Another World

[j swift]

Well, one of Marley's defining characteristics were her bangs.  So, how would the fans know who she was without them?

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That being said, they seemed to have dropped the premise early on that Marley spoke in breathy, falsetto tones, and Vicki was a baritone.

Edited September 5, 2024 by j swift

[Soaplovers]

Maybe Marley could have worn her hair in a pony tail or french braid..something understated and classic.  

[Contessa Donatella]

As long as Anne was playing the twins, she used specifically different voices. It seems to me that Ellen Wheeler did, too. But, I don't think Jensen ever did. 

[Mona Kane Croft]

I don't think Marley literally had to have bangs to be recognized.  Didn't they drop the bangs (and the wig) later in Anne Heche's run, when Marley was dating Jamie?   And did Jensen Buchanan play Marley with bangs every time she played her?  I honestly don't remember, because Jensen's Vicki also had bangs some of the time.  

And regarding the voice -- I certainly think Anne Heche played Marley with a breathy voice.  Perhaps not falsetto, but definitely breathy and different from Vicki's voice.  I don't remember much about Buchanan's Marley.  But I do recall thinking her version of Marley was acceptable, and that she was actually better cast as Marley than as Vicki.   

Yes of course.  Something classic and preppy. Is preppy still a word????  Anything but that wig.  LOL.

Edited September 5, 2024 by Mona Kane Croft

[Contessa Donatella]

Personally I do not in any way, at all, associate Marley with bangs. If she had them some of the time, I'm okay with it. But, I honestly do not think of it as a characteristic. This was news to me. 

Really? To me Jensen's Marley was below par. And, I always thought that her Vicky was probably a lot like Jensen herself because she definitely wasn't like Vicky. I'm still quite amazed when I think about the fact that we could have had Ellen Wheeler for 2/3 of the time that JB played the twins, or at least one of them. 

Sounds like a great idea, but then, I would accept any alternative if it meant not having that awful wig. 

[Xanthe]

I think Jensen's Marley typically had the bangs pinned back to differentiate her. Jensen's Vicky had the bangs down.

I remember being assured that Anne Heche's Marley wig had been exceedingly expensive and was good quality. But it looked so STIFF and unconvincing next to Anne's own hair on Vicky.  

[Contessa Donatella]

Expensive? Quality?!!! Okay, if you say so, but it was hideous. Every fan I know hated it. 

[j swift]

Yes, courtesy of AWHP

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Jensen's Vicki was such a shadow of her former self during the baby switch, with all the damsel in distress stuff, that it was almost as she merged the two personalities of Marley and Vicki into one character.

[Contessa Donatella]

Now, that actually makes Jensen's twins make sense to me! 

[chrisml]

I didn't like the Rose/Lily thing on ATWT. Found it immensely annoying. 

As for Justine, I'm all for campy stories, but this one just depended on the audience having amnesia and characters being absolutely stupid. It seems emblematic of AW in its last years:  a storyline that insults the audience at every turn. I can't determine who was the EP when it started. Was it Valente or JFP who helmed the show when the storyline was going on? I'm always ready to blame JFP but I don't want to do so if it were not her.

re: Marley. I thought Jensen Buchanan was terrible as Marley and Vicky. She took every inch of life out of Marley. I'll take Heche's terrible wig over anything Buchanan did. I can't think of a more dull actress than Buchanan who managed to get nominated for an Emmy.  I'm sure there are more during the time the Emmies mattered, but Buchnaan was such a dud in my eyes. Didn't like her on AW. Thought she was a waste on GH (as did most viewers) and I have no memory of her YR.

[Mona Kane Croft]

Really? Expensive and good quality? That is interesting information.  To me, the wig looked like something they picked up from a novelty shop on 42nd Street.  It looked like yak hair to me.     

[Contessa Donatella]

I'm used to being the only person in any group who is critical of Jensen. Your post is so refreshing to me!

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This picture popped up in my Facebook memories today. Linda Dano posted it. This is her place & people from the show gathering to celebrate Carmen Duncan, who had just died. 

[Mona Kane Croft]

Oh, I can be critical of Jensen too.  I thought from day-one she was miscast as Vicki. And as the months went by, Jensen's Vicki lost more and more of her edge -- essentially making Vicki too Marley-esque.  

On the other hand, Jensen was popular with the viewers (at least that's the general wisdom). So she did have some appeal -- apparently enough appeal to become the young female romantic lead on AW for nearly her entire run.  

I never thought Jensen was a bad actress, but simply miscast as Vicki.  She might have been better cast as an older Sally Frame (I know Sally was dead); or an older Nancy McGowen; or a de-aged Marianne Randolph.  Or how about just casting her as Marley??  Jensen just didn't have the "bite" to play a spicy bad-girl like Vicki.    

Edited September 6, 2024 by Mona Kane Croft

[DRW50]

Jensen's gotten quite a lot of criticism here over the years. She was more popular in the day, but even at the time SOD named her worst recast. She did seem to just transfer Marley onto Vicky. The main period where I felt like she was actually playing Vicky again, briefly, was around the time Richard Culliton came back as headwriter in early 1998 and returned Vicky to pariah status along with her having the rivalry with Lila.

Edited September 6, 2024 by DRW50

[j swift]

Looking back, I wonder if part of the issue was the need to differentiate between Vicki and Paulina?

They were both formerly bad girls from wealthy families.  Jake and Grant were in love with both women.  They were both in love with law enforcers.  And they were similar aged leading women.  Which creates a redundancy. 

So, maybe after the recasts, the writers and production played into the physical differences between the two actresses.  Vicki grew into a perpetual victim plagued princess.  And Paulina became a middle-class gal who was freed from avarice due to the love of a man.

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Because these two women are not playing the same character. 

 

 

Whereas, Rachel, Iris, and Felicia were recognizable no matter who wrote them, or what circumstances they faced.  Note: I did not add Donna whose motives and core values changed so much over time, that she bore no resemblance to original character, except that they looked similar. 

Edited September 6, 2024 by j swift