I'm working on a 50 years/50 characters list but I thought some discussion to see if we could come up with the Top 10 based on not only longevity but the impact they made on the show/amount of story they had etc

So coming up with a shortlist is pretty easy but working on a ranking is a little tougher.

Here's a suggested list to start from, not in order .Please add or delete and suggest a position in the Top 10 and who would include in the next 10.

Victor

Nikki

Jack

Katherine

Ashley

Jill

Drucilla

Phyllis

Lorie

Christine

Victoria

Adam

Paul

Nick

Sharon

My list based on most impactful:

1 Victor

2 Katherine

3 Nikki

4 Jill

5 Jack

6 Drucilla

7 Ashley

8 Christine

9 Lorie

10 Sharon

Bonus: Nick

1/2. Katherine/Victor - Hard to choose. These are the best male and female actors on the show, IMO, who drove story for 40 years and have played all angles from pure evil to total vulnerability. I can't imagine the show without either. Kay was involved in so many groundbreaking scenes from her alcoholism to lesbianism to her plastic surgery. Victor is largely responsible for reshaping the show into a corporate-oriented storyline by getting Newman Enterprises involved with Chancellor, Prentiss Industries, Mergeron, and Jabot.

3. Jill - She is of course the only link to the original series. She was the only one of the Foster or Brooks children to survive, despite being recast (Lorie Brooks is not on my list because as big as she was until 1982, she had no long lasting impact). The original premise of the show was a class struggle and Jill is the character that we followed from working class all the way up to being rich. She went from an ingenue to a villainess and settled in between. Plus, Jess Walton is the best recast the show has ever done.

4. Nikki - A very unique ingenue for soaps. Most of the women in supercouples were heroines, not strippers. She was involved in some of the more interesting plots from the late 70s/early 80s (killing her father, the cult) and then of course huge in the 80s and 90s. Certainly the face of the show for many viewers.

5. Drucilla - One of the most captivating and memorable characters in Y&R history. Like Jill we were able to follow her storyline from a troubled background to the Genoa City elite. She rates highly for me because like Jeanne Cooper, so much of her character came from Victoria Rowell, like her dancing. This is an unrecastable character. People are still beggining for her to return 15+ years later. And she still has impact today, for example by asking the writers to do the foster care/adoption story with Devon, who is still a big part of the canvas.

6. Jack - A great foil for Victor and he was the character that cemented the Abbott family. Not in my top 5 because things just weren't the same after Terry Lester left and he became less snarky and more of a romantic hero.

7. Paul - Another character that goes back to the 70s and really grew up on the show. Y&R tended to keep storylines grouped separately, but by virtue of being a PI, he had involvements with almost everyone. He was also the show's version of the 80s action hero prototype. He could easily have a place today as the wise older cop.

8. Christine - Such a huge part of the show in the 80s and 90s, including pretty important topics like the date rape and sexual harassment stories. Like Paul, she was involved with a lot of different sets of characters.  

9. Ashley - Another 80s icon, like a corporate Barbie but she had a brain. I think Traci is the more interesting sister, but Ashley has been more present over the years, and her huge romance with Victor spanned decades (in some ways I prefer them to Victor and Nikki).

10. Michael - A representation of GC's great villains, he's the only one that stuck around long-term. His early work was just electric. I like that they managed to keep him on the show without resorting to him being presumed dead or just ignoring his crimes. He simply went to jail and came back years later, which almost never happens on soaps. A lot of effort went into his rehabilitation story, but he also kept his edge. I didn't agree with the show making him and Christine an item, but they were able to salvage it by getting him with Lauren and showing some humanity. 

 

Honoroble mentions: Traci, John, Neil, Sheila, Lauren, Devon, Cassie, Nick, Sharon, Victoria, Danny 

 

 

 

 

@BoldRestless Your list and descriptions are completely spot on. You nailed it

 

28 minutes ago, kalbir said:

@BoldRestless Your list and descriptions are completely spot on. You nailed it

 

Agreed. Adding Devon is a nice touch. I probably would have added Lorie simply because she was such a huge character in the show’s history but I understand the reasoning behind not including her. Michael is a character I wouldn’t have necessarily thought to include, but they built an entire family around him who dominated story for a good decade (for better or for worse).

7 hours ago, kalbir said:

@BoldRestless Your list and descriptions are completely spot on. You nailed it

 

Agree. Maybe put Victoria ahead of Michael? Even her conception was part of the story!

Wonderful list @BoldRestless!  

In no particular order:

1.) Katherine

2.) Jill

3.) Nikki

4.) Victor

5.) Jack

6.) Ashley

7.) Nina

8.) Lauren

9.) Drucilla

10.) Sheila

Honorable Mentions: Liz, Heather Tom's Victoria, Cricket, Paul, Neil, John, Traci, Esther

So 11-20 candidates are

Lorie

Nick

Sharon

Sheila

Phyllis

Traci

Adam

Lauren

John Abbott

Neil

Malcolm

Nina

Brad Carlton

Your thoughts?

I'm not much of a list-maker, but for the first 10 years of Y&R's existence, the characters who really "defined" the show and propelled it from the lower tier and into the top three, were Lorie and Snapper.  And when those two characters were written-out, Bill Bell completely reimagined his show, so great was the void left by their departure.   They were his "little pets".  Do Lorie and Snapper have a lasting impact now?  Probably not -- except they're the characters who helped build the show's base, and their departures led to the creation of the show most newer viewers are familiar with.  

I can't chose only 10 characters. 

I do a male characters list and a female characters list. 

Male

1 Victor

2 Jack 

3 Nicholas 

4 Paul

5 Neil 

6 Adam 

7 Billy 

8 Brad

9 Michael 

10 Snapper 

 

Female 

1 Katherine

2 Nikki

3 Jill

4 Victoria

5 Phyllis

6 Sharon

7 Drucilla

8 Ashley 

9 Lauren 

10 Lorie

Males:

Nathan Hasting Sr. 

Neil Winters

Malcolm Winters

Paul Williams

Andy Richards

Terry Lester’s Jack

Ryan McNeil

Brock Reynolds 

Snapper Foster

Greg Foster

Females:

Kay Chancellor

Jill Foster-Abbott

Drucilla Barber-Winters

Dr. Olivia Barber-Winters

Mamie Johnson

Lauren Fenmore- Baldwin

Traci Abbott

Leanna Love

Gina Roma 

Hope Wilson

 

 

As much as I love Nina, I find @BoldRestlesshas nailed the list I would have come up with too.  Even if I am not personally a fan of Michael, you cannot deny his rehabilitation and prominent story for almost 15 years, before varying back burner periods.  If this was just favorites, I would put Nina in that spot.