Why Did Christopher Pennock Stay on DS after Leviathan?

[Joeytrom]

The disastor of the Leviathan story may explain why Christopher Bernau and Geoffrey Scott were not used anymore (GS wasn't a good actor anyway).  I am puzzled as to why they decided to keep Christopher Pennock, as his acting was not so great in and his character of Jeb was the center of the story, one would think they would have let him go as well to distance themselves from the Leviathan story altogether.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Christopher Bernau and Geoffrey Scott were not used anymore (GS wasn't a good actor anyway).  I am puzzled as to why they decided to keep Christopher Pennock

I think it came down to one simple reason: popularity. Unlike Bernau and Scott, Pennock generated a lot of positive fan mail (makes you wonder what sort of substances the people who wrote those letters were on? ). and he quickly became the focus of a lot of favorable press (mostly in the teen mags). DC was always one to think those two ingredients translated into ratings success.

Scott was a lost cause. Bernau may have grown on the audience. But in DC's estimation, Pennock was a proven commodity. And actually, given how subsequent roles really got to showcase his talents, it was a smart choice to have kept Pennock around.

[Raineypark]

I'm not sure what the rest of you are seeing when you look at Chris Pennock on the screen, but obviously I'm not seeing it.  I can't think of one thing about him that I would consider sexy.  Certainly the character he's playing is not.  Petulance and whining are never sexy.     

[VictoriaWintersRox]

It's too bad they didn't keep Christopher Bernau. I like him as Philip. It's too bad what the Levithans are doing to him and Megan.

Geoffrey Scott isn't as bad as I thought he would be, but he's still pretty wooden. Thank God he improved a little by the time he was on Dynasty.

Even though I think Christopher Pennock is in the ranks of Roger Davis when it comes to his role as Jeb, I'm glad they kept him. I thought he was good in the 1840 storyline as Gabriel.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Certainly the character he's playing is not.  Petulance and whining are never sexy. 

Well, never underestimate the power of a purely superficial attraction. For the life of me I can't imagine what other reason would have prompted people to write so much fan mail for Pennock at this point. I don't think most really even saw or actually cared about Jeb. (But any that did must have been some pretty twisted individuals. )

(And truthfully, I think a purely superficial attraction from the audience is what carried RD so far on the show. God help them if his fans were actually attracted to his characters!! )

[Raineypark]

Well, never underestimate the power of a purely superficial attraction.

But that's the part I don't get....I don't see the superficially attractive thing at all!

Let's be honest....as characters go Willie Loomis could be pretty damned pathetic.....but he always had that "lost puppy" look going for him and some of us are suckers for that sort of thing. 

Jeb, on the other hand, runs the full gamut of expressions from smug to snotty.   What aspect of this character had them swooning in the aisles?

 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

What aspect of this character had them swooning in the aisles?

Now, isn't that a frightening, if not loaded question?! (It's also the major reason I think the whole Jeb/Carolyn romance is incomprehensible from start to finish!!)

But I honestly think for the audience that wrote in, it was purely an attraction to Pennock himself, not his character. At least I hope so...

[Raineypark]

Like we all haven't known our share of witless women who just never seem to recognize the devil 'till they're dancing with him.

In real life, though, guys like that generally don't show their true colors until they're closing in for the kill....not at the begining of the hunt.  Jeb came on to Carolyn like a train wreck, and while the girl always had Daddy Issues, she was never portrayed as stupid until this. 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

she was never portrayed as stupid until this. 

Exactly! I've written extensively about that very fact every time this portion of Leviathans has come up on Sci-Fi, so I'll spare everyone my usual diatribe this time around , but the sad fact of the matter is that the DS writers (or more possibly DC) seemingly couldn't resist eventually ruining all of their female characters. It's actually a wonder that Carolyn managed to remain unscathed for as long as she did... (It also makes one wish Art Wallace would have stayed with the show for its entire run. But he and DC might have possibly killed each other by this point if he had. :- )

[Raineypark]

....the sad fact of the matter is that the DS writers (or more possibly DC) seemingly couldn't resist eventually ruining all of their female characters.

And is there some concensus on WHY this seems to be the practice on DS?  Did they all have harpys for Mothers?  Bad marriages all around?  Or wasn't it more likely just a product of the times?  How easy it is to forget that back then, strong female characters were exceptions to the general rules, and either had to "reform" for love, or die in the end?

[Luciaphile]

....the sad fact of the matter is that the DS writers (or more possibly DC) seemingly couldn't resist eventually ruining all of their female characters.

And is there some concensus on WHY this seems to be the practice on DS?  Did they all have harpys for Mothers?  Bad marriages all around?  Or wasn't it more likely just a product of the times?  How easy it is to forget that back then, strong female characters were exceptions to the general rules, and either had to "reform" for love, or die in the end?

My guess is that it was a combination of two things. The first and simplest is that Curtis seems to have been (and to be) hipped on the stereotypical gothic heroines. However, while I seldom lose a chance to knock the man, the fact remains that a lot made it onto the show with which he evidently did not approve.

DS was a pretty plot-driven show, at least it became so after Wallace left the fold. Keeping character integrity intact while trying to manuever characters into the needed situations is not easy writing. It takes effort to make a character's actions consistent with the character's personality. Wallace and Swann were pretty adept at that. The other writers were less so.

And actually, in this instance, I think that Carolyn's romance to Jeb was a lot easier to try and write than it would have been trying to have say, Vicki fall for someone like Jeb. She had the history of liking angry and unsuitable men. She was in emotional turmoil over the death of her father. They really just needed to either make him a little more slick or to have done a couple more episodes which would have slowed the pacing down and made this slightly more plausible.

[Raineypark]

DS was a pretty plot-driven show, at least it became so after Wallace left the fold. Keeping character integrity intact while trying to manuever characters into the needed situations is not easy writing. It takes effort to make a character's actions consistent with the character's personality. Wallace and Swann were pretty adept at that. The other writers were less so.

I agree completely that keeping a character's actions in line with an already established personality, while moving the plot where one wants it to go, is not easy.  But I have to ask if that ability shouldn't be the very LEAST of one's talents as a writer.  Especially a writer in this genre.  If you can't do THAT, what on earth are your qualifications for the job?

I always come back to my lasting suspicion that there was very little respect for the audience involved here, and "good enough" was the prevailing standard.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

But I have to ask if that ability shouldn't be the very LEAST of one's talents as a writer.  Especially a writer in this genre.  If you can't do THAT, what on earth are your qualifications for the job?

I couldn't agree with you more. (This is getting very dangerous today! ) But...

I always come back to my lasting suspicion that there was very little respect for the audience involved here, and "good enough" was the prevailing standard.

...Sad to say, a lot of the dumbing down within the storylines came directly from DC. If one reads the accounts of the inner workings of the show (at least the ones that don't come out of PomPress - but don't get me started there) one learns about all sorts of, shall we say, "heated discussions" the producers/writers had with DC over storyline direction. Sometimes they won (as was the case with making Barn sympathetic with the whole reluctant vampire/Sarah angle), but more often DC won out.

FYI, according to Sam Hall, there were huge rows over the directions of Leviathans. Guess who won most of those? In fact, Hall went so far as to say that DC would say something to the effect that this is the way I want the story to go, and if you don't want to write it, there are plenty of other writers in NYC who will...

[Raineypark]

I couldn't agree with you more. (This is getting very dangerous today! ) But...

Quit doing that.  You're making me nervous! 

[CrazyJenny]

I thought he was pretty good as Cyrus Longworth/John Yeager.