Jump to content
Email System Update

Sunset Beach Discussion Thread

dm.

By dm.
in DTS: Cancelled Soaps

 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Members
te. Veteran

te.

Posted
  • Members
Posted

Honestly, I don't really get why they choose to write off the characters they did in the mini-revamp that happened maybe eight months in. Tiffany I understand since the actress that replaced Franz didn't have the same charisma, but Paula and Elaine I don't get. I thought the set up of Gabi being Paula's half-sister on her paternal side and Cole being Elaine's son was an interesting family dynamic that went effectively wasted. I guess they wanted to expand on the Torres's and maybe uncomplicate it a bit for new viewers.

0
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 468
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Posted Images

  • Members
Manny Rising Star

Manny

Posted
  • Members
Posted

Yeah, I guess they wanted to expand the Deschanel, Torres and Cummings families, so they had to lose some people. 

But I felt really sad losing all the characters after year one. Even if I enjoyed some of the new characters like Antonio, Carmen and Emily. 

But it would have been interesting where Paula, Elaine, Mark, Rae and Tiffany would go. 

Why did Adrienne Frantz leave the show? Was she fired? Or did she leave on her own choice? I think she got hired at B&B right after, so I guess that was a win for her, but I wasn't sure if she left because of B&B or was she fired from SuBe.

0
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Members
Liberty City Grand Master

Liberty City

Posted
  • Members
Posted

I completely agree; Rae was a breath of fresh air in terms of the original characters. But I also feel like they softened her too soon, and that they hadn't any clue what to do with her.

Could the revamp have been why Robert Guza Jnr was out and Meg Bennett came in as head writer? I've always wondered what could have been had H. Wesley Kenney not left the show, due to creative differences, and been replaced with Gary Tomlin?

0
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Members
te. Veteran

te.

Posted
  • Members
Posted

I suspect that must've been a part of the direction of making it more in line with the other soaps. It's obvious that initially they had more of a 90s Spelling soap feel with "unconventional"  family units and "chosen" families. I never got why they expanded on the Deschanel's while leaving Elaine in the dust. But I guess they needed Elaine to leave to get the Cummings there to run the waffle place. 

I checked and Meg Bennet already came in after one month (episode 25 per IMDB). So I suspect not as it probably had barely premiered when they filmed that. 

0
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Members
Liberty City Grand Master

Liberty City

Posted
  • Members
Posted

Yes, but I am speaking of Bennett's first credit as sole head writer, which wasn't until October 22, 1997. Even you mentioned the mini-revamp coming eight months in, which would have been August-airing wise, and would have potentially caused Guza Jnr to abandon his position (due to being unhappy), and allowing Bennett to take full control. Although, per credits, Bennett is not credited right with Guza Jnr (which normally a co-head would).

0
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Members
te. Veteran

te.

Posted
  • Members
Posted

Could be, though I don't remember exactly when it happened. With that said, Kelly Hu was written out much earlier than that (maybe in April?), so I feel they started adjusting the show pretty early on. I do think Guza might've left out of frustration with NBC's demands. Of course, they did the Terror Island arc at the end of the year with James E Reilly coming in as a story consultant. 

0
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Members
Manny Rising Star

Manny

Posted
  • Members
Posted

Oh yes, exactly that. I think I remember reading an article way back when that this is exactly what they were trying to do. They wanted to restructure it to have several soap core families, and less of the individuals, chosen families etc. Which was a shame. I mean, I did enjoy the addition of Carmen and Antonio, but I did not really care for the Cummings' (including Sara). Even A.J. and Leo Deschanel were pretty meh for me. I liked the other characters that left much more. 

Oh you didn't enjoy Terror Island? Oh if I was enjoying SuBe, by the time Terror Island hit the screens, I was obsessed lol But I was very much into Scream and I Know What You did Last Summer, and I've always been into "whodunnits", so this was exactly my cup of tea. The only thing I didn't love as much was that they made "Ben" the killer, which was obvious.. I mean, the twin was obvious. 

0
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Members
te. Veteran

te.

Posted
  • Members
Posted

I pretty much feel the same way - I like Ma Walsh, but the Cummings' coming to Los Angeles just felt pretty forced and took away from Meg's "fish out of the water" status. With them there, there were never any question of her packing her bags and going back to Kansas. Sara was sort of meh, especially with the "ripped from the headlines" Lewinsky storyline. I did like Shawn Batten, but preferred her on Spyder Games though lol. A.J. and especially Leo just were bland to me... I barely remember them existing on the show. Again, why bring in A.J. without Elaine there? 

0
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Members
Manny Rising Star

Manny

Posted
  • Members
Posted

Oh yes, maybe I would have enjoyed AJ more if Elaine was there. Especially since Olivia, Bette and Elaine were friends and then both Olivia and Bette dated AJ at some point.. So Elaine was needed for sure. Leo never did anything memorable anyway haha

Ah okay. I am curious if you will enjoy it this second time around

Please register in order to view this content

 

0
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.


  • Recent Posts

    • GLATWT88
      BTG: June 2025 Discussion Thread

      By GLATWT88 · Posted

      The thing with Martin (for me) is that he should have been Anita and Vernon's kid. I honestly think he would have been fine being an older or younger brother to Dani and Nicole. It also would have made his relationship and kids feel more realistic. A handsome salt and pepper late 40s/early 50s congressman who settled down and adopted kids to fit an image for politics. Not that he didn't want this lifestyle but it is what he needed to do to get ahead. Also, we don't often get older characters playing LGBT roles not just on daytime but across most media. It would have been a refreshing take. As an alternative, Sam and Ty could have been Martin's kids from an earlier marriage a la the NJ governor that was outed. We could have also seen parallels between Vernon and Anita thinking back to how they handled Martin coming out compared to the way they accepted Chelsea.  As for Martin being Nicole and Ted's kid, I do wish in this case he was not tied to a marriage and kids, so that he could date and sleep around like any other character on a soap.  Yeah, I didn't get it...but what I did get is that girl is a bit crazy like her mama.  Vanessa and Joey talking about the poker table...get these people off my screen. 

      Please register in order to view this content

    • Soaplovers
      Guiding Light Discussion Thread

      By Soaplovers · Posted

      Unpopular opinion, but I didn't think the show should have reunited Billy/Vanessa at all until the final stretch of the show. When watching the 1989 episodes when both Vanessa and Billy return after being off the show... I liked that Vanessa had moved on from him and that the show was hinting at her wanting to reunite with her first love Ross while looking down at Nadine for being the one Ross was dating.  And I loved the twist where Billy and Nadine teamed up to keep Vanessa/Ross apart.   This was an interesting concept that sadly the writers dropped with the show deciding to make Vanessa pine over Billy between 1990 and 1993 when they finally reunited.   To me, Vanessa pining over Billy seemed out of character. At least once Billy was carted off to prison in 1994... she and Billy divorced and stayed divorced until the final months when they finally found their way back together.  During the years when they were divorced, I liked that they had maintained a friendship and connection.. with viewers (like my late mom) wondering if they would ever decide to make it work again. I wish the show had tried that with Josh/Reva because by the time of the final episode when they rode off into the sunset, I didn't care because we'd been through the make up and break ups between them for over 10+ years by that point.
    • kalbir
      Knots Landing

      By kalbir · Posted

      I break down the primetime soap era (start of Dallas to end of Knots Landing) as  Up to Spring 1982: Building the foundation. Fall 1982-Spring 1985: Peak. Fall 1985-Spring 1988: Tanking. Fall 1988 onward: Off the rails plus budget mode. Of course individual shows vary and I've broken down each show in their threads.
    • bossruen
      GH: June 2025 Discussion Thread

      By bossruen · Posted

      I’m ready for Portia and Curtis to divorce and get it over with. Portia cheating with Isaiah would make for a fun love quadrangle with Jordan.
    • Forever8
      Primetime Soaps

      By Forever8 · Posted

      Some kind soul has uploaded all three seasons of Once and Again (1999-2002) starring Sela Ward and Billy Campbell.  Season One 

      Please register in order to view this content

        Season Two    Season Three   
    • soapfan770
      Y&R: June 2025 Discussion Thread

      By soapfan770 · Posted

      Duncan McKechnie Is Mariah’s mystery man….????

      Please register in order to view this content

    • I Am A Swede
      What Are You Listening To?

      By I Am A Swede · Posted

      Please register in order to view this content

       
    • AbcNbc247
      Colton Little Appreciation Thread

      By AbcNbc247 · Posted

      How did I never notice how tall Colton was?

      Please register in order to view this content

    • Paul Raven
      BTG: June 2025 Discussion Thread

      By Paul Raven · Posted

      They didn't need to have some slutty gay dude as their representation. Just a 'normal' guy getting involved with another guy or two (or three). Just like the straight characters. Thinking about it, they missed the boat by not having a few other single charcters at the beginning. Maybe Naomi or Ashley could be shown meeting Derek/Jacob and  we could follow their romance. Too many characters were coupled up at the start. As a tattoo hater I was surprised to see Tomas so inked. Don't find it attractive or sexy. I'm surprised an actor would do that as it's definitely a statement and may not be appropriate for some roles. Suppose they can cover if necessary. I didn't buy Kat being all girly and then paying off Darius to get into Eva's room. Way too cliche. She should have just come along when the housekeeping was leaving and breezed in saying it was her room. And her smug looks in the hotel room and 'Now I've got you!!' talks to herself at Orphey Gene's...no.  
    • Antoyne
      BTG: June 2025 Discussion Thread

      By Antoyne · Posted

      Omg I was so annoyed. Like girl calm down. Coming on way too strong. Omg I forgot about this

      Please register in order to view this content

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

  I accept