Santa Barbara Discussion Thread

[amybrickwallace]

Exactly. The saga of Eden and Cruz was SB's stability. Once that was gone, the show was doomed. 

[Wendy]

Which is why such intense focus, even if they were popular, was a bad idea in the long run. The show should have branched out sooner if they wanted to survive.

[amybrickwallace]

The classic tale of putting all your eggs in one basket.

[dc11786]

I think at the start of the storyline, Gina mentioned that there had been medical advances made which is why she was thinking of having a child. Though, it was definitely a minor detail that was never explored or developed further.

I know this is unpopular, but I've enjoyed the bulk of what I've seen of the Dobsons 1991 run, but more scenes than storylines. As someone who doesn't live, eat, and breath Cruz and Eden, I find the final Eden storyline captivating in terms of the Eden is Channing, Jr. personality. Those scenes are just wonderful. Louise Sorel is also given some wonderful drunken monologues as she stumbles into a hospital room and laments on her life. 

I think the trial for Dr. Jameson running down Santana plays on the show's history nicely. I think the shooting of Mason leads to some nice courtroom drama as well. I don't hate Mason / Cassandra / Warren the way others do, but they do take up so much of the storyline. There are also way too many storylines that introduce international characters strictly to appear in criminal storylines or act as pure agitators. 

That said, to get through these scenes, you often have to put up with waste of space scenes with characters like Katrina and Dash or Eileen Davidson's Kelly. I also am not a huge fan of the Michael Brainard in those early scenes. 

[amybrickwallace]

Do you think he improved over time? It's a shame the Ted character was never truly developed, but Todd McKee will always be Ted to me. 

[Beach Climber]

I wouldn’t say I hated the story. I liked the 2nd generation of the Lockridge/Capwell feud in theory but they lost me because they said outright Mason never loved Cassandra. If he did, his scheming would have made more sense. Mason allowed Cassandra to believe she was in love with her nephew just to spite Warren and only told her the truth once he had a real chance of getting Julia back. 

[FrenchBug82]

In all fairness, almost the entirety of the character of Ted was down to Todd McKee being so damn charming. Because otherwise, correct me if I am wrong, but I remember him being written as a pretty generic not-very-bright romantic-lead-type most of the time, without the kind of layers they allowed someone like Eden.

[amybrickwallace]

Exactly. He was also a perfect foil to Lane Davies as Mason.

[Wendy]

THANK GOD FOR THAT! (Sorry. But I HATED that Cassie basically skated in sabotaging Mason/Julia, and was never discovered.) So the fact that Mason basically toyed with her, I just consider well-deserved karma.

And I also hated that Warren/Lionel were undone as father and son just to service Cassie's psycho assss.

She got everything she deserved.

Edited August 13, 2021 by Wendy

[Marissa Gallant]

And the show had the actors who could have been super couple stability. TPTB certainly originally played up CC and Sophia. I mean they were on Dr. Ruth for crying out loud!! And Mason and Julia were SCORCHING. And Lionel and Augusta could have been if they'd thrown money at LS to keep her- like they should have. 

Augusta to CC after the divorce, "CC, I have just erased 26 years from my life. And that means I have never met you. And I don't speak to strange men. Goodbye." 

CC,"26 plus years? You must be 6 years old."

Augusta, "You're so transparent you’re about to disappear."

Gawd I love 1986!

[Liberty City]

Well, we know TPTB gave Santa Barbara six months to wrap things up, so if this was produced during the final six months of production, then it would make sense. And I completely agree! If this were today, the Capwell mansion would just be that couch in an empty room, made for two or three people. Shame, because the set was a classic soap opera set. Not to mention, we had a kitchen (which, in my opinion, did not match the entrance and living parlor), which I feel is rare in soap operas.

[amybrickwallace]

Yes, and she ate up the show for months!

[Beach Climber]

Oh I didn’t remotely like or root for Cassandra. Just meant that Mason’s motivations didn’t make sense in that story. Plotting against Cassandra would have worked for me too but I don’t think they were going for that either.

I think they were just very intent on writing Mason as a cartoon villain that year without providing a real explanation why he was alienating everyone. Then they walked back on it without stating what caused the change and he suddenly won Julia back and was getting along with the other Capwells. 

[Marissa Gallant]

I wish I had a kitchen like that. But Days and Another World had kitchens. At least I remember Alice Horton in a kitchen. And the McKinnons spent a lot of time in Vinces kitchen. And didn't the Frame farmhouse have a kitchen?

The living room at the Capwells was very nice. Judith McConnell got great furniture from that set. 

I do remember Gina and Meghan drunk on that blue sofa and Gina telling Meghan to give up because in the end, she will always be the second choice. 

[Liberty City]

Even in its final legs, Santa Barbara did really use its sets, and it showed. Soaps today (aside from General Hospital) cannot say the same.