Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara was very unique.Its great writing and amazing cast were something that has never been seen on TV. Santa Barbara created couples that will never be forgotten. Actors like Harley Jane Kozak,Lane Davies,Marcy Walker,A.Martinez,Jed Allan,Judith McConnell,Robin Mattson,Nancy Grahn etc. were outstanding.Cast like that will never be seen again. Through Santa Barbara we were able to live through most wonderful feelings and see the most beautiful lovestories. Santa Barbara will never be forgotten! We,the fans, will always be grateful for those beautiful memories that SB let us have.

Truly the most innovative and unique soap to ever hit the small screen. With the powerful talents of Nancy Lee Grahn, Lane Davies, Jed Allen, A Martinez, Marcy Walker and Stephen Nichols, Santa Barbara dared to do what other soaps wouldn't and couldn't. This show brought new meaning to the word "fresh"! It's demise was extremely premature and it is sorely missed!

I have good memories of this daytime serial, which debuted in Australia in 1987, when I was in high school. Even though the later years of the show were unwatchable, when the head writers in the early years were Bridget and Jerome Dobson, it was simply magical. I remember well the beautiful romances of Kelly and Joe (Robin Wright and Dane Witherspoon), the high-camp aristocratic antics of Augusta and Lionel (Louise Sorel and Nicolas Coster) and, and best of all, the heavenly romance between ex-nun Mary and the hard-bitten, cynical Mason (Harley Kozak and Lane Davies). This storyline in particular was brilliantly acted, movingly written, and thoroughly touching. Mason's transformation into a more sympathetic character through his love affair with Mary was wonderfully handled.

It is a shame that the programme is no longer on the air, but if it had firmer handling, it may have caught on and built a substantial audience. All it needed was more story consistency, and some more appealing love stories to hook the audience. SANTA BARBARA's penchant for the quick fix, and inability to give its actors stable storylines may have contributed to its undoing. Anyway, I hope that the show one day either turns up again on TV, if not in its full run, but even in 'best of' shows. I rate it as one of the best shows on TV, then, now, and everafter.

Usually, I don't like soap operas, and I rarely watch them. But I was impressed by how enormously popular it was in Russia. It is a real cult there, and a big percentage of people watched it and talked about it. So, I watched it, too, when I was in Petersburg for some weeks, and I would say it was worth it. The stories are quite complex, and most of the various threads of the action are very interesting.

It is interesting how popular such a series can become abroad. In Russia, it is certainly much better-known than in the US. When I was in Russia, some liked it and others disliked it, but I don't think there is anyone who does not know it or has no opinion about it - which is just the more remarkable because the series is so sophisticated that watching several pieces is necessary for fully understanding it.

Santa Barbara remains the highlight not just of daytime TV, but of American television. Never before or since has such a plethora of extraordinary actors appeared on a series: Dame Judith Anderson, Robin Wright, Marcy Walker, A Martinez, Sydney Penny, Eric Close, Robin Mattson, Ally Walker, Kim Zimmer, Joseph Bottoms, John O' Hurley, Judith McConnell, Lane Davies, Harley Jane Kozak, Justin Deas. But besides the acting, Santa Barbara featured superlative writing and direction. Never before had there been a daytime comedy. Nor has there since. Totally unique in daytime history, SB was beyond brilliant.