SoapLand - The Battle Of The Latecomers - The Result

[Willie Oleson]

It's my last SLB topic, and I've decided to combine "last" with the mysterious "it's coming" theme that's currently floating around.



The last installments of the 1980s-going-1990s prime time soaps are usually not discussed with the greatest of fondness, so this might be a bit challenging for some of us.

The Latecomers are those characters who were introduced in the last two years of the prime time soaps.
Unfortunately, this excludes the cancelled soaps.
Which new character most successfully beat the soap fatigue?

 

[Karin Schill]

I missed the last round. So here we go.

1. James (Dallas)
2. Michelle (Dallas)
3. Pilar (Falcon Crest)
4.Claudia (Knots Landing)
5. Sable (Dynasty)
Does she count?
Technically the character showed up earlier but didn't cross over to Dynasty until the final season.

 

[tommie]

5. Sable (Dynasty)
Does she count?
Technically the character showed up earlier but didn't cross over to Dynasty until the final season.

I don't think Sable counts tbh. She was also on The Colby's during seasons 6+7 of Dynasty so it does feel like cheating as she was a very well-established character once she made it to Dynasty.

I can think of one I personally liked and that was Genele on Falcon Crest.

The last two years is a hard line though. For Knots Landing that would mean that Claudia can't be included as an example, yet she's very much a "later season character" because of how long Knots ran. But I'd say a huge part of the reasons these soaps declined to begin with was because they weren't able to create compelling characters to carry the torch.

 

[Angela Channing]

1. Michael Sharpe - FALCON CREST - I've recently gained a new appreciation for this character and his storyline. He took Falcon Crest in a totally different direction which was a brave decision and I think on balance they pulled it off.

2. Jason Lochner - KNOTS LANDING - Karen and Mack needed a vessel in which to pour all their parental instincts and Jason did this in a very engaging way without slipping into too many clichés and corn.

3. Donia - DALLAS - He was JR's sanatorium buddy that eventually got him released from the institution. His final scene when JR leaves and gives all the patients that were close to him well thought out gifts was one of my favourites of the last few season of the show.

4. Roger Grimes - DYNASTY - I was going to include Tommy Mackay in my list before I checked and realised he appeared in Dallas before the final 2 seasons. I then remembered J. Eddie Peck also played this equally dangerous, volatile and interesting character in Dynasty.

5. Nick Agretti - FALCON CREST - Just because I liked seeing more of Melissa's extended family featured in the show and because he gave Falcon Crest back to Angela where it belonged.

 

[Angela Channing]

It's my last SLB topic

@Willie Oleson, as it's your last Soapland Battle, can I take this opportunity to thank you for all your work over the years in making this such a fun topic for us to discuss. I've enjoyed contributing to these battles and reading other forum member's opinions on each of the battles.

 

[James from London]

2. Jason Lochner - KNOTS LANDING - Karen and Mack needed a vessel in which to pour all their parental instincts and Jason did this in a very engaging way without slipping into too many clichés and corn.

Agreed ... except Jason showed up in Season 12, three years before the end of KNOTS.

 

[Angela Channing]

Agreed ... except Jason showed up in Season 12, three years before the end of KNOTS.

Yes, I just checked, you're correct of course. My revised top 5:

1. Michael Sharpe - FALCON CREST - I've recently gained a new appreciation for this character and his storyline. He took Falcon Crest in a totally different direction which was a brave decision and I think on balance they pulled it off.

2. Donia - DALLAS - He was JR's sanatorium buddy that eventually got him released from the institution. His final scene when JR leaves and gives all the patients that were close to him well thought out gifts was one of my favourites of the last few season of the show.

3. Roger Grimes - DYNASTY - I was going to include Tommy Mackay in my list before I checked and realised he appeared in Dallas before the final 2 seasons. I then remembered J. Eddie Peck also played this equally dangerous, volatile and interesting character in Dynasty.

4. Nick Agretti - FALCON CREST - Just because I liked seeing more of Melissa's extended family featured in the show and because he gave Falcon Crest back to Angela where it belonged.

5. Debra Lynn Ewing - DALLAS - I thought she was sweet and it was nice that James annulled his marriage to "Little Miss Tight Skirt" to remain married to her.

 

[James from London]

Oh, this is a hard one, but as

It's my last SLB topic

I really should pull my finger out and have a go:

1. John Zorelli, DYNASTY:

Funny, believable and kind of the Italian-American Matthew Blaisdel, the outsider who gave us a fresh, critical perspective on the regular characters, but in a specifically Season 9 sort of way.

2. Danny Sharpe, FALCON CREST:

Sydney, Charley, Genele, Michael Sharpe, Walker Daniels - there was no shortage of thrillingly unique figures in FC's final season - really, I could have filled up my whole Top 5 with them - but Danny was a surprisingly three-dimensional teenage character who really gave the season its heart.

3. James Beaumont, DALLAS:

Hugely likeable addition to the Ewing family. Also, JR interacting with an adult son for the first time foreshadows his relationship with John Ross in New DALLAS in all sorts of interesting ways.

4. Vanessa Hunt, KNOTS LANDING: Sexy, naughty and funny, a sexually insatiable opportunist on one hand and the terrified plaything of a madman on the other, and ultimately Season 14's hero -- saving Paige and Greg by tipping Tom Ryan off about the bomb on the Sumner Group’s private jet, and shooting Treadwell, thereby saving Nick and Val and everyone else really.

5. Michelle Stevens, DALLAS: The "money-hungry little bitch" who became President of Ewing Oil, married James and Cliff, outwitted JR and, like Vanessa on KNOTS, shot the final season's Big Bad dead.

It's my last SLB topic

Good luck with your future projects.

 

[Willie Oleson]

1. Alex Barth - KNOTS LANDING
Ultimately, his story didn't go anywhere, but I liked the sizzling vibe he brought into the show. He was greedy and creepy and cocky and would sleep with everyone - for a reason, or just because.
I really enjoyed watching Alex playing Alex.

2. Joanna Sills - DYNASTY

A distinguished and soft-spoken working girl who's still trying to figure out how this soap-thing works. In some ways I found her more intriguing than Dynasty-Sable.
I think there was a future for the upgraded "Tracy Kendall". She was likeable, but not very trustworthy.

3. Walker Daniels - FALCON CREST
Oh yeah, SoapLand needed a male version of Claudia Blaisdel, used and abused by everyone.

4. Genele Ericson - FALCON CREST
A soap minx without boundaries, frighteningly wicked and utterly pathetic.

5. John Zorelli - DYNASTY
Gone are the days when nobodies and busybodies were intercepted by Dobermanns, and it was fun to watch Zorelli harassing the mighty Carrington clan.
Sort of a Gordon Wales with a badge and John Travolta hair.

 

[Toni]

1- James Beaumont (Dallas)

2- Anna Cellini (Falcon Crest)

3- Lee Ann de la Vega (Dallas)

 

[Toni]

4- Alex Barth (Knots Landing)

5- Hillary Taylor (Dallas)

6- Miss Piggy (Dallas)



"Moi Shot JR!!"

 

[Jock Og]

1) Virginia Metheny - A troubled soul who appeared in the Colorado show's last year and the cousin of soon to depart Krystle. IMHO the Ohio native fitted into so well, with her connections to current characters and her friendship with Sable - DYNASTY

2) Michael Sharpe - Stocks and shares just hit new heights with Richard Channing's slick business associate and relative of Maggie. He was bad for most of his time but his soft side came to the surface occasionally - FALCON CREST

3) James Beaumont - Despite the twilight years not providing the entertainment we were used to; with J.R. & Co. along comes love child James and that's all I will say - DALLAS

4) Roger Grimes - 'Roger the Dodger'. Of course in the end we had a 360. Quite a character - DYNASTY

5) Genele Ericson - A valuable asset to the crazy with a capital C year. I liked her scenes with Michael and Frank not so the Danny boy. FC season 9 upped the vamp level whenever you heard her husky voice - FALCON CREST

 

[Mel O'Drama]

It's too bad Steve Brewer missed out by half a season.




1. John Zorelli
Dynasty
Kind of a younger, hotter, soapier Columbo. The pasta loving Zorelli had great chemistry with Fallon and brought out some interesting shades in all the characters with whom he interacted. He practically embodied the earthy, animated new tone of the show in Season Nine. No bad thing.


2. William Handler
Dynasty
Shady characters with dark secrets are always fun. Especially when they're a police captain involved with murder, corruption, an evil consortium and Nazi plunder. He managed to stay in the background much of the time, which made him pretty dangerous.


3. Alex Barth
Knots Landing
Willie's summed up the reasons why he belongs here.


4. Mary Robeson
Knots Landing
How many characters get their own Wizard Of Oz dream sequences?


5. Pierce Lawton
Knots Landing
Another Knots bad boy. This one even wangled his way memorably into the last scene of the penultimate Season Finale.

 

[Willie Oleson]

Brilliant! He could be Greg Sumner's cousin.

 

[James from London]

Gordon Wales with a badge and John Travolta hair.

a younger, hotter, soapier Columbo.

Yes, perfect Zorelli descriptions!

It's too bad Steve Brewer missed out by half a season.

Just what I thought.

5. Pierce Lawton
Knots Landing

He definitely would have made my Top 8.

 

[Willie Oleson]

William Handler

I had considered him for my #5, but the big hair won.

Pierce Lawton

I liked him better with his disturbed ex, Victoria. Too bad she was written out so soon.

 

[Victoriafan3]

Does beautiful Dana from Dynasty count in this? Or is she too early for what you are thinking? Leann Hunley was so easy to watch in every way. So depending on your answer my top 5 is ideally a)

1. Dana Dynasty
2. John Zorelli Dynasty
3. Roger Grimes Dynasty
4. Virginia Metheny Dynasty
5. Don Lockwood Dallas

Or, if not, then b)

1. John Zorelli
2 Roger Grimes
3. Virginia Methany
4. Don Lockwood
5. Nicholas Pearce Dallas (if not too early) otherwise William Handler Dynasty

 

[Emelee]

Does beautiful Dana from Dynasty count in this? Or is she too early for what you are thinking? Leann Hunley was so easy to watch in every way. So depending on your answer my top 5 is ideally a)

1. Dana Dynasty
2. John Zorelli Dynasty
3. Roger Grimes Dynasty
4. Virginia Metheny Dynasty
5. Don Lockwood Dallas

Or, if not, then b)

1. John Zorelli
2 Roger Grimes
3. Virginia Methany
4. Don Lockwood
5. Nicholas Pearce Dallas (if not too early) otherwise William Handler Dynasty

Dana is too early (season 7 of 9).
Don Lockwood is too early (season 12 of 14).
Nicholas Pearce is too early (season 11 of 14)

 

[Emelee]

1. James Beaumont, Dallas
2. Michelle Stevens, Dallas
3. Michael Sharpe, Falcon Crest
4. John Zorelli, Dynasty
5. Liz Adams, Dallas

 

[James from London]

The last installments of the 1980s-going-1990s prime time soaps are usually not discussed with the greatest of fondness

I really like this thread. It's a way of celebrating characters who are usually overlooked or dismissed, almost automatically.