Can John Conboy save Santa Barbara ?

 By Stella Bednardz, Soap Opera Digest, 1990

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John Conboy has lots of items on his plate. His current projects include a new soap, Casino, as well as a collaboration with Donna Mills on a prime-time series called Riverside Drive. So why would the ex-Capitol executive producer take over a show sitting near the bottom of the Nielsen ratings ?

"Number one, it's probably my favorite show on the air," offers Conboy. "I always felt that the cast was really dazzling. I can remember watching the opening episode and I thought, "it's going to be a huge hit" and it has been a hit. It's been an interesting kind of road, so that's really the reason I took it. Also, the fact that I wanted to work with New World Television and they own the show and they made me an offer that I felt I shouldn't refuse."

Since Santa Barbara's debut in 1984, the show has won critical acclaim, but not a large audience. "I'm not a show doctor," declares Conboy. "I don't think the show needs a doctor. I think what it needs is a commitment to long-term story. To keep the flair and the flavor of the show together and try to get the audience to resample it.  I didn't have to go in and make major changes or feel that I needed to make my mark on the show. The only thing I really want to do is work with the writing until I feel we are going forward on a track that the audience can come with us on, where we don't tack back and forth and don't disappoint them."

Since he's taken over, Conboy has made an effort to return the show's core characters to the "center of the canvas". Since the show takes place in Santa Barbara, he'd like it to be more representative of the California coast. "I think it needs to get out of tunnels and on to sailboats," he notes.

There have been several physical changes. Out went the Capwell atrium, in came a new set for Santa Barbara's first family. Conboy feels the outdoor atrium "diminished" characters. "You need a set where you can open doors and do things, so I wanted a set that had big doors and big arches. " And since Conboy was "bored" with the beach house, a new residence for Mason and Julia was put on the drawing board.

The executive producer also brought in Susan L. Clare as costume designer. The two had had a successful association on Capitol, and he convinced the designer to forego working with the opera in Chigago. His approach with Claire is definitely laissez-faire. "I think the exciting thing is to hire someone like Susan and let them do what they do best. She knows, she's worked with me."

Some soaps are guilty of the "too many cooks spoil the broth" syndrome. That's not likely to be the case of Santa Barbara while Conboy is around. He comments, "If you hire me, you must hire me for a reason and if not, maybe you don't want to hire me. But what you want to do is try to streamline the decision-making process down to one or two people. I'm not interested in doing a show that a lot of people tinker with and I think the network knows that."