Santa Barbara Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

The scene where a chill comes over Gina is so sad:

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[DRW50]

What a performance from Judith McConnell.

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[Paul Raven]

Edited May 20, 2011 by Paul Raven

[DRW50]

I was reading a Digest from fall 1992 where Nancy Lee Grahn talked about how she was leaving the show when her contract was up. She also complained about her lack of airtime (her only story had been a haunted house story she liked at first and then felt Julia became stupid and had no point of view) and bringing in the Walkers.

Do you think the show could have survived without Julia?

[sungrey]

Oh God. I still have trouble sitting through that. Hayley was one of my favorite characters and I almost gave up on the show when they killed her off. Happily, Stacy Edwards is still acting. Some show needs to hire her for a regular role!!

Carl, do you have the interview SOD did with Stacy just before she got written off SB? It would have been December 1987, I believe.

Edited May 22, 2011 by sungrey

[DRW50]

Here is the interview.

[sungrey]

Thank you thank you thank you! And it was a crime that they killed off this character just about a month later. God, SB could be so good yet so infuriating at times.

[DRW50]

Did her death even give story? I know Rick was written out and Ted didn't seem to have much to do (I saw a photo of him with a bimbo or something). What other stories were going on at this time?

It's interesting the way she threw Ted out of the way, which you don't see very often on TV, but it seems so sad and pointless, if well-acted.

I think when shows become too wrapped up in grief/angst they can burn viewers out. ALthough at least none of these people came back from the dead over and over.

[sungrey]

The ridiculous thing about the story, which I mentioned earlier but will repeat for those just joining, is I think it was done for shock value. The problem was how pointless the whole thing turned out to be. Aside from a few random scenes with other women, Todd McKee's story as Ted pretty much ended with Hayley's death. I wasn't surprised to see him leave the show a year later. Then, when Ted came back two years later as Michael Brainard, he eventually fell for Lily, whose evangelist background was completely forgotten by the writing team.

I think a lot of what happened in the 1987-88 period had to do with the ongoing war between NBC and the Dobsons. I remember Bridget saying that she wouldn't have killed Hayley because Gina wasn't as interesting when she was being a pure bitch and Hayley kept her vulnerable. How true Bridget was on that count. Bridget also thought Stacy was a very good actress. No complaints from me there. When Stacy started out she was a little green but very easy on the eyes and she caught on very fast. Some of her stuff during the rape was pretty powerful.

Stacy's an example of how being fired from a soap can be a blessing. Save for a couple years (1993-94) she's worked pretty steadily in movies and TV, mostly as a guest star. She'll pop up three or four times a year on various shows.

[DRW50]

Thanks for telling us more. I notice when I watch some of the SB clips that there didn't seem to be a lot of strong younger female characters - I wonder if the various writers weren't suited for writing younger women or it was just interference. For instance, I've never known why Laken was always a misfire.

Do you think they used Robin Wright's Kelly in the right way? She seemed to have a gauntlet of love interests. I know she was very close to Dane Witherspoon.

What did you think of Ross Kettle?

I've also never understood why they brought in Janis Paige as Minx. To me that role was for one actress - couldn't she had been another Lockridge relation?

Edited May 23, 2011 by CarlD2

[Paul Raven]

[sungrey]

I remember that picture very well.

[juniorz1]

Hey- FYI- RTSB is BACK! For REAL this time! I just re-read the ENTIRE blog from beginning to end, my mind is refreshed, and I already have posted an episode, with another 1 coming tomorrow. And it's not a short one either- we're back to regular length, with the stories moving full steam ahead. I'm going to try and feature each story and character this week to bring everyone up to speed on their storylines and get them all fresh in our minds. There will be some recapping and some movement in each storyline. I hope to see you there! It's such a THRILL to be writing again!

[pierin_26]

Somebody can tell me why Dobsons left the show again in 1992? They left or fired? and why...

thanks

[DRW50]

I was reading the SOD panning of the Eden split personalities story - they basically said the story made no sense, it was tough to tell some personalities (like Channing and Linda) apart, and that it made no sense that Cruz didn't recognize Eden just because she had a dark wig. They named it the worst story of 1991.

Do you agree with that?