If Alexandra hadn't left the series

[Shadowsfan]

How would that have changed the storylines from 1897 on if Alexandra hadn't left and Victoria Winters still dwelled among the Collins family?  

[michael c]

i have thought that it would have been interesting if vicki,like julia,discovers that barnabas is a vampire and,like julia,works with him.since vicki and barnabas are fond of each other she would not reveal his secret and he in turn would not kill her.barnabas/julia/vicki could have made a cool "mystery-solving" team and vicki could have maintained the "nancy drewish" qualities she had early on and not become so victimized.but alas it was not to be....

[Raineypark]

barnabas/julia/vicki could have made a cool "mystery-solving" team

Hmmmmm.....somehow I can't quite picture Dr. Hoffman tolerating that  cozy little arrangement.....  

[Miss_Winthrop]

Hmmmmm.....somehow I can't quite picture Dr. Hoffman tolerating that  cozy little arrangement.....  

The tension between them could prove to be quite interesting IMO.

[Gothick]

As has been posted many times, in RL Alexandra was sick and tired of "I don't understand" (to the point where she complained about Vicki's cluelessness in a 1968 Saturday Evening Post article about the series).  She wanted to play a new character and was hoping to play a villainness.  Perhaps she would have been cast in a role somewhat along the lines of the original conception of the Lady Kitty Soames character from 1897.

The other thing that was going on was that DC was contemplating doing a Rosemary's Baby storyline and wanted to line Vicki up as DS' answer to Mia Farrow.  When Alex got pregnant for real, she simply exited the show.

I think she did a pilot or a TV movie about a year after DS, but the details elude me.  It seems a shame that she stopped acting.  If you watch the 1966 episodes, you'll see just how talented she is.

G.

[danfling]

I had never heard that Ms. Moltke had made a pilot or anything else on film after Dark Shadows!

I wish I knew more about this.

[Gothick]

It was called Certain Honorable Men and the date stamp on it is 1968, so perhaps she did it during a break from DS.   It had a distinguished cast--Peter Fonda, Will Geer, and Pat Hingle, amongst others.  My old reliable friend the IMDB gives the skinny:

http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0173717/

You'll notice that she was billed here as Alexandra Isles, her married name.

Good luck tracking it down!

G.

[stefan]

i have thought that it would have been interesting if vicki,like julia,discovers that barnabas is a vampire and,like julia,works with him

It seems that in many ways, the character of Julia Hoffman took over the "outside observer and helpmate" to the Collins' family that Vickie had filled, after Alexander M left. There are some similarities except that Dr. Hoffman was regulated to Barnabas mostly. I was personally not much of a Dr. Hoffman fan once she fell for Barnie and followed him around like a puppy dog, enabling him left and right.

[MsCriseyde]

It was called Certain Honorable Men and the date stamp on it is 1968, so perhaps she did it during a break from DS.   It had a distinguished cast--Peter Fonda, Will Geer, and Pat Hingle, amongst others.

Somewhere on one of the DS DVDs or videos, Alexandra Isles briefly refers to working on this. She talks about being out and about with Peter Fonda and people recognizing her as Victoria Winters and not seeming to notice him.

[Patti Feinberg]

I guess because she never got to play anyone else (same as JF, except the end), I've never thought of A. Moltke as anyone else...and, I guess I'm glad she left.

She didn't seem to have the range as Nancy Barrett; of course, we can't mention her in the same breath as Grayson or Ms. Bennett.

IMHO ,

Patti

[michael c]

i've too always heard that alex was frustrated playing only one role(vicki).but that strikes me as odd because she left the show before it really started to travel back and forth in time on a consistent basis.the only other time period she played in is 1795 and it was vicki herself whom was sent there to witness the events of that year.in the present day eps. almost all the actors play the same roles(liz,carolyn,julia,maggie,etc.).if she had stayed with the show through it's other time travel stories the writers would have had to create characters for her.

[Nancy]

Since some actors played the same role or the same kind of roles on the series, we really don't know what their acting range could have been since they did not get that opportunity.  Such performers could have very well have been every bit as good as Nancy Barrett or Thayer David. They were fortunate in getting the varied roles on the series and being able to strutt their stuff.  Grayson Hall got the chance with Magda.  Frid later created one man shows in which he played twelve or more characters in a two hour period from little boys, to PMSing teenagers, a heart-broken woman and murderers moving between such varied characters within a 10 minute period - all quite convincingly.

There was probably a lot more talent to the actors we dont appreciate as much because we only saw one facet of their acting.

nancy

I guess because she never got to play anyone else (same as JF, except the end), I've never thought of A. Moltke as anyone else...and, I guess I'm glad she left.

She didn't seem to have the range as Nancy Barrett; of course, we can't mention her in the same breath as Grayson or Ms. Bennett.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

if she had stayed with the show through it's other time travel stories the writers would have had to create characters for her.

I don't know if that's necessarily true. The rationale that DC used after AM approached him about possibly returning to the show as another character was that he felt very strongly that the audience wouldn't accept her as ANY character other than Vicki. (Personally, I don't subscribe to that notion because I think it would have been great to see her play another character - particularly one with a dark side.) And with DC thinking the way he did, it does seem doubtful that, even if she'd stayed with the show, AM would have been allowed to play a different character. In which case there are two possibilities: 1) the storylines would have probably been very different if Vicki had figured fairly prominently in, say, the 1897 and 1840 flashbacks, or 2) perhaps AM might have remained on the show in a part time capacity, in which case Vicki/AM might have been completely off the show while those two storylines played out. 

[michael c]

but mysterious, the 1897 story lasted nine months, would dan curtis allow alex,a contracted player,to collect a paycheck for that long without using her in some capacity.ditto 1840.what was it about vicki,as opposed to carolyn or maggie,that made him feel as though the audience would only accept her as such.since she was with the show from it's first minute,wouldn't audiences tune in to see what she was up to as opposed to never seeing her again.i'd think d.c. would recognize the curiosity factor/ratings boost her reappearance would cause.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

but mysterious, the 1897 story lasted nine months, would dan curtis allow alex,a contracted player,to collect a paycheck for that long without using her in some capacity.ditto 1840.

As I said, if AM had remained with the show, those two storylines would have been very different if Vicki had been a part of them. Or else AM might have returned from her maternity leave as an off-contract player and simply appeared as Vicki whenever the story called for her.

what was it about vicki,as opposed to carolyn or maggie,that made him feel as though the audience would only accept her as such.

Only DC knows that. I wouldn't even attempt to try to figure out his thinking - especially when I don't agree with it. 

i'd think d.c. would recognize the curiosity factor/ratings boost her reappearance would cause.

If you mean DC would have liked Vicki/AM to return to the show, he probably would have. But AM was adamant that she didn't want to play Vicki. And DC was adamant that the audience wouldn't accept her as another character. So, in the end, AM never returned.