I think SJB had more chemistry with MB as Claudia than Carly despite it being the same actress. If SJB ever came back as Carly I'd want her with Jason.

I think the more interesting period of Sonny & Carly under JFP was 01-05. The panic room, Brenda's return, Kristina's paternity, Sonny's affair with Sam, AJ kidnapping the kids, Faith Roscoe. Faith now seems like a precursor to Ava. 

4 minutes ago, ironlion said:

I think SJB had more chemistry with MB as Claudia than Carly despite it being the same actress. If SJB ever came back as Carly I'd want her with Jason.

I think the more interesting period of Sonny & Carly under JFP was 01-05. The panic room, Brenda's return, Kristina's paternity, Sonny's affair with Sam, AJ kidnapping the kids, Faith Roscoe. Faith now seems like a precursor to Ava. 

I loved Claudia with Sonny! I enjoyed SJB as Claudia more than her version of Carly. TB was my favorite Carly.

58 minutes ago, carolineg said:

I didn't know SJB's Sonny/Carly were reviled or disliked initially by critics/press.  I thought it was immediately a hit because SJB and MB were together!  I remember liking them immediately too but that was probably not a normal reaction from the S&B crowd.   It made a lot of sense for both characters and the time.  I certainly didn't think we'd be dealing with Carson 20 years later but I remember really being into them early on.

Idk, I think a lot of people (or at least used to) had fond memories of S&B and were pulling for Jason/Carly to make it work and the initial Sonny/Carly stuff was pretty seedy, but the show had to move on and it seems they caught on fast even if their was some backlash at first.  I remember them being named best couple or something in SOD that year.

I remember absolute fury from both fans online (Usenet) and critics. It was a shock bc so much time had been built up with Jason and Carly.

I had no loyalty to Sonny/Brenda bc I had never liked Brenda much back then, lol. It took me a long time to appreciate her beyond the overexposure. I did find Carly fascinating though, even when I hated her for what she did to Robin, and I thought she was one of the most compelling characters on daytime. SJB's longing for Jason was so visceral, for so long, that I think it shook people hard, even me and I was angry she'd helped drive Robin out of town and away from Jason. But I recovered very quickly with her and Sonny lol. And yes, I believe they were named Best Couple for 2000, which they were. But that was later.

I was very angry that they intended to kill Carly, no matter who it was in the role when Tamara took over. I do think she came into her own with the Guza material; her presumed death, etc. AFAIC anything Sonny/Carly after 2002 is dogshit though - romantically, at least. Drama can still be played with them, like when Carly cheated on Franco with him.

Edited September 28, 20214 yr by Vee

2 hours ago, amybrickwallace said:

SJB and KMc as Carly and Robin were great rivals - especially when Carly would play passive-aggressive with Robin. 

Oh so true. And definitely left a mark cuz no matter who played Carly, anytime she would go in on Robin...it always took me back to my old school Carly reactions.

 

Shocking to hear in here that they planned to kill Carly off. 

2 hours ago, amybrickwallace said:

SJB and KMc as Carly and Robin were great rivals - especially when Carly would play passive-aggressive with Robin. 

Back in the day, I was actually pleasantly surprised at how Kim McCullough, who had eternal baby voice, could go toe to toe with Sarah Brown. SJB could smother an entire room with her intensity, but KMcC had a quiet dignity that could withstand and diffuse the hurricane coming at her. After the heavy AIDS story and Stone’s death, her rivalry with Carly really solidified Robin as an adult presence.

1 minute ago, Vee said:

I remember absolute fury from both fans online (Usenet) and critics. It was a shock bc so much time had been built up with Jason and Carly.

I had no loyalty to Sonny/Brenda bc I had never liked Brenda much back then, lol. It took me a long time to appreciate her beyond the overexposure. I did find Carly fascinating though, even when I hated her for what she did to Robin, and I thought she was one of the most compelling characters on daytime. SJB's longing for Jason was so visceral, for so long, that I think it shook people hard, even me and I was angry she'd helped drive Robin out of town and away from Jason. But I recovered very quickly with her and Sonny lol. And yes, I believe they were named Best Couple for 2000, which they were. But that was later.

I was very angry that they intended to kill Carly, no matter who it was in the role when Tamara took over. I do think she came into her own with the Guza material; her presumed death, etc.

I personally had a stronger objection to Jarly because of Robin.  A much stronger objection of Carly in general than Sonny moving on from Brenda because it had been a few years and he did dump Brenda, so it's not like I had high hopes especially with VM being long gone. 

It does seem disappointing that Jarly just ended like that because there was so much build up, but also fitting.  Sonny and Carly was just a solid pairing of two damaged characters who thought they deserved the toxicity of the relationship.

To me even through recasts and very questionable stories, Carly has held up as a stronger character.  Sonny has gotten so awful and progressively worse.  The things that I liked that brought them together the loneliness, the loss, bad childhoods, rejection, being outsiders etc just doesn't exist anymore and that's what drew me to them.  And SJB/MB's chemistry.

It seems ridiculous to kill Carly with TB.  They could have just rested the character for awhile.  And I don't think Sonny needed another dead wife.

Love how hood SJB's Carly could get with "Saint Robin":

 

 

Edited September 28, 20214 yr by BetterForgotten

11 minutes ago, Faulkner said:

Back in the day, I was actually pleasantly surprised at how Kim McCullough, who had eternal baby voice, could go toe to toe with Sarah Brown. SJB could smother an entire room with her intensity, but KMcC had a quiet dignity that could withstand and diffuse the hurricane coming at her. After the heavy AIDS story and Stone’s death, her rivalry with Carly really solidified Robin as an adult presence.

I always liked that way Robin handled her-she clearly felt she was above Carly.  But a lot of the Carly mocking her HIV status does not hold up.  It was cringey at the time and worse now.

Just now, carolineg said:

I always liked that way Robin handled her-she clearly felt she was above Carly.  But a lot of the Carly mocking her HIV status does not hold up.  It was cringey at the time and worse now.

Oh it was horrible. They were still doing it even with LW in the role, which was more than a decade after the original story. But, as politically incorrect and bigoted as it was, it felt somewhat in character for Carly early on, I dunno.

13 minutes ago, carolineg said:

I personally had a stronger objection to Jarly because of Robin.  A much stronger objection of Carly in general than Sonny moving on from Brenda because it had been a few years and he did dump Brenda, so it's not like I had high hopes especially with VM being long gone. 

I despised Carly for how she treated Robin, but I still found her fascinating and quasi-rootable at that time bc of her neuroses, pathos and obsession with Jason. It was very real and relatable. That's the best of what soap characters can make you feel, conflicted as a fan. I was not particularly hardcore for Jason and Carly though, bc I'd never liked Jason much either lol.

I think JFP and Megan were determined to put their stamp on the show and make GH like their other terrible works as quickly as possible. That's why they went full force with Jensen Buchanan and Roy, and that's why cutting out the roots with characters like Carly and Emily served their purposes to supplant them. Of course, GH being the flagship of ABC was a bridge too far, and it didn't work. JFP never had that kind of power again.

11 minutes ago, BetterForgotten said:

Love how hood SJB's Carly could get with "Saint Robin":

 

 

The gangsta Noo Yawk accent starts coming out. “Little PRINCESS!”

4 minutes ago, Faulkner said:

Oh it was horrible. They were still doing it even with LW in the role, which was more than a decade after the original story. But, as politically incorrect and bigoted as it was, it felt somewhat in character for Carly early on, I dunno.

It did sort of fall into the ignorance of the disease at the time and Carly's own ignorance, but Carly did have a medical background, so it just felt like a low blow for the sake of a low blow.  Overall, not anywhere near the worst of Carly's action in the scheme of things lol

Robin was getting to be way too virtuous, they needed someone to knock her down a bit and balance it out. There was a point after Stone when it felt like everyone was her damn friend and was so concerned about her for months.

5 minutes ago, BetterForgotten said:

Robin was getting to be way too virtuous, they needed someone to knock her down a bit and balance it out. There was a point after Stone when it felt like everyone was her damn friend and was so concerned about her for months.

This was also a decent scene. Robin could be very smug:

 

The "break up" of Jason and Carly -- then redirection toward Sonny and Carly -- is exactly why I wanted Sonny to walk in on Jason & Carly in the act after the latter's 2021 wedding. It would have been history in reverse and lead to all sorts of complications, especially because 2021 Carly and Jason seemed to be falling in love. Amnesia Sonny with no mob connections, or Jason breaking up CarSon would have been the opening for a Brenda comeback, if written properly.

It's crazy how much 96-00 Sonny, Jason & Carly still affects the plot directly today! Even moreso evident as Nelle was written as a parallel to Carly. I loved when Carly got her just desserts after being falsely accused of pushing Nelle down the stairs, in parallel to what happened with AJ.

Edited September 28, 20214 yr by ironlion