Santa Barbara's success depends on two skilled writers
By Robert Feder, TV Prevue, 1984	Home   Cette page en Français

Though Judith Anderson will get top billing as the star of Santa Barbara, the success or failure of the new NBC soap opera really depends on two writers named Jerome and Bridget Dobson. For a combined total of 27 years, the husband-and-wife team has been weaving the intricate storylines of daytime soaps, including stints as head writers of Guiding Light, As the World Turns and General Hospital (which was created by Bridget Dobson's parents, Frank and Doris Hursley).

The big difference this time is that the Dobsons not only are the head writers of Santa Barbara but they also are the show's creators, owners and executive producers. The hour-long soap, which will air at 2 p.m. weekdays on WMAQ-Channel 5, premieres Monday.

NBC is so confident that the duo can comprise one of the families on deliver the goods that the network has put up $30 million to finance the show's first year and scheduled it directly opposite two of daytime television's biggest hits - General Hospital on ABC and Guiding Light on CBS.

The irony of now competing against two of the soaps she once wrote for is not lost on Bridget Dobson. "We spent most of our lives working on those two shows and we have a real family feeling, especially for General Hospital, because we were there longer and my parents created it," she said. "I'm a very competitive woman, but I can't say I don't love the characters we created. They're still a part of us."

Frank Hursley still collects royalty checks from ABC for the soap he and his late wife created. When he dies, the General Hospital royalties will go to daughter Bridget. "My dream is for Santa Barbara to be No. 1 and General Hospital to be No. 2," she said.

The possibility of Santa Barbara becoming the top-rated daytime soap in the foreseeable future, however, is remote even to her. NBC has guaranteed the show's run for six months, though everyone involved predicts it will take more than a year for the first blip in the Nielsens.

"Introducing an hour show is a great risk," she said. "You're asking the audience to get to know quite a few characters very quickly. But ever since our General Hospital days, Jerry and I have been risky writers. Our characters take stands instead of going middle of the road. And we take terrible risks by writing in humor."

Santa Barbara will revolve around four families of various social and economic levels, from the super-rich to a clan of Latino laborers. One of the first contemporary issues it will tackle will be the release from prison of a convicted murderer who returns to the community.

The Dobsons chose to locate their new soap in Santa Barbara - and use the real names of streets and places - not only because they are longtime residents of the city but because they believe it conjures up an image they hope to convey to viewers.

"Santa Barbara to me has a kind of glitter and glamor that is almost international in scope," she said. And how will viewers in the heartland respond to the first soap firmly rooted on the West Coast ? "I'm sure some people resent the hell out of California because they think it's too avant-garde. It may be a mistake and we may go right down the tubes because of it. But I don't think so."

Santa Barbara's Anderson's 1st soap
By Jerry Buck

Judith Anderson, noted for her roles in classical drama and memorable films as Rebecca, is about to star in her first soap opera - as Birdie Lockwood, the family matriarch in Santa Barbara. She should feel at home since Santa Barbara has been her home for the past 34 years.

Anderson, who was born in Australia before the turn of the century, arches an eyebrow when asked if she sees any comparison between the classics and soap operas. "You can't compare the writing of Shakespeare to the serials," she said. "In drama you learn your character, you play her, curtain comes down. And the next day you do it all over. With a serial you do a part of your character one day, and the next day you do another part, and so on. You never finish the character."

Birdie, whom she'll be putting together day by day, is in her words "domineering, a little naughty, a little bad, a little mad." She adds, "She's going to be loved. I'll see to that."

Anderson said, "This is my first opportunity to play a character who grows and changes. It will be interesting to see what happens. I've given her a slight Scottish accent. I have a few other tricks I've thought up. I don't know if they'll like them or not."