Jump to content

Santa Barbara Discussion Thread


dm.

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 4.5k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Members

 

I think I recall the Dobson's inheriting this story and stating this wasn't how they would have written Eden out.. but had to write what was already started.. and decided to fix it as much as they could (this scene is probably the Dobson's making sense of the mess they inherited.. and it made sense since Eden always had unresolved issues with Sophia.. even was hypnotized to forget seeing Sophia alive when in Europe)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Bridget Dobson said in an interview shortly after being booted from the show that head writers Chuck Pratt and Anne Howard Bailey lobbied hard for Shirley Anne Field as Pamela while Bridget, at this point the sole (non-writing) executive producer, wanted Marj Dusay, who was fresh off of "Capitol." 

 

From a 1988 interview with Bridget:

 

"Jerry and I had conceived Pamela many years ago but NBC did not want us to bring on another forty-ish character. But we kept pushing because we know it could be hot stuff." Once the powers gave in, movie queen Samantha Eggar was signed, but quickly got cold feet when the rigors of daytime grind were fully explained to her. Fellow British actress Shirley Anne Field was cast instead. "She was Ann and Chuck's first choice," reports Bridget. "Marj Dusay was my choice but we cast Shirley Anne because we wanted the head writers to be excited. To me, Marj is a great beauty and seemed to be the kind of person that CC (Jed Allan) would have once been attracted to. Ann and Chuck's perceptions were not marginally different from mine - they were very different."

 

Ironically, Field wound up delivering a tepid, colorless performance and was given the heave-ho after three months. The replacement? Marj Dusay. Perhaps just as ironically, Dusay came on board as nothing short of brilliant with each icy line reading revealing encyclopedias full of character. Clearly, the plot possibilities were endless and the likelihood that the actress would emerge at the forefront of Santa Barbara - much as Elizabeth Hubbard rules supreme as Lucinda on As the World Turns - must have seemed delicious to loyal watchers. Guess again. Dusay was on the unemployment line before she knew what hit her and the dandy part was foolishly tossed into limbo.

 

Dusay lasted only until the summer of 1988, then returned for a week in March 1991.  When SB was canceled, she had this to say about the experience:

 

"I always thought Santa Barbara was a very good show and liked the work on it.  But when I went in it seemed to be just going to hell in a hand basket.  I truly believe they had their problems within the show, and they just more or less hired me to get rid of the character.  Pamela was the baby of the Dobsons, and when they had their struggle [with NBC, which resulted in their outster from the series they had created] somebody had to take it over, and by then the character couldn't go anyplace.  It evidently was so much politics, and if I had known that it would have helped me feel a lot better.  I thought Pamela was going to be a wonderful character, and she might have been had the Dobsons stayed.  It felt good to return, because there was something of real substance for me to play, and I was much more comfortable.  I liked the way the Dobsons brought Pamela back and where she was coming from.  It's a shame the show was canceled and I'm sorry for all my buddies there."

 

SB should have done much more with Pamela, but it sounds like the writers were not fans of the character and/or Dusay.  Of course, she and Jill Farren Phelps would reunite a few years later at GL when MD was cast as Alexandra Spaulding so apparently there was no ill will there.

Edited by redontop4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

The previous regime (Sam Ratcliffe/Maralyn Thoma and John Conboy) started teasing that Eden had a split personality in early 1991. The Dobsons' work began airing in February so, yes, they inherited this story. But it was the Dobsons who tied Eden's mental troubles to her crazy family history. Eden had spied Sophia and Lionel together on the Capwell yacht, then saw Sophia "die" going overboard or something like that. Out of that trauma, Eden's alter ego, Lisa, emerged to help Eden deal, and apparently Lisa was also a jewel thief at one time.  Then another alter ego emerged, Suzanne Collier, and then another, that of Eden's brother Channing, who was murdered by Sophia and got revenge by shooting Sophia in the scene above. Then the real Suzanne Collier showed up . . .

 

It was a mess, mostly of the Dobsons' making. (A Martinez has said many times that he regrets agreeing to play the scenes where Cruz did not recognize his soul mate, Eden, in a wig and glasses.)  The clip above aired in July 1991 so the Dobsons had several months to either toss or rewrite the embryonic story they inherited.  But to be fair, Marcy Walker was making noise again about leaving SB when she shot her pilot, "Palace Guard."  This, no doubt, left the writers in limbo (again) and needing a way to get Eden off the canvas quickly if that series was ordered for the fall 1991 schedule, which it was.  And that was the end of Eden/Lisa/fake Suzanne/Channing.

Edited by redontop4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Pamela easily could have been SB's version of Alexis Colby.

I remember this being sooooo unbelievable. How could Cruz not recognize Eden with just a bad wig and glasses on? It was like Lois Lane not recognizing Clark Kent was Superman. There had to have been a different way the story could have been told.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

I would have ended it with Eden falling off the cliff and her body not being found.  That way if her pilot didn't get picked up and/or didn't work out... she could have returned as being in a coma and/or reverted to the Lisa split personality and taken up being a jewel thief again.  And perhaps when A Martinez left the show, it was after receiving word that the Eden personality had taken hold and she was asking for him... and Cruz left Santa Barbara to go to Eden.. and once they reunited.. sent for the kids so that they could live happily ever after.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I don't know why the Dobsons had to make the story so convoluted. Terri Garber's character never worked, and the storyline made Cruz look like an idiot. I wonder if this storyline was the Dobsons' way of getting back at Marcy Walker for wanting to leave just when they regained control of the show.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

The early 1991 summaries are being posted on Tumblr.  As previously mentioned the timeline is nuts.  Around November 1990 Robert Barr is shot and Eden goes into a coma.  She awakens in time for a Xmas miracle.  Then, the first week in February she gets a necklace from Quinn, (pretending to be Robert), which triggers a nightmare when she remembers that a huge diamond was once attached to it, thus beginning the jewel thief angle. 

 

Bridgette Dobson proudly said that she never watched SB during her time off of the show.  Looking back, that might not have been a good idea because any character growth between CC and his kids during their absence was immediately abandoned upon their return. 

 

 

Edited by j swift
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Yeah. Capwell Dinner in '91 aside, I wasn't a fan of Round 2. As you say, it seemed like the characters regressed. And now we know why. While Mason was no innocent in his rivalry with his father, sometimes CC could be downright hateful. I remember when Mason was trying to tell him that "Suzanne" (the fake one) was Eden and CC just said horrible things about Mason. Only when Cruz backed him up did CC listen. Then he tried to be all joyous with Mason, who told him to go to hell. (They did then have a nice reconciliation scene, but I think it was long past time for Mason to say that.) Also found it all sorts of ironic how much of a cheerleader he became of Mason and Julia upon their remarriage since, during the Tori era, CC most definitely did not approve. (But he seemed to soften long before. Even going so far as to plead with Julia to help Mason once Mason had fallen off the wagon after their divorce. "Capwell fits of sincerity", as she told CC.) 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

While I agree that the writing and performances of the dinner party are exemplary, upon reflection, Mason's motivation to defend his mother to CC in February 1991 comes out of nowhere. 

 

Arguably, Gina had been far worse to Mason in 1990 than CC had ever been by maintaining Sonny and keeping Mason from his wife and children. 

 

Also, CC and Mason had a prior reconciliation during Mason's wedding to Julia and Mason knew that Pamela was a mortal threat to Kelly, whom Mason was always protective, so the setup didn't really make sense.        

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

True, but I think CC is worse because, well...that was Gina. Always devious. CC is Mason's father. I just had more of an issue because CC did always seem to view Mason through the "Pamela lens", meaning he was not from his adored Sophia, and Mason always seemed to suffer because of it. As I said, Mason himself was no innocent, but CC certainly didn't make things any easier.

 

But, looking back, I also agree the motivation for that entire dinner is suspect. But if you look at that in a vacuum, it was one of the final interesting scenes that the Dobsons crafted. The rest was a mess.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • I know the fashions have gotten mixed reviews but I actually like what the new costume designer is putting the cast in. It feels more modern and the more tacky pieces I feel make sense for rich people. They're buying for the brand and the price and we often see celebs in things like this. Especially for a character like Nikki, I feel the more over the top (and tacky), the more realistic it is.
    • Well, her staff pointing out the movie connection never seemed to stop Long from using those plots.  She was right about Vanessa--she needed a man who loved her, which she'd never really had up to then. But as others have pointed out, Long borrowed heavily from Taming of the Shrew to get it done. (which while I kinda disputed that, I get more now, having watched Kiss Me Kate a few times since.)
    • "Holly had her share of the blame..." NO, she did NOT. WOW. That's what you get for trying to be fair and giving these people the benefit of the doubt! The Rita rape episodes do not seem to be available. It sounds like Calhoun thought it was not dramatized, but it was. I saw it when it aired. Yes, it's close to 50 years ago, and memories aren't 100% reliable. I also know that Zaslow reportedly complained that it was written too much like a seduction and that's why the Dobsons portrayed Holly's rape differently. Maybe it started like a seduction and she rejected him and that's when it turned violent. I don't remember that part, if it exists. What I do remember is that Roger threw Rita so violently to the floor that she hit her head. They showed him coming at her from her point of view and he looked all fuzzy. It was an act of violence, not a seduction. Rita kept it a secret until it looked like Roger might be acquited, and then finally admitted it. She didn't make it up, it definitely was not a ploy.
    • I was actually referencing another scene between Roger and Alex, which I think is right after they marry.  But yeah---I'm not really impressed with Calhoun's reasoning. Or the "both recall it wasn't unprovoked" line. Wasn't Holly trying to leave him when he raped her? Oy vey.
    • I know we have discussed the location of Bay City in the Another World thread and the fact that originally Irna conceived of it as being the real Bay City MI, and it was later writers that treated it as a fictional Bay City [probably IL]. This article seems to suggest that that idea was well-established by 1981. I wonder when it started.
    • Desert Sun, 22 December 1983 Guiding Light’ writer looks for fresh ideas By TOM JORY Associated Press Writer NEW YORK (AP) - “Guiding Light” has been a daytime companion for millions since 1937, starting on radio and switching to TV after 15 years. Can anything new, really new, ever happen to the Bauers or the Reardons or any of the other folks in Springfield? “I get really upset,” says Pamela Long Hammer, principal writer for the CBS soap opera since March, “because I’ll come up with this neat scenario and someone will say, ‘That’s like “Strangers on a Train.’” “I think, ‘They keep stealing my material.’ “The way I figure it,” she says, “there are only so many stories in the world. It’s the characters who keep the show new and exciting. All of our stories come from them: I don’t come up with a plot, and then work a character into it.” Continuity is important. Someone out there surely knows all that’s happened, to everyone on the show, in 46 years. How about Miss Long Hammer? "Nope. I care about what our core families have been doing,” she says. “I’m always interested in what happened to Bert Bauer (played since 1950 by Charita Bauer) 20 years ago, but as far as going back and reading scripts, no. “Others on the show keep track,” she says. “I’ll suggest something, and be told, ‘You don’t remember, but five years ago, they had this terrible fight. They would never speak to one another now.”’ Miss Long Hammer, a former Miss Alabama who came to New York as an aspiring actress in 1980, began writing for daytime television while playing Ashley on NBC’s “Texas.” She eventually wrote herself out of the story. Her staff for “Guiding Light” includes nine writers, among them her husband, Charles Jay Hammer, whom she met while both worked on “Texas.” NBC dropped “Texas” after two seasons, and episodes from the serial currently are being rerun on the Turner Broadcasting System’s cable-TV SuperStation, WTBS. Gail Kobe, who was executive producer of “Texas,” now has the same job on “Guiding Light.” And Beverlee McKinsey, who played Iris Carrington in “Another World” on NBC, and later in "Texas,” will join the Light” cast of the CBS soap in February. Miss Long Hammer is reponsible for the long-term story, which can mean looking ahead 18 months or more. Staff writers deal with specifics, including the scripts for individual episodes. She says she draws on “imagination and instinct” for the “Guiding Light” story. Often, that involves inventing new characters. “‘I look at Vanessa (Maeve Kinkead), one of our leading ladies,” Miss Long Hammer says. "What could make the audience care more about her? “Then I think, ‘Why can’t she find a man she can love, who will also love her?’ Voila, here comes Billy Lewis (Jordan Clarke). “Another example,” she says, “is Alan Spaulding (Christopher Bernau). All of a sudden, he’s got a sister no one ever knew about. “They come complete,” says Miss Long Hammer of the serial’s characters, including the new ones. “We know who they are and where they came from long before the viewer gets all that information. That’s one of the most interesting things about daytime, the complexities of the characters.” The writers make a big effort to keep the show contemporary, and four of the leading players are in their late teens or early 20s Judi Evans, who plays Beth Raines, Kristi Tesreau (Mindy Lewis), Grant Aleksander (Philip Spaulding) and Michael O’Leary (Rick Bauer). “Guiding Light,” longevity notwithstanding, is a moderate success by that ultimate yardstick of the industry; ratings. The show is behind only “General Hospital,” “All My Children” and “One Life to Live,” all on ABC, and CBS’ “The Young and the Restless,” among soaps. And Miss Long Hammer says she’s convinced writing is the key to even greater achievement. “When I say I love the characters, it’s not a light thing,” she says. “I think what the audience senses is an enthusiasm and an energy among the people who do the show.”
    • I initially read this as Marilyn Manson and did a double take.  Thanks for the screen grabs. The outfits are horrible. Somehow Victoria's Miss Piggy dress is the best. Ashley looks like a French madam bent on revenge, and Abby looks like she hot glued lace scraps to her garbage bag.
    • LOL...I do have the vaguest of memories of Katherine driving her and Phillip Sr to his death. But I don't recall Katherine being as over-the-top as Reva. Surprisingly, I don't even think Brenda Dickinson's Jill was---although lord knows Brenda probably is a real-life Reva. I have read the recaps of earlier Roger, and it surprised me that he doesn't love Holly. He had an affair with Hillary (SHOCK, I tell you, SHOCK when I read that one) while married to her.  Thanks to the cast turnover, other than Jerry and Maureen Garrett, there wasn't anyone else he had worked with, that I can recall. It would've been interesting if Mart Hulswit had still been in the role of Ed, how much more they might've let Ed/Roger clash. I really do have a soft spot in my heart for Krista's Mindy.
    • San Bernardino Sun, 21 July 1981 Soap gets a new lease on life By TOM JORY Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) NBC's Texas premiered Aug. 4, 1980, in the toughest time slot in daytime TV opposite top rated General Hospital on ABC and CBS' enduring -Guiding Light As recently as the first of this year, " Texas appeared doomed, a victim of barely measurable ratings. All that has changed, and the show approaches its first anniversary with a new executive producer, a new team of writers, a new look and a new slant on life. Even the ratings have improved a bit, from 14 percent to l5 percent of the audience in the time period in November and December to 15 percent to 16 percent today. "We have Houston like Ryan's Hope has New York City," says Gail Kobe who took over Texas as executive supervising producer in March,"and we feel a real tie with that city. We've got to reflect in the show what's happening in that real town, and I think we're doing that." It was a significant step, taking Texas- its roots in the fictional Bay City of NBC's Another World -to a real-life setting. "I don't think it's got to be  the kind of place that people can't can't find on the map," says Ms. Kobe "I think the audience in daytime is more prepared for reality today." It meant giving the show a recognizable Houston backdrop, a more contemporary sound -country and western performers like Ray Price will appear periodically and a lighting system that would clearly represent the hot, bright Texas sunlight. . Texas faced difficult odds from the start, the competition and the inevitable comparison with CBS' prime-time superhit, Dallas, notwithstanding. There was the problem of introducing a multiplicity of characters, many of them imports from Another World, as well as a story line, in an hour-long format. "It was the first show to start at an hour," says Kobe, a former actress who had been supervising producer for Procter & Gamble Productions, which owns Texas and five other daytime shows. "It's very difficult to fill that much time with a large cast, and not leave the viewer confused. "With a daily show, you have to let the audience know who to root for," she says. ''And if you're trying to begin a story, too, no one's going to keep track." The changes began even before Kobe took the show from Paul Rauch, who had faced the seemingly impossible task of producing both Texas and Another World simultaneously. Beverlee McKinsey, whose generally unpleasant character, Iris, had come to Texas from Another World as a young ingenue, was given back her mean streak.  "She had become a sweet woman,"Kobe says, "and the audience was used to seeing her do terrible things. It just didn't work." In addition, she says, time was spent establishing the identities of the characters. Joyce and Bill Corrington, who had created the show with Rauch, were replaced as head writers in February by Dorothy Purser and Samuel Ratcliffe.  
    • 1995 CBS was sold to Westinghouse and Les Moonves arrived at CBS. I pointed out 1995/96 Murder, She Wrote as sabotage in the Tank Jobs and Sabotage thread.  
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy