Interviews
Ron Carlivati (Part 3) – One Life To Live
One Life to Live head writer, Ron Carlivati chats with Michael Fairman in Part Three of his video interview segment. Here, Ron discusses if Thorsten Kaye might return as Patrick Thornhart, the Natalie/John/Marty triangle, Langston’s affair with Ford, what’s next for Gigi and Rex, writing for Trevor St John and if Tea and Todd have a fighting chance, and Alison Perkins deadly return to Llanview!
Interviews
‘The Bold and the Beautiful’s’ Heather Tom Talks Daytime Emmy-Nominated Scenes and What’s Behind Katie’s Deep-Seated Issues with Dylan (Exclusive)
The Bold and the Beautiful’s Heather Tom (Katie Logan) is heading into the 53rd annual Daytime Emmys next month with a chance to win not one, but two gold statuettes to add to her collection of six!
Heather is once again a nominee for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama Series, and for the first time a nominee as part of B&B’s writing team in the Outstanding Writing for a Daytime Drama Series category.
Currently, Heather is tied with One Life to Live icon, Erika Slezak (Ex-Viki) as the actresses with the most wins in Daytime Emmy history. An acting victory by Tom would break the tie, although Slezak’s wins have all been for Lead Actress, while Tom literally grew up before our eyes over 35 years in daytime, and has won in all three actress categories: Younger, Supporting and Lead.
Photo: JPI
Whether Tom wins the gold this year, next year is looking even like stronger lock with Heather delivering some of the best work of her career, over the last several months. Who can forget Katie’s showdown with her sister Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) over the creation of her own fashion house named Logan, that slap from Brooke, and eventually being disowned from the Logan family by Brooke and their sister, Donna (Jennifer Gareis).
This fall, Katie is in full momma bear-mode and being overprotective of her son Will Spencer’s (Crew Morrow) heart and pocketbook. In story, Katie has a massive distrust of Melissa Dylan, who has made her move on her son, while Will is still trying to deal with the break-up with the love of his life Electra Forrester.
During a live chat this week on the Michael Fairman Channel, Heather opened up on a myriad of subjects, including why Dylan gets under Katie’s skin in such a major way, and what scenes earned her a shot at Lead Actress gold at the October 30th Daytime Emmy ceremony.
Photo: JPI
HEATHER TOM’S DAYTIME EMMY SUBMISSION
In daytime, Heather Tom does it all, she acts, directs and writes for The Bold and the Beautiful. When deciding what material to submit for Emmy competition with its eligibility rules of episodes from 2025, it relayed heavily on scenes with her longtime B&B scene partner, Don Diamont (Bill Spencer).
“I submitted material having to do with the Luna (Lisa Yamada) storyline and having to do with Katie and Bill. I love that Katie and Bill have been really trying to find their way back to each other for, honestly, five years. He’s been trying to woo her back. Katie’s been like, ‘No.’ However, they come together, especially over their son, Will (Crew Morrow) and they have a very real relationship-type of discussion. It wasn’t an argument. It was more about, ‘I know you. Don’t do this.’ That’s always kind of been Katie’s relationship with Bill. The scenes with Don Diamont were about Katie and Bill’s history, the pain, and the drama, and especially about their son, seemed very familiar to me.”
Heather added, “There’s also a couple scenes with Will and Luna, when Katie finds out that Luna is pregnant. Katie was like, ‘Nope! Our son is having a baby with somebody, and we’re going to figure this out. We’ve got means and the ability to do this. I don’t care if we have to take this baby away from Luna because she’s crazy, we’ll figure it out.’ They were some really good scenes that I felt very proud of. I thought to myself, “OK, this is Katie really taking a stand for her son, and having these conversations with Bill where I just felt they were real and honest.”
In conclusion to standing by her choices of scenes, Heather explained, “It was nice to see Bill and Katie operating as a parental unit and have her be like, “Yep, we’re not doing this. You know, you can’t force Luna to do anything, so let’s just figure out how we’re dealing with this.” Katie was kind of the adult in the room. Then, the scenes where Bill says to Katie, “You have to come back to me and I need you,” while Katie shed a few tears, she still didn’t take him back, not yet.”
Photo: JPI
DYLAN BROKE THE ‘GIRLFRIEND CODE’
There are specific reasons why Katie has it out for Melissa Dylan. In fact, Dylan went so far as to get her mother Darcy Dylan to town to shut down Katie’s suspicions of her, but it still isn’t swaying Katie away from her stance on the matter. Heather revealed how she is playing the scenes.
“So, here’s the deal. It’s multifaceted,” began Tom. “This girl pushes Katie’s buttons. She reminds her of her sister, Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang), and what Katie’s going through with her sister right now is very unpleasant. I think she looks at this girl and says, “This girl is going to crawl over anyone to get what she wants. And right now, she wants my son, and she’s willing to throw her best friend (Electra) under the bus.”
Heather also said, “Honestly, there’s something known as the ‘girlfriend code.’ Would you like to know what the girlfriend code is? ‘The girlfriend code’ is if your girlfriend, who is also your best friend, dates a guy and is especially in love with him, it doesn’t matter if you break up, that guy is off limits. You need to find yourself another guy.”
KATIE’S TROUBLES WITH BROOKE AND DYLAN MAKE HER TAKE A STAND
Katie clearly draws a similarity to her sister Brooke and Melissa Dylan which is also driving her attitude, which Heather confirmed. “So to Katie, it’s like Dylan broke that code. She is someone who follows her heart just like Brooke and leaves carnage in her wake,” said Tom.
She continued, “I think Katie looks at her and goes ‘Okay, one, you were living in your car. You didn’t call your mother who clearly loves you and ask her for help, but you were more than willing to take help from this, lovely rich guy.’ I think Katie feels like the fact that Dylan has been so expressive of how in love she is with Will, I think she finds that a little weird. She’s telling him that she’s e in love with him, and he doesn’t say it back to you. So, clearly he’s in not in love with you.”
In story, Katie can’t trust a young woman, who knows her son doesn’t feel the same way about her and yet is still hanging around. Heather shared Katie’s viewpoint to Dylan: “He’s clearly in love with your best friend. So, isn’t it a little unsettling that she kind of keeps saying she’s in love with him? So that’s my multifaceted reason why Katie doesn’t like her. It really has nothing to do with the fact that she came from humble beginnings because Katie did too. That being said, the Spencers are billionaires, so she would have to also look out for that. However, I don’t think that’s the main reason why she doesn’t like this girl or doesn’t trust her. I really don’t.”
You can check out the full conversation from our livestream conversation on the Michael Fairman Channel below.
Now let us know, are you rooting for Heather Tom to win the Lead Actress Daytime Emmy? What did you think of the scenes she submitted? Will Katie be proven right about Melissa Dylan, or will her distrust blow up in her face and she will wind up respecting Dylan when all is said and done? Weigh-in via the comment section.
Interviews
‘The Bold and the Beautiful’s’ Kelly Sullivan Talks Becoming Darcy Dylan, Who’s Melissa’s Dad, and Future Love Interest (Exclusive)
Kelly Sullivan made her triumphant return to daytime on recent episodes of The Bold and the Beautiful in her new role as Darcy Dylan, the mother of Melissa Dylan (Sydney Bullock).
In story, Melissa, better known as just “Dylan,” phoned home to her mother to come to Los Angeles, in an effort to calm the waters with Will Spencer’s (Crew Morrow) nosy mother, Katie Logan (Heather Tom), who doesn’t trust Dylan one iota.
Soap fans remember Sullivan from her previous Daytime Emmy-nominated role sas Kate Howard/Connie Falconeri on General Hospital and as Sage Warner on The Young and the Restless. During a livestream conversation exclusively on the Michael Fairman Channel, Kelly spoke about her time on GH and Y&R, and the wonderful co-stars she shared the screen with, and her excitement on her brand new role on B&B.
Photo: JPI
As to her thoughts on if Darcy will ultimately prove to be a gold-digger, opportunist, but still has a heart of gold (as we saw in recent scenes with her daughter, seemingly), Sullivan explained, “Characters like Darcy can be dangerous. I think Darcy is a survivor and she can charm. She’s a flirt. She knows what she wants. Darcy is self-made, according to her, and she made it.”
THE DYNAMIC BETWEEN DARCY AND HER DAUGHTER, MELISSA DYLAN
However, Melissa plays a big role in what’s next for Darcy! Kelly explained, “She’s got this beautiful daughter and that was her entire life who is now making her way. Let me tell you, I don’t know what Darcy’s retirement plan is, but one would assume she doesn’t have much savings. This is a great opportunity for her to connect with her daughter and get the lay of the land.”
Finding out that Melissa has been dating Will Spencer from the rich and powerful Spencer family in Los Angeles, while initially a shock, could prove interesting if the mother/daughter were to work together for a common cause, their survival.
Sullivan explained, “Darcy’s all about the tabloids and all about this life of illusion and the haves and have-nots, essentially. She would never shy away from an opportunity to see what’s around the corner. I think the interesting thing for me, that I’m excited about is to explore the dynamic between Darcy and Melissa and what is that going to become?”
From all accounts, Darcy is here to stay in Los Angeles, and fans will see much more of Sullivan on their-screens. “Darcy’s not going anywhere”, confirmed Kelly. “I always said to Sydney Bullock, Darcy didn’t buy a round trip ticket. If you think about it, Melissa could be her ticket. She might be Darcy’s only hope. There are serious stakes here if Darcy has been waiting for this moment.”
Photo: JPI
SHARING SCENES WITH HEATHER TOM
Last week, Sullivan had her first on-screen confrontation with Heather Tom. In the scenes, Katie was disapproving of Dylan and let Darcy know it. Eventually, Darcy takes Dylan with her to leave Will’s beach house apartment, but Will stops Dylan.
Recalling the taping of the scenes, Kelly said, “Heather Tom is a real special artist. In the story between Katie and Darcy, you’ve got momma bear and you’ve got momma bear. You can’t fault either of these women for how they feel, and how protective they are of their children.”
There are many things viewers and perhaps the writers have not totally fleshed out about the Dylans. Are their Dylan sisters coming, or to be revealed to rival the Logan sisters? Who is Melissa’s biological father? Plus, some more nuggets as Kelly revealed.
“I think there is a juicy, juicy story there of the Dylans,” previewed Sullivan. “It would also be interesting if they decide who Melissa’s dad is. Who is that? I mean, that’s interesting. You know, when I auditioned for this role, it said on the page that the character was charming, from the Midwest, and dance skills a plus. and I was a Broadway dancer. So, I hope this means there might be an opportunity to dance on the show at some point.”
Photo: JPI
DARCY DYLAN AND WYATT SPENCER PAIRING?
As for the men on the canvas, Kelly was asked what she thought of a potential Darcy and Wyatt Spencer (Darin Brooks) pairing? To which she responded, “That would be so much fun. I’m such a fan of Darin’s work. Oh, I would have a ball working with him. One of the things that really excited me about Darcy when I was coming into audition for her was that they said that they wanted her to have a comedic sensibility, comedic chops as they said it.”
Sullivan concluded, “To work with Darin, I would be so lucky. He’s such a great actor and he’s got great comedic timing and he’s just really present and phenomenally talented. He’s a great actor, so I would love that. I mean, anyone on the show would be really fun. You throw it at the wall (in daytime) and say, ‘Is there a thing? Is there something here?’ Chemistry is chemistry.”
Now below, and in case you missed it, you can check out our full video livestream chat with Kelly Sullivan below.
So, what have you thought of Kelly’s performances thus far as Darcy? Do you think Darcy will turn out to be an opportunistic woman, but who deeply cares and loves her daughter, or will it turn out to be a ruse? Would you like to see Kelly paired with Darin Brooks on-screen as a love interest, and who do you think truly is Melissa Dylan’s biological father? Weigh-in via the comment section.
General Hospital
GH and OLTL Alum Patrick J. Gibbons Reveals the Story Behind Writing Trina’s Song on ‘General Hospital’ (Exclusive)
At the conclusion of today’s August 21 episode of General Hospital, Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) sings a lullaby to baby Dez, that went into a montage to close out the episode as her father Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner) reports to Pentonville and winds up in his jail cell.
However, in a fun fact, the song entitled, “A Lonely Heart To Give” was actually written by none other than former One Life to Live and General Hospital actor, Patrick J. Gibbons.
Daytime fans first met Gibbons as Sam Manning on One Life to Live. At the time, when he started on the soap, he was just 5-years-old. Gibbons played the part from 2010-2013 on ABC and Prospect Park’s editions of the show. Fast-forward to 2018, Gibbons shows up on General Hospital as Wyatt Hoover, the scout who seemed always be injured, but in the thick of the drama. Patrick had appeared on GH multiple times as Wyatt including: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023.
Photo: ABC
FROM HIS GRANDMOTHER’S DEATH CAME THE INSPIRATION FOR HIS SONG
Now in 2026, General Hospital fans are getting to learn about another side of Gibbons’ talent as a songwriter and guitar player after “A Lonely Heart to Give” debuted today! Michael Fairman TV caught up with Patrick, who is now a senior at Penn State entering his final year as a finance major, to get the back-story of how his song wound up on GH!
Gibbons explained he wrote the song in honor of his grandmother who passed away a few years ago with whom he was, very, very close with. “Randomly, my grandmother had a downfall and passed away during the second semester of my sophomore year. I was in my dorm a lot and I was just playing with my guitar. And at the time, I was really into finger-style playing. I wrote the lyric and music to it (with a little help from my guitar teacher Lou), and my mom showed the rough demo to Frank Valentini (EP, General Hospital). He’s like an uncle to me. Frank loved it so much he said, “Finish that up. I want to hear the whole thing, and I want it on the show.”
MAKING MUSIC FOR GENERAL HOSPITAL
Gibbons and his parents took the next steps! “So now, all we needed was a female voice, because I thought that would fit the song well,” Patrick shared. “At the golf club we go to my parents were at a dinner. They liked the singer that was performing and spoke to her about the song, and she says she would like to bring it to her ‘boss’ who ended up being Eric Bazilian of the Hooters fame!” (Bazilian also wrote the smash hit song “One of Us” for Joan Osborne).
Next, “We went in the studio and recorded it and the song came together and it was beautiful. We loved it. They loved it at General Hospital and now they’re putting it the show and they are coming in with a piano, instead of a guitar. Paul Glass, the GH musical director, has been keeping us updated over the last six months of how it was coming along, and when it would air, and how GH put their own arrangement to it. I can’t wait to see and hear what they did with it.”
Photo: JPI
PATRICK’S ONE LIFE TO LIVE FAMILY
Everyone knows that the One Life to Live extended family share a very tight bond, and Patrick said he does stay in touch with a few of his former One Life to Live co-stars, especially those from the Manning family! “I stayed in touch with Kassie DePaiva (ex-Blair) and sent her little videos here and there. She was like my second mom for five years. We keep in contact with Kristen Alderson (ex-Starr) over X the most, and she can’t believe how big I’ve gotten. Like, none of them can! (laughs). I also loved working with Roger Howarth (ex-Todd) and Trevor St. John (ex-Todd and Victor Jr.), and to me since I was so young, they were just my friends, ‘Roger and Trevor,’ not Todd Manning or Victor Jr.”
It was a trip to California and a visit to Port Charles that ultimately led to Gibbons second soap role of Wyatt Hoover. Patrick explains, “In 2016, Frank Valentini invited us out to Los Angeles to visit the set of General Hospital. I think he heard me say, ‘This is so much fun. I miss being on the set.’ He goes, ‘You should come out. I’ll bring you on the show. We can make you a character.'”
A few years later, Patrick’s dream became a reality! “Then, by the summer of 2018, I was playing Wyatt, the scout, and shared scenes with Wes Ramsey (Peter August), and the best was when I shared a scene with Roger Howarth and Michael Easton (ex-John, OLTL and ex-Silas, Finn et al, GH), it was like chemistry from the old days.”
Photo: PGibbons
IT’S ALL IN THE NUMBERS
As to his future aspirations, it’s a career in the finance game that has piqued Gibbons’ real-life interest. But never say never to a return to acting. Patrick explained, “I’ve always enjoyed numbers. And on top of that, one of the biggest parts of finance is being personable and outgoing.”
He continued, “That’s one of the greatest skills I developed growing up. I really love the markets. I’m super interested. I’m never going to close the door to acting. I’m always open to that because I just love it so much. It’s such a great art.”
Take note! If there are any investment bankers or private equity folks among the GH faithful looking for a young analyst next year, Patrick’s DMs are open. You can find him on X at @PatrickJGibbons.”
So, what did you think of the song sung by Trina on today’s GH that was written by Patrick J. Gibbons? Did you enjoy Patrick’s performances as One Life’s Sam and GH’s Wyatt? Would you like to see him back on GH at some point? Let us know via the comment section.
Kelly Sullivan Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’s’ Maura West Recalling When Ava Shot Connie (Exclusive)
Steve Burton Reportedly Signs Three-Year Contract with ‘General Hospital’
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Steffy Tells Carter She’s Pregnant, But He Has a Way ‘Out of This Situation For All of Us’
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Jason and Britt Reach an Impasse; Is This the End of Their Relationship?
Jess Walton Memoir ‘The Young and the Rest of Us’ Set for Release in 2027
‘General Hospital’ to Rebroadcast Special Episode in Tribute to Anthony Geary
‘General Hospital’s’ Tabyana Ali Song ‘Pray’ Now Available on Major Streaming Platforms with Music Video Forthcoming
‘General Hospital’ Icon Genie Francis to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at the 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards
Vivica A. Fox Exits ‘The Young and the Restless’ For Now to Film Netflix’s ‘Women Like Us’
Jess Walton Memoir ‘The Young and the Rest of Us’ Set for Release in 2027
Kelly Sullivan Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’s’ Maura West Recalling When Ava Shot Connie (Exclusive)
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Steffy Tells Carter She’s Pregnant, But He Has a Way ‘Out of This Situation For All of Us’
‘Beyond the Gates’ vs. ‘The Young and the Restless’ in a Soap Opera Showdown on ‘Flip Side’ Season 3 Premiere
‘The Bold and the Beautiful’s’ Heather Tom Talks Daytime Emmy-Nominated Scenes and What’s Behind Katie’s Deep-Seated Issues with Dylan (Exclusive)
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The acting choices with regards to Todd are questionable. He is not Todd to so many of us and never will be!
Michael, this a wonderful interview with Ron. You have great rapport between you and he seems to be very accessible in answering your questions. So far, he has done remarkable writing The teases about what and who will be front and center storywise keps us guessing. The only complaint I have is withAllison Perkins. With the seriousness of the Sienna Rose story and who is the real father and all the characters involved, she just seems too bizarre and comical. For me,I find that her shenanigans are taking away from the drama and real emotion of the story. As you can tell, I am not happy with that. It was too easy to drug Sklyler and steal the baby , go to Roxys and apply a mud pack to her face as a disguise, put a gun to Natalie, tape up Roxy, all the while praising Mitch, the Messenger. That’s not funny?. Too easy I say….
Good, detailed interview. I’ve watched all four segments now.
Although it’s been four months, I wish you would have asked Mr. Carlivati for his thoughts on the death of Jared and the firing of John Brotherton. I would particularly like to know if this was his idea, or if it was an edict from above.
Interesting that there couldn’t be a body found for Stacy; yet Jared’s fans were “treated” to multiple scenes of his lifeless body in that hospital, making a return for the character and the actor next to impossible. While I can’t deny that Jared’s death and aftermath gave Melissa Archer and Brian Kerwin (as well as John Brotherton, Erika Slezak, Jerry verDorn, Bree Williamson, Mark Lawson and Roscoe Born) some great material which they’ve done an outstanding job with, for this viewer the cost was simply too much.
I am not at all interested in a re-teaming of Natalie and John, and I’m more than a little disappointed that Mr. Carlivati has several times since November taken the time to specifically mention the disappointment of fans of the old Natalie/John pairing; yet he has never once, as far as I know, publicly addressed the disappointment of the fans of the Natalie/Jared pairing and the fans of Jared/John Brotherton. Based on this interview, it seems Jared has now been reduced to nothing more than a “different direction” that Natalie was taken in back in ’07. I was under the impression from an old quote of his that Mr. Carlivati loved the Natalie/Jared pairing. For what it may be worth to him (perhaps nothing, at this point), I came out of “soap retirement” in no small part because I like this pairing so much.
I don’t understand why all those scenes took place between John and Mitch at the greenhouse post-shooting wherein Mitch predicted that Natalie would never forgive John (nor would John forgive himself) for the way he pursued Jared as the stalker. That was a waste of time when Natalie was written to forgive John all too easily within 24 hours after Jared’s death and John himself has shown absolutely no lingering feelings of remorse or guilt. Also, I felt that Michael/Marcie and their fans got their happy ending last year when the couple left the canvas together after finding out they were going to have a baby. Although it was a nice tie-in to have Matthew’s surgery take place at the Seattle hospital where Michael now works, was it really necessary to have that cycle of life illustration of Jared dying exactly as Marcie gave birth? To be honest, it seemed kind of cruel to me (even more so after Natalie found out she wasn’t pregnant with Jared’s baby); and all of that time spent on those scenes between John and Mitch and the birth of the baby took away time that could have been spent on longer scenes between Natalie and Jared. The suddenness of his death precluded any proper goodbyes to his loved ones; so it would have been nice to have a few more scenes between them. But I guess I shouldn’t expect more from a show which inexplicably backburnered them for over a year and had them married during a montage in which another character’s fantasy wedding received more airtime.
I’ve never seen any of the prior incarnations of the Natalie/John pairing. I started watching OL during the latter half of ’07. During the time that I’ve watched the show John has basically done the same story with two different women…Marty, then Blair, and now Marty again. All of the women on this show deserve better than this emotional cripple who never outgrows his hero complex. Personally, I can’t look at Natalie and John in a scene together and not remember: a) that for over two years they rarely interacted and displayed absolutely none of the supposed feelings that have now all of a sudden resurfaced within a few short months of her husband’s death (and, in the case of the cabin during the blizzard, within minutes of her hallucinating Jared); b) that he completely blew off her disappearance when Tess had her locked in the Secret Room; c) the gleeful, smug way in which he pursued Jared as the stalker; and d) a big part of the reason Jared is dead is because John inexplicably turned away from Mitch while he still had a loaded gun in his hand. I have to say, it disappoints me greatly that nothing was made of this last one; and I can only surmise it speaks to backstage politics that a scene like this aired and it was felt by the powers that be that John’s gross negligence and error does not need to be addressed in any way; yet Jared and his fans were never allowed to forget Jared’s involvement in Nash’s accidental death, to the extreme point of Nash references during Jessica’s eulogy for Jared and his re-internment on the day of Jared’s funeral.
Much as I hate that Jared is gone, I realize that Natalie has to be moved into different stories now. Personally, I would have liked for Natalie to have Jared’s baby; as a pregnancy would be a new, different story for Natalie, who I understand has never even had so much as a pregnancy scare during her time in Llanview. I’d also like to see her (and not just hear about it) back at BE and maybe take a look at Natalie’s childhood with Roxy.
You say you’ve never seen prior John and Natalie, well you should watch them prior to 2007. They were simply amazing. If you ever want to check out some of the great scenes, you can see why so many people love this couple. Because they truly are meant to be together. John comes to life with Natalie. He really does. And as Doc Crosby once pointed out, she’s the one loss he’ll never recover from. I’m not trying to deter you from your fave, but if you never watched prior to 2007, you really should check out some of the scenes. They really are great. But one thing is for sure-we love what we love.
I’m not a big fan of any of the stories he talk about in part 3. They just don’t interest me and I don’t think are written very well. Kish seems to be the only really good written story (other than who’s the daddy that’s lasted way too long) on the show at the moment. It’s a shame and I think after April 12, when a lot of people will stop watching, OLTL may rethink about Kish.
I miss Todd and Tea. It seems like we are getting rewrites or something. I just wish TnT would start interacting again!!
These horrible rumors about Florencia Lozano being fired better be false!!!!!!!
As a long suffering John and Natalie fan I am thrilled to hear Mr Carlivivati comments about this great couple. In my view Michael Easton and Melissa Archer have a scorching hot chemistry, and if written for correctly could be one of the biggest pairings on ABC. My friend and I were out to dinner and were sitting at the bar waiting for a table we started talking about OLTL and John and Natalie the female bartender overheard us and said”OMG I love John and Natalie also” turned out she was a new viewer, and has become hooked on the show thanks to John and Natalie.
I understand Jarred fans being upset, but they should try to be a John and Natalie fan we have waited 7 years for our story, they had 2 years and even had their characters get married. But I must disagree with anyone who only started to watch the show 2 1/2 years ago trying to explain the relationship of John and Natalie. Unless you have watched them through the years you wouldn’t understand them. And please don’t compare John and Natalie to Blair or Marty, Johns love for Natalie has always been very deep. Natalie is the only woman who can completely break John’s heart. It is true they hardly saw wach other for over 2 years, but the times they were together you could still see they had feelings for each other. Also by them staying away from each other for that time they were able to keep those strong feelings buried. But now that they are back in each others lives they can’t hide those feelings anymore. And once they kissed again the floodgates were opened. John tried to be with other women, but he never fully gave his heart to them, Natalie still owns that heart.
I hope Mr Carlivati will write a true Romance for John and Natalie. With my busy life that is why I watch soaps to see the romance.
Joanna, I can certainly understand wanting an old favorite couple to reunite.
In this particular case, however, I feel that the Natalie/John pairing had its share of chances years ago, with stories written for them. Whereas, with Natalie/Jared, I feel they were never given a fair chance, with stories of their own, after a) the BE story was so obviously aborted; b) they were unfairly made the scapegoats by the powers that be for Nash’s death and the loss of Forbes March; and c) they spent months being The Secret Keepers and supporting players in Jessica’s never-ending dramas. Then they were backburnered for months.
Now, I understand the concept of the backburner; I’ve watched soaps for over 35 years. Believe me, I waited very patiently for Natalie and Jared to have their turn on the frontburner with stories of their own. However, when I finally thought their turn had arrived, it basically consisted of the two of them being kinda/sorta on the frontburner for a couple of weeks; then Jared went missing for three weeks while Natalie kinda/sorta remained on the frontburner; only to have them be reunited and Jared killed within a day.
As far as Natalie and Jared’s wedding, it was probably the worst and also one of the best soap weddings I’ve ever seen. It was the worst because of the way the show treated both the couple and their fans by shoehorning their wedding into a montage in which Gigi’s fantasy wedding received more play; not to mention the multi-day arcs devoted to the Starr/Cole non-wedding and the Todd/Tea wedding. It was the best wedding solely because of the sheer joy conveyed by Melissa Archer and John Brotherton in their wedding scene, which they managed to do despite having a mere half-line of dialogue.
You wrote of waiting for seven years for Natalie and John to get together; and you’re asking Natalie/Jared fans to essentially walk a mile in your shoes. At least when Natalie and John were not together, John was still alive and you therefore could hope for a reunion one day. With Jared dead, Natalie/Jared fans don’t have that luxury. I wonder who’d like to walk in our shoes.
I guess we all have our own opinions, and we should all respect each other views, but has someone who after 7 years has still not had a payoff its nice to hear Mr Carlivati talk about their history and wanting to revisit them. For me I was never a huge Jarred and Natalie fan so I was not into their story. And this was the first time I didn’t like a Natalie pairing. I loved Natalie/Cris and Natalie/ John, but Jarred was not a character I liked with Natalie.
I just hope I can finally get the romantic story for John and Natalie that I have waited 7 years for. I want to see what Michael Easton and Melissa Archer could do with a great love story. These 2 actors have so much heat their scenes can be explosive, and I am hoping Mr Carlivati writes a a story to showcase this.
Christine, we are not asking you to walk a mille in our shoes. But really, you got your payoff. They had their wedding, even if it was short. John/Natalie fans never did. And that’s what has been so bitter to take.
Billy Warlock would be weird casting as Gigi’s father. He may be technically old enough, but he’s always looked so young.
Just wanted to say thank you to Christine for saying everything a lot of us Natalie/Jared fans are feeling.
Thank you, Gin, for your comment.
Joanna, the site wouldn’t let me respond to your last comment directly, so I started a new post. Just wanted to close by adding that
“I guess we all have our own opinions, and we should all respect each other’s views”
is one thing we do agree on. 🙂
I am very happy RonC. is revisting John& Natalie! , they have the most sizzling dynamic, even in a normal conversation they sizzle! I am not that much of a Marty fan but loved her with Patrick. if they brought him back , that would be a huge SL for a lot of characters. Todd and Tea were OK ,just not used to Dani’s age.. but if that all their is for Tea, thats too bad. Mitch and Alison are creepy bad guys ,,, but interesting to watch. But I think this should be their last go around.
Add me to the list of another long suffering John and Natalie fan. I am thrilled with this interview and the possibility of John and Natalie being reunited.
I have watched this couple since Oct 1, 2003. I fell in love right along with this couple. And I was saddened when they were broken up in 2007 for no good reason, and paired with people I didn’t want to see.
I was sickened to see that Natalie and John barely had any scenes for more than 2 years. This is a couple that had gone through so many things together, and to end them over “drugged soup”, was just PLAIN RIDICULOUS. And to pair John with a psychiatrist was the most hideous thing I’d ever heard of. This character hates psychiatrists! And to pair Natalie with a gold-digging faux uncle was hideous in itself. And I was THRILLED when Jared was killed. Infact, so thrilled I had popcorn while watching his death scenes. And sayng “thank you soap gods”.
As for Marty, she’s okay as a character, BUT SHE DOES NOT BELONG WITH JOHN. Her and John are beyond boring. During their scenes, I find myself sleeping as I am put to absolute naptime. End this farce of a couple sooner than later!
With Natalie, John comes to life. She is the light at the end of the dark tunnel for John. She breathes life into him. They are truly meant to be together, and I, for one, hope that at the end of this long-suffering road, he and Natalie are back where they both belong–in each other’s arms.
As for Marty’s pregnancy, it is a ridiculous plot point as their “love story” took place off-screen(Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled that it was. Because it meant the viewers wouldn’t have to be sickedended watching it). But NATALIE is the one John dreamed of having a family with. It should be NATALIE pregnant with John’s baby. It should be NATALIE where Marty is with John.
As a John/Natalie fan, I want the payoff every other pairing has had. I want a real proposal, a real wedding(and not a 13 second one)-and I want a John/Natalie baby. I want the TOTAL package that we were robbed of three years ago!
Wow….I couldn’t of said it better myself!!!
As a die hard JOLIE(John and Natalie) Fan I’m soooooooooo looking forward to them reuniting for good this time!!!
I have only watched reg. again since Feb..Thank God for DVR…cause when their not on I can ff thru most of the show or just not watch at all……and I have to say I absolutly LOVE watching them two on screen again!!! Now just if they’d speed up this Marty crap…….
I’m like you I want our due payoff for being loyal to a fault * at times*, die hard fans of this couple!!!
Hi Shelby
Thanks for the response. I felt a little long-winded after I wrote the post, but realized I meant every word I said! Ron has done fantastic thus far, and I just hope he continues the great writing for this couple. I have enjoyed every scene. Every line was delivered with the knowledge of their shared history. It’s been amazing thus far. But the one thing I enjoy most with this pregnancy plot point are the longing glances shared between these two. No one does angst better than Natalie and John! Bring on the eye sex! My pretties can do it justice!!
Starting watching OLTL again in October after hearing that Natalie and John would be sharing scenes again. I stopped watching after their horrible breakup. ME and MA still have such great on-screen chemistry after so long apart. Looking forward to a long awaited reunion. I feel there is still so much story that can be told for this couple especially since both have grown and matured. I think John finally is at peace over his father’s death and can now focus on committing to someone he loves. Hopefully that someone will be Natalie.
i agree totally with christine, i want the total package with john and natalie. we have been waiting seven years for them to get back together, i want proposal, wedding, baby! i want it all with them, i stopped watching when they broke up and started back when bo and nora got back together and now with jolie getting back together one life is getting better and better. that is just my opion everyone is aloud and i’m sorry for the jared fans i really liked him but i love natalie and john together. melissa and michael just have great chemistry together.
OLTL right now is not as good of a show as it has been in the past. A lot of the storylines right now are not working. But there are 2 things that are working right now and that is the pairings of Bo/Nora and John/Natalie.
Bo/Nora have finally been reunited after 10 years apart. RSW and HBS have the chemistry that every soap producer dreams of. And after 10 years of horrible forced pairings for both Bo and Nora Ron got it right and he reunited them.
John/Natalie have not been reunited but they are on their way to finding their way back to each other. This is one couple that Ron knows how to write. ME And MA have an explosive chemistry. If given the right storylines they could become a supercouple. John/Natalie can be amazing if given the right material. Ron has given them great material this year. The Feb blizzard scenes as well as the Lanfair second kiss scenes shows us that Ron knows how to write them. Ron just needs to end this contrived Marty/John/Natalie tri and give this couple the payoff that they should have had 3 years ago. John/Natalie need a full reunion complete with marriage and a baby.
Thanks for sharing this!!! I’m excited about the reunion of John and Natalie and cannot wait to see them as a couple again!!! They bring the chemistry,angst,love,passion back to OLTL….I look forward to watching again, when I know their going to be on. 😉
I, too, am a huge John/Natalie fan and love this interview with Ron. I am hoping with baited breath that this means John and Natalie will be reunited. Like many others, I stopped watching after they broke up, and recently started watching again with the Stalker Storyline when I stood in line one day at the grocery store and pcked up a copy of SID, and turned to OLTL fall previews and saw John/Natalie would be back in a story together.
Since then, I put OLTL back on my DVR! The scenes these past few months have NOT disappointed me, but I want MORE!!
This latest plot twist with Marty being pregnant, although ridiculous, is giving me what I have loved about the John/Natalie relationship and that’s the longing, the eye sex and the angst. NO ONE, and I do mean NO ONE, does angst quite like Natalie and John. ME and MA have amazing chemistry and it should be showcased and built upon.
Really good interview overall.
Love that RC comments on how FL is a wonderful actress and he makes it a point to say that TnT is just as wonderful a love story as T/B. ICAM. In fact, as far as I am concerned, TnT are the best, period. But it is nice that he showed respect to TnT. So tired of the T/B merry go round. There has been nothing “super” about that couple in a decade, IMHO.
Really hoping to get my TnT back. Not even going to deal with the possibility they may be releasing FL. That would just set me off and after losing DD, this is not a good time to be messing with me, lol.
I am a HUGE Jolie fan. I been waiting years for these two to reconnect!
I just can’t stand that they paired John and Marty, that was definately a HUGE mistake. Natalie and Jared, I couldn’t stand, Jared just was blah! I am just annoyed that they don’t pair John and Natalie up instead of having all these wrenches thrown in between them. The writeers know that more than half of the viewers are rooting for this couple. I hope they do bring Patrick back for Marty, cause thats the only person she had chemistry with.
I have been a OLTL fan since Vicky/Joe and Clint, Ed and Carla, Dorian/David/Jenny, Jenny/Brad, Karen/Larry, Tina/Cord and I say Jolie is the best couple they have EVER HAD IMHO. From the beginning, their scenes just jumped off the screen and their scenes were great especially the non-verbal ones, what they do with their eyes should be rated “R.” Like so many others after 5 years, I felt gipped by the horrible ending and hated that they were never on screen together although now “Others” get it, you could never put them in a scene together with other characters, the other characters just faded away. My question has always been if you have a couple with that much chemistry, why not use it? I am holding bated breath for the Jolie reunion and true love story that these two can tell. Although here to now, OLTL has not indicated that they listen to fans, but Jolie had jumpstarted all the boards, magazines, they have that buzz and imagine what a really good love story could do. That is why we or at least I watch for love in the afternoon and NO ONE does it better than Michael Easton and Melissa Archer, so as Natalie told John on the plane to Thailand “Bring It On.”
Fantastic, detailed interviews Michael, i’m trying to get thru all of them. I love this show and i hope Ron sticks around. GREAT JOB and great questions! Good provocative discussions had in the Ron C. interviews.