only were they on all the time they are now playing 2 characters that are on all the time as well.  

[Contessa Donatella]

That is the first time I just let the show go on without me. I didn't like James Scott, either on AMC where they said he gave notes to actors better than him or on DOOL. And, Sami was just enough of a good thing, already, enuff is enuff!

[carolineg]

James Scott is so ridiculously hot and I get the obsession, but EJ kinda always sucked.  The way the show tried to make Sami the female romantic lead at that time was strange.  That's basically the antithesis of Sami as a character.  She had multiple men fighting over her, the numerous children in a short period, and was completely de-clawed as a character.  The show seems to have righted itself with her characterization now, but there were about 5 years on Days where I wondered how we got to this point with Sami.  It was almost like because the show didn't have Carrie they were giving Sami stories that should have been Carrie's and made Sami a hybrid of the two.

[Khan]

In a way, ATWT apparently did the same thing to Lisa in the '70's, transitioning her from the show's chief troublemaker to...well...less of a troublemaker, lol.  However, the show wisely offset declawing Lisa by introducing Joyce as the diabolical third wheel in Lisa and Grant's relationship.  Perhaps, DAYS should have tried a similar tactic, allowing Sami to mature and mellow somewhat, while introducing a new troublemaker who would make life hell for Samantha Gene.

[carolineg]

I think I may have reversed the Nicole/Sami roles.  Instead of Nicole being the evil one with the baby switch perhaps reverse it to Sami.   Idk, I have never felt Sami should ever be the lead heroine of that generation.  A lead but not a romantic one.  It's a role that Carrie or Belle should have taken on.  It didn't help that different regimes had very different takes on Sami.  She tended to mature then backslide if the writers changed.

[dragonflies]

Even then it was mostly other characters talking about those 4, ugh

[carolineg]

Yes!  I have no problem with them leading as I like all of them outside Sam/Courtney, but not every character on the show should revolve around them and what they are doing.  It's like a similar problem you brought up with Brenda.  In 2010 every. single. character was talking about her.  Maxie was talking about her.  Spinelli was obsessed with her.  Lucky was talking about her and the Balkan. Dante secretly loved her.  Like WHY!!???   I could talk about Brenda all day everyday, but that's not entertaining tv.  Why burn out an audience unnecessarily on a character like that? 

[Planet Soap]

I love how Erica always got the biggest headshot in the intros from 1990 onwards lol!

Makes sense. Erica was there from roughly the start so it made sense that she would have such prominent focus. Same for OLTL's Viki. It's different for Reva on GL as she came on 46 years into the show's run and became it's star. 

As for Victor on Y&R I never minded him as a prominent focus. I just hated how excessively villainous they make him again after about 2007.

Edited May 23, 2022 by ironlion

[Faulkner]

Post-Sabrina, Victor became an absolute monster, yet a lot of people seemed to love that.

[Paul Raven]

AW did the same thing with Rachel by introducing Iris and Y&R with Lauren by bringing on Sheila,

[Planet Soap]

Liam/Hope/Steffy B&B: the show has excessively pulled the couples apart and put them back together too many times for the audience (or at least myself) to care. The endless back and forth needs to stop. Moreover, Liam isn't in any way commanding as leading man to have two major female leads fight over him for a decade. 

 

Dallas, JR: could it be said that JR ate the show? I will say that I definitely Felt episodes were stronger when Bobby and Pam were the leads and JR was there a moral foil in the early years. I haven't seen much past Season 9 but apparently (correct me if I'm wrong) Hagman got producing credits, JR became more of the star, but he was also weaker as a charachter as he began to get beaten. 

[Soaplovers]

When Pam left...it threw off the balance because deep down..the show was JR vs Pam.  It was never the main focus but was an undercurrent throughout the early to mid years.  Between 1987 and 1991, there wasn't that undercurrent despite the show trying to position Sue Ellen in that role in her final season.

Also, Erica was a lead...but one of many leads on the show.  Most of her interactions with cast members made sense for the most part.

[KristinG79]

B&B: Brooke and Hope

[Planet Soap]

Someone mentioned in another thread that that they're surprised Jax lasted so long and I'm inclined to agree. I had little clue what he was involved in between Brenda's "death" and his involvement with Carly. The only things I could recall were the Courtney and Sam storylines.  

Do you all think that "the teenagers" ate latter day OLTL.

Edited May 23, 2022 by ironlion