1 minute ago, Khan said:

IIRC, JJ left on his own. He had been itching to leave for years in order to try his luck in primetime and films.

I know fans have complained about how Young's Lucky was too angry and Vaughan's Lucky too much like a himbo, but I think that's because Young and Vaughan weren't capable of playing Lucky with the same layers as Jackson.

2 minutes ago, Vee said:

Jonathan Jackson was insanely popular at that time and both Tony Geary and Genie adored him. They did not ever want the role recast because of this. He left to pursue movies.

Thank you both! :)

Promo for Jan.1, 2026 airing of Tony Geary's final full episode.
(He did appear a couple years later for a few seconds to greet Tracy in Europe. But otherwise this was his final episode)

On 12/27/2025 at 9:24 PM, Khan said:

IIRC, JJ left on his own. He had been itching to leave for years in order to try his luck in primetime and films.

I know fans have complained about how Young's Lucky was too angry and Vaughan's Lucky too much like a himbo, but I think that's because Young and Vaughan weren't capable of playing Lucky with the same layers as Jackson.

I think Greg did show some talent in those moments when he was on DAYS, even if he wasn't as good as Jackson was in his first few years as Lucky. Greg just never had a chance.

Edited 18 hours ago18 hr by DRW50

I think Greg worked very hard and had real chemistry with people like Becky, Kelly Monaco and Kirsten. It was never the same and the character was profoundly different (in part because he was a more limited actor when younger) and downgraded, but he did a good job in a tough position.

If they had recast Lucky with a more quirky actor that had a lot of depth instead of two actors who were talented but also more traditional and definitely closer to the soap hunk mold, maybe Lucky would have been as important as he should be, and they would not be beholden to JJ’s schedule.

But they also wanted Liz and Lucky to be young adults and in those stories, and Greg fit that better than Jacob Young or Jackson would have at that time. Although I did buy JJ’s Lucky as a cop with Dante as his partner.

3 minutes ago, titan1978 said:

If they had recast Lucky with a more quirky actor that had a lot of depth instead of two actors who were talented but also more traditional and definitely closer to the soap hunk mold, maybe Lucky would have been as important as he should be, and they would not be beholden to JJ’s schedule.

But they also wanted Liz and Lucky to be young adults and in those stories, and Greg fit that better than Jacob Young or Jackson would have at that time. Although I did buy JJ’s Lucky as a cop with Dante as his partner.

I think he still would have had a hard time getting over due to Tony (and to a lesser degree Genie as she was gone for most of the '00s) and nostalgia. Unfortunately, as shown (in my opinion) in both of JJ's returns, nostalgia is just that and provides little benefit to present day.

Edited 15 hours ago15 hr by DRW50

11 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

I think he still would have had a hard time getting over due to Tony (and to a lesser degree Genie as she was gone for most of the '00s) and nostalgia. Unfortunately, as shown (in my opinion) in both of JJ's returns, nostalgia is just that and provides little benefit to present day.

The stories he had to play in his first return were atrocious and tonally about deconstructing Lucky and it was miserable to watch and for him to play. This recent return there was no story. It’s just a shame because he and Becky still have chemistry and I actually prefer his sweeter natured Lucky to the misery only character Guza wanted.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: when Lucky said he should've left Liz to die in the snow, I was done with them as a couple. You don't come back from something like that.

14 hours ago, titan1978 said:

If they had recast Lucky with a more quirky actor that had a lot of depth instead of two actors who were talented but also more traditional and definitely closer to the soap hunk mold, maybe Lucky would have been as important as he should be, and they would not be beholden to JJ’s schedule.

ICAM!

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by Khan