Viki and Dorian
Dorian Cramer Lord
Conflict with Viki started: 1973
Actresses:
Nancy Pinkerton (1975–1977)
Dixie Carter (1974) (temporary replacement for Nancy Pinkerton)
Claire Malis (1977–1979)
Robin Strasser (1979–1987, 1993–2000, 2003-2011, 2013)
Elaine Princi (1990–1993)
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History
Dorian and Viki’s decades-long feud began with a misunderstanding. After Dorian lost her medical license following her involvement in the death of patient Rachel Wilson, the Llanview Hospital board considered whether she should be allowed to return. Unknown to Dorian, Viki was the only member of the five-person board who voted in her favor. Convinced that Viki had voted against her, Dorian blamed Viki for the loss of her medical career and vowed revenge.
Their rivalry intensified when Dorian became involved with Viki’s father, Victor Lord, eventually marrying him and becoming Viki’s stepmother. After Victor became seriously ill, Dorian attempted to isolate him from Viki and the rest of his family. When Victor was hospitalized again, he specifically asked to see Viki, but by the time she reached him he was able to say only a few words before collapsing. Victor died without being able to tell Viki what he had desperately been trying to communicate, leaving her without the chance for a meaningful final goodbye to her father.
Dorian had withheld medication from Victor during his illness, and following his apparent death Viki remained convinced for years that Dorian was responsible. Nearly two decades later, Viki discovered that one of her alternate personalities, Tori, had actually smothered Victor. Dorian was cleared of his murder, although she later acknowledged to Viki that she had indeed withheld Victor’s medication.
Their battles continued through marriages, family crises, business conflicts and Dorian’s affair with Viki’s son Joey. Dorian also played an important role in exposing the truth about Victor’s abuse of Viki, which led to the discovery of Viki’s dissociative identity disorder and long-buried secrets surrounding Victor’s death.
Over the years, Viki and Dorian repeatedly found themselves in situations where they had no choice but to depend upon one another. Most memorably, they were trapped together in Victor’s secret room in 1993, where Dorian’s claustrophobia added both drama and humor as the two women confronted their long history. Years later, they found themselves trapped together again in Asa Buchanan’s wine cellar.
Despite decades of anger, jealousy and competition, their relationship gradually became more complicated than a simple feud. They developed a grudging respect and, at times, genuine affection for one another. By the time Dorian left Llanview in 2011, they were able to put aside their differences and reconcile. When One Life to Live returned in 2013, Viki and Dorian were once again sparring, but their enduring connection remained unmistakable—a rivalry that had evolved, over four decades, into an unlikely friendship.
