EW: BRINGING BACK SOAP FAVES ONLY TO RUIN THEM (AND/OR KILL THEM OFF)

This summer, soaps are taking a giant step back to the future (otherwise known as the halcyon heydays of the 1980s, when they were one of the most profitable genres on television, and scheduling college courses around show-times was considered cool).

In March, Days of Our Lives announced the returns of Peter Reckell and Stephen Nichols, just in time for the show’s 50^th anniversary....

Meanwhile, hot on the heels of Genie Francis returning to General Hospital as Laura (though Anthony Geary is leaving as Luke, supposedly permanently this time, but, eh, he’s done it before), GH also announced a comeback for Emma Samms as Holly.

Francis, of course, made history as one half of daytime television’s most watched event ever, Luke and Laura’s wedding, in 1981. She’s been coming and going ever since, sometimes staying a few years, other times a few weeks.

Samms was brought to Port Charles in 1982 as a replacement for Francis, playing con artist Holly. She was initially hooked up with Luke, but ended up with his best friend, Robert. Her character was also killed off, then brought back to life to continue coming and going from the show. Her 21st-century series of appearances revealed that Holly had a son (a chip-off-the-block con artist) who initially claimed to be Robert’s, but then turned out to be Luke’s.

And therein lay the problem. The last few times Holly showed up, she was acting so out of character that fans dubbed her Pod Holly, finding no resemblance to the heroine she’d been in the 1980s. (Poisoning a town, then blackmailing the residents for a cure? Giving up a child? Having an affair with Luke while she was married to Robert—and he to Laura? None of it rang true.)

In addition, two other GH past fan favorites, AJ (Sean Kanan) and Duke (Ian Buchanan), were recently brought back from the dead, only to be unceremoniously killed off a few years later. Another 1980s icon, Anna (Finola Hughes), has been turned into a shadow of herself, as the former double-agent kickass badass (with amazing hair) appears to be falling apart after executing the man who’d murdered her beloved Duke, needing newcomer Sloan (Grayson McCouch) to hold her hand. And other body parts.

Yes, fans want to see their old favorites back on the shows that first made them famous. But they want to see the characters they loved, not some weird, warped versions used to rekindle nostalgia, plug in stray story points … then get killed off?

Angry about the treatment Duke and AJ received? Nervous about what's in store for Laura and Holly (and DOOL's Bo and Steve, too)? Read the rest of this post on Entertainment Weekly, and make sure to leave a comment telling TPTB how you feel at: http://community.ew.com/2015/06/02/80s-soap-favorite-characters-return/