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UPDATED 3-17-08
CRAZE
The
Madness of Manning, Part Two
My
mailbox was flooded this week in response to my last column about
Todd Manning. It seems most of my readers felt the same way I did -
that this new and evil version of Todd is unsympathetic and hell - downright
pathetic. And totally entertaining!
 Hi
there, Llanview fans. I hope you had a nice St. Patrick's Day and
didn't drink as much as I did. I'm afraid I'm not 21 years old
anymore! Whoops. Nursing my hangover today, I wondered why TPTB at
One Life to Live have skipped right over
drinking and drugs in
relation to its teen characters, and hopped right on the sex and
(maybe) pregnancy train. Those are great issues too, but drinking
and drugs are so prevalent with the young ones these days. Langston, Starr, and Cole all represent prime examples of teens who
might get into drugs - considering two of them have no parents and
the other has a psycho and a part-time hooker for parents! I would
like to see a drug storyline play out realistically on a soap for
once. Instead of a teen character being sucked into the world of
drugs by the forces of evil, let's see them do drugs recreationally
like so many do, and have it lead to some sort of health or danger
issue. Aside from Starr's current angst with her father, the teens
on this show have really lost their edge. The edgiest thing about
Langston lately is her hair. What's happened to her? If living
with the Cramers and Mannings is going to change her into a
goody-two-shoes, then let's take it even further and make her Little
Miss Perfect while Starr continues down the path of Little Miss
Nasty. I really have grown to love all four of the show's teenaged
actors, but their characters need to be more distinctive. Teens
aren't always caring, attentive, good-natured, and proper. In fact,
they usually are filled to the brim with attitude and angst. I hope
this Disney-owned show will realize soon that it doesn't take a
rape-obsessed psychopathic father to make a teenager act up!
Langston and Markko have become a little too boring and a little too
perfect for my tastes.
But this column, like last week's column, is going to be mostly
about Todd. I haven't received this much mail since the Evangeline
wars ended. I thought your reactions to the Todd/Starr drama were
very provocative, and I want to share them. But first, some random
notes from the week that was:
- So, Snoop Dogg is going to be ACTING on the show? One Life to Lizzle's in the hizzle, for shizzle!
- He'll only be on for two episodes, but even so - he'll be the
main black character. You'd think a celebrity fan like Snoop might
feel inclined to
complain to TPTB about the lack of representation these days.
 - Cole's make up this week was outstanding. Very realistic!
- But if I were beaten up that badly, I would stay in the house for
awhile!
- Why is Dorian letting Todd stay at La Boulaie? She doesn't feel
that Langston is in danger?
- Hasn't Langston told her that Todd threatened her twice now?
- A teenaged girl being threatened by a known rapist... that is
cause for alarm, my friends.
- Interesting how the Santis are suddenly part of the storyline
again. Could this be the end of the Vegas?
- Hey, Michael Easton - I know you think it's a character choice,
but please SPIT THAT GUM OUT! You're on television!
- I laughed when Cole asked John what he would do if he thought he
would never see the girl he loves again, and John said, "I don't
know." The subtext being, at least in my mind, that John doesn't
know what being in love is, so how can he answer that?
- Blair tried to "talk sense" into Todd this week, which to me
seemed rather lame. She should have forced him to talk to a
therapist or GET OUT.
- I LOVED Blair finally telling him he could take Sam off to
Hawaii. Finally, SOME resemblance to the Blair I used to know.
- Why do I get the feeling that Antonio is about to turn BAD? As
in, BAD COP?
- Excuse me, but Blair implied that she and Todd were each others'
"first loves." Uh-UH! Sorry, but Blair had already been in love
with Cord (and I think Max, too?) before she ever hooked up with
Todd, and I'm SURE she had first loves in her teenage years. And
what about Rebecca Lewis? Todd loved her WAY before he hooked up
with Blair. Come on, writers! This just made Blair look really
stupid to be saying such a thing.
- But Starr's Romeo and Juliet reference was hilarious. So true.
- Um, Cris said he is painting again... because of Sarah? And
because of that, he's not worried about money? HUH?
 - Why is Jack so excited to move somewhere so far away and lose all
of his friends? Kids hate moving - this made no sense to me.
- Langston was droopy and boring this week. She needs something to
do other than help and listen.
- What's with the recent Cris/Blair scenes? Wouldn't Blair be
nervous letting Cris hang out in her kitchen when Todd is home?
- I love, love, love the Dorian/Lee Ramsey scenes and I want MORE.
- Todd's need to control his loved ones makes me question whether he
really loves them or even knows what love is.
- At this point, I would cheer for Marcie if she stole Sam back. I
think the baby would be better off.
- WHY was Jessica dressed like a Times Square HOOKER this week? Was
she trying to seduce Charlie? Was she Tess? I'm confused.
- Jessica's boobs were the only thing I could look at during her
scenes with Charlie. Viki needs to cover that child up in front of
her man!
- What fun is a Dorian/Viki history lesson without flashbacks?
- Dorian is being especially NASTY lately, isn't she? I love it.
- So let me get this straight...Starr cannot even talk to Cole, but
Blair is welcome to hang out with a guy (Cris) she had sex with
recently? I ain't buying that for a second, writers!
- Why is Blair acting like she loves the idea of Cris being with
Sarah? I thought she DESPISED Sarah! Right?
- Blair was flat-out flirting with Cris. I thought Todd was going
to walk in and bludgeon him with the teapot or something.
- Starr to Todd: "You ARE that bad person! You ARE that rapist!"
Best line ever.
 - Did anyone else think Jessica's little "history lesson" to Charlie
was LAME? She left out all the best parts, like Viki IMPRISONING
Dorian for months, having split personalities including a few that
are arsonists and murderers, the multiple murder charges and
convictions brought against Dorian by Viki, the David Vickers
scheme, the history with Clint, Dorian running down Jessica and
killing her baby, and the list goes on! Come on now!
- It's ABSURD that Charlie hasn't found out about Viki's split
personalities yet. And WHY hasn't Dorian brought it up?
- So who IS behind Lee Ramsey's ascent to power? I really want to
know.
- I love that little girl playing Jamie! She is a natural actress!
Jamie is such a little diva!
- PLEASE tell me the writers aren't trying to give us another round
of Jessica/Antonio. I'd be more open to Jessica/Cris, which is also
a possibility!
- What's up with the guy helping Nash out with the vineyard?
- Cris won't "compromise" the "integrity of his work" by making wine
labels that aren't, what? Artistic masterpieces? Give me a BREAK!
- Adriana needs to move to Paris for a year or so, then come back
with a new face and way bitchier demeanor.
- If Charlie had a BRAIN in his head, he'd come clean with Viki at
this point. He's starting to really irritate me.
 - The Jess/Nash scenes where they are having foreplay in public are
really disgusting.
- Why were the Bo/Lindsay scenes on Thursday SO BORING? In fact,
that entire episode was boring, and it seemed that no one knew their
lines.
- Dorian keeps referring to Jared as an "ex-con." As if she isn't
one herself!
- That bit where Roxy was talking about starting up a theatre troupe
and doing "one-acts" was HILARIOUS.
- I guess the carriage house is the place characters go before they
disappear - sort of like the Quartermaine attic on GH. Paging
Miles.
- Speaking of GH, I can barely watch it anymore. It is God-awful.
- And AMC seems to be worse than ever.
- I LOVE that Natalie accidentally taped the Nigel/Jared
conversation. But she was about to listen to it, then the next
thing we know she's listening to a different part of the tape. Huh?
- How DARE Todd tell Viki that Starr was raped? That is abuse and
could have given Viki a heart attack. Todd cannot possibly actually
believe she was raped? He is making my blood pressure rise, folks!
- I loved that preview of Starr asking Marcie to "take your son back
from my dad." Wow.
GUEST ESSAY: The De-Evolution of Todd Manning, by Rejena
Though I know you will probably be inundated with mail regarding
your column on Todd Manning this week I was compelled to write, and
hope my comments don't get lost in the flood. I, like you, have
been a fan of the Todd Manning character for many years, when he was
"Frat Boy Number 1" and Roger Howarth was just a blip on the radar. That man was a monster and rapist, whose purpose was purely to
spread devastation and pain to whomever had the misfortune of being
in his path. And then the character was added to the permanent
landscape of the show. He grew and
evolved, and the audience
watched as he transformed before our eyes from a one-note villain
into a complex, sometimes rootable, sometimes loathable enigma.
That evolution took the better part of 15 years and during that time
Todd Manning has made me laugh, cry, roll my eyes and want to throw
something at the T.V. in frustration. Trevor St. John's take on the
character has only added more layers, as he was able to portray Todd
as the husband, sometimes friend and father he had eventually
become. The execution storyline took that metamorphosis to a
completely different level and what we were left with was a
fascinating character, who could care less what most people thought
of him and loved so completely it bordered on obsession.
At least, that's what I thought had become of Todd Manning. Imagine
my surprise to learn that all of that growth, all of that
"evolution" was just filler penned by random head writers with the
delusion that Todd had actually grown up in the fifteen years he'd
been on this show. I cannot understand the appeal of the type of
regression that has taken place with this character over the past
few months. One note, mustache-twirling villains don't survive on
soaps or television in general for a reason. They're one-note. They eventually become tiresome and are written off the canvas
because a character who does not grow is not a character, he's a
caricature. What
 we are seeing now is some writer's image of what
Todd Manning is supposed to be, instead of who he has become. I
give Trevor St. John every bit of the credit for giving Todd
whatever humanity he has left until the writers show me different. I pray what we see now is the beginning of a Todd breakdown story. I pray we'll get a real glimpse of what was going through the mind
of Todd Manning the day he raised his hand to his daughter and her
friends. I even hope that this show would at least have the
presence of mind to acknowledge the fact that the man has not dealt
with the loss of his best friend. Alas, I fear the only subtext we
as the viewers will get is the gravitas Trevor brings to all of his
scenes.
So in closing, yes the scenes made for good television. Yes, there
were amazing performances from all involved. But good writing shows
growth, change and evolution making the characters flawed but real. I have no interest in seeing at mid 30ish Todd Manning make the same
stupid mistakes and display the same sociopath tendencies that he
did when he was a 20 something co-ed. If this is the path the
character is on, in my opinion, they shouldn't have bothered to stop
calling him "Frat Boy Number 1."
Dang. I don't think Todd can be called one-note just yet, but he
certainly needs to reveal WHY he is being such a monster, or else he
will be in danger of becoming one-note.
MAIL
REPORT
"Okay,
can I just say I've never been so scared of Todd Manning? He is
absolutely losing it and I must say I've never hated Todd...but
right now I am fed up with him. Just because he did something
horrible, horrible, horrible all those years ago doesn't mean the
same thing is going to happen to Starr. She's proven she's not some
child. She's a strong girl who knows what she wants. She's quite
capable of making these decisions. I mean I'm not saying I'm all for
a 16 year old having sex but let's face it. That happens in real
life. I just hope they will deal with this the RIGHT way. But I have
NEVER seen such brilliant acting as I have the last week or so.
Trevor, Kassie and Kristen have absolutely amazed me. Kristen
especially. I hope this young girl gets an Emmy nomination and quite
frankly I would LOVE to see her win. I have to wonder if Trevor has
enjoyed playing this way more evil Todd than we've seen in a long
time. I mean this Todd is different. It's almost like he's living in
another universe. I hope they do something with this. Explain his
actions. I don't want to completely hate Todd forever. There needs
to be SOME reason as to why he's lost it. We know why Jessica lost
it so now explain to us why Todd has lost it. By the way in my
opinion when Bree took Jessica and became Tess her acting got so
much better. And with Trevor already being an amazing actor I can
only imagine what he could do if Todd had DID. Anyway I hope they
can "fix" Todd because while Trevor's acting has been sensational
Todd is becoming someone I don't want to see." - Lindsey
I agree - I'm loving Trevor's acting but hating Todd so much that
I'm not sure it can go on for very long without an exploration of
his childhood.
"I missed all of last week, but after reading Craze I watched those
scenes on YouTube. It was really hard to see Todd behave like this
but he is clearly out of touch with reality. I do not think
punishment will help as he is so far gone that he would just feel
victimized and nothing productive will come out of it. He is in
major need of therapy and needs to come to terms with the guilt he
feels for what he did to Marty as well as the likely abuse he
received as a child. This was really powerful stuff although very
disturbing to watch. He probably needs to be hospitalized and
medicated." - G.B.
I absolutely agree.
"I really like the idea of a story regarding Todd being abused as a
child. That would make a lot of sense as to explaining why he did
what he did to Cole & Markko." - Brenda
We know he was abused by Peter Manning. But it's never been fully
explored. I think if ever there was a time to "go there," this is
it.
"Saw your column, and while I don't condone what Starr/Cole did, I
adore this couple...Todd is off his rocker and is in dangerous
territory. Blair made me furious that she stuck up for Todd with
Dorian when Dorian told her Todd should leave. Blair proceeded to
tell Dorian that the whole family would leave and that she can
handle Todd. Blair belongs in St. Anne's right along with Todd. No
matter what Starr/Cole did, Cole did not deserve that. And
Langston...I am worried about her too." - Nancy in Cleveland
Two weeks ago, when Todd and Langston were alone and he whispered
that he would make her pay, I honestly thought he IS capable of
raping again, and that Langston was probably most in danger of being
his next victim. I'm sorry, but rape is a violent crime and Todd is
being extremely violent. If Markko or Cole were girls, would Todd
have raped them instead of beat them up? Was he thinking about
raping Langston? I think he was. This "new" Todd is not someone
who understands the error of his ways regarding committing violent
acts upon others, clearly. So I don't think it's outrageous to call
for his removal from being near a young girl that he is threatening
with payback. I mean, what is he going to do - bribe Langston's
teacher to flunk her in math? I don't think that's what he meant
when he said "payback" And I absolutely agree with Nancy that
Blair has been enabling Todd this entire time. Her demeanor towards
Todd and Starr speaks to being on Starr's side and realizing Todd is
overboard...but her actions do not. Her actions support Todd's
plan to imprison Starr in her bedroom for two years, for what? For
doing something that would upset any parent but also something that
is completely NORMAL to do. Blair sure isn't in a position to judge
Starr for sleeping with the boy she loves, when Blair values the
sanctity of lovemaking about as much as she values a package of hair
dye. Half of me is rooting for Blair when she speaks up against
Todd, but the other half of me is disgusted by her refusal to hold
Todd accountable for his actions and by her insistence to "stand by
her man" at all costs.
"I love your column and I agree with most of what you say, but I
think you are being too optimistic in thinking the writers will
write a storyline for Todd that confronts his childhood or even one
that sends him to St. Anne's to deal with his demons. I see this
current storyline as a way to make us Todd fans finally turn against
him and cheer for the people they wanted us to like in the first
place and didn’t – namely John/Marcie/Michael. I refuse to do it.
John McBain will never be a hero to me. I don’t care how many
storylines they work him into and how his family and friends on the
show continue to say what an honest man and upstanding cop he is. I
watch the show and know that John follows the law ONLY when it suits
him. After watching Todd back off of all the babynappers, allowing
John to blackmail him into going lenient on Marcie and cower from
Lee Ramsey, it was awful to see him beat on teenagers. If they were
going to make him this evil, it should be all-around evil, being
violent with EVERYONE who crosses him. It’s pathetic how much people
have been able to walk all over him since Margaret held him hostage.
This past week did make for some good TV watching but it came at
quite a cost. And I do not want to see Marcie McBain on my TV screen
after the pathetic slap on the wrist she got for her actions and I
don’t care how many kids she helped learn to love to read and how
Viki thinks she’s wonderful. I can still remember her mocking Viki
while she was having heart trouble and waving a gun in her face
while her “son” sat a few feet away. Marcie shouldn’t have any
children and should have had a nice stint in St. Anne's to deal with
her issues. Maybe then I could stand for her to be on my screen. I
really dislike the direction the writers are going in for almost all
storylines currently, other than the Buchanan takeover. I think
Dorian will be the mastermind behind that one, to get revenge on
Clint. I think Clint is very nicely slipping into Asa’s shoes and
it’s makes for some real airtime for the Buchanan’s finally. I would
rather they bring Asa back and behind the takeover to bring his
family together and into the business like he always wanted, but
that’s unlikely." - Amanda J.
Well, it certainly is possible that turning Todd this dark was a
way to make us like Nora, John, and the McBains more. It's probably
just a welcome side affect of the story, though. I love Todd being
dark...what I hate though is his relapse into a lifestyle of
physical violence. This dumbs him down considerably. What happened
to the ultra-rich, ultra-connected Todd Manning who didn't need to
use his fists to do the dirty work. Todd can hire people like that,
if need be. All through the Marcie/Tommy debacle, Todd failed to
call upon his vast resources. His attitude of "that boy is mine,
give him HERE" did nothing for his image, either. It made me
question whether Todd even loves Tommy/Sam, his own flesh and
blood. I never questioned his love for Starr before - until last
week. I don't think portraying this central character in a way that
makes him seem inhuman in his evil is going to benefit the show in
the long-run. If he were at least more civilized about his
machinations (the way Dorian is...selfish, nasty, conniving...but
not evil), I might not hate him so. Right now, he is a monster -
plain and simple. You pretty much HAVE to explain that he was raped
as a child repeatedly at this point to get me to cut him any slack
after his recent actions. I think the show crossed a line that will
be hard to take back. If Amanda is right and I am being too
optimistic by expecting an attempt at redemption, then the character
of Todd Manning will never be the same. And I mean that in a bad
way.
"Todd's breakdown - because that's what it was - was scary... and
the most entertainment this when-the-mood-strikes-her watcher has
gotten from OLTL in a long time. Todd's fury was unexpected (I knew
he was going to be mad, but that was...wow) yet understandable, I
think. Todd has gone around the bend, and Starr's brand new sex life
and his past have collided and gotten jumbled. He needs to deal with
what has happened to him because that hasn't happened yet. He needs
to deal with that, needs to adopt a healthier view of love and
sexuality (a rapist who was raped, "trapped" in an obsession
masquerading as love), in order to deal with Starr properly. But
that takes years, and TPTB at OLTL have already squandered three
years. However, during Todd's descent into madness, as frightening
and chilling as it was, the thought of him raping and/or killing
Langston or his kids, or physically harming them in any way, never
once crossed my mind. Maybe I'm just naive, but I didn't think of
Todd's anger that way. Right now, he's in "protect-at-all-costs"
mode, and Cole is the main threat. I may be in the minority, but I
was more disturbed by his assault of Markko, than the beating he
gave Cole. Read into that what you will. For me, the Todd hate was
high after the Markko incident, but by the time they got back to La
Boulaie and Todd was going on and on about rape, and you could
clearly see that he'd cracked, my heart broke for him. He was there,
but in his own scenario. He was hearing, but not listening. He was
scared. Bravo to Trevor St. John for freaking me out one minute and
getting me to sympathize with Todd Manning the next." -
Sonja
Actually, I sort of agree that his beating of Markko was more
disturbing, because it made no sense and seemed the action of a
lunatic. With Cole, even though it WAS attempted murder, at least
you sort of understood psychologically what was going on. But I
cannot say that I felt even one iota of sympathy for Todd at any
point in time. I wanted to very badly, and was shocked that it
didn't happen. Instead, I found myself craving to see Todd beaten
and tortured himself. How dare he beat up teenage boys (who are
actually good kids, to boot)? Todd needs a taste of his own
medicine, and regardless of who does the deed, I will be cheering
them on when Todd's karma comes back to bite him in the ass.
"First, I totally agree that Todd was abusive and should be punished
for hitting Cole and Markko. However, I understand how hard it
would be to be cool and calm when you discover your sixteen-year-old
in bed with a member of the opposite sex. I am probably in the
minority, but I think Starr should have been humble and apologetic
and not allowed to believe it is o.k. for a sixteen-year-old to have
sex because she is “in love”. Or, because she wants the first time
to be perfect. I was taught the first time should be perfect on
your wedding night. Ah, but that was a long time ago. Maybe Todd
wouldn’t continue to react the way he is doing if Blair would try to
talk Starr into taking some responsibility for what is going on, and
then again maybe he would. This is after all and is said and done a
Soap, and it’s about time Todd returned to the dark side—my favorite
side of Todd." - Lee
I don't think anyone expected cool and calm from Todd after what
he witnessed. But he's been reduced to an Antonio-level character
with the temper and physical beatings. That sort of consistent
guttural, violent response to life events makes him rather like a
Caveman. We already have the Vegas, so who needs another? I'm sure
Starr might be more thoughtful and apologetic about her actions if
her father hadn't tried to kill her boyfriend before she had a
chance to reflect on her own choices. Unfortunately, now she'll
never be open with her parents about things again. Todd has
demonstrated that he would rather imprison his daughter than know
her true self or her true nature. He would rather force her to be
the person he wishes she was - which includes having no sexuality. In other words, he doesn't want her to be human. It's sad.
"Let me preface this by saying I don't condone or in anyway make
excuses for TODD's violent behavior...that being said, I think we
are all missing the point...and the possibilities. This is a
drama...TODD has a past...a past we have only come to know in bits
and pieces. This storyline could open up a Pandora's Box. We know
that TODD was sold/given to Peter Manning by TODD's real father
Victor Lord. We know that TODD was sexually and physically abused in
the horror he called a childhood. So was VIKI. Imagine this
scenario; TODD goes to VIKI for support and advice regarding
STARR...they love each other dearly...they begin to talk about TODD's reaction to STARR's teen angst in the past weeks. For once
TODD and VIKI actually talk to one another and not at one another. Imagine the dramatic possibilities if these two characters, guided
by these two amazing actors, have a breakthrough and actually reveal
their pasts to each other; relive it there. I am not speaking of
cheap flashbacks with actors we don't know...I am talking about
scenes of pain and anger and hatred... and then finally
acceptance...understanding...and moving on...leaving as much of
the past behind as possible. Think about it...TODD and VIKI alone in
the library of LLanfair...learning to actually love and appreciate
each other as never before. It would be riveting television." - A
Trevor Fan
Yes, indeed. But I was somewhat shocked to see Viki's rather
ho-hum reaction to the news this week. I can't WAIT until she finds
out what really happened. I just think she should have been more
concerned, since she's always been Starr's role model.
"What happened for the Mannings to be living at Dorian's again? And
why haven't they left yet?" - Renaldo
They moved in there because they had to fake being together to get
custody of Sam. Then they made their marriage "real." As far as I
can see, the only reason they're still at La Boulaie is so the
writers can keep all of those characters under one roof. But I
think it's silly to ask us to believe Todd would stand to live with
Dorian, and vice versa. Todd needs to be kind of his own lair, and
he clearly isn't the master of La Boulaie - Dorian is. t makes no
sense for them to be living there, does it?
"Dorian's scolding of Markko for being upstairs with Langston seemed
a bit too stern. I chuckled - she really is a grand old hypocrite
who doesn't want her 'girls' to have sex lives, but seduced Joey
when he was 18!" - Joanne
True. But she isn't quite the hypocrite that Todd is, who was
RAPING girls when he wasn't much older than Starr.
Please send your OLTL thoughts, complaints, suggestions, and
desperate pleas to:
Robert Iger, President of Disney (ABC Parent Company)
robert.a.iger@disney.com.
Anne Sweeney, President of ABC
anne.x.sweeney@abc.com.
That's it for this week. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to
e-mail me.
Until next time - don't forget to feel the Craze!
Jeremy in Chicago
LAST WEEKS
COLUMN
Comments and Feedback??
JeremyInChicago@soaptownusa.com
 Photos courtesy of
ABCWEBPIX and soapteens.com
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