Santa Barbara - General Discussion

[WendyCR72]

On 1/10/2018 at 7:52 PM, cleo said:

I've never seen this- was it 1990?

 

Yes, Sasha Schmidt was offed in 1990. Easy to pinpoint, as she was on during Terry Lester's brief year as Mason. (Michelle Nicastro, who played Sasha, sadly died for real in 2010 after a battle with breast cancer. Hard to believe both she and Terry Lester are gone.)

[bagger]

On 2/21/2017 at 0:29 PM, AndySmith said:

I always enjoyed the relationship between Mason and Eden. Whatever their differences, I liked that they had genuine affection and love for each other. And Lane and Marcy had great chemistry with each other.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Mason & Eden scene in terms of showing their affection IMHO takes place with Sonny. Eden goes to Gina’s house to find out what Mason’s problem is because Julia left him at the alter or they’ve broken up. Mason speaks out of term and Eden like a mother chastising her child sternly tells him, “don’t speak to me that way.” And Mason/sonny backs off in the most contrite fashion. 

Wish we saw more of these two interacting.

[WendyCR72]

The storyline was awful, but the Eden/Mason relationship was still well done during the Eden/Lisa mess as she was falling apart. When Eden was crumbling, she confronted her parents at the mansion and specifically wanted Mason there. (Granted, this was Gordon Thomson by then, but he and Walker had established a nice bond, IMO.) When C.C. started railing at Mason for being present, Eden ripped C.C. a new one.

Mason rightfully told Eden he contributed in the feud, but Eden still defended her big brother. Maybe because she knew he knew what she was going through? He had DID with Sonny, she with Lisa. Not to mention I think it struck a cord with Mason, seeing his sister crumble much as his mother did.

Which was why, besides Cruz, I thought Mason's reaction to Eden's "death" was heartbreaking.

[cleo]

12 hours ago, bagger said:

Best Mason & Eden scene in terms of showing their affection IMHO takes place with Sonny.

The actors had great chemistry, and yes Walker did with GT as well. I've never watched the Sonny storyline, I've only seen the occasional clip. It just seems too ridiculous, though I may yet. I'd be curious what people think were the most ridiculous crazy storylines. I haven't seen the whole soap actually, but for me one of them is Sonny, the other one I couldn't get through was Cruz and the talisman, and Eden kidnapped by some sultan, whatever that was.

[AllAboutEve]

Anyone here also a major Julia (Nancy Lee Grahn) and Mason (Lane Davies) fan? 

[WendyCR72]

My favorite couple! Even stuck with them through the Mason recasts, but the original version was the best!  :-)

[bagger]

I originally watch for Cruz and eden but now I’m watching just for Julia and Mason. Their chemistry is amazing and the humor with which those two actors played the characters was great and stands up even now.

i actually enjoy every permutation of mason. Gordon Thompson played very well against a more mature, level headed experienced Julia.

[AllAboutEve]

I had a hard time with the recasting of Mason, I stayed around a bit for Terry Lester but then I had to let it to.
The chemistry between NLG and LD was just over the top! Of course now we kinda understand why ;)
There dialogues were pure genius, reminiscent of Hepburn and Tracy..  

Unfortunately the whole thing kind of went downhill with the Sonny Sprocket storyline..but everything before that, especially the baby-making storyline and the forbidden attractions (when Mason was married to Torri), was spectacular. Thanks to YouTube I can watch those scenes over and over again!

[WendyCR72]

8 hours ago, AllAboutEve said:

I had a hard time with the recasting of Mason, I stayed around a bit for Terry Lester but then I had to let it to.
The chemistry between NLG and LD was just over the top! Of course now we kinda understand why ;)
There dialogues were pure genius, reminiscent of Hepburn and Tracy..  

Unfortunately the whole thing kind of went downhill with the Sonny Sprocket storyline..but everything before that, especially the baby-making storyline and the forbidden attractions (when Mason was married to Torri), was spectacular. Thanks to YouTube I can watch those scenes over and over again!

If you can, you really ought to look up Mason and Julia with Gordon Thomson as Mason. He was no Lane Davies, but of the two recasts, I think his chemistry with NLG was much better than with Terry Lester.

As @bagger said, GT and NLG did a great job playing the more mature versions of the characters.

[sbfan81]

Mason and Julia are wonderful! I loved Lane Davies and NLG together, and I wish Davies would have returned at some point. That said, Gordon Thomson and Terry Lester did an okay job of replacing him. In fact, one of my favorite M/J stories took place when Terry played Mason: when the duo had to hide Sasha's corpse in the freezer. :)

[sbfan81]

Mason - Lane Davies was the best. The other two actors were okay.

Ted - I liked Todd McKee. He had chemistry with his leading ladies (Laken, Hayley), but his storylines never seemed to go anywhere. Not the actor's fault. That said, I don't blame the show for not giving him leading stories. The other Capwells were more interesting.

Kelly - I loved Robin Wright and she became a big star, but I really loved Carrington Garland, too. Eileen Davidson (whom I loved as Kristen on Days of Our Lives) was simply miscast. Kimberly McArthur wasn't that bad, she just wasn't very good.

Gina - I loved Robin Mattson and was told by another fan that the first Gina wasn't that good. But when I got the chance to watch the early years, I was surprised by how much I liked Linda Gibboney. She was really good.

CC - Jed Allan is the best. Peter Mark Richman was okay, Paul Burke was terrible and Charles Bateman's C.C. was too cold.

Keith - I loved Justin Deas.

Santana - I liked Ava Lazar and Margaret Michaels. Gina Gallego is a good actress, but her Santana annoyed me because she was so needy all the time. Wanda De Jesus was too cold in the role.

Warren - John Allen Nelson was good as Warren. I didn't like Jack Wagner in the role because it turned into the Warren Lockridge Show (and then it turned into the Jodie Walker Show).

Minx - Liked both actresses, but Dame Judith Anderson was better suited.

[cleo]

Yeah Mason and Julia are great. I feel like Terry Lester had the look more than anything, blonde like the rest of the Capwells. Thomson I liked but he didn't have the warmth or vulnerability in the same way as Lane. Lane was really an incredible actor.

 

I've seen most of Mason and Julia's story, missed some of the later yrs.

[cleo]

1 hour ago, sbfan81 said:

Santana - I liked Ava Lazar and Margaret Michaels. Gina Gallego is a good actress, but her Santana annoyed me because she was so needy all the time. Wanda De Jesus was too cold in the role.

 

I agree with your entire post, except I pretty much disliked all the Santanas, that was largely due to the character though. Margaret Michaels had the most potential to me. The Dobsons had a lot of one note characters. They were never very good at expanding the world beyond the Capwells. 

[WendyCR72]

12 hours ago, cleo said:

Yeah Mason and Julia are great. I feel like Terry Lester had the look more than anything, blonde like the rest of the Capwells.

See, that didn't work for me for Mason at all since Mason was a half sibling to Eden and Kelly (Ted, too, of course, but Ted wasn't a blonde) and not Sophia's son. I think Mason as a blonde was all wrong.

If I had to rank the actors playing Mason, it would be Lane Davies, Gordon Thomson, and then Terry Lester.

[cleo]

18 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

I think Mason as a blonde was all wrong.

yeah I agree with this. I think the Dobsons wanted all blonde Capwells, but the brunette Mason definitely fit more with Mason as a black sheep, also better reflected Pamela as his mother. They didn't always make the best choices. 

[WendyCR72]

3 minutes ago, cleo said:

yeah I agree with this. I think the Dobsons wanted all blonde Capwells,

Well, like I said, to be fair, Ted wasn't a blonde, either.  :-)  (C.C. had dark hair before it went gray.)

[cleo]

He wasn't lol? Must be my eyes. He looked blonde to me. I can't really distinguish blonde/brown sometimes 

[WendyCR72]

8 hours ago, cleo said:

He wasn't lol? Must be my eyes. He looked blonde to me. I can't really distinguish blonde/brown sometimes 

Well, Ted #1, Todd McKee, was a definite brunette. Ted #2, Michael Brainard, sort of had sandy-colored hair. Not quite brown, not really light blonde. But originally, no.  Ted, like Mason, had dark hair.  :-)

[WendyCR72]

Today marks 34 years ago to the day that Santa Barbara premiered. Where did the time go?

[cleo]

That's amazing, and still one of my favourite shows. I wish there was more effort to preserve soaps and make them available. They really are a product of a cultural time, the last half of the 20th century. It's also amazing to see the evolution of shows over 50 years, including seeing children grow and age on screen.

I've only recently gotten into other soaps- old GH , GL, and they are really entertaining. SB is the best though!

[cleo]

Well doublepost but it's been a while. I've been watching eps from 1985, the whole Kirk storyline and Mason and Mary. It is really dumb that Mason didn't just tell Gina about Mary, especially in the ep where he starts to and she assumes he is trying to say he loves her. He should have corrected her. It just seems like a contrivance for the plot that he didn't.

As for the actor playing Kirk. I wish Robert Newman had been Kirk all along. I think he's a better actor, and better looking. He would have been able to convey charm, menace, and power, in a better way than original recipe Kirk, who just always seemed slimy and whiny. 

I don't mind original Gina but around this time I'm tired of her, the actress, and look forward to the other Gina. 

[bagger]

On 4/19/2018 at 7:53 AM, sbfan81 said:

Mason and Julia are wonderful! I loved Lane Davies and NLG together, and I wish Davies would have returned at some point. That said, Gordon Thomson and Terry Lester did an okay job of replacing him. In fact, one of my favorite M/J stories took place when Terry played Mason: when the duo had to hide Sasha's corpse in the freezer. :)

I managed to rewatch most of the mason Julia story pieces together on YouTube but I have looked for the hiding Sasha’s body storyline everywhere and have never managed to find it. 

[WendyCR72]

47 minutes ago, bagger said:

I managed to rewatch most of the mason Julia story pieces together on YouTube but I have looked for the hiding Sasha’s body storyline everywhere and have never managed to find it. 

Have you checked Nancyfan.com? I believe it had M&J's story from beginning to end via video clips there.

[bagger]

I checked an NLG fan website but I didn’t see it not sure if it was thisnone. I’ll check again. 

At the time this played out I was in high school and didn’t appreciate the mason/Julia storyline enough.

[cleo]

@bagger you can try this site- http://cruzedendvd.com/ 

It is a cruz and eden site, but they are also posting full episodes. According to the site, they say they are posting 5 each week and then updating with the next 5. I guess they can't leave them all up bc of the size. On this page, you can access the full eps. http://cruzedendvd.com/cinema-rooms/  If you look at the eps 1201-1400 they are showing eps where Sashai is still alive. If it keeps going I guess eventually it will get to her death. 

Not sure how long the site will last though. I just found it, I was looking for something else yesterday.

[bagger]

13 hours ago, cleo said:

@bagger you can try this site- http://cruzedendvd.com/ 

It is a cruz and eden site, but they are also posting full episodes. According to the site, they say they are posting 5 each week and then updating with the next 5. I guess they can't leave them all up bc of the size. On this page, you can access the full eps. http://cruzedendvd.com/cinema-rooms/  If you look at the eps 1201-1400 they are showing eps where Sashai is still alive. If it keeps going I guess eventually it will get to her death. 

Not sure how long the site will last though. I just found it, I was looking for something else yesterday.

Thank you so much I will check it out tonight!

[WendyCR72]

An interview with Jerome Dobson, who released a book back in August.

[WendyCR72]

Jed Allan, the definitive C.C. Capwell on SB and Don Craig (Marlena's first husband) on Days, has died. His son announced it on Facebook.  😞 

A Martinez posted a lovely tribute. May he RIP!

[WendyCR72]

C.C. and Mason (who is his alter Sonny Sprocket here), trapped in the Capwell wine cellar:

[cleo]

On 3/10/2019 at 4:51 PM, WendyCR72 said:

ed Allan, the definitive C.C. Capwell on SB and Don Craig (Marlena's first husband) on Days, has died. His son announced it on Facebook.  😞 

A Martinez posted a lovely tribute. May he RIP!

Wow very sad to hear. Jed Allan had such an amazing presence onscreen. I found CC an enjoyable character, but he was an awful person if that makes sense. He is so manipulative and cruel to people. I never understood what Sophia saw in him, as she usually seemed the opposite- caring, compassionate, non-judgmental. 

But like I said, Jed Allan was just fantastic in the role, and a joy to watch. It is nice to hear he had a good family, and people that cared about him. 

A's statement is great. He is such a classy guy. Do you know if any other cast commented?

Edited March 11, 2019 by cleo

[WendyCR72]

1 hour ago, cleo said:

A's statement is great. He is such a classy guy. Do you know if any other cast commented?

Nancy Lee Grahn did.

As did former Santa Barbara and GH writer Michele Val Jean:

[BingeyKohan]

I wrote a piece about the passing of C.C. Capwell and what Santa Barbara meant to me in general. Sharing it here in case folks are interested. Thanks!

[cleo]

@BingeyKohanthanks for sharing, interesting read. It is still quite popular in Russia I think. I find it interesting there are still a lot of very passionate and engaged fans of SB, moreso than for some other soaps even though it was on such a short time.

I'm disappointed MW didn't comment, though I know she is retired. A Martinez liked a tweet of mine.

Edited March 15, 2019 by cleo

[WendyCR72]

7 hours ago, BingeyKohan said:

I wrote a piece about the passing of C.C. Capwell and what Santa Barbara meant to me in general. Sharing it here in case folks are interested. Thanks!

Thank you! I loved your analysis.  🙂

[vbrockin]

RIP Jed Allan. I was never old enough to watch Santa Barbara during it run on air because I was only two years old, but my mom and older sister watched all the time.  When i got older i start hearing the famous supercouple Cruz and Eden. I watched their scenes and immediately fell in love with them, I also loved Capwell's, Lockridge's families and Mason was my fav guy besides Cruz.

[BingeyKohan]

On 3/15/2019 at 2:06 PM, cleo said:

@BingeyKohanthanks for sharing, interesting read. It is still quite popular in Russia I think. I find it interesting there are still a lot of very passionate and engaged fans of SB, moreso than for some other soaps even though it was on such a short time.

I'm disappointed MW didn't comment, though I know she is retired. A Martinez liked a tweet of mine.

I wonder about MW. I hope she is well and happy. It’s hard to reconstruct what she’s up to these days.

[Mikita]

If this show were still on the air I would be recording and saving every single episode.  Santa Barbara left the air way too soon. Admittedly, by the end it was almost unrecognizable. I loved the Capwell family. Jed Allan may have been the third C.C. Capwell, but he was the best one.

[cleo]

I've been watching the David Laurent storyline. Even early on Mason and Julia were great together.

In my rewatch I'm finding I don't really like Augusta. Her character was never developed very well. Harping on Lionel got old fast. I also didn't like her resentment and jealousy of Brandon. He's a little kid, and of course Lionel would want to spend time with who he thought was his grandson. So childish of her.

[Mikita]

Frankly, I only grew to like Augusta when they used her as comic relief. Shrew Augusta was not nice to watch. The humor was just one of the things that I loved about this show.

[Mikita]

Spotted Scott Jaeck a.k.a. Cain on The Code on CBS Monday evening. He has aged very well!

[WendyCR72]

6 hours ago, Mikita said:

Spotted Scott Jaeck a.k.a. Cain on The Code on CBS Monday evening. He has aged very well!

Scott Jaeck also played a radiologist in the very early seasons of ER, too. He had a memorable line in an early episode when Carter was making out with someone played by Liz Vassey, who was also on a soap, All My Children, as Emily Ann Sago.

Anyway, Jaeck's radiologist character - he had a name, but I forgot it - caught med-student Carter in the act with LV's character and said this line, which I got a kick out of:

"S1, S2, S3, S4. Keep your pelvis off the floor!"

[cleo]

I think I said this before, but Robert Newman was so much better than Joseph Bottoms. I wish he had done the whole Kirk storyline. I have some eps that I never saw before, starting from when the switch was first made and it's been great to see all his appearances. He's just a more charismatic actor, and also more menacing then Kirk. Of course I also enjoyed his character on Guiding Light. 

This was a storyline I really enjoyed and thought was well done, except possibly it dragged on too long, like they all did. I totally could see Eden's reaction after the incident with her father, and then as time passed slowly putting it together and getting back to her old self. I could also see her not wanting to compromise Cruz, especially after they had just come through this situation where he said he had to charge Sophia and he essentially couldn't bend his ethics. 

Also around this time- Sophia and CC starting to reconcile, and Warren's gambling and robbing the casino just before he left. The guy playing Warren was also a great actor. 

I like Ted but it's a shame they did nothing with him. I find it kind of skeevy he is into Hailey the maid. IRL it's so inappropriate bc of the power imbalance. Mostly it's just boring though. 

[Mikita]

32 minutes ago, cleo said:

I think I said this before, but Robert Newman was so much better than Joseph Bottoms. I wish he had done the whole Kirk storyline. I have some eps that I never saw before, starting from when the switch was first made and it's been great to see all his appearances. He's just a more charismatic actor, and also more menacing then Kirk. Of course I also enjoyed his character on Guiding Light.

I remember preferring Joseph Bottoms to Robert Newman, and I love Robert Newman. I think that I just bought Joseph's Kirk more being "crazy" than Robert's. You are right in that Robert's Kirk was more menacing. 

[cleo]

Article with a recent interview with Lane Davies here: 

https://www.soapcentral.com/soapcentral/news/2019/0625-lane_davies_santa_barbara_cruise_interview.php

I could never do a fan cruise like that. It just feels awkward to me, I mean the reality is I don't know any of these actors so it would feel like spending a week with a bunch of strangers. But I'm an introvert, so maybe it's just my natural aversion to being trapped on a boat with people lol. 

[WendyCR72]

5 hours ago, cleo said:

Article with a recent interview with Lane Davies here: 

https://www.soapcentral.com/soapcentral/news/2019/0625-lane_davies_santa_barbara_cruise_interview.php

I could never do a fan cruise like that. It just feels awkward to me, I mean the reality is I don't know any of these actors so it would feel like spending a week with a bunch of strangers. But I'm an introvert, so maybe it's just my natural aversion to being trapped on a boat with people lol. 

Good for him, I guess! 🙂 As an aside, I cannot believe the man will soon turn 69.

[WendyCR72]

Another former Mason Capwell, Gordon Thomson, is headed to The Young and the Restless.

[Mikita]

Mason Capwell. I loved t he character and I loved all three actors that portrayed him. They all brought something different to the role, but all were lovable. My favorite was of course Lane Davies, followed by Terry Lester and then Gordon Thomson. In other words, the order in which they portrayed Mason. lol 

[cleo]

I always liked GT but he is no Lane Davies. 

[WendyCR72]

11 hours ago, cleo said:

I always liked GT but he is no Lane Davies. 

No one could be. But of the two recasts, I think GT fit the role better than TL, in both looks and manner, but mileage may vary.  🙂

[CanaryFan98]

For those that are interested

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2019/06/14/santa-barbara-reunion-cruise/