Ned Stuart -- Touchy Feely Freak

[Mysterious Benefactor]

It's often been written that RD was a favorite of Curtis among the actors (and that alone should tell one something about Curtis - but I digress). RD was supposedly cast in so many DS roles because Curtis wanted him to be.

Perhaps we should simply count ourselves lucky that Curtis' wishes to see RD cast in two roles during the series' last year (as 1840/41's Desmond Collins and supposedly as Maggie's boyfriend) never came to pass...

[michael c]

interesting about maggie's boyfriend.

the whole "summer of 1970" to me seemed just like a big set up for another trip to the past. what happened in the present was almost beside the point. no "new" plot was introduced that wasn't meant to lead directly into the 1840 storyline. so i'm surprised to hear that a new,self contained storyline for maggie was being considered. wasn't the character sort of back-burnered at that point?

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Sort of. But then KLS was working without a contract at that point (which is the reason why it was so easy for her to leave DS and move to Europe with Ben Martin).

[quentincollins]

I wonder what the new boyfriend would have been like. Interesting idea, and I would've liked to see Maggie get another bf. I never could accept her having feelings for Barnabas after he kidnapped and tormented her. I knew what happened even if she didn't. I wonder if maybe RD's character was going to be Sebastian?

[Nightfall59]

the whole "summer of 1970" to me seemed just like a big set up for another trip to the past.

I pretty much agree with this. Even Maggie being victimized by yet another vampire seemed an obvious set-up for explaining that [spoiler]Roxanne had become a vampire in 1840.[/spoiler]

Isn't it popularly believed that had KLS stayed, she would have portrayed Samantha Collins in the 1840 arc? I've seen this claim on many DS boards. I wonder, if she had stayed, would they have gone with the Josette lookalike thing yet again, or ignored it this time? That would have loopy. Four women---Roxanne, Julia, Angelique, and Samantha--all interested in our gentleman vamp. lol

I've never been a fan of Roger Davis. I was always happy whenever any of his characters was written out. The only one I found even barely tolerable was Peter Bradford and that was only in short spurts.

The only other "soap" character I can recall with the name "Ned" is General Hospital's Ned Ashton, grandson of Edward Quartermaine and presumably named after him.

[Midnite]

As for Ned, I think it's a knickname for Edward. The only other Ned I can think of offhand is from the tv show The Lost World.

Actor Ned Beatty, character Ned Flanders?  And that infamous DS Forum member damNEDrodan, lol.

There actually was another Ned on DS-- the unseen Ned Calder, Liz's admirer and recent general manager, whose name came up in at least a dozen eps early in the series.

[Midnite]

Just an FYI-- we have readers who don't remember all the storylines and perhaps haven't seen them all yet, so spoiler icons or spoiler tags are recommended for revelations if the threads aren't already marked as spoilery, or if they stray from the topic titles.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Isn't it popularly believed that had KLS stayed, she would have portrayed Samantha Collins in the 1840 arc? I've seen this claim on many DS boards.

It's not just a fan belief - that's actually what the show was planning before KLS left. But when one door closes, another opens, and KLS' departure brought about the genius casting of Samantha with Virginia Vestoff, who was brilliant in the role.

As for Ned being a touchy feely freak, he certainly was the worst of RD's characters in the touchy feely department, but just about every RD character was touchy feely because RD quite obviously could never keep his hands off of his costars (or his hair  ).

[quentincollins]

I'd have loved to have had KLS as a different character in 1840, but I'd think she'd be a little too young to play Tad's mother. Of course, Joan Bennett was too young to play Barnabas's mother too, so I guess actors ages weeren't always considered in casting on DS anyways.

[MagnusTrask]

[spoiler]I have zero inside information on this, but while it's more satisfying to watch 1995 and Summer? 1970 without knowing they're the set-up for 1840, I'm sure... everything in them is about 1840.    They're doing little but preparing us for 1840 from the moment 1995 starts.

I picture DC or the team deciding that they can't think of more films or books to rewrite, so they're going to organize the whole forseeable remainder of the show into a very long storyline where they rob ideas from themselves, taking everything that worked really well earlier on DS, and doing it bigger and better (and longer).   The story of DS is in a way wrapped up at the end of it all, a happy ending tied in a bow, so I think they may not have expected DS to go on past that.  When it did, all new characters as if one story that started in 1966 had ended, and another had begun.

What I mean is, I think 1995-1970-1840 is one long storyline revolving around 1840 (and the need to get DS back to a more atmospheric time), a tactic to deal with difficulty in getting fresh ideas, and the inevitable end to the show.   [/spoiler]

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

so I think they may not have expected DS to go on past that.

Actually, they did have storyline plans past 1841PT (and were even negotiating Diana Millay's return as Laura). But getting into any of that would be going REALLY OT. Though getting sort of back on topic, apparently none of those plans included another touchy feely RD character.  

[MagnusTrask]

Actually, they did have storyline plans past 1841PT (and were even negotiating Diana Millay's return as Laura). But getting into any of that would be going REALLY OT. Though getting sort of back on topic, apparently none of those plans included another touchy feely RD character.  

(Sorry about straying OT, but once I put difficult thought and eye work into a point, I like to make sure I've communicated it before moving on...

Actually, I meant that when planning out 1995-1970-1840, before any of it started, they may not have expected DS to go on past the conclusion of this 1995-1970-1840 storyline.   I thought it might have been one last strategy to go out on a high note eventually, or at least deal with lack of new ideas by redoing all their good ones.

Much later, they saw that DS could go on past Barnabas and Julia returning to 1971 in triumph, and 1841 PT happened, and then they came up with further story ideas for that.)

[michael c]

magnus makes a good point.

leviathan and 1970 parallel-time were stand alone storylines that were worked into the larger DS canvas.

but starting with 1995 it was clear that they were building up to something big that would likely be set in the past where the program had experienced so much success  before. one can really only appreciate it in retrospect but there it is.

and interesting point about the possibility of KLS as samantha collins and what that would have meant to the endless parade of josette lookalikes. under those circumstances would samantha have been yet another incarnation? how would barnabas have reacted to that when roxanne was on his mind by this point? oh the questions.

and after the brutality with which barnabas first treated maggie in 1967 i could never buy(or stomach)any implied romance between them in future storylines. those images are burned onto my memory bank and just because the character became popular and the writers tried to redeem him doesn't make that go away for me.

[IluvBarnabas]

Honestly, if my sister was left catatonic and at the same time her fiancee ran off, I'd have it in for the guy. So I try to give him something of a pass at having it in for Chris.

I can't help but think that maybe Sabrina stayed the way she was because of Ned dragging her all around the country in his search for Chris, which couldn't have done her any good, either physically or emotionally. And the way he practically manhandled her...that was really disgusting. No matter how desperately he wanted to get to the truth about what happened between her and Chris, Ned had NO right to be so physically brutal to her. The ends don't justify the means, especially when it comes to the unstable condition of your sister.

Even if you think that Ned's vendetta against Chris is somewhat justified, his rough treatment of Sabrina certainly isn't. I don't think Ned deserves a pass for that, no matter what his motives were.