One Life To Live Discussion Group -- I want to come back to OLTL soon.....

One Life To Live Discussion Group

Topic: I want to come back to OLTL soon.....

Topic Posted by: caroline
Date Posted: Mon May 19 1:21:50 2008
Additional Comments:

but I cannot get past Trevor playing Todd. Everytime I check in and he's been on, he just seems like some actor with Todd as a name. He doesn't seem like Todd Manning. I have been watching ATWT since Roger left to go there. IMO, Roger's talents are being wasted. He isn't being challenged and hardly resembles the actor that I fell in love with back in the mid-nineties.

All of that being said, is there light at the end of the tunnel? Do you think I can accept Trevor as Todd Manning? Any hints on how to get over this obstacle?

Posted by: Delois
Date posted: Tue May 20 8:56:33 2008
Message:
I stopped watching this show because they got so over the top with Todd's character and with Starr's character and made Blair a wimp. Todd would never turn on his daughter or beat up her friends in my opinion. Blair is a strong woman who would not let Todd get away with crap. Starr adored her father , now they are enemies over a boy, don't make sense. In fact none of the stories made sense, Bo being fired, Ramsey being the new golden boy, even bringing Tina back will not make me come back, until they stop making Todd a maniac and retool some of those stories. I know this is a good show, I have watched since the 2nd year it was on. But someone seems to be writing for shock value. I will keep reading th spoilers, until it all starts to make sense to me again.

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Bo should have been fired years ago! He was a terrible cop. Teenage girls often turn on their Fathers when they discover boys. Most of the show makes sense to me...most..not all.

Posted by: tallk
Date posted: Mon May 19 20:57:04 2008
Message:

Let me get this straight. You don't watch OLTL strictly because TSJ is Todd. In other words, you only watched OLTL because of RH. I'm sorry, but that is as bizarre as the ME groupies only watching OLTL because they want to drool over him. Soaps are ensembles, and you are never going to like all actors or all characters. It sounds like you don't like any of the actors or characters except for RH's portrayal of Todd. It that is the case, don't come back because you won't like it.

If my response sounds harsh, I don't mean it to. I just don't get watching an entire show for one actor. Soaps are about STORIES, not the actors who play the roles. Any good actor can be replaced by another good actor. I like recasts because it means the story is king, not an actor's ego. If I like the character, a good recast works for me every time.

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I had watched OLTL since its inception so obviously I didn't watch it just for RH. You were unnecessarily harsh. eom .. caroline

Sorry, but you said you wanted to watch OLTL but could not get past TSJ being Todd. In other words, nothing else about the show matters just the fact that TSJ is now Todd. You said it, not me. I have watched OLTL since day one and I never let a recast send me away. The idea is foreign to me.

one more little thing. These RH vs TSJ wars hav gotten so old. I liked RH, but I did not like his constant quitting and returning games. I like TSJ too. I can appreciate both actors. It is Todd that I like, I don't really care who plays him as long as the guy can act.

RH's leaving & coming back wasn't about games. He didn't want Todd to be seen as a romantic, anti-hero, which soaps have had a tendancy to do w/dark characters--like Luke Spencer--over the last 30 yrs or so. RH didn't want to see Todd become just another 'bad boy turned good by the love of a good woman' scenario. He made it VERY clear that he didn't want to see them even hint at a romantic connection w/Marty. Todd was her rapist, he shouldn't have been her lover. Every time RH left it was for a good, solid reason! TSJ has been happy doing whatever they put in front of him & picking up his paycheck. eom

Then RH should be beating down OLTL's door right now, because Todd sure isn't any romantic hero. He's right back to the cruel frat boy he once was. Wanda Wolek

how many times did RH leave? three? He left every time because they wanted to pair him with Marty? I don't think so. Actors get paid to act, not write.

Posted by: YurSoakinginit
Date posted: Mon May 19 19:10:27 2008
Message:

I initially thought Trevor St. John was a good recast. Actually, I still think he was.

But something went south as the years went by with him as Todd. I feel like he's no longer very good at playing subtext, or else he no longer tries. In the end, what you get is something that's pretty one-note: just a really unhappy / controlling guy with a single facial expression that shows how unhappy / controlling he is. I almost get the impression that there is an expectation for the viewer to see emotional subtext (with a concerted effort), rather than let it be seen incrementally in his performance.

So, not feeling compelled to ''try,'' through all that anger and controlling, I don't see a man who loves his daughter or loves his wife. It just doesn't register. When he's supposed to release some kind of supressed emotion in a scene, TSJ's Todd just looks unaffected. Like, as someone mentioned here previously, when Starr fell down... he just looked, well, blank... he was vacant.

I've always heard TSJ to be a great person to work with, and that he's very well-liked. It's interesting that when I see him in photos (at public events), the man's face lights with emotion. That doesn't come out in his performances. I don't know if he's become over-confident or complacent or even burned out playing Todd. But something is way off and it shows.

Having said that, if you asked me would I now rather see Roger Howarth back in the role, I'd say, yes, absolutely. Even when people complained about him in his last (and most recent) days in the part 5 years ago (some said he seemed more aloof than he should be), that was still far more multi-layered than the Todd we've been seeing the last couple of years.

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I keep wondering if this is all part of a story for a complete Todd meltdown. That Todd has gone so inward with all this that he is going to implode when he finally allows himself to face what he has done and what he has become. Somewhat spoilerish.... I've heard that Nora's psychatrist sister is due back in Llanview. I'm hoping against hope that she is coming back for a Todd in therapy storyline. Wanda Wolek

Posted by: Liz
Date posted: Mon May 19 17:00:57 2008
Message:
I followed RH to ATWT but posted on this board for many years when I watched OLTL. I tried to stick with OLTL for a shorttime after going to ATWT just to watch the Todd/Blair/Starr storyline. But I found something hugh missing from when RH starred..particulary between Starr and Todd with TSJ playing the part. Last Friday, I happened to tune in for a moment to see if Starr was on...hearing she was pregnant..and low and behold Todd was after two young people and the one was a pregnant STARR who Todd angerly caught up to and knocked down a flight of steps!

Today ATWT was featuring two storylines I found rather dull so I switched back and forth to OLTL to see what had happened to Starr. I could not believe that Todd Manning was not upset that his beloved daughter, Starr, had fallen down the steps.. was laying at the bottom, knocked out, could be dead or dying and he was not even unset or concerned about HER welfair. It was all about HIM! Plus he had caused it and had badly hurt her boyfriend, who was just a young kid! That is not the Todd that RH played. Yes, the Todd back then played by Roger was selfish and sometimes cruel and would often even mess up Starr but he would have giving his life for her. She was the only one who truly unconditionally loved him. I cannot believe how far they have taken Todd away from the dynamics that existed between Todd and Starr. But come to think about it..that is way I stopped watching OLTL.

When I stopped watching..Starr back then was involved with her lst boyfriend. I had always wondered and could hardly wait to see, what reaction RH's Todd would have to Starr dating. I knew it would be fasinating. Of course with RH leaving the part..it was not to be. When it did finally happen under a different watch..it simply was not there with TSJ. The dynamics were missing and I could not keep watching. I gave up on OLTL which I had watched for about 20 years.

Now today..Todd standing at the top of the steps and watching his daughter perhaps dying and showing little caring reaction or even staying by her side..was beyond me. RH would never have played it that way..the real Todd Manning left when RH left..This Todd to me had completely turned into a different character..

Posted by: soapfan
Date posted: Mon May 19 16:47:41 2008
Message:

I think everyone needs to do a write-in campaign to get RH back as Todd Manning. If OLTL does not want him back, I am sure you all can pool your money together and get him to play Todd for you in your living roons. Either way, please get him out of my oakdale.

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:-).....

Posted by: Edward
Date posted: Mon May 19 13:28:04 2008
Message:
To me, TSJ is now Todd. I'm totally used to him in the role. He plays a great controlling, arrogant jerk, and is very entertaining.

Posted by: michdee
Date posted: Mon May 19 13:10:18 2008
Message:
I don't watch ATWT but I have been watching OLTL for many years. I loved Roger Howarth as Todd but I have come to love Trevor St. John too. His portrayal is different but IMO just as good. The writing isn't great but I still love the character and I enjoy Trevor in the role.

Posted by: Rosebud1
Date posted: Mon May 19 9:33:06 2008
Message:
Speaking as someone who has watched ATWT for over 40 yrs, not grasping the character of Paul isn't about RH. TPTB haven't known, or cared about the character in many, many yrs. The last time the character was even close to being fully realized was when he was a teen & young adult--when Andrew Kavovit was playing him. Ever since he left it has been a downhill spiral, mostly wasting the talents they've hired to play the role.

OLTL has a very similar problem, in not grasping the character of Todd. It has been painfully obvious that non-storytellers have been calling the shots at OLTL for a very long time. Todd hasn't been himself since writers were left out of the loop.

I've said, almost since TSJ started, that I have never bought this version of Todd. That isn't his fault, it is about how the character is written & the fact that so much of his history has been ignored, rewritten or lightened up to make the character weak. There has been SO much story wasted! Todd should be more than the shell he has been for so long. TPTB should have given us a great, compelling storyline--like following through w/the DID story that they botched big time. RH was there then & they started going soft on Todd then.

That I'm not wild about TSJ as an actor is a seperate issue. I'm sure that there is a character out there that he would be better suited to play. But I will always see him as being miscast as Todd. Just as I see KdP as miscast as Blair. Like her as an actress, always have, but not as Blair.

Posted by: gemini
Date posted: Mon May 19 8:35:02 2008
Message:

Caroline, I'm in the same boat. I watch ATWT because of Roger but I can not get into Paul Ryan. I can't understand how or why the Idiots over there are having Roger play that useless character. His dialogue in every scene is the same. Day after day, week after week. It's been going on for almost 2 yrs now. What a waste!

I want so bad to enjoy Todd again, but I just can't. I don't see Todd anymore, at all. Sure he's doing stupid, evil, bad things but Todd was always more than that. That's what made him interesting. It wasn't about being a badass. It was watching that man hurting himself more than he was hurting others. Those emotions that Todd showed me everytime he did something stupid or trying to be good when it came to who he loved, are missing. For me, that's what made Todd so much more interesting than the usually bad guy. Hope you have better luck than I've had. But on a positive note. The rest of OLTL has been pretty good. There's alot of new stories happening & it sounds like alot of good stuff coming up in the summer. All the returns should be interesting.

Posted by: Stacy
Date posted: Mon May 19 8:32:47 2008
Message:

I quit watching OLTL 5 years ago when Roger left and went to ATWT, I watched ATwt for the first 4 years he was there but couldn't take one ridiculous storyline after the next. I too, believe that Roger's talent is being wasted on that show and that they have no idea what to do with him. Having said that, after I quit watching ATWT last year I started watching OLTL again and haven't looked back. OLTL, imo, is better now than it has been in years. I agree that Trevor is not Todd and I think that's why I can watch him as Todd, because to me he ISN'T Todd, I can't look at him and see Todd, I just see some totally different character with the same name. Pretty much I ignore him, I fast forward him a lot or I just watch his scenes and think to myself how unToddlike his portrayal really is. I never thought I could watch Trevor St. John as Todd either but when it got to the point that I couldn't watch Roger Howarth's talent being wasted anymore, I realized it wasn't so difficult to watch ONE character that I didn't accept as Todd anyway. Hopefully any of that makes sense....

Posted by: L.A.
Date posted: Mon May 19 2:49:23 2008
Message:
I know Soap Actors are different people than their characters(Ihaven't crossed that line yet..)But real peoples intrest's can say alot about what there really like, and acting is a reflection of a real personality..so,at the Soap Weekend in Orlando, during one of the entertainment spotlights, Trevor played a very strange box-like drum thing from I think So. Amer. or Africa..It was kind of Flakey if ya know what i mean.Skinny White Boy grooving to the Jungle beat, kinda like buying a non one-demensional portrayal of Todd.