A Saving Grace During Your Soap’s Lowest Points

[Faulkner]

Watching Susan Walters single-handedly rescue Y&R from the doldrums inspired this thread. The show only becomes watchable IMO when Diane is on screen. What are some stories/characters/performances that stood out as exceptional even when your show was in the dumps? (Granted, this was a lot easier when shows still had many of their fundamentals, like active families.)

[Spoon]

GL during the final months was the Shayne Lewis recast.  After five or so attempts they finally had a take on the character that clicked with audiences. Bill and Lizzie where another bright spot even if there stories could've been better.

Same thing with Daniel Cosgrove as Chris during the final months of ATWT as he brought that Bill Lewis energy to the role.  Made us forget about that sinister Dylan Bruce version of the character.

[Contessa Donatella]

GL End Times was the two major love stories - Jami & Otalia. Dinah was good, Bill Lewis was good, Shayne was good, Jonathan was good with Sarah, so for the people who didn't like those driving stories (Jami & Otalia) they at least had good characterizations to be watching.

AW End Times were just really rough. At least Carl was back for the very end. Someone made a huge blunder firing Keating the year before the end. I'd love to know who, supposedly someone characterized him as "an ugly old man", whoever that was just didn't get Carl & Rachel at all! They had a very sexy, high romance s/l. People didn't really want the late-in-life twins but once they were on the drawing board there was nothing to do but be supportive. Michael Malone's tenure was terrible, just awful. He just pulled out the bible of the N'Awlins show that didn't get greenlit & smeared it around town a bit but mostly just wrote it by making Bobby Reno Shane Roberts and Lisa Peluso the fragile Southern belle, Lila Roberts, complete with her terror over storms. Frankie fans, still in shock over the gruesome death had to watch them press Cass into a new romance much too soon, with miss Lila. I'm not doing a very good job of saying what saving grace there was! Sorry. It's so bleak. Lumina was the big story & it was awful. The Secret Garden wasn't great but it at least gave Sandy Ferguson something to do. And, the only real saving grace at that time was the Lumina Ball and it, and the costumes, and the big 'do of a major ball was terriffic. A hugh hooray for Shawn Reeves & his Costume people! I glean more of this & that as time goes by & my latest gleaning is a bit more about one of my favorite subjects, Beverlee McKenzie, I had wondered where her frame of mind was when the show was ending and also how her health was. A long time ago I heard that she had told a fan that she was not up to appearing on camera anymore & the fan had tried to pooh pooh that away but not been successful. I'm pretty sure her frame of mind & her looks & how she felt about them & her health were impediments to any idea about appearing in front of the camera. Our loss, eh? But, we knew that.

[Soapsuds]

Isn't it obvious for me?

 

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[Spoon]

Agree with the above.  Dinah and Jonathan were breaths of fresh air.  Sure they chewed some scenery but their often passionate performances gave the show sparks of life during the last years.  While I was indifferent towards Otalia, CC turned in solid work and made it click with viewers.  I was so excited when Phillip returned and I thought his return was actually written well.  Plus Phillip chucked Grady off a cliff (IIRC?) which I'm sure was also a bright spot for many of us GL fans.  They also humanized Edward somewhat giving him a dead daughter and IIRC a grandchild that Marina adopted.

AW's final half year had some seeds for potential.  Felicia in a quirky storyline with new Beau Sergei which would've fit well in 80s AW.  Cass in a front-burner storyline with Lover Lila and her ex/baby daddy Matthew.  The Lumina ball was intriguing but that Jordan stark plot was weird, but would've also probably fit in 80s AW.  Carl's return with his intentions questioned, whether he was reformed or went back to his villainous 80s ways.  I recall Josie and Gary being the show's last supercouple-esque pairing. Paulina's newly found daughter Remy should've later been paired with a SORAS'd Steven Frame.

Edited June 15, 2022 by Spoon

[Planet Soap]

Diane  & Sheila writing aside are great to see again on the CBS soaps.

[titan1978]

During JFP and Guza’s run on GH, Patrick and Robin arrived just in time to stop me from dropping the show.  Their story and the hospital having a focal point away from Sonny kept me hanging on when I was really starting to dislike the show.

Will’s coming out on DAYS really kept me going there too, as I had gotten really sick of Sami and she was pretty much the driving character of the show at that point.

[Faulkner]

Admittedly, the Williamson sisters kept me watching through a lot of Dena Higley’s OLTL.

[Wendy]

Yep, this is me, too.

[Contessa Donatella]

During an earlier low point in Bay City someone brilliantly came up with the idea for The Redemption of Carl & the Romance of Rachel. About 18 months of classical beat by beat where Carl & Rachel went from total antagonists to rapprochement and then on to classic romance. It was so well done that it became iconic. I can go back & do their Poet's Walk in the city again & again.

[Maxim]

I continued to watch Bold after it started dying in 2002-2003... just because of Susan Flannery and Katherine Kelly Lang... And Brooke's cheap sex scandals... it was fun and cheap enough. Like french fries two for one.

Edited June 18, 2022 by divinemotion

[carolineg]

I feel like Robin/Patrick and KMC carried that show for years.  Even if the Lisa Niles crap went on far too long their performances saved it.  I remember it being the only good story during the Brenda/Balkan stuff.   Patrick/Robin was the last supercoupley pairing GH had even though I did like early Dante/Lulu.