(The following synopsis was written by Geoffrey Hamell, published in "The Eagle Hill Sentinel" Issue # 1, June, 1985.)
A Bad Brake for Roger (June-August, 1966)
Victoria Winters leaves her teaching position at the New York foundling home where she was raised to accept a mysterious job offer from a stranger - Elizabeth Collins Stoddard. Vicki believes she will find the truth about her parentage at Collinwood; what she finds is a household haunted by long-kept secrets. Elizabeth hasn't left the estate since her husband's mysterious disappearance 18 years ago. The absence of Roger Collins' wife is equally unexplained, as is the lack of any servants but the menacing Matthew Morgan. And Roger's son, David Collins, who Vicki was hired to tutor, seems determined to be rid of her. The reappearance of Burke Devlin, absent from Collinsport for ten years, instills fear in Roger and Sam Evans, who are sure the now-wealthy Burke is plotting revenge against them - but we aren't yet told why. Vicki's search for her identity is quickly almost lost in the profusion of mysteries at Collinwood.
Very soon after Burke's return, Roger is almost killed in a car accident, which proves to have been caused by someone tampering with his brake system. Roger is positive Burke is responsible, and tries to have him arrested - but, after weeks of tension and recriminations, Vicki finds the missing bleeder valve in David's dresser drawer! Panicking, David attempts to plant the evidence in Burke's hotel suite, but changes is mind when he finds that Burke wants to be his friend. Confronted by Roger, David reluctantly confesses: seeing a letter sent to Vicki from the foundling home, he had thought they were planning to send him there, and hoped his father's death would prevent it. Elizabeth hushes the matter up, reminding the outraged Roger that it's her house and she gives the orders. Despite David's threat to "get even", Liz persuades the shaken Vicki to stay.
This first storyline is also the series' shortest - only about six weeks - and is devoted more to establishing the series' original characters and format than to seriously advancing the plot. Actually, the plot does not "advance" so much as "creep"; having established a number of central mysteries, the writers clearly hoped to get as much mileage out of them as possible. This slow pace would prove very detrimental to the series' early ratings.
Another weakness of the original format is that ever-innocent Vicki is the only sympathetic major character. The Collins family we first meet are not very nice company - Roger is a skulking villain, David a would-be fratricide, Liz an intimidating figure of mystery. Carolyn Stoddard, Joe Haskell and Maggie Evans are hardly prominent enough to provide much relief. The day when we would root for the Collinses against the forces of evil was far off - at this stage they seemed to be those forces of evil!
These first weeks can be viewed almost as a prelude to the first major plot - a period when producers, writers, and cast alike were feeling their way, getting an idea of just what the show was going to be. Maggie's hair went mysteriously from blonde to auburn; the estate went from "Collins House" in the pre-show advertising to "Collinwood" in the first episode. The original Sam and Matthew would be quickly replaced by new actors. It would take time for things to gel.
But it was a beginning.
Credits and characters of Story 1
Portrait Gallery for Story 1
