I wouldn't say Sarah Brown had fantastic writing. She was often a plot device, whether it was coming between Bobbie/Tony or Jason/Robin or Jason/Liz or Hannah/Sonny, she had stories that stopped and started at random (like being agoraphobic), and she had the awful stuff where she drugged AJ and threw him in a laundry cart. She also had to spend years glued to Steve Burton, who was visibly uncomfortable being in a story with her. Only when they put her with Sonny do I think her writing became more consistent.

I actually thought Braun had the strongest writing for Carly, once they got over the first rocky year she was in the role. I didn't care for what they made her Carly become (a much more generic figure) but it was very consistent and played to her strengths.

Edited June 15, 201015 yr by CarlD2

jp, they didn't just pay her travel expenses, they literally hired a helicopter to ESCORT her door-to-door from her home in Westchester somewhere to the AW studio. And back again. And only on certain days, because Jensen liked four-day weekends or some such nonsense. Don't we all.

I cannot wait to read your interview with Sandra Ferguson. That should be an amazing read. I cannot believe AW caved into so many of their stars demands. I guess they were really desperate to keep ratings in the final decade of the show.

CarlD, SJB did get some bum SLs but she also got to pick and choose her co-stars once fans began responding to her character -- hence heavy rotation with Steve Burton and Maurice Benard. Plus they also threw some scenery-chewing Emmy-reel SLs her way -- post-partum depression, losing a baby, etc. I think the nearest Tamara got to Emmy reel-worthy material was when she thought Michael was dead and she broke down at the PCPD. But she wasn't even nominated that year. Everything else? Panic Room? Sonny's "Love" Bullet in the Brain? Palling around with Courtney? Eh. Charles Pratt really was a rotten co-HW.

P.S.: I love that story of Anna Stuart giving Heche a vibrator! On one hand it is TMI but on the other... she was just trying to help Heche out so she wouldn't have issues with sex. And what a testament to Heche's acting, because she and Paul Michael Valley radiated white-hot heat together. Case in point:

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Edited June 15, 201015 yr by Cat

CarlD, SJB did get some bum SLs but she also got to pick and choose her co-stars once fans began responding to her character -- hence heavy rotation with Steve Burton and Maurice Benard.

I'm not sure she was lucky to have Steve Burton. Carly was a supporting player in that story, which was, as it is now all these years later, about how awesome Jason was and how he was so good to Michael. Most of the next two years were all about Carly pining for Jason, who only tolerated her because of Michael and much preferred Robin or Liz, and Carly contorted herself all for Jason's goodness.

She was lucky to get Benard but then considering the massive flop that was Hannah/Sonny, he was also lucky to get her.

Braun may not have had Emmy-worthy material, but then, the entire show was a huge turd at that time. She had more opportunities to be her own character, aside from being shot in the head.

I guess this is the wrong thread.

I often wonder why Buchanan was so wan as Marley. I guess she was tired of playing a Sarah Gordon type role, but she was much better as Sarah.

jp, they didn't just pay her travel expenses, they literally hired a helicopter to ESCORT her door-to-door from her home in Westchester somewhere to the AW studio. And back again. And only on certain days, because Jensen liked four-day weekends or some such nonsense. Don't we all.

I cannot wait to read your interview with Sandra Ferguson. That should be an amazing read. I cannot believe AW caved into so many of their stars demands. I guess they were really desperate to keep ratings in the final decade of the show.

P.S.: I love that story of Anna Stuart giving Heche a vibrator! On one hand it is TMI but on the other... she was just trying to help Heche out so she wouldn't have issues with sex. And what a testament to Heche's acting, because she and Paul Michael Valley radiated white-hot heat together. Case in point:

Thats INSANE! She wasnt that good in the role!

Ill post a link once its published.

I kind of want her book now. Also, PMV <3! Where has he been all these years?

I often wonder why Buchanan was so wan as Marley. I guess she was tired of playing a Sarah Gordon type role, but she was much better as Sarah.

I HATE her Viki, but i like her Marley. I think the thing with JB is she is trying way to hard too play the two so different. he goes big, over the top, loud for Viki and quite, tame, small for Marley. The writing is good enough to seperate the two and Hace simply played them as they were written. It was obvious with her in the roles they were twins because she played them a lot alike, yet totally different. Jensen cant seem to find that middle ground and its like shes sunk all the fun into viki and all the serious into marley. idk if any of this makes since... lol.

i get what ur saying,

That's true about JB overplaying the two roles. She apparently really disliked playing Marley and insisted if she returned, Marley would not return. That did a lot of damage to the Vicky character, as she just became a generic ingenue. After JFP destroyed Donna, killed Bridget, and killed Ryan, Vicky floundered for material, especially when the Shane/Vicky story tanked. Vicky stabilized again as a character through old ties with Jake which were built up by other actresses.

I also thought Jensen had good chemistry with Mark Pinter, but the show sure wasn't going there.

Edited June 15, 201015 yr by CarlD2

I think Paul Michael Valley made a conscious decision to leave the soap biz. He went into teaching acting, I believe, and theatre acting and directing were prob always his first loves. Also, his hairline receded and he prob didn't want to bother with painful hair plugs so the "soap hunk" parts prob dried up.

Somebody once said he played Reva's cancer doctor during the last year of GL? Anyhoo...

Question: Stephen Schetzer -- insanely good or theatrical as hell?

I think he played a cancer patient, but I didn't see a lot of that story.

With a body like that it's a shame anyone would notice the hair...

I thought Schnetzer was fantastic. He was theatrical, yes, but in the quiet moments, he knocked it out of the park every time. My all time favorite was after he found out Nicole had killed Jason Frame and let Felicia go to jail for the crime, and he got sick from wandering around in the rain. While he was delirious, a vision of Kathleen appeared with him and stayed with him, talking about good times and bad times, until he was found. The scenes where he was in the hospital mourning Kathleen all over again were exquisite.

That's true about JB overplaying the two roles. She apparently really disliked playing Marley and insisted if she returned, Marley would not return. That did a lot of damage to the Vicky character, as she just became a generic ingenue. After JFP destroyed Donna, killed Bridget, and killed Ryan, Vicky floundered for material, especially when the Shane/Vicky story tanked. Vicky stabilized again as a character through old ties with Jake which were built up by other actresses.

I also thought Jensen had good chemistry with Mark Pinter, but the show sure wasn't going there.

Was Shane played by Robert Kelker-Kelly? Because pairing them together two seconds after Ryan's death was mega stupid of AW.

Also I never liked Vicky-Jake even though he was a reformed character and everything, and that was because he raped Marley. Vicky was so outraged and protective of her sister at the time, I cannot imagine her developing feelings for Jake McKinnon again. I get why they paired what they considered their two most popular stars, though.

Also Vicky/Grant -- annoyingly bad.

I think he played a cancer patient, but I didn't see a lot of that story.

With a body like that it's a shame anyone would notice the hair...

I thought Schnetzer was fantastic. He was theatrical, yes, but in the quiet moments, he knocked it out of the park every time. My all time favorite was after he found out Nicole had killed Jason Frame and let Felicia go to jail for the crime, and he got sick from wandering around in the rain. While he was delirious, a vision of Kathleen appeared with him and stayed with him, talking about good times and bad times, until he was found. The scenes where he was in the hospital mourning Kathleen all over again were exquisite.

Yes, I do like Schnetzer, there was something very urbane and "I've lived in Paris and Vienna" about him. His voice is incredibly distinctive. When he was torn between Kathleen and Frankie and hopped from one to another, I think that hurt the character because it was such a Ridge Forrester move -- having his cake and eating it, too. But IA that when he got the material, Schnetzer would be point perfect. And that Felicia-Cass-Wallingford friendship was made of awesome.

Was Shane played by Robert Kelker-Kelly? Because pairing them together two seconds after Ryan's death was mega stupid of AW.

Also I never liked Vicky-Jake even though he was a reformed character and everything, and that was because he raped Marley. Vicky was so outraged and protective of her sister at the time, I cannot imagine her developing feelings for Jake McKinnon again. I get why they paired what they considered their two most popular stars, though.

Also Vicky/Grant -- annoyingly bad.

Shane was played by RKK.

They waited about six or seven months between Ryan's death and between the story with Shane, although part of this was due to Jensen going on maternity leave. The problem was that Vicky loved Ryan so much and Jensen played this grief so strongly that it was very difficult to shake. I don't think it helped that Jensen supposedly did not care for working with RKK. The story itself was a mess. Bobby Reno AKA Shane's backstory and his past changed so many times -- he was somehow a race car driver and then later a brain surgeon on the run from a murder conviction. And then you have the decision to bring Ryan back as a ghost to try to warn Vicky of Grant's stupid Fake Jake plot, and have Vicky and Ryan reunite in Heaven, and this just zoomed right in on how flat this pairing was compared to Vicky/Ryan.

There were a lot of issues with Vicky/Jake too, I think it just worked better because Jensen and Tom worked well together. I do think it was shameful that the show just decided to ignore Jake raping Marley. At least this was addressed when Ellen Wheeler returned to the role, and, under Jake's self-righteous bluster, there were some hints of how she'd been damaged by what he'd done to her.

update on PMV from 2005 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/21/AR2005102102041.html/

Schnetzer is fantastic. He goes over the top and he plays subtle when needed.

Here is my interview with Sandra Robinson!

Edited June 15, 201015 yr by JackPeyton

Thanks so much, that's a great interview, you asked good questions and she gave very detailed responses. I was almost going to ask about Thomas Gibson but decided that might be kind of stupid, so I'm glad she mentioned him.

It's fascinating that she tried so hard not to go back to AW but they went along with what she wanted so she came back. And her thoughts on GH and how disappointed she was with that GH had become -- it's right on the money. She sums that up better than almost anyone I've seen.

Yeah, great interview. ITA what she said about GH -- at the time she emphasized what a soap fan she was on AW, and how she used to watch GH in her dressing room and wish she could land a part on it. What a disappointment.

And I wonder who the "inappropriate" actor on AW was? The one she kept having to report to the EP.

Thanks so much, that's a great interview, you asked good questions and she gave very detailed responses. I was almost going to ask about Thomas Gibson but decided that might be kind of stupid, so I'm glad she mentioned him.

It's fascinating that she tried so hard not to go back to AW but they went along with what she wanted so she came back. And her thoughts on GH and how disappointed she was with that GH had become -- it's right on the money. She sums that up better than almost anyone I've seen.

Thank you. She was one of my fave interviees, up there with Suzanne Rogers, Ali Sweeney (who has a real good view and understanding on the current state of daytime, i wish she wasnt so PC in her interviews!), and Joe Moscolo (who throws it all out there. I was very surprised at how detailed her answers were, usually i have to fish for those kind of in depth answers, but she just went for it! Also, i was going to bring up Thomas Gibson if she didnt!

I agree about her trying not to go back. I was nervous about how it might come across on text, because she wasnt saying it in a im too good or above that now kind of way, i honestly think if the show was in LA she wouldnt have had much of an issue going back. As she said, she just got a new house and wasnt even unpacked yet...

And yes, she is so spot on with GH! Tristan Rogers has said almost the same thing about it, as well, and speaking of him and her look at this picture of thw two of them from The Bay-