Melrose Place is easily one of the most memorable shows of the 90s. The show aired from 1992 to 1999 and during that time, it introduced the world to some of the best characters of the decade. While each character played a role in the overall success of the show, some managed to get on everyone’s nerves while doing it. At the top of the list was none other than Billy Campbell. Portrayed by Andrew Shue, Billy’s journey on the show was one of the most interesting, but it was also one of the most annoying. Even after all of these years, there are still lots of Melrose Place fans who discuss how much they disliked Billy. Continue reading to see why we think Billy Campbell was the worst character on Melrose Place.
Billy’s Storyline
Billy was introduced during season one, and he continued to be a main character throughout the show’s run. When viewers are introduced to Billy, he is moving to Melrose Place to live with Alison Parker (Courtney Thorne-Smith) after her previous roommate moved out abruptly. After working a series of odd jobs, he lands a more stable opportunity when he lands a job at D&D Advertising.
Over the course of the series, Billy has an on/off romantic relationship with Alison. Unfortunately, though, they never make it down the aisle because of Alison’s cold feet. Even after their relationship didn’t work out, they continued to have a strong bond as friends. However, that ended when Alison moved to Hong Kong. Luckily for Billy, he ended up finding love again with Samantha Reilly. Sadly, though, she ends up cheating on him which ends the marriage. Towards the end of the series, Billy finds yet another love interest in Jennifer Mancini. When he is offered a job in Rome, she decides to go with him. Viewers could assume that he and Jennifer went on to have a happy life together.
Why We Think Billy Was The Worst Character
Fans of Melrose Place would probably agree that there were other characters on the show who were less likable than Billy. However, we still feel like he was the worst character on the show. For starters, his relationship with Alison was dragged out a little bit too long. The back and forth nature of the situation was downright annoying and it made him very one-dimensional. Even in his other relationships, Billy’s behavior was always immature and sometimes downright difficult to watch. At the beginning of the series, Billy seemed like a great character, but by the end of season two, it was clear that there probably wasn’t a lot to his story arc. Meanwhile, lots of other characters on the show seemed to get better as the series went on.
Billy’s character probably had lots of potential to be great, but it seems like too much time was spent focusing on him in the context of romantic relationships. On top of that, Billy dated his ex’s best friend which we all know is one of the slimiest moves a person could make. As a result, he wasn’t as developed as he probably could’ve been. If we would’ve gotten the chance to see more sides of Billy, we likely would’ve felt differently about his character overall. Realistically, though, there were so many characters on Melrose Place that it wasn’t really possible for writers to fully flesh all of them out. As a result, characters like Billy kind of fell to the wayside.
Billy Campbell 2.0
Lots of people were excited in 2009 when Melrose Place returned to the air with a reboot. Although the show featured a new cast, there were some original characters who made appearances in the reboot. Unfortunately, however, Billy wasn’t one of them. Since the show was canceled after the first season, we’ll never get to see whether or not he would’ve made any kind of return. However, one of the new characters, Jonah Miller (Michael Rady) was often compared to Billy Campbell.
Despite the show’s short run, there are still some fans out there who are hoping that Melrose Place gets another reboot. After all, as one of the most popular shows of the 90s, it definitely deserves a fair shot at a comeback. The first attempt just wasn’t executed well enough. If another reboot ever sees the light of day, it would be nice for Billy to make a return. Not only would it be nice to see Andrew Shue reprise the role, but it would be great to see Billy’s character get another chance.characters on Melrose Place
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