America's Television Sweetheart

Will the real Todd Manning please stand up?

I can’t lie. I’ve been waiting for this storyline for eight years. In 2003, Roger Howarth left ONE LIFE TO LIVE after portraying the controversial (Understatement!) leading man Todd Manning since 1992. Shortly after Howarth’s departure, Trevor St. John stepped into the role. But this was an atypical recast. In most soap opera recasts, differences in physical appearances between the portrayers of the same character are never explained. Exhibit A: The role of Blair Cramer in ONE LIFE TO LIVE was originated by Asian American actress Mia Korf.

Mia Korf

But Kassie DePaiva, the actress who was recast in the role, is very much a blond Southern lady who sings all the time.

Kassie KePaiva

ONE LIFE TO LIVE went a different route with the Todd Manning recast. Trevor St. John came to Llanview as Walker Laurence. It was only later revealed that “Walker” was actually Todd Manning with a new face. The biggest change was that Todd no longer had the infamous scar on his face. (More on the scar in a bit.) There were two possible conclusions to draw from this development in the character of Todd Manning:

1) If Todd had a new face, then that closed the door for fan favorite Roger Howarth to ever return. Unless, of course, Todd would someday get plastic surgery to get back his old face.

OR

2) This “new Todd” was never really Todd at all, and if Roger Howarth ever returned to ONE LIFE TO LIVE, all would be revealed.

Well, Roger Howarth is back in Llanview, and we’re about to find out if Trevor St. John’s Todd has been an impostor all along. Why is this all such a big deal? Because Todd Manning is one of the most iconic and complicated characters in daytime history.

Roger Howarth: The Original Todd Manning

Todd Manning is a rapist. There’s really no way to get around that. And the scar on his original face is a constant reminder of his sins. In 1993, Todd gang raped college coed Marty Saybrooke. Todd received his scar when Luna Moody hit him in the face with a crowbar to stop him from attacking Marty a second time. After this, Todd could have been written as a one-dimensional villain, but the writers slowly began to flesh out his character. They revealed Todd’s abusive childhood, and they anchored him to Llanview by making him the long-lost half-brother of the beloved Victoria Lord. (He really hit the sibling jackpot with that one.)

(Halfway through the following video, Todd finds out his father is Victor Lord. He confronts new sister Viki about this, but Viki is taking some time off while her alternate personality Jean takes over. Todd has no idea he’s talking to one of Viki’s alters. Oh, soaps!)

Todd has never been fully redeemed. Redemption is impossible for a character who keeps playing the villain and who continues to hurt the people that he loves. What Todd did become was a character we cared about deeply. He was a character we prayed would choose good over evil. And sometimes he did.

Trevor St. John: Todd Manning 2.0

Roger Howarth deserves a great deal of credit for Todd’s popularity. And Trevor St. John deserves just as much credit for making Todd his own and keeping the character relevant in Llanview. But St. John’s Todd committed his own share of reprehensible deeds. The worst was when he hid an amnesiac Marty Saybrooke, lied about their history, made her fall in love with him, and then slept with her. He essentially raped Marty for a second time. It was a storyline that made me sick to my stomach, and it was a line that I didn’t think even Todd would cross.

That storyline is one of the reasons I’m so intrigued by what’s currently happening in Llanview with the Two Todd Mannings. Roger Howarth is back as a man claiming to be the real Todd Manning. Meanwhile Trevor St. John’s Todd continues to claim that he is the real Todd Manning. Todd’s family has seen and talked with both men, and they are just as confused as I am. Part of me thinks it cheapens the work Trevor St. John has done just to reveal that he has been an impostor this whole time. But another part of me wishes to erase what Todd Manning has done over the past eight years, especially his second rape of Marty. That’s one sin I want Todd Manning to be free of.

(The following clip is the confrontation we all were waiting for. This is soap at its best.)

Outside of the soap world, this all sounds ridiculous. But that is what is so wonderful. THIS KIND OF STORYTELLING CAN ONLY HAPPEN IN SOAPS. Only in soaps could we be convinced for EIGHT years that a certain man is Todd Manning even though he has a different face. Only in soaps could a man looking like the original Todd Manning then come back to town and claim that an impostor has stolen his life for EIGHT years. Have I mentioned it’s been eight years? Here’s the deal: Because of the longevity of soap operas, storylines like this can span a decade. That kind of storytelling just can’t happen in primetime, where series are lucky to make it past the first season. Only in soaps can a setup happen in 2003 and a payoff come in 2011. I can’t even begin to describe how rewarding this is as a viewer and fan.

So who is the real Todd Manning? I have no freakin’ clue because get this: A DNA test revealed that BOTH MEN ARE TODD MANNING. Say what? Todd’s daughter, Starr, offered up the logical suggestion that the two men are twins. Todd’s son Jack offered up the far less logical suggestion that the two men are clones. Poor, dumb, possibly homicidal Jack. I think I like his idea. Todd’s family is starting to take sides, and it seems like sister Viki believes the man with Todd’s original face. If only Todd’s mother, Irene Manning, were still alive to answer everyone’s questions. Oh, wait! Irene Manning is still alive, but no one knows it yet! And she’s in charge of some super secret organization that seems to be behind this whole debacle. If Todd’s mother is still alive, I have a feeling Todd and Viki’s presumed dead father, the evil Victor Lord, isn’t far behind in coming back from the grave. Jeez, he’s come back from the dead as many times as ALL MY CHILDREN’s Dixie (who just this summer came back from the dead after previous death by poisoned pancakes).

(Oh hey, Irene Manning! That’s pretty disgusting that you were boinking your college roommate’s evil father. But right now, you seem pretty evil too.)

We might not know who the real Todd Manning is yet, but man, this is fun to watch! I mean, can you imagine thinking someone is your father or husband for eight years and then suddenly there’s the possibility that he’s been a fake the whole time? What if Old Todd is Real Todd? How do you treat him now? How do you atone for believing someone else was him for so long? And what if New Todd is Real Todd? How do you recover as a family once you’ve doubted him and believed he was an impostor? I suspect Old Todd is Real Todd but that New Todd was brainwashed into believing he is Real Todd. But that’s almost too simple. And now my brain is starting to hurt.

Unfortunately, ONE LIFE TO LIVE doesn’t have a lot of time to answer these questions. The 43-year-old soap is going off the air in January. Yes, there are plans to move it online, but I don’t even want to begin to speculate what that version of Llanview will look like. Not now. For now I want to enjoy ONE LIFE TO LIVE in its current form. I want to enjoy the version of the soap I have watched since I was in diapers. For now I want to enjoy watching Roger Howarth in the role that he created. And for now I don’t want to think that all of this is about to end. I mean, how can a show loved by Snoop Dogg be forced off the air? HOW???