Marissa Gallant

I liked Pearl and Courtney too. Too bad he went all gaga over Kelly. Pearl should have been a great character but they did drop the ball. Your English is better than my French. I still think TPTB were blind regarding Julia and Mason. Pearl and Julia end game? No. Mason and Victoria end game? Again no. Also I know Robin Wright is beautiful, but I don't fully understand why every man who ever spoke to her fell hopelessly in love with Kelly. She was a bit needy. I'm glad they never paired her with Phillip the Butler.

Eww. I'm glad they didn’t go there. I love the brother/sister-esque relationship between Julia and Lionel.

Bateman asked and was just always told that they weren't replacing him. I guess just extreme head in the sand syndrome. You are in the minority. So I'll share my own minority opinion. I enjoyed Victoria and enjoyed it when she and Mason recited Shakespeare to each other. Right now, I'm watching early Julia and Mason working on the Gillis case. I had read somewhere that Julia was supposed to be the spoiler for Mason/Victoria. Did tptb have eyes? I admitted I liked M/V. But J/M are so fabulous together. Even I was rooting for Julia and Mason.

Too funny! At what point in the storyline did Phelps take over?

Well, Augusta and Lionel were supposedly based on the Dobsons- so champagne bubble baths and getting turned by food. Make of it what you will.... I found SB excepts of Allan's memoir on the french site. TPTB invited Allan and Bateman to the same Christmas party. Bateman asked what role Allan was playing. It got awkward from there. http://santabarbara-online.com/index2.htm

I agree about Bateman. I really liked him. And I was very upset that they were replacing him. Especially since they were doing it with Don Craig. (I adored Don. And I was very upset no one in Salem noticed that he never came back from mailing his taxes.) He won me over very quickly. By the time he announced his presence to the whole family, it was done. CC had finally arrived and I was like Don who? Didn't know the story of Bateman's firing until last month. Total crap thing to do to both of those men! Full BS! CC and Santana would have been easier with Allan and Lazar, but they still ick me out. I just can't imagine falling into bed with ANY of my BF's dads. Gross! But at least there would have been some chemistry-probably. Allan seemed to ooze it. Funnily enough, out of the combos they tried with Lazar, she had the most with Lane Davies, but tptb didn't seem to want to go there. (Davies is another one who oozes chemistry)

I forgot to say that I really love CC's study. He would have a hard time getting me out of there.

Watching these episodes has also reminded me of how much I love Michael Feinstein. What is your favorite background music?

Yes to a very unsexy 2nd CC. Sorry, not mentioning that name. And doing everything I can to eradicate the memories from my mind. Shiver. Thank you for everything you just said about Sophia. I find her extremely fascinating. She should have been explored more. I don't think she should have ever felt inferior. CC always wanted her and she knew it. But there was always her own underlying guilt and insecurity created because if that guilt. I've actually never seen most of the Pamela years. College and TV did not hapoennoften with me. So, I started at the beginning. I'm just to the reveal of Channing murderer. (Something to look forward to on Monday.) But even though I have not seen it, I agree that I don't get it. But I'm also very fuzzy on WHEN CC and Pamela ended. Depending on the day, Sophia broke them up or they had been divorced for a while. Brick was switched not abandoned. Well, abandoned by inferior writers who didn't know what to do with him after Amy left. Or even a little before she left... But that's different. Also, I'm so gkad there are people who want to dish a 37 year old soap with me. Lol

I loved the first Capwell atrium. I loved Cruz's beach house. And I loved Mason's apartment. I remember that during the Bateman and earlier years, I wanted a Sophia/Lionel rekindle. I think JM had the same amount of chemistry with Bateman and Costner. But then Jed Allan was cast and those feelings went out the window. I wanted JA with JM- PERIOD! But I prefer a rekindle with Lionel to TJ (who for some reason made my skin crawl). They shifted the affair a lot. But my impression was that there were 5 backslides throughout the marriage. I know in the tunnel she shouted 5 times CC, 5 times!

Well, that is a fair statement.

I have been reading a lot of interviews. Apparently, Lane Davies and Judith McConnell wanted to do a storyline where Sophia and Mason hooked up. Boy, I'm glad the show didn't go there. But with other characters on a different show, LD and JM might have been awesome.

Okay, I've been giving this a lot of thought. Here are a few things that I would have done differently: Done anything Louise Sorel asked for to keep her. But kept her divorced. Probably brought in a powerful foe for CC and Lionel and had him after Augusta. Kept Warren. Kept Brick. Not killed Joe right after the wedding. Had more Joe vs. Kelly's lifestyle conflict. Had Laken be the one to run off to Europe and meet the Hartley brothers. Kept Caroline because Caroline v Augusta would have been great. Find a different way for Gina to blackmail CC and still have CC and Sophia fight for ways to be together. Maybe have it be something Ted is accused of. Contine the Sophia and Augusta friendship. Have Augusta venting about how Lionel and Caroline are a thing now and get to hear Augusta complain, "I would try to trick him, but dammit she's just too nice. I don't know what to do." Sophia, "Go after him. He's always loved you." And then Sophia would have had a friend to smack her head (probably literally- but playfully) when she was all worried about CC and Pamela. "Oh, CC will always choose you Darling, don't be an idiot." Never bring TJ onto the show at all. Killed Joe to send Kelly off to film Princess Bride- hook her up with Jeffrey to bring on Pammie Darling. Perhaps even a weird Pamela/Augusta/ Sophia/CC/Lionel/ new guy arc where they're all fighting, forming untrustworthy alliances, and trying to be the ultimate business leader. Continue that for a loooonnng time with various ones winning and losing at different points. And get all the kids involved throughout

As long as we have butter beef and eggs, we'll be fine, right?

I want to, but I can't find the first 2 seasons

I finally watched the Dinner from Hell. Wow! What a performance. Too bad JM and JA were never allowed to submit themselves. But it does feel a little out of the blue considering where the show was at that point. In the end, I think that the fact that no one was ever allowed to be happy for more than a week was one of nails in the coffin. When you go super deep drama too often, there is no place left to go. And it winds up just being pathetic.

I promise you these the rest of your life. I mean, you just promised me milk, butter, ground beef, and I'm still here. I rolled laughing through that.

I read the interview with him on the french site about SB. They asked about Sonny. He was quick to say, "Sonny was not my idea, but making him southern was." I was gone from SB by that point, and only checking in once in a while. What happened that Mason FINALLY called a truce with Sophia? When J/M FINALLY got married, Sophia was sort of in charge.

I just rediscovered Santa Barbara. Oh how I love this show. I remember being upset that they were going to replace Charles Bateman with Don Craig. But then Jed Allen BECAME C.C. to me. Even in the reruns, I wish we could have had JA from the beginning. I adore Sophia. Judith McConnell. Underused in the end. So. So. So much chemistry with Jed Allen. I think the downfall might have been that there were never plateaus. Sophia's breast cancer over in a week. Custody of Brandon lasted 10 years, and the show was only on for 8.5. Too much keeping couples apart. Let them be happy for at least a month. I wanted CC and Sophia together, not constantly being stupid. And the fact that I didn't get that enough drove me away. And I do think that if Cruz (or CC or Sophia or anyone) had really loved Eden, they would have taken away her keys. Good Lord, the woman wrecked her car at least once a month! Capwell Enterprises must also own an insurance company because that's the only way she didn't get cut off. And this is the same woman that sky dived into CCs birthday? And don't even get me started on Santana. I'll do ALL of the men in a family! Ewww. I get it. They wanted a May December. But after all of the [!@#$%^&*] CC did, Santana shouldn't look twice at him!!