Santa Barbara, cult soap for the nineties
By John Kelly Genovese, Soap Opera Digest, 1989	Home   Cette page en Français

Santa Barbara is unquestionably the biggest cult soap since Dark Shadows. Its ratings never make headlines, but one would never know that by the way the show‘s followers talk about it. This is a loyal, vocal group that literally salivates over all the day-to-day action. Oddly enough, many of these viewers are the same folks who have watched All My Children or As the World Turns for years, but they discuss these shows in more reserved tones.

Of course, there is a fundamental difference between Dark Shadows and Santa Barbara. While Dark Shadows was obvious camp (a Gothic horror spoof with werewolves, vampires and time warps), Santa Barbara doesn't fit neatly into any one category.

Through most of its five years on the air, it has been an unlikely blend of Hamlet, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Soap, Wheel of Fortune and Looking for Mr. Goodbar. Sure there have been serious moments. Cruz and Eden Castillo (A Martinez and Marcy Walker) dealt with Eden's rape with a new level of dignity and maturity for daytime television - no soapy histrionics here. Father Michael (Frank Runyeon) struggled convincingly as he questioned his commitment to the cloth (this was not a "guilt" storyline).

Nonetheless, Santa Barbara became known mostly for its raunchier, funnier elements. Gina (Robin Mattson) wasn't just a vamp she was an exhibitionist. Mason Capwell (Lane Davies) put away an average of a fifth of scotch per episode, yet was never too tongue-tied to deliver an erudite dig. And who could forget the much-missed Lionel and Augusta Lockridge (Nicolas Coster and Louise Sorel), who proved that sex was not only alive after forty, but could be more fun than ever ?

In the past year, the show got even nuttier. Gina became entangled with a cross-dresser named Bunny (Joe Marinelli). Mason was felled with amnesia and took on the alter ego of redneck Sonny Sprocket. It was a hoot, but one began to wonder how much farther Santa Barbara would go just to get the laughs. We half expected Gina to become a nun, or Redd Foxx to show up as a long-lost brother to millionaire C.C. Capwell (Jed Allan). Also, for far too long, the Capwells were the only family in town, and the writers seemed capable of writing for only one couple - Cruz and Eden.

But then, Santa Barbara shifted gear and turned into a good old-fashioned romance, reinstating a classic soap ingredient - the love triangle. In their search for infant daughter Adriana, Cruz and Eden crossed paths with psychic Sandra Mills (Miranda Wilson), who is obsessed with Cruz. Feisty Sophia (Judith McConnell) is rethinking her independence from C.C. with the advent of romance novelist Megan Richardson (Meg Bennett). Mason, recently married to Julia (Nancy Grahn), has been facing his drinking problem with the very interested support of Lisa DiNapoli (Tawny Kitaen). Dr. Scott Clark (Vincent Irizarry) is caught between Heather (Jane Rogers), who is pregnant with his child and a rekindled high school romance with Lisa's ex-hooker sis, Celeste (Signy Coleman). Michael - minus the collar - is reminded of his past with Laura Asher (Christopher Norris), wife of suspender-clad DA Ethan Asher (Leigh McCloskey).

For Santa Barbara, this is pretty conservative stuff. Now those affairs of the heart have taken over, characters once again are allowed to sit and philosophize occasionally... to examine their relationships without flippancy or risk of interruption. At the same time, the show never gets dreary. Mason and Julia enjoy sexual romps at the office; Gina still hurls her barbs; it is still great fun, but no longer absurd.

This turn of events is largely due to the show's head writer, the underrated Charles Pratt, Jr., who has brought back the values that Bridget and Jerome Dobson (Santa Barbara's creators) instituted at the beginning. The relationship between C.C. and Mason has always been tragic. It is a classic representation of millions of fathers and sons who never really accepted one another; whose attempts to connect were marred by mutual disapproval and distrust. As C.C. bares his soul to Megan for biographical purposes, and Mason looks at his life through an out-of-body experience in Heaven (followed by AA), this relationship shows signs of a new beginning. And thank goodness for the humanizing of Gina. She's still one sexy wench, but she is once again being portrayed as a survivor whose one constant in life is her love for her son, Brandon (Justin Gocke). She, too, is looking at her circumstances through a new set of glasses; envying the simplicity and innocence of the people around her. When she and Brandon were held hostage by the psychotic Kirk Cranston (played chillingly by Joseph Bottoms), Gina showed fortitude and savvy in setting Kirk up for Cruz's trap. The woman may like sex and money, but she's not a total dingbat.

These are examples of the wonderful "gray areas" that have made Santa Barbara's characters so fascinating. Also better than ever is the overall caliber of the acting ensemble. Until recently, the cast was a combination of hits and misses. No more. The newcomers appear to be as strong as the veterans. Signy Coleman is absolutely endearing. Tawny Kitaen is one smashing lady - commanding in a self-assuredly feminine (never brash) way. Marcy Walker, Nancy Grahn and Judith McConnell also make for this brand of heroine.

Santa Barbara's male actors are equally strong. A Martinez proves that TV cops can be vulnerable and believable. Todd McKee (Ted Capwell) is an appealing young actor who deserves more challenging material than the cutesy stuff he is often given. Frank Runyeon and Vincent Irizarry seem far more focused and comfortable with their characters than they were on their previous soaps (ex-Steve, As the World Turns; ex-Lujack, Guiding Light, respectively), and they have proven they can be super male leads. Lane Davies ? This is a master. He is the pathetic clown, the sardonic Greek chorus, the idealistic lawyer, the mischievous lover. Give this guy an Emmy.

Santa Barbara has given its audience many moments of fun in what some consider to be a dour medium. And it's still fun. The show is simply growing.