Santa Barbara Discussion Thread

[victoria foxton]

I've been watching the Dobson's second run. They're thinks i like. They're thinks i hate. I hate Augusta lusting after her sister Julia's rapist Dash. Newcomer Katrina defending Dash to everyone. The killing of Amado was pointless. It added nothing to Mason's shooting. Writing out Quinn and Flame was a crime. As well as firing Carrington Garland.                                                   

 

I love the return of a much stronger Santana. I'm enjoying the Mason/ Cassandra/Warren triangle. Cruz'a father Rafael dating Santana's mom Rosa was cute. Gina getting artificial inseminated with CC's sperm is silly but i don't mind it. It's weird not seeing Cruz in every episode. But i don't mind it. He dominated SB for a long. long time. I remember when i was kid watching Terri Garber as Suzanne. I didn't like the character. I don't mind the Suzanne character too much. This time around. She still has no chemistry with Cruz.                                                                                                                                                                                           The Dodson's second run is decent and watchable.   But the show isn't on fire either. My favorite character has become Angela. A beautiful and smart woman in a dead marriage with a bore.  She had red hot chemistry with both Warren and Ted. But always came second best.                  

 

Edited November 29, 2019 by victoria foxton

[Khan]

 

That's how I felt, too.  Like, it was definitely better than it had been, but it still felt lacking.  I think the Dobsons struggled, because TPTB had basically taken a sledgehammer to their creation while they were away; and as Bridget herself had told SOD at the time, it was going to take time (more time than they had, really) to rebuild.

[chrisml]

IT would have been easier if the Dobsons had watched the show while they were gone. They made so many decisions that punished viewers for sticking with the show (writing off Gocke, the Augusta/Dash stuff, the Eden/Suzanne nonsense, etc.). If they had just continued the storylines in their own way, the show would have been so much better. Since they didn't, the storylines made little sense, and I lost interest in the show. I don't think I stuck around for their entire tenure especially after Rauch fired Bizeau because of his feud with Born.

[Soaplovers]

Flame...the one character I could have seen Pam Long write with abandon...passionate, smart, and a grey character.   I'm surprised the Dobson's/Rauch didn't have a good handle on the character.

[chrisml]

I think the Dobsons did have a handle on her, but backstage nonsense got in the way so Rauch fired her as retaliation for his fight with Born. A real shame because the Dobsons and Long would have done her character justice. 

[pdm1974]

Looking back, I now realize what a great character Flame actually was. She was so multi-layered and RB played her so well. It's true that I think Pam Long would have fun with the character. I could see her becoming involved with the Capwells and climbing her way up the social ladder.

[Efulton]

I wish the Dobson's had been given more time when they finally returned.  I agree they made mistakes (the biggest being the firing of Carrington Garland) but I really think they could have turned the show around if given the chance.  I also really wish they would have been able to write the ending.  

[chrisml]

Firing Garland was ridiculous as was getting rid of Gocke and Bizeau. In some ways, it felt like the Dobsons were purposely trying to sabotage their own show.

I wish the Dobsons would have been able to work with different producers (didn't they work with both Conboy and Rauch or was Conboy already gone?) because I think that could have helped. These days, the #metoo movement would have made Rauch firing Sorel a big scandal. OF course, this is NBC and the nonsens is still going on and condoned.

[Khan]

 

IIRC, when the Dobsons returned, Bridget told SOD she would need at least two years to correct the problems with the show.  If they had had those two years, I think they would stabilized SB.  As I said upthread, though, that was two years the show really didn't have at that point.  If SB were going to survive, it would have to be overhauled much, much sooner.

[Soaplovers]

 

Problem was that the Dobsons tried to erase the years they weren't in charge... and it made viewers frustrated... much like Arena Bell did on Y & R.. trying to undo things instead of just moving forward.

[Khan]

 

Agree.  SB had changed so much (maybe TOO much) while the Dobsons were away.  Turning back the clock to 1987 was not going to save a show that was fundamentally different from what it'd been before.

[pdm1974]

I thought the Dobson's second round was a definite mixed bag...and I had high hopes. The return of Santana (and Rosa, the true mother figure to the Capwell children, especially Mason) was a good move, but unfortunately the casting of WD as Santana did not work out. Firing Carrington Garland was a HUGE mistake as she was poised to take the place of Eden, and the actress could have pulled it off. I liked the return of the "darker Mason." I hated the whole reveal that Warren wasn't Lionel's son, and he had a past with Cassandra. It was a twist that just felt really wrong and had no point in the end...plus, I think it wrote Cassie into a corner, and I always thought she had long-term potential and reenergized the Lockridge family. I think the Dobson's were going the route of having CC revealed as Warren's son with Augusta. There were tons of not so subtle hints. Thankfully, that part was at least abandoned. We never did find out who Warren's birth father was, and the whole matter was dropped completely when Pam Long took over.

[j swift]

I'm confused/having trouble remembering several plot points regarding Flame. 

 

Was her real name Flame or Debra?  If her name was Debra why did people persist in calling her Flame once they knew her real name?  Also, didn't she have a twin as well as Robert/Quinn? 

[chrisml]

Don't quote me on this, but I think Debra was the name she used when she was pretending to be a writer so she could get information so that Quinn could take over as Robert. I believe Flame was her real name. I don't remember the twin part.

[BetterForgotten]