The Todd Manning and Marty Saybrooke rape storylines are storylines from the ABC daytime drama One Life to Live consisting of rape, revenge, redemption and love. Created by writers Michael Malone and Ron Carlivati, the stories depict characters Todd (originally Roger Howarth, later Trevor St. John) and Marty (Susan Haskell) struggling to overcome his actions of rape and destruction. On August 17, 2011, the series revealed St. John's character as Todd's identical twin brother, Victor Lord, Jr., conditioned to believe he was Todd and to thereby assume Todd's identity, which negated Todd's "second rape" of Marty.
The original rape occurs in 1993, when Todd rapes Marty as part of a revenge scheme. In 2008, he is considered to have raped her again after the two engage in sex while she is amnesiac. The storylines resulted in significant controversy, and were subsequently heavily debated among viewers, cited in mainstream press, and studied within various academic works. The 1993 gang rape was created by Malone and is considered one of soap opera's classic, "most remembered and impactful" storylines, and Carlivati's 2008 "re-rape" story is credited with having been "worth the tense moments" despite being "the riskiest [soap opera] storyline in recent memory".
Writing and impact 1993–1994: "Gold standard"
The storyline was inspired by recent news stories about an increase in gang rapes on college campuses across the country, and was described by TV Guide'''s Michael Logan as one that "may be the most daring plot ever attempted on soaps". To ensure accuracy, social workers were hired to review scripts.
Head writer Malone scripted Todd as a serial rapist, and the character was intended to be short-lived. This changed when Howarth's portrayal of the character inspired notable fan reaction and prompted the creators to layer Todd's personality and showcase him regularly within the series. Malone decided to write a redemption storyline for Todd, and have him continually seek forgiveness from Marty.Michael Malone gave detailed interviews to website magnifmalonian.
The storyline takes place at the Kappa Alpha Delta fraternity. Marty is the 18-year-old party girl, while Todd is the 20-year-old quintessential jock. She is his tutor, but he does not pass one of his exams. Because of this, he is kicked off the football team and will not graduate on time. Additionally, his abusive father will be outraged. Angered by this outcome, Todd initially decides to humiliate Marty at a party (the Spring Fling). She is the one to humiliate him, however, and even notes his inability to satisfy her in bed. As revenge, Todd has his fraternity brothers Powell Lord (the III) and Zach Rosen help him rape her after she is left alone upstairs in Kevin's room.
Analyst Jennifer Hayward described this aspect of the writing as not being about sex, women, or Marty herself, but rather about what takes place between men and women in the aftermath of rape. The story draws out powerful archetypes, such as the fight between good and evil, reminiscent of 19th-century melodrama, where critique would be given to "power relations, especially the oppression of the poor by the rich and of women by men". Malone had Powell initially resist raping Marty, harbor deep guilt for his part in the rape, and act as a conscience that Todd ignores. Analyst Mary Buhl Dutta reasoned the storyline invokes "rape myths" cataloged by scholar Martha R. Burt, such as "only bad girls get raped," "women ask for it," and "women 'cry rape' only when they've been jilted or have something to cover up". Burt said such myths "deny or reduce perceived injury, or ... blame the victims for their own victimization". Author Gerry Waggett said the "close-ups of the rapists' faces during the assault, distorted to capture Marty's scared and drunken perspective, rank among the show's most graphic images" and that "Marty's subsequent quest to bring her rapists to justice dominated throughout the summer".
Howarth considered Todd's rationale for raping Marty as a complex matter. "Todd was in love with Marty," he said. Though Todd and Marty initially have a one-night stand, she rejects his later romantic advances; this begins to upset Todd and eventually starts to fester. Todd failing an exam only adds to his frustration because everything "had always come so easy to him". Rather than admitting that he himself is the reason for failing his exam, he blames Marty; it has to be his tutor's fault. Todd subsequently tries to cast all of his problems off on Marty.
Marty initially thinks Kevin raped her as well. When the rape trial begins, she realizes that Kevin did not rape her and recants her testimony so that Kevin is exonerated. Malone chose the rape trial to reveal Todd as a serial rapist; the character had also raped a woman named Carol Swift, and likely young women before her. When Todd is on the witness stand, "he goes as far as forgiving Marty for claiming that what happened the night of the Spring Fling was rape". The trial ends in a mistrial when Nora Gannon (Hillary B. Smith), Todd's lawyer, realizes that the three alleged perpetrators did rape her.
To Malone and ABC executives' surprise, Todd became an "immensely popular" character during the storyline. As his popularity grew, and as a solution not to have to kill off what had become a perceived monster, Malone and executive producer Susan Bedsow Horgan chose a controversial option — the decision to complicate Todd by ensuring that he was not a one-dimensional rapist. Malone and Horgan started Todd's transition into a more well-rounded character with their second transition of Powell. They had Powell attempt suicide and soon confess to raping Marty. He is publicly forgiven by Marty herself, which enrages Todd when he and fellow rapist Zach receive eight-year sentences behind prison compared to Powell's three months of jail time. Todd makes a vow that he will be out of prison in three months as well. To carry out this vow, Todd was written to escape by "drugging himself, waking from a coma to leap from a speeding ambulance, and then reviving himself again by stabbing a knife through his hand while rolling his eyes heavenward" and saying the pain felt good. The scary determination of the character had become characteristic of him by then, and he often seemed superhuman. Within the story, he wants revenge on the person he feels is most responsible for his prison time, Nora. With his escape from prison, he sets out to attack the currently blind Nora. Todd stalks and torments her, but she is spared from his attack by her then-husband Bo Buchanan (Robert S. Woods) showing up before Todd can finish the assault and rape her.
Todd eventually tries to rape Marty again but fails; his attack is thwarted by Marty's close friend (Luna Moody). The writers had the scuffle between the two leave Todd with a scar gracing the right side of his face, which served to signify his past misdeeds. They soon started to redeem him, first with the introduction of character Rebecca Lewis. His "true redemption" begins with his rescue of Marty and two children from a car wreck, and ends with the discovery that he is the rightful heir to a fortune left by his deceased biological father.
Todd's spiritual journey was crafted as a man who wanted forgiveness for his past misdeeds. In the story, he reasons that he does not deserve forgiveness; this contributes to him embracing his worst qualities. Malone was intrigued by telling this type of character aspect, and felt that it worked better due to Howarth being an actor who would not let Todd acquire redemption easily. Malone felt the most important part of Todd's redemption was to have him re-confront Marty in order to better deal with the fact that he initiated a gang rape on her. Despite the character's eagerness to be thought of as a decent human being, the writers felt that these good deeds should never make Todd feel any less horrible for having raped Marty.
Though Todd's redemption was controversial, it was also largely accepted. In his book Behold the Man, Edisol Dotson suggests acceptance of Todd's redemption as significantly being due to the character's physical attractiveness. "Viewers found it in their hearts to forgive Todd his acts of rape and murder. Why? Fans of One Life to Live consider Todd attractive and sexy," stated Dotson. "Were Todd an ugly man, he would have never been forgiven, and female fans would not crowd the studio's backdoor shouting his name." The "good-looking rapist" theory largely contributing to the character's success has been argued by some female fans, however.
In 1995, Howarth left the role for the first time. Significantly brought on by Todd's redemption storyline, he said he had no desire to portray a redeemed Todd. In the October 24, 1995 Soap Opera Digest issue, he stated:In the beginning, the character of Todd was successful. I'll always be proud of this story, because it was the result of a real team effort. It was one of those spectacular times when the writer, producer, director, grips, engineers and actors were all on the same wavelength. Everybody was working toward a common goal. My task, at the time, was to show the humanity of someone who was basically inhuman. Todd wasn't one-dimensional, but he was definitely a serious psychopath. Todd was a serial rapist. He raped Carol Swift. Then, he raped Marty Saybrooke, and that rape was brutal, intense, violent and realistic. There were innuendos that he had raped other women before. He stalked Nora, he stalked and tried to rape Luna. [Then-Executive Producer] Linda Gottlieb told me with reasonable certainty that [One Life to Live] would not try to redeem Todd. So, I didn't think the character would change. Then about a year ago, it became clear to me that they were taking the character on a different path — they were redeeming him. In my mind, I'd been hired to play Todd Manning, a very realistic, serious psychopath. But now, the powers-that-be wanted me to play Todd Lord. And the story of Todd Lord is not realistic — it's a fairy tale. I thought, "It would be best for the show if I were to leave." That's when I tendered my resignation.
Howarth went on to say Todd and Marty suddenly bonding did not make sense and that he could not, in good conscience, promote the story of Todd Lord, who had become a likeable character. "If the rape had been an unrealistic, soapy thing, then it wouldn't matter. But because it was so in-depth and so brutal, to show Todd and Marty having drinks together in Rodi's — to show Marty feeling safe and comfortable with Todd — is bizarre," he said. "People have come up to me and said, 'My 7-year-old loves you.' What do I say to that? I'm not going to tell them, 'Don't let your 7-year-old watch TV.' But I have to say, it's disturbing."Entertainment Weekly reported that One Life to Live agreed to let Howarth go on the condition that he would not appear on another soap opera for 12 months. Howarth continued to leave and return to the role until his 2003 departure from the series, but ensured Todd was never fully redeemed.
Before Todd and Marty's story, soap opera writers often sided with rapists and not the rape victims. This made the Marty rape storyline unique for the decade in which it was told. Malone's story "truly resonates and engages the daytime community because the umbrella arc — which consisted of three acts: crime, justice, and atonement — wasn’t mined from a place of desperation, nor a desire for ratings". Malone "penned a character-rich story" rooted in "telling an honest and emotional study of a woman’s right to sexual freedom juxtaposed with a patriarchy destined to destroy it. And that’s why it worked".