Too little too late? Maybe. Five months is hardly a fair amount of time for a an actress to find her legs but in the fast paced world soap operas operate in five months can be an eternity. Bransford was expected to make her mark and impact immediately but it was an impact however that may not have been what anyone expected. I don’t think those in charge at GH had a clue as to what they really wanted in a recast Carly, let alone any idea of how to integrate an actress to minimize the shock for the audience. The brilliant (she says facetiously) stunt of one actress going up the stairs to another coming down didn’t, uh, exactly work as planned and the audience landed up paying as big a price as a declining GH is. Bransford is of course not single handedly responsible for the decline, that was set in motion long before she arrived and sealed in cement with the “who killed A.J.” fiasco, and to submit that the current dismal state of GH’s ratings is because of her is simply unwarranted and unjust. That she has obviously not helped elevate GH is no surprise either, sadly her lack of sensuality, lack of connection to and chemistry with any male co-star was far too evident to ignore for this viewer and countless others. But in fairness, just as many viewers did see the kind of chemistry and connections it takes for an actress to be accepted. And that in itself is interesting and not insignificant. Two fan bases formed, rather quickly I might add, who’ve pretty much held steady over the course of the last five months. Bransford’s style, choices and interpretation inspired two things – you either loved her or you hated her. Period. Nothing in between. But what she didn’t inspire was apathy. How many newbies or recasts actually inspire anything other than indifference? To Ms. Bransford’s credit, to garner such strong reaction, from both ends, so quickly is something GH should have been able to capitalize on, had they wanted to. What I did find very curious was the substantial lack of marketing and promotion invested in the actress beyond an interview or two in a soap magazine. Bransford should have been everywhere, all the time – on every Fun In the Sun tour, at every charity event and soap function ABC could drum up. And had she been some hunky new male a la Forrest March, she probably would have, been, but again in fairness, the audience is 99% female, the hunky new actors can often get by on their hunkiness (though Forrest March’s hot chemistry with the actress he was brought on to be with is what caused that commotion – see how that works by the way – the camera never lies, ever. Bransford’s marginal chemistry with Benard, King, and Burton was a hurdle from the beginning), the actresses have to prove themselves with actual acting along with the chemistry. Bransford’s biggest drawback was uneven acting through the emotionally charged storyline she was dumped into. Carly’s biggest drawback since Tamara Braun’s departure was increasingly confusing unevenness in the writing. Ultimately there was no continuity to the character and that’s where Bransford’s portrayal failed for me time and time again. The continuity was not up to Bransford to create however, that responsibility rests squarely with the writers who clearly saw an opportunity to take Carly back to the point where Braun started, ignoring the large contingency of audience who appreciated the evolution the character had gone through by the time Braun left. It had little to do with recasting an actress and everything to do with finding a way to write a new version of Carly that could accommodate that recast while not losing sight of where the character had been for the last four years. There was no clear direction as to who this woman was anymore, she had become completely unrecognizable and in my opinion, no actress, no matter how talented would have been able to decipher the direction any better than Bransford did. Had the camera been able to pick up the kind of charisma, vulnerability and sexuality that defined Carly in both Brown and Braun’s portrayal Bransford might have had a fighting chance, but the camera can’t find what isn’t there. She had the cold, entitled selfishness part down pat, it’s the softness and vulnerability that balanced Carly and made her multi-layered that was largely missing.

Not to keep beating a point but it certainly would have made a difficult situation smoother, given that the storyline didn’t allow for a slow, detailed introduction of a new actress as Carly, had Bransford been given a less heavy daily rotation giving us a chance to get used to a new face and a new style. Bransford was never afforded the opportunity to develop her own relationships, off camera with the other actors so that she could bring those dynamics to the role. There wasn’t any time to let those connections foster, which is so unfortunate – you can’t just expect history and motivation to appear onscreen on cue, especially with an actress whose experience in this particular medium was thin at best. Once the kidnapping was wrapped up Carly and her children could have gone off on a well deserved vacation to recover from their ordeal, instead we had her thrown into a quickie marriage with Alcazar and thrown into facing a manufactured past with Reese to facilitate the beginning of a breakdown that I have to believe was written as a way out should the tptb, in their infinite wisdom deem it necessary or if something better came along.

Which apparently they think has. Welcome to the dog eat dog world of entertainment. Our best sources are confirming that Laura Wright will be taking over the role, this time after an appropriate, respectful absence from the screen (though GH and respectful in the same sentence is an oxymoron if ever there was one). In spite of Sonny’s insistence that he care for Carly himself, it seems evident that she’ll go into treatment somewhere while GH either waits for Wright to become legally available, or waits for the right time to re-introduce this NuNuNuCarly (is that enough nu’s for you?) – just in time for November sweeps I imagine.

Casting Laura Wright makes enormous sense from a purely business driven/agenda driven standpoint, which is what these shows hold as their gold standard these days. Why wouldn’t GH jump at the chance to score a veteran daytime actress who brings with her a long standing, built in fan base who just might give GH a try because they love the actress. The chance to lure new viewers is just too darn tasty to pass up. They’d be remiss in their duties if they didn’t go after this opportunity, decency be damned of course. How many times do popular, veteran, and presumably talented (I say presumably because my exposure to GL has been less than minimal) soap actresses still in the “acceptable” age range become available. I’ve seen the actress enough times in interviews, and if I’m not mistaken on some show on Soapnet a year or two back that took us into soap stars’ homes (didn’t we go into her NY apartment?) to appreciate that her energy and bubbly personality has no trouble coming across the screen. Bransford’s Carly had become so depressed and downtrodden that there didn’t seem to be any way to pull her out of that hole. The downward spiral of the character is of course not Jennifer Bransford’s fault in any way, it’s the writing, but her natural acting tendencies seemed to support the direction, leaving me always wondering which came first, the chicken or the egg. So instead of  fixing the mess they've made and committing to her, from all accounts Bransford's co-stars have, its easier and quicker to move on to someone else. If Wright can bring her fan base with her, can bring her energy and spunk to the role and can integrate quickly, which I believe she can based on her experience within the genre, its difficult not to see why GH would go after her. Past association with Ted King of course adds to this very attractive package, the suits upstairs must be salivating. There is some sort of proven chemistry from what I hear, though it was so many years ago its tough to predict if its still there. Having never watched Loving/The City I haven’t any intelligent comments to make on this unfortunately, except to say, again, if the chemistry and built in fan base is still there, why wouldn’t GH grab for this actress. It’s a coup isn't it.

Dreadful that it’s at the expense of someone else’s job, say what you will about Jennifer Bransford, she worked her heart out, which counts for nothing apparently in this industry...but hey it’s just business right, nothing personal.