Elizabeth as Teresa underutilized

I think one of the clearest indications that Elizabeth Baur as Teresa was underutilized/ignored as the series progressed was in "The Gifts." This second season episode dealt with the two sons and Jelly going out of their respective ways to acquire and present Murdoch with birthday presents. Elizabeth/Teresa isn't in the hour, which may have had to do with contractual or scheduling issues. But what's truly amazing is that the writers didn't even mention Teresa! I was a fan of "Lancer" during its network run and liked its western drama/action and the family setting and wonderful guest stars. But I noticed Elizabeth was often insignificant. I'd hoped that she would have been as prominent a character as Linda Evans' Audra on "The Big Valley." Didn't happen. Finally, her episode count listed here as 51 needs to be reduced to accurately reflect how many she actually appeared in.