Here Comes Trouble...Again!
By Marla Deborah Cukor
If ANOTHER WORLD's Jensen Buchanan hadn't decided to return to work, Vicky and her two children might have stayed in exile indefinitely.
That's because when the pregnant Buchanan quit the show last April, try as they might, the AW brass couldn't find an actress to replace her and recreate the chemistry she had shared with leading man Paul Michael Valley (Ryan). Hundreds of Vicky-wanna-bes read for the role of the troublesome and troubled heroine. But after months of auditions - with no Vicky in sight - one thing became crystal clear. Nobody, nobody, could do it better than Buchanan.
"I was flattered, yes," says Jensen modestly when asked about the show's inability to find a replacement for the widely popular characters of Vicky and Marley she has played since July 1991. "I would have had a lot of sympathy for whoever took over the part. It's not an easy thing to do."
She knows of what she speaks. Jensen isn't the first woman to play the role of Vicky (that was Ellen Wheeler). Nor is she the second (that was Anne Heche). However, it looks like she is going to be the last. Since she departed, the frontburner storylines she starred in have been left simmering on low. Now as she returns to town towing a devious plan that will trick her ex-husband and allow her to keep her baby in one fell swoop, it looks like Bay City is in for one heck of a welcome home party.
Coming Home
"My first day back was terrifying," admits Jensen, who is now sharing her dressing room with an adorable youngster named Conor O'Brien, the baby boy she gave birth to a little over seven months ago. "I feel a lot of responsibility, because I am concerned about my child and what he's doing. And I also feel a lot of responsibility to the show. I'm really excited about this storyline, and I want it to be good..."
The Real Reason She Returned
"The minute we were standing at the mailbox and opened up this letter that said Gray (her husband) had been accepted to LIU, we both looked at each other and knew that I was probably going to go back to work," says Jensen. "I thought we'd be moving back to Chicago, but as it turned out, the school that was best for my husband was LIU. So that kept us here," she says. "At first it was bittersweet, but now that I'm back, I'm delighted. Plus, I did feel like there was a lot of unfinished business here. I had worked hard to make this part my own. And also, Paul, Mark Pinter (Grant), and I have really developed some good stuff here."
Why Vicky's Other Half Won't Be Hangin' Around
"I'm not going to play Marley anymore. (According to a show spokeswoman, the character of Marley is currently off the canvas and "working in San Francisco.") I just couldn't do it. It's too much work," she says of playing the dual roles. "It's funny, because when I first joined, Marley was the character I loved the most. Now when I came back, I was like, 'I'd love to come back, but I'm only playing Vicky.' I've just grown to love this girl so much," says Jensen. "I love playing her. She is so flawed, but she always means to do the right thing."
On Being A Mom
"It's so much harder in the beginning. Conor is almost five months old now, and its much easier. But in the beginning, it's pretty tough. I called Judi (Evans Luciano, Paulina) one day and said 'Judi, I'm exhausted. I might have to come back to work!'" Jensen's fears of being a stressed-out working mother were partially allayed when the show presented her with a dressing room containing a spare room big enough to turn into Conor's nursery. "I usually bring him to work with me, and the show was so accomodating - so that's made an enormous difference. My first concern about coming back was that at the end of the day, I didn't want to feel like I wasn't doing anything well - not doing my job well and not being a good mother. So the show really bent over backwards to make sure that I was really comfortable here."
Will Conor Ever Pop Up In Vicky's Arms?
"No," she says. "When it's five minutes to eight at night and we are just trying to get that last shot with the baby, and the baby is tired and is really acting up, I don't want it to be my baby. Plus, I don't want to have him under those lights. Also, sometimes you have to do what, to the child, may be scary things - like holding a child and yelling. I remember one time I had to yell at (Vicky's son) Steven, and I think it would be confusing if that was Mommy yelling."
Working With Children...
"Has become much easier. I feel so much more comfortable now. I used to think that babies were sort of breakable in a way, and now I realize that they are very close to indestructible," she laughs, and adds that finding the motivation for Vicky's actions is now a piece of cake. "I think when you have your own child, anything relating to that is much easier. It's right on the front of your face. All you have to do is think about your own child, and (the emotion) comes right up."
On Keeping In Shape
Since having her son, Jensen says she's become more health and diet conscious. "When I got pregnant, I became really disciplined. I'm really short, I'm only 5'2", so ten pounds shows right away. When I found out I was coming back to the show, I went beyond disciplined - I became psychotic. And I went to the gym, religiously, every single day," she says. "It's part of my job; I have to be in shape, it's just that simple, I just look at it that way. When I agreed to come back, I knew I had to be in shape when I got here."
Why Vicky Left Bay City
"I think she felt very desperate and backed into a corner," says Jensen. "She begged Ryan to help her and he wouldn't. It was not her first choice to split, she tried to work it out with Grant, but when she felt like she had no other options, she just ran. I think when a child plays into an issue, a mother will do just about anything. That's kind of how Vicky feels, and that's definitely how she feels about Grant. He isn't even going to know what's hit him."
Has Vicky Changed Since She Fled?
"I think she has changed. Just having been on the road again, and having been alone again, I think maybe we'll see a little bit more of that spirit, that scamming Vicky."
Will Ryan And Vicky Get Married?
"I hope so. It's been three years coming. The audience has been pretty patient. If they are together, I hope they are not the kind that are together, and then break up the minute there is a problem. I don't think that couples that are together have to be boring. You can have struggles within your marriage - highs and lows; that's part of life."