Articles and Interviews: 1996-1998

Oh, Lord (Soap Opera Digest 8/27/96)

OLTL's Todd Returns -- To Find Blair in Bed With Patrick
by Carolyn Hinsey and Karen Swanson

What can we say? Reports of Todd Lord's death on One Life to Live were greatly exaggerated.

"As was seen on the show, Todd suffered serious injuries last November," explains his portrayer, Roger Howarth, whose much-heralded return begins airing August 16. "But he wasn't dead. He remained in Ireland to heal and always had the desire to return to Llanview, the Lords, Blair and the baby he never knew."

"He was thrown from a car, shot and fell into the ocean," chimes in OLTL Co-Head Writer Jean Passanante. "He was in very bad shape. Todd was rescued by a fisherman who had no desire to let the Men of 21 terrorists know he had him."

The angler secretly nursed the near-dead Todd back to life on a remote island. "It's not like he was hanging out drinking Guinness," points out Co-Head Writer Leah Laiman. "There was a period of disorientation. He was in really serious shape. By the time he was well enough to contact Blair, he felt it would be easier if he just came home."

"He didn't call, he didn't write and he didn't send flowers," sniffs Kassie DePaiva, in character as Blair. "What's a woman to do? She didn't want to forget Todd, she just wanted to let him go." Blair's efforts to "let go" included making love to Patrick -- whom many believe was responsible for Todd's "death" in the first place.

"Let's get this straight," argues Thorsten Kaye (Patrick). "Patrick never asked Todd to do anything for him, so where this guilt thing came from, I'm not sure. I don't feel responsible. What I now know is that he was [helping Patrick] for Marty, not Patrick." Not only isn't Patrick grateful to Todd, he despises him. "Todd raped Marty," states Kaye. "She told me in a dramatic scene in the snow. He raped the woman I'm in love with! There is no lost love between these two."

No kidding. Todd returns to Llanview eager to see his wife and their new baby, Starr. But instead, he walks in on Blair, who is in bed with Patrick. "There is no telling what will happen when that man is jealous," hints DePaiva. "Todd is not the average man. Blair said to Todd -- in the limousine when she was about to have her little pseudo affair with David -- 'Are you jealous?' And he said, 'You don't want to see me when I'm jealous. There's no telling what I would do.'"

Todd is so stunned by the sight of his wife fooling around with the man whose life he saved that he flees. "Todd is licking his wounds after the shock," says Passanante. "He is trying to determine what his next move will be." Todd goes to his father's grave to sort things out and runs into his half sister, Viki. "Through Viki, we hear a little of how he's feeling," adds Laiman. "After he's seen Patrick and Blair together, he's ready to go. That's it. There is no hope for happiness and he wants to leave. Viki convinces him that he should stay. She brings Starr to him. He immediately falls in love with his child, and that makes it impossible for him to leave."

Todd's rage at Blair will be tempered by the newfound love he feels for his child. "The way I see it," says DePaiva, "if Todd gets pissed off at Blair, she'll lose absolutely everything. She uses her money as a safety net. She was willing to give it all up to have Todd back. Todd comes back and my gut feeling is that she will lose it all -- and the baby. She'll be right back where she was."

"He's staying in Llanview," confirms Laiman. "The only worthwhile thing in his life is that baby."

What will Todd do? "I, of course, have talked to the new writers," hedges Howarth. "[They] were interested in Todd's psychological profile. But *they* have fashioned the story of Todd's return. Todd's been through a lot, but he still carries his demons around with him. You'll just have to tune in and see."


Welcome Back, Roger Howarth
After leaving OLTL last fall, Roger Howarth climbed in the car with his wife, Cari, and son Julian, and drove leisurely across the country. They stopped at local barbecue joints along the way and settled in Los Angeles, where Howarth began auditioning.

A few months later, his agent ran into Maxine Levinson, senior vice president of ABC Daytime Programming, at the Soap Opera Digest Awards. "She asked how I was doing," explains Howarth, "and said that if I ever wanted to return to Llanview, she would love to talk about it. The timing felt good, we talked and where I am."

Of course, his family returned to New York with him. "Cari is busy pursuing acting," smiles Howarth, "and Julian is getting bigger every day."


So, What About Marty?
Todd loves Blair, who's sleeping with Patrick, who loves Marty, who is married to Dylan.

"If there is a parallel," asserts Thorsten Kaye (Patrick), "it's the parallel of Margaret and Dylan having an emotional connection, but not the physical one. And Blair and Patrick have a physical connection, but not an emotional one."

Is Patrick in love with Marty and Blair? "I don't feel a man can love more than one woman," contends Kaye. "I think the relationship that Blair and Patrick have is not based on love. It's based on need and on friendship. Love has nothing to do with sleeping with someone. Love is in here [points to his heart]. Hopefully, they won't drop the ball on that."

"Blair is trying to protect Patrick from Marty," claims Kassie DePaiva (Blair), "as opposed to what she was doing before, which was using Patrick to get to Marty. She thinks Marty has no courage, doesn't have the guts to leave Dylan and isn't being true to her heart. Patrick is with me now. I haven't forgiven Marty for anything. I'm certainly not going to let her ruin Patrick's life."