Santa Barbara Discussion Thread

[Marissa Gallant]

I don't mind Gallego. I have always hated Santana. She always needed something more than whining Brandon over and over.

I definitely like Bottoms as Kirk. He's a wormy jerk, but he's great at it. I wonder if they were hoping Jack Lee (blanking on the actor's name) would get better and be able to return. 

I like Pearl.

Welcome. You stated this perfectly. I adore Mason. He is such a complex character. So quick to hide his hurt behind sarcasm. 

 

I had never seen that. I know from Jed Allan's autobiography that they were actively recasting the role They had turned him down at the start of the show. Then they were replacing Bateman. The producers were dragging their feet on him. (Because he blew the audition) But Judith McConnell knew at the audition. They made him audition twice to prove he could remember lines. (Because 13 years on Days didn't prove it to them). Producers can be idiots. I'm just grateful they never attempted recasting Augusta

[Lex S]

Hey, there's an interview with Robin Wright posted on YouTube conducted by Gwyneth Paltrow. It's very recent, and they talk about her career start on SB among other things

[Carlos Abad]

Just watched it. It starts a little bad "What a cheesy show". But it ends on a positive note. The part of SB is only the first 5-6 minutes.

 

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Edited August 5, 2021 by Connelly

[MissPalmer]

On of my best friends has created  two SB books with an episode guide for the 2137 episodes for himself. It is wonderful to have the summaries of all the episodes with more than 700 pictures from SB press kits.... I love SB!

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[Lex S]

So, about Robin Wright seemingly being ashamed about being on SB. From all the interviews with her I've heard it sounds like she couldn't get off that show fast enough. Yet, she re-signed her 2-year contract in 1986.

There is this stigma in the acting world that soap actors are second-class actors and they're really there because they cannot get onto major shows. 

It would be my guess that the kind of people Robin Wright became associated with later on (circa 1987 when she filmed the Princess Bride) kept trying to convince her that she needs to leave the soap world and do major movies which she eventually ended up doing. I think I read that she has stated in the past that she never tried out for any other soaps prior to SB nor had she ever watched any of the existing soaps at the time. SB was her only soap experience. At least, it is heartening to know that she acknowledges the grueling hours the soap actors put into their work.

Does anybody here know how the press at the time reacted to her marriage to Sean Penn? I know his marriage to Madonna was the butt of jokes especially since their movie Shanghai Surprise bombed big time

Edited August 5, 2021 by Lex S
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[Manny]

This is so cool!! Can you buy this anywhere??

[MissPalmer]

I hope so....I also want them

[j swift]

I was thinking about this comment and it struck me that Brandon was around five years old when SB premiered (although he seems much younger until the recast) which would have made it cruel for Santana to take him away from Gina who was the only mother he ever knew, especially given that Stockman, the only father he ever knew. had just died. 

I don't know if, as an audience, we're supposed to be conflicted about the moral issues in the situation.  However, just given the facts, I am solidly on Gina's side and I think there is no cause for Santana to maintain a relationship with Brandon.  And CC should have totally laid off.  Given that Channing was not his biological son, and he was switched at birth, CC had no standing in trying to influence who should have custody.

Also, I get that Cruz was sympathetic to Santana, but Channing was her first love and she never gave Cruz the time of day until he fell for Eden.  She also toyed with Mason and Keith whenever it was convenient.  So, I agree that a fictional hatred of Santana is justified. 

Edited August 5, 2021 by j swift

[Marissa Gallant]

I don't think she signed. I believe 2 extra years were added because of Princess Bride. So, between that and her feelings about Dane being fired, she was not happy with everything. There's a short interview with Robin where she talks about the contract extension. 

I don't remember hearing a lot from the Sean Penn marriage. But there was a lot of talk about the divorce.

 

[Soaplovers]

I think the show made her stay longer because they knew it would be exposure for the show. 

It was a win win..the show ratings were slowly rising during this time partly due to the press of her, plus it was added exposure to her.

Ironically, the last months of her stint were rich in possibilities.  She and Jeffrey were well received, and she and Pamela had an interesting mom and daughter in law tension.

I do wonder how the story would have gone had she not left in mid 1988.

[j swift]

The odd thing about these stories that show "made" Robin stay longer is that it negates the idea that she had representation.  She had just appeared in one of the biggest movies of the year, one suspects than any agent or manager would work hard to get her into a position to make another film.  The whole story never added up for me.  Not that I doubt that she had a contract, and New World made her stay throughout the length of the contract, but the notion that time was added on without her consent always seemed fishy.

As for how SB would have been different if she stayed, given her track record of poor working relationships with male co-stars, I don't think she could have ever been in a supercouple. 

[Lex S]

Interesting perspective. Was her relationship with Mark Arnold very tense after he replaced Dane? I wonder if the writers wrote him out to accommodate her. Maybe I'm just reading too much into it

[Carlos Abad]

I copy something I posted here months ago. It is from a Princess Bride article.

 

The Princess Bride’ required a 4 month shooting schedule on location throughout England and Ireland. And the time of filming the movie, Robin Wright was playing Kelly Capwell, one of the heroines of soap opera ‘Santa Barbara’. In exchange for allowing her time off to film the movie, they required her to extend her contract by almost a year. Robin wanted to leave the soap in July 1987, but then she was chained until June 1988.

“That wasn’t a fair trade,” Robin said, “but it was worth it. My agents and managers decided that I should agree to anything, to work Saturdays, to kiss their butts for the next nine months, whatever it took to get out and do the film.”

Years later, in 1992, Robin also talked about this. She explained: “I had a clause in my two-year TV contract that let me out for four weeks once a year to do films. But no film gets shot in four weeks and I did 3 movies, so every extra week extended approximately a month or two onto my contract. 

In December 2015, Cary Elwes also addressed this subject: “I consider Robin a very dear friend. Everyone knows what an extraordinary talent she is, so we were lucky to get her on the film. She was doing ‘Santa Barbara’ at the time, and they wouldn’t let her out of the contract so Norman Lear, our producer, and Rob Reiner worked very hard to get them to release her.”

[Marissa Gallant]

Was PB a hit at the theaters? I thought it was more of a sleeper?

Yeah, there's a lot to draw on with "My MIL is my half-brothers mother, my dad's first wife AND a total whack job". Lol

Today, I watched the Lionel/CC poker game. Gawd that was fantastic! And then Augusta and Mason under the table was the icing on my happy cake.

Also, I am noticing something new. CC is discouraging everyone he loves from following their hearts. Getting in the way and breaking them up. And it hit me that he's doing it to keep them from getting hurt like Sophia hurt him. Silly CC, that won't work.

These characters are so multi dimensional that the one note ones REALLY stick out.

 

[Lex S]

Again, thank you for this info! It gives me a new perspective when watching Robin Wright on SB. Probably towards the end of her stint on the show, she couldn't wait to get out after all the extensions. I can see how later on in life she would not want to talk about it or look back at it as something that, although gave her start, also prevented her from flying with her wings wide open. In the grand scheme of things, SB was just 4 years of her life from ages 18 to 22, but to us, watchers of the show, it might seem like a greater portion of her life because of how much of the storyline material the Kelly character is part of. 

Edited August 7, 2021 by Lex S
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