Santa Barbara Discussion Thread

[Carlos Abad]

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I have watched these episodes today. I think 1985 is a year full of adventures. Maybe the stories are not great but they are very fun to watch. 

[Khan]

Dancing seemed to be so much a part of Cruz and Eden's relationship.  Too bad they never got to share one last spin on the dancefloor before AM and MW left the show.

[amybrickwallace]

 

Definitely!! They killed it on the dance floor at Kelly and Joe's wedding reception to Jeffrey Osborne's "Borderlines". That was February 1985, and their first dance on the show.

 

Here is a fairly recent interview with A Martinez:

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/tvline.com/2019/08/02/santa-barbara-a-martinez-interview-cruz-eden-storyline-hated/amp/

[AbcNbc247]

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Love this scene, love this song, love this dance. Too bad you don't see stuff like this on soaps anymore.

[amybrickwallace]

Kristen Meadows (Tori Lane) is on an episode of TJ Hooker rerunning on FETV right now.

[chrisml]

Besides the Dobsons mentioning the sexual violence, did any writer or producer talk about why SB had so much rape and violence towards women? 

[Wendy]

 

Not sure that is just SB, though.

 

Look at Days: Laura Horton, her daughterJennifer, Kayla, Kim, Sami, and Billie, just to name a few, have endured some form of sexual abuse.

 

All soaps use this terrible trope, and some of the time, it was used in a gross way to "soften" a bad girl or whatever. See Julia on AMC and Liz on GH.

[chrisml]

Yes, that's very true. It is a terrible trope. I suppose I'm noticing it more with SB as I'm going back and watching some old SB clips.

[j swift]

It may be an anachronism of the 1980's but, upon a recent re-watch I was struck by the lack of socio-economic mobility of the minority characters.  Santana was in a scene with Mason and Peter, when once again she was referenced as being the daughter of the Capwell maid.  While in a B-story her brother was fighting off bad guys in the Perkins household.  My immediate thought was - why were all of the Andrade's and Castillo's poor (with the minor exception of Cruz's brother Ric)?  From Victoria to Jodie to Eden, why did Cruz only date (and spawn children with) white women?  Why couldn't Danny Andrade return later as a wealthy movie director who fought with Ted over Laken?  There was so much made in the soap press about the diversity of using Latinex cast members, but if none of them were allowed to be financially successful was the impact as intended?  It is not my intention to say that writing stories about poverty for minority characters is not soapy, but that show in particular had a focus on wealth and glamour. 

 

It seems like an age-old problem of having a diverse cast without diversity in the writer's room or in the production staff.  However, if hindsight is 20/20, it is a glaring omission by today's standards that the entire latin cast was relegated to service careers and low earning jobs.   Santa Barbara premiered around the same time as Dominique Deveraux on Dynasty, and I would have hoped that every soap would have their own version of a wealthy minority who became a threat to the established families on the show (although to be fair that does seem to have been the plan for Santana, but she was no Gabi Hernandez).

Edited November 22, 2019 by j swift

[DRW50]

 

[SFK]

 

I assume the stunt casting of glamorous Lola Falana as Charity Blake was Capitol's answer to DC/DD, at least in terms of appearances. Did SB have any black characters in front burner storylines?

[Chris B]

I've never seen even a clip of this show, but I was bored and looked in here and saw episodes posted and am going to try to follow along from the beginning! I have read that it didn't start off great, when did it improve? Granted I'm just turning on episode two, but I don't really have any complaints so far. The cast seems good and the show looks fantastic. Of course it's week one so I expect them to bring out their big guns, but this looks like it has potential! I also know there are tons of recasts and actors I'm familiar with on here like Terry Lester, Eileen Davidson (did they appear together?), Lane Davies, Tricia Cast, Robin Wright and so many others. 

 

Based on this first episode I'm excited to finally see this. I know this has a VERY loyal fanbase. I hope I can become a part of it!

[pdm1974]

It burned bright and quickly, but I think at its top form it was soap at its best.

[Chris B]

@pdm1974 I found a pretty comprehensive fan site I've been reading and it definitely seems in it's short years it had it's ups and downs, but it seems when they show was good it was GOOD which I think accounts for how well remembered it is. When you compare it to another short lived 80s soap like Capitol, that show had potential but I don't know that they ever had a substantial period that was truly great. That's probably why it was so easy to get rid of it for B&B despite good ratings.

 

Right now I'm about 3 weeks in. I've now met Cruz, I see Renee Jones has a small part as Kelly's best friend and I've met Warren who I remember from 24. I still find it enjoyable, but I see why they needed to do a reset in a few months. I think the show is fine but there are missing pieces the show could fill. I know Eden is still waiting in the wings and will be a major character, same for Lionel so I look forward to their arrives. So far my favorite character is Santana. The actress who plays her is GORGEOUS and I love the way she is styled and portrayed. You can tell she built herself up to what she is and she's scrappy. I find it hard to understand how this actress didn't stay longer. If I didn't know any better I'd assume the character never left whether she was recast or not. I read an interview with the actress she she spoke of how she hated when they made her dye her hair black so she'd look more Mexican. That's a shame because she looks beautiful the way she is.

 

So far I'm waiting to see what is so special about Kelly. I know she was a hugely popular character, but this story with Joe Perkins and her bland fiance is putting me to sleep. Robin Wright is great, but I need to see her in a different storyline. I still love the original CC and must admit I'm not looking forward to his exit. Mason is kinda just there thus far, but the actor is good. Another huge standout for me is Louise Sorel as Augusta. She's another really well dressed and well conceived character. She commands every scene she's in and has chemistry with everyone. I like what I've seen of Minx, but it hasn't been much and Santana's mom is also a strong actress. 

[Khan]

 

I disagree.  CAPITOL had a terrific two-year run with Henry Slesar as HW.  (His predecessor, Peggy O'Shea's, tenure was pretty good, too.).  He might have saved the show, had John Conboy not been so nervous and fired him.