Villainess Review: Tiffany Wilson (Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction)

I remember Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction so well; watching the show on Fox and especially watching the reruns on the SyFy Channel. Beyond Belief aired for four seasons from 1997 until 2002, with each episode containing five segments, all of which appeared to defy logic and even had some semblance of supernatural elements involved. It was up to the viewers to determine if the stories really happened (fact) or if they were completely made up (fiction). During the first season, the show was hosted by James Brolin, but from the second season onward, the host was Jonathan Frakes, whose style, delivery, and (especially) his puns at the end of every segment, made him the more memorable of the two hosts. Despite that last statement, the subject of the review appeared during the first season segment, "The House on Baker Street."

So the segment introduces us to Tiffany Wilson and her boyfriend, Tom, who has the look of a typical bad boy. Tiffany's father, Daniel Wilson, is quick to remind her of this, though Tiffany remains in love with Tom despite her father's objections. Later at night, some strange activity occurs in Tiffany's room, and on the following day, Tiffany's mother, Samantha Wilson, is visited by her neighbor, Mary, who lived in the neighborhood for years, and later gives a backstory involving the Wilsons' house.

Mary revealed that the house once belonged to a banker who used it as a boarding house, and his tenants were a woman named Mildred Bennett and her teenage son, Stuart Bennett. Stuart was described as a dashing boy with jet black hair and piercing blue eyes, and one girl who fell for him was the banker's daughter, though her father immensely disapproved of the relationship. When the couple announced their engagement, the banker ran Stuart and his mother out of the house and out of town, but one evening, Stuart planned to burn down the house in an act of revenge. He ended up shot to death by police that evening, and as for the segment's events, Tiffany was shown screaming in panic in her room. As for Tom, he brought Tiffany home at late hours, and that led to Daniel ordering Tom to never see his daughter again, and despite Tiffany's pleas, Tom ends their relationship, stating that Daniel was the reason.

We later see a mysterious hooded figure dousing the house with gasoline, and from the looks of it, as the late, great Yogi Berra once quipped, "It's deja vu all over again." The figure was spotted by Mary, who called 911, leading to police arriving and confronting the culprit. To Mary's surprise, the hooded figure is none other than Tiffany, and not only that, the sinister villainess displayed bright, piercing blue eyes, which revealed that Stuart's spirit possessed Tiffany. The closing narration revealed that Tiffany was arrested, and after she was released, she ended things with Tom, and things in the house returned to normal.

"The House on Baker Street" was the fourth segment of episode 1.05 of the series, which aired on June 22, 1997. Holly Fields appeared in the segment as smitten teen-turned-possessed villainess Tiffany Wilson, and I vividly remember seeing an image of a bright eyed maniacal villainess as part of a promo for the show all those years ago. When I finally saw the segment with the scene that night, I was over the moon (mind you, I was only 12 at the time)! Obviously, Tiffany was possessed by the evil spirit of Stuart Bennett at the time of her villainous attempt on the house, but if there's one thing I've learned in all my years of watching horror-related programs and films that involved possession, it's that a common bond often leads to vessels being open to spirits. In the case of Tiffany, her story and Stuart's story had many similarities, so one could say that Tiffany had this evil side in her all along--it took Stuart to bring that out of her. In any regard, Tiffany was quite malevolent in her possessed state, and while Fields' performance in the segment was thrilling and spectacular, she truly acted out Tiffany's heel persona very well in the climax.

Holly Fields has appeared in several different TV shows, such as California Dreams, Blossom, Touched by an Angel, and the original Charmed series. She is best known for her voice work; providing Princess Fiona's voice on several Shrek video games, and voicing Nadia Grell in a number of Star Wars games.

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Check out Tiffany Wilson's profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!