The Legendary characters, couples and families

[Daniel Avery]

The Edge of Night
General Hospital
Guiding Light

EON:
Edge focused more on crime drama and mysteries, so the long-term characters tended to be the heroes who brought down the shorter-term villains/criminals as their schemes unraveled. Mike Karr, Bill Marceau, Adam Drake, Draper Scott, Sky Whitney, and Derek Mallory were all prominent characters, as were Nancy Karr, Raven Swift, Geraldine Saxon, Nicole Drake. April Scott, and Jody Travis. They were not particularly oriented toward romance, though there were some memorable couples such as Mike/Nancy, Adam/Nicole, Miles/Nicole, Raven/Logan, Raven/Sky, Draper/April, and Jody/Preacher. The only prominent families would be the Whitneys, the Cavanaughs, the Karrs, and the Dallas family.

GH:
Prominent characters would include Steve Hardy, Scotty Baldwin, Luke Spencer, Edward Quartermaine, Sonny Corinthos, Alan Quartermaine, Robert Scorpio, Jessie Brewer, Lesley Webber, Laura Vining Spencer, Anna Devane, Monica Quartermaine, Elizabeth Webber, Heather Webber, Carly Spencer, and Tracy Quartermaine. Luke/Laura is probably the most talked-about soap couple of them all, but others worthy of note include Robert/Holly, Monica/Alan, Steve/Audrey, Lesley/Rick, Monica/Jeff, Sonny/Carly, Elizabeth/Lucky, and Jason/Sam. Prominent families include the Hardys, the Webbers, the Baldwins, the Quartermaines, the Spencers, the Scorpios and the Joneses.

GL:
Though the show was on the radio for about 15 years prior to its TV debut, I don't know much about that period beyond a character named Reverend Rutledge, who was supposed to be the central character ministering to his flock. On TV, we had Ed Bauer, Mike Bauer, Ross Marler, Alan Spaulding, Roger Thorpe, Dr. Stephen Jackson, Phillip Spaulding, Bertha "Bert" Bauer, Holly Lindsey, Dr. Sara McIntyre, Nola Reardon, Hope Bauer, Alexandra Spaulding, Maureen Bauer, Reva Shayne, and Vanessa Chamberlain. The Bauer family was the main core family for most of its TV run, though there were others who factored in such as the Spauldings, the Reardons, the Jacksons, the Norrises, the Lewises, and Coopers. Notable couples include Beth/Phiilip, Ed/Rita, Holly/Roger, Alan/Hope, Ross/Carrie, Josh/Reva, Morgan/Kelly, Nola/Quint, Alexandra/Roger, Ed/Maureen, and Vanessa/Billy.

 

[Emelee]

Luke/Laura is probably the most talked-about soap couple of them all, but others worthy of note include Robert/Holly, Monica/Alan, Steve/Audrey, Lesley/Rick, Monica/Jeff, Sonny/Carly, Elizabeth/Lucky, and Jason/Sam.

I recall reading that Laura & Scotty were very popular too in their days. Correct?

 

[Daniel Avery]

I recall reading that Laura & Scotty were very popular too in their days. Correct?

Indeed they were. It was before my time, of course, but I believe they were going to be their "young love" couple until the show saw the chemistry between Genie Francis and Tony Geary. Luke was intended to be killed off but they abruptly changed the story and Scotty got left out in the cold. But Scotty (and Kin Shriner who plays him) had staying power and is still in town (though they barely use him).

 

[Daniel Avery]

Loving
Love of Life
One Life To Live
Passions

Loving:
Prominent characters on this college-set soap opera included Cabot Alden, Clay Alden, Mike Donovan, Alex Masters, Isabelle Alden, Stacey Forbes, Ava Rescott, Gwyneth Alden, Ally Rescott, and Trisha Alden. Popular couples included Trisha/Trucker (yes, that was his name), Jack/Stacey, and Alex/Ava. The show revolved around Alden University, and its core family was The Aldens, though there were also the Donovans and the Rescotts.

Love of Life:
For most of its early years, it concerned the lives of two sisters: "good girl" Vanessa and "bad girl" Meg. Other characters of note included Ben Harper, Bruce Sterling, Bill Prentiss, and Tess Krakauer. Vanessa/Bruce was probably their most famous couple, though Bill/Tess is still remembered for being your typical star-crossed couple with all sorts of crazy obstacles thrown in their path. I never saw much of this show since it was cancelled when I was nine.

OLTL:
Popular characters include Viki Buchanan, Dorian Lord, Karen Wolek, Blair Cramer, Meredith Lord, Tina Clayton, Joe Riley, Todd Manning, Clint Buchanan, Larry Wolek, Mitch Laurence, and Asa Buchanan. Popular couples include Viki/Clint, Blair/Todd, Tina/Cord, Marty/Patrick, and Bo/Nora. Core families included the Rileys, the Lords, the Woleks, the Buchanans, and the Vegas.

Passions:
They cancelled my beloved Another World to provide a timeslot of this show , so as far as I'm concerned, Passions does not exist.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Port Charles
Ryan's Hope
Santa Barbara

PC:
A spin-off of GH, it borrowed several of their characters (not to mention their hospital) to have a mix of well-known characters with new ones created for this show. From GH we got Lucy Coe, Karen Wexler, Scotty Baldwin, and Audrey Hardy; newly-created characters of note were Ellen Burgess, Caleb Morley (a vampire!), Livvie Locke, Matt Harmon, Rafe Kovich (an angel!) and Rachel Locke. Notable couples included Livvie/Caleb, Lucy/Kevin, Rafe/Allison, and Karen/Joe. They attempted a "core family" in the Scanlons, but changes in format made the show much less dependent on family structure.

RH:
In contrast to PC, "family structure" was the overwhelming format of this series. Practically all major characters were in the Ryan family: Maeve, Johnny, Frank, Siobhan, Mary, and Pat. Others were in-laws or love interests like Delia Ryan, Roger Coleridge, Rick Hyde, Jillian Coleridge, Jack Finelli, and Ryan Finelli. Obviously the Ryan family was the centerpiece of the show, though they had interactions with members of the Coleridge, Shelby, and Kirkland families.

SB:
Some of SB's most popular characters included Lionel Lockridge, CC Capwell, Cruz Castillo, Kirk Cranston, Keith Timmons, Mason Capwell, Sophia Capwell, Gina DeMott, Eden Capwell, Kelly Capwell, and Augusta Lockridge. Their main core families were the Capwells, Lockridges, Andrades, and Perkinses. Popular couples include Cruz/Eden, Lionel/Augusta, Mason/Julia, and Keith/Gina.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Search for Tomorrow
The Secret Storm
Somerset

SFT:
The lead character of this series from Day One to the final scene was Joanne "Jo" Tourneur. Her best friend Stu Bergman was also there from the beginning to the end. Other notable characters in their orbits were Marge Bergman, Liza Sentell, Patti Barron, Sunny Adamson, Stephanie Wyatt, Jennifer Pace, Eunice Wyatt, Martin Tourneur, John Wyatt, Scott Phillips, and Travis Sentell. Favorite couples included Jo/Martin, Sunny/Hogan, Travis/Liza, Warren/Wendy, and Stu/Marge. The show did not employ 'core families' as much, though in the final years they introduced the McCleary family.

The Secret Storm:
This soap has been pretty much forgotten, though it ran for 20 years. Major characters included Amy Kincaid, Pauline Rysdale, Belle Clemens, Susan Dunbar, Peter Ames, and Dan Kincaid. The Ames family is the only core family that had any staying power, as ever-changing writing teams kept introducing and writing out characters quickly. Other than Peter/Ellen and Amy/Kevin, I can't recall any great couplings.

Somerset:
A spin-off of Another World, you often see it referred to as Another World:Somerset. They borrowed characters from AW like Missy Matthews, Sam Lucas, and Lahoma Vane, then added others like Julian Cannell, Dana Moore, Tom Conway, Eve Lawrence, and Kate Cannell. The crossing-over nature of several characters meant they were members of core families actually better established in AW, such as Gerald Davis (father of AW's Rachel) and Missy (in-law of AW's Matthews family), though the Grants, Delaneys and Cannells were Somerset-based. Similarly, their most notable couple was Sam/Lahoma, who were from AW, with Peter/India.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Sunset Beach
Texas (2 yrs.)
The Young and the Restless

SuBe (written that way to avoid being mistaken for Santa Barbara/SB):
Notable characters included Gregory Richards, Cole Deschanel, Ben Evans, Ricardo Torres, Casey Mitchum, Meg Cummings, Caitlyn Richards, Olivia Richards, Annie Douglas, and Virginia Harrison. Notable couples included Cole/Caitlyn, Gregory/Olivia, Meg/Ben, Michael/Vanessa, and Casey/Sara. Core families were not really emphasized, but there were the Richards family, the Cummings, and Deschanels.

Texas:
Another spinoff of Another World, the show was originally billed as Texas....Starring Beverlee McKinsey as her AW character of Iris Carrington was the lead character. After McKinsey left, it changed to Texas: The New Generation. Notable characters included Dennis Carrington (Iris's son from AW), Alex Wheeler, Justin Marshall, Grant Wheeler, Elliot Carrington, Reena Dekker, Elena Dekker, and Ashley Marshall. Notable couples include Iris/Alex, Ashley/Justin, Grant/Reena, and Reena/Kevin. Beyond Iris's connection to the Wheelers, there were the Marshalls and Dekkers.

Y&R:
Notable characters include Lorie Brooks, Kay Chancellor, Jill Foster, Ashley Abbott, Nikki Reed Newman, Christine Blair, Drucilla Barber, Sharon Newman, Phillip Chancellor, Lance Prentiss, Victor Newman, John Abbott, Jack Abbott, Paul Williams, and Brad Carlton. Favorite couples included Lance/Lorie, Jill/John, Victor/Nikki, Jack/Phyllis, Nick/Sharon, Drucilla/Neil, Brad/Traci, and Snapper/Chris. Early core families were the Brooks and the Foster families, which were eventually replaced with the Abbotts and the Williams families. Soon came the Newmans, the Barbers (which morphed into the Winters) and Baldwins.

 

[jillybean78]

AMC:
Obviously most regard it as "That show with Erica Kane". It was a lot more than that, obviously, but she falls into the Top Character category and was part of some of the Top Couples, what with her multiple marriages. Other notable characters include Adam Chandler, Tad Martin, Joe Martin, Kendall Hart, Phoebe Wallingford, Brooke English, Angie Hubbard and Dixie Cooney. Popular couples include Erica/Jackson, Erica/Travis, but also Jenny/Greg, Brooke/Adam, Jesse/Angie, Tad/Dixie, Leo/Greenlee, and Stuart/Marian. Some of their core families are the Martins (probably their "top" core family), the Cortlandts, the Montgomerys, and the Tylers.
(I didn't watch this show regularly, so I'm sure I missed some other popular names...feel free to add on.)

AW:
This was "my" soap, my all-time favorite so I might have to stop myself from writing a list thirty feet long.
Notable characters include Rachel Davis Cory, Iris Carrington, Felicia Gallant, Vicky Hudson, Donna Love, Liz Matthews, Alice Frame, Mackenzie "Mac" Cory, Russ Matthews, Jake McKinnon, Steve Frame, Jamie Frame, Carl Hutchins, and Cass Winthrop. Popular couples include Mac/Rachel, Alice/Steve, Jake/Paulina, Donna/Michael, Vicky/Ryan, Sally/Catlin, Cass/Kathleen, and Sam/Amanda. Their prominent core families include the Matthews family, the Corys, the Hudsons, the Loves, the Frames, and McKinnons.

ATWT:
Notable characters on this show include Bob Hughes, Tom Hughes, John Dixon, Holden Snyder, James Stenbeck, Kim Hughes, Barbara Ryan, Lisa Hughes Grimaldi, Lily Snyder, Lucinda Walsh, Carly Tenney, and Margo Hughes. Popular couples include Kim/Bob, Holden/Lily, Margo/Tom, Carly/Jack, Luke/Noah, and Steve/Betsy. The Hughes family reigned supreme on this show from Day One, though there were also the Snyders, the Montgomerys, the Stewarts, and Grimaldis.

I have the same take when it comes to Another World!

 

[Scorpienne]

I would say Days’ Doug & Julie would have to rank right up there at the top, especially since they have the distinction of being the only soap pairing to ever grace the cover of Time Magazine.