Victoria Winters
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| Victoria Winters | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | 27 June 1966 |
| Last appearance | 20 December 1968 |
| Cause/reason | time travel |
| Portrayed by | Alexandra Moltke |
| Information | |
| Occupation | Governess |
| Spouse(s) | Jeff Clark/Peter Bradford |
| Address | Collinsport, Maine |
Victoria Winters was a fictional character played by Alexandra Moltke, on the cult television ABC-TV Gothic horror soap opera Dark Shadows from 1966-1968. After Moltke left to raise a family in 1968, actresses Betsy Durkin and Carolyn Groves briefly replaced her, before Victoria was written out completely.
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[edit] Arrival and early days
Vicki was the prominent character on Dark Shadows for its first year of existence. For that year, each episode's opening narration began with, "My name is Victoria Winters..."
Vicki had been left at a foundling home in New York City, and thus, never knew her true parents -- although monthly sums of money began to arrive mysteriously when she turned two. Vicki received her surname from the season in which she arrived in New York.
Evidently, Vicki attended some college before accepting the offer of a governess position in Collinsport, Maine. Upon her arrival in Collinsport, she met the brooding Burke Devlin (first played by Mitchell Ryan, later briefly portrayed by Anthony George), with whom she would eventually become romantically involved. During the first episode, she also met a young waitress named Maggie Evans (Kathryn Leigh Scott) at the Collinsport Inn. Although Maggie derided Vicki for accepting the job at the Collinwood estate, the two girls eventually became good friends.
Victoria Winters quickly became indispensable to Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (played by (Joan Bennett), although her initial quest to learn her true identity dismayed the family matriarch. Unsurprisingly, Mrs. Stoddard did not wish Vicki to learn the truth because in all likelihood, Vicki was her illegitimate daughter (although never acknowledged or explained). Vicki also became important as family peacemaker, not to mention a stabilizing influence on Elizabeth's daughter, the rebellious Carolyn Stoddard and on the troubled David Collins, son of Elizabeth's brother, Roger (Louis Edmonds).
Slowly but surely, Vicki managed to form a bond with David. As she grew closer to Burke, she became embroiled in his old feud with the Collins family, all while she attempted to discover her origins. One early plotline involved Roger nearly dying in a car accident due to a part being taken from his car. Burke was a key suspect, but when Roger learned David was the culprit, he dropped the investigation.
When fisherman Bill Malloy began to fight the Collins family due to their business practices, he was murdered. Eventually, Vicky realized the killer was the disturbed caretaker Matthew Morgan (Thayer David). He kidnapped her and planned to kill her, but was frightened to death by the ghosts of Malloy, the Widows (women who had jumped from the cliffs after their husbands died), and Josette du Pres. Josette would later become a key figure in Vicki's life, as well as Dark Shadows history.
Soon after Morgan's death, David's presumed-dead mother, Laura (Diana Millay) arrived, wanting to reunite with her son. Roger was reluctant, but Laura worked her charm on David, who was overjoyed to have a mother again. With the help of Josette's ghost and others, a suspicious Vicki realized Laura was a phoenix who planned to take herself and David to fiery deaths. Vicki saved him just in time. David was safe, the threat was gone, and Burke had settled his vendetta against the Collins family. Things were better than they had been for Vicki in some time, but that was not to last.
[edit] Enter Barnabas Collins
A mysterious man named Jason McGuire arrived in Collinsport and immediately convinced Elizabeth to let him stay at Collinwood. Vicki and the family were shocked, and put on the defensive when his out of control friend Willie Loomis (John Karlen) joined him. Willie soon proved too much for even Jason to put up with and he told Willie to get out of town. Before leaving, Willie opened a secret crypt in the family mausoleum which he hoped would contain jewels. Instead, the figure of Barnabas Collins, a vampire who had been chained up for nearly 200 years, emerged, and bit him. Willie became Barnabas' slave. Barnabas introduced himself to the family as a cousin from England. Vicki was charmed, but more concerned with Jason's hold on Elizabeth. Finally, on their wedding day, Elizabeth could take no more and told everyone that over 18 years prior to Jason's return, she had killed her husband, Paul Stoddard, and Jason had buried his body in the basement. Jason had blackmailed her with this information. However, when they went to the basement, the trunk contained nothing but old clothes. Jason sheepishly revealed that Paul had only been stunned, and Jason had lied to Elizabeth in order to get blackmail money. Elizabeth was furious, and Jason planned to flee town. He tried to rob the Old House, Barnabas' property on Collinwood, and met his end via a set of fangs.
Vicki grew concerned about her friend Maggie, who was withdrawn and moody to everyone around her. Maggie was, in actuality, being enslaved by Barnabas due to her strong resemblance to his true love, Josette du Pres. Barnabas kidnapped her, planning to make her his bride, but with the help of the ghost of his little sister Sarah Collins, Maggie escaped. She was institutionalized and afterwards well-guarded for some months. Barnabas gave up on Maggie and began to pursue Vicki. Burke did not trust Barnabas and began an investigation of him which ended only when Vicki begged him to stop. The men reached an uneasy truce, and she and Burke became engaged before Devlin went on an ill-fated plane trip to South America in 1967. Vicki believed that he had somehow survived when they could not locate Burke's body. With Burke gone, Barnabas began to more actively pursue Vicki.
[edit] Time travel
During the second year of Dark Shadows, Victoria becomes unwittingly involved in Barnabas' sinister plans. After a séance to contact Barnabas' sister, Sarah Collins, Victoria is magically transported to an alternate past in 1795. A time paradox between the year's 1795 and 1967 causes a rift in the timeband; a carriage overturns in 1795, exchanging Victoria with its occupant, Phyllis Wick,[1] a governess hired by Naomi Collins. Victoria arrives at the Old Collins House and meets Collins ancestors who looks just like the family she knows, but with different names and personalities.
During this storyline, the truth behind Barnabas' unwilling transformation into a vampire is revealed. Unfortunately, Victoria makes the mistake of describing the future to the denizens of the past; she is soon seized by the fanatical Reverend Trask and accused of witchcraft. Despite lawyer Peter Bradford's best arguments, Victoria is sentenced to hang in 1796.
Though five months pass for Victoria in the past, Phyllis Wick experiences only five minutes in 1967. Realizing she is from the 18th century, the 20th century Collins family bombards her with questions, but Phyllis soon collapses in pain, and clutching at her throat. At the exact time of Victoria's "execution" she once again changes places with Phyllis, who is hanged in her place.
[edit] 1968, Jeff Clark, Goodbye
When Vicki returned, a worried Barnabas bit her before she could tell anyone of her memories of 1795. He convinced her to elope with him, even though she still had feelings for Peter Bradford. On their way out of town, Vicki and Barnabas were involved in a car accident after seeing a man (Roger Davis) who resembled Peter. After the accident, a Dr. Lang cured Barnabas of his vampirism, and Barnabas' hold over Vicki's mind was gone.
Now known as Jeff Clark, Peter worked for Lang and became involved with Vicki before learning his true identity. Peter/Jeff helped Lang build a Frankenstein-like creature named Adam who tried to kidnap Vicky and make her his monster bride. During this time, Roger's new wife Cassandra (actually Angelique in disguise), created a Dream Curse which one person would pass on to another by telling them the dream. The dream would get worse for each person until finally Barnabas would be told. When Vicki dreamed the dream, she did her best to keep it from Barnabas, but to stop her pain, Barnabas made her tell him. He then had the dream, woke up, and was bitten by a vampire bat, but survived.
After Dr. Lang was killed, Barnabas and his ally Dr. Julia Hoffman were forced to make a mate for Adam. That mate, Eve (Marie Wallace), had the life force of Peter's evil wife from the 18th century. She made him realize his true identity and planned to reunite with him, but Adam strangled her. After finding out he was Peter, Jeff faded away into 1795. A despondent Vicki soon followed. Barnabas rescued them both from the machinations of Reverend Trask and the evil witch Angelique.
Vicki was thought to have lived happily ever after, but in 1970, the ghost of Peter Bradford appeared and told antique store owner Phillip Todd that Vicki had been killed by the Leviathans, the same otherworldly creatures which were battling Barnabas Collins at that time. The ghost tried to convince Todd to destroy the Leviathan leader, Jeb Hawkes. Angelique found out about what was going on and told Peter Bradford to return to his grave, as she was going to get her own vengeance against Jeb and the Leviathans (which she did).
Vicki's position as governess went to the former waitress, Maggie Evans. She was last mentioned in 1970 when the ghost of Gerard Stiles haunted Collinwood. Barnabas asked a possessed David to name the governess he had had before Maggie (David couldn't). They then gave ghost Daphne Harridge, recently come to life, some of Vicki's old clothes to wear.
[edit] 1991 Revival
In the NBC primetime revival of the series, Victoria Winters was played by Joanna Going. The first and only season consisted of a retelling of the early Barnabas and 1795 saga, with the main difference being that this time, Vicki, not Maggie, was the spitting image of Josette.
