Marlena says: “Santa Barbara” debuted in 1984, a smartly written – some would say wacky –and engagingly cast product of its time, that flourishing era when soap operas were awash in money and brave ideas. Compared to established soap fare, it had a different sense of itself. Proudly sophisticated and droll, it chronicled the complex interactions of the ultra rich Capwell family and its equally well-heeled neighbors. It was the first soap opera to be named after a real place. A stellar cast introduced the soap world to talents like Nancy Lee Grahn (Julia Wainwright), who went on to star in “General Hospital.” And let’s not overlook the grand Dame Judith Anderson as the matriarch Minx Lockridge. “Santa Barbara” lasted nine years until, like a flower past its season, it faded. Has its story ever been told in detail? Mike Poirier, our indefatigable partner in exploring soap history, doesn’t think so. He’s located the author of a forthcoming book on the subject and has landed this advance peek.
By Michael Poirier
Today we’re chatting with Melissa Braverman Spears, author of the upcoming book “Santa Barbara: How a Quirky Soap Opera Became an International Sensation,” publication date to be announced. “Santa Barbara” was a daytime drama ahead of its time. This iconic, Emmy award winning soap was slowly gaining popularity in the United States with each year when NBC parted company with the show’s creators, Bridget and Jerome Dobson. The ultimate cancellation was preceded by a highly contentious struggle over who was writing what. The dispute finally landed in court and resulted in the Dobsons being locked out.
In late 1986, Bridget decided to just executive produce and Jerry left the show to focus on other projects. Anne Howard Bailey was brought in to be the head writer. The Dobsons quickly realized that Anne Howard Bailey wasn’t the right person to headwrite the show and were unhappy with her stories. They tried to fire her. NBC and New World Television, the show’s distributor, blocked the firing. The showdown escalated into a legal battle. NBC won, and ordered the lockout in fall of 1987. Three years later, the Dobsons finally announced that the matter was settled, and they were returning. They left again in early 1992 after Mason and Julia’s remarriage episodes.
Melissa Braverman Spears is talking to all the major players in the “Santa Barbara” story so, she says, readers can learn what made the show a worldwide phenomenon and what led to its untimely demise. Here’s a look at what she’s learning and how she came to undertake this project.
Q. Tell us a bit about your background.
A. I’m a lifelong writer and soap fan. My first job back in high school was as an intern for Soap Opera Weekly magazine! I’ve written for several TV news outlets and magazines and published my first book – a memoir based on my dating blog – a few years ago.
Q. Let’s talk about the soaps you watched when growing up.
A. We were actually NBC soap fans in my family. My late mom started watching “Days of Our Lives” not long after it premiered back in 1965. At one point or another, along with” Days,” I tuned in to NBC’s other soaps (“Search for Tomorrow,” “Another World,” “Generations”). But it was “Santa Barbara” that captivated me in a deeper way. At one point, I had a collection of about 100 VHS tapes filled with recorded episodes! Thank goodness we have YouTube now, and devoted fans like Candy Gregorat who have taken a lot of time and great care to preserve “SB” digitally.
Q. What was it about “Santa Barbara” that made you a fan when you first started watching? What characters/stories were your favorites?
A. The love story of Cruz and Eden. The extraordinary chemistry between A Martinez and Marcy Walker jumped off the screen from the first time I saw a commercial for “Santa Barbara” with them in it. Cruz and Eden were each compelling characters in their own right but together, they were pure magic. To this day, they remain my all-time favorite TV couple. I also loved quirky characters like Pearl (played by Robert Thaler) and pairings that showcased “Santa Barbara”’s brilliant sense of humor and intelligence – Gina and Keith (Robin Mattson and Justin Deas), Mason, and Julia (Lane Davies and Nancy Lee Grahn). Nancy Grahn has said that “Santa Barbara” was the soap opera for smart people and it really is true. It was definitely the only soap on which you could hear Shakespeare being quoted by a main character on something of a regular basis! It is with very good reason that the show won twenty-four of the thirty Daytime Emmys it was nominated for.
Q. What was your opinion of the final episode after first watching it? Has it changed when watching it in later years?
A. The final episode was sad and disappointing. It reinforced how far the show had strayed from what made it special, focusing too much on new characters and not spending nearly enough time on the few core characters and cast members left. The closing montage of the show’s crew and creative team was beautiful and still brings tears to my eyes. But I still can’t forgive Paul Rauch (the last executive producer) for choosing to make the final shot be of him stamping out a cigar. So wrong and disrespectful on every level.
Q. When do you think the show finally found its rhythm and why?
A. I think 1985 is when everything fell into place. They got rid of characters that were not working and launched several gripping storylines: Channing’s (Robert Scott Wilson) murder mystery, CC’s (Charles Bateman) coma, and the arrival of Kirk Cranston (Joseph Bottoms), one of the show’s best villains.
Q . The Dobsons assembled an amazing writing team. What was it about the episodes from the early years that intrigued you?
A. Amazing and brilliant. The sharp dialogue and faster pacing drew me in right away.
Q. When looking at the timeframe of the Dobsons’ complaints about the direction of the show before their lockout, can you see their point?
A. Absolutely. At that point, the battle for creative control had been going on for quite some time and the relationship between the Dobsons and NBC was very contentious. Also at play was the fact that NBC did not own “Santa Barbara” and because New World did, they were the ones profiting from selling the show internationally.
Q. Once they were gone, could you see a change in the writing and direction of the show?
A. It was a gradual change that happened over the course of several years. Under the brilliant stewardship of Jill Farren Phelps, “SB” stayed true to the DNA created by the Dobsons. Once she was gone and NBC Daytime had a new executive regime, the show was no longer guided by its North Star of humor and heart, and lost its way.
Q. What was it about Cruz and Eden that made them the ultimate love story for you?
A. No matter what obstacles — external or self-created — they faced, their devotion to one another never wavered. They were soulmates who grew together as they learned from each other, showing us along the way what true and enduring love is all about.
Q. What was the highlight for you at the “Santa Barbara” reunion held in Burbank , CA?
A. So many highlights! But if I had to pick one, it would be seeing A. and Marcy reunited after so many years. That was such a special, full circle moment for all of us “SB” fans. After the disappointing — not to mention completely implausible — ending of Cruz and Eden’s story on the show, Marcy put words to what we all know in our hearts. That they would have found their way back to each other. As she said so beautifully, it was a great love and great loves deserve a sunset.
Q. What gave you the idea for the book?
A. Here, I have to credit my husband, Steve. When I couldn’t stop talking about last year’s reunion, he said I should write a book about “SB.” It just feels like the right time.
Q. What’s your favorite part of the research and writing process?
A. Uncovering fun facts I didn’t know about “SB.” I had no idea the character of Lionel Lockridge was inspired by Jerry Dobson. Or that it really was A. and Marcy in a shark tank for the 1986 sequence filmed at Aqualand during the Kirk Cranston storyline! After killing off Mary in what was probably one of daytime’s most unusual death scenes, the show actually asked Harley Kozak to come back because of the viewer outcry. When she reminded them that her character had died, she was told, “We can work around that.” Which is what, indirectly, led to her return a few years later for the iconic Mason in heaven episode.
Q. What is the best part of interviewing people connected to the show?
A. Spending time with this incredibly talented group of people who brought the Dobsons’ unique vision to life. The 11-year-old fangirl in me could never have imagined I would have such an opportunity and also get to tell them how much their work has meant to me. I also feel especially fortunate that I got the chance to speak with two “SB” alums who recently passed — stage manager Jerry Adler and Joe Marinelli (Bunny), both great men who contributed so much to “SB.”
Q. What is the most important thing you hope people learn from your book?
A. The show was truly a reflection of the people who created it. I’ve spoken to about forty cast and creative team members from “Santa Barbara.” Following Bridget and Jerry Dobson’s lead, every single person poured their heart and soul into the show to make it what it became. And over four decades later, “Santa Barbara” still has a very special place in their hearts just as it does for all of us who watched and loved it.
UH-OH. It’s very misleading IMO to say that NBC “won” when they locked the Dobsons out & then not later to add that New World settled (out of court) pretty quickly, and NBC dragged things out so they didn’t settle (out of court) for, I think, almost 2 years. What I believe needs to be clarified is that what that means is they settled a bunch of $$$ on the Dobsons, who were legally in the right & had been so all along. Of course, because of the usual gag orders that automatically attach to these settlements that will never be officially said, nor will the amount ever be revealed. See, to me, when the lock-out was underway there was no winner yet. There couldn’t be. They were in the thick of it, the battle was fully engaged.
Now, you might ask why do I say they were clearly in the right the whole time. When NBC approached them with a sweetheart deal the likes of which never seen before or since, they were promised full creative control. That Anne Howard Bailey had it written into her contract that ONLY NBC could terminate her employment, that went against both the spirit & the actuality of that creative control aspect.
The mystery to me is why NBC didn’t just fire AHB for the Dobsons.
I will close with my favorite related quote: “It was impossible for Anne Howard Bailey to get inside my head, and I could not get in her head. She has a darker view of life than I do; I think she thinks of me as Pollyanna, and I think of her as Darth Vader.” – Bridget Dobson about the writer they wanted to fire off of Santa Barbara
I loved Santa Barbara. Great show. The cast was fantastic.
Thank as alwaya G,L!!
Oh man this show was so great and what NBC did to it was criminal. I watched from beginning to end and noticed the decline in quality after the dobsons left the show for good. This show knew how to tell a great story. And the couples were so charismatic.
Thanks for writing in Steve.
Some random info about my 3rd favorite all time soap, Santa Barbara & Bridget & Jerome Dobson.
Online data says that when they sued NBC & New World they did so to the tune of 53 million dollars. Of course there is no way to know what any final number was. Fans may not know it but the show has been embroiled in yet another lawsuit! Yes, a class action suit all about – and this may give you pause – music copyrights. But, according to SB expert & fan Pierpaolo Dongiovanni that suit has now, finally, been settled.
The thing that drives me, personally, wild, is that after Santa Barbara, the Dobsons & P&G had agreed that they would head to Brooklyn to Headwrite, and possibly Executive Produce ANOTHER WORLD. That would have been in late Jan. or in Feb. 1993 & that left plenty of time for them to work their magic, instead NBC blocked it & it never happened. I guess NBC was still mad about Santa Barbara.
Of interest is the people involved in the show’s first Emmy for Best Show, both episodes written by Anne Howard Bailey, one each produced by Bridget & by JFP. An amicable split under the circumstances.
Thanks for another great post. I can’t wait for this book!
Thanks for writing in.