Soap fans may finally get their chance to relive the trials and tribulations of the Capwell and Lockridge clans if plans to bring Santa Barbara to a streaming service come to fruition.
The NBC soap first premiered on July 30, 1984, and ran for nearly nine years, airing its final episode on January 15, 1993. During its run, the critically acclaimed Santa Barbara picked up three Daytime Emmy awards for Outstanding Daytime Drama but frequently struggled in the ratings, partly due to airing opposite ABC's powerhouse General Hospital. Ironically, one of the soap's creators, Bridget Dobson, was the daughter of Frank and Doris Hursley, who created GH.
Bridget Dobson passed away in January of this year, but her husband, co-creator Jerome Dobson, was recently inducted into the Daytime Emmy Awards' Gold Circle, honoring his contributions to daytime programming during his 50+ year career. When Dobson and SB star A Martinez (Cruz Castillo), who was also a Gold Circle inductee this year, sat down for a video interview with Michael Fairman on June 21, Dobson revealed news that even surprised Martinez.
"Well, there's some legal footwork being done right now about that kind of possibility," Dobson said when asked if SB might ever be available for streaming. "There's been so much demand to see Santa Barbara, and so it's not totally out of the question."
Learning the news right as Dobson spoke it prompted a one-word response from Martinez, who could only say, "Wow."
Martinez, who won a Daytime Emmy for playing Cruz Castillo in 1990, helped put SB on the map when he was paired with Marcy Walker's Eden Capwell. The Latino cop and the fair blonde heiress captured the imaginations of fans with their star-crossed love story.
New generations of fans have been able to watch Cruz and Eden, as well as other popular characters and couples, via grainy video compilations. Being able to watch clear and complete episodes from start to finish would be a dream come true for old and new fans alike.
Would you watch Santa Barbara if it came to one of your favorite streaming channels? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
