Meg Cummings
Encyclopedia
Meg Cummings is a fictional character
from the US NBC
soap opera
Sunset Beach
, played by Susan Ward
. Meg was the serial's main protagonist throughout the whole run. Sydney Penny
temporarily took over the role while Ward was filming for the film The In Crowd
.
after starring in his series Malibu Shores
. Ward requested "to be put up for the nice girl", via her agent. She also said she prefered playing "nice girl" Meg more than mean characters she had previously played. Ward began filming a role in the 2000 film, The In Crowd
. While she had to leave on a temporary basis, Sydney Penny
took over for one month, until Ward returned. The serial's creator, Spelling, was impressed with Penny's portrayal of Meg so he cast her into another series he created.
Meg is featured in the first scenes of Sunset Beach. Her storyline sees her arrive from Kansas
to escape her unfaithful fiance Tim Truman
(Dax Griffin
) and find a man she has been talking to over the internet, Ben Evans (Clive Robertson
). However, Meg is not aware of Ben's identity. Ward said that Meg is just a "small town girl" who "follows her heart". Meg wants to "find out what the world has to offer", finding out the identity of her internet romance is the "first thing she has ever been passionate about."
(Sarah Buxton) decided to keep Ben for herself, and she stopped at nothing to try and achieve that. Meg also learned her ex-fiancé Tim followed her to Sunset Beach, and she had no idea that he helped Annie mess with her love life.
In one of their crazy attempts to break the couple, Annie and Tim had lured Meg to cave that later caved in, without realizing that Ben had followed Meg. The couple made love for the first time, but Meg had no idea Ben was delirious, thinking that he's making love to his ex-wife Maria Torres Evans , who had died three years ago. Annie's plot revealed that Ben had no memory of making love to Meg, and a hurt Meg had decided to return to Kansas. Ben refused to give up and he convinced Meg to return to him. Annie still didn't stop with her schemes, and Meg became more confused about Ben's behavior.
While spending the holidays on a private island, Meg and her friends were attacked by a mysterious murderer. The murderer was revealed to be Ben, but once the terror was over, it turned out that Ben was being impersonated by his twin brother Derek Evans (Clive Robertson), who held Ben captive in an abandoned warehouse. Meg had no idea she was being scammed until she found a picture of Ben and Derek together. In a final showdown, Derek was presumed dead, and Meg and Ben resumed their happiness. However, the moment was proven short-lived, when Ben's presumed-dead wife Maria turned up alive at their wedding.
Meg tried to hold on to her love, but Ben was struggling to decide between the two women he loved. When she finally had enough, Meg broke up with Ben and found comfort in her close friend Casey Mitchum
(Timothy Adams), who had recently broken up with her sister Sara Cummings
(Shawn Batten
). Meg and Casey eventually broke up, realizing that they are better off as friends. Ben starts acting strangley and tells Meg he is going to stay with Maria for the sake of his son. However, Ben has been kidnapped by his identical twin brother. Derek uses his own son and Maria's amnesia to make their plot believable, Meg accepts it. Tim finds out the truth so Derek murders him.
Derek and Tess Marin (Tracy Melchior) decide to perfect their final stage of their plan, killing Ben and Maria and stealing the money. However Maria discovers the truth and is taken hostage. She realises Ben is still in love with Meg. Casey and Sara are taken hostage when they discover the truth. Carmen asks Meg to find Maria, when she searches the house for Maria, Meg finds evidence that Ben is actually Derek. Meg goes to see Derek and seduces him and steals his gun and threatens him with it. Tess distracts Meg and Derek locks Meg in the basement with Maria, Ben, Casey and Sara. Meg is happy that Ben is still alive. Maria manages to attack Tess and ties her up, while Meg saves Ben from being strangled by Derek. After a big fight between all the hostages and captors ensues and Derek is shot dead in the process. Tess is sent to prison and Ben and Meg start their relationship once again. Maria accepts Ben did not love her because he always loved Meg. Meg goes to Vanessa Hart
(Sherri Saum
) and Michael Bourne's
(Jason Winston George
) wedding, when Ben sees Meg at the church, he asks Meg to marry him straight away. After the double wedding, Meg returns home with Ben. Meg has a dream that everyone in Sunset Beach were actually her old friends in Kansas. However, she wakes up and realises it was a dream, Meg and Ben share the final scene of Sunset Beach.
. Michael Saunders of The Boston Globe
said that if you watched the serial, you just watched "the adventures of Meg Cummings, the headstrong lass who left Kansas for Sunset Beach." Candace Havens of the Kingman Daily Miner
opined that the character set the "tone and pace" of Sunset Beach. In 2011, Bibsy M. Carballo of The Philippine Star
said the growing trend of destroying wedding dresses against tradition in the Philippines
, originated from Meg destroying her dress. The Daily Record
said that Meg's final dream sequence was "possibly the best" ever one featured in the soap, adding that it was unmissable. While Merle Brown from the publication said the love triangle storyline with Meg, Ben and Maria lasted for too long. As Sunset Beach made no "excuses" about the duration of the storyline, Brown said it was one of the serial's qualities.
Darrin Farrant of The Age
said that Meg seemed like a "naive" character. He added that "poor Meg" had no idea Ben was her internet lover and opined that because Sunset Beach story pace seemed slow it would probably "unfold over many episodes". While his Age colleague, Simon Hughes, said that Meg was a "country mouse" in comparison to her cousin, Tiffany Thorne (Adrienne Frantz
). He opined that Meg's "inarticulateness" was part of her charm.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the US NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Sunset Beach
Sunset Beach (TV series)
Sunset Beach was an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on January 6, 1997, and last airing on December 31, 1999. The show followed the loves and lives of the people living in a fictional coastal city named Sunset Beach, on the coast of California...
, played by Susan Ward
Susan Ward
Susan Ward is an American actress and model.-Early life and career:Ward was born in Monroe, Louisiana. She attended a private, Christian elementary school , in Monroe, LA. She briefly attended Northeast Louisiana University...
. Meg was the serial's main protagonist throughout the whole run. Sydney Penny
Sydney Penny
Sydney Penny is an American Daytime Emmy-nominated actress best known for the roles of Julia Santos Keefer on the soap opera All My Children and Samantha "Sam" Kelly on the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.She is of part Cherokee descent and raised in Chatsworth, California, the daughter...
temporarily took over the role while Ward was filming for the film The In Crowd
The In Crowd (film)
The In Crowd is a 2000 teen thriller directed by Mary Lambert. It stars Susan Ward and Lori Heuring.-Synopsis:When Adrien is released from an asylum, her former doctor, Henry Thompson immediately tries to get her back on her feet by getting her a job a country club on the East Coast, where she is...
.
Character development
Susan Ward was cast into the role of Meg after her agent submitted her for the role. Ward was already known to series creator Aaron SpellingAaron Spelling
Aaron Spelling was an American film and television producer. As of 2009, Spelling's eponymous production company Spelling Television holds the record as the most prolific television writer, with 218 producer and executive producer credits...
after starring in his series Malibu Shores
Malibu Shores
Malibu Shores is an American primetime teen drama/soap opera that aired from March to June 1996 for ten episodes on NBC. Created by Aaron Spelling and starring Keri Russell and Tony Lucca, the program followed the exploits of Southern California teens....
. Ward requested "to be put up for the nice girl", via her agent. She also said she prefered playing "nice girl" Meg more than mean characters she had previously played. Ward began filming a role in the 2000 film, The In Crowd
The In Crowd (film)
The In Crowd is a 2000 teen thriller directed by Mary Lambert. It stars Susan Ward and Lori Heuring.-Synopsis:When Adrien is released from an asylum, her former doctor, Henry Thompson immediately tries to get her back on her feet by getting her a job a country club on the East Coast, where she is...
. While she had to leave on a temporary basis, Sydney Penny
Sydney Penny
Sydney Penny is an American Daytime Emmy-nominated actress best known for the roles of Julia Santos Keefer on the soap opera All My Children and Samantha "Sam" Kelly on the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.She is of part Cherokee descent and raised in Chatsworth, California, the daughter...
took over for one month, until Ward returned. The serial's creator, Spelling, was impressed with Penny's portrayal of Meg so he cast her into another series he created.
Meg is featured in the first scenes of Sunset Beach. Her storyline sees her arrive from Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
to escape her unfaithful fiance Tim Truman
Tim Truman (Sunset Beach)
Tim Truman was a fictional character in the American soap opera Sunset Beach, portrayed by American actor Dax Griffin from January 6, 1997 to November 15, 1999. He returned to play his character in the final episode as a part of Meg's dream...
(Dax Griffin
Dax Griffin
-Career:Griffin is known for his role as Tim Truman on the NBC serial Sunset Beach from January 1997 until November 1999. He had one more appearance in the series finale in a dream sequence. He also played assistant district attorney Justin McCoy on All My Children in 2003.Griffin joined the cast...
) and find a man she has been talking to over the internet, Ben Evans (Clive Robertson
Clive Robertson
Clive Gladstone Robertson is a British actor perhaps best known for his roles on the soap opera Sunset Beach, the Canadian science fiction series Starhunter, and the 2010 science fiction computer game Darkstar: The Interactive Movie.-Biography:Robertson spent much of his younger life abroad,...
). However, Meg is not aware of Ben's identity. Ward said that Meg is just a "small town girl" who "follows her heart". Meg wants to "find out what the world has to offer", finding out the identity of her internet romance is the "first thing she has ever been passionate about."
Storylines
After leaving her fiancé Tim at the altar, Meg travelled to Sunset Beach to find a man she had been chatting with over the Internet. Without any knowledge as to who that person might be, Meg slowly got to know the residents of the town, people who had helped her when she fell off a pier after trying to catch a girl that stole her backpack. She took a job at a local bar owned by Ben, a lonely widower, and she soon realized Ben was actually her Internet soul mate. The two began to fall in love, but things didn't go as smooth when Ben's neighbor Annie DouglasAnnie Douglas Richards
Annie Douglas is a fictional character from the US NBC soap opera Sunset Beach, played by Sarah Buxton. The character's creation was announced in 1996 prior to the serial going on air. Series creator Aaron Spelling helped create Annie's appearance and style. Annie has been characterised as a "rich...
(Sarah Buxton) decided to keep Ben for herself, and she stopped at nothing to try and achieve that. Meg also learned her ex-fiancé Tim followed her to Sunset Beach, and she had no idea that he helped Annie mess with her love life.
In one of their crazy attempts to break the couple, Annie and Tim had lured Meg to cave that later caved in, without realizing that Ben had followed Meg. The couple made love for the first time, but Meg had no idea Ben was delirious, thinking that he's making love to his ex-wife Maria Torres Evans , who had died three years ago. Annie's plot revealed that Ben had no memory of making love to Meg, and a hurt Meg had decided to return to Kansas. Ben refused to give up and he convinced Meg to return to him. Annie still didn't stop with her schemes, and Meg became more confused about Ben's behavior.
While spending the holidays on a private island, Meg and her friends were attacked by a mysterious murderer. The murderer was revealed to be Ben, but once the terror was over, it turned out that Ben was being impersonated by his twin brother Derek Evans (Clive Robertson), who held Ben captive in an abandoned warehouse. Meg had no idea she was being scammed until she found a picture of Ben and Derek together. In a final showdown, Derek was presumed dead, and Meg and Ben resumed their happiness. However, the moment was proven short-lived, when Ben's presumed-dead wife Maria turned up alive at their wedding.
Meg tried to hold on to her love, but Ben was struggling to decide between the two women he loved. When she finally had enough, Meg broke up with Ben and found comfort in her close friend Casey Mitchum
Casey Mitchum
Casey Mitchum was a fictional character in the US soap opera Sunset Beach, portrayed by American actor Timothy Adams during the show's entire run.-Character history:...
(Timothy Adams), who had recently broken up with her sister Sara Cummings
Sara Cummings
Sara Cummings was a fictional character in the US soap opera Sunset Beach. Sara was first played by American actress Lauren Woodland who joined the cast on April 29, 1998 on contract, but was released after only a few episodes and replaced by Shawn Batten, who first aired on May 11, 1998 and stayed...
(Shawn Batten
Shawn Batten
Susan Shawn Batten is an U.S.actress most notably recognized from her role as the second Sara Cummings in NBC's soap opera Sunset Beach and Natalia Carlisle on Spyder Games ....
). Meg and Casey eventually broke up, realizing that they are better off as friends. Ben starts acting strangley and tells Meg he is going to stay with Maria for the sake of his son. However, Ben has been kidnapped by his identical twin brother. Derek uses his own son and Maria's amnesia to make their plot believable, Meg accepts it. Tim finds out the truth so Derek murders him.
Derek and Tess Marin (Tracy Melchior) decide to perfect their final stage of their plan, killing Ben and Maria and stealing the money. However Maria discovers the truth and is taken hostage. She realises Ben is still in love with Meg. Casey and Sara are taken hostage when they discover the truth. Carmen asks Meg to find Maria, when she searches the house for Maria, Meg finds evidence that Ben is actually Derek. Meg goes to see Derek and seduces him and steals his gun and threatens him with it. Tess distracts Meg and Derek locks Meg in the basement with Maria, Ben, Casey and Sara. Meg is happy that Ben is still alive. Maria manages to attack Tess and ties her up, while Meg saves Ben from being strangled by Derek. After a big fight between all the hostages and captors ensues and Derek is shot dead in the process. Tess is sent to prison and Ben and Meg start their relationship once again. Maria accepts Ben did not love her because he always loved Meg. Meg goes to Vanessa Hart
Vanessa Hart
Vanessa Hart was a fictional character in the American soap opera Sunset Beach, portrayed by American actress Sherri Saum during the show's entire run.-Character history:...
(Sherri Saum
Sherri Saum
- Biography :Saum got her start at a Model Search America convention near her home in Kettering, Ohio. She was discovered during high school, modeling mostly during summer breaks until she decided to move to New York and work full time with the New York modeling agency Images Management. Her career...
) and Michael Bourne's
Michael Bourne
Michael Bourne was a fictional character in the American soap opera Sunset Beach portrayed by American actor Jason Winston George during the show's entire run.-Controversy:...
(Jason Winston George
Jason Winston George
Jason Winston George is an American actor and model He is best known for his roles as Michael Bourne on the NBC daytime soap opera Sunset Beach, and as J.T. Hunter on the UPN television sitcom Eve...
) wedding, when Ben sees Meg at the church, he asks Meg to marry him straight away. After the double wedding, Meg returns home with Ben. Meg has a dream that everyone in Sunset Beach were actually her old friends in Kansas. However, she wakes up and realises it was a dream, Meg and Ben share the final scene of Sunset Beach.
Reception
In 1998, Meg and Ben were nominated in the category of "Best Couple" at the Soap Opera Digest AwardsSoap Opera Digest Awards
The Soap Opera Digest Awards were an awards show held by the daytime television magazine Soap Opera Digest. The awards were founded in 1984 to replace the less-lavish Soapy Award; those awards shows had run since 1977. The Soap Opera Digest Awards are meant to promote excellence in the soap opera...
. Michael Saunders of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
said that if you watched the serial, you just watched "the adventures of Meg Cummings, the headstrong lass who left Kansas for Sunset Beach." Candace Havens of the Kingman Daily Miner
Kingman Daily Miner
Kingman Daily Miner is a local newspaper in Kingman, Arizona owed by Western News&Info Inc. It has a 8,030 circulation....
opined that the character set the "tone and pace" of Sunset Beach. In 2011, Bibsy M. Carballo of The Philippine Star
The Philippine Star
The Philippine Star is a daily English-language broadsheet newspaper based in Manila and circulated nationwide in the Philippines. Owned and published by PhilSTAR Daily, Inc, it was founded on July 28, 1986 by veteran journalists Max Soliven, Betty Go-Belmonte and Art Borjal...
said the growing trend of destroying wedding dresses against tradition in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, originated from Meg destroying her dress. The Daily Record
Daily Record (Scotland)
The Daily Record is a Scottish tabloid newspaper based in Glasgow. It had been the best-selling daily paper in Scotland for many years with a paid circulation in August 2011 of 307,794 . It is now outsold by its arch-rival the Scottish Sun which in September 2010 had a circulation of 339,586 in...
said that Meg's final dream sequence was "possibly the best" ever one featured in the soap, adding that it was unmissable. While Merle Brown from the publication said the love triangle storyline with Meg, Ben and Maria lasted for too long. As Sunset Beach made no "excuses" about the duration of the storyline, Brown said it was one of the serial's qualities.
Darrin Farrant of The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
said that Meg seemed like a "naive" character. He added that "poor Meg" had no idea Ben was her internet lover and opined that because Sunset Beach story pace seemed slow it would probably "unfold over many episodes". While his Age colleague, Simon Hughes, said that Meg was a "country mouse" in comparison to her cousin, Tiffany Thorne (Adrienne Frantz
Adrienne Frantz
Adrienne Danielle Frantz is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She is known for her role as Amber Moore in The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless .-Career:First breaking into the soap opera genre in 1997 as Tiffany Thorne on Sunset Beach, Frantz left the show...
). He opined that Meg's "inarticulateness" was part of her charm.