Another World

[Mona Kane Croft]

Jensen and the writers turned Vicky into AW's female romantic lead, which was great for Jensen, but not good for the character.  Vicky should have remained a bad-girl causing trouble for other characters, as Rachel had done for many years.  Jensen's version of Vicky behaved more like Marley, in my opinion.  Then when Marley returned full-time, the writers had to make her bonkers, because there was no room for another "good" twin -- Vicky was, by then, the good one.   

[chrisml]

Hit the nail on the head. Buchanan was not the right fit for Vicky. She also was a terrible Marley and her Vicky lacked any of the qualities that Wheeler and Heche brought to Vicky. She turned her into a typical soap heroine. I would have preferred (at the time) that they killed off Vicky and saved Frankie who had so much more potential. With Buchanan playing her, Vicky was a bore.

[Soaplovers]

Didn't Jensen basically play a Marley esque character on OLTL?  It could explain why she was a better Marley than Vicky.... the only problem was that she fell into the same trap that Wheeler/Heche did when they first started playing dual roles... by putting all the personality and fire into Vicky with leaving nothing left for Marley.  Of the three, Heche was the only one that eventually gave equal time/focus on playing Vicky/Marley as more than just a good twin/bad twin.  Her Marley was more reserved with an air of elegance (being raised by the Love's).. while her Vicky was softened.. but still an emotional hot wire with none of the elegance in speech that Marley had.

[Contessa Donatella]

AW was an ATWT not a sister soap.

 

Edited January 4, 2020 by Donna B
Writing for Daytime Drama by Jean Rouverol. © 1992. "Use the core family as a focal point."

[Contessa Donatella]

Another World's Constance Ford was remembered with small candles put up by friends and fans who felt a great loss when she died (Ada) on February 26 at the age of 69. Remembered as a tough but compassionate woman who never failed to tell it like it was, she will definitely be missed.

[kelly1142]

 

That is a great description. I just watched a lot of 1991 and Anne’s Marley did have an elegance about her.

[j swift]

I abhor the soap-trope of bitchy women made good by the love of a man (or the birth of a child) and that's what ruined Vicky's character for me. Because of that, I am glad that Cecile was never made into an ingenue.  She was a mean and vindictive woman, who conned her own mother, as well as every man she ever tried to marry.  Taming Cecile would have resulted in the same boring effect that befell poor Blaine.  

 

Blaine, Cecile, and Vicky had logical reasons for their schemes which gave them their own routing value.  The types of reasons that can only be written in a genre like soaps that tells stories everyday over a long period of time.  They were beyond good or evil.  They were complex women who felt constrained by their circumstances. 

 

Cecile was an excellent editor who really wanted her own base of power, but without the education of Jamie, or the social connections of Pat, she felt like she was never going to succeed at Cory Publishing. She wanted stability and her mother taught her that only comes from marrying into a wealthy family.  However, she was conflicted by the instability of her father's wealth, based on his own con artistry, which resulted in her anxiety that she could never truly rely on a man.  Vicky was not given the same opportunities as her twin purely by chance.  If she had grown up in the Love Mansion, then she would have been given the same privileges as Marley, but she was randomly placed in Lassiter beyond her control.   And Blaine wanted more out of life than living on a dude ranch, but felt stuck there by family obligations. These are relatable motivations with which most soap fans can identify, even if they weren't switched at birth, terrorized by a woman dressed as a rag doll, or had their art deco-themed yacht wedding ruined by their fiance's almost death. 

 

Watching a character living life plotted by a writer is similar to the feeling that many of us have had that our fate is beyond our control.  During our darkest days we can feel as if we are just unlucky or that life is happening to us, rather than the result of choices that we've made.  We forget that every passing minute is a chance to turn it all around. 

 

So, to punish these characters in order to make them more likable seemed as if the soap misunderstood their audience.  The same audience who commercials are constantly trying to fill with hope of fortunes made by suing companies regarding vaginal mesh, being a model (or just looking like one), or becoming a dental hygienist overnight.  People stuck at home during the day can relate to a woman who feels undervalued and underappreciated, and "curing" those needs by some prince charming is not always the magical ending that we want.

Edited January 6, 2020 by j swift

[ScottyBman]

You are 100% correct.  The problem with this lies in the fact that if there is not some "redemption" it is more difficult to continue to write these characters into the canvas and still be "realistic".  At some point, one wonders why the bitches, for lack of a better term are still included.  In real life, we may let someone into our lives that have done us wrong, but at some point it has to give.  Their schemes and intentions are more obvious and more difficult to be welcomed and included in the lives of the other characters on the canvas.  So one has to knock them down a peg or redeem them to keep them as viable to the interactions of the others.

 

Often times, these types find love as redemption.  Sometimes they "leave town" to reposition them for future stories.

 

And too, we do grow.  I often say as a middle aged person, I would not want to be judged by the man I was in my 20's and 30's.  

 

But to your point, they are the characters that make things happen, bring a little excitement to our normal lives and make the stories more interesting.  

[pdm1974]

I agree that Vicky became very watered down when played by JB. I thought she lost all of that "sprak" the character had before. She became another generic romantic lead.

 

Didn't JB refuse to play Marley after a bit? That's when it sort of felt like the characters merged into one.

[Contessa Donatella]

Yes.

[Contessa Donatella]

They had a month to wrap things up. No more. They asked for 2 months instead of just one. And, they asked to have Beverlee come in for two days. It was thought that what Bev did when she left GL was a penalty that she paid where they would not let her go to Goutman.

[amybrickwallace]

 

I think it was Gerry Waggett's AW trivia book that said when Jensen's contract came up for renewal in 1994, she'd stay only if she could just play Vicky. Thus Marley moved to China to work with orphans (or something like that).

[kelly1142]

In rewatching 1991, I forgot how much I really liked Matt and Lorna. They had such great chemistry.  I also forgot how much Jamie annoyed me. Yeah he had all the reason to hate Jake but my God he acted like a jealous boyfriend when it came to Paulina not a brother.

[DRW50]

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[kelly1142]

I still hate that they killed off Ryan. That along with the stupid destruction of Jake and Paulina for boring Joe was the straw that made me give up on this show in 1995.