| Subject: It is a victory, but maybe not what you think... |
Author:
OTWB
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Date Posted: 11:28:00 09/11/03 Thu
In reply to:
m&m
's message, "Added to the reasons why it's no longer worth it to talk Todd" on 10:18:18 09/11/03 Thu
I'm a big fan of the swipe of a pen, it's always been my sctick, done well, most outcomes on a soap opera will work... if only it's written in a logical manner, that gets us there with a believable journey. The last few creative teams failed to do that for me. Todd failed to do that for me. Blair failed ot do that for me... it wasn't Roger's failure, it wasn't Kassie's failure, nor anyone's failure but the writers failure to make me feel that the outcomes made sense. Short sightedness, more desire to please the actors, ALL the fans (no matter what their POV), than to write a story made the stories, empty, stupid and wasteful.
Because of the emptiness and the stupidity of the stories, I started trying to watch for the pure performances of the actors, because the stories, were worthless and trite. When they threw Todd in that box, while Asa was singing, "Melancholy Baby," I felt like they could just take all of Llanview, shove it into a box, nail it shut and put me out of my misery. I hated absolutely EVERYTHING about One Life to Live. I hated the characters, the acting made me wince, the stories weren't even stories, just day to day homilies on "how not to write a soap opera, and how to make the fans PRAY for apathy, cuz it's better than pure hatred." What a wretched mess it was! I turned it off, and I had finally reached the point, where I really didn't want to ever see it again. They stuck a fork in my love for Llanview, it takes a lot to get THERE. The only reason I watched the day of Mitch's death, was because I wanted to see that freak die, nothing more, nothing less. Then the lights seem to slowly come back on. The change was immediate.
In the last few months, I've learned to not really like the characters that I disliked previously, but at least understand them in the context of the story. With few exceptions, I'm not wincing when I see them. Antonio still makes me wince and and Joey to a lesser extent, but most of it works for me. I really can't stand the sight of Kamar, and Bree makes me sick, but I think Java is the source of my NuJessica nightmare. Joey isn't bad, I just think that BMH is wrong for the part. He's the wrong age, it was a bad move to DE-SORAS him to make him fit with Jen, aka, he's playing with the wrong kids, mostly it's the kids, he should be a GROWN UP in a GROWN UP story, such as Kelly, Kevin, Andrew.... Jen is more tolerable, but the Joey thing isn't working. Malone and Griffith have had the decency to back burner them or as I like to put it, "put them up on blocks." I feel like they will probably recast Joey and that makes sense to me. Rex is interesting, but he's gone up on blocks, which also makes sense to me. He was being written towards a big fat dead end street, which is a waste. Dorian is caring for her girls again, in the way that she righteously does, meddling, sticking her nose in their business, and certain that she knows best. She does know best, it's just her method that might be a little bit off. David Vickers is older and colder, but still sweet. Blair is conflicted, and she finally has a voice, and....
Trevor St. James as a Todd who actually LISTENS and hears her, is refreshing. Roger could be the Todd who listens and hears just as well as Trevor, maybe better, but that ain't happening, and it's not hard for me to accept. Trevor "feels" like Todd to me, and I credit Malone and Griffith with that, along with Trevor's quiet confidence in his abilities, it shows and it's why he's working for me. When ES comes back from vacation, maybe we'll see even more of that Todd who listens and hears, with her. I don't buy that thing about how Todd will have nothing to do with his family, except for Blair. What I buy is that Erica Slezak is on her six week vacation that she takes every August, and she's out of sight, out of mind as she is this time, EVERY year.
It's wonderful to talk about Todd again, at least for me, because he does make sense, in relation to who he's been for a lot of years, it's just a more retrospective sense. He's no longer blind to the things he's done, he's no longer the bull in the China shop, unregretful, uncaring, and refusing to acknowledge his own bullshit. I don't think he's blind to everyone else's either. His story is his struggle to not be Todd. As he struggles to make all the choices that last year's Todd would not make, he will be, by hook or by crook making the right choices to have the things he wants in his life. I think that he will become more and more comfortable with those choices, because it will get him the things he wants... love, acceptance, respect... He won't want to let go of that, so I would imagine, even after he's revealed to be Todd, those choices and what they gained him, will stick with him. HOPEFULLY, it will be the beginning of some very real growth for him. All that stuff that Vicki told him will start to have meaning, because it's been made real, by the reactions of those around him.
So yeah, I do feel like a winner, because once again, it's become about the characters and the stories, not the actors and their performances. I watch for the former, the latter is gravy, but it's not enough for me.
>Are you saying here, that I obviously didn't "love
>>Todd," because if I did, I'd be in some kind of deep
>>mourning?
>>
>>Puhlease... I'm not even going to get into one of
>>those "deep discussions" about who loves Todd "the
>>most", because I really don't care. I AM a Todd fan,
>>I have been for years. It made me sad as hell to see
>>Roger leave, even if my couple seemed to be burnt to a
>>crisp. Hell, it's not like it was the first time,
>>anyway.
>
>That's not what I meant at all...not challenging
>anyone's Todd love, not saying my Todd love was better
>than anyone else's, not trying to do a fan group
>against fan group thing...that's crap of the past and
>I'm not about bringing it back to the present.
>
>I was just trying to express my own personal sadness
>at someone else in Todd Manning's shoes, and the way
>it will never work for me, nothing more or less. This
>wasn't an attack or a challenge on anyone, but
>whatever, just my own sadness put to words.
>
>It's because we all DID love Roger Howarth's Todd
>Manning so much that I felt like we all really lost.
>I wasn't challenging that, but actually trying to
>acknowledge that.
>
>Now, granted, I'm not really fond of A7 trying to take
>this new thing that I can't even see as Todd Manning
>to begin with and claiming it's some sort of victory
>and annhilation of what was love to me, but my
>response to her was not about an attack. As I thought
>it through, all I have is this utmost confusion and
>sadness for the whole idea of recasting what, for me
>because of my issues with recast, just can't be Todd
>Manning to me. That's all I intended to express.
>
>In the end, I think my days of commenting on anything
>Todd Manning have seen their day, so for everyone who
>still finds him, you are in a better place than I am
>with it, and I really am happy for you.
>
>*shrugs apologetically*
>~m&m
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