“Say something you little bastard,” Karen Barclay (Catherine Hicks) taunts her son's Good Guy doll at a low point. She’s at risk of losing everything. In the desperation to save her child, it leads her to a moment of no return. A family in peril is at the heart of the Child's Play slasher franchise. From the movies to the TV series, there are various family units which come under threat. In Chucky, the TV series based off the film franchise, there’s the trio of teens, forced to band together even more after the events of the Season 2 finale. Legacy survivors Kyle (Christine Elise) and Andy (Alex Vincent) continue to build on their foster sibling relationship. Then there’s the messed up and campy dynamic to the Valentine and Ray clan. Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) holds the title as the longest-living mother on the show, as the other parental figures are part of the body count. Yet, Andy’s mom isn’t resting six feet under. Now more than ever, it’s why Catherine Hicks should make her comeback. Her role is crucial in the movie that started it all.
Just Who Is Karen Barclay?
In the original Child’s Play, Karen is living a stressful life, before Chucky attacks. She’s a widow, balancing a retail job and making sure her six-year-old son is happy. A close friend dies while looking after Andy. When the option of a murder suspect comes down to Karen’s son or Chucky, she picks the latter. It’s an impossible situation to handle rationally. It’s why she berates the doll. Karen can’t help but let out a sad laugh after she does. Then yellow batteries drop out of the Good Guy packaging. How could Chucky talk and respond to her son if the batteries weren't in him?
Throughout the scene, it’s awfully quiet. Minus car honks from the city street below, there isn’t a score to build suspense. It just plays out. Once those batteries clatter on the floor, the score kicks in. She turns on the gas fireplace and prepares to toss the doll in. “I said talk to me, damn it, or else I’m going to throw you in the fire!” she yells. Chucky wakes and Karen screams in absolute horror. This fireside attack is when Karen understands Andy is right, and it’s going to be hell proving it. Karen gets her call to action and rushes in. She heads to a bad part of Chicago to figure out the doll’s origins. It’s not a safe idea, but it’s also her only option. Eventually, she learns from a dying Voodoo doctor the only way to stop the killer doll -- back when there was only one way to do so -- is to strike the heart!
How Does Tiffany Compare to Karen?
To protect their child at all costs sounds akin to another character in the Chucky universe. Tiffany Valentine will do anything for Glen and Glenda (Lachlan Watson in a dual role). She gives them a glamorous life in Beverly Hills and keenly respects her child’s pronouns of “they/them.” After a dire circumstance forces them to return into their original doll body, Tiffany pointedly wonders how she should refer them. G.G. is their new name and Mother Valentine showers them with support. These are the limited positive traits, as well as any maternal similarities Tiffany and Karen might share. Tiffany knows all about self-preservation. It could be a near-death experience or resurrection, but she is hard to kill. Chucky and her probably have the endurance to live through a nuclear winter. She’s selfish, obsessive, and -- flashing, red alert -- a killer. In the complex mythology, G.G. grew up with a luxurious life only because Tiffany stole it by possessing the body of Jennifer Tilly. In "love" with Nica (Fiona Dourif), Tiffany makes her life hell, amputating her limbs and keeping her as a prisoner. The Season 2 finale almost offs Tiffany but nope, she makes it out in one piece again. How does Karen Barclay factor into all this? Had Don Mancini’s original screenplay stayed the same, Mrs. Barclay would have turned out very different.
Before it Was 'Child's Play,' it Was 'Blood Buddy'
Prior to the title fans all recognize, Child's Play was called Blood Buddy. Heavy in satirical elements, the script centered around how toys were advertised for children. Andy would have gotten a new doll and after a blood pact, things would turn murderous. For the movie’s 20th anniversary, a DVD featurette called "Birth of Chucky" had Mancini explain his Blood Buddy version of Karen. “I had her as the advertising executive, sort of the mastermind behind the whole campaign because I just thought that that made the satire of that world a little more pointed.” Director Tom Holland and screenwriter John Lafia took turns rewriting Mancini's script, thus shifting Andy’s mom into the character ready for Catherine Hicks’ casting. On the same featurette, the actress talked about the role. It was her first “mother” character, which got stressful. “We had the first run through and here’s this little six-year-old and I and there was this tension, and he could feel that I didn’t know what to do with children.” Vincent’s own mom helped Hicks build a relationship.
Performance-wise, Hicks handles the serious tone well for the 1988 movie, grittier than the franchise's playful future. It’s the high dramatic moments that make Hicks’ return a no-brainer.The campiness in the Chucky series works well with the dialogue and energy Catherine Hicks provides. Long before a fist fight between two Good Guy dolls in Season 2, there’s the fireside interrogation from the original film. Chucky flails in Karen’s hands, kicking and biting the poor woman. This leads to Karen trying to get help from Detective Norris (Chris Sarandon). He doesn’t believe her, so Karen sprints away. Norris wonders where she’s going; Karen shouts back, “To find Chucky!” You can’t help but grin at how angry she sounds, as if her words could cut into the Chicago winds. During the climax, Chucky keeps stabbing the door Karen is holding shut, the blade getting closer to her face. She yelps before unleashing a guttural, drawn out sob, though her grip stays firm. Of course, she could simply reposition herself. But that doesn’t make for a good scene.
Batteries (And Karen) Not Included
Mrs. Barclay's current whereabouts aren’t entirely mysterious. Child’s Play 2 (1990) does make her fate seem dark, however. She didn’t back off from sticking to Andy’s claims of a killer doll, causing the two to be separated. Little Andy is left with a framed photo of them in happier times. He goes into the foster care system while his mom is institutionalized. In Curse of Chucky (2013), a post credit scene brings back Andy and in doing so, it also revealed where Mrs. Barclay was currently. She’s out of the hospital and settled down with someone. But Hicks hasn’t returned onscreen. For now, that is.
Chucky is truly a family affair. Aside from relationships between characters, the familial aspects extend off-screen too. Creator Don Mancini adds to the meta craziness of Tiffany possessing Jennifer Tilly by bringing in Tilly’s real-life sister Meg Tilly. The small arc ends very bloody for Meg, but a slasher series wouldn’t have it any other way. Don’t forget Brad Dourif’s own daughter Fiona is Nica, a prominent lead in two movies and two seasons of TV. After all Chucky has put Andy through, he deserves a reunion with his mom. This all could be wishful thinking. But seeing Andy reunite with Karen could do wonders in nostalgia and linking another legacy character into the chaos. Should Hicks come back, maybe this time around, Karen will finally get to toss the Good Guy doll into the fire!