Cruz Castillo- DEAD?!? Sophia Capwell- PRESUMED Dead!?!? Mary Duvall- Back From The DEAD?? All in a day's work on SONBC's highest rated blog serial, Return to Santa Barbara. Once again, SONBC sits down with 'RTSB's (re-)creator, juniorz (he insists we call him this, though those in the know may refer to him as 'Greg')

SONBC: Let's get down to business. Do you hate the supercouples of 'Santa Barbara'?

juniorz: (laughs) Good God, no, quite the opposite- I care very deeply about the core couples of 'SB', which is why they are featured in the three main stories on 'RTSB' at the moment. Yes they may be miserable....

SONBC: or dead.

juniorz: (laughs) Yes, or dead. But the fact of the matter is that CC & Sophia, Mason & Julia, and Cruz & Eden are the root of each story being told for them. You have to go through the rough times so that the good times are that much sweeter.

SONBC: Tell that to the Cruz & Eden fans.

juniorz: The Cruz & Eden fans are an intellectually superior bunch. I'm sure they're keen enough to smell a rat....

SONBC: So he may not be dead after all.....

juniorz: Well we do have a body now. I guess we shall see, won't we?

SONBC: You seem to have a pre-occupation with death.....

juniorz: I was thinking the same thing when I was mapping out my original stories when this began. But what you (and I) have to remember is that 'Santa Barbara' always had a pre-occupation with death. Sophia faked her death and was separated from her family for 20 years. Mary was killed, Amy Perkins, Hayley, Eden died a couple of times, the list goes on and on. Honestly, I don't think RTSB's emphasis on death is at all disproportionate to that on SB. We do have two major characters that are dead right now, one of which we know for a fact is not. However, the two stories are very different from one another and the fallout will be as well.

SONBC: Changing the subject, there are some characters on 'RTSB' that are all but MIA. The Lockridges and Joann come to mind.....

juniorz: I said from the beginning that it would be a slow build with Joann. She has some stuff coming up right now and I have a long-term story in mind for her. However, the timing isn't quite right yet to kick that off, as it would involve the return of a former SB character. I'll say that you'll be seeing her interact with more people in town in the coming weeks. As for the Lockridges, it's kind of the same answer- Lionel & Augusta were originally only supposed to be recurring because of the lack of story planned for them in the early months of 'RTSB'. You'll be seeing more of them soon and I hope to have them back in town sooner rather than later. Julia needs her sister right now.....

SONBC: She could use her husband too, if you ask us! By the way, we saw your choices for the SONBC Awards pre-nominations and color us stunned! No A? No Marcy? What gives?

juniorz: My A & Marcy really didn't have the material to submit from 2006. Jed, Lane, Nancy, and Judith did, it was as simple as that. By the way, I still haven't picked the episodes for those four, so any last-minute suggestions would be appreciated! I'm finalizing everything sometime this week though.

SONBC: Any category that you found particularly tough to decide on?

juniorz: I have a gold mine of supporting actresses on 'RTSB'- Robin Mattson, Louise Sorel, Carmen Duncan, Harley Jane Kozak, Deborah Adair, Kim Rhodes, it goes on & on. That category was pretty tough to pick, but I'm happy I settled on Carmen & Harley. As far as 2006 goes, I truly believe those were the right choices. I should mention supporting actor was a tough choice too, considering I switched one of my original submissions, Bernard White (Angel), replacing him with Michael Brainard (Ted). I couldn't find an episode from 2006 that was strong enough for White, since his best stuff has come this year.

SONBC: That's unfortunate, because we're growing to kind of like and even sympathize with Angel, much of the credit going directly to White himself. We're almost out of time. So- we'll go to the lightning interview- quick questions, short answers. READY?

juniorz: Shoot

SONBC: What's up with this Steve Hall kid you introduced?

juniorz: I thought it was about time I bring on a young man for Adriana, Marta, and Samantha. Don't you?

SONBC: Is Cruz alive?

juniorz: Not telling.

SONBC: Is Sophia completely brainwashed now or what?

juniorz: Tune in Monday.

SONBC: What's up with this Ashton guy? We don't trust him at SONBC....

juniorz: There's a lot of layers to this character and the mystery surrounding him. I view him kind of as the 'RTSB' version of EJ Wells.

SONBC: That sounds.......scary. Why is Kelly so unlucky in love?

juniorz: Who says she's unlucky? If there ever were a woman who could reform a damaged man, it's Kelly Capwell.

SONBC: Maybe with Robin Wright in the role.....

juniorz: I take exception with that. Carrington and I have talked at length about what our vision for Kelly is. Robin Wright's performance and Bridget & Jerome Dobson's writing are the two points we keep keying in on. She's very much aware of who she is playing in this go-round. She's quite energized that an intelligent, thoughtful Kelly is being written for her and hopes that if she's ever replaced, at least the actress won't be able to crack on Kelly's IQ.

SONBC: Ok, ok, sheesh. By the way, LOVE the radio show.

juniorz: You have good taste. We even have a time slot now- Wednesday nights, 10 PM. We're actually working on scheduling a weekend afternoon episode, so our friends overseas can listen live and even call in if they'd like.

SONBC: Is Cruz REALLY DEAD?

juniorz: There's a body.....

SONBC: Where the hell is Mary's daughter?

juniorz: Somewhere in this room..........kidding. I have a few twists planned in that story so keep your guard up when reading. Just when you think it's going one way, it could end up heading in a whole new direction.

SONBC: Out of Time. Lightning round over. By the way, congrats on the ratings!

juniorz: Thanks. I'm just happy that so many have checked it out and continue to stick with it. Hopefully, they'll be around throughout the entire run of 'RTSB', however long that might be.