General Hospital
Lilly Melgar Gives Details On Her Ending Credits GH LIVE Appearance & How The Boston Marathon Bomber Sentencing Altered It!
Photo Credit: Matt Petit/ABC
Fans who watched Friday’s episode of GH Live were in a for a big surprise when during the closing moments, Lilly Melgar (Ex-Lily Rivera) walked out in front of the camera and handled the closing credits for the episode, and told viewers to stay tuned-in for Monday!
Melgar’s Rivera is infamous for blowing up via a bomb meant for Sonny Corinthos, and was joined by her former on-screen love interest Maurice Benard (Sonny) for the final “wink-wink” nod to the audience during GH Live when Lilly saw a bomb and Maurice came to her rescue! However, the gimmick had to be changed for the second live show broadcast, after the breaking news that the Boston Marathon Bomber was sentenced to the death penalty, thus the sight gag of a bomb that happened at the end of the first performance was left out.
On-Air On-Soaps got the Intel from Melgar herself, who first explained how the idea came about to have her included in the final moments of the broadcast! Lily revealed, “In mid conversation, Frank (Valentini) had an ‘Aha!’ moment at the General Hospital Daytime Emmy After-Party. It literally came to him then. He’s quite creative and brilliant. ”
As to what happened when the news broke during GH Live, that the Boston Marathon Bomber was sentenced to the death penalty while GH was having fun with the Lily Rivera bomb spoof, Melgar revealed what went down: “We did the first live show and knew the fans would love the bomb spoof. Maurice and I had a blast with it! Then on a commercial break during the 2nd taping, Frank came in and said there was breaking news on the Boston Marathon bomber, and it’d be in poor taste to do the bomb act. He was right. What are the odds on the timing?!!! However, the first version is out there on You Tube. It was so perfect spoofing our history. Frank was right … the fans loved it, as did we.”
Watch the original version of Lilly Melgar’s GH Live closing credit appearance with Maurice Benard after the jump! Then weigh-in! What did you think of the bomb spoof? Are you glad GH changed it for the next performance? If you watch the GH Live version that is up on Hulu, it has Maurice and Billy Miller (Jason) joining Lilly at the end of the final moments of the broadcast.
It showed great respect not to show it at that time..
I thought it was disgusting. But the Boston channel had already pre- empted the show because the jury was coming in, I just changed the channel. At least they took it out before the 3 o clock show. GH is on at 2 p m in Boston. It was nice to see Lili .
I think all of New England airs GH at 2 pm. Here, in New York, it airs at 3. Programming was interrupted for just a few minutes….so, I didn’t miss much.
I didn’t know who Lily was, myself. That’s why I was a little taken aback….I thought she was just a random person who was hired to turn cue cards? LOL.
I didn’t even know who the woman was!! It was a great spoof, but it went over my head because i didn’t recognize her as Lily!!
Very wise choices all around. I watched the original version live and it was hilarious, but it would have been awful the next hour.
I liked the nod to Lily’s explosive history, and thought it was smart to change it due to the news. Great seeing Likely Melgar on GH again, beautiful as ever.
*Lilly*. (damn autocorrect)
HaHa…’explosive’ history…how clever…great pun, GMob.
I hated Lily and hope they don’t bring her back!! I was so happy when that car blew up with her in it!!
Lily will be back, thats the rumor out there. I loved Lily, she is a terrific actress. Lily is not dead, she is heading home to Port Charles very soon.
What year(s) was Lily on GH? The idea that Sabrina is Sonny’s daughter still wafts in my head now and then. But, Lily looks too young to be her mother.
Lily was blown up in 1996, she was on for a couple years leading up to that. I still wish Carrrlos had been her vengeful brother.
In general, it was a poor choice. It was not part of a scene, and I felt it was pointless. It’s a LIVE event, and some viewers who don’t get the inside joke, might have believed that it was true that there was a bomb on set. It wasn’t classy – at all, thank goodness, ABC had the sense to nix it from the second show. It was not a good decision on a whole.
With that said, I would love Lilly Melgar to return to GH, if everyone can return from the dead on GH, why not Lily Rivera, or she can play Lily’s “twin sister”.
The nod to her was because her character died in a Car bomb. As to why she was chosen as the surprise, She was at the right place at the right time.
hey Vinnie, yes, I do know that. I’m a long-time viewer of GH, so I was watching way back when that happened to Lily. My point was in regards to how the “nod” was generally done in poor taste by the show.
I hope that’s how it went, vinnie…that she was at the right place at the right time. Otherwise, Jeremy is absolutely right….done in poor taste. If it was meant as a joke? It really would have been disgusting. Coincidence is one thing; purposely done , is another. Lives were lost that day…children were maimed…devastation all around, that will last a lifetime.
I doubt the writers would be so insensitive or callous. Besides, how would they have known the episode would air at the same time as the verdict came in? Pure coincidence.
Yes, I do think it was coinicidence
Nothing against newer fans but most of us knew who it was and it was a “Tongue in Cheek” moment. I commend Frank for always being different and being spontaneous. He didnt know the verdict was coming in at that particular time. He did the classy thing and omitted it during the second feed.
Well I wasn’t watching GH when she was on, so I had no idea who she was and the whole bomb thing confused me– I thought it was some kind of teaser on what was going to happen on Monday– well at least I understand it now. Yes, they did the classy thing by changing it– a lot of newer viewers like me, might have thought they were poking fun at being interrupted by the news and misunderstood their intent.
I think GH did the right thing by not showing the bomb out of respect. The timing was really bad for this type of viewing and I believe many fans would have been confused, as I was!!!
I guess I don’t have much of a sense of humor…neither version did much for me. The bomb thing was more mobster tasteless stuff, and the credits were just too much RC, etc self promotion for my taste.
This woman is so beautiful from the inside out, and so glad they squeezed her in somehow. Sometimes shows air at a time that something similar is happening, & it’s not always easy to scramble and do damage control so fast. Glad bomb was changed to bug, but I think “Rat” would have been funnier, involving Sonny.
Maurice, William, Finola, Billy, Kelly great live performances.
Adored the final credits with Lilly holding the cue cards, Maurice
was an added bonus.
Definitely wise not to show it.
Speaking of Lilly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Rosalie turns out to be her daughter…with Sonny. Who knows? Maybe she got out of that car alive and was whisked away by her father…or Carlos…who may just turn out to be Lilly’s brother for real…
rebecca1, fingers crossed, I hope your right!
Could be Timmm…which might be the reason they thought to bring Lilly…out of all the characters no longer on the show…back for the end credits. We shall see!
I have no clue why they brought her on at all. It was pointless. I can think of 10 people right off the top of my head better suited for showing the live credits!
It was a surprise Joe. If they teased us about a surprise guest at the end of Live #1 we would have never guessed Lilly! I liked it. Now if I could dream I would have loved if Stuart Damon had appeared.
It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen her I didn’t recognize her. She looks good. Her delivery wasn’t exactly smooth, but maybe she hasn’t done a lot recently, either. Putting her next to Maurice Bernard certainly showed how much he’s aged, though. And how orange he is.
lol
It was great to see Lilly Melgar again. It’s been almost 20 years. A nice tip of the hat to long time GH viewers. I honestly can’t believe that some people are actually complaining about it, though I’m not surprised at all, since some people will complain about anything.
The bit with the bomb was a tongue in cheek ode to GH’s past, I thought it was a clever idea. And yes, it was the right decision to scrap it from the later airing of the show, after the verdict for the Boston bomber came in.
I agree Dan and basically said the same thing as you. Some people live in a world where nothing is ever good enough! Lilly looked hot and Sonny needs to shake Carly lose and this hot ma ma is just the ticket!
Had no idea who she was (have only been watching 3+ years) but she’s a stunning looking woman and the bit was a lot of fun.
Lilly has a radio show now & Maurice & his wife Paula were on it to promote the Ghost & The Whale.
I watched the 2 pm live show & had such a smile on my face when Lilly did the closing
Credits ! Great Idea kudos to GH.
Frank had incredible class to leave the bomb scene out of the 3pm airing!
Loved the LIVE show & GH for 37 years now!
Great job
Loved seeing Lily – I remember when she was blown-up. I saw the “bomb” version of the live show, but I thought she said “it’s a BUG” LOl. So, I didn’t get it! Having said that, since the Boston Bomber news was out, Ron did the right thing. See what you can do when the show is live?? Looking forward to Monday. It would be great if Lily came back. I do believe Carlos is her brother. What will Sonny do when he finds out it was his former brother in law who shot Duke? what will happen to Carly and Sonny if Lily returns?? Is Rosalie Sonny’s daughter? Stay tuned!
Wouldn’t have mattered to me. This whole article puzzled me because I didn’t realize it was Lily, and , most importantly, I saw the east coast version on Friday, but I thought she said “bug!” I had no idea they were talking about a bomb!
I was confused when I saw the closing credits last night as viewed on Hulu Plus. I knew who she was, but I felt it was out of line with the current storylines. I am not a fan of the mob stories on GH at all. That said I think the original concept as bad taste. However the alternate was acceptable, but awkward. Keep in mind the state of the country since 9/11 when making choices Mr. Valentini. I think it would have been fun to have the kid actors that play Spencer and Emma do the cue cards.
Look, this is entertainment. The world came to a halt on 911. You wouldnt go near any of the 911 material on ANY show until the country heals. Remember even the talk shows and SNL struggled to figure out when the right time would be to be funny again. Its a line and you have to figure it out. You will ALWAYS offend some people because some people are never happy. You have to move on and thats what we do as a country. The azzholes responsible for 911 are not going to bring down USA! We will laugh again, we will cry again and we will blow things up as part of pretending and telling a story on TV or in movies. You have a right to be offended and I’m not being critical of YOU its just that 911 was almost 14 years ago and I have moved on and am thankful that when a bomb goes off, bullets fly are a building crumbles, 99.9 percent of the time it is fictional.
It was great to see Lily. I understand out of respect to the victims you censor the west coast feed BUT it also reiterates that the monster who hurt the people at the marathon yet again by his actions wins by affecting what great privileges we have as Americans. I realize life is a bigger than a soap opera but you look at how much these sick bastards have affected our conveniences in our towns, cities and airports because of their sick definition of being a hero or their sick definition of worshiping their “God!” He will burn in hell.
I am newer to GH and was lost as to who she was and why there was a bomb at first. When Maurice yelled “Lilly” my first thought was “Isn’t that Carlos’ sister, wow what bad timing”, then I remembered she died in a car bombing. Personally I didn’t hear about the sentencing until that night and was able to see the 2pm airing, so even though it was a funny scene it was good on ABC’s part to change the ending credits.
I was horrified to see Lily. But not for the reasons mentioned above.
I was horrified because Lily was a sanctimonious, passive-aggressive, Sonny-enabling bitch with a halo.
And I am glad she’s dead! Glad, I tell ya.
I feel ya! Ugh. I dI’d not want to see her ever again
General Hospital
General Hospital’s Adam J. Harrington Weighs-in On John and Carly, and How it’s ‘Starting to Get Very Complicated”
On recent episodes of General Hospital, Carly (Laura Wright) came to John “Jagger” Cates (Adam Harrington) rescue as he was beaten down in an assault. Carly put on her “nurses cap,” sort of speak, and got John to his hotel room and watched over to him, to make sure he didn’t lose consciousness.
GH fans also got their first glimpse of what may be a new romance for Carly, if she and John continue to bond. If John and Carly were to have a relationship, it would certainly have a ripple effect with Jason (Steve Burton) and Sonny (Maurice Benard).
Adam J. Harrington shared his view on the scenes and what might be next between the two. Speaking to Soap Opera Digest, Harrington shared, “I thought it was written in a way where there’s an understanding and a respect between them both. I don’t think there was any moment where she was not aware that he’s an FBI agent, and there was no moment that he wasn’t aware of her history and relationship to other people in the town. I really liked it. I was really looking forward to shooting it with Laura and we had a really nice time shooting it.”
Photo: ABC
When Carly and John part ways, it seems there were some romantic sparks, as Harrington puts it, “Isn’t that interesting that sometimes with people, the one moment they actually show how they feel is when they know there’s an escape hatch. They know they’re about to walk away. So, it’s almost safe in that moment to do it. I thought that was really special about how (the writers) handled John and Carly. Even the music in that scene was beautifully done.”
Where is this all heading? Conflict! Internally and professionally, and as Adam explains, “Who Carly was to John on paper as just a tool to be used as bait is starting to get very complicated.”
What would you think of a John and Carly pairing? Would you prefer him with Anna, or neither of them? Let us know via the comment section and take our poll below.
General Hospital
General Hospital’s Steve Burton Reveals the Emotional Scene He Almost Could Not Get Through
On a recent episode of General Hospital, Jason received a message from his mother, Monica Quartermaine (Leslie Charleson) via a note. The effect it had on Jason’s portrayer, Steve Burton turned out to be quite visceral.
As GH fans know, although Jason’s bio-mom was Susan Moore, he was raised and adopted by Monica. Speaking on his Daily Drama podcast with his co-host and GH co-star, Bradford Anderson (Spinelli), Steve shared some insight on the difficulties he had getting through that scene.
Burton shared that in the key moment, “Brooklyn (played by Amanda Setton) came in and that’s where she gave me (Jason) the letter from Monica. That was a very hard scene for me to do. That was a tough one. That was the one time I was almost going to call ‘cut!’ It read ‘Jason, I believe in you.’ I was literally going to walk off the set.”
Photo: JPI
To clarify and in the story, Monica was saying “I believe in you” and that she knows Jason didn’t shoot Dante (Dominic Zamprogna). Steve added, “It was tough, man. Emotionally, it was a tough scene. It was overwhelming in the moment.”
Steve went on to detail to Anderson, “She (Brook Lynn) pushed it to me and I read it and she was walking out and I had to stop her, but I was so emotional I couldn’t even get it out. And at that point, I’m like, ‘Do I just keep going … or do I just walk off the set right now?’ But, I knew just to stay, because it’s so hard to get back there, once you shut it down. I knew, the next take wasn’t going to be the same.”
Photo: JPI
It’s clear that Leslie Charleson is so missed on-screen as Monica by all of her castmates, and that Jason and Monica had a very special mother/son relationship throughout the decades on GH.
What did you think of the moment when Jason got a note from Monica that said, “I believe in you?” Were you touched as well? Let us know in the comment section. You can check out the latest episode of Steve and Bradford’s podcast below.
General Hospital
George Russo to Appear on General Hospital as Carmine Cerullo
Coming up, it looks like Brook Lynn’s (Amanda Setton) grandfather, Carmine Cerullo is headed to Port Charles.
According to casting news from the ABC soap opera, George Russo will take on the role. Russo will tape his episode next week on April 15th and will appear on the May 15th episode of the long-running daytime drama series.
If George looks familiar he has been in numerous primetime television shows and motion pictures including: The Offer. Winning Time, Grand Crew and Shameless.
Photo: ABC
Longtime GH viewers will recall that Lois’ (Rena Sofer) dad, Carmine, was previously showed up in Port Charles on and off from 1994 to 1996 and was played by John Capudice.
Clearly, it seems that Carmine will be a part of Chase (Josh Swickard) and Brook Lynn’s wedding. Will it go off without a hitch? Are you looking forward to it? Stay tuned.
Who else would you like to see attend the nuptials? Gloria Cerullo (Ellen Travolta), any other blasts from the pasts who should be present? Let us know in the comment section.
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