Underused/Misused Charachters

[Planet Soap]

What is a charachter thats underused (not being given enough story, or not being used to their full potential), or misused (given the wrong storylines or being taken in a direction not best for their charachter). 

I'll start.

UNDERUSED-Justin on B&B. We could have really had a months/years long storyline of Justin trying to take over Spencer Publications. Instead we get him begging for forgiveness after trying to send Liam and Bill to jail?

UNDERUSED-Monica GH: all the Q drama going on, yet we havent seen Monica in months on the show! Not even for Thanksgiving. 

MISUSED- Diane on Y&R 2022. She shouldn't be seeking redemption, she should be stirring things up on this otherwise boring soap.

Edited January 22, 2023 by ironlion

[Darn]

Misused: Drew Cain on GH. I only know a little about the character. For years everyone thought he was Jason. And he lived a life as Jason. And then he was presumed dead. But in Cameron Mathison he's come back as some sort of Ken doll Generic Man. Who is this guy? Because all I see is Cam.

[Bright Eyes]

She hasn't been seen since March. It has to be due to Leslie Charleson's unavailability at this point. 

[David_Vickers]

UNDERUSED GH --- Monica (Agreed, but I too think it's due to Leslie Charleson's health the last few months, the writing stating "Monica is under the weather" makes me think GH may be preparing us for the possible exit of Monica,  I am afraid, hoping I'm wrong, that Leslie is ill with some besides her falling accident.  I think she hasn't been on social media for all or most of the time she's been off the show as well. 

UNDERUSED GH --- Taggert, why isn't he on more,  Real Andrews has been ill, read somewhere that his cancer might be back, IF that's not the case, then why isn't he on more.

UNDERUSED GH ---- Aidan Spencer, Jake Morgan, Danny Morgan, & Rocco Falconeri. These kids are rarely seen, but we get Violet over and over, and she's annoying IMHO.  She's even in the opening, When at least the actor playing Jake should be  since he's been on the show much longer and is I believe 15 now.

OVERUSED GH ---Olivia 

UNDERUSED Y&R --- many ---- Lauren, Michael, Kevin, Chloe, Gloria, Traci, Esther, Jill, Christine, the missing Christian Newman, Kevin & Chloe's kids should be seen a little, as well as Katie, Billy & Victoria's daughter.   Also Tessa, Mariah & Sharon.  More money needs to be put in "Daytime's #1 Drama", so we could get Lily's condo, Lauren & Michael's place, the regular Chancellor mansion set (Abby could move in with Devon), Tess & Mariah's place (formerly Nick's), plus more house sets for people like Adam, Phyllis, etc.

OVERUSED Y&R --- Jack, Diane, Kyle, the restaurant sets.

DAYS ---- needs an infusion of cast so that their many overused sets can get some rest, bring back the "new" Kiriakis living room set, and a house for Brady, and others, who should NOT be living with others since they are wealthy in their own rights.

OVERUSED DAYS characters --- Leo, Gwen, Xander, Kristen, Li, Nicole, Rafe

UNDERUSED --- Abe, Paulina, Doug, Julie, Will, Jack, Jennifer, Shawn, Belle, Maggie

 

[Vee]

I am very concerned about Leslie and I doubt I'm the only one. Real Andrews should be on more, but they seem committed to the most boring characters possible (Curtis).

There are way too many kids on GH due to the overuse of baby stories, just like GL and AMC before it. They occasionally show Sam and Dante's teenaged kids and I often forget who they are. They're too old and as for the overall there's too many of them (not to mention the fact that Sam also has a rarely-seen daughter with Drew you didn't mention who I also forgot existed). Aiden can stay small, and the only one I have an investment in Hudson West's Jake; he is more talented than a lot of the cast so of course they don't use him and will prob recast him with a Dex clone.

Edited January 23, 2023 by Vee

[fivethej]

Sierra on Y&R. She never had her own SL or love interest, always playing the third wheel. It was disgusting too how some fans were body shamming her online back then. It sucks she never returned.

[Darn]

Sierra, Y&R's second (?) nepo baby.

[Liberty City]

This won't be changing anytime soon; Sony dismissed the set crew, so pretty much those community sets are permanently up, with some intermitted-changes for non-community sets.

[Spoon]

GH

Amy Vining.  They should've gave her a couple of plots instead of just being a "talk to."

 

Y/R

The oft mentioned but never seen mrs martinez could've been used tp introduce a hispanic family.  Utilized in a similar was as Mamie was back in the day.

[Broderick]

THIRD nep baby -- because you also need to include that terrible girl (Marissa Arena) who played Marissa Bell-Barton on the show.  First she was the personal assistant to Diane Jenkins, and the after Alex Donnelley left, she became the handmaiden of Lynn Bassett-Hound.   (She was Maria Arena Bell's sister in real life.)

[BoldRestless]

There's many more nepo babies on Y&R than that: 

Lauralee Bell

Both of Kay Alden's kids (Conci had two roles, Betsy and Heather)

Marissa Barton (did not know her history, thanks @Broderick)

Laura Bryan Birn

 

 

Edited January 23, 2023 by BoldRestless

[Forever8]

I remember she and Bryant James had decent chemistry too. 

[Darn]

Thanks @Broderick I didn't know about her!

And while not a Y&R production team nepo baby Steven Ford (Andy) definitely is one.

Devon and Lily are on several times per week and have what you might calls "stories" but they hardly have defining character traits. They just exist as token black people. No drive, no purpose, no internal life. I guess that could be said for all of the characters on Y&R right now but most of them had some defining characteristic at one point. Devon hasn't had a consistent personality since he was 16. And Lily only lived to sustain whatever that relationship was that she had with Cain for most of her time on the show. Now she only exists so Billy has someone to talk to.

[Broderick]

And I believe that little boy of Kay Alden's (John Alden) played Nicholas Newman in the early 1990s.  

(There was a scene about 2000 or 2001 where Paul was standing in his office with Cricket, Lynn, and Marissa, and all I could think was that Doug Davidson was the only person in the scene who'd gotten his job based on talent instead of who his family was.  The others were all there strictly because they were related to a Bell or a Birn.)  

Edited January 23, 2023 by Broderick

[kalbir]

Kay Alden's son John was Nicholas when he was first SORASed (going from 2 to 6 in 1990). He stayed in the role until early 1994 when Nicholas was sent to Swiss boarding school and as we all know, that summer the frat party started.