OLTL: How would you fix Todd Manning

[catsmeouch]

Because if one of his daughters got raped, then he'd be closer to knowing how it felt for Marty.

[bellcurve]

But how would that work? Previous writing regimes post-Malone have tried to make Todd "closer to knowing how it felt for Marty." There was the "I was molested as a child" angle and then there was Margaret raping Todd. So how would yet another sexual crime make Todd "closer to knowing how it felt for Marty?"

[catsmeouch]

Because he'd be in pain because it was his daughter. He'd suffer. And learn from his pain.

[Scotty]

Todd has become nothing but a smug, arrogant, annoying jerk who throws a temper tantrum anytime and everytime something doesn't go the way he wants it to or thinks it should. He's about as mature as a spoiled teenager.

[dragonflies]

It wouldn't work. This writing regime has a hard-on for Todd. Somehow RC and company would make Todd the victim in this, even though he wasn't. How Todd is written reminds me of how All My Children writes Ryan Lavery

[Scotty]

Just like how Todd got to be the victim when he was the one who beat the crap out of Todd.

Or like how it is Gigi's fault that Rex slept with her sister.

This show is seriously screwed up.

[marceline]

Through more than a decade, two actors and a million writing regimes, Todd Manning has had two "tentpole" characteristics:

1.) His unquestioning love for Starr; and

2.) His genuine remorse for the rape which included a commitment to never victimize Marty again as well as a certain protectiveness toward her.

Ron blew both of those things out of the water. The first with Starr's "fall" down the stairs and Todd's plan to raise her baby and the second with that putrid rapemance. Ron destroyed the integrity of the writing for Todd all to serve short-term plot points and personally I believe that destruction is unfixable.

[Bright Eyes]

Just think, we were so close to being rid of him during the execution days. Le sigh.

[marceline]

I'm glad things turned out the way they did then back then but I could completely get behind executing Todd now. In all the ways that matter, he's already dead.

[EricMontreal22]

I only recently found out that Frons wanted Michael Easton to play Todd...

I'm just glad that didn't happen.

[Scotty]

That would be interesting.

And think of this...what if Trevor St. John played John McBain?

[RoseVioletDaisy]

No female character should ever get raped to teach anyone a lesson. Rape and degradation of female characters is far too prevalent in daytime and hasn't been done with the kind of care and sincerity that Marty's rape was treated with in a long time.

I have two problems with this reasoning:

1) There was a time when Todd did know the pain he put Marty through and actually cared and was determined to somehow make it right or at least less terrible for her. Now, despite knowing full-well what he did to her, he did it again and doesn't even care. He barely acknowledges that anything happened, he certainly doesn't own his taking the lead in the gang rape or how deeply he hurt her while she suffered from amnesia. Todd's guilt over what he did along with the physical attraction that caused their one-night-stand prior to the rape made for a push-pull relationship between Todd & Marty that was fascinating and could've lasted for several more years and might've made Cole/Starr hooking up interesting. While some found the rapemance gothic, I think it destroyed what was once a very powerful and classical gothic vibe that Todd & Marty had for years following his accepting responsibility for the attack. Them actually "going there" instead of skirting along the edge like they always had took all that power away. The Todd & Marty dance was meaningful when you knew that them being together, no matter how briefly, was far too taboo to ever happen. Once the show was willing to cross that line for shock value, the power was gone. After how he's behaved lately, I don't think I could ever again believe that he has genuine remorse over what he did to her.

2) The Todd who once took responsibility for what he did to Marty was also a man who adored his Starr and would do absolutely anything for her no matter what. That side of him doesn't exist anymore either. He assaulted her physically, was prepared to emotionally betray her in an unimaginable way by stealing her baby and faking it's death, and seems largely uninterested in having any kind of relationship with her unless she can help him get in good with Tea's brat. I hate to say it but the Todd we're seeing right now would be relatively unaffected by Starr being raped. He would probably react more strongly if it were Dani but that's only because she's the most recent object of his ownership obsession. Beyond winning her over, I don't think he actually cares about her as a person at all.

Yeah, that.

[All My Shadows]

I'm sorry, but having Starrhead or Dani raped and making it all about redeeming Todd is not the way to fix him.

[catsmeouch]

So Frons was going to fire Trevor and replace him with Michael Easton?

[EricMontreal22]

No, this is from the 40th anniversary book--this was when Roger was leaving and PC had been canceled and Frons was desperate to find Easton a role. He didn't want a role, the book claims, that was already identified with another actor so they created John. Of course even with Trevor they brought him in as Walker, not sure fi he would turn out to be Todd till they viewed viewer reaction to him. (While I think the character has been written into a hole for ages now I do really like TSJ--miles bette robviously than ME)