Marissa Gallant

28 minutes ago, amybrickwallace said:

Lane Davies was one of a kind. I'm still angry at GH for wasting him. 

And then a few episodes later, Mason is selling his dad Lionels forgeries and keeps a delightful gleam in his eye. Lol

10 hours ago, amybrickwallace said:

I saw her as Vivian first, which is why I think of her as Augusta second. I wrote to her a few years ago and mentioned that my mother wouldn't allow my sister and I to watch soaps until we were teenagers. She wrote back and approved of my mother's decision.

I'm so glad my mom was a bad influence. I vaguely remember watching Somerset with her when I was in early grade school. I remember one scene. Do my eyes spy Robert Hogan in that bottom picture? Don't answer, I know that's Vince. 

The show really gives Mason some of the best lines. There are his one line zingers. But one I've really been thinking about was after Mary got married and he was going to marry Santana. And he tells Mary that if reincarnation is real, he is going to find her again because they've already wasted one lifetime. Whew! Did tptb really think we wouldn't fall for a character who said that? Or even the fact that he wanted Sophia at his wedding to Santana. I do think he wanted to try to make it work, but Santana was an idiot who didn't understand Mason. 

I adore, ADORE Felicia Gallant and Linda Dano, but they really put her in some bizarre outfits. And somehow, she made them work. 

16 minutes ago, Liberty City said:

I'm just happy Louise Sorel always spoke up for herself and her character, especially during a time it was probably not the safest option to choose.

I went full geek and joined an SB Facebook group. She occasionally posts there. She seems like a very kind lady. When you read interviews with the cast, most of them speak very highly of her. Although I read one interview with her that said she didn't see Vivian as a villian. So maybe not as kind.

Just joking, I truly think she is probably quite awrsome. 

1 hour ago, Beach Climber said:

I can’t believe they were planning on having Augusta fall for the man who raped Julia. I’m glad Louise Sorel refused to play that story but sorry if that was in fact the reason she was written off. Julia and Augusta had their prickly moments but no way would Augusta not believe Julia or do that. To make matters worse, Augusta was the only character who knew Julia and questioned whether it really happened. Everyone else believed Julia, even people like Gina who didn’t like her. It was just gross all around. 

I agree with all of this. It is too bad that we lost Augusta because of this. But on the up side, the world did gain Vivian Allemagne.

I'm looking forward to CC getting slapped in the face with the reality of just how "wonderful" Kirk really is. 

On 2/23/2019 at 11:42 PM, Paul Raven said:

Weird headpieces seemed to be an 80's soap thing

See through shoulders and visible shoulder pads. Very 80s

Well, there's this

I actually really like Pearl. He's unusual and okay with that about himself. He also wants friends who like him for himself, not his money. He sees through the surface that people portray and sees into who they really are, then calls them on it. Someone here once said that Mason needed Mary to prepare him for Julia. I think Julia needed Pearl to prepare her for Mason. I mean they weren't lovers, but Pearl sort of made Julia face herself. And then, he let her know that herself was actually a good thing. 

55 minutes ago, j swift said:

To me, that was what was so fun about the character.  Terry Davis' April on EON was sickeningly sweet, she had to turn a blind eye to Raven's (almost) incestuous flirting with her husband Draper, and then she had to give up the super sexy Logan when said husband returned from the dead.  I appreciate when actors are cast against type in soaps, and having her play this snooty, mean, conceiving character was perfect. 

The plot was an obvious rip off of the 1985 Glen Close movie Jagged Edge, a defense lawyer falls for her client who was accused of killing his wealthy wife, only to find out later that he was guilty (spoiler alert for a 30 year old movie).  But, they had to change the resolution so it was not completely plagiarized.  However, showing the murderer on the day of the crime as being nowhere near the crime scene was a total cheat.  We saw the murderer being told about the crime in front of others and, unless that person teleported, there was no way to get from the motel to the residence.  It sours the experience for a mystery audience when the solution is implausible given the setup of the crime.

Also, if memory serves, Pearl was a far more annoying character than Madeline.  If he was my Uber driver, I would give him one star for always looking unwashed, talking too much, and listening to the races on the radio.  Although it is a shame that Pearl and Brick didn't form their own chauffeur union and create the earliest version of Lyft (Cultured spit and Masonry?), the charm of that character was totally lost on me.

See- I'm the opposite. I like Pearl. But I can't wait for Madeline to go away. 

6 hours ago, Lex S said:

I'm a bit envious how fast you're speeding through the show, I gave up on trying to catch up with you, I'm still at episode 325ish. 

 

The one thing I've noticed is how much I have forgotten and how much I still remember. Some dialogue definitely was not appreciated by me back then, so it's a good thing that I am re-living the show.

 

I have also started watching Virgin River based on someone's recommendation here, because they said it's a modern day soap opera done in the Netflix style, and it is very much so, I can recommend for whoever's looking for something new

Don't be. Remember that I'm zipping through because my day job is so boring. I click through computer screens and it takes between 1-5 minutes for the next screen to pull up.

I haven't watched Season 3 of VR yet. I read the books, but they are so different that I don't know what will happen on the show. 

I loved SB in the day, but didn't get to watch it often. There are definite bits that I remember, but there's a LOT that is new to me. 

I'd slow down for you, but the next few episodes are so phenomenal, I'm not sure I can.

3 hours ago, Beach Climber said:

Lol are you watching that for the first time? I’ve always had questions about that SL but don’t want to spoil it.  

Yes and know. I kind of know how it ends. 

22 minutes ago, amybrickwallace said:

Was the Madeline character meant to be so annoying? Terry Davis had had a successful turn as a heroine on EDGE (and a less successful heroine role on AW). I think SB was her final regular soap role, but I could be wrong.

I'm sure she was. They wanted a list of suspects for their next big WHODUNIT. So they made her irritate everyone she met. And irritate the audience along with the characters. I am usually a calm influence on the world. But I want to reach through my tv, grab her by the lips and hit her with our largest iron skillet!! 

I'm so glad that someone killed Madeline Capwell before I had to... What an overwhelmingly annoying character.

4 hours ago, Liberty City said:

Well, we know TPTB gave Santa Barbara six months to wrap things up, so if this was produced during the final six months of production, then it would make sense. And I completely agree! If this were today, the Capwell mansion would just be that couch in an empty room, made for two or three people. Shame, because the set was a classic soap opera set. Not to mention, we had a kitchen (which, in my opinion, did not match the entrance and living parlor), which I feel is rare in soap operas.

I wish I had a kitchen like that. But Days and Another World had kitchens. At least I remember Alice Horton in a kitchen. And the McKinnons spent a lot of time in Vinces kitchen. And didn't the Frame farmhouse have a kitchen?

The living room at the Capwells was very nice. Judith McConnell got great furniture from that set. 

I do remember Gina and Meghan drunk on that blue sofa and Gina telling Meghan to give up because in the end, she will always be the second choice. 

11 hours ago, amybrickwallace said:

Exactly. The saga of Eden and Cruz was SB's stability. Once that was gone, the show was doomed. 

And the show had the actors who could have been super couple stability. TPTB certainly originally played up CC and Sophia. I mean they were on Dr. Ruth for crying out loud!! And Mason and Julia were SCORCHING. And Lionel and Augusta could have been if they'd thrown money at LS to keep her- like they should have. 

Augusta to CC after the divorce, "CC, I have just erased 26 years from my life. And that means I have never met you. And I don't speak to strange men. Goodbye." 

CC,"26 plus years? You must be 6 years old."

Augusta, "You're so transparent you’re about to disappear."

Gawd I love 1986!

2 hours ago, amybrickwallace said:

If SB had continued, they may well have been the next supercouple of the show. Along with CC and Sophia/Mason and Julia, they could have worked and provided some stability for the show.

Stability would have been nice. I can't see the video for some reason. But Stability would have been good. 

I need to discuss my biggest problem from the past few weeks, and it's a big one: ever since Santana and Cruz on the beach, James Taylor's Fire and Rain has been stuck in my head. And I want it OUT!!!!

I just watched the episodes with CC and Sophia on the ferry. They are so fun. OMG that airhorn is just hysterical! And she's right CC, you stubborn ass- you wuv her!

And then they throw in Mason and Gina. Every comment that Mason made was really just him saying what the viewers at home were saying. And oh yeah, why is everyone so down on Mason? I love his sassy, sarcastic self! And why does he want a real wedding and honeymoon? Because he desperately WANTS someone to love.

Brick is just so contrary. To Sophia, I don't want to know you better. Fifteen minutes later, that's my mother on that ferry!

4 minutes ago, Lex S said:

OK! The detective I was speaking of was Connor McCabe who was quite prominently featured in SB's final months. I think he was sent from Washington DC to investigate the murder of whoever the person was who abused BJ. I might sneak in a few later episodes just to see what I'll be looking at as the sun sets on Santa Barbara, so to speak

My affiliate was one of the ones that had dropped SB by that point.

For now, I'm only at Winter of 86, so I've got GREAT stuff coming very soon. I don't need to worry about the end yet. I mean, JA has only been CC for 30 episodes. He just confessed to Mary that he can't get Sophia out of his mind. And the Lockridges are still living in their own house! I'm on the edge of greatness. 

1 hour ago, Beach Climber said:

There were some stories I enjoyed in the 90s. It was only the final year where I struggle to come up with something with the exception of Mason and Julia battling for the judgeship and trying to have another kid. I liked everything involving Robert and Quinn in the 90s. Flame and Angela were good additions to the canvas as well. Refocusing on the Lockridges. 

More Lockridges is a very good thing.

1 hour ago, Lex S said:

Dang, I mean, I have always known the show became unrecognizable in its last couple of years. I am going to have to suspend a lot of my past history knowledge and use all my will power to sit through the whole run this time around!

Is there ANYTHING I should be looking forward to it if I loved 1984-1989? Anything of redeemng value that gave a glimmer of hope? I am prepared for all the subsequent recasts and all new characters added later.  I saw extracts from the later episodes and was kinda intrigued by the new detective guy circa 1992. Was that any good?

What was your favorite (least hated?) story arc from 1990-1993? 

I can't answer that because I was gone by then. The dinner at the Capwells where Mason turns on CC and Eden is fighting her Lisa personna seems interesting. I've seen the scenes. I don't know all of the people in that scene though.

1 hour ago, Lex S said:

Remind me, did Brick leave town with Johnny after his relationships post-Amy didn't work out? They didn't go to New Staitland, did they?

Brick and Jane moved to wherever she came from (South Carolina, Georgia?)

2 minutes ago, Lex S said:

Did the Brandon character stay on with the last portrayer until January 1993?

I think that he was someplace else and people think he was about to get SORASed, but it didn't happen. 

I would be very interested in when Johnny Wallace grew up and discovered that he was really a king. That could have been great.

12 hours ago, Lex S said:

Wasn't Minx supposed to be 35 years CCs senior even though they de-aged the recast? I think we should probably stop right there

Yeah, but soaps aren't known for being good at Math. Sophia was a starlett in the late 60's. Then she became the stepmother to Marcello, who was a kid in the early 40's, who was angry at CC for something that happened in '44 at the latest. CC was an adult when that happened, at least 42 years ago. But CC and Lionel are supposed to be the same age- but only sometimes. And by the time Minx found the fountain of youth and became 30 some years younger, it simply no longer made sense.

And also, this is the only show where children didn't get sucked into weird Star Trek Time Vortexes where they go in as children and come out teenagers. 

1 hour ago, Beach Climber said:

Perhaps I misunderstood what I heard but I thought Julia becoming pregnant was intended to be the spoiler for Mason/Victoria, not Julia herself. I assumed that the original plan was for Mason/Victoria’s marriage to become real and then Victoria is thrown for a loop with the news that Mason is having a kid with someone else or he wants to hide it, etc. Even when the actual story played out, he didn’t want Victoria to know the truth until she figured it out for herself. I can’t recall the reason behind that

You are probably right. I'm only just now learning the back stage stuff. I didn't pay attention then. 

12 hours ago, Beach Climber said:

I recall hearing that Mason/Julia weren’t supposed to be a pairing and the baby contract was actually just supposed to be that. Lane Davies more or less confirmed it in an interview where he said they only happened because he and Nancy were bored with their current storylines and played up their scenes together. Does anyone know when they made that decision to pair them together? The overall storyline leading to Samantha’s conception scream romance. Why did they decide to actually have sex and bond rather than artificial insemination?

Mason’s scenes with Victoria during this time do show him starting to fall for her but things changed pretty quickly. He became very aloof once they actually got married and worse so once he found out Julia was pregnant. I wasn’t much of a fan of Victoria when I originally watched. She suffered by being a spoiler for Cruz/Eden and then ran into some bad luck once Mason/Julia gained traction. However, Mason was a pretty terrible husband to her. He was absent, dismissed her work, emotionally and later physically cheated on her with Julia while stringing her along in the process. 

I thought Julia was supposed to be the spoiler for Mason and Victoria. But the viewers hated Victoria, and the chemistry between Mason and Julia was so much better that it didn't work out that way. 

I got nothing. I thought my last post vanished but it reappeared. Now I have to type something. 

I do wish they had gone full on Sophia dumps CC and runs to Lionel.