Santa Barbara Discussion Thread

[amybrickwallace]

 

A fan transcribed the diary on a fan page:

 

http://marcywalkeronline.tripod.com/pages/press005.htm

[Wendy]

 

Been ages since I read this. Thanks! 

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[amybrickwallace]

 

It's my pleasure. Along with that little journal, I've read a couple of other articles that Marcy wrote. I like the way she added a lot of humor into her writing. If she ever decided to write a memoir, I would definitely read it.

[pdm1974]

I can't believe the Paris remote was 30 years ago. I remember being in middle school and watching the episode with Cruz and Eden under the Eifel Tower!

[amybrickwallace]

They certainly made good use of the Parisian locales during the storyline. The production values were top of the line.

[Pine Charles]

I'm starting to view a few 1986 episodes of Santa Barbara via YouTube - and I like what I'm seeing.
Robin's Mattson's character, 'Gina', is my favorite so far; I also loved RM as 'Janet' on All My Children.
Oh, and 'Angel' is super CUTE!!  

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Anyway, I guess I should start from the beginning (1984). 

[amybrickwallace]

Robin Mattson made Gina so her own that it's hard to imagine that another actress (Linda Gibboney) originated the role. Yes, by all means start at the beginning - though I believe the show didn't truly start to come to come together until the summer of 1985.

[Pine Charles]

Sybil Thorne!!

Anyway, I have a crush on the 'Angel' character; he's so cute.
I love his scenes w/ RM's 'Gina'. 
I don't understand all the circumstances, though, so I think I'll definitely start from the very beginning. 

Edited April 17, 2019 by Pine Charles

[j swift]

Angel seems like such a minor character in the history of Santa Barbara, but I just looked him up at the French Santa Barbara Website and his impact was remarkable.

 

http://santabarbara-online.com/angel2.htm

 

He is responsible for the exit of Danny Andrade; an original character.  He got Santana hooked on drugs, which becomes part of her ongoing storyline.  He is there for the introduction of Keith Timmons and is the first obstacle in the Keith/Gina coupling.  He was accused of Elena Niklos's murder and became Cruz's lifelong nemesis.  He was also a red herring in Eden's Adriana kidnapping.    

 

I appreciate the range that Robin Mattson brought to Gina.  Linda Gibboney played Gina as constantly in a panic (to be fair her Gina was addicted to pills at the time).  There is one unintentionally funny episode when everyone learns that Brandon is Santana's son and one by one all of the Capwells tell Gina to shut up or go away.  However, Robin got to play funny, tragic, and maternal Gina.  I didn't care for Ethan as a character, but Leigh McCloskey and Robin Mattson were really sexy together and it was a credible turn from a vixen to a victim, once Laura started trying to set Gina on fire. 

 

Also, kudos to CC in retrospect.  He stayed devoted to Brandon throughout the series even though he learned that Brandon was actually Lionel's (or Brick's parents) grandson when he was a toddler.

Edited April 18, 2019 by j swift

[pdm1974]

I always felt like Santana should have been a mainstay character throughout the show's run and its Latina heroine. She had such an interesting connection to the Capwells and a reason to constantly cause new tension. The last time we saw her Wanda DeJesus played her whom Jed Allan apparently hated (maybe along with the rest of the cast), so I feel that cut her last appearance short. I do feel like they had long-term plans for her.

[amybrickwallace]

 

Well, CC DID write Brandon out of his will - or tried to - when he learned about Channing and Brick's true origins. Other than that, yeah.

[j swift]

A few pages back I remarked that I would have preferred Santana to stay as Ava Lazaar played her in the pilot.  She was an interesting mix of Euro-glam and Nouveau-riche with her big white hat and her job redecorating the Capwell Mansion.  I think she would have been a much more interesting counterpart to buttoned-up-Eden if she was always sexy and glam. Once Santana became an addict and then had her psychotic break she was too pathetic to be an actual threat to Eden and Cruz.  However, it seems to play well into Gina and Brandon's relationship to keep Santana on the outs because he forever tied Gina to the Capwells.

 

To be fair, when they write Brandon off before the end of the series, it is CC who pays for his education, even though Gina goes on to marry his grandfather Lionel.  

[pdm1974]

I hated it when they wrote off Brandon. His relationship with Gina was such a sweet one, and it brought out a totally different side to the portrayal of Gina.

[amybrickwallace]

 

I think the purpose of writing him off was to rapid age him and eventually bring the character back, but the show was cancelled before they could do so.

[j swift]

Brandon and Adriana could have been the Ted and Laken of the late 90s.

 

BTW, I just thought about Warren and BJ's age difference.  BJ was Cruz's daughter whom he had in high school.  So, she was at least eighteen years younger than Cruz, and Warren was the same age as Channing, who was Eden's older brother.  So, there are at least twenty years between them.  I know that I seem to be stuck on the ages of Santa Barbarans, but that one is gross considering that BJ's introduction was through a sexual abuse storyline.  That finale just got a lot less romantic for me. 

Edited April 18, 2019 by j swift