The name "Santa Barbara" is an American town near Los Angeles. But the vast majority of Russian citizens would never have known about the existence of such a populated unit, if not for the series with the same name. This soap opera gathered near the screens of all residents of the post-Soviet space for ten years. From 1992 to 2002, no one in Russia could say exactly how many episodes there are in Santa Barbara.
The simple story about the life of a wealthy family was so appealing to the people tired of deficit and unemployment that watching this series was a sacred ritual for most viewers. Skipping a series was like a personal little tragedy. At that time, she could repeat only once, the next morning. If the repetition could not be watched, all that remained was to rely on advanced friends or relatives who recorded “Barbara” on the VCR. Each series is an event. The viewers were also afraid to miss at least one because no one knew how many episodes there were in Santa Barbara. The series could end unexpectedly, and with it the positive emotions that were scooped from television screens during its broadcast.
According to official figures, the ratings of this series at one time amounted to 95%! This is inconceivably high performance, which unequivocally on the Russian television space has never reached any of the most fashionable television show or series. In principle, neither the acting, nor the storyline, nor the quality of the shooting justified the interest that Santa Barbara aroused in the ruins of the former Soviet Union. It should be noted that in America this series was also considered very popular, but could never boast half as attractive ratings as in the countries of the former USSR. But the fact that there are so many episodes in "Santa Barbara" indicates that the Americans also accepted the series with a bang, because, first of all, it was shot for them.
Filming of this uniquely world famous soap opera ended on January 15, 1993 - already during its broadcast on Russian TV. This is one of the few TV series in the history of television, which, having such a huge number of episodes, has been shot during only one season. The filming process lasted for 9 years. And yet - how many episodes are there in the Santa Barbara series? The answer to this question is amazing - 2137!
Today it is generally accepted that this series is devoid of any meaning whatsoever, but this is not true. Each series is a dedication of big and pure love with a capital letter. Perhaps that is why soap opera was such a tremendous success not only in the homeland or in the former USSR, but also in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Australia and even Taiwan, China and Japan.
Actors who constantly changed in the series did not achieve much success in the profession outside the series. The main characters were known almost all over the world, like Mason, CC, Carroll, Gina, etc. No matter how many episodes they played in Santa Barbara, they were remembered and loved. But after working on this series, almost none of them reached any significant level in the cinema.
Today it doesn’t matter how many episodes Santa Barbara has presented to its fans. She forever entered the history of television as one of the most famous television series in the world.