It’s Only My Opinion For The Soap Week Ending November 22

(From l. to r.) B&B’s Electra (Laneya Grace), Y&R’s Claire (Hayley Erin), GH’s Isaiah (Sawandi Wilson) and DAYS’s Cat (AnnaLynne McCord) are recent daytime additions.

How do you introduce new, recast and returning characters? Slowly and with humor, if possible.

That’s not what DAYS has been doing lately. Bringing on entire families never works, so I don’t understand what they’re doing with the Greenes. A brunch of strangers hurt Chad, Julie and others we love because some other stranger was being held captive by the current cartoon villain of the show and Cat had plastic surgery and her mother Catharina was presumed dead, and her brother Mark pulled a gun and… how many soap tropes can you fit into one newbie family?

The return of JJ Deveraux crystalized the unlikelihood of anyone accepting Cat after she impersonated his dead sister Abigail.

JJ: “You expect me to give a damn about saving your mom when you didn’t think about what you were doing to mine?”

Cat: “I didn’t have a choice.”

JJ: “There’s always a choice.”

Chad said he was helping Cat to “honor” Abigail’s memory because Cat will help them bust Clyde and get Abby’s body back so she can rest in peace. That was a hard no for Abby’s brother.

JJ: “I can’t even be in the same room as this lying, disgusting bitch.”

You don’t script dialogue like that from a core character if you want a newcomer to 1) be liked or 2) stick around. Ditto Cat’s brother Mark, who tried to kill Chad, or her brother Aaron who’s been shoehorned in as a talk-to for Holly or whatever the mother turns out to be. There has to be at least one A-lister to hang a newbie on, never mind an entire family.

The same goes for recasts. Gabi 2.0 had a few months with her husband, Stefan DiMera, before their marriage blew up and he left town. Now they’re playing her with a sudden cousin named Javi who works for Gabi Chic in between speaking Spanish and jumping into bed with local horn dog Leo. When Leo described his job as head writer of Body and Soul to Javi, he called his new lover “Mr. Big Deal” and called in sick so they could go back to bed.

Javi: “I’ll tell Gabi something came up, which is not a lie.”

Leo: “I’d say let’s eat but suddenly I’m not very hungry.”

Javi: “Me neither. Not for food anyway… ”

Shallow relationships are not what this genre is about, and a vapid one-night stand is not the way to introduce a character we’re supposed to like. DAYS made the same mistake with newbie Alex when they threw him into bed with two women (Chanel and Allie) at the same time viewers were struggling to not see him as Ben. Alex told Sonny it was just “meaningless sex” which nixed any feelings he had for Stephanie. What kind of true love comes out of a threesome or a one-nighter?

As a soap opera fan, I much prefer Holly’s slow burn with Tate. He was recast last spring and played just enough to make us like him and want him with core character Holly (Maggie Horton’s beloved granddaughter).

Tate: “When you came to me and told me you wanted to get back together, every single part of me wanted to say yes. But my head and my heart were going in opposite directions, and I stupidly went with my head.”

Holly: “You stayed with Sophia because you guys slept together.”

Tate: “All I ever wanted was you.”

Like that!

Unlike DAYS, GH doesn’t shove newbies on the front burner, but they are in danger of adding too many too fast — and they could move faster with introductions. Brennan was a day player with Valentin for far too long, then rebounded when he became head of the PC WSB. His new job plus chemistry with Carly and Anna now makes him a home run.

Elsewhere, Gio’s been on for six months and all we know about him is that he plays the violin and has a secret backstory with Lois and Sonny. GH has done some good foreshadowing — like when Ned told Lois she was terrible at keeping secrets, adding, “Right Gio?” — but it’s time to start spilling. Ditto Trina’s new love interest, who they are wisely writing as love/hate. Kai is the star quarterback of PCU trying to score points with Trina (see what I did there?) but she’s not having it.

Trina (to TJ): “He’s been messing with my GPA. He’s my partner on a project and hasn’t showed up to a single class.”

She confronted him, and they’re doing a slow dance…

Fellow newcomer Isiah was established as Lucky’s friend and they’re chem testing him around PC. Jordan was a natural, and he had a sweet scene with Molly at the diner.

Molly: “Sam was my sister. Did you know her?”

Isiah: “I’m the surgeon who operated on Lulu Spencer.”

Molly confided that her family forgot her birthday, and he went to the kitchen and got a cupcake with a candle in it. Aw!

Returns are easier, even if they’re not portrayed by the same actor. Lucas Jones was restarted well, crossing him with his ex, Brad, his sister, Carly, and his half sister, Sam… who he thought he might have killed on the operating table. Having Lulu back will rejuvenate the Spencer family, especially if they let her scold her whiny brother, Lucky.

Ric Lansing has had words with everyone he ever wronged and/or loved, making him the best return of the year.

Ric: “You want to hit me, don’t you.”

Jason: “Who doesn’t?”

Ric’s a good dad, a better lawyer and a terrible ex which is a great recipe for success. And do I smell a romance with Ava?!

Y&R rarely brings on new characters because no one ever leaves (that’s a good thing). Last year, they retconned Victoria and Cole’s dead baby into an adult named Claire, but she needs work. Claire went from attempted murderer to fuzzy caregiver after a few short weeks in a psych ward and now she’s much too love and light for a woman with the DNA of a Newman who was raised by a psycho.

Claire: “Do you believe your parents’ motives?”

Kyle: “I am nowhere near able to forgive what they did to me.”

Claire: “Maybe it’s time to let go of that resentment.”

Miss me with a kumbaya from the woman who tried to kill the entire Newman family.

B&B’s Ivy and Electra Forrester are a good example of how to bring on returning and new characters. We knew Ivy from her flings with Liam and Wyatt, and her niece, Electra, needs protection from a stalker which makes us root for her. Eric inviting them to live at the mansion sealed the deal.

Eric (to Ivy): “I hope she’s making friends.”

Ha! Cut to Electra kissing Will Spencer, the rapidly-aged son of Bill and Katie who was played gradually until we wanted to see more. Now they’re the new “it” young-uns and it works. Bill didn’t like Will dating a rival Forrester, but he came around and offered Will his black card to take Electra out and impress her.

Will: “Put the brakes on, old man.”

No one talks to Dollar Bill like that, which adds to this rookie’s appeal: Humor!

Hey. It’s only my opinion.