Santa Barbara Discussion Thread

[teplin]

Cruz & Eden are not my favorite soap couple, but I've always held them up as the most romantic -- such incredibly chemistry between A and Marcy. I wonder if I'd feel differently if I'd rewatch them.

[juniorz1]

You know, I always wonder if Justin Deas would have stayed. At the time, Deas's departure left a HUGE hole in the canvas that never got filled.

LOL, I used to have an SB t-shirt.

[Matt]

you should check ebay. I know there's a seller on there who often has NEW t-shirts with the Santa Barbara and 70s Another World logos on them.

[Soapsuds]

Maybe it was the feud between the Dobsons and NWT that caused the show to seem less of a Dobson show. I expected more from two writers who wrote brilliant stuff on ATWT and GL. I did like some of SB late in it's run but I think the Dobsons were gone by then. I am not sure about that.

[Wendy]

Does anyone watch The Mason Chronicles over at Lane Davies' site? He even offers commentary for the "retro" week clips versus a more "recent by SB standards arc" that runs concurrently:

Retro with commentary:

http://lane-davies.c...icles0096.shtml

Current (the current stuff gets a video added each day, M-F):

http://lane-davies.c...hronicles.shtml

It circles back around, so whatever you missed, it will likely get re-posted down the line.

Edited January 24, 2012 by Wendy

[DRW50]

Thanks for telling us about this. I'd heard of this but didn't know there was commentary.

[Wendy]

Well, print commentary (as you'd see when you click the link), but still, great to read Lane's thoughts on some of the scenes and actors.

[DRW50]

Please register in order to view this content

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFpANTEOnZI&feature=mfu_channel&list=UL

[DRW50]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV5tzlVMWuo

[Wendy]

Wish this was in English, but still a cool entrance for Eden!

[Matt]

Ha ha! I *knew* I remembered that Eden's first appearance was parachuting into Santa Barbara (a short bit after the premiere because Marcy was still tied to AMC). I kept telling people and telling people but NO ONE would believe me! I've been dying to see this ever since just to be certain that I'd seen it and I hadn't made it all up in my head!

[DRW50]

I didn't know her entrance was fooling around with a pilot - with that taped on hair and mustache I thought he was going to be some villain.

[scherra]

Thanks, Wendy, for uploading your SB clips on YT. I actually remember many of M&J's scenes, with Lane Davies anyway, but haven't revisited them in recent years so it's bringing back a lot of fond memories.

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/f0YjW63xe8k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

This is a scene that I forgot but which I now remember how special it was and what it was about LD's Mason that got to me. He had so much trouble with feelings, let alone love, that whenever you got a glimpse behind the mask, or in this case saw him (struggle to) articulate how he felt about Julia, it was something to behold. And Lane was such a reserved actor, even with those that Mason cared about, that when he let his character open up and wear his heart on his sleeves, it blew me away, it was so painful to see him so vulnerable. There was/is no one like him.

Oh and that phone call with Julia? That's the essence of their relationship, and the only reason I didn't want to shoot myself in Lane's final year.

Edited February 2, 2012 by scherra

[DRW50]

What bothered you in his last year?

[Wendy]

Scherra, I'm glad you are enjoying the clips. I have some more to upload and will. I just tend to space things out, if I can. Although it is painfully obvious from my channel that I am an unabashed Mason and Julia fangirl. Hee.

Cruz and Eden were the signature fairy tale, but I much preferred the warts-and-all pairing of Mason and Julia. And I will agree that Lane Davies just personified Mason Capwell, good and bad. I did come to appreciate and like Gordon Thomson's more openly devoted version of Mason (as is also obvious on YT), but for all that, I found Lane's version more...something...and I think you hit on a small piece of that. How Mason was so tangled up inside with Lane playing him, that expressing himself outside of a courtroom or under an influence of alcohol was always a struggle and infinitely complex. It was when he was not in lawyer mode or drunk that he was left with...himself...and Lane played Mason, for all of his bravado, as insecure and unsure of himself and his place in his family - or in his romantic relationships.

I think, under GT, that trait only stayed when dealing with C.C., but it used to be his default setting with everyone.

I cannot speak for scherra, but Lane Davies' last year was filled with Sonny Sprocket. I'd say that is a low point right there. (It was amusing back then, but watching it now, it tended to grate after a point.) I understand WHY that was done (Lane and Nancy's issues, which are now well known), but surely something better could have been written.

Oh, well. At least LD/NLG both grew up and buried the hatchet later on - and not, incredibly, in each others' backs.

ETA: Scherra, I had already mentioned this in the thread, but in case you did not see it, you should check out The Mason Chronicles, if you haven't, at Lane's site. There are two time lines, a "current" story arc, and an earlier "retro" arc. The retro arcs sometimes have (textual) commentary to go along with the clips.

MC - current week:

http://lane-davies.c...hronicles.shtml

MC - retro:

http://lane-davies.c...icles0097.shtml

And don't worry if you start in mid story. The clips always circle back around again. If you are a fan of NLG, Nancyfan.com has M&J's story from The Baby Contract onward, too.

Edited February 2, 2012 by Wendy