The Two Todds

[gwynnega]

My Readercon report will follow (probably tomorrow, because I'm assuming my jetlag will have finally eased up by then). But first I must post about the two Todds storyline on One Life To Live, because a few minutes ago I noticed that no less than Peter Straub (who has appeared on OLTL as detective Pete Braust) tweeted about this storyline: "Oh, you know who is the real Todd. The angry one." (A joke: they're both very, VERY angry guys.) I tweeted: "How much do I love that @peterstraubnyc is tweeting about the Two Todds on #OLTL? A whole lot." Then Straub replied to me: "Oh, we love the two Todds. Both played by wonderful actors, Roger Howarth and Trevor St. John."

The story in a nutshell: Roger Howarth originally played villain/antihero Todd Manning to great acclaim. When he left the show, the character was presumed dead, but then Trevor St. John took over the role. Rather than a simple recast in which no one acknowledged the actor's different appearance, it was part of the story that Todd had had extensive plastic surgery. But now, eight years later, Howarth has returned to the show. Who is the real Todd?

Personally I want them BOTH to be the real Todd, because they're both brilliant, charismatic actors (though I think St. John may have a slight edge in the acting chops department). In these clips, they face off for the first time:

Comments

[marshallpayne1.livejournal.com]

Very cool on Peter Straub!

Yes, a great week for OLTL.

I like the old Todd better. Not sure why. To me he has more of a sly wit.

[gwynnega]

Certainly right now, old Todd is the likeable one. Currently, new Todd is pretty much a straight-up Shakespearean villain. But to me they're both equally Todd!

[usedtobeljs]

Old Todd!!!!!

Ah, Roger Howarth. :-)

[hugs you]

[gwynnega]

In yesterday's episode, Roger Howarth's Todd got to deliver the line, "How many Todd Mannings does it take to screw in a lightbulb?" :-)

::hugs::

[stevie-carroll.livejournal.com]

That's a rather awesome plotline.

[gwynnega]

And most importantly, it's being executed in an awesome way. In lesser hands, it could've been really cheesy...

[whitesangria.livejournal.com]

I was getting rather impatient for them to come face to face -- getting tired of the lurking in the bushes. I'm anxious to see how this plays out... I love it. I'm disappointed, however, that Trevor St. John's contract was not renewed...

[gwynnega]

Apparently Trevor had made it clear he didn't want to renew his contract, so they took him at his word and wrote the story accordingly. After that, he said he'd be willing to continue longer, but the storyline was already in place! Alas.

And yes, I'm glad the lurking stage of the storyline is done!

[pastels-badge.livejournal.com]

I can't put my finger on why exactly, but I really want old Todd to be the real Todd. I guess the amount of villainy new Todd has been engaging in the last few years is a bit too much for me. When I first started watching OLTL Todd was in that post-reformation angsty phase where he was still kind of well-meaning deep down but he was all bitter about stuff that had happened when they thought he was dead. I'm still sort of attached to that anti-hero Todd as opposed to this straight-up villain Todd. But when I take a step back, I don't really know that either is superior or more likely to be the real Todd.

[gwynnega]

I can totally see wanting old Todd to be real Todd--and it would make sense, in terms of how villainous new Todd has been. But on the other hand, the way old Todd keeps repeating "I have a wife, her name is Blair, I have a daughter, her name is Starr" makes me wonder if he's been brainwashed. But new Todd sure seems to believe he's Todd, so maybe HE'S the brainwashed one? They both seem Todd-like to me!

[pastels-badge.livejournal.com]

Very true! I wonder where in the heck this story could possibly be going. That's part of the reason I keep watching it.