I'm one of those people who thinks that AM was irreplaceable as Viki. BUT I do think that J. Smith would have been able to take over the role without much audience protest. It would be great to see a picture of JS during that time frame to see what she looked like. It would help to get a visual image of JS as VW.
You know, a few weeks ago when they did the Sabrina meets the werewolf flashback, I played with the thought that Lisa Richards might have made a good AM ( as Victoria Winters) replacement. She had all that hair & sweetness going on.
Dom
PS - I do think Kate Jackson could have taken over the role as well, in fact I have no doubt that she could have pulled it off better than either B. Durkin or C. groves.
PPS - Can you imagine poor JS having to play opposite her hubby R. Davis? Being mauled 24/7? Maybe she purposely blew the audition!