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« on: March 15, 2007, 03:31:08 AM »
Betsy Durkin had a tough road to hoe, and for me, some of that came from one cruel fact about the character of Victoria Winters on DS: the part belonged to Alexandra Moltke. There was something calming yet alluring about her presence on camera. True, she was often menaced by ghosts, vampires, witches, dream curses, crazed handymen, man-made monsters, narcissistic boyfriends and the like, but she never overplayed her outrageous dilemmas to the point of their obvious incredulity. Moltke's keen underplaying helped set the stage for more flamboyant, often campy, otherworldly characters to play against her, and while ultimately upstaging her, gained the audience's acceptance (i.e, "If Vicki's going into the ether, we might as well come along for the ride!"). Until mid-to-late 1968, Alex always carried herself like the melancholy monarch of the show that she was (Joan Bennett was the Queen Bee and Grayson Hall the Grande Dame). As her storyline and purpose in the show became peripheral, Alex seemed more detached and less compelled (as Vicki) to exert any wonderment about the goings-on at Collinwood. Yet she continued to retain a loyal fan base, because for long-term DSers who watched the show from the beginning, it was Victoria Winters who brought us into this story with her voice-over at the beginning of each episode (this changed in later years). She brought us to Collinwood. To the past. To a place (as kids) where we could escape at 4pm every weekday.
Betsy did her best, but I'm glad they wrapped up the Victoria storyline since Alex was not planning to return.
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