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.

I remember that. Funnily enough, one of the things I truly loved about Sunset Beach is they often referenced Santa Barbara, especially Capwell Enterprises. Too bad Cruz & Eden couldn't have had their proper send off on SUN since SB never gave them one.

This is quiet a risque promo for a mainstream soap opera:

It's HILARIOUS to me that you (and probably many people) find this promo shot risque when back then, it was par for the course on the soaps and probably tame compared to some of the raunchy sex scenes happening on other shows. AMC's Alec & Arlene, B&B's Ridge & Brooke and Ridge & Taylor, OLTL's Max & Blair, and Y&R's Brad & Lauren come to mind.

Not to mention that this was pretty much the ENTIRE way SUN was promoted in its first couple years.

Oh and Dax Griffin's Tim Truman......Droooool.....

November 1998 Digest

From a January 1997 Digest

May 1997 Digest

Susan Ward always reminded me of Vanessa Marcil. That might have helped her with her appeal and making her the star of SuBe. I could have seen her as a Brenda recast on GH during VM's absence

Edited July 20, 201213 yr by Cheap21

She reminds a little more of Lindsay Korman.

I was reading a cast description for the very start of the show. Ashley Hamilton was listed as playing "Billy Felder". Is this the name Cole used when he first began on the show?

Hank Cheyne was listed as playing "Ricardo Escrobar".

I was reading a cast description for the very start of the show. Ashley Hamilton was listed as playing "Billy Felder". Is this the name Cole used when he first began on the show?

No, it was Cole St. John.

Thanks. I didn't know if Cole was using a pseudonym since he was trying to find his identity. I wonder how they came up with "Billy Felder." I'm just going to tell myself someone was a big Sarah Felder fan.

I saw that, and thought it was strange. To go from Billy Felder to Cole St. John... and Ricardo Escrobar! Could you imagine Maria Escrobar-Evans? Just doesn't have the same ring to it. So glad they changed both, especially Cole's character name.

I've got a few scans from Inside Soap magazine that I'll post here for those that are interested.

That's great!

Didn't they all end up alone?

They did. I wasn't a fan of their ending, as they basically retconed the whole Antonio/Gabi love angle, and said they were just good friends in the end. WTF?! That's not what they had been building for a whole year. On the plus, they were able to give Gabi some integrity, by having her make the selfless act to decide to leave SB to allow Ricardo and Antonio to rebuild their relationship.

Since it was all ending anyway, I was happy with it. Had they continued, I would have loved to see Antonio and Gabi end up together.

Me to. But, I think they could have kept the integrity of the story and still had Gabi choose to leave town, sacrificing her love for Antonio to save the brothers' relationship. There was no need to simplify it.

Re: Santa Barbara actors, don't forget that Antonio and Ricardo's (Thickardo! As they called him in the UK) mom Carmen was played by a SB veteran.

LOVED this show and its appeal has not dimmed to this day. Aaron Spelling was a producing genius. And a lot of the actors (Adrienne Frantz and Randy Spelling aside) were excellent and completely underrated. I'm thinking primarily of Clive Robertson, Sam Behrens, Lesley-Ann Down, Kathleen Noone, Dominique Jennings and particularly the fantabulous Sarah Buxton and Priscilla Garita.

Me to. But, I think they could have kept the integrity of the story and still had Gabi choose to leave town, sacrificing her love for Antonio to save the brothers' relationship. There was no need to simplify it.

IA. You could tell that they had writers who didn't have the time or the will to go back and check up on recent SuBe history. Because, damn, Antonio and Gabi were incendiary.

I also think the show should have tried out Annie and Ben some more because SB and CR had a very natural chemistry, too. LOL, I know I am alone in that opinion.