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Malone originally scripted Todd as a serial rapist. It was disclosed during [[Todd Manning and Marty Saybrooke rape storylines|the 1993 rape storyline]] that he raped another character, Carol Swift, a year or two before raping Marty, and there were hints that he raped other young women before Carol.<ref name="soapoperAdigesT.com">{{cite news|first=Alison|last=Sloane Gaylin|title=Roger and Out|date=24 October 1995|work = Soap Opera Digest}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|See this YouTube clip from 1993 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ax2_idyCFPc].|group=note}} The character is at first presented as 18 years old,<ref name="Soap Opera Update">{{cite news|title=Special Section: Where would soaps be without the bad boys and vixens that cause turmoil?|page=38|date=31 July 2001|work = Soap Opera Digest}}</ref> but over the years, his age has been changed based upon the occasional [[Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome|rapid aging]] of his children. |
Malone originally scripted Todd as a serial rapist. It was disclosed during [[Todd Manning and Marty Saybrooke rape storylines|the 1993 rape storyline]] that he raped another character, Carol Swift, a year or two before raping Marty, and there were hints that he raped other young women before Carol.<ref name="soapoperAdigesT.com">{{cite news|first=Alison|last=Sloane Gaylin|title=Roger and Out|date=24 October 1995|work = Soap Opera Digest}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|See this YouTube clip from 1993 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ax2_idyCFPc].|group=note}} The character is at first presented as 18 years old,<ref name="Soap Opera Update">{{cite news|title=Special Section: Where would soaps be without the bad boys and vixens that cause turmoil?|page=38|date=31 July 2001|work = Soap Opera Digest}}</ref> but over the years, his age has been changed based upon the occasional [[Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome|rapid aging]] of his children. |
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Howarth called Todd, the product of an affair between [[Victor Lord]] and Irene Manning, "privileged and very rich".<ref>{{Cite news|title = It's Only Make-Believe|date = 10 August 1993|work = Soap Opera Weekly}}</ref> Malone gave the character the last name "Manning" without knowing the name of Victor's mistress, an oversight that allowed the writers to later reveal Todd as [[Tina Lord|Tina]] and [[Victoria Lord]]'s brother.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="malone1" /> |
Howarth called Todd, the product of an affair between [[Victor Lord]] and Irene Manning, "privileged and very rich".<ref>{{Cite news|title = It's Only Make-Believe|date = 10 August 1993|work = Soap Opera Weekly}}</ref> Malone gave the character the last name "Manning" without knowing the name of Victor's mistress, an oversight that allowed the writers to later reveal Todd as [[Tina Lord|Tina]] and [[Victoria Lord]]'s brother.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="malone1" /> Malone stated that making Todd heir to the Lord fortune gave the writers "huge story" that helped Howarth's character evolve from a short-term role to a major cast member, which Malone attributed to Howarth's "powerful talent".<ref name="malone1" /> Todd discovered that he was adopted in December 1994, after the man he thought was his father, Peter Manning, died, and Todd received letters written by his adopted mother disclosing that he was the Lord heir, and worth almost $30 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://abc.go.com/daytime/onelifetolive/episodes/1994-95/19945.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20040627065449/http://abc.go.com/daytime/onelifetolive/episodes/1994-95/19945.html|archivedate=27 June 2004 |title=ABC.com: One Life To Live|publisher=Web.archive.org|date=27 June 2004|accessdate=03 October 2011}}</ref> Developing Todd not only as Victoria's unwanted sibling, whom she was horrified to discover was her blood, but as "her professional rival" who used "a splashy tabloid newspaper to wipe out her venerable ''[[Llanview, Pennsylvania#Media|Banner]]"'' appealed to Malone.<ref name="malone1" /> |
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Executive producer Susan Bedsow Horgan, when speaking of Todd's psychological motivations, reported that Todd's adopted father degraded him verbally and abused his mother, whom Todd loved but who left him and let him down, leaving Todd with wounds that influenced his later behavior.<ref>{{Cite news|title = Coming Clean: A Soap Character Who Can't be Laundered|date = 16 August 1994|last = Stone|first = Laurie|work = The Village Voice}}</ref> |
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Malone gave the character the last name "Manning" without knowing [[Victor Lord]]'s mistress was named Irene Manning. This oversight allowed the writers to later reveal Todd as [[Tina Lord|Tina]] and [[Victoria Lord]]'s brother born on January 2, 1970.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="malone1" /><ref name="ToddSC">{{Cite web|url=http://soapcentral.com/gh/whoswho/todd.php|title=About GH: Who's Who in Port Charles: Todd Manning|publisher=''Soapcentral.com''|accessdate=2012-06-01}}</ref> In December 1994, Todd receives long withheld letters after the death of his then-father, Peter Manning. Written by Peter's wife — Barbara "Bitsy" (Jones) Manning — whom Todd believed to be his mother since before her death, reveals Todd was adopted. Todd later discovers he is the biological son of Victor Lord and Peter's cousin, Irene. |
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Todd was made Victoria's brother to give the writers more story to work with while transitioning Todd from a recurring character to a main character.<ref name="Malone">[[Michael Malone]] gave exclusive interviews to website magnifmalonian. {{cite web|title=Malone Q & A|publisher=magnifmalonian|accessdate=2007-08-26|url=http://magnifmalonian.tripod.com/id30.htm#__1}}</ref> As the son of Victor, Todd became entitled to $27.8 million inheritance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://abc.go.com/daytime/onelifetolive/episodes/1994-95/19945.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20040627065449/http://abc.go.com/daytime/onelifetolive/episodes/1994-95/19945.html|archivedate=2004-06-27 |title=ABC.com: One Life To Live|publisher=Web.archive.org|date=2004-06-27|accessdate=October 3, 2011}}</ref> The writers chose to begin the storyline with the mystery regarding the false heir, [[David Vickers]], a [[Confidence trick|con-man]] claiming Todd's fortune as his own, and to have him corrupt Tina. Developing Todd not only as Victoria's unwanted sibling but as "her professional rival" who used "a splashy tabloid newspaper to wipe out her venerable ''[[Llanview, Pennsylvania#Media|Banner]]''" appealed to Malone.<ref name="Malone"/> |
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==Explanatory notes== |
==Explanatory notes== |
Revision as of 20:23, 18 March 2014
Background
Todd Manning, created by Michael Malone and originated by Roger Howarth in December 1992, was a young college student attending Llanview University who played defensive back for the university's football team and was fraternity brother to Kevin Buchanan, Zach Rosen and Powell Lord. Todd was originally intended to be a short-lived role, but Howarth's portrayal of the character inspired notable fan reaction, which prompted the creators to layer Todd's personality and showcase him regularly within the series.[1][2] Malone said fleshing out the villain reminded him of what he loved about soap operas. "The story-telling is a genuine collaboration, not just among writers but by the actors", he said.[3] Malone felt he could not take full credit for the development of the character from Marty Saybrooke's gang rapist to what the character later became, and also noted Howarth's impact:
In the creation of Todd Manning, no one played a larger role than the remarkably talented Josh Griffith, first associate head writer, then co-head writer, during my stay at One Life. Josh loved, lived and breathed Todd and fought passionately for his position on the show. Second, Todd never would have evolved from "first frat boy" to the major cast member he became without the powerful talent of Roger Howarth. Because of Roger's ability to convey the complexity of Todd (the hurt as well as anger, the insecurity as well as bluster, the brains, yearning, manipulativeness, sexiness, tenderness, nastiness) we were able to explore both the deeply dark side of this character (the effort to destroy Marty to cover the rape, the attempted revenge on his lawyer Nora, the attack on Luna) and at the same time slowly uncover his growing struggle (usually a failed struggle) towards some kind of redemption. Romantic leads have often begun their careers playing villains (Valentino, Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart among them). These characters appeal because they make women feel both the thrill of the "bad" and the lure of the hidden "good": they can lead the man to change through love. "I'll save him!" Fans loved Todd from the beginning because he always had that appeal. The network was therefore happy to have him return to Llanview whenever Roger would come back, and happy to have him move into story in major ways.[3]
Malone originally scripted Todd as a serial rapist. It was disclosed during the 1993 rape storyline that he raped another character, Carol Swift, a year or two before raping Marty, and there were hints that he raped other young women before Carol.[4][note 1] The character is at first presented as 18 years old,[5] but over the years, his age has been changed based upon the occasional rapid aging of his children.
Howarth called Todd, the product of an affair between Victor Lord and Irene Manning, "privileged and very rich".[6] Malone gave the character the last name "Manning" without knowing the name of Victor's mistress, an oversight that allowed the writers to later reveal Todd as Tina and Victoria Lord's brother.[1][3] Malone stated that making Todd heir to the Lord fortune gave the writers "huge story" that helped Howarth's character evolve from a short-term role to a major cast member, which Malone attributed to Howarth's "powerful talent".[3] Todd discovered that he was adopted in December 1994, after the man he thought was his father, Peter Manning, died, and Todd received letters written by his adopted mother disclosing that he was the Lord heir, and worth almost $30 million.[7] Developing Todd not only as Victoria's unwanted sibling, whom she was horrified to discover was her blood, but as "her professional rival" who used "a splashy tabloid newspaper to wipe out her venerable Banner" appealed to Malone.[3]
Executive producer Susan Bedsow Horgan, when speaking of Todd's psychological motivations, reported that Todd's adopted father degraded him verbally and abused his mother, whom Todd loved but who left him and let him down, leaving Todd with wounds that influenced his later behavior.[8]
Explanatory notes
References
- ^ a b Branco, Nelson (01 October 2008). "Shame and Prejudice: Mishandling sin on 'OLTL'". TV Guide.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Jennifer Hayward (1997). "Case Study: Redeeming the rapist". Consuming Pleasures: Active Audiences and Serial Fictions from Dickens to Soap Opera. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 174–183. ISBN 0-8131-2025-X.
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d e "Malone Q&A". Magnificently Malonian. Tripod.com. "Malone on Daytime TV, One Life to Live, and Another World" (exclusive interview). Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- ^ Sloane Gaylin, Alison (24 October 1995). "Roger and Out". Soap Opera Digest.
- ^ "Special Section: Where would soaps be without the bad boys and vixens that cause turmoil?". Soap Opera Digest. 31 July 2001. p. 38.
- ^ "It's Only Make-Believe". Soap Opera Weekly. 10 August 1993.
- ^ "ABC.com: One Life To Live". Web.archive.org. 27 June 2004. Archived from the original on 27 June 2004. Retrieved 03 October 2011.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|accessdate=
(help) - ^ Stone, Laurie (16 August 1994). "Coming Clean: A Soap Character Who Can't be Laundered". The Village Voice.