this topic comes up so often that i wanted to address it.

the "dumbing-down" of victoria winters after the 1795 story.everyone notes it.

there is alot of truth and some overstatement going on here.i do think that vicki's "i don't understand-ish-ness" has been exaggerated across the boards.i haven't heard her say it any more or less than anyone else on the show(and i've been listening).denial is a way of life for these folks."it's not possible" seems to be another key phrase.

but back to topic.it's true that after 1795 the character deteriorates.i'm not sure why.i don't know if vicki is any more clueless during 1968 than carolyn or maggie,but she is given a very dull storyline to be sure.and in time alexandra moltke responds by turning in a bland performance.she always played a pitch lower than some of her co-stars(and it worked)but during her final months on the show her unhappiness shows.
obviously the whole show changes direction but vicki was amongst the hardest hit.why?
one strange thing that happens is that they totally abandon her relationship with david.they established an interesting relationship before 1795.afterwards i can't recall a single scene between them.which is odd considering the whole reason for her being at collinwood is to care for him.during the cassandra story she should have served as his governess/protector(like she did during the laura story)but she's basically uninvolved.
when she's not being kidnapped or otherwise tormented during the adam story she has lots of mopey scenes with jeff.that's it.so why did they stop writing for the character?

and even though the writers were giving her weak storylines they sort of kept victoria in a strange "gilded cage"...only allowing her to express virtuous qualities.and that ultimately became dull for the actress who played her.thoughts?

i'll start by saying that the board has been really fun lately.lots of thoughts and opinions.love it!

personally i think that vicki should have been the reincarnation of josette.not maggie.the story hinted at it strongly early on the way vicki was so perceptive of josette's presence.there was a communication that existed between them that certainly didn't exist between josette and maggie up until that point.and since vicki was rather dreamy and melancholic at heart it would have suited her,more so than maggie,who was more happy-go-lucky.

but on a more cynical note the way that this story progressed probably had more to do with the way that the story made itself up as it went along and who was cast as what.
it started with a bit of frugality according to kls,who said that she volenteered to play the ghostly presence of josette for free,at a time when no one knew that she would ever become a real character.fine enough.
enter frid.he was supposed to be a temporary character.evil incarnate.and up until that point maggie had been a secondary character.seen mostly at the diner,serving coffee,dispensing gossip,flirting with the town's hunkiest fisherman.so it must have made sense that she was the character placed in this situation.not carolyn.and more importantly not vicki.
because at this point in the show vicki still functioned in her original purpose.the innocent ingenue.and if she had been the one placed in this terrible situation it would have been harder to return her to that status.she might have read as "dirty" to the audience.and since at the time this was all supposed to be temporary...why put the ingenue in the middle of it.
remember that while all this was happening to maggie miss goody-two-shoes was up at collinwood comforting elizabeth during the jason mcguire blackmail plot.

but things worked out as they did for a reason.if vicki has been josette than she couldn't have been the one sent back to 1795 to witness the events of that year,which was a great way to tell the story.if a present day character not been "there" the audience might not have been as receptive to the storyline.

barnabas(to himself):"forget about a rosary...a stiff polyester cowlneck!?i'll never get near that throught."

I didn't know any of this. I knew Dr. Woodard was killed by Barnabas but never saw the scenes. Well, I think this all makes Julia Hofman's subsequent involvement and feelings for Barnabas even more icky. I wish they had gone another direction with Julia Hoffman.

if you get a chance stafan you should go back and watch this part of the story.there are some great moments of julia being haunted by dr. woodard's ghost that may or may not have involved barnabas.it's julia at her most hysterical.

the scene being described above wasn't as impactful as it could have been because the part of dr.woodard was re-cast just before it.

i wasn't around at the time that the show was cancelled either.

but my mom was a fan and was pregnant with me during the later part of the show's run.the character that she most remembers is quentin.apparently she thought he was the cutest.
but she seems to be under the impression that he was on it from the begining(or close to it).sometimes when she visits me we'll watch it and she's like "where's quentin?" or "when does quentin come on?".i haven't gotten to his part on the show yet so i'm like "he comes on it later mom".

she also remembers barnabas(natch)but watching it with me she definitely knows who victoria winters is and recognizes alot of the other main characters.soon i'll be into the quentin eps..she'll like that.

at the brooklyn fest two years ago i met a very cool dyke who was covered in d.s. tatoos.i remember specifically a large one of barnabas biting maggie/josette with drops of blood and everything.i don't remember her name but i think that there were photos of her somewhere online.

i dunno if that helps .

my question is how does one isolate only a line or so of someone else's quote and insert it in your post?i know how to use the reply with quote option but it uses the entire post which can take up alot of space.
i see other people use just a part of anothers quote here all the time.how does one do it?

p.s.the board is looking fancier and fancier.