ALL: Short Lived Character, Long Lasting Impact

[Planet Soap]

Hopefully someone didn't do this already...

What was a character who's storyline impact far outlasted their run on the show?

GH Frank Smith was only on the show for brief stints in 1979-80; 93-94; 2015 and drove years of story for Luke, Laura and Sonny.

Y&R Phillip Chancellor II died in 1975 after  a 2 year run yet moved stories well until Katherine's death in 2013 and beyond. 

OLTL Victor Lord Sr and Irene Clayton Manning. Both characters were on the show for a short time, and "died" in the 70s. But Victor's death and Vicki's subsequent DID from his abusive were stories for the show's entire run. Irene's diary and the paternity of Tina, Todd and Victor Jr would drive story up to 2011!

Edited October 26, 2024 by Planet Soap

[allmc2008]

Victor was on OLTL for about a decade 

[te.]

Addie Horton is the first one who comes to mind.

Primetime:

Catherine Harrington on Peyton Place was only on it for 20 episodes at the start, but her impact was felt during the rest of the run.

Jaqueline Perrault was in six episodes in seasons 1 and 2 of Falcon Crest, but arguably kept stirring up trouble from beyond the grave.

[carolineg]

I guess it depends on what we are considering short lived because even someone like Addie was on for 3 or 4 years as a contract player.  If we are considering characters that were on a few years and not 'guest stars' I would probably say Stone from GH.

Michael Sutton was only on for 2 years, but Stone's legacy and impact are still talked about today.  Plus, the obvious impact of giving Robin HIV as well.

Heroines that died tragically young like Lily on GH or Isabella on Days, just to name a few, tend to have much longer legacies than they would have otherwise too.

[BoldRestless]

Usher's guest appearance on B&B. He slept with Amber, casting the paternity of her child into doubt. Not knowing what race the baby would be, she went home to death valley for a home birth, had a stillborn, stole cousin Becky's baby, and that eventually brought baby daddy Deacon to town, kicking off decades of story and spawning the character of Hope Logan.

Edited October 26, 2024 by BoldRestless

[Planet Soap]

Indeed he was. I stand corrected. 

[Maxim]

OG Caroline on Bold.

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She was there for like 800 episodes. But truly left a mark on the show. In Greece the show was even renamed Caroline for these first seasons. I remember people asking about Caroline decades after her death. 

[Franko]

I'll add Jenny from AMC to that list. Her ripple effect includes adult Tad, plus Opal, Liza, Jesse and Angie, and all the people they affected. Oddly enough, I think the least impactful person in that pool is Greg.

[Soaplovers]

General Hospital:

Dominique.. a character that was on for barely two years (and only a year if you only count Shell D's stint).  Her death affected Scotty, Mac, Lucy, and ended up resulting in the birth of Serena, and the introductions of two half sisters Danielle and Katherine.  And the effects of her character spanned onto a spinoff Port Charles

[Cheap21]

Megan on OLTL. She was only on the show for 4-5 years but the show never forgot her after her death which impacted Vicki and heavily inormed the relationship she would go on to have with Marty and Todd

 

GH/PC - Dominique. The character was only around for 2 years yet her backstory heavily created the foundation for the Port Charles spinoff years later when her daughter was made a focal point and they gave her a sister, uncle and revisted her childhood home. I never watched GH when Dominique was alive but I knew who she was bc she was always mentioned by Lucy and Scott

[kalbir]

Caroline was one of B&B's best original characters as written by Bill Bell but I don't think she had much of an impact in the years following her death. Bill Bell essentially replaced Caroline with Taylor.

[Marco Dane]

I would give anything to see the first 3 decades of OLTL 

[Maxim]

I respectfully disagree. Caroline left her mark on the show... and her presence was felt in storylines for yeears. 

[watson71]

Christine Jones played Janice Frame on AW for 18 months from November 1978 to March 1980, but her presence on the show and how she and Mitch plotted to kill Mac would play well into the 1990s with her son Evan Bates on the show.

[P.J.]

If the benchmark is "impact outlasted their run on the show", on GL I'd say Nola Reardon. Nola's popularity cemented the entire Reardon clan in Springfield (at least imo) which carries through to the 2000s and more if you consider that Michelle's connection to the Reardons was never forgotten.

I truer example, perhaps: Carrie Todd. The brief marriage to Ross really changed his direction, making him into a reliable force for good in town. And while they didn't have any children, the ghost of Carrie kept Ross a bachelor for a decade.