Sometimes I wish the original Collins kept their moxie

[The charming Mr. Blair]

Sometimes it is a bit annoying to see how much the original Collins have been dummied down since the supernatural change. Liz is aso weak and clueless. She used to be so strong. Roger has mellowed (perhaps for the better) but he is still a bit "in your face" at times.
With all the weird stuff going on how could they be so clueless? At least ( the seldom seen) little David should be figuring things out .
I supose the ignorence is helping to keep the show interesting., but sometimes you just want to jumo inside the TV and tell the characters to think back and rememebr what happened a while back --  ?!?

[kuanyin]

Yes, this is the unfortunate aspect of the show's success. It would have been nice if they had kept the strength of the early characters. I like David better when he is less homicidal, and Roger is better when he doesn't hate his son. But those are the only two positives that I can think of in regards to the changing of the original Collins.

[Angelique_s_Sis]

 I think even Carolyn changed from her usual snide remarks to a more thoughtful person (ie. regarding Adam).  It's for the better, in my opinion.  She can still hold her ground to some extent.

David seems to be the bravest of the entire family.  However, most of the time - nobody believes the kid.  He sees everything & everyone for who/what they are.

If Liz wasn't under that curse - she'd be stronger & Roger was probably devastated over Cassandra.  Barnabas?  I'm not sure.   ?!?

[Luciaphile]

I certainly agree with you (surprise, surprise).  It might have given the show a much sharper edge if they had kept the "normal" characters with the punch that they had to begin with.  Right now, they've got about as much strength as sheep about to sheared and it's just boring to watch.

The degeneration of the writing is noticeable and it's a crying shame.

Luciaphil

[Miles]

I certainly agree with you (surprise, surprise).  It might have given the show a much sharper edge if they had kept the "normal" characters with the punch that they had to begin with.  Right now, they've got about as much strength as sheep about to sheared and it's just boring to watch.

The degeneration of the writing is noticeable and it's a crying shame.

I suppose its just plain easier to keep the majority of characters "in the dark" (ie. stupid).  Leaving the characters with their original brains might have lead to too many uncontrolled variables: Liz not being patheticly docile, Roger realizing hes married to a strange witch, Vicki realizing anything.  All of these could have lead to (eek!) an unavoidable situation that was tough to write their way out of.  I'd guess the writers (in the just-get-it-done world of soaps) focused on what was working at the time and let the show get a little tattered around the edges.  Either that or they were just totally inept.

[Luciaphile]

I suppose its just plain easier to keep the majority of characters "in the dark" (ie. stupid).  Leaving the characters with their original brains might have lead to too many uncontrolled variables: Liz not being patheticly docile, Roger realizing hes married to a strange witch, Vicki realizing anything.  All of these could have lead to (eek!) an unavoidable situation that was tough to write their way out of.  I'd guess the writers (in the just-get-it-done world of soaps) focused on what was working at the time and let the show get a little tattered around the edges.  Either that or they were just totally inept.

Well, in the case of Sam Hall and Gordon Russell, I have to say that I think it was a combination of both.  

A friend of mine thinks that at some point TPTB figured out their mainstay was kids and why bother trying to make it better.

I can see how that would happen, but I guess as someone who's done my share of high pressure jobs where no one really would care if I didn't push to do my best and I did anyway--I find that inexcusable.  A good (fill in the blank of your choice) is going to do their best.  It's what you should strive for.  And they ain't striving.

Luciaphil

[MrsJ]

David seems to be the bravest of the entire family.  However, most of the time - nobody believes the kid.  He sees everything & everyone for who/what they are.

David is not only the bravest, he is also the smartest!!


If Liz wasn't under that curse - she'd be stronger & Roger was probably devastated over Cassandra.  Barnabas?  I'm not sure.   ?!?

Oh, I'm sure, lol.  He was a much stronger character when he had an "edge".  I'm afraid that they sacrificed character continuity and development in favor of the supernatural plot lines  

MrsJ.

[MikeS]

Oh, I'm sure, lol.  He was a much stronger character when he had an "edge".  I'm afraid that they sacrificed character continuity and development in favor of the supernatural plot lines  

Indeed they did, MrsJ, and in my opinion, it was a mistake.  During the first year of the show, the members of the Collins family were all fascinating characters, well- written and developed.  But as others have posted, they were dummied-down and put more in the background as the supernatural elements came to dominate, and new characters were introduced.  A while back I posted that the show should have struck more of a balance between the supernatural and non-supernatural storylines.  This would have allowed more use of the "normal" characters, and the chance for them to develop further and in a more consistent manner.  Just my opinion.

[VictoriaWintersRox]

I agree..the Collins family was great during the first year. Too bad they got put into the background and were changed to adapt to the supernatural elements instead of having the supernatural elements adapt to them. So much more time was being spent away from Collinwood. During many of the present time periods after 1795 I don't think the actors portraying the Collins at the main house got to spread their wings except in the flash backs and the parellel times. Didn't one of the DS writers leave because he didn't like how the Collins were no longer at the forefront of the show?

[The charming Mr. Blair]

Since this is my first time around I am hoping that the time and dimension changes will bring about deeper characters. I can't wait for the next story line!!

[Cassandra]

I agree with you. When I think of how strong willed they all were back then and then see how they are now, I can really see a big difference. Even Vicky was alot stronger then too!! During the Laura Collins storyline, I can still remember how fast Vicky got on her case, running all over the place just to find out any information she could on Laura. When Liz fell ill due to one of Laura's spells, Vicky seemed to suspect her right away and then did everything she could to protect David from his evil mother.  Now, you hardly ever see her with the kid. (Is she still his governess?)   Maggie too was alot wiser then than she is now. Hopefully, once this Adam thing is over with, everyone will start to "wisen" up again.

[Daphne]

I like David better when he is less homicidal, and Roger is better when he doesn't hate his son. But those are the only two positives that I can think of in regards to the changing of the original Collins.

LOL! NONONO!!!! He's so much more interesting when he's like psychotic!!!! *evil laugh* And Roger was much more ..... interesting too, but in a kind of different way. In a "WHY does he hate his son" kind of way, and ... well duh, cuz he thought David was Devlin's son [hey, they both had hair lol]. That was soooo much more interesting!!! Now the whole "we're trying to be a happy family, and all this supernatural stuff that we can't explain is going on, so we'll just ignore it" thing is just .... grrr!! Makes them all seem so stupid. There were always rumors about ghosts in Collinwood anyway, right? And Carolyn was SOOOOOOOOO much better when she was a %)(@* .... she was just so funnie! I loved it when she was going out with Buzz. Cuz it was just soo .... not what everyone wanted her to do. And now she's all like ..... sweet. It's so boring!!!!! LOL .... *chills out* yeah okay ..... It used to be like, with Carolyn and Joe, they worked through Carolyn's problems [not having a father, the kids in school thinking her mother was a witch; etc] and now it's like Carolyn and Tony work through Tony's problems. And not that that's BAD ... but .... BAH!!! LOL I don't like it as much. *pouts*

The only real change I *LIKE* is that the cast became more familiar with each other, and they'll touch each other more .... like Carolyn and Liz will kiss on the cheek, or Vicki will kinda sorta pat Maggie if Maggie's hysterically crying. LOL Or something. I'm STILL waiting for Carolyn and Vicki to hug ..... but I just don't see it happening. LOL!   Alright, I'm shutting up now! *hops off soapbox* *EVIL CACKLE* But I'll be back .......

[VictoriaWintersRox]

And Carolyn was SOOOOOOOOO much better when she was a %)(@* .... she was just so funnie! I loved it when she was going out with Buzz. Cuz it was just soo .... not what everyone wanted her to do. And now she's all like ..... sweet. It's so boring!!!!! LOL .... *chills out* yeah okay ..... It used to be like, with Carolyn and Joe, they worked through Carolyn's problems [not having a father, the kids in school thinking her mother was a witch; etc] and now it's like Carolyn and Tony work through Tony's problems. And not that that's BAD ... but .... BAH!!! LOL I don't like it as much. *pouts*

*sigh* I miss the old Carolyn!   She just isn't the same..she's all toned down now *nods head sadly* The old Carolyn was more fun to watch and she was more cheerful...now she's just depressing at times   but still great. Carolyn and Joe should've stayed together IMO. I think they're relationship was more interesting then Maggie and Joe's but oh well.

[Daphne]

*sigh* I miss the old Carolyn!   She just isn't the same..she's all toned down now *nods head sadly* The old Carolyn was more fun to watch and she was more cheerful...now she's just depressing at times   but still great. Carolyn and Joe should've stayed together IMO. I think they're relationship was more interesting then Maggie and Joe's but oh well.

AAAAAIEEEE!!!!! *runs around in circles* HAHAHAHAHA *dances* OMG You agree with me!!!!! Eeeeeveryone says that Carolyn and Joe should have broken up. So she had issues! *waves hands dismissively* EEEE!!! ^_______^ *GRIN*
Depressing is good sometimes, much more interesting than happy, IMO lol .... but .. aww *pat pat* I miss the old Carolyn too. She was soooo kewlll! We can throw a pity party ... and invite Carolyn ... and Joe .... and NOT MAGGIE!! Or we can invite her and throw her off Widow's Hill .... *EVIL LAUGH*
CAROLYN AND JOE FOREVER!!!! THEY SHALL RULE THE WORLD!!!!!! *evil manic cackles* weeeeheheheheheeeeee

[VictoriaWintersRox]

AAAAAIEEEE!!!!! *runs around in circles* HAHAHAHAHA *dances* OMG You agree with me!!!!! Eeeeeveryone says that Carolyn and Joe should have broken up. So she had issues! *waves hands dismissively* EEEE!!! ^_______^ *GRIN*
Depressing is good sometimes, much more interesting than happy, IMO lol .... but .. aww *pat pat* I miss the old Carolyn too. She was soooo kewlll! We can throw a pity party ... and invite Carolyn ... and Joe .... and NOT MAGGIE!! Or we can invite her and throw her off Widow's Hill .... *EVIL LAUGH*
CAROLYN AND JOE FOREVER!!!! THEY SHALL RULE THE WORLD!!!!!! *evil manic cackles* weeeeheheheheheeeeee

ROTFLMAO!! Hehehe or we can lock Maggie up in a closet with Nicholas *evil grin* Carolyn and Joe might not have been perfect but that's what made them so great Teehehehe *bounces off wall* Joe and Maggie were too perfect hehe. Depressing Carolyn is great and all but I wish she would grab someone and go to the Blue Whale. And take Joe with her. She can explain to Maggie later *crackles*