This topic was brought up in the ATWT thread, but I'm sure that it applies to every soap:

What current characters would you consider to be totally unnecessary on the show, whose scenes are almost always filler for the most interesting storylines on the show?

Do these characters have family ties on the show? Were they created by the current regime? Or are they characters that used to be important but are now no longer needed on the soap? Did the show back them into a corner? Etc.

PASSIONS:

Valerie, Rachel, Katherine, Martin, Pilar, Jessica, Spike, Chris

Guiding Light

Leah Bauer-This two year old teen was not necessary

Frank Cooper

Ava

Coop

Jeffrey O'Neil

Mel Bauer

Remy Boudreau

ATWT:

Jade

Mike

GH:

Maxie

Diego

Max

Y&R:

Carmen

Jana

Devon

Half the AMC cast, I swear.

Aiden. Di. Del. Amanda. Simone. Erin. Jonathan. Julia.

That's not to say I don't enjoy some of these characters and/or respect their portrayers, but AMC has a horrible track record of just slapping random characters on the canvas with no plan and no useful connection.

Hmmm.....this will be fun. I'll do AMC First.

Amanda, Del, Erin, Jonathan, Annie, her daughter, Terry, Danielle (I mean come on...really? Why is she there now), Reggie (it's not like he's on anyway), Aiden, Julia (no family = character destined to be written off)

ITA with the comment about half the cast of AMC.

Erin Lavery: 1 year later, there is still no dam point to her. They didn't need to bring her on full-time after using her to re-introduce Jonathan. Connie is a good actress but Erin is such a waste of time and money...and who really cares about her and....

Aidan Devane: One of the few characters brought on in her absense that McT didn't write out or manage to convince the actor/actress to leave by not writing for the him/her. Because Frons loves him. And his acting has improved and I kind of like Aidan as a supporting character but now they seem hell-bent on making him more and he's just too boring and Aidan has no useful ties to Pine Valley. They should really use Tad and Aidan's friendship more on-screen. MEK brings out the best in Aiden.

Amanda Dillon: Looked like she might be gone but no such luck. Again the actress has improved but she's still pretty limited and Amanda has no ties to Pine Valley. The character will never be successful without Janet on the canvas.

Di Henry: I love Kelli Giddish but they they've made Di irrelevant. Pairing her with Aidan or, even worse, doing a predictable Jamal/Erin/Aidan/Di quad is not going to save this character. It's just going to make things worse.

Del Henry: WHY THE HELL IS HE STILL HERE? He should never has lasted past his 13 weeks for winning I Wanna Be a Soapstar. He's not a good actor and they hardly write for Del.

Simone Torres: And I wish it wasn't the case with her. So..um.....where is Simone's "odd romance" McTavish promised for the summer? Oh that's right, McT completely made it up just like her quarterly Brooke scoops. Terri is a goldmine but McT won't write for her for the same reason she won't really write for Aidan or Reggie. When a significant fanbase grew for Tad & Simone, McT had her out of the Liza/Krystal/Simone/Tad story so fast my head was spinning. Simone/Tad/Dixie should be the story right now.

Jamal Cudahy: What a bleeping joke this was. They have yet to even state he is Jamal Cudahy and guess what? They probably never will. Anyone who didn't read it here or in a magazine or saw it on the credits will probably never know he's *that* Jamal. As for the need for him, there is none. Erin's sounding board? I don't care about Erin Lavery, I sure as hell don't care about her talk-to with a familiar name.

Danielle Frye: Again, like Simone, I wish this weren't the case. However from the second Danielle came back she was barely used, off-screen for weeks or months at a time....until the Dragon story..and then back to nothing. The whole thing with her is weird because McTavish created Danielle and brought her back. Normally she has her creations everywhere.

Reggie Montgomery: Love him, LOVE MBJ, but they aren't going to use him. I'm sure he's gone though and I think it may have even already happened.

Jonathan Lavery: Perhaps McT's biggest f*ckup. Jeff was a big draw for AMC last year, people couldn't wait for his return and now...I don't think anyone really cares. And that's not Jeff's fault. It's solely McTavish's.

Julia Santos: Sydney costs way too much money and Julia serves way too little purpose. They could have hired a cheap extra to be Jamie's f*ck-buddy and nurse to every patient at PVH.

And speaking of Sydney Penny, I'm adding the character of Sydney to my list. I know she hasn't aired. I also know she's unecessary

No show should have a list that long.......

ATWT

Mike, Katie, Dusty, Dallas

PASSIONS

Valerie, Katherine, Martin, Chris, James, Rachel, Esme, Spike, Jessica, Simone, Paloma, Hank.

GH

Sonny, Emily, Diego, Lulu, Maxie, Milo, Enzo, Kelly, Alice, Sam, Michael.

ATWT:

Mike

Katie

LUCY

B&B

Ridge

Nick

Fleica

Bridget

Y&R

DEVAN

Sharon

Brad

Victoria

Daniel

Lily

AMC

Del

Colby

Terry

Jamal (with his mom off contract, what is the point?)

GH

Maxie

Diego

Lulu

Sam

OLTL

Spencer

John McBain

AMC: Simone, Erin, Del, Di, Amanda, Colby, Jamie, Julia, Jonathan, Aidan

GL: Jeffrey and Ava.

DAYS:

-PATRICK LOCKHEART

Y&R:

-Gina. Sorry to say it but unless they write for her, she has no use.

-JT

B&B:

-Hector

-Massimo

DOOL:

-Frankie

-Shawn Sr

-Roman

-Austin

-Bonnie

-Patrick

-Victor (unless paired with Caroline)

At OLTL, the list is HUGE..

Paige

Layla

Claudia

Hugh

Vincent

Despite being the focus of so many stories, John McBain

Adrianna

I don't LIKE putting Michael and Marcie in this category, but I have to.

Bo

After the two year hack job on OLTL, I have to say OLTL is not needed.