It's nine O Gene Onegen with Jenny Garth and Tory Spelling.
Today we have a very special guest with us, and it's so exciting. She played Alison lash in four episodes. In season five, she was in Up and Flames, you know, the fire they were burned in the bathroom together Kelly and for life. Yeah, it's a strong bond. We're so happy to get to talk to her. Let's bring her in.
Sarah Melson ha ha, hi Hi, Oh look at you. Oh my gosh, you look the same.
I was just gonna say the same.
Oh, you look so much better than we last saw you in the hospital and your mummy out your burns from head to toe.
I know.
Right, well, let's go right into that. What was what if they did? What was that they put?
Well, did you know that you were going to have to be you? You were going to have to take the brunt of the burns.
And it's funny because I remember I was like, I had no idea. I had never been in that kind of extreme makeup situation before, you know, And it's like, you know, you read about like people who have to go through it with like transformation, you know, into like Helen Mirren just played like gold in my ear and I saw the screening of that and it was like complete transformation with like prosthetics and what you know. This was borderline. I mean it was like a lot.
Luckily all that showed was like your eyeballs and your nose.
Wrapped up like a mummy, Like what wait, wait, we have not gotten so we're rewatching it. So a lot of it is like new for us, right, and we just watch yes, so the fire and then yeah, you're in two more episodes per where we are and we're not sure are they gonna unwrap you or we're gonna be more for all.
So so subsequently, after I miraculously heal with you know, spotless from head to toe burns, that happens, No, it doesn't, Jenny has like a scratch a scratch.
Wait, wait are you telling us next episode they're gonna unwrap you and you're gonna be okay?
No, so do you remember? So then I come back. I have I crushed out on Jenny. Do you remember we haven't got there yet? Wait?
Oh am am I spoiling but blushing?
Oh okay, No, I come back to find her.
Because we had such a moment in the.
Which is honestly like stalker. It was like I was like in love with member.
Oh my god, she's had so many people in love with her stalking her on the show. Okay, wait, so you're saying, see, we don't even know this because we're watching as fans and it's all new to us. So we've now seen you in two episodes up in Flames and Injustice for All and you're wrapped up like a mummy. So you're saying you're not in the next episode.
So I don't remember if it was the following or the one after. At some point they had me, they contacted me and they're like you're coming back, and you're, yes, remember I there's a phone call.
Nope, we don't remember.
Yeah, nope, there's a there's a phone call. I had actually forgotten all this too because it was so long ago. But then someone like it brought it to my attention, like some fan that were like, yes, yes, there's a And then I went back and what there's a there's a phone call where I like call her and I'm like having this like heartfelt moment, like didn't you feel it too? Kind of thing, and she's like, you know, Basically.
It's interesting because I and I could be completely imagining this, but I remember when I was going up for the part and I was reading the script, I seem to remember there was actually at one point like even a kiss, like there was like a legit like wait in the bathroom. There was no there was a legit lesbian like like curiosity moment, you know.
Wait, when which episode? Wait?
Wait? Wait, I don't remember the party, so I think it was in the initial meeting and they cut it of course, because you know the nineties, it.
Must have been in the bathroom. Yeah, you guys thought you were going to die, so you made out.
Oh, I don't remember making it. Why it wouldn't go to our There was like a curiosity moment that.
Was, oh my gosh, oh man, just I.
Could be making this up and please don't like whoever's working for Fox and like this by why would you make that up? I'm just saying I seem to remember that, And because it was so long ago and it was like not done at the time, they like cut that out.
Oh my gosh, Amy, our co host and producer, who's like a sick fan, is going to lose her mind that you just disclose that. Yeah, we'll find out.
Yeah, find out.
And also, yeah, we'll see when you come back after Christmas. I'm sure you come back after the Christmas episode and we'll see what happened that makes sense.
Yeah, yes, we have an encounter in the living room, and I remember, I'm like.
What happens to your girlfriend? Though you cheat on her or you want to cheat?
What did you break up with your girlfriend who was there for you the whole time you were in the hospital.
Yeah, because she was good to you.
I broke up with her for you, my man.
Oh, I felt that, Gee, things are getting nasty.
Hmm.
Wait, okay, so you said when you auditioned for the show that you knew you were going to be a bird in a bird in a fire and be burned. Had to toe.
Oh, I didn't. I knew. All they told me was it was like, this is kind of radical for the time that Yeah told me that it was you know, a lesbian high school lesbian like you know plot, And of course I was intrigued because there was nothing like that on at the moment. You know, it was fairly radical for its time. I have to say, I mean, it's impossible to believe that Now when you think about how far we've come in such a short time, but that's how far, that's how what it was like, as
you know, you know, you're right. So it's kind of incredible that that was one of the first portrayals. Really, I think on national I mean on like network TV.
Maybe we like to hear this because we were so ensconced in it and it's so super close to home that sometimes we can't see how Yeah, radical is such a good word and ahead of its time, and.
Yeah, I mean Will and Grace was very very much like you know, for it that was considered really like a breakthrough, true, and this is way before that.
Whoa, So do you remember, Okay, do you remember getting the prosthetics and going through all of that. You're just looking at you when you were done that. Well, there's the little parts and there was like they had like flakes of your skin coming out, like you were flaky, and it was so disgusting.
Yeah, it was summer. Honestly, I was like, like, you gotta be kidding. Viitimately bummed out, which was perfect because it worked for the role. And if I'm going to be burned in the hospital, of course I'm going to be bummed. So I was just like just not happy.
I was more concerned how long it took to wrap you as a mummy slash Q tip like.
It was you know, did you get claustrophobic?
Yeah? Done was a lot.
I did.
Did you falling? What could they have to walk you to set carry you?
I did get claustrophobic? Ooh yes I did. Yeah it was not fun.
Well, I can't wait to see what you look like when you come knock it on the door.
Oh yeah, I'm like miraculously transformed. They must have had really great surgery back then for burn victims.
Oh my, as a fan, obviously you two were in the scene. But the scene in the bathroom, that final moment, like watching you both were so brilliant and it was such a the moment. And Jen has talked about how you guys really kind of committed to being together because two strangers coming in you just had to go for it. Yeah, we wanted it. Yeah, you're your.
Perspective, right, we had to just jump in with both feet.
Yes. And I was going to say, I don't know, Jenny, I don't know if you remember this, but that was real fire. That was not cgi No, Yeah, that was real fire.
They lift something.
It was like a dangerous situation on set where there were you know, there were fire marshal amen ready with hoses caase it spread, and like they lit a whole thing on fire that is not computerized. So it was pretty scary. Exist.
Yeah, I remember, just like you know, when you build something up in your mind when just reading the scene and thinking about how the scene's going to go, and even rehearsing the scene, and then when it comes to the moment where everybody's on their mark, like the firemen are there, the makeups on, like everybody's there and waiting and the camera's rolling and you're like, do or die go? Just go in No, yeah, literally not going to light it again.
You know, this is all you got. We're lighting this. Go cry. You know.
You had such a you know, you did a lot of acting roles. Are you still acting or you have you sort of ventured more into the music.
Yeah, thank you so much for asking. It's so interesting. I was sort of on this trajectory at that time, and you know, also doing a lot of comedy as well, so not just drama. I don't know how much I can like divulge about it just being TMI, but let's just say, and I'm sure you understand that the atmosphere back then for young women was challenging, to say the least. That's how I'll put it. Yeah, it was like, really it was kind of a toxic environment. It was tough
to navigate, you know. And I felt really challenged by that because I love acting so much, like I have done it since I was a little kid, and I just it's in my bones and it's just innate to me. And I really I feel like pure joy when I'm doing it, whether it's on stage and a player in front of a camera, and I miss it so much. I honestly do want to get back into it.
Now. What age, how did you start?
What were you going to say?
What age did you start acting? I actually didn't know you were child actor?
Well, not on television but on stage. Okay, okay, yeah, yeah, I've been doing theater since I was eight eight wow, okay, hmm, yeah, I've been playing kids parts since I was eight on stage. Yeah, and I.
Can I just jump in for a second. I'm a huge horror fan and classics, so doctor giggles.
Sorry, yeah, doctor Giggles.
I did to give a shout out to that because.
That's that's so sweet of you. Yeah, Doctor Giggles was so much fun because I never gets a play like the Bitch, you know, like I'm always like the sweet Earnest, and it was like, oh, I get to play like the app like the bad Girl, you.
Know, Oh my god, I've never seen Doctor Giggles. To watch it.
It's fun. It's campy and silly, and that.
Would be a great remake right now. It would be okay, so it would be I digress, please go ahead, but.
Like, yeah, no, like not to like no, it's not a stop story. I mean, it's just kind of it's just kind of it's weird. I just kind of was like I burned out on that aspect of it and just decided for my own like sense of artistic self expression because I also am a musician and I'm a singer and I've been doing that since I was very young, so I was just it kind of took over. It just kind of took over, and I would spend my
days doing that more. And then I ended up getting a record deal and it just kind of it took me in that direction. You know, but and I will never stop making music or singing or songwriting ever until the day I die. So that's It's not like if I got back into acting, it would be leaving right behind right. It's just that there's room for me to do both. I feel you know.
You have a new release, don't you.
Yeah, so I have. It's almost done. I'm working on a new record that's coming out in I don't have a release date set yet but to tbd, but probably around May.
Okay.
So yeah, if people want to, like, you know, follow the Instagram, the YouTube, TikTok, Spotify, et cetera. They tell them, tell them how to Well, everything's super easy. It's all under my name. Perfect. The hard part is spelling my name. That's the hard part. Yeah, because people put the h on Sarah and then Melson is inevitably confused with Nelson Nelson.
But everybody, it's Sarah s A R A Nelson, m E. L s O n So give her a follow so you can thanks listen to her beautiful music. Yeah. That's really inspiring though, that you've sort of shifted gears and chose to do something that made you feel good instead of saying and staying in an environment that didn't make you feel good.
Yeah. Yeah, and and and it's interesting, I really really really miss I miss I miss it. I miss it to the point where I'm I do feel compelled to sort of re enter. But now the atmosphere is much better.
It's like we're you know, we've kind of been working that out as I mean, obviously there was a large hoopla, you know about all the you know me too stuff came out and that was I think a cathartic moment, and I chose not to you know, get into the fray there, but at least sort of watching from afar, I was like, Okay, this is this is good, Like, this is a moment where and you know, I'm not I think the whole thing there's obviously we don't need to get into a discussion about that, but yeah, but
if I to say that, something had to give. So it's like now I think the environment's way better, and just the parts are they're a better parts. Like there's so much more content, there's so.
Much especially for women our age.
Yeah, and there's so many platforms now yeah, literally like you know, mm hmm, exactly in the day where were there four networks, five networks.
Yeah, And I used to tell when I tell, when I tell, like the kids these days and I'm like, oh my god, you have no idea. There were five channels on TV. Okay you guys. I was like, you had to schedule that.
They don't even hear you. Like, by the way, you can stop talking and save your breath, because that's like my dad saying, I used to walk to school in the snow. You know that. Now we're saying, oh, there used to be five channels and no internet, They're like.
Huh my gosh. But literally there's so few roles that it was like now there's a gazillion in one.
Yeah, and I feel like the roles are also more, you know, multifaceted. You know, you're allowed to be a real person. You know, you don't have to be like this perfect doll. It's just there was a lot of
pressure on women back then. I feel like on girls specifically, you know, like young girl, like like when we were like coming up, there was like, I mean, chime in, But I personally, from my experience, felt like a lot of pressure on like not that there isn't still on looks and all that appearance but but but now I feel like you can. You can go into the audition with the messy hair and they'll love it. They'll love it.
They'll be like, oh, she's so authentic, you know, whereas it's like before it was like, oh my god, the hair was out of plate. You know.
Yeah, we didn't. We didn't. We had to fit the mold a little bit more back then. Well, geez, I hope to see you acting again because you're so talented. You're really talented. You know that you've been acting since you were a kid. You were You've done so much theater. I mean you run laps around me, for sure. And I just hope that where are you living now? You and I.
Am still in the I am looking at the Hollywood sign right now out my nice Is it clear? I literally I'm literally looking at you. And then I'm looking at the sign.
That's so lucky. People love that. That's a honey house where I did that and it was really fun. You are you in this? I can't say on the air. Let me look at your address.
Let's talk.
Oh my god, now who's talking?
Who Jenny?
Jenny? This is going to take you back? Do you remember? So you know Dan was in the band with my friend Ronny.
Hold On, Dan, my very first husband was in a band.
She says. It was a question Mark.
Remember danmember? Yep, okay, I know. Do you remember we were at the Mints?
Oh yeah, remember?
And I think wasn't he playing with Rommy?
What did what? Did Rommy play keyboards?
And he's in the Food Fighters?
Now I remember Rommy? I just I can't. I remember going a Mint and.
The Wallflower and the wall Flowers and the Wallflower. Yeah.
Yeah, we were on the ground floor of all that cool music.
I know. We have to go out again.
That would be fun. Oh my god. That would mean I'd have to stay at past nine pm.
You know what? She believe me. I have no interest in staying up past nine.
So okay, good, We'll get an early bird special I can listen to.
I feel like a third wheel here.
You can come, you can come come with us.
Please?
Can I take this back though? Okay, so you go, okay, I'm going to bring it back around. So you guys are going to go out, hopefully not at a rave, at a house and there's a fire that breaks out.
Yeah no, okay, But so.
Do you remember was there a window in that.
I don't think there was.
Everyone is telling us that there was a small time, like small, I'm making it really small, like a window, and.
That we could have crawled out of.
Okay, see there you go.
No, no, I.
Have to go back and rewatch it.
Yeah, no, we definitely could not.
Sarah would know.
Did you have you rewatched the Fire episode recently?
Not? Really, you should.
It's really you gotta watch it. It's so fun to watch.
I watched it like a year ago because I had this friend over who was obsessed and made me watch it.
So do people recognize you from your character?
This is gonna you'll get a kick out of this. So you know, my voice is kind of distinctive, so it's it's not just like the visual, but the voice. I was standing in line at the post office. This is last Christmas, so this is about a year ago. I don't know when. I was just like getting stamps or something, and I was on the phone. But I was like trying to be quiet, you know, because I didn't want to be rude, and I was like waiting
in line. I was like talking to my mom or something, and all of a sudden, this girl, this girl kept looking back at me, just like staring at me. And then she turns around. She goes, I'm so sorry to bother you. Are you Allison.
Lash And I she knew the last name too.
Wow, girl, you've got some fans out there.
I'm very really committed.
And then I go yeah, yeah, she's like, I recognize you by your voice.
Wow.
So she heard my voice and then turned her around.
That's like next level fans. Yeah, that's amazing.
Yeah. I was like, maybe I should be doing more voiceover.
I love that's what you took away from that.
You should be doing more voiceover work.
You know, well you are. You were very memorable in the in that in the two episodes that we've seen so far.
Anyway, so you guys are gonna so you're watching the others they're coming up. Okay again, Well.
Okay, we'll be after Christmas.
My goodness, Wait, I want to find out about this alleged kiss.
Yeah. No, I just remember them rewriting, like there were notes before we actually started shooting, like the day before, and they were like, yeah, they took it out. They took it out, and remember what it was exactly. I think were you.
Relieved or were you bummed?
I just didn't shoot it. Understand it was in the script, but you never shot it.
No, no, no, yeah, we never shot any physical contact between the two of us.
Maybe I wish you had shot that because the way you're describing it. At first, I was like, oh MG, But now I'm like, okay, you know what, if you're in that moment, it's such an intimate moment.
I don't know if the fire's coming for you and you're going to be a feeling attracted to someone, I don't think that was maybe right a moment, but it.
Was just a moment, like you're taking it like a but it may allow a person you're ever going to have contrephysically. I don't know.
It may before and it may have been after. So I'm not sure when it was. It could have been before, like maybe we're having it about to have a thing and then the fire breaks out, or it could have been after when I go visit her, because you know, I had the whole storyline of my character at that point, and I go visit her and try to like get her as like trying to convince it me my girlfriend.
Maybe it was there in there. I don't know. I'm just loving hearing about it. Well, now now we have to find out.
I know, I'm actually like super super curious and just like but I and I again, I don't like if a writer's out there and they're like, what what are you talking about? But I seem to remember that because I remember being like bummed that they took something out or there was like some kind of like interaction on that level.
Yeah, because I went up in groundbreaking again totally because we had already done homosexual so homosexuality like an episode about that with the guys from the frat House, but there had never been any female storylines.
I don't think in the file.
But then I think later Kelly does get another stalker. But maybe because I get confused all the time and I say, you know, people ask like, oh, what did Kelly go through? And I say, she was stocked by a lesbian. So now I think I'm getting those two crisscross and I got burned with a lesbian and I got stalked by a stalker, like a regular you know, just a regular run of the millstalker.
Yeah.
I mean, I I not, you know, not to flatter myself or anything, but I do remember, you know, Kelly did not view Allison as a stalker at all. In fact, I think she did actually harbor some kind of attractive.
Yeah you said that word. I don't think now that i'm recalling. Yeah, all of this coming back to me.
And I feel like somehow you thought you kind of treated like because we had gone through that thing together, there was like this bond.
Yeah, so we had a love there that was something different than it wasn't and it didn't have to cross the line into like you know, sexuality, but it's just like it was just like a connection and shared.
Yeah, tragedy is shared. Yeah, yeah, that was so scary. Well, I'm really glad that you're okay and that your scars have healed.
I'm so glad you're a little scar here.
But well, maybe we'll hit you back up when we go through more more back up. They don't say that anymore. The heck is that?
Is that over? So cool?
I think no, I think it's over. You're supposed to say, well you again, No, that's not it.
What did we leave you again?
The kids say like, stop it, she ate that?
Wait, really are you kidding right now?
But it does. It doesn't mean I'll call you again. It doesn't mean it mis means like you did real good. If you say, oh, she ate that and she didn't leave any crumbs.
What are you talking about? This is going in a whole different direction than I expected.
It's just slang.
That's also given the nature of our subject matter. I will not say that's what she said.
But that's what I was thinking. Is okay, so I'll ping you. Do you like that better? I can't stand when people say about calling.
On the phone like old school, because we'll.
Assume you no, we don't like that, we don't like to talk about it.
We'll zoome you. It's more fun to see your beautiful face. Thank you for coming on our little old podcast.
Of course, thank you so much for having me. It was a wonderful seeing your beautiful face and yours.
Great to see you be well.