Tuesday, April 21, 2009

THE FARMER'S DAUGHTER'S DAUGHTER?

A lot of times, when imagining the "life" in the TV Universe for characters from TV shows that have been cancelled, I sometimes take it years down the road, and sometimes even to the next generation. My latest rumination along these lines came about while looking at how old TV shows integrated the commercial into the actual show (especially after seeing an episode of 'Martin Kane, Private Eye' last week!), combined with my enjoyment of actress Megyn Price. (She's on 'Rules of Engagement' now, which I don't watch, but I loved her in 'Lateline' and 'Grounded For Life'.) A few months back I wrote an appreciation of the late actress Inger Stevens, and it occurred to me that Megyn Price could pass muster as the genetic daughter of Ms. Stevens' Katy Holstrum Morley and her husband Glenn Morley from 'The Farmer's Daughter'.

'The Farmer's Daughter' ended its run in 1965; Inger Stevens died in 1970; and Megyn Price was born in 1971. Only that last date would matter, as it is Toobworld policy to consider the actor's real age to be the same for the character they play (unless specifically noted otherwise). As for the other two real world dates, they don't apply to Toobworld: like I said, "life" continues for the characters, and those characters can outlive the actors who portrayed them. When 'The Farmer's Daughter' ended its four season run, Katy and the Congressman (whose family may have made its money from Toobworld's own brand of cigarettes) were now married, and she adopted his two sons. But perhaps, five years down the road from when the series left the air, Katy gave birth to a daughter.

I'm not saying any such child has to be a character that Megyn Price has already played on television - last names and mentions of family relations would play hob with that idea, especially with her character on 'Rules of Engagement'. (And we met her father on 'Grounded For Life'.) I'd have to watch my copy of 'Lateline' again, but it would be neat to imagine her character in that (Gale Ingersoll) as being the Morleys' daughter.

As for that particualar name change? A former marriage perhaps?

However, it's much simpler to just imagine that the character exists, that she looks like Megyn Price, and that we never got the chance to actually see her on TV.

And if her mother did die young and was thus unable to provide the governance needed for a proper upbringing, it might explain the wild behavior of her later years as an "adult"...... BCnU!
Toby O'B

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