The Six Most Annoying Days of Our Lives Characters

I admit it. I like soap operas. One soap opera, that is. For years I've watched Days of Our Lives with all its cheesy plot twists and bickering-turned-attempted-murder. It's the bickering that heightens the tension and keeps me coming back, shaking my head in disbelief. It's also the hope that things will turn out well (or badly, whichever is appropriate) for the handful of realistic characters.

I say handful because there aren't that many realistic characters on Days of Our Lives. Many of them are poorly developed because they're secondary characters and lack the storylines that would allow them to develop properly.

Secondary, underdeveloped characters can certainly be annoying, but sometimes the main characters are worse. Here are six that drive me crazy:

Belle Black

Belle is one of many stock characters. As the stereotypical stuck up rich girl, she can do no wrong. Her family is so busy condemning everything her big sister Sami Brady does that they fail to notice what Belle is up to.

While married to a man she didn't love, Belle stalked her ex-boyfriend Shawn Brady. When she found out Shawn was the father of her baby, she dropped her husband, then decided even Shawn wasn't good enough for her and she refused to let him see his daughter. When her ex-husband sued for and won custody of their daughter, Belle talked Shawn into kidnapping little Claire and going on the run with her. In the midst of all this, she continued to berate Shawn, tell him he's not good enough for her or for Claire, and threaten any other woman who came near him.

Despite everything she does, the entire town of Salem still thinks Belle is perfect, but I see no redeeming qualities in her character.

Marlena Evans Black

Never in the history of the world has there ever been a woman who was so supposedly intelligent, yet so unaware. Marlena, the town therapist, counsels all her family and friends, and yet she can't tell when she's the victim of a scam that will cost her her life again and again and again. She's risen from the dead so many times that I'm beginning to wonder if she's really a DiMera. To make things worse, she has that sugar sweet, over the top tone that I associate with hidden venom and passive-aggressiveness. No wonder her daughter Belle is so screwed up.

Roman Brady

Can someone get this guy a life already? He is perhaps the blandest character on Days of Our Lives. He has no mind of his own. For years after their divorce, he catered to his ex-wife Marlena. Eventually, he became involved with Kate Roberts. He did her bidding, but the relationship meant little to either one of them and after a while, it fell apart. Now his only purpose is to serve his siblings. Like a drone, he's at their beck and call, with no life or personality of his own.

Abby Devereaux

Miss goody two shoes, another stock character. Abby's a college girl with the mind and life experience of a 12-year-old. And like a 12-year-old, she crushes on every cute boy that crosses her path. Her crushing is done in secret-to the point where I expect her to start passing notes that say, "Do you like me? Check yes or no." Abby doesn't take any risks or say anything even remotely interesting. Instead, she's content to stand by and judge everyone else.

The show's writers and producers keep trying to bring Abby to the front and give her a storyline, but, without depth, her character quickly fades to the back again.

Max Brady

Abby's latest crush. He contributes even less to the show than she does. Max is a race car driver turned garage owner who thinks he's in love with every girl for about five minutes. They believe him, too, over and over again. I could never figure out why. He's cute, but he has no substance. He provides a job to anyone who needs it, but other than that, his character has no purpose.

Kate Roberts

I don't think they could pull this woman's face any tighter. Even if I could get past her saran wrap skin, I still wouldn't be able to stand her. She's a business woman who never works. Instead, she spends all her time following her adult children around and telling them what to do. While doing that, she's sleeping with a man who wants to destroy her kids. She knows it, too, but she doesn't care. As long as they obey her.

It's too bad, really. Days of Our Lives could be much better than it is. There are some well-rounded characters (think Sami Brady and Billie Reed), but they're outnumbered by the shallow, underdeveloped ones.