The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

the first feeling after so many time. for a form of simplicity and honesty. for naive situations and childish solutions. for the atmosphere of soap opera , the old fashion atmosphere , who are windows to exotic life style, to familiar dramas, to the fights and passions and love and hate and desire and family life with ordinaries crisis. "SSanta Barbara" remains a phenomenon. sure, for a slide of public. but significant for the taste of a period and the way to escape from every day life. and this is a precious virtue.

Santa Barbara got me through a tough period in the late 1980s. For a while there it was the only thing i really looked forward to. Mason's rich sarcasm, Gina I's uncontrollable facial expressions, Gina II's bone structure, Eden's dreamy egotism, Kelly's bad luck, the coincidences, the overheard conversations, the misunderstandings that went on for weeks at a time, the laughter, the tears, the sorrow and the pity, the daily dose of hyperbole, hysteria and melodrama, the little bit of insanity in a sanitized world, that was Santa Barbara. It's been gone from our screens for years, in Australia at least, where i used to watch it. But it lives on in the backwaters of my mind, often resurfacing, at odd times, giving me solace in times of extreme absurdity. Thank you, Santa Barbara, I will never forget you.

If it wasn't for a chance meeting with a college roommate and his family on a Thanksgiving weekend in 1987, I probably wouldn't have paid too much attention to "Santa Barbara". I usually would've stayed with "General Hospital" or "Guiding Light" which was in the same time slot as SB.What made SB slightly better than other daytime (and some nighttime) shows was that the show was able to balance between comedy and drama effortlessly. When it was funny, the dialog was biting and when it was dramatic, it was heartbreaking. It kept me interested in what was going to happen to these characters. I was also impressed with the actors on the show. I started watching the show about 1987 after a number of cast members, including Robin Wright, left the show. As Cruz Castillo and Eden Capwell, the chemistry between A Martinez and Marcy Walker steamed up the TV screen. Prior to SB, Martinez seemed to always play the stereotypical Hispanic villain in many 1970s TV crime dramas. It was very nice to see Martinez playing a romantic lead. Eden and Cruz were not the only one that had great chemistry. There was Mason Capwell & Julia Wainwright (Lane Davies and Nancy Lee Grahn. Arguably, I thought Gordon Thompson did a good job playing as Mason as well.) also CC Capwell and Sophia Wayne (Jed Allen and Judith McConnell). There were characters on the show that were way over-the-top like Gina Blake (Robin Mattson) and Augusta Lockridge (Louise Sorel). But it didn't matter that they were over-the-top. They were lively, unpredictable and interesting people.With the number of daytime viewers dropping and fewer dramas in production right now, I don't know if there will ever be a more entertaining daytime drama like "Santa Barbara". As another user mentioned before, it certainly was ahead of it's time.

Santa Barbara was very unique.Its great writing and amazing cast were something that has never been seen on TV. Santa Barbara created couples that will never be forgotten. Actors like Harley Jane Kozak,Lane Davies,Marcy Walker,A.Martinez,Jed Allan,Judith McConnell,Robin Mattson,Nancy Grahn etc. were outstanding.Cast like that will never be seen again. Through Santa Barbara we were able to live through most wonderful feelings and see the most beautiful lovestories. Santa Barbara will never be forgotten! We,the fans, will always be grateful for those beautiful memories that SB let us have.