I couldn't agree more - it's a wonderful scene and it should never have been cut from the pilot. But alas. And apparently Domino's and their sponsorship of the miniseries was more important to NBC than fleshing out characters.
There is also a bit at the very beginning the scene that I didn't include because there seems to be some question about how accurate it is so I wanted to get into it more closely this morning (instead of when I'm half asleep (and liable to make typos, which I obviously did last night anyway
- but they're fixed now
)). The first thing Victoria asks is how long David has been without his father - and to that Elizabeth responds for almost six years. The SHADOWS IN THE '90s" The Dark Shadows Concordance 1991 believes that was an error in the script and Victoria should have been asking about David's mother. And that does make some sense. However, after having rewatched the pilot for this slideshow, I'm not so sure it was an error. It's implied in the first scene between Elizabeth and Roger that Roger wasn't a part of David's life for an extended period of time. And when Mrs. Johnson is reprimanding her nephew for making his own life difficult (i.e. neglecting his duties and incurring Roger's wrath), Willie remarks that everything was fine until Roger came to Collinwood. All of that would seem to imply that Roger has recently returned to Collinwood - and that would make Victoria's question and Elizabeth's response perfectly plausible and not in error.
It's also a shame that some scenes that were shot weren't included in the pilot at all. One such scene occurred right after the scene between Joe and Daphne in his car and it helped to establish the relationship that Victoria and Willie share later on. As Willie is driving his truck along the road. Willie glances at Victoria, giving her a long once-over. He remarks about how cold out it is. She looks at him and holds her look as he leans over and punches open the glove compartment. Taking out a pint of Wild Turkey, he unscrews the cap, slugs at it, then offers it to her. Victoria declines. He smiles, takes another, longer belt and wipes his mouth with the back of his sleeve. Willie then remarks that Collinsport's a dump! Victoria doesn't respond. He goes on to say that it's full of creeps, like Loverboy, then also adds that Collinwood isn't any better. It's a case of small town, small minds, and he grins. Victoria says that she hasn't really seen enough of it to say. Willie assets that she will - and if anybody gives her any hassle and she need somebody to set them straight, he's the guy. Victoria pauses a beat, concludes that humor is the best policy, and nods. Willie smiles, glad that he's making headway. The truck then turns into the long driveway to Collinwood.