AS SEEN ON TV: VICTORIAN RECASTAWAYS
Two previously featured historical figures from the early years of Queen Victoria's reign.......
AS PLAYED BY:
Noel Willman
AS PLAYED BY:
Patience Collier
AS SEEN IN (FOR BOTH):
'Edward The King'
Both roles have been featured in the ASOTV showcase before: Baron Von Stockmar and Baroness Lehzen were shown as they appeared in the two-part TV movie "Victoria & Albert", played by David Suchet and Dame Diana Rigg, respectively. And so the links will provide the previously posted information on their roles in the Court of Queen Victoria.
Since the Wikipedia info-nuggets usually found in the showcase can be found elsewhere, we can instead examine the role of historical recastaways in the TV Universe......
The problem of recasting an historical figure causes the most problems for Toobworld Central when it comes to their appearances in regular TV series. As a good example, consider one of the main characters in both 'Edward The King' and "Victoria & Albert" - Queen Victoria. It would be the desire of Toobworld Central to keep all of the following shows in Earth Prime-Time:
'Bewitched'
'Doctor Who'
'Red Dwarf'
'Voyagers!'
'Cribb'
And yet each of them featured a different actress playing the part of Queen Victoria.
We finally had to make like Slartibartfast, where "the only thing to do is to say, 'Hang the sense of it' and accept them all, with the proviso that for the most part, the differences between portrayals of historical figures in TV series was due to the audience seeing them through the filter of Time as well as the memory of some character. For the most part.....
It's not the most perfect solution, but 'twill serve.
By the way, it would be the portrayal of Queen Victoria by Prunella Scales in three different TV productions which is the official version for Earth Prime-Time.
As for the many recastaways for characters like Queen Victoria, Marilyn Monroe, Presidents Kennedy, Lincoln, and Washinton, etc. that can be found in TV movies and mini-series, there are plenty of alternate TV dimensions, thanks to the basic premise of 'Sliders' for each of them to find a home away from Earth Prime-Time.
But TV characters, even the historical ones, are like digital Colorforms - to be moved from one diorama to another, especially when it comes to populating the perfect Toobworld.
For instance, in this example we're going to use "Bertie", the son of Queen Victoria who had to wait so long to become King. We're accepting Timothy West's portrayal of 'Edward The King' to be the official version of the royal role. We also accept Francesca Annis as Lillie Langtry to be the official portrayal of the actress* and Bertie's mistress, since she not only played the role in 'Edward The King', but in her own mini-series as well. However, in 'Lillie', the role of Bertie was played by Dennis Lill, so he would be sent off to an alternate TV dimension.
As for our featured historical figures of today? There it is a mandate based on personal preference. I'm a big fan of David Suchet and - Homina Thrice! - Dame Diana Rigg, and therefore it is their portrayals of Baron Von Stockmar and Baroness Lehzen which are the "official" portraits in the main Toobworld gallery.
Like I said, it's not the perfect solution, but since the Toobworld concept is my sandbox, I get the final say on the action figures. (I learned at an early age never to get sand on my Colorforms.....)
Anyhoo.... Two for Tuesday!
BCnU!
*While she was alive - for Lillie Langtry as the undead vampiress in the TV series "Kindred: The Embraced", we also accept Stacy Haiduk in the role. (The splainin is that she was somehow physically altered by her "embrace" into the Kindred......)
