DARK SHADOWS FORUMS
General Discussions => Current Talk Archive => Current Talk '24 I => Current Talk '08 II => Topic started by: michael c on September 26, 2008, 01:56:50 AM
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the watching project is nearing the end of the vicki and jeff storyline.
but it always seems to me that there is a bit of happenstance in play here.
we know how things played out.alexandra left abruptly.she was replaced by betsy.jeff disappeared into the past and soon afterwards vicki joins him.
it's always assumed that the character of vicki was written out because alexandra's replacement had not proven successful.
but how was the vicki and jeff storyline originally supposed to have been played out?
we can assume that if alexandra hadn't left the character would not have disappeared into the past and would have soldiered on to the next catastrophe that awaited her.was jeff originally supposed to vanish or was he supposed to stick around and the plot continue?was he written out because once alexandra left the writers just wanted to wind the storyline and characters down?or was vicki supposed to have continued on without jeff?were jeff clark's days numbered no matter what?
it seems like it all ends rather abruptly.
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I'm still not sure if I would have liked Jeff staying in longer. I was pretty ready to get rid of him by the time he disappeared into the past. And I was pretty tired of hearing about him by the time he came back for Vicki. Although, you're right, it seems like they were really in a hurry to wrap it up and make way for the new stories. I'd like to know what they had originally planned to do with Vicki and Jeff. If they'd planned that far ahead...
As I was thinking about all this, I began to realize just how many would have been avoided (for better or worse) had Vicki and Jeff stuck around.
[spoiler]- If we still had Jeff, there would have been no Ned Stuart and, presumably, no Sabrina. Which would have been a blessing.
- No matter what they did with the character of Vicki (see below), she probably would have eventually been Barnabas' love interest again, eliminating the need for Roxanne. Could Vicki have possibly been a vampire in 1840? Oh my!
- That awful stunt with Jeff/Peter during the Leviathan storyline might never have happened. Think how much better that whole period of the show would have been...[/spoiler]
I wish we could have seen Alexandra come back as Victoria later on in the series. As most of us know, they did ask her to come back, but she said she would only do so if she could play a baddie. They said no. Big mistake. Wouldn't it have been awesome if we had an evil Vicki in PT? Or, by some trick of time (possibly caused by all of Barnabas' fooling around with it?), could she have shown up in 1840? Possibly as one of Judah Zachary's followers? Or that other thought that I mentioned above? There are so many possibilities. If only the producers/writers/whoever had realized it... I'm sure Alexandra would have done a fabulous job!
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we can assume that if alexandra hadn't left the character would not have disappeared into the past and would have soldiered on to the next catastrophe that awaited her.
I don't assume that.
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I have always said what a RATINGS improvement this could have brought to a struggling show and what fun it would have been if Victoria turned up in 1970 PT as the central baddie. The total athesis of what she was in The PHOENIX storyline! Some Lara P fans may slap me but what a shock Barnabas would have been in for when he encountered Victoria instead of Angelique, and Victoria was the one wanting bring the destruction of the Collins family because of Liz abandonded her WOW! Angelique was always predictable showing up in the storyline however imagine her showing up only this time being a witch who works good magic and ends up helping Barnabas save the day! Perhas her instead of Roxanne could have found Julia after VICTORIA locked her up for some different reason. Then to return the summer of 1970 and have Victoria show back up there~~ that would have rocked. Imagine her being the one to find Barnabas and Julia coming out of the Stairway in time room, talk about DOUBLE SHOCKS!!Leaving 1995 and then returning to find Victoria back at Collinwood and fade out...It all makes me want to [bnghd] BTW..I don't need help. I am just banging my head because of the possiblities that DC could have gone with. It is no secret he could be very BULL HEADED about hid idea's. [director] How cool I hadn't noticed that emotioncon and it fit perfectly with my rant!!
I felt some DS inspiration I hadn't in a while. Maybe I will whip out a legal pad and write.
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Oh man, an evil Vicki? That's something I would TOTALLY have loved to have seen!
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Me too- what an improvement from having been reduced to saying "I don't understand!" every episode [ghost_grin] Oh well.
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I don't think the original plan was for Vicki and Jeff to marry. I have no idea what DC was cooking up for Vicki. If the statement in KLS's first book, in which it is said that DC wanted to try playing out a Rosemary's Baby ripoff with Vicki in the Mia Farrow role, is true, perhaps the original idea was for Jeff to be in Nicholas's thrall and make some kind of deal with Diabolos for that to play out. Unless Jim Pierson finds and releases minutes from writers meetings from the mid 1968 period, we will never know what direction was being envisioned for the plot. As it was, some people who were on the show then always spoke of 1968 as "that year of insanity" and for good reason.
I agree that Alex would have made a fabulous villainess. However, I think that she had zero interest in returning to the show once she managed to leave.
G.
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AM actually did approach DC about returning - but she wanted to play a different character from Vicki - and one with a dark side. However, DC wouldn't hear of it because he felt the audience wouldn't accept her as anyone but Vicki. Shortsighted on his part? I believe so. But, alas...
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Very interesting! I had no idea she was interested in going back after her son's birth.
This more than ever makes the re-write of Victoria's fate during that stupid subplot in Leviathans look like a posthumous punishment of the character by her irate creator.
G.
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Yes, I think DC was a spiteful prick to do that to the character of Vicki in the Leviathans just because AM wanted to play a baddie and not return as the virtuous Miss Winters. [ghost_angry]
How would he know if the audience wouldn't have liked to have seen AM as a villain? [ghost_huh]
I mean, I would have loved to have seen a real mean, downright rotten Vicki in Parallel Time without a doubt. And to go up against Barnabas too! Quite a contrast to the real close relationship they had in regular time.
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I had heard that DC's plan during the Leviathan story was to bring Vicki back by having Barnabas go back in time and save her again, a replay of 1796. But negotiations with AM fell thru and that plot was abandoned.
I always hated the way Vicki's fate was left, especially since her exit was so good. At least she got to be happy with the man she loved. Everybody else that left was sent to Wyndcliff lol.
I hope that AM can be convinced to do a Big Finish cd play ( or lots of them!) so that Vicki can finally be saved!
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WOW!! I hadn't heard that story. Indeed it would be wonderful if AM would do a fest or do some audio CD's!!
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Was this to have happened instead of Barnabas & Kitty going back to 1796?
I had heard that DC's plan during the Leviathan story was to bring Vicki back by having Barnabas go back in time and save her again, a replay of 1796. But negotiations with AM fell thru and that plot was abandoned.
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The Barn/Kitty plot was before the Leviathons, so no, I don't think so.
I 'm pretty sure that when Jeff's ghost eps were done it was with the intention to follow up with another trip to 1796.
I also do think an evil Vicki in PT 1970 would have been great. I always imagined that PT Maggie's unseen sister Jennifer was really Vicki who had been adopted by Sam and his wife (and that Vicki was Sam and Liz's biological daughter) .
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Hoo boy, Liz and Sam! Why am I imagining Liz pursing her lips into a thin, bloodless line and informing whomever was inquiring, "HELL would have to freeze over first!"
I really need to lie down ....
G.
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back when i was watching 1970 parallel-time i waxed rhapsodic about the possibilities of a not-so-nice victoria at the center of the proceedings.
vain,pleasure-seeking,cruel,clad not in boxy dacron ohrbachs but draped with gems and exquisite couture...ooh la la!
but 'twas not to be and i digress.back to 1968 i just wonder if jeff's departure was done deal from the get-go,a character with a limited shelf life,or if his abrupt disappearance was triggered by all the cast changes and the storyline shift.
the reason i said one can "assume" that had alexandra not left than the character vicki would not have been sent back in time is that she left abruptly mid-contract.so had that not transpired one can assume that the character would have stuck around to endure more suffering.she was so good at it. [ghost_rolleyes]
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If you can find them, I totally recommend Dale Clark's excellent DS fan novels. One of them features an evil Vicki, complete with a glamorous Vicki photomanip all decked out in jewles on the cover. It would have been nice to see Vicki in glam wear. She was lovely but her clothes were often pretty frumpy, which suited her character as the orphan governess.
It's fun to speculate about the characters AM could have done in other times. What kind of characters could she have played in 1897 and 1840? I can imagine she probably would have done Rachel predictably, while KLS did Kitty for the whole story, but it would be fun to imagine AM as a gypsy too. Perhaps AM could have played Roxanne in 1840. If AM had stayed around they may have never brought Roxanne on as the new love intrest. And of course Maggie wouldn't have been the new governess.
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I always wanted to get them. I took for granted that fanzines would always be around.
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If you email me off-list at slayer@junct.com I'll forward your request to Dale, I actually have his email address, and I think he still has them available. There are 7 books all togather and they make a great read, I highly recommend them. It's the best DS fan fiction I've ever read. He uses all the characters well, with lots of action and deep plots and character development. It really reads like a very satisfying continuation of the series.