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Entwined
Awards and Polls

Updated 01-03-03

 

 

 

SOAP OPERA DIGEST, January 6, 2001, Fan Campaign of the Week: 

This week, ONE LIVE to LIVE fans are urging the powers-that-be to keep Blair and Todd (a.k.a. Walker) together.  "Their on-again, off-again [relationship] is too much to handle!" huffed one.  "We want to see Blair and Todd live happily ever after."  Fans are also annoyed that the scribes have pitted cousin against cousin with a Kelly/Kevin/Blair triangle.

Soapnet.com, January, 2004; Mimi Torchin's Best & Worst of the Year: 

Best Recasts
OLTL really takes the honors here: Dan Gauthier (he might just be the best of the Kevin Buchanan recasts), Trevor St. John (Todd Manning with a new face), and Bree Williamson (Jessica Buchannan.)

Best New Find: Male
OLTL's Trevor St. John (Todd) and GH's Scott Clifton both play rebels, but that's where the similarity ends. St. John had the unenviable task of replacing Roger Howarth, who had put what seemed to be an indelible mark on the role of Todd. But St. John started out as someone else and gradually let the audience discover who he really was, with the result that the viewers accepted him before they knew what had hit them! In addition to the characters of Walker (supposedly Mitch Laurence's brother) and Todd, the agile St. John also created the evil weirdo Flynn, Mitch's real brother.

SOAP OPERA DIGEST, December, 2002; The editor's pick the Best & Worst of 2002: 

Best Child - Starr - To be accurate, Starr Manning should be "worst child". After all, she connives, sneaks out of the house, helps daddy let snakes loose in court ... and she hasn't even hit puberty yet! But she's our best child precisely for those reasons (and because we're not her legal guardians). Starr isn't just the top tot because she's wicked (and wickedly amusing - her animated fantasy featuring a reptilian Jack was straight out of a Bosch painting), but because she's true - to her heritage (Blair and Todd are no saints). And she's a welcome break from soaps' usual goody-goody, stiff young angels. 

OLTL's writers know, and smart portrayer Kristen Alderson understands, that kids can be far from innocent. Adulthood is still years away for Miss Manning. But in the meantime, to experience the children's hour through the steady gaze of our bright Starr is, well, quite heavenly. 

Most Disappointing [Show]: OLTL - In a nutshell, the problem with OLTL is this: On it, the ridiculous is the sublime - and the sublime, alas, is often ridiculous. Take some of the highly original concepts floated this year: a live shoot; an all-singing, all-dancing Fourth of July. Both were blissful - perfectly executed. And, in the end, self-contained stunts. Rarely has so little payoff come from so much potential. Meanwhile, the bigger arcs - Mitch is Jessica's dad, Troy dupes Lindsay, Viki is Niki - all deflated like leaky balloons under the weight of improbability and overwrought history tweaking. Yes, Viki could have been drugged by Mitch and had sex with him... but, you know what? We still don't believe she did. Which is OLTL's primary failure: We don't buy it. Not Todd's collapse into slackjawed goofdom or his sudden loss of cunning. And the THREE's COMPANY-level fibs don't cut the mustard either. The real wedge between Troy and Nora is that he has no problem becoming evil twin Colin at the drop of a hat - not that he's keeping the "secret" of his late wife's death from her. Instead of coming up with believable conflicts, OLTL wasted time with too many characters writhing in angst over the lies they had to maintain to prevent hurting the ones they love. And meanwhile, how about knotting those loose-ends? Natalie never made an off-camera/canvas visit to London or Texas to see her new Daddy and brothers? So much for the legendary Buchanan family loyalty. But disappointing doesn't mean awful: OLTL tries too damn hard and has too much talent to be bad. We've no doubt the new regime has big plans to right the wrongs of this past year. Payoff needs to come from audience satisfaction - not a ham-handed, eye-roller of a "twist". That's what will make LIFE worthy living again.

SOAPS IN DEPTHS, January 7, 2003; Reader's Poll:

Question Last Issue: Do you believe Blair should give Todd another chance? 
76 % - No. 
24 % - Yes. 
Most fans agree that Todd has struck out so many times that he should've been thrown out of the game long ago! "How many times is Blair supposed to forgive his sins?" one reader asked.

SOAPS IN DEPTHS, November 12, 2002; Reader's Poll:  

Question last issue: Do you want to see Todd and Blair reunite? 
78% - Definitely
12% - Definitely Not
Well, Blair may not be too keen on forgiving Todd at present, but the fans don't seem to care. "These two are made for each other," declares one determined viewer. "Even if they don't realize it."

SOAPS IN DEPTHS, January 8, 2002; Reader's Poll:  

Top 5 Actors: #5 Roger Howarth; 
Top 5 Couples: #4 Blair & Todd Manning, OLTL.  

Soap's In Depth: OLTL: Daytime's Most Unexpected Exits, April 2, 2002

Winner: Luna Moody, the Angel of Angel Square
#1 Patrick fakes his death to live happily ever after with Marty
#2 Todd is shot and left for dead in Ireland
#3 Dorian leaves Llanview with her younger lover

Soap's In Depth: Reader's Poll, April 2, 2002

Do you think Blair will ever forgive Todd for lying about their baby's death?
75 % Yes     -     25% No
Most readers have faith that this couple will be able to weather this storm.  "Blair's forgiven Todd before," reminds one, "and he's certainly done worse!"

SOAPCENTRAL.com, January, 2002: The Dankies Awards are in!  Click here for the full results...

SOAPS IN DEPTHS, February 19, 2002:  

Reader's Poll: Daytimes' Most Romantic Moments: Todd & Blair: The Second Time Around.  They say that you don't know what you've got until it's gone, and so it wasn't until after Todd had divorced Blair that he made a shocking discovery: He loved her!  And so, the second time around, he made sure to do everything right.  "This is the happiest day of my life," Blair declared.  "I know everyone says that, Todd, but it's true."  After a beautiful wedding ceremony, the groom surprised his bride with a private reception at the Palace Hotel.  "I've got to share you with everyone else for the rest of my life," he whispered to Blair.  "Tonight, I'm keeping you for myself."  The two danced the night away, holding one another as a shower of golden ballons fell from the heavens.

Picture Captions: 

1) Large picture of them in front of the fire, circa 2000.  "In the end, Blair and Todd realized that they really had hurt only the ones that they loved - each other!

2) Dancing under the balloons, hugging.  ""The trick for the Mannings would turn out to be keeping the honeymoon from ending."

3) Dancing under the balloons.  "Dancing with Blair, Todd looked happier than most of Llanview had ever seen him."

SOAP OPERA DIGEST, January 8 , 2002:

editor's choice, Digest Salutes The Best in Daytime: Wed Again, Dead Again, ONE LIFE TO LIVE.  Blair and Todd get remarried, Alex discovers Asa is still alive.  Click here for the full article.

SOAPS IN DEPTHS, January 8 , 2002:

Reader's Poll: Top 5 Couples: #5 Blair & Todd Manning, OLTL.  

SOAPS IN DEPTHS, January 8, 2002:

Daytimes' Most Joyous Moments: 

WINNER Bo and Nora get married
#1 Todd sees Starr for the first time
#2 Viki conquers breast cancer
#3 Patrick and Marty ride off into the sunset

SOAP OPERA UPDATE, Year In Soaps, Spring 2002:  

Top Couples, Blair and Todd: One would think they'd get it right the third time.  Not Todd and Blair.  Llanview's resident hellions planned to wreak havoc, but got the tables turned on them.  Todd was set up to think that Blair had cheated on him.  On their wedding day, he exposed her secret, as well as a few others.  She later discovered that she was pregnant, and Todd learned she had been faithful.  He tried to undo the damage. Blair still let him think that Max was the father of her baby.  Yet, it was Todd who was with her when she went into labor, giving Starr a sibling.  Despite all their fussing and fighting, secrets and lies, or how many times they break up, Todd and Blair belong with each other.

SOAPS IN DEPTHS, January 1 , 2002:  

Reader's Poll: Daytimes' Most Romantic Couples: Todd Manning and Blair Cramer:  When Llanview's local pariahs, Todd and Blair, first hooked up, their neighbors didn't know whether to be terrified (of what plot they might hatch) or relieved (that they were off the market). As it happened, either reaction would have been fitting. In the years that followed, the on-again/off-again couple schemed as foreplay, wreaking havoc on their hometown, but always saving the cruelest tricks for each other. By now, no doubt can remain that their love is mutual and powerful. The only question is, will they ever be able to channel their feelings in a way that doesn't leave a path of destruction in their wake?

Picture: Todd and Blair at Rodi's back in 1994, Caption: "'Come here often?' Todd and Blair met well outside of polite society."

Picture: Todd/Blair/Marty at the hospital during Starr's illness, Caption: "Blair stood up for Todd against the woman he raped, Marty Saybrooke."

Picture: Todd and Blair's New Year's Eve Proposal, Caption: "No woman in Llanview ever has been able to make Todd see red quite like his soulless mate, Blair."

Picture: Todd in nun's habit visiting Blair at St. Anne's, Caption: "To visit Blair when she was institutionalized, Todd got into the habit of dressing like a nun."

SOAP OPERA DIGEST, December 18 , 2001:

Best and Worst of the Year: Best Triangle: 

Todd/Blair/Max: Triangles are hard to spin: Two men love the same woman, or vice versa, ad infitium.  But when it comes to Blair and Todd, very little is usual - and with Max in the mix, anything is possible.

Max is the odd man out in this trio: Nobody cares for him, and he doesn't really care about Blair, who initially kissed up to Max to avoid being jailed for shooting him.  Later, Blair told Max that Todd's baby was really his and proposed marriage to avoid getting shut down again by Todd, who lives in an emotional wasteland that's virtually impossible to reach.

Endlessly frustrating, yet complex, this threesome thrived not on too much affection, but not enough.  And that also made it forever rich, uniquely surprising and ultimately satisfying.

ALMOST HUMAN, Week Ending December 7, 2001:  

Actor of the Week: Kassie DePaiva & Roger Howarth: (Blair & Todd, One Life To Live)

It seems repetitive to constantly be picking either Kassie DePaiva or Roger Howarth as actor of the week, so this time they'll be co-winners. My introduction to Llanview came with the infamous rape trial, it still stands as some of the most riveting work I have ever seen regardless of medium and that is mostly due to Roger. Though Blair had loads of story with Max, she was barely a blip for me until this moving little Christmas scene where she and Todd, edging toward being in like, commiserated over a Charlie Brown tree. This is not a pair of starcrossed lovers kept apart by feuding families or anything soapy simple like that, it is the very destructiveness at their cores that repulses and magnetizes them all in one dramatic swoop. They have done countless hurtful things to one another yet remain the greatest most rooting worthy couple that OLTL has had in recent memory (no, Todd and Tea were never quite right no matter how hard the actors and writers tried). When they are on screen you can count on laughing, cringing, and seeing something completely touching all in the span of four minutes. The wedding this week was fantastic from Todd's usual fidgetiness to Blair's always suspicious nature and brilliant little Starr butting in during the vows. Their compliments are always double edged and the outcome generally heartbreaking, Todd and Blair have turned into daytime's answer to what would happen if "It Happened One Night" took place in "Casablanca".

SOAPS IN DEPTHS, December 18, 2001:  

Reader's Poll: Top 5 Couples: #5 Blair Cramer & Todd Manning, OLTL.  Top 5 Actors: #3 Roger Howarth, OLTL

SOAPS IN DEPTHS, December 18, 2001: 

Reader's Poll, Should Todd and Blair forgive each other for lying about the baby?  63% YES     37% NO     Many want to see this couple reunited, but nearly everyone agrees that they have a tough road ahead. "Blair only kept the paternity a secret from Todd," notes a reader, "but Todd made her believe their son was dead!"

SOAP OPERA UPDATE, December 18, 2001:  

The Best & Worst of 2001: Best Couple, Runner- Up, Todd and Blair, OLTL: Lies, lies, lies.  That's all Todd and Blair give each other - oh, except for heartache and misery.  Yet, th4se two are one of the best couples on daytime television.  Go figure!  And in Llanview, only their daughter Starr seems to see that they are made for each other.  As we go to press, all of their secrets are out in the open [correction - Todd still has not told Blair that their baby is alive], and even though they're pretty big ones, Todd and Blair are able to put the past behind them and finally get married.

SOAP OPERA DIGEST, December 11, 2001:  

editor's choice, Digest Salutes The Best In Daytime:...But frankly, nothing was funnier than Asa's funeral on ONE LIFE TO LIVE, complete with all seven living ex-wives and enough one-liners to wake the dead.  OLTL even winked at itself during the flashbacks of every wedding.  When Asa married Blair, she was played by Mia Korf.  Yet, there was Kassie DePaiva in the church doing the reminiscing.  DePaiva came out of the flashback with a perplexed look on her face, then pulled out a mirror to check her face!  

SOAP OPERA WEEKLY, December 11, 2001:  

Applause, Applause: Roger Howarth (Click here for full article) 

SOAPS IN DEPTHS, December 11, 2001:  

Presto Change-O: Todd Manning, OLTL: From Prince of Darkness to Lord of the Manor.  Let's get one thing straight right up front: Todd never is going to be the snugly, teddy bear kind of guy.  But the big difference between the Todd who raped Marty and the one who is currently wooing Blair is that, more often than not, the bad boy now winds up hurting himself father than others.  need proof?  Despite his recent desire to rebuild the house of Manning by reuniting with Blair, he "disposed of" Blair's new baby, not realizing that he, not Max, was the father!  He'll never be Llanview's most popular citizen, but with a little luck, he might just avoid being run out of town!

SOAPS IN DEPTHS, December 11, 2001:  

Reader's Poll, Top 5 Couples: # 3 Blair Cramer & Todd Manning, OLTL

SOAPS IN DEPTHS, November 27, 2001:  

Daytime's Most Beautiful Wedding Gowns: #1 Blair Manning (Gold Wedding Dress, 1995)

SOAPS IN DEPTHS, November 13, 2001:  

Daytimes' Greatest Rivalries: #3 Todd vs. Max

SOAPS IN DEPTHS, November 13, 2001:  

Reader's Poll: Will Blair's baby reunite her with Todd?  
83% Yes   17% No  
The majority believe that this baby is just the thing to bring them back together again, if only Todd would stop messing around.  "Todd's going to regret lying about the baby,"  a reader warns.  "Blair may never forgive him now."

SOAPS IN DEPTHS, October 30, 2001:  

Reader's Poll, Top 5 Couples: # 4 Blair Cramer & Todd Manning, OLTL

SOAPS IN DEPTHS, October 16, 2001:  

Reader's Poll, Top 5 Couples: # 3 Blair Cramer & Todd Manning, OLTL

SOAPS IN DEPTHS, October 16, 2001:  

Shocking Moments: #1 Marty's Darkest Hour. After party girl-turned-tutor Marty failed to help one-night -stand-turned-pupil Todd get the passing graded that he needed to stay on the football team, he cried foul and vowed revenge.  Such an opportunity presented itself when Marty headed to the Kappa Alpha Delta Spring Fling.  There, she was flung into a dark pit of despair after being raped by Todd and two of his fraternity brothers.  The fallout left Todd with two permanent reminders: one on his criminal record, the other on his face when Luna interrupted his second attempt to make Mary a victim of his fury!
# 3 Todd is Viki's half-brother

SOAPS IN DEPTHS, September 4, 2001:

Daytimes' Most Romantic Weddings: Todd & Blair Manning, November 1995 - United We Stand -  Already having wed and divorced for the wrong reasons, Todd and Blair vowed that this time, things would be different. And so, clad in her grandmother's antique gown, Blair became Mrs. Manning, this time for the right reasons. She and Todd would celebrate their love with a family and friends at the Palace Hotel. But, noted Todd to his bride, "I've got to share you with everyone else for the rest of my life. Tonight, I'm keeping you for myself." 

 

 

 

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