GH History Lessons: Because History is Always Repeating Itself

[NiqueAlexis]

8 hours ago, Ambrosefolly said:

Technically it was Pratt and Guza, but remember with that regime, there were writers that had been on the show since the resurgence in the 90s. I believe with early GQ, there was a writer named Michael C. that was credited with the early beats of GQ that made them so popular. When Guza realized how popular GQ(and by extension, Scott Clifton, because lord knows they weren't going to give a girl any credit for the coupling's popularity) and Tony Geary took a liking to SC, GQ really started going down hill when Guza took control.

Thank You. I know they never saw Georgie as a legacy in her own right & a hugely popular female character in her own right just the female half of GQ. As evident by how they treated her after GQ ended & Dillon started sniffing after Lulu. Another reason to loathe Guza.

7 hours ago, Chairperson Meow said:

That was my intro to Spin.  I was having surgery and freaked out 

Lmao 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Who and/or what is GQ?

[Ambrosefolly]

Georgie and Dillon Q

[coffee drinker]

2 hours ago, Oracle42 said:

Can we have him back?

He's at Y&R now.  I doubt FV would bring him back.  

[cmahorror]

I will always have a soft spot for Maxie as she was one of the few people to not take Lisa's side at any point in time. She hated Lisa from the beginning and was never shy about saying it.

Maxie: I knew that you had an agenda right from the start. The way you flirted with Patrick, always brought up how much fun you two used to have together. I think Robin gave you the benefit of the doubt because she's a decent person. Not me. The truth? I'm a lot like you. I used to play the same games to get someone else's husband into bed. Thinking that he deserved better than his unappreciative wife. I invested everything and came out with nothing, just like you. But that is where our similarities end because I moved on with my life but you became a stalker. After one drunken night with Patrick, you lost your career, your self respect, and now your freedom. Was it worth it?

Edited August 19, 2016 by cmahorror

[Melgaypet]

[awkward segue] Speaking of homewrecking tramps, my 90's GH binge has brought me to some of my favorite scenes, where Bobbie confronts Luke over Carly. [/awkward segue]

 

Edited August 19, 2016 by Melgaypet

[Cobalt Stargazer]

8 hours ago, HeatLifer said:

Yeah, true. TB's Carly was an entirely different version of the character, looking back. I mean, she was practically a cheerleader for Journey. It was so odd seeing her like that. And then JB/LW's versions were back to hating all his women.

I don't remember much  of Tamara's run as Carly, but character-wise SWMNBN was less of a threat than, say, Robin or Liz. She was Sonny's sister, which made her a part of the world that kept Jason close to Carly, even though he continuously refused her advances after he found out she'd slept with Sonny. And Toonces admired Carly from what little I can recall, which gave her an acolyte of her own. Liz and Robin, especially Robin, had ample cause to think she was bad news, but SWMNBM probably felt the need to get Carly's approval.

[dubbel zout]

Carly knew she couldn't treat SWSNBN badly because she was Sonny's sister. That protected SWSNBN more than anything else. If they'd written SWSNBN with any smarts (on SWSNBN's part), she'd have used that to make Carly's life miserable. I'd have loved to see Carly go up against someone who was closer to an equal that way. I don't think Robin or Elizabeth were really in Carly's orbit when SWSNBN was on the show, were they? Elizabeth certainly wasn't, and Robin was in Paris, yes?

[UYI]

2 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

Carly knew she couldn't treat SWSNBN badly because she was Sonny's sister. That protected SWSNBN more than anything else. If they'd written SWSNBN with any smarts (on SWSNBN's part), she'd have used that to make Carly's life miserable. I'd have loved to see Carly go up against someone who was closer to an equal that way. I don't think Robin or Elizabeth were really in Carly's orbit when SWSNBN was on the show, were they? Elizabeth certainly wasn't, and Robin was in Paris, yes?

SWSNBN was on from 2001-2006, and except for Robin returning for Lila's funeral in 2004 and her permanent return in 2005, they were never in PC at the same time (Lila's funeral, in fact, was the only time Robin ever even interacted with TB's Carly--TB was on from 2001-2005).

Edited August 19, 2016 by UYI

[HeatLifer]

8 minutes ago, UYI said:

(Lila's funeral, in fact, was the only time Robin ever even interacted with TB's Carly--TB was on from 2001-2005).

Yep. And, actually, that's another example of TB's Carly just being...different. I remember she had a convo with Courtney after the funeral about Robin and how Jason loved her and she was like his "angel" (like Brenda was Sonny's) and she said it in more of a SAD, feel sorry for herself way than NASTY. Like, that's what set TB apart from the others. There was less of a cruelness and nastiness a lot of the time.

[UYI]

2 minutes ago, HeatLifer said:

Yep. And, actually, that's another example of TB's Carly just being...different. I remember she had a convo with Courtney after the funeral about Robin and how Jason loved her and she was like his "angel" (like Brenda was Sonny's) and she said it in more of a SAD, feel sorry for herself way than NASTY. Like, that's what set TB apart from the others. There was less of a cruelness and nastiness a lot of the time.

 

I think Tamara had a softness that would have made Carly reforming into a better person more believable than any other actress who has ever played her, even Sarah. I know Sarah had a very real gift for showing how vulnerable Carly could be, I feel like I would have taken any attempt of her Carly being nice more...suspiciously.

[HeatLifer]

7 minutes ago, UYI said:

 

I think Tamara had a softness that would have made Carly reforming into a better person more believable than any other actress who has ever played her, even Sarah. I know Sarah had a very real gift for showing how vulnerable Carly could be, I feel like I would have taken any attempt of her Carly being nice more...suspiciously.

SJB's Carly definitely had her moments of vulnerability...just rarely when it came to Robin, which is why TB's Carly talking about her always made an impression with me. I remember even months after Robin left and spilled those amazing beans, SJB's Carly was STILL seething that Jason said he was going to the NB and would always care about Robin and wanted her to be happy. But she put on her usual fake face and just nodded along. SJB's Carly was always seething. Same for JB/LW's version most of the time when it came to Jason or Sonny's women. There was something more melancholy about TB.

[dubbel zout]

Thanks for the time line info.

[ulkis]

One of the last times I remember thinking, "wow, Steve Burton is putting in a good performance."

[dubbel zout]

They'd never have a scene in the rain like that today. Too expensive. 

[HeatLifer]

Lawd, that takes me back. One of my besties during that time LOVED Jase/Courtney. But that still got a little too yell-y for me. SBu and that yelling, man. Another thing I blame on the '00s. "I can't freaking do this anymore!!" made me laugh.

Also, I always thought ALW looked kinda like SBu's wife.

[UYI]

7 minutes ago, HeatLifer said:

Lawd, that takes me back. One of my besties during that time LOVED Jase/Courtney. But that still got a little too yell-y for me. SBu and that yelling, man. Another thing I blame on the '00s. "I can't freaking do this anymore!!" made me laugh.

Also, I always thought ALW looked kinda like SBu's wife.

She does. You can see her in the audience here.

[HeatLifer]

Yes! She's beautiful.

And, aw, Stevie! He deserved the Emmy that year. He really did. His best work by far to this day.

[backhometome]

TB was always my fav. Carly. I started watching right at the end of SJB run. I found TB to be way more vulnerable than smirky face LW. 

[Oracle42]

On August 19, 2016 at 7:17 PM, backhometome said:

I found TB to be way more vulnerable than smirky face LW

That was actually my problem with her Carly - at least in regards to Carly/Sonny.

OG!Carly/Sonny was a marriage of equally forceful personalities. It's what I initially liked about the pairing. TB!Carly always looked like a broken abuse victim in scenes where SJB would've flared her nostrils and matched MB's energy.

Edited August 21, 2016 by Oracle42

[HeatLifer]

50 minutes ago, backhometome said:

TB was always my fav. Carly. I started watching right at the end of SJB run. I found TB to be way more vulnerable than smirky face LW. 

I'm weird because my order will always be SJB, TB, LW, JB. BUT, TB's Carly is the Carly I *felt* for. 

[WendyCR72]

The only good Carly is no Carly!

[Asp Burger]

I am just never going to share this perception of the Tamara Braun Carly as "softer" or more "vulnerable." I read it a lot back in the day when she was actually on the show, too, but in my opinion, she was the least appealing of the four Carlys: the smuggest, the most entitled, the nastiest, and the one in whom I could most see (especially as the years went by) the actress performing with full awareness that she was the writers' pet and she was always going to come out on top.

This (beginning at 5:57) is far from the worst example, but it's the kind of thing I remember when I think of the TB Carly. I miss her like a rash.  

Sarah Brown was the one who could play a hard-ass on the surface but let you see the layers of fear and insecurity underneath. Laura Wright can too, sometimes, but the character in her time has become more of a "pillar of the community" type, for good or ill, with her little hotel gig. She doesn't have the same worry that everything could slip away from her.  Plus, she's the one who was there when the character became the mother of adult children, and that changes the dynamic somewhat.  

Edit:  Link fix. I hope.  

Edited August 20, 2016 by Asp Burger

[Tiger]

I really liked Tamara's version and thought she was a natural evolution of Sarah's.  Jennifer's version was a complete departure from her predecessors and that was 100% on the writers because an as actress she was damned good.

To me, Laura Wright has rarely been written as "Carly" although Guza, Wolfe, and Ron demonstrated that they know how to write "Carly" and when given the opportunity Laura has shown that she can play her. 

[UYI]

I guess I see Tamara as someone who had two extremes for Carly: when she was nasty, she was really nasty, but when she was vulnerable (the Panic Room and Michael's "death"), it's hard for me to watch without feeling something for her. Both sides are there very prominently.

And while it's clear that she had a lot of popularity among TPTB around 2003, I think most of that came from Pratt. Guza had no problem siding with Mo when it came to Carly and Lorenzo--that's the main reason she left the show.

Edited August 20, 2016 by UYI

[Tiger]

14 minutes ago, UYI said:

I guess I see Tamara as someone who had two extremes for Carly: when she was nasty, she was really nasty, but when she was vulnerable (the Panic Room and Michael's "death"), it's hard for me to watch without feeling something for her. Both sides are there very prominently.

And while it's clear that she had a lot of popularity among TPTB around 2003, I think most of that came from Pratt. Guza had no problem siding with Mo when it came to Carly and Lorenzo--that's the main reason she left the show.

IIRC, the end of Pratt's writing being on-screen coincided almost exactly with Tamara's last on-air as Carly.  The kidnapping story was excellent and was allegedly almost entirely Pratt.    And allegedly he had written an exit for Tamara that she agreed to extend breifly for where Michael was found and Carly took he and Morgan to 4th the island/off-screen.  

But for whatever reason Guza scrapped that and turned Carly into a weepy psycho.  As I said, I thought Jennifer was fantastic from a purely acting stance, because seriously she was never even given a chance to play Carly between the 180 degree makeover and Jill actively trying to get Tamara back for months.

As far as Guza & Mo not wanting CarLo, myself and many others thought Tamara & Ted were explosive together and that sort of on-screen chemistry shoyldnt be denied.

Edited August 20, 2016 by Tiger

[HeatLifer]

2 hours ago, UYI said:

But when she was vulnerable (the Panic Room and Michael's "death"), it's hard for me to watch without feeling something for her. 

Yup, exactly how I feel. For whatever reason, she was the only Carly I felt bad for at certain points. With SJB's Carly, who is my fave forever, Carly would always intentionally do crap and then act like a victim and cry. She always acted like a victim in between being cruel. I rarely actually rooted for her, if ever.

Edited August 20, 2016 by HeatLifer

[ulkis]

I felt for Carly when she was played by Sarah Brown, but now when I go back and look at clips I'm like, "insufferable heifer." I guess cause now I know she gets everything she wants. Except Jasey-poo's love, of course. I still find her scenes engrossing to watch though, a lot of the time, so there's that.

[UYI]

You just know that in spite of everything she's won up to this point, almost none of it matters to Carly, because the one thing she wanted more than anything else--Jason to love her in a romantic way--is the one thing she never got. Even though having his friendship (or servant skills, take your pick), plus his loyalty to Michael, is in many ways STILL a win for her, she doesn't have his penis, so in her mind she still lost. 

Edited August 20, 2016 by UYI

[HeatLifer]

You know, it wasn't REALLY about Jason's dick for Carly. She just used sex, as well as her Demon Child, because she thought those were things Robin could never give Jason. That's what gave Carly her "power" in her mind. What she really wanted was for Jason to look at her and have that all-emcompassing deep love for her.

[backhometome]

Carly has really dialed back her Jason obsession. There was a time where I thought she would throw all her kids, yes including Michael, under a bus for him. Now not so much. 

[Asp Burger]

I'm afraid Jennifer Bransford never had a chance because of what she looked like.  She gave it everything she had, but a lot of the online fan base made a joke of her almost from the beginning: "Carl Lee," "Quest for Fire! Carly," "Planet of the Apes Carly," "Y Chromosome Carly." She had a harder, more angular face than Brown or Braun. It was an expressive face, but she tended to "go big" with her reactions, which made her a bonanza for people who like to post funny screen captures. And...she didn't have a waist. That day she got into the drink-throwing catfight with Reese, and then she was with Sonny and she stripped off the dress that had had the drink thrown on it and was standing there in her bra and panties, and it was supposed to be Carly turning up the sexy heat to tempt Sonny back, I'm afraid it was all over for her. The ridicule that day was off the charts.   

Now, I don't think that would have been the case if she had arrived on GH as a new character or a recast of some other character who had been off canvas for a while. However, she was getting it from both sides: the people who adored Carly and were going to be tough on a recast, and the people who hated Carly and just enjoyed having ammo against the character. 

When a character is reasonably popular, unfortunately, the look matters. I personally thought the second Gia (Andrea Pearson) was not only about ten times the actress Marisa Ramirez was but was also extremely attractive, but a lot of people did not accept her because it was too much of an overnight shift in type for the character. You had people saying, "This Gia sure doesn't look like someone who was a model." Which was ironic, as Andrea Pearson actually had modeled successfully. She was just, you know, "young professional attractive" rather than "glamorous pop star attractive." Ramirez herself piled on (saying that the show should have waited until she was available again to come back and close out her story, rather than trying to continue with someone who "doesn't even look like me!")

[LeftPhalange]

Unpopular opinion, I guess, but in the 11 years I've been watching I've never gotten the vibe that Carly is in love with Jason. I think she wants him to consider her his best friend and drop everything whenever she calls, but I don't think she loves him as anything more than a friend. I've watched some stuff from the 90s on youtube and I didn't really feel like she was in love with him then, either. I think she just wanted to be the most important person in his life, specifically Robin. 

[Asp Burger]

I dunno...to me, the "You're my BEST! FRIEND!" narrative that Carly pushed so hard always read as sublimation, especially in the Steve Burton years. The way it always played to me, Jason was the love of her life, and she'd drop any other guy for him in a heartbeat if that avenue were not irrevocably closed off; but since she cannot have that, she transforms the feelings into something else that keeps him close and does not disrupt her other relationships. One time I thought it was glaring was when Liz was pregnant and Carly and Jason had that talk on the docks. This was before Carly really found out Jason was the father; the paternity was up in the air. She was so melancholy, talking about how giving him a baby was what she (Carly) had always wanted to do.  

I found it hard to watch at times, because Burton often played it as though the various Carlys were anything but his best friend: rolling his eyes and sighing like Al Gore debating Dubya, yelling at her ("How much more do you expect Sonny to take?").  His best friend seemed to be Sonny, and even Spinelli often looked higher on the list.  

Edited August 20, 2016 by Asp Burger

[ulkis]

I'm trying to find a clip of Tamara Braun's Carly battling AJ so I'll have no more of this nonsense of her being sympathetic (and I hated BW's AJ!) and a piece of dialogue in this clip is cracking me up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRERMCfuL2o

Michael: But maybe you'll change your mind [about loving me] when the baby gets here.

Carly: Never.

And she means it Michael! She really, really means it!

[UYI]

17 minutes ago, Asp Burger said:

One time I thought it was glaring was when Liz was pregnant and Carly and Jason had that talk on the docks. This was before Carly really found out Jason was the father; the paternity was up in the air. She was so melancholy, talking about how giving him a baby was what she (Carly) had always wanted to do.  

 

YES, I know EXACTLY what scene you're talking about. She had just started dating Jax and she was going on about wanting JASON'S baby? WHAT?

[ulkis]

lol the video screencapped the perfect moment

oooooy I can't believe they gave this kid speaking lines.

[HeatLifer]

I could maybe/possibly/sorta see an argument that the Carly of the past decade wasn't romantically in love with Jason, but SJB's Carly 100% was. Fully. Completely. I've got the receipts, yo. :P

[cmahorror]

When Jason left town in 2000:

 

Jason: Carly, you have to understand that I can't love you the way you want me to.

[Tiger]

15 minutes ago, HeatLifer said:

I could maybe/possibly/sorta see an argument that the Carly of the past decade wasn't romantically in love with Jason, but SJB's Carly 100% was. Fully. Completely. I've got the receipts, yo. :P

Sarah's Carly was definitely in love with Jason in the traditional sense.  She wanted the paperwork, ring, house, kids, etc., with him.  

I think Tamara's Carly loved Jason platonically.  With Steve being gone for Tamara's first year plus and that whole time there being this back and forth with Sonny with I think at least two marriages in that, Tamara's Carly was "Mrs. Corinthos" as opposed to Jason being Carly's "boy on the side".  I think Robin being gone helped shift that dymanic too.   Even when they made out during the hotel fire, it wasnt played as some in-love thing.

But when Jennifer took over the role and then continued with Laura, at least until Ron took over, it morphed into Jason treating Carly as some obligation and she being obsessed with him but not in-love with him either romantically or platonically.  

On that last note, Ron really fucked up by having Carly be so forgiving of Todd after he kidnapped Jason's child and then even looking in Franco's vicinity.  The real Carly would have schemed to destroy them both for hurting her precious.  The sorta-retcon that Carly got involved with Franco because he was Jason's twin and was mourning Jason didn't really work but at least Ron or someone seemed to recognize they screwed up.  

I also think having Carly & Jake being BFF's was a big mistake from a pure story perspective, and it also didnt work because Billy looks closer in age to Chad than Laura.  Not that Laura is some old woman, she's not, but the idea that Jason raised Michael as a baby seems ridiculous given the actors' appearances.

[KerleyQ]

23 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

They'd never have a scene in the rain like that today. Too expensive. 

Frank could probably spring for some water guns and pay some of the kids in his neighborhood like 5 bucks to stand off camera and keep shooting water at the actors.  

[HeatLifer]

1 hour ago, cmahorror said:

When Jason left town in 2000:

Jason: Carly, you have to understand that I can't love you the way you want me to.

My favorite scenes will always be the ones where she's all over Jason going, "Yeah, yeah, Robin, but...we'd be SO GOOD TOGETHER!!!"

Or that scene where she told Jason that Robin would probs die before ever becoming a doctor and he like, flips the fuck out.

Edited August 20, 2016 by HeatLifer

[ulkis]

21 minutes ago, HeatLifer said:

My favorite scenes will always be the ones where she's all over Jason going, "Yeah, yeah, Robin, but...we'd be SO GOOD TOGETHER!!!"

Or that scene where she told Jason that Robin would probs die before ever becoming a doctor and he like, flips the fuck out.

ooh if you find that clip post it, the last one.

[KerleyQ]

To chime in on the Carly discussion, I think that TB was the one whose Carly I ended up liking more often than any of the others.  During her time away from Sonny, when she was in a lot of scenes with Jax and Zander (both of whom she had chemistry with), and then her stuff with Lorenzo, I really actually liked Carly.  LW would be in second, because I really did like Carly during the time when she wanted Jax to adopt Morgan and seemed to actually be seeing Sonny clearly.  With SB's Carly, I appreciated her talent, but I never actually liked Carly.  

I still can't believe that TIIC were so firmly lodged in Sonny and Jason's backsides that they passed on all three of Jax, Zander, and Lorenzo as love interests for Carly (outside of that brief bit after Sonny shot her in the head, and that was never intended to be anything other than an obstacle for our hero, Sonny, to overcome.  I didn't blame TB at all when she decided to get the hell out of there if she was never going to be allowed to move beyond her role as Sonny's property.  

Also, in thinking over all of the actresses in the role, I've come to one inescapable conclusion - being with Sonny is the worst thing for the character.  I cannot think of any point in time where Carly has been likable while involved with Sonny.  

[dubbel zout]

1 hour ago, Tiger said:

The sorta-retcon that Carly got involved with Franco because he was Jason's twin and was mourning Jason didn't really work but at least Ron or someone seemed to recognize they screwed up.  

If Franco hadn't been a SERIAL KILLER, it might have worked. Otherwise? Ridiculous. Just as ridiculous as Elizabeth being attracted to the guy who stole her son and is currently stalking her.

5 minutes ago, KerleyQ said:

Also, in thinking over all of the actresses in the role, I've come to one inescapable conclusion - being with Sonny is the worst thing for the character.  I cannot think of any point in time where Carly has been likable while involved with Sonny.  

Sonny ruins everything and everyone. 'Twas ever thus.

[Asp Burger]

YES, I know EXACTLY what scene you're talking about. She had just started dating Jax and she was going on about wanting JASON'S baby? WHAT?

The expression on Burton's face in the screen capture with that perfectly encapsulates the Jason/Carly "friendship" for 90% of the time he played the role.  

[dubbel zout]

Carly asked much more of Jason than he ever asked of her. The relationship has always been unequal. He didn't seem to mind, though, and he had no problem telling her to back off when necessary.

It's really odd that Carly and Jason post-Jakeson have had so little interaction. She should be pestering him a lot more.

[TeeVee329]

Can someone refresh my memory of the mechanics of Laura Wright Carly and Jax getting together?  They got close because she was helping him raise the brat we now know as Spencer, right, because she wanted to do right by her dead BFF SWSNBN?  And she thought the best way to honor her dead friend was to get involved with her ex-husband?

Edited August 20, 2016 by TeeVee329

[UYI]

This is the kind of thing I'm talking about when I feel something from Tamara's Carly. You can say that a lot of her Carly could be just as nasty (or nastier) than any other Carly, but the moment she cries? I feel it. It breaks my heart to see Tamara cry. :'(

[jsbt]

7 hours ago, Asp Burger said:

I'm afraid Jennifer Bransford never had a chance because of what she looked like.  She gave it everything she had, but a lot of the online fan base made a joke of her almost from the beginning: "Carl Lee," "Quest for Fire! Carly," "Planet of the Apes Carly," "Y Chromosome Carly." She had a harder, more angular face than Brown or Braun.

I am responsible for naming her "Ape Bananas Surprise Carly". But in fairness, that was not in reference to her physical appearance but rather her increasing mental instability during the terrible breakdown story they gave her. I do not regret it.

As for my rambling stream of consciousness thoughts on all the Carlys - I thought Jennifer Bransford was talented but ultimately a bad fit for the role as they conceived it. She skewed too old for Carly IMO and came off as a relic of older soaps struggling to connect with the very particularly stylized GH canvas, which reflected her being a JFP pick hustled onscreen (Bransford had played psycho Georgie Phillips on Jill's OLTL in 1998). It just was weird. What I did think her Carly had was a raw and volatile physicality that resembled Sarah Brown's. That throwdown she and Sam had at Jake's was epic, even if according to Kelly Monaco Bransford went too far and was actually hitting her. That was old-school Carly.

I think Tamara did a good job and doesn't always get enough credit for being strong. I was totally not buying it when she first came on because I loved and hated Sarah's Carly in equal measure (I especially hated how she treated Robin), and I loved the original Sonny/Carly pairing. As others have said, OG Carly was incredibly aggravating but I also found her irresistibly, compulsively watchable. She was one of the realest characters I've ever seen on soaps; she was cable-ready. When Tamara came in stick-thin and weeping all the time, I wasn't buying it, I was infuriated. But because every story JFP and Megan were telling on their own was utter shit - particularly the Angel saga with Sonny where Carly was thrown under the bus - much of the audience, myself included, hewed to what was familiar and real, and that included Sonny and Carly.

Maurice and Tamara did have chemistry and they worked it, and that and the fans was what saved her job and the character, along with Guza taking the recast under his wing when he returned. When Guza came back and they did the "Carly's dead" storyline the following year with the car accident, and she resurfaced in the church all bedraggled and shellshocked, that's when I knew Tamara was Carly for real. They wrote good scenes for her and she sold it. She had her tics and weaknesses, but so did Sarah. She still wasn't my ideal Carly but she worked, even as the stories turned to shit.

I understood why Tamara left, because her Carly and her popularity ultimately become bigger than Sonny and the mob. She had gone from being the new wife to being a force in her own right, and in doing so she became outsize to the mobular canvas. I loved her with Ted King, and I thought she, more than anyone, sold a newly-independent, liberated Carly. Tamara seemed to relish letting her hair go red again, squaring off against Sonny - that shit was great. She was poised for new and different stories with different men and different people. But Guza's GH wouldn't allow for much of that Carly. So she split, because otherwise Tamara's Carly would have destabilized all of GH again, just as Sarah's Carly once did.

I also like Laura's Carly a lot, but they're all so different. As many have said before and again now, she was softened in a lot of ways; Carly became the mother, the wife, the gossip. I think Guza definitely downshifted Carly with LW in the role in a lot of ways, turning her into sort of the town troublemaker vs. a centralized role. He gave her a new home base with Jax in what was a very abrupt and quick pairing based solely on the two actors' chemistry; even though there was all the Courtney and Sonny baggage, I bought it because I liked the actors together and because it wasn't Sonny. But Carly became someone very different, in a lot of ways - she evolved beyond Sonny and all his mob angst and was about her kids, her hotel, her pretty new house, her new baby, her family's dramas and interfering in people's lives, including her ex-husband's. And unlike Tamara's Carly, Laura's allowed for a different world and circumstances because Guza kept her story sphere subservient to the mob's, and Laura played ball with that and kept turning in formidable performances. I don't say that as a judgment, because I think Laura Wright's very smart. You don't survive as many cancelled soaps and hot new love interests as she has and keep your job by being stupid.

People can call Laura's Carly a soccer mom and there's a fair amount of truth to that. Laura brought the same sort of hardscrabble girl-from-the-streets-turned-mama-bear-princess that she'd played on Loving/The City and Guiding Light to Carly. It was all of a formula. But the formula worked, because she too often had great scripts, she had great chemistry and she was and is endlessly adaptable. She did not have to be molded like Tamara Braun, she was just a very seasoned daytime vet who slotted in. And Laura also brought back some of the same thing Bransford and Sarah had, which was a hardness and steel that she doesn't get enough credit for. Because as much as Laura plays tiger moms or soccer moms or princesses, she also plays these very tough women who came from rough circumstances, and she plays that onscreen. As much as they turned Laura's Carly into sort of the local shit-stirrer, she sold it as an A-character because, like Sarah's Carly, when Laura's said she was going to make someone's life hell you believed her. At least I did. Carly's crazy vendettas against Brenda, Dante, Lulu, whoever - that shit was for real. She meant it because Carly had gotten kind of middle-aged, bored and she was going back to that kind of Sarah Brown hardness, just from a different angle. Now she's rich and divorced from the mob, her kids are grown, she runs the luxury hotel and she doesn't give a fuck. She became a Real Housewife, and that suits Carly. Unlike dating a serial killer rapist, or crawling back to Sonny out of boredom.

Anyway. Those are just some thoughts.

Edited August 21, 2016 by jsbt