FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Deidrick, Muhney, Tilford

For the inaugural We Love Soaps "First Impressions" column, Michael Goldberg and I took a look at Martha Byrne's new role as Andrea Floyd on GENERAL HOSPITAL and Mark Hapka's debut as Nathan Horton on DAYS OF OUR LIVES.

This week we are offering our first impressions on three debuts: Casey Deidrick as Chad on DAYS, Michael Muhney as Adam on Y&R, and Terrell Tilford as Greg on OLTL.

DAYS OF OUR LIVES' Chad Peterson (Casey Deidrick)
NEWCOMB: Deidrick made an appearance at the end of last Friday's episode but Monday was his first full day as Chad, Mia's ex, aka the father of her baby. Deidrick is an attractive guy and looks younger than his age, 22. Mia hadn't seen Chad in a year and as they were talking she flashed back to them having sex in the back seat of his car. I couldn't tell exactly what the writers were going for with this character. I think they were going for a bad boy who possibly has other layers to discovered later. But the writing didn't really do this debut justice and the Deidrick didn't add any nuances to the script that would leave me wanting more. By the end of the episode, Chad landed a job working at Java Café with Mia. I have to grade this debut as incomplete until we see more of Deidrick in the role.


THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS' Adam Wilson (Michael Muhney)
NEWCOMB: Muhney taking over the role of Adam from Chris Engen is one of most anticipated recasts in a long time. Early in his first episode on Thursday I thought Adam looked at Victor in a way that made me question how well Muhney was going to play blind. But outside of that brief instance, Muhney nailed it. He also was excellent in scenes with Heather showing layers to the character we have not seen before, and especially in the monologue he had on Friday which explained Adam's feelings about Victor. What will have fans talking are his scenes with Rafe at the end of Friday's show. Adam touched Rafe's lip and moved in close and you could see the wheels turning in his brain trying to think of a way to derail Rafe's suspcions of him. Muhney's debut was rock solid. His look is different from Engen's which will take some getting used to but Y&R snagged a very good actor for this critical role.


ONE LIFE TO LIVE's Dr. Gregory Evans (Terrell Tilford)
NEWCOMB: Tilford's debut as Greg was a tad cliché. I thought he did an excellent job of potraying a charismatic and interesting man who is probably cocky and full of himself. What I didn't really like was the writing. Having Rachel instantly hate him seemed to telegraph a future romance, one that we've seen many times before. And making Dr. Greg the only doctor who gives Matthew any hope is predictable and again, been there done that on soaps many times. What's promising about the debut is Tilford's sex appeal and charm. He displayed them both in spades and that bodes well for his future on the show. Greg's relationship with his siblings, Shaun and Destiny, also has intriguing possibilities. I hope future episodes will not be written from what appeared to be the cookie cutter soap 101 handbook.