dm.

Sara's a mess. They played her off like a tamer Annie. I dont know if they started doing it yet but towards the end, they started featuring her alot in her own fantasies similiarly to Annie. She schemed and she lied but I dont get that they were trying to portray her as evil or a b-tch. She was more misguided andmisunderstood but she did her own fair share of maniuplating

Yes. I was actually surprised seeing as how these days can't develop new characters (all soaps), and I find Sara to be interesting.

I love how insecure Sara feels because Meg is the loved one, and how it leads her to do stupid stuff (not yet in December '98 but I know it is coming soon). I also loved how she confronted Maria. Then again, that made me love Maria...

I love it when I can actually change my mind on who I like.

The blackmailer storyline is also getting quite interesting, and sadly I know who it is so the surprise won't be there, but it doesn't matter.

One more thing that surprised me was how they are trying to portray Caitlin as a stupid bimbo. Annie must have called her brainless a dozen times in the last few episodes. Maybe this is why Dorman left.

I prefer Dorman's version because that Caitlin had more soul (and talent). Heskin is a true hair model.

I am abusing this thread, LOL.

I just loved how SuBe had thrown in a little throwaway line of Officer Oscar Ruiz (Andre Khabbazi) returning from Genoa City. [For those who don't know, Khabbazi played Alec Moretti on Y&R after he left SuBe for a year]

And was that NBC doing the "don't worry, it's a different turkey baster" when Virginia gave one to Vanessa? Hhahahahha

I am excited to see Virginia's final plot unfolding, but I already know I will miss her dearly.

Maria is bugging me one day, and then not so much the other.

I just love Sara's jealousy getting the best of her.

One of the Weeklys from the few months before SuBe began mentioned that one rule for Sunset Beach was no Santa Barbara actors were to be cast. I guess that went away by the time Gordon Thomson was hired.

They also said that the show was working hard to get Keith Hamilton Cobb cast on the show. I wonder if that would have been in the role Jason George played? I liked Jason so I'm glad he got the role.

Actually it went away when Margarita Cordova was cast in the recurring role of Carmen. (But prior to that we had a guest sting from Jack Wagner as well)

I have to comment on those hilarious voice-overs that each episode of Sunset Beach had during the closing credits in Britain. The commentator was hilarious with his notes and the viewers with their poems about the characters. I never used to laugh so much while watching a soap opera.

I was one of those people, but the fact that it was all produced really well (the best soap quake I've seen) is a saving grace. It's just a shame they couldn't keep that momentum after it all ended. Also, the time line really screwed with the other stories, and confessed the hell out of Vanessa's pregnancy - in RT she should've been, like 5/6 months gone, but they decided to keep the 2 month earthquake as one day so they could match when Vanessa & Tyus didn't do the deed. And ITA, those Dana/Meg scenes were boring.

True. Even now (as I watch) I think that if someone major died it would have even more of a devastating impact. But nonetheless...

The timeline really was screwed up. Derek took over for Ben in February and after that only a few days passed, but it all stretched until July... it was all very weird. Still, they couldn't match Passions' way to extend days.

[quote name='Cheap21' date='18 December 2010 - 01:23 PM' timestamp='1292696639' post='907724'

Emily....boring. I rooted for Amy to torture her.

Funny you say that abou Dana bc dont expect for the truth to be revealed anytime soon. I rememebr they dragged this ut for months, which seems ridiculous considering, Meg is engaged to her husband.

Yes, Amy is finally getting into her own now on the boat. She was more peaceful before. Spoiled, yes, but not a vixen.

Yeah, I do love the show, but the dragging out part will be long. Also, the Derek storyline went on for too long as well.

I'm really enjoying the earthquake storyline so far. I know people hated the fact that none of the major characters died, but I could care less. It's been done really well. The only boring part is Dana/Meg telling each other stories while being trapped (that's the only part I keep FFing). Michael/Vanessa and the Richards/Deschanel clan is really great.

The boat people are all still safe, but I'm sure I'll enjoy that as well.

Francesca seems very intriguing for now.

It's really weird seeing how these writers never intended to hide the reveals. From the very beginning it was obvious that Emily is Bette's daughter, and that Dana is Maria. There's like a 9,000 hints all around.

Michelle Nicastro, SB's Sasha Schmidt (89-90) died November 4, 2010, of breast cancer.

R.I.P.

Ummmm okay Ryan Murphy, WTH is the point of keeping Jessalyn Gilsig on contract when she appeared in 13/22 episodes in season one, and so far in 1/6 episodes this season?

How are you watching the series?

I started watching just after Sara was recasted so I never saw he first girl. I loved SB in the role though

The difference was amazing. With Woodland, Sara seemed to be scared and pulled back, but with Batten suddenly Sara was way more tough.

There's this site that has all the episodes put up, but there's also a user on YouTube putting up episodes, TaintedBeach I think.

Just leaving a little wow for the difference in the Sara casting.

Lauren Woodland was okay, maybe a little bit child-like, but still I liked her. But the first scene with Shawn Batten blew me away - she immediately won me over in her very first scene.

I'm not going to miss Eddie, even though I liked the thing he had going with Bette.

Also, wonderful acting by Kathleen Noone when she reacts to Annie betraying her.

Nice to see A.J. on the show and finally Olivia returns after more than a month of absence.

I meant onscreen. Did Sunset Beach not have some sort of connection to SB that way?

Well, Sunset Beach character did often reference going to Santa Barbara for some stuff.

Other than that, no. There are a few actors that they have in common... Gordon Thomson, Margarita Cordova, Sydney Penny, Jack Wagner... but I guess that's all... I do remember there being a list of connections somewhere on the net a few years ago.

Summer Blake, Gina's sister, was killed off early on- I believe by the Carnation Killer, which turned out to be Peter Flint. Either that or the earthquake- not sure, as those were both before my time.

It was Peter definitely... the earthquake happened in '84, Summer was killed in '85.

Yeah, Mark. He was a little hottie. And I liked he and Gabi's burgeoning relationship.

Yeah, there was plenty of potential there, but obviously they had Antonio in the works already.

I was sorry to see them go. I liked Paula and Laura Harring a lot -- she played one of those decent characters who tries to do the right thing. I liked how Gabi was jealous of her and how she still tried to form a sisterly relationship with her. I also liked Elaine because she was such a big part of the "history" of Sunset Beach -- her love affair with AJ and the fact that Annie's father stole their baby and told Elaine it had died. I wish SuBe had hired Gordon Thomson earlier so we could have gotten to see all that Elaine-AJ history play out again, and how jealous Olivia was of them.

I don't know why they left so abruptly but I'm thinking that behind-the-scenes changes in the HWing team prompted it. Guza left and was replaced by his wife, Meg Bennett, who was later replaced as well. I got a sense after the first year that they re-evaluated the show and decided to reorient it a little and dump a couple of characters along the way. Like, they also got rid of Nick and I really liked him! And Rae and Wei Lee and I liked them too (although I know I'm alone in that feeling).

You mean Mark (Nick Stabile)?

I agree about both Paula and Elaine. There were so many possibilities with A.J. and Elaine after all the stories Elaine told of her complicated relationship. I think the blame is entirely on Meg Bennett's shoulders. She was head writing from October '98 to October '99. Or maybe it was Gary Tomlin after all.

Cat, what did you think about Paula and Elaine as characters, and the actresses that played them, and their departure before Christimas '97?

Ben and Maria?! Cheap, say it ain't so!

JMO, I know, but I thought Christina Chambers made the drippiest Maria.

A lot of people liked Maria. But any other role Chambers had later was met with much hate.

I was very intrigued when I watched Maria's return from the dead, first in the form of a patient named Dana, then later the big surprise at the wedding. It certainly provided a lot of amazing scenes. But later on she was always the one to rescue, always the victim. Then again, I only saw a few episodes, so I'll reserve my judgment when I actually reach those episodes.

I loved Ben and Meg as a kid. Any couple that was good and decent was the one that I was rooting for.

Nowadays it's more team Annie.

I don't hate Meg and Ben as much as some people do, they're fine by me.

I feel like I'm watching SuBe all over again, over your shoulder!

You have no idea how happy I am to have the chance to watch it. If I could go back in time, to 2000 (when the show aired in my country) and tell my very young self that I would one day have the chance to watch the show all over again, I would just scream... I think I'd even have a heart attack if I knew about that.

Oh, LAD, DJ and KN were awesome. Kathleen Noone is like the Carolyn Hennessy of SuBe. She played one of my favorite characters. Dominique was a STAR and I wish I knew what she was doing at the moment so I could keep tabs on what she is up to. Virginia was ultimately too constrained a role for her. She could definitely glam it up in a role if she was allowed to.

They're all amazing. Virginia is a prime villain. And Bette is just... irreplaceable.

True, that. Adams surprised me sometimes with how much better he could be when given the material. Jason Winston George has gone onto better things and that's good because Michael was pretty much a one-note character. Hank Cheyne was never that great. Ever. Cibrian gets a free pass because he was insanely hot.

It was very obvious how they pimped Eddie Cibrian. Just recently I watched the episode where one of the employees where Cole was trying to get a job was having a fantasy of Cole doing a striptease in a cocktail bar.

I do agree very much about the acting abilities of Priscilla Garita, Sam Behrens and Sarah Buxton. They're the best. I'm equally enjoying several others at the moment, including Lesley-Anne Down, Dominique Jennings and Kathleen Noone. Meanwhile, I'm kind of annoyed with Caitlin at the moment.

Sure, Vanessa Dorman was the first Caitlin and all, but from what I've seen Kam Heskin was decent as well.

I can't really grade the acting abilities of Eddie Cibrian, Jason Winston George, Timothy Adams and Hank Cheyne because they're all playing clueless males.

I'm glad you get to see them. Let me know if all these long things I put clog up the thread -- your thoughts would be more interesting, as this is stuff you've never seen before.

For me the whole turkey baster story was their biggest mistake.

It was one of the most recognizable stories though - behind Terror Island and the Titanic (or Poseidon or whatever). Damn, I still get disgusted just thinking about it - but it was entertaining. Virginia was one amazing villain.

It would have been better if I would be able to watch all of these episodes without knowing what would happen. But my curiosity got the best of me years ago. I never counted on the chance that I might watch the show again.

I wonder if anyone actually thought the show was staying on the air. It's one of the reasons I held no ill will towards the show when AW was canceled, even though I did resent Passions for several years. NBC had little interest in either show, and they just did not want to get press for canceling two soaps at once.

So what did you think of the show's last year?

I don't have an opinion on the last year. I've heard of almost all storylines during 1999, but I never actually watched any of the episodes. SuBe got canceled after the Terror Island episodes in my country and that's where my regular viewing stopped. I saw several '98 episodes on a foreign channel (pretty much the earthquake/Titanic storyline) but that was it. I did, however, read through all the episodes of the show.

Now, finally, I get to watch the show again. I'm currently on February '98 but will work my way through all the episodes.

How sad. He had hope, but that evaporated very soon.

I'm going through Season 3 and it's okay.

I'm really happy about the ratings after the big move.

I just started Season 3 after a two month break. I missed the series.