My Favorite Prime Time Soap Characters

Anyone who has followed my television lists should be well aware of my passion for the television genre affectionately known as the prime-time soap opera. For the purpose of this list and recognizing some of my favorite actors/characters that would not make the list otherwise, I will be including characters from some shows that aren't technically soaps, like Scandal and Grey's Anatomy, which aren't really soaps, but do have continuing long running storylines and consist of episodes that aren't self-contained. This is a list of my favorite prime time soap characters:

75.

Linda Fairgate

Knots Landing



Linda Fairgate (Lar Park Lincoln) was a maneater who arrived at CBS's most famous cul-de-sac as the allegedly virginal young bride of Eric Fairgate (Steve Shea), but ended up having an affair with Eric's brother, Michael (Pat Petersen).

74.

Ray Krebbs

Dallas



Steve Kanaly made an impression as the unassuming and quietly sexy farm hand at Southfork who was eventually revealed to be another Ewing, not before having an affair with Lucy Ewing (Charlene Tilton) though he did eventually find happiness with Donna (Susan Howard).

73.

Harrison Wright

Scandal



Despite some questionable shirt/tie combinations, actor Columbus Short was slick and sexy as a devoted gladiator to Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) whose undying loyalty to Olivia was his eventual undoing.

72.

Matthew Blaisdel

Dynasty



Bo Hopkins was a strong presence during the early years of the show as a business rival of Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) who, despite being married to the mentally fragile Claudia (Pamela Bellwood) could never really get Krystle (Linda Evans) out of his system.

I'll be here repping the ones I know and like. Being a Brit there's bound to be a good few that I won't know, so don't take that as disagreement.

__________________
5-time MoFo Award winner.

71.

Dr. Michael Mancini

Melrose Place



Thomas Calabro was funny and sexy as the apartment complex's resident doctor and manwhore. Despite being married to a beautiful fashion designer named Jane (Josie Bissett), Michael was probably the only male character on the show who had sex with every major female character on the show, with the exception of his sister, Jennifer (Allyssa Millano).

70.

Dr. Miranda Bailey

Grey's Anatomy



Chandra Wilson has done Emmy-worthy work as the crusty and brilliant surgeon who has kept new residents shaking in their boots for almost a decade now. She has a wonderful bedside manner with patients but her people skills with her co-workers definitely leaves something to be desired. Bailey's obsession with her work destroyed her marriage to the father of her child (not a doctor) but she did find love with a doctor (Jason George) a season or two ago.

69.

Edie Britt

Desperate Housewives



Nicollette Sheridan provided a seamless combination of sexual heat and comic relief on Wisteria Lane as the multi-divorced aging sex kitten who threw herself at just about anything in pants that appeared on the Lane. Her original battle with Susan Meyer (Teri Hatcher) over the attentions of Mike Delfino (James Denton) was consistent entertainment.

I haven't observed a lot of love for this genre on this board, so yeah, there are probably going to be a lot of characters and shows mentioned here that you've never heard of.

68.

Brian Darling

Dirty Sexy Money



Actor Glenn Fitzgerald created an explosive, funny, and unpredictable character in Brian Darling, the so-called alleged black sheep of the Darling family who was a priest and hated being a priest. Brian found his world rocked when he learned that his ex-wife (Sheryl Lee) had been keeping a son from him for years and when it was revealed that he wasn't really a Darling after all.

I don't remember him being that good in DSM, though I think I might've not seen the whole run as I don't remember him not being a family member. Though maybe that's just how little impact it had on me.

I loved Dr. Michael Mancini, though. Especially once him and Kimberley got together. They were great together and, maybe, just as good once they fell apart.

I lasted about 3 episodes of Desperate Housewives before I decided against it, but Nicollette Sheridan is one of the least attractive 'hot' women I've ever seen.

67.

Sammy Jo Carrington

Dynasty



Heather Locklear made her first major impression on prime time as Krystle Carrington's niece, a manipulative sex kitten so self-assured in her ability to use sex to get what she wanted, she managed to seduce Blake's gay son Steven and even had his baby, then proceeded to use said baby as a bargaining chip in getting what she wanted out of the Carringtons.

66.

Dr. George O'Malley

Grey's Anatomy



TR Knight played the young idealistic resident who failed his first year but actually came back to practice with the residents he began with, nurse an unrequited crush on Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), have a toxic affair with Izzy (Katherine Heigl), and marry Callie (Sara Rodriguez) before dying tragically. Sadly, the knowledge that Knight was openly gay IRL overshadowed his work on this show, indirectly causing the termination of a cast mate (Isaiah Washington).

65.

Aiden Mathis

Revenge



Barry Sloane's smoldering good looks and elegant English sensibility lent itself perfectly to the agent and true love of Emily Thorne (Emily Van Camp) who did everything he could to help Emily with her mission, but didn't quite get the happy ending he and Emily wished for. I would also like to put in Sloane for your consideration as the new James Bond.

I loved Aiden on "Revenge", and I hated when they wrote him out of the show. I thought he was one of the best characters on the show, but I guess he just got in the way of Emily's true love.

I tried watching Barry Sloane in his new show "The Whispers", but I just couldn't get into the show.

I hadn't thought about him as James Bond, but you're probably right. He would probably be great as Bond.

64.

M. Patrick "Mack" Mackenzie

Knots Landing



One of the show's most popular characters, Mack blew into the cul de sac working as a special investigator for the governor but eventually ended up opening his own law practice, but Mack definitely had no shortage of a personal life...he romanced widow Karen Fairgate (Michele Lee) into remarriage and gave us one of prime time's strongest and most romantic marriages. He welcomed a grown daughter named Paige (Nicollette Sheridan) into his life as well as her mother, Anne (Michelle Phillips). He was there for childhood pal Greg Sumner (William Devane) when his wife died and convinced Karen to take in a young teenager (Thomas Wilson Brown) who Mack suspected was being physically abused by his father.

63.

Gabrielle Solis

Desperate Housewives



After a couple of years playing a psycho on The Young and the Restless, Eva Longoria became a star playing this deliciously entertaining character...Gabrielle was a former model who married Carlos (Ricardo Antonio Chavira) because he was rich and kept her dripping in furs and diamonds but her inner boredom with Carlos manifested itself in an affair with the 16 year old kid doing their yard work (Jesse Metcalfe).

62.

Dr. Richard Webber

Grey's Anatomy



Dr. Webber, played by James Pickens Jr., was the Chief of Surgery for many years and the central father figure for most of the residents and was the only person who commanded any respect out of Miranda Bailey. It was revealed during the early seasons of the show that, as part of his backstory, Webber had an affair with Ellis Grey (Kate Burton), Meredith Grey's mother, a brilliant surgeon who neglected Meredith in favor of her career. I'm still hoping against hope that before this show goes off the air, we learn that Richard is really Meredith's father.

61.

Sable Colby

Dynasty/The Colbys



Sable, played by Stephanie Beacham, arrived in Denver as the manipulative cousin of Alexis (Joan Collins) and made such an impression that Aaron Spelling decided to spin her off into her own series, The Colbys. Prior to that, scenes between Beacham and Collins were definitely appointment television.