Santa Barbara Discussion Thread

[Chris 2]

Melissa Reeves would have been better. A potted plant would have been better.

 

Also, what the hell kind of a name is “Laken”?

[Liberty City]

 

See... Julie Ronnie, based on what I've seen, was the best Laken.

I'm only on SB 831 and Susan Marie Snyder (who I just realized was Julie Snyder on As the World Turns) is slowly being comfortable in the role of Laken.

But I can tell the writers could give two-you-know-whats about the role... much like they did Warren.

[DRW50]

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[amybrickwallace]

Those wedding episodes were great. I know I'm in the minority, but I loved those 1800s style gowns!!!

[Liberty City]

Gosh.. after the Jeffrey and Kelly wedding... it becomes a snorefest again.

 

I can see why a regime change happened.

[Carlos Abad]

I’m watching those episodes but I have a problem. Even with its flaws I liked the soap until Elena’s death which happens in the late 700. But I haven’t enjoyed very much the first part of the 800.

Cruz and Eden have been always the central couple but after Elena’s death I feel a big change. I think it’s here, around 800, where the series truly becomes the Cruz and Eden show. And if you are not a big fan of the couple you do not enjoy it that much. And I’m not a big fan of the couple.

[Liberty City]

 

Because, around this time, Jill Farren Phelps became executive producer, and she chose to shift the focus on the Cruz-Eden pairing.

[Carlos Abad]

Now I understand! They always had some corny scenes in the past but there are some in the 800 that are super corny and pretentious. Very in your face. So grandiloquent.

Also I realized that the other characters talk many times about the great love of Cruz and Eden and everybody want to have a relationship like them and they are always present in their conversations.

I know this happened in the past but now it happens more than ever. For me it’s sad because I would prefer an ensemble show.    

[Liberty City]

 

I completely agree; it is the downturn of Jill Farren Phelps becoming executive producer around this time. Especially since there are a myriad of couples who I believe could have and should have been more focused on than Cruz-Eden, who I see little draw towards.

 

I think anytime one soap forces one particular couple to the forefront, while back burning others, it is a major turn-off. Cruz-Eden may have been popular, but, I do believe front burning their story is what really drove this soap to lose its footing.

[Soaplovers]

The first few years had Amy/Brick, Mason/Mary, and the CC/Sophia will they won't they...to balance out Eden/Cruz.

 

I do agree by 1988...the show became Cruz/Eden only.

[Liberty City]

 

I know the Dobsons wanted Pamela to show up much sooner than she did, too... but NBC and New World objected.

[j swift]

In the SB universe timeline, how long was it between CC & Pamela's divorce, and CC & Sophia's wedding?  Mason seems to be around 10 years older than Channing, (who had to be born in their first year of marriage if Sophia was pregnant by Lionel when they wed) so I would guess CC & Pamela had been divorced for 3-5 years.

 

I know for suspension of disbelief purposes we shouldn't calculate the ages of the Capwell kids, but Elena would have to have been older than Channing or Eden, if Pamela was preggers when she left CC for Europe, correct?

 

I also wonder what Pamela and Augusta's relationship was like as neighborly newlyweds?  I don't think Pamela and Augusta ever shared scenes, and I don't think Augusta was in SB when Pamela returned.

Edited June 1, 2021 by j swift

[Liberty City]

 

It was five years between C.C.'s divorce from Pamela and his first marriage to Sophia. They are as follows:

 

• Pamela Pepperidge (195?–1956)
• Sophia Wayne (1961–1985, 1987–1988, 1990–1991)
• Gina DeMott (1985, 1986–1987)

 

Elena was born after Mason, and before Sophia gave birth to Brick (who was born shortly after C.C. and Sophia wed in 1961).

[amybrickwallace]

 

I agree - and I loved E&C. It just seemed like they put all their eggs in one basket.

[j swift]

The "Cruz and Eden Show" was a fairly short period of SB.  Cruz and Eden were married in 1988, when there was a lot of focus on them as a couple, and all of those dumb stories about being kidnapped on an island and having visions of their wedding place (I mean even Sophia knew about Pebble Beach, are we to assume that Eden never took a vacation up the California coast?)

 

By 1990, Marcy was pregnant, which necessitated a maternity leave.  Then, she took time to work on her primetime movie, then left for good in August 1991.  During this period the show worked hard to buoy Julia, Kelly, and Gina.  They expanded the Blake and Timmons family, new hotspots opened around town, and they brought in a number of other young male leads.  So, in my opinion, the criticism of the show only focusing on Cruz and Eden is slightly overblown.

 

I agree that the Dobsons did not plan well for her departure.  However, when we reviewed the 1991 SODs about their return and her departure, she announced her resignation before their work started airing.  So, they needed to transition the show into their vision all the while planning for Eden's exit (who had already been in a coma twice in two years, and kidnapped numerous times).  They inherited the multiple personality story, because Eden started having flashbacks to being a jewel thief when Robert Barr gave her a necklace two months before the Dobsons returned.  Also, in all fairness, the Dobsons had no idea if Marcy might return because her primetime gig was not successful, so they didn't want to write a final ending for Eden.

Edited June 8, 2021 by j swift