<\/p>\n
We continue our series of Super Soap Scenes: A Time Capsule of Daytime Drama\u2019s Greatest Moments<\/em><\/a> with a look back at how the Carly and Jack romance came to be, as recalled by Susan Dansby (now Script Editor for Beyond the Gates<\/em>), the only person to ever direct AND write for this supercouple:<\/p>\n I was lucky enough to direct Maura West (now Ava on General Hospital<\/em><\/a>) and Michael Park, having one of their first on-screen kisses (the ice cream scenes at the cabin in Montana).\u00a0During the dress rehearsal, Michael was playing Jack as \u201cnice guy.\u201d So, when I went out to the studio floor to give notes, I suggested to him that Carly was throwing down a challenge; and rather than running from it (as Carly anticipated), Jack\u2019s G-man persona would come to the fore and give Carly (in the form of a toe-curling kiss) WAY more than she \u2013 or I \u2013 expected. I still remember that kiss.\u00a0 Have mercy!<\/p>\n I fell in love that day with Michael and Maura. With their skill as actors, and their willingness to play in the creative process. Fast forward a decade. Now, as an Emmy-winning writer on As the World Turns<\/em>, I lucked into writing the script where Jack would tell Carly he wanted a divorce.<\/p>\n Hands down, it stands out as my favorite episode ever because it is a perfect example of soap production at its best. I received a splendid breakdown written by Judy Tate, which fostered my script.<\/p>\n What did I add? The nuances of Carly and Jack\u2019s history: Jack\u2019s relationship with his mother and father; Jack\u2019s amnesia that led him to marry Julia #2; Carly\u2019s history of being \u201csaved\u201d by Jack, her constant lies, their kids, the push-pull of their attraction \u2013 it was all in there.\u00a0 Ever a fan, I wrote what I wanted to see.<\/p>\n Then, my script was brilliantly tweaked by editor Courtney Simon; trimmed around the edges by the producers, superbly directed by Grant Aleksander (Phillip; Guiding Light), and performed by two consummate pros. To say that Maura and Michael acted that day is like saying a Sequoia is a tree.\u00a0 Yeah, that\u2019s accurate. But what they did for those of us who loved those characters was gargantuan. By fully committing to each and every beat, they took us through an emotional maelstrom of betrayals, passionate reunions, dreams, disappointments, and the unimaginable \u2013 Jack walking out that door\u2026 and not turning back.<\/p>\n What happened next during shooting? Find out in Super Soap Scenes: A Time Capsule of Daytime Drama\u2019s Greatest Moments<\/em>, available here. <\/a><\/p>\n This story was originally reported on Soap Hub<\/a> on September 7, 2025. Add Soap Hub as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We continue our series of Super Soap Scenes: A Time Capsule of Daytime Drama\u2019s Greatest Moments with a look back at how the Carly and Jack romance came to be, as recalled by Susan Dansby (now Script Editor for Beyond the Gates), the only person to ever direct AND write for this supercouple: Begin at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2003606,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[364793,355458,364792],"class_list":["post-2003605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-ava-on-general-hospital","tag-maura-west","tag-michael-park"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/The-Secret-to-What-Made-\u2018CarJack-Work-on-As-the.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2003605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2003605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2003605\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2003606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2003605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2003605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2003605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Begin at the Beginning<\/h2>\n
The Middle Ground<\/h3>\n
Results Oriented<\/h3>\n