OLTL: Actor leaving?

[quartermainefan]

I am going to stick with ballsy. The show wants to go out with a bang and this is certainly memorable. It doesn't make his role as Walker or whoever any less important, it just means the show wants one huge twist before it goes out. Why is an imposter less of an honor to the actor than Todd. It's still a role, an important one obviously, and it doesn't seem like he is all that upset with it. And then on the opposite side, you have the original actor back short term to please all those people who cared, and it seems like everyone gets something. TSJ fans get a doozy of a story, RH fans get their actor back for a few months, Todd fans still get Todd and all the characters in Todd-world (Blaire, Tea, whoever) get a huge final story. Kassie DePaiva is going to be all over those scenes when Blair learns the truth, and what about Starr and Viki and whoever else. It seems like all the actors are being given this last huge gift to play out.

[Cat]

I am going to miss TSJ. The fact that he is playing a Todd imposter makes me look back on his entire run with new eyes, even though that's not how he or TPTB meant it to be from Day One. It puts his performance on a whole new context. When TSJ was chafing at playing HeroTodd or RomantiTodd, I can now "interpret" it as FauxTodd chafing at playing RealTodd. If that makes any sense.

Maybe, just maybe, TSJ leaving early is Meant to Be from a SL POV. So often on soaps, "fun" baddies overstay their welcome because TIIC thinks the fans adore them and that they have the talent to turn them into another Luke Spencer circa 1982 (which they don't). Maybe the conclusion of this story "needs" for FauxTodd to go away and account for his sins and misdemeanours. For once. Maybe it should be all about enjoying the ride as the SL plays out.

OTOH, if this is done in order to make more room for the pimping of the Fords etc, I will be pissed.

[DRW50]

Unfortunately I don't think Ron Carlivati shared this vision. Years on end of TSJ Todd as a romantic hero, even writing that embarrassing wedding where Tea wept and wept as Todd looked half-asleep. A story about the disintegration of a Todd impostor would have been fascinating. Instead RC mostly wrote to push his Todd/Tea fantasy, complete with the most pointless soap child around.

[Cat]

Oh, sure, and I understand that the intention of all the HWs at OLTL, not just Carlivati, was to write Todd as Cuddly/Snarky/Misunderstood. I'm saying that TSJ's I'm-so-bored-shoot-me-now performances, where he actively tried to antagonise everybody by playing against what was written, are viewed by me personally in a different light now that they have decided to write him as FauxTodd. It plays into what he's been doing all this time by pure accident.

[DRW50]

I think I end up blending his "bored now" performances together with Michael Easton and JPL, so it just makes me feel like there's a lot of apathy among those cast who have been given highest priority in recent years.

[shadow]

I liked TSJ as Todd in the beginning. But different HW's ubterpretation of him seemed to always go from one extreme to the other. DH wrote Todd as a wimpy, crying Punk who got his arse beat up on a regular. RC started off writing Todd as a basic Bully, then the Rapemance, and then HornDog Todd having sex 24/7 and in public places ;O.

Then midway in, TSJ started phoning in his performances and I lost any emotional attachment Todd had with the special characters that touched him (Jess, Vicki, Starr), so I cant say I will miss him.

I Roger Howarth!

[Antoyne]

Well it'd be nice to start hearing of these returns. Because right now it's still the Ford show.

[Eyespy]

I have a sad.

[juniorz1]

Never liked him really anyway, save maybe for the first 6 months when he was Walker then revealed to be Todd. I honestly think he's one of the most overrated actors in the business. Yes, he has talent (he's no Michael Easton that's for sure!) but not to the degree of which he is lauded for it. For my money, Roger Howarth always has been and always will be the real Todd Manning.

[zenarmour]

To me it's not a "this Todd is better than that Todd" thing. I watched OLTL many many years ago then stopped until the Asa has died story line started up. It's not that TSJ wasn't the real Todd, it's by the time I picked the show up again his portrayal was atrocious. He was nothing but a smirk and when writers try to force us to love a character I simply cannot go along with it when the actor clearly doesn't care. This is not a heroic character no matter who is playing him. It is really not entertaining to watch a bored actor phoning in a performance. Good riddance TSJ. I hope you do better in your next endeavor.

[marceline]

I used to adore RH's Todd. During the primetime episode where Todd held everyone hostage, I was at my company's corporate retreat. I faked food poisoning so I could go back to my hotel room and watch that episode. I can't even begin to imagine how much time I spent fighting with people on Mediadomain about Todd and all his exploits. Then I fell in love with TSJ's Todd. I liked his growth and his humor. I liked how this new actor did such a wonderful job of picking up on Todd's love for Starr.

That said, I don't care who plays Todd because I think that the CHARACTER should never have been allowed to become as important as he did. A man who led a gang rape on a woman should never have become the leading man on a show that was supposed to be written for women. Regardless if he was played by RH, TSJ or Denzel Washington. I can honestly say that the rapemance made me hate the character of Todd and the fact that RC or any soap writer thought that was an acceptable story is the perfect example of why American soaps are worthless. RC should've been kicked out of the writer's union for penning such garbage. The return of RH does nothing to change anything because "real" Todd is still a "real" rapist. IMHO, the only acceptable ending is for BOTH Todds to die horrible violet deaths. I suspect Agnes would agree with me but she's not going to be involved with OLTL's ending.

[Cheap21]

Im still holding out hope that this is a publicity stunt

OMG

[dragonflies]

+1

[JaneAusten]

ICAM. So many times I read your comments and feel like you are speaking for me. There are 2 male characters I enjoy on soaps a lot one has been Todd Manning and the other EJ Dimera but I got completely turned off on both when both shows refused to keep them true to their characters trying to force them in as romantic leads on their respective shows and its just to me a turnoff. I know the situations are not the same but the shows took the same paths with these characters that they never should have gone to. That said I liked TSJ but I think his unhappiness started translating into his performances especially the past year or so. He still has likely a good 2 months on screen at least so it will hopefully be some sort of decent story for people to watch. I'm not optimistic but one can only hope.

[MontyB]

Agreed! All this fake love for TSJ. Give me a break.

+2