The "Gak" Factor Of Roger Davis

[Maybellique]

I've noticed that on many of the boards I'm on, a lot of ppl just don't like Roger Davis. Even on this one there doesn't seem to be a soul on his side. Now, come on, I'm a Jeff basher, myself. In fact, I think I should be president of the anti-jeff club. But is there anyone here who does like him? And what about those who don't? Why don't you like him? I've heard various explanations. Some say he's straight out a jerk, while others say he's kind of nice. But I've never met him in person. So, let's hear your explanations!

I, myself, hate Jeff Clark b/c he [spoiler]killed Willie in "HODS"[/spoiler]

Other than that, Jeff Clark was flat out annoying. Especially all the hair touching and the orgasmic expressions. But the latter makes for GREAT SPLICING!!! ~DJ

[Gothick]

I've wondered this for years--whether Roger Davis and/or his characters have any fans.

I figure there must be at least a few, somewhere.  But where?

G.

[CrazyJenny]

My husband is watching DS for the first time and we just got into his episodes.  He likes him a little as an actor.  As far as in person, I think he likes to talk during Q&A's at the fest and I've noticed from what little experience I have with him that he seems to be more normal and almost soft spoken in smaller groups.

[PennyDreadful]

 I thought Charles Delaware Tate was a pretty cool character.  Peter Bradford was ok too IMO.  I certainly don't hate Davis' performances on DS, but Jeff could definitely be annoying at times.
[spoiler]  I thought it was kind of amusing that they made him Dr. Lang's unwilling "Igor" for awhile.[/spoiler]

     I never met him in person.  From what I've seen/heard in interviews he seems like a wisecracking, funny type of guy, and definitely a "pay attention to me! pay attention to me!" performer type (but this was just my impression, I could be wrong).
     
~Penny Dreadful~

[Cassandra Blair]

Truth be told, I actually kind of like Roger Davis as Peter Bradford in the 1795 storyline.  Dare I say that he seemed to me the best match for Vicki of any of the men they paired her with on the show?   Once they brought the character to 1968 as "Jeff Clark," he is annoying as hell, and the hair touching becomes out of control! 

I think he does kind of a good job with Dirk Wilkins too.  I'm not fond of the character, but then, he's not really supposed to be likeable, is he?  [spoiler]It's fun seeing him slave for mean old Laura the Phoenix.[/spoiler]

Nate (?) or whatever he's called when he plays Sabrina's brother is pretty assy character, like Jeff.  But as Penny Dreadful mentioned, Charles Delaware Tate is a decent character, despite the fact that he functions as a kind of plot contrivance.  There was a weird undercurrent to his relationship with Petofi that he and Thayer David played nicely, IMO.

Not having ever been to the fests or met him under any other circumstances, I don't have any opinion about Roger Davis himself.

[PennyDreadful]

Nate (?) or whatever he's called when he plays Sabrina's brother is pretty assy character, like Jeff.

 Ned Stuart. He was a real hothead, that one.   

[Barnabas'sBride]

I've never liked him, even as his first character of Peter Bradford. I don't have anything against the actor (though some of his acting did annoy me quite a bit ). I've just never liked any of his characters. Charles Tate is probably his best character to me. All of the others I pretty much despised. Perhaps if Jeff Clark hadn't appeared in the present time, then I wouldn't dislike Peter Bradford as much I do.

[Maybellique]

Interesting. I probably wouldn't have despised him as much if he hadn't done what he did in "HODS". Then again...  ~DJ

[michael c]

the character of peter bradford(in 1795)didn't bother me but when r.d. became jeff clark in 1968 he wore on my nerves intensely.too bossy.too angry.too yucky.

[Luciaphile]

I know next to nothing about the actor as a person so I really can't comment.

[rant]What I do know is that I hate each and every one of his characters. Each and every one of them. Peter and Jeff are the same. Arrogant creeps who shout incessantly, inanely, and often insanely. Ned is just Peter and Jeff squared. Then there's what? Dirk? Dirk's another creep. Different kind of creep, but a creep nonetheless. DDT? (sorry CDT) yeah, another creep. Different shades of the same color. Now that's not entirely the actor's fault. He plays as he's directed and as he's written so there's plenty of blame to spread around. But OTOH, Mr. Davis seems to push his female co-stars around an awful lot and then there's the hair touching. Somewhere, somehow, he got the idea that if he mauled his receding locks it could translate for rage, for joy, for frustration, for mental decomposure.[/rant]

All I know is I'm way back in 1966 watching the early, early episodes when they defined edge-of-your-seat drama as discovering fountain pens in various places, and there's this looming dread in the back of my mind. Those of you who know me probably think I'm fearing the arrival of Barnabas or Angelique. Ha! No, what I keep thinking is oh, dear god in heaven, all too soon Roger "Henry Fonda UltraLite" Davis will be on those damn tapes and I'm not going to be able to fast forward through it all 

[stefan]

I actually liked Peter Bradford. I thought he was a great match for Vickie. I found him to be straight-forward, honest, quiet, reflective and sensitive and the only one to figure out Angelique was the witch, that's got to count for something. It's only after watching Jeff Clark I got bored with the character. By that time Roger Davies took on some bad acting choices such as shrill yelling, flat vocal tones and he lost the quiet sensitivity of his earlier work as Peter Bradford.

I got real disqusting with Roger Davies after I read a transcript from a DS festival where he poked fun at JF's acting abilities. He said something about jonathan Frid staring at the monitor during a love scene to KLS. It still gets me angry when I think about it.

[Sandor]

Roger Davis' characters never did much for me, but I had a personal encounter with the actor-turned-real-estate-developer at a DS Convention a few years back, and here was my take:
a group of us from Grayson's Legion were waiting in line for the Sunday night banquet to begin, and Roger Davis wandered by into the empty dining room. Moments later he emerged back in the lobby, and I thought, "Sandor, you love Don Briscoe - whose shied away from these conventions - and Roger was a good friend of Don's. Go over and ask him a few questions about the beautiful Briscoe. Roger will either be a jerk because you're not asking about "his" career, or he'll be forthcoming. Well, Davis was extremely polite, candid, and thoughtful about  memories of Don (who was still alive at the time). I had newfound respect for Mr. Davis... up until he showed his incongruent real estate video to the dropped jaws of DS convention-goers. I wish he'd intercut it with shots of Dirk Wilkins' final moments in the crypt. And this is the guy once married to lovely Jaclyn "Charlie's Angels" Smith?!

[TERRY308]

I too hate everyone of his characters.  Ranting and raving all over the place.  
Pulling his hair and if your unlucky, your hair too.
Yelling at Nora and making babies cry.
Getting  into a fights with Quentin..(.Quentin won of course.)

And then these's yelling, and it's not sometimes yelling.  It's all the time yelling.  Yelling at Vicki, Roger, Elizabeth, Quentin, Angelique, Rachael, Barnabas and the Reverend Trask for Gods sake.  I know my eardrums were bleeding, I can't even imagine what the other actors felt.

I don't know Roger Davis and I don't think it's all his fault.  Like Luciaphil says, "He plays as he's directed"  But oh my God....I don't think his characters are "right" for him.  

[ClaudeNorth]

I always felt bad for Alexandra Moltke whenever she had to do a love scene with RD.  All that groping!  He certainly didn't play those scenes with tenderness or gentleness.

IMHO, he lacks that certain je ne sais quoi of which most of the other cast members had an abundance.  He seems generic, and generic doesn't work in the DS universe, especially alongside such distinct personalities as Grayson Hall, Jonathan Frid, and Thayer David.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I, myself, hate Jeff Clark b/c he [spoiler]killed Willie in "HODS"[/spoiler]

Well, you know - I've always had the hope that [spoiler]vampire-bat-Barn, who flew away during the end credits, actually caught up to Jeff and Maggie before they were able to escape, he was able to follow through with his plans for Maggie, thus restoring himself, and then he and the newly vamped Maggie/Josette "disposed" of Jeff in the most horrible way possible.  [/spoiler]
But maybe that's just me.