Roger Davis as Ned Stuart?

[ClaudeNorth]

Currently watching the episodes leading up to the 1897 Flashback and finding myself wondering why Roger Davis was cast as Ned Stuart.  Ned Stuart is a minor character in the DS canon, appearing in only 6 episodes, and could have been played by any actor.  However, with RD in the role, the writers had to address Ned's resemblance to Jeff Clark, even though the resemblance had no significance in terms of plot, resulting in Ned going through the whole "I'm not Jeff Clark; I'm Ned Stuart" routine with Carolyn, Maggie, Barnabas and Julia.  Strikes me as odd to put RD in the role and make such a fuss about Ned's resemblance to Jeff but not have it amount to anything.

A few theories that come to mind:

• Roger Davis was under contract and it was more economical to use him than to bring in another actor.
• Another actor was cast, became unavailable, and RD filled in at the last minute.
• DC and Company thought it would be funny to have RD playing another character who spends a good deal of time explaining that he's not who everyone thinks he is. ("I'm not Peter; I'm Jeff!" "I'm not Jeff; I'm Ned!")
• Ned Stuart was originally conceived as a long-running character but the writers decided not to pursue his storyline.

I find that the Cousins have a vast amount of DS knowledge, so I'm hoping that someone here can offer up an interesting backstory on this particular bit of casting.

Regards,

John

[MagnusTrask]

Others more knowledgeable than I will tell you that Dan Curtis seemed to like Roger Davis as an actor, and so shoehorned him into storylines.   That's hardly the only situation like that, though, where an actor reappears and a big unnecessary fuss is made over his/her resemblance to the earlier character.   These red herrings or wolf-cryings, or whatever, are always irritating.

[Joeytrom]

Being so close to 1897 and as was stated Ned Stuart was a minor character, they really should have gotten another actor to play the part.  It's unfortunate DC liked him so much, he played too many characters IMHO on D S. 

He plays 2 characters in 1897 with the second appearing only two weeks after the first was written out and no one mentions any resemblance at all!

Once Peter & Vicky were gone from the story, so should he have been gone from DS.

[MagnusTrask]

...no one mentions any resemblance at all!

Exactly as it should be.   Davis was an actor playing two different roles.   Think of how much air time was wasted on characters puzzling over these sorts of resemblances!

[spoiler]I like crazy Dirk, and especially crazy Tate.   Tate in general is a pretty good RC character I think, passable anyway.   Jeff Clark is almost as bad as Ned.[/spoiler]

[tragic bat]

Ned Stuart definitely could have been played by someone else--watching it recently I wondered if the police would buy that he was just a random mirror image, as I seem to remember jeff clark was under suspicion of certain crimes when he departed.  They could even have put him in a wig, makeup, and funky costume, ala what was done to create Sandor and Magda in 1897; he didn't have to look exactly the same.  

There was something satisfying in RD's Tate character--[spoiler]he played well the dejected, violated, discarded 'boy' of Petofi.  [/spoiler]

[michael c]

claude...

this subject has come up here several times recently. i've always been a proponent of the RD-had-a-two-year-contract theory(he appears on the series from early 1968-early 1970)but others more knowledgable(as magnus pointed out)will insist DC liked him so much he had him written into every storyline possible whether it made sense or not thus RD'S absurd preponderance of roles.

yes the ned stuart casting seems to be the most ridiculous given jeff clark's recent departure and so close to the upcoming 1897 parts. unlike chameleon thayer david's immersion in each of his numerous characterizations davis looks and acts virtually the same with each simmering performance. if anything he seems to grow more belligerent over time but that could be in part due to the overheated acting style that typifies the program after 1795. i actually think he's sort of sweet as peter bradford in 1795 and him and alexandra sort of cute together(his only role i can take)but as soon as he shows up as jeff clark in 1968 he drives me insane. across that year the sense of dissonance between his and alexandra's acting styles(her placidness contrasted to his abrasiveness)becomes palpable. hasn't the DS rumor mill always churned out that she disliked working with him intensely?

but yeah i think ned was the worst.

[michael c]

on another note...

over the series' five year run only about two dozen actors dominated with each generally playing numerous roles.

sometimes it mattered that two characters looked exactly alike(jeff clark/peter bradford,cassandra/angelique)and sometimes it didn't(jeff clark/ned stuart,jeb hawkes/sebastian shaw). how the writers decided when it meant something and when it didn't is anyone's guess. sometimes the resemblance was noted by everyone(ned)and other times not given a second thought by anyone(eve/megan todd)and again who knows why it was decided it wasn't important.

it should be noted too that last time this subject came up it was pointed out that had davis not left the series a romantic role opposite kathryn leigh scott was planned for 1970. yikes!

[Lydia]

As I understand it, 1897 was not supposed to be nearly as long as it ended up being; its length was extended because of its popularity.  I imagine that the original vision of 1897 did not include Tate, and that the writers planned to bring Ned Stuart back upon the show's return to 1969.  I daresay, however, that Stuart was never a popular character, so that plans to continue with his character were eagerly abandoned in favor of the other available character for Roger Davis.

Here's another question: why was Lisa Richards not used in 1897?

[Patti Feinberg]

it should be noted too that last time this subject came up it was pointed out that had davis not left the series a romantic role opposite kathryn leigh scott was planned for 1970. yikes!

Did RD 'leave' DS? Does anyone know why?

[Gothick]

He left to do an adventure series called Alias Smith and Jones.  I think it's out on disc now.

G.

[Patti Feinberg]

I had thought S&J was prior to DS...thanks beloved !

Patti

[quentincollins]

I wonder if the romantic role opposite KLS was planned to be Sebastian Shaw? I don't think Roger Davis would've been as well suited for the hippy/flower child role as Chris Pennock was, but the role and timing are right.