Trivia / Sunset Beach

• Actor Allusion: Olivia's Scarlet O'Hara costume at the Halloween party. This might double as a reference to her role in North and South (U.S.).
• Actor-Shared Background: Lesley-Anne Down was closely involved in the creation of her character. Some of the storylines were based in part on her personal life, including her failed marriages. It hit close to home and she admitted to having nightmares on occasion.
• California Doubling:
  • There is an actual Sunset Beach, but they filmed it right next door, in Seal Beach.
  • Gotta love Sunset Beach's version of Monte Carlo, aka the most boring roulette table ever seen on national TV. THIS is Cole being wild and hedonistic?
  • A restaurant table is all we ever see of "Washington, D.C." Melinda flew here periodically to shill her new book.
• The Cast Show Off: Vanessa Dorman has a really beautiful singing voice. She croons "What Child is This" at the Richards' Christmas party.
• Creator's Oddball: This marked the only time that Prime Time Soap king Aaron Spelling tried his hand at the daytime variety.
• Dawson Casting: Was Cole even 18 when he and Francesca were in love "five years ago?". You never forget your first jailbait, we guess. No wonder Thick-cardo's just a little bit miffed at "EVANS!"
  John Darvill (Channel 5 presenter): So Ben was married to Maria for at least six years, 'cause she drowned five years ago. So that must mean that Ben married Maria was she was about sixteen. It's no bloomin' wonder Ricardo is so angry with him.
• Dyeing for Your Art: Aaron Spelling had a very specific image in mind for Annie. Displeased with the selection of wigs on offer, he finally convinced Sarah Buxton to dye her hair from black to red. The dye job was mocked by Olivia during one of their spats.
• No Budget:
  • Why do the stairs in Ben's house always sound so hollow when someone goes upstairs? Aren't they supposed to be solid stone/marble? (Eventually they carpeted the stairs, but they still sound hollow.)
  • Season One Gregory is a hotshot lawyer who wears ill-fitting suits from off the rack. In Season Two, he looks like an actual denizen of the beach, with snazzier suits and a tan.
  • On closer inspection, Gregory is gingerly descending metal stairs in the power plant, which were not very secure.
  • There is also a scene with A.J. where the set tellingly wobbles, after he slams the door in anger.
• The Other Darrin:
  • The original Caitlin, Vanessa Dorman, demanded too much money and was let go in Season Two. She was replaced with Kam Heskin. There were other re-castings, but this one was the most noticeable. There was speculation by the cast that Dorman was replaced because the character was deeply unpopular in America as well as UK.
  • Ashley Hamilton (son of the legendary George Hamilton) plays Cole in his first couple of appearances.
  • When Susan Ward left to film The In Crowd, Sydney Penny stepped in to replace her, with Ward later returning to play the character for the show's final few weeks.
• Playing Against Type: Gordon Thomson (A.J.) played a cowardly, evil character on Dynasty (1981) in his youth.
• Star-Making Role: Lesley-Anne Down and Sarah Buxton had film experience before this. Of the newcomers, only Eddie Cibrian (Cole) and Susan Ward (Meg) stuck around in TV and film. Ward is better-suited for vamping it up, like Annie; some of her subsequent roles were pretty dark. Eddie, of course, is known to bad TV aficionados as Griff from Baywatch Nights; he earned his spurs on Sunset Beach.
• Wag the Director: Olivia was originally marked down as "Sheila" in the script. Down didn't care for that name and requested that it be changed to Olivia.
• What Could Have Been: Kristin Davis of Sex and the City fame was originally offered the role of Meg Cummings but declined.

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