Let's start with the soap opera... it's the more embarrassing of the two, but who cares. I had been an avid fan of ABC's One Life to Live ever since I was 15 years old. (I started watching in 1994). I have also been in love with one of the characters for just as long-- the villain with a wounded heart, the one and only Todd Manning. (I don't know if anyone else out there watches the show, and if so, maybe I seem even crazier, but there... I said it.) This love has been sustained through several on-screen deaths and rebirths and even the traumatic actor-switch which took place in 2004.
Before I had DVR and before there was such a things as SoapNet I used to set my VCR to tape every episode. If something went wrong (such as when Todd returned in 2000 after a 2 year absence and my VCR didn't record it!) I would completely freak out. I'm sure B remembers it well. When I was in Russia in the Summer of 1998, I had my mom tape every Friday's episode for me (I watched them all in a marathon when I got back), and my friend Amac filled in the blanks.
So, after a 10 year love affair with my favorite character, I was stunned when they decided to replace the actor in 2004. I thought that Roger Howarth was irreplaceable (and in many ways, I still think so), but within six months of meeting the "NuTodd," as the message boards called him, I was hooked on him too . I consider it a real triumph of the craft that they managed to keep me in love with a character despite the significant differences in appearance and style of the actors who played him.
When I met Narc, I let the soaps (like many things I loved in my life) fade into the background. I watched consistently through the end of 2004, but only caught a few episodes here and there between 2005-2007. When I recently started watching again, it felt like a homecoming... why did I ever give it up? It is my most favorite "downtime" thing to do! One evening, not too long ago, I read through storyline recaps (over at SoapCentral) to fill myself in on the past two years and I was once again on a roll.
On Wednesday, I was hanging out with Bezoukhoff when the subject of One Life to Live came up. I tried to explain to him my passion for Todd. I even showed him an old VHS I have of one of my favorite scenes from 1998. I told him how I had tracked down that scene on the Internet, found a fan who knew what I was talking about and had it on tape and then convinced her to send me a copy.
"I bet they have that all on YouTube now," he said.
"Oh, I doubt it!" I insisted. "OLTL has aired over 10,000 episodes now. There's no way!"
But.... I was wrong.
YouTube has it. YouTube has it all!
When I started watching, Todd was embroiled in the middle of a trial for the infamous 1993 "Spring Fling" rape. I saw the fallout from that story line, Todd's love affair with Rebbecca, and the beginning of his spiritual redemption. But now? Now I can see the events of 1993! I can see all of my favorite moments of 1994, 1995, 1996... I can watch Todd and Blair fall in love again. This is bad for me... Bad for my productivity!
I have a feeling I'm never going to get up from my computer ever again. Oh well... Love is love is love. And for me, love never dies! :)
love,
h
PS: Guess I'll get to my "opera" post later.
Roger Howarth as Todd (the year I started watching):
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