One Life to Live Tribute Thread

[chrisml]

I think keeping Todd on the show really harmed OLTL. I could never get fully interested in the show because they kept on the serial rapist who had participated in such a vicious attack. It cheapened the whole story and then Carlivati cheapened it even more with the reraping of Marty. 

[Planet Soap]

Did the writers ever question how low they were willing to drag the charachter? The dead baby lie would have been the end of alot of charachters but Todd kept going and Blair kept forgiving! (What a shame Jack Manning turned out to be later in life). Inspite of it all I must conceed in that Cassie and Roger had great chemistry from 00-03. The dead baby lie plot and it's live week conclusion remain one of my all time favorite OLTL storylines. Next to the rape that had to be the second most heinous thing Todd got away with. 

Edited October 9, 2019 by ironlion

[j swift]

My objection to Todd is his placement within the Lord family dynasty.  Although Victor never had as many long-lost-children crawl out of the woodwork as Stephano Dimera,  Tony and Todd seemed unnecessary additions to the family tree, when the story of Tina's paternity was the focus of the show for years.  Not only did we get the inexplicable inheritance that one only gets on soaps when an illegitimate child, not named in the father's will, is suddenly given riches, but also Victoria's allegiance to Todd never held water.  Viki was kind to Tony, but never defended him like she did Todd.  Not to mention that Irene seemed to have had Tina and Todd when she was rather young, but her best friend Viki never knew that she was pregnant (perhaps Viki was in Eterna at the time?).

 

It all reportedly stemmed from the coincidence that the character was given the last name Manning.  However, the writer at the time never planned for the backstory so it was all rather convoluted.  Somehow, he had to have a father with the last name Manning, but still be related to Irene, which was just dumb.  

Edited October 9, 2019 by j swift

[Planet Soap]

I didnt mind that plot, but the Manning last name thing was indeed convoluted. Considering how deranged Todd was he fits as post 90s rewritten Victor Lord's son.

 

LOL, they just kept re-writing things when it came to Victor Lord Sr. First he's an overbearing dad, then he's a sex addict, then he's a child molester, he has a plethora of ilegitimate children (Todd, Victor Jr, Tina), Dorian killed him, no Viki killed him, no he's alive...wait was that actually him in 2003?

 

He was basically OLTL's Phillip Chancellor, a long dead charachter that had bigger historical impact post mortem than alive. 

[Khan]

 

I hated him.

[DRW50]

 

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[Contessa Donatella]

 

 

Yes, I hated him, too. And, then, if we apply the question to Roger Howarth instead of to Todd Manning, well, I found Roger's Paul on ATWT a great disappontment.

Did Pamela K. Long go to OLTL directly from GL? And, at OLTL, she wrote the Kramer women, that matriarchy, strong & interesting & female instead of male, right? And, then, she wrote the Rappaports, too, right? How many FOJs did JFP turn into Rappaports? Kale Browne & Larry Lau? It's just a wonder that she could find enough FOJs to go around at times!

[Darn]

 

Yes.

 

Making this deplorable psychotic rapist the lead of the show was just...how were they okay with this? Todd paid a lot of lip service to being so sowwy for what he did because he kept doing horrible things. Just over and over. And he was on every goddamn day. I couldn't take it. Then we got two of that [!@#$%^&*] running around like fcuking clowns. Besides that Trevor St. John stopped trying after a few years and Roger Howarth stopped before he left the second time. Then when he came back he was slightly better but the character was in such a stupid storyline it didn't matter.

[robbwolff]

No. There was a seven- or eight-year gap between Long's stints on Guiding Light and One Life.

 

Why do you consider Laurence Lau to be a FOJ? I don't see the connection.

[Contessa Donatella]

 

I thought at the time that Larry Lau was considered to be an FOJ & considered himself to be one. I could be wrong. I know I remember it being said, but that in itself could be wrong. We had Lau at AW & then he was at OLTL.

 

Glad to hear that Pam had a gap.

 

Ya know, something that we need is a canonical list of FOJs!

Actors & JFP colleagues just don't have the same view of her as we do.

Edited October 9, 2019 by Donna B
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[robbwolff]

 

Lau was at Another World from 1986 to 1990. He wasn't on the show when Farren Phelps was there. She was executive producer from 1995 to 1996. Gary Tomlin hired Lau on OLTL. There are closing credits featuring Kale Browne online from March 2001 that show Tomlin as executive producer.

[Contessa Donatella]

 

Okay. Thanks for spelling that out. I remember when Larry came back to work, at AW, and for soaps, in general. He had been through some sort of rehab. He looked great, healthy & had lost weight. I was hostessing him & his delightful girlfriend in our courtesy room at a fan event & he was just really great. He was in a black tshirt & tight black jeans. He & Stephen Schnetzer looked alike! LOL

Edited October 9, 2019 by Donna B
Description

[Khan]

 

Todd was a creep beyond redemption -- but, hey, his adopted father abused him, and his biological father was a brainwashing, Nazi-sympathizing, underground city-building-'cuz-his-millions-need-stashing perv; so let's just cut him some slack, okay?

 

I shudder to think how latter-day OLTL would have handled a character like Karen Wolek.

Edited October 9, 2019 by Khan

[KMan101]

 

LOL Khan! Everything you say about Todd is why redeeming rapists never works. It NEVER WORKS.

 

And yeah, Karen would be [!@#$%^&*] upon by everyone in town.

[victoria foxton]