Carly Corinthos-Jacks: Ruining Lives Since 1996

[UYI]

Kelly Monaco's hair was WAY too light (this was during the Taupe era). She is just meant to have dark black hair, plain and simple. I kinda liked her outfit, though (but yeah, Carly's outfit? Blech.).

[sunflower]

Ron and Co have shown they really don't care about veterans no matter how many return or are already on canvas.  See their treatment of SK as AJ, a Q legacy with excellent father/son chemistry with CD's Michael and, as much as I hate her, fantastic chemistry with LW's Carly.  I think, weirdly enough, a pairing with AJ would have made her likeable to me, finally.  IT would be the real Carly, an insecure white trash girl scheming and desperate for love paired with the self-destructive poor little rich boy also desperate for love.  Why are TPTB so stupid in their ignorance of gold staring them in the fucking face?

 

 

Brought my post over from the spoiler thread as it feels more relevant in a Carly discussion. 

[UYI]

Sarah Brown and Laura Wright's first scene together as Claudia and Carly:

 

 

"You look familiar."

 

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Yet in Carly's case she's the opposite, everyone else are all extensions of "her". Their worlds revolve around her, they all live to appease her and make her life happy, and easy and fulfilled. To her the people she "loves" are not their own people, they all must know that at the end of the day her feelings should come above all else, even their own.

 

It's why she continues to refuse and refute any wrongdoing in AJ's death or that she needs to actually show Michael some iota of remorse or understanding of what he's going through. She sees him as her son first and only and AJ was scum, therefore Michael has no reason to carry on so, certainly he can't hate her now after all she did for him growing up, snatching him away from the pathetic drunk, and his family, in the first place.

 

For those of you who don't already know it, there's actually a word for that. It's called solipsism, which is a form of self-absorption so extreme that other people simply do not exist unless the solipsistic person is in immediate contact with them. Friends, lovers, children, they all pretty much wink out of existence the moment they're out of sight. If that isn't Carly to a tee, I don't know what is. Even Michael, who she has what most passes as normal maternal feelings for, has been both her bargaining chip and her Stockholmed victim since the day he was born. Other than that, she literally doesn't give half a damn about his feelings, his wishes, or what he might even think he wants. She's not capable of it.

 

Sonny's a weakling. That's pretty much never been in question for me. But Carly isn't so much braveandstrong as she is devoid of the ability to realize that other people even have feelings, much less have the capacity to react accordingly to those feelings. YMMV.

[33kaitykaity]

 

I pity the fool that Carly has become. To have sex and a relationship with the guy that got her son raped, it's the lowest of the low. She's beyond pathetic. I haven't cared much for Laura Wright's Carly, but they have just gutted the character in the worst way.

Now that Carly's not in service to RC;s obsession with RoHo, maybe what I loved about the character will come back.  

 

My favorite Carly will always be SJB.  I only started watching GH because of her character/that story.  I fell hard for Jarly back then and was astounded at how many mistakes Carly made with her plaaannss and how Jason was always there to save her.  I understood why he put up the barriers he did to being with her, but he never stopped loving her.  

 

Second favorite is LW just for the sheer force of her portrayal of the character.  Sometimes Carly is honest with herself, sometimes not, but the hair is a wonder of the world.  

 

I thought TB was too skinny, not voluptuous like SJB, too vulnerable, too weak.  

 

I stopped watching for a while after the JB fiasco, didn't come back until I heard that LW was cast in the role.  I'd heard about LW's work on GL and Loving, so thought I'd give it a try.  I came back just as Robin pulled nosy bitch paternity reveal number 2.  

[JaneDigby]

I confess that I've been known to shout "You Heffalump" at Carly. Before anyone gets outraged, let me explain. 

 

The first time I did this around Mr. Digby, he pointed out that a Heffalump is an adorable elephant who hangs out with Winnie the Pooh. He didn't see the connection. That's because "heffalump" has a special meaning to me. It's my name for this:

 

 

Plus this on top:

 

 

That's right, it's a large concrete barrier with a huge, loud horn on top. When Carly is bossing people around and preaching the gospel of Sonny this is what I see. It's in everyone's way, it's freaking loud and if you're not careful it could end up causing serious damage to your car, er, person. I've even been known to verbize it. "Is Carly heffalumping again?" I give this to you, PTVers, as my gift. The next time Carly goes into human wrecking ball mode you, too, can shout, "Stop heffalumping!"

Edited February 9, 2015 by JaneDigby

[DkNNy79]

I just wanted to give props to whoever came up with the name for this thread.  As a non-Carly fan it never fails to make me chuckle.

[Tiger]

I just wanted to give props to whoever came up with the name for this thread.  As a non-Carly fan it never fails to make me chuckle.

That was me! I genuinely loved SBr's and TB's Carly, and I've alternatively hated and loved to hate LW's.

[Lillybee]

The more that Snarly tries to convince Michael that Sonny is a good man and a good father, the more I want Michael to scream at her that she slept with the two men who were responsible for Michael getting raped in prison.

[nilyank]

 

The more that Snarly tries to convince Michael that Sonny is a good man and a good father, the more I want Michael to scream at her that she slept with the two men who were responsible for Michael getting raped in prison.

 

Three. Franco started the whole mess because he was obsessed with Jason.

Edited February 19, 2015 by nilyank

[ulkis]

Gotta bring this gem back:

 

[Chairperson Meow]

I miss SoapNet. Damn those promos. Dammit.

[Tiger]

My favorite was the 'Sonny + Jason = twu wuv' promo.

[UYI]

Laura's first scene as Carly, November 4th, 2005. Is that Kale Browne doing the voiceover?

 

[ulkis]

I think so.

[UYI]

Some of this might be a better fit for the UO thread, but it's about Carly, so here it is:

Whenever I watch Tamara Braun as Carly (and I didn't start watching regularly until WAY after she and Sarah were long gone), I get the feeling that if that character would have had any chance to truly reform and become a better person, Tamara would have been the one to play it out, and play it right. No matter how good an actress Sarah Brown is, there is something about the way she played Carly where you would always wonder if she had truly changed for the better. It may be somewhat superficial, as Tamara has a very soft look, and just seems like a very nice, warm person in real life, and I feel that showed in a lot of her scenes as Carly, especially when Liz found her in the panic room.

 

That is the major reason why these scenes after Michael's "death" in 2005 work for me, because I almost feel like this could have been a turning point for Carly's character to evolve into a better person. I'm not sure I'd feel that way if Laura had played these scenes (and I'm saying that as someone who does think she's a pretty good actress, too):

 

 

 

Also, I have to post the scene where JB's Carly stabs Emily with a sickle (well, actually she falls on top of it like a dumbass, but the intent is there), thinking she's Faith Roscoe, because it's hilarious. NL"s Emily is not moaning in pain, she's moaning in ecstasy. It's a little...uncomfortable to watch.

[LeftPhalange]

Was Emily climaxing?

[Tiger]

I've always hated how Tamara's Carly was truly over and done with Sonny that spring, and then she JB took over the role they backtracked all of the growth that Tamara's version had during the precious four years. In fact, in her last scene, Tamara Carly walks in and sees Sonny & Reese together and smirks. When Jennifer Carly re-did the scene the next Monday, she played it totally different.

On a related note, even though Laura has played Carly for almost 10 years and is a damn good actress, to me she'll never be the real Carly; Sarah and Tamara are still the real Carly('s).

[UYI]

Sarah Brown's last scenes as Carly (complete with Sonny throwing barware and a Sheryl Crow song montage!), and Tamara Braun's first scenes as Carly. The video quality on Tamara's scenes isn't so great, but it's still cool to see it.

 

Sarah:

 

Tamara (if you listen carefully at the beginning, you can hear the very end of the "The role of Carly..." announcement. The word "Braun" is literally the first thing you hear.):

[33kaitykaity]

Sarah Brown's last scenes as Carly (complete with Sonny throwing barware and a Sheryl Crow song montage!), and Tamara Braun's first scenes as Carly. The video quality on Tamara's scenes isn't so great, but it's still cool to see it.

 

Sarah:

 

Tamara (if you listen carefully at the beginning, you can hear the very end of the "The role of Carly..." announcement. The word "Braun" is literally the first thing you hear.):

 

TBr was a stick in that dress compared to the way SJB wore it.  It was just jarring.  I just never forgot that.  I had intended to post something about this in my I love Carly post, but had never been able to find these clips.  Thank you for posting these.  

[UYI]

Is that actually the same dress in both scenes? It looked like Sarah was wearing a suit or a jacket in her last scene to me, not a dress.

TBr was a stick in that dress compared to the way SJB wore it.  It was just jarring.  I just never forgot that.  I had intended to post something about this in my I love Carly post, but had never been able to find these clips.  Thank you for posting these.  

 

No problem :) .

 

Have you ever watched the YouTube channel NeishaLuvsGH? She posted literally every scene of SJB's Carly, from beginning to end, a few years ago. That's what the first clip is from. 

Just for the hell of it, here are SJB's FIRST scenes as Carly, which originally aired on April 5th, 1996 (I looked it up!). That haircut is godawful, though:

 

Edited March 3, 2015 by UYI

[Dandesun]

The haircut is awful. I seem to remember a story about how her hair got singed in a fire or something and that's why it was short and awful like that. (Not saying short hair is awful, I love short hair... and have short hair... but SJB's upon arrival was not good.) I remember her doing an interview and talking about how awful that haircut was and the reason for it.

[ulkis]

Wait, in real life or on the show?

[KerleyQ]

I've always hated how Tamara's Carly was truly over and done with Sonny that spring, and then she JB took over the role they backtracked all of the growth that Tamara's version had during the precious four years. In fact, in her last scene, Tamara Carly walks in and sees Sonny & Reese together and smirks. When Jennifer Carly re-did the scene the next Monday, she played it totally different.

 

From what I understand, that was a huge part of the reason TB left and they recast - she played Carly as done with Sonny and she wanted to see the character grow beyond Sonny.  But the show (and MB at the time, I think) saw Carly as Sonny's property.  

[SlovakPrincess]

It's funny watching the scenes with Sarah Brown now, because I just keep thinking "wow, she's really, really pretty!"  I think I found her version of Carly so exhausting - with the constant planning, and manipulating, and bitchfacing, and blaming everyone else for her problems - that I couldn't even find her attractive after a while.    

[Tiger]

Wait, in real life or on the show?

I think her hair was burned when she did Power Rangers, which she did right before starting GH. I remember she started airing on GH and then a few days in her PR episodes aired.

Edited March 3, 2015 by Tiger

[Dandesun]

Not Power Rangers. VR Troopers!

 

Yes, there's a difference.

 

Shut up. Stop looking at me like that.

[33kaitykaity]

Is that actually the same dress in both scenes? It looked like Sarah was wearing a suit or a jacket in her last scene to me, not a dress.

 

No problem :) .

 

Have you ever watched the YouTube channel NeishaLuvsGH? She posted literally every scene of SJB's Carly, from beginning to end, a few years ago. That's what the first clip is from. 

Just for the hell of it, here are SJB's FIRST scenes as Carly, which originally aired on April 5th, 1996 (I looked it up!). That haircut is godawful, though:

Yeah, I saw SJB was wearing the suit as well, but I think in the week before SJB was wearing the same dress.  It's a shiny satiny thing, very distinct.  

 

I don't know if I watched that YT channel, but I did watch from all of the clips from when Carly showed up at Jason's door pregnant and terrified to when after she had married AJ and was living at the Qs that Jason finally realized how much she meant to him, but too late because he was at her window watching her and AJ be intimate.  

 

I always thought that they got S&C together for the hate sex because SBu was leaving and they wanted to connect S&C somehow.  

 

Ah, the memories...

Edited March 3, 2015 by 33kaitykaity

[Tiger]

Not Power Rangers. VR Troopers!

 

Yes, there's a difference.

 

Shut up. Stop looking at me like that.

After VR Troopers ended, she did three episodes of "Power Rangers Zeo". She played a ski instructor who dated Tommy and got caught in the Machine King's plot of the week.

Now they're looking at both of us.

I remember, there's an old rumor that was never substantiated that before she landed GH, she was supposed to come back to PRZ and be a one of the possible Gold Rangers.

[UYI]

No problem, you guys. I watched VR Troopers AND Power Rangers Zeo every day when I was seven. No shame to be had at all (I don't remember her on Zeo, though, at all. Weird. I think Ryan from VR Troopers wound up being the Gold Zeo Ranger, though. And now they're looking at ME too!).

 

It actually took me years to figure out that Sarah Brown was on VR Troopers. Then I finally realized it one day and I couldn't believe it had taken me so long! The father of her daughter is actually her ex-boyfriend Suki Levy, one of the head honchos of Saban (PR/VR's production company, of course).

Edited March 3, 2015 by UYI

[Dandesun]

Ah, I see... I gave up on Power Rangers after Tommy and Kimberly broke up. Through a letter.

 

Seriously. Stop looking at me.

 

But everyone remembers when Carly stepped in for Bobbie during the Nurse's Ball and did a whole tumbling run while Tony practically came in his pants over it, right?

 

Right?

 

I'll just be over there...

Edited March 3, 2015 by Dandesun

[UYI]

I was Kat the Pink Zeo Ranger for Halloween in second grade. I always liked her more.

 

And Billy the Blue Ranger was the hottest of the guys.

 

Anyway...

 

Here's SJB's second set of scenes as Carly. She's already sticking her nose where it doesn't belong. Also, she meets Steve Hardy (and if what I read is true, this was actually his final scene before JB died):

 

Edited March 3, 2015 by UYI

[33kaitykaity]

I was trying to figure out why it's been so easy for me to stay on the barge, clicking through some old Carly stuff on YT, when I found this little gem.  Carly was willing to marry Jax or Jason or even Max just so she couldn't be forced into her fourth marriage to Sonny.  Now this is the Carly I know and love, not our current PodCarly who is so far up Sonny's ass you can't see her high heels.  

 

[SlovakPrincess]

Well, fuck me, I kind of liked Carly in some of those scenes. Maybe it's the after work drinks talking?

Anyway, if Ron has accomplished anything, it's making me sort of, kind of, almost appreciate mid to late '00s Guza.

Edited March 14, 2015 by SlovakPrincess

[ulkis]

It could have been a good show, and sometimes was a good show, if it weren't always going back to Sonny and Jason ueber-alles.

[UYI]

Very early LW as Carly (the presence of SWSNBN early in the clip confirms that). Not quite sure what was going on here, but it's pretty awesome! If only Carly remembered to stay away from Sonny after this! 

 

[General Days]

Here's SJB's second set of scenes as Carly. She's already sticking her nose where it doesn't belong. Also, she meets Steve Hardy (and if what I read is true, this was actually his final scene before JB died):

 

 

 

So Carly killed Steve Hardy. She IS the reason we can't have nice things.

(Seriously, I'm loving all these old clips of SJB in the role. That's my Carly.)

[UYI]

TB's Carly knocks out Faith at her nightclub. Whatever happened to that place, when did it close?

 

[Tiger]

The Cellar was such a cool set and a cool story. I think it closed after Sonny shot Carly in the head and then forgotten about.

[Advance35]

I can tolerate Carly when she isn't "Carly the Invincible."   So often it's like she does what she wants, damages/destroys/makes miserable whoever she wants and nobody does anything about it and she never suffers any consequences because she always has Jax, Sonny and Jason as her back-up. 

 

It's why I grew to appreciate The Brenda character when it came to her feud with Carly.   Brenda manages to have a threatening hold on just about every man that's important to Carly and it always seems like her head is going to explode into a million pieces when she has to deal with Ms. Barrett.   Sonny always/95 percent of the time will cave where Brenda's concerned.  Jax has continuosly viewed Brenda as the "unconquered" and she'll probably always have an allure to him because of that and best of all...........Jason.   Brenda didn't even have to bang him to get close to him.   Jason use to be %100 Team!Carly but the more time he spent with Brenda the more he came to genuinely care about her and that drove Carly crazier than the other two combined.

 

The only downside is Carly ultimately usually wins their dustups only because Brenda by nature isn't destructive to others (usually just herself) and while Carly won't cave over innocent bystanders being trampled, usually someone CAN get through to Brenda about collateral damage.  That and Carly is a predatory schemer to Brenda's mischievous, ditzy, princess.

 

But basically Carly is easier to stomache when the writers let her have a foil that's allowed to really get some good shots in.  I think Brenda's the only one that REALLY nearly KO's Carly from time to time.

[UYI]

 

Carly thinks that no woman is better than her, be it Robin, Brenda, Ava, Laura (remember Deception), Alexis, Kate.

 

Obviously a lot has changed since LW has been playing Carly, but I get the impression--at least in the early years--that behind whatever bravado she may have displayed in public, Carly not only thought she was worse than any other woman in PC, she thought she was completely worthless compared to anyone on earth, and the fact that others let her know that they felt that way about her too only amplified her own self-loathing.

 

Honestly, I think if the writers really cared enough to do so, they would show that Carly, while maybe not quite as self-loathing as she used to be, still has enough of that feeling just below the surface.

 

None of this excuses her heinous behavior over the years, of course. But it could still be there somewhere.

Edited December 17, 2015 by UYI

[UYI]

20 years of Carly today! 

 

(Careful, Carly haters. I'm just posting this for historical purposes. :P)

 

[SlovakPrincess]

As to whether Carly was ever really self-loathing ... I think she was insecure and felt that others might judge her as "trashy" or "low class". And she had abandonment issues from being adopted. But did she really internalize it as truly feeling bad about herself, or was it just resentment that nobody saw how great she was? I never saw any humility in the character, just self-pity.

Like, her mindset seemed to be: "if Bobbie hadn't abandoned me, I'd be living the life of a wealthy doctor's step kid!"

"If Robin weren't so saccharine sweet and tragic, I could get some damn attention around here!"

"Look, I know I'm using all these guys and scheming, but I have to look out for me ... unlike these other people who unfairly have more money than me!"

It never occurred to her that it was her own selfish behavior that made her trashy.

[dubbel zout]

I think there was some self-loathing in there. SJB was really good at showing that, I think, but there was more selfishness and entitlement. As I wrote in another thread, Carly hadn't the faintest idea why Bobbie gave her up—and likely didn't care—once she saw Bobbie's ginormous diamond rings, she figured she was owed some payback, and boy, did she go after it.

 

These days, Carly is all selfishness and entitlement, and I think that's a valid place for her to be. It doesn't make her very likable, despite the bravestrongandloveswithherwholeheart nonsense.

Edited April 5, 2016 by dubbel zout

[Ambrosefolly]

@Francie was discussing the,I guess, brilliant cruelty of early Carly, especially towards Tony. Of course his son Lucas, and niece (who's life he saved) Maxie can't ever say a  damn thing about it. 

Has anyone on this show called out Carly with having Borderline Personality Disorder? Seriously, look it up, she pretty much dings all of the markings (Sarah Brown even described as someone with the intense fear of being hurt by the people she meets)

• An intense fear of abandonment, even going to extreme measures to avoid real or imagined separation or rejection
• A pattern of unstable intense relationships, such as idealizing someone one moment and then suddenly believing the person doesn't care enough or is cruel (called splitting)
• Rapid changes in self-identity and self-image that include shifting goals and values, and seeing yourself as bad or as if you don't exist at all
• Periods of stress-related paranoia and loss of contact with reality, lasting from a few minutes to a few hours
• Impulsive and risky behavior, such as gambling, reckless driving, unsafe sex, spending sprees, binge eating or drug abuse, or sabotaging success by suddenly quitting a good job or ending a positive relationship
• Suicidal threats or behavior or self-injury, often in response to fear of separation or rejection
• Wide mood swings lasting from a few hours to a few days, which can include intense happiness, irritability, shame or anxiety
• Ongoing feelings of emptiness
• Inappropriate, intense anger, such as frequently losing your temper, being sarcastic or bitter, or having physical fight

She even has the genetic markings for it. 

So basically a woman with an unchecked mental disorder has been allowed free reign over Port Charles. 

[ulkis]

Morgan definitely takes after her, as well.

[Chairperson Meow]

To add to the checklist of Borderline Personality Disorder, the way she views her former love interests.  Example: AJ, Tony, Jason, Sonny, and Franco.  There is no gray area.  There's black and white, good or bad.  While she loves them, they are on a pedestal, but when they do anything to disappoint her they are bad/evil.  She never acknowledges what she does wrong because she is unable to.  Borderlines cannot and will not do that.  That's why- to quote a scene, she pushed AJ down instead of pulling him up.  He showed a flaw and she wrote him off for it.  It's why she will most likely never see Sonny for what he is nor accept Jason is better off not working for Sonny.  He's on a pedestal.  Jason is on a pedestal.  However, as Morgan has had psychiatric treatment and is in therapy, he would most likely be better off.  Borderlines do well in intensive therapy with certain medications.  I don't know if the writers realized they were writing a lead couple with troubling psychological disorders, but yeah.  That's GH.  We are supposed to root for a self destructive woman with untreated BPD and a man in self denial with bipolar and probably several other undiagnosed psychological disorders.  

[HeatLifer]

Carly's Final Act to get rid of Robin was so freaking cray and hysterical. 

Throwing herself off a ladder, toying with AJ, telling Jason that Robin didn't love him and he didn't love her, lying to Jason about things Robin said or did, trying to sleep with Jason repeatedly, refusing to come up with a joint custody plan for Michael, refusing to get her own place, calling Jason at night to help her with Michael when she didn't need it.....this all made me want to throw out my TV at the time. Add Jason being a naive idiot to the mix and LAWD.

But now I can't stop laughing at the level of insanity they took this story. And, hey, Carly (and Kimberly leaving, lol) really did free Robin by pretty much forcing her to dump Jason. Robin escaped Sonny, Jason, Michael, Carly, the mob, the lies. For that, Carly actually did some good in the end! Heh.

[Mrsmaul2017]

Delete

Edited February 17, 2017 by Mrsmaul2017

[HeatLifer]

Nope. Nope. Nope. Revisionist history.