leolav Review of Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara (1984–1993)

A big hit and an instrument of cultural awakening

[10/10 · 22 March 2016]

I watched it from the communist world back then, where it was a total hit and a primary tool of introducing American culture and Western life style. It was unique for its immaculate casting, acting talent, witty and intelligently written script that allowed for just a perfect doze of drama as it did of humor, rather than its too many bad and off the point story lines. SB reigned supreme during its first four years and then went South. Many themes were intelligently exploited, including motherhood, rape, racial issue, woman's independence, friendships. But then, many were over or under done. At some point there was too much adulterating, too many broken marriages, divorces, pregnancies that ended in abortions, too many alter-ego cards, too many woman raped and too many ridiculously matched couples (Lionel and Gina, CC and Santana????). Procreation rates on SB were extremely low. Only three children were born by the end of the show, which is a small number given so many couples that appeared on the show. Sometime in the middle, the script greatly departed from its original focus on the two rich families. Too many actors and characters came and left the show without proper closure to the viewers. The show did not give us a proper justification for the riches of these families and how these accumulated, so that we mostly saw characters just hang around, drink expensive champagne, or attend parties. Except Cruz, Julia and maybe Mason, no one seemed to actually have a job (except on occasion and for some characters). Even CC, the richest man in SB was rarely seen in his office. Action was great when there was one, but too many characters were too infrequently engaged in any action. SB was great, but it could have been so much better if some things were done differently. It still remains a sweet memory and warms our hearts for the sake of the old times.