What was the plan for Mark?

[DF414]

I had problems with his casting (and even more problems with those 1982 "flashbacks" which looked like 1981). It was hard to believe that Krystle would have ever married that guy.

Given how Krystle coldly flinched when Blake came up behind her in the conservatory (in that stupid scene where they discuss whether or not her apologizing to Mark will take 90 days) one assumes they'd originally planned to have Mark be something of a romantic foil -- and, mercifully, they dropped it.

I liked him as Alexis' unmoored bodyguard (although I would have had her delving into his past reveal that he had previously worked as one to single well-to-do Manhattan socialites) and his death from her balcony was a positive development. (I would have had Senator McVane killing Tracey Kendall, Krystle suspected of the murder because Alexis saw Krystle slap her opportunistic assistant from the hall through the doorway at Denver-Carrington).

But the casting of Geoffrey Scott made anything more improbable.

I actually liked Mark - he served a good purpose in season 3 as a recurring character. When he got promoted to season 4 status, I thought it was interesting and I didn't mind him as the body guard. It made sense - he needed a job. However, his role was probably kept along more than it needed to given they need someone to be murdered to Alexis could be in jail in the finale.

 

[colbyco]

I would love to know if they only keeped him to kill him .... or was it near the end of the season they got this idea (like a lot of things were done as they went along) to kill somebody and they picked him ...
His best time was during his first year when he troubled Krystle´s marriage and had affairs with mother (Alexis) and daughter(Fallon) - after Dex entered Mark lost his midle age sex symbol status to him!

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

Beyond the short term? Difficult to say.
He could have been recruited by a third party to gather info on Blake, Alexis, Fallon, etc,
but that was probably not a high priority