One Life To Live
Storyline Histories
1994
Todd's spree of violence continues. (January 1994 - June 1994)
The new year did not open well for fugitive Todd Manning. Still injured from Nora's attack at the lakehouse, Todd managed to make his way back to Llanview, where he planned to exact his revenge on Marty at long last. Luring her to the abandoned Tabernacle, he waited in hiding until she arrived. Then, with a sneer upon his lips and threatening to make Marty pay, he attacked her. Marty screamed, wielding a wrench, which Todd knocked easily out of her hands. From outside, Suede Pruitt heard Marty's screams. Rushing in, he shouted for Marty to "run and get help," while he rushed at Todd, giving him a brutal punch. A vicious fight ensued. At one point, Todd pushed Suede away from him in an attempt to escape. Suede lost his balance and ran headfirst into the corner of the tabernacle podium. Then he toppled to the ground, his head coming to a painful rest on the wrench. Marty screamed for help. The police arrived sometime later, with Todd still holed up inside the tabernacle. Rebecca pleaded with Todd from outside and convinced Todd to let Marty escape if she went in.

Todd, finding himself surrounded, took Rebecca hostage and made his escape while Marty held Suede's head in her lap. Planting one last kiss on his lips, Suede slipped away. On the run, Rebecca pleaded with Todd to turn himself in, but he refused, bringing her instead to his father's summer home in New York. There they spent a week or so, while the police (of which Bo was now commissioner) began to close in.

In Llanview, Powell Lord was terrified for Rebecca's safety. Though they were no more than friends at the time, he was still interested in her and wanted to see Todd back in jail where he belonged. Meanwhile, the town came together to say goodbye to Suede Pruitt, with heartfelt testimony from Marty and Luna and his other friends.

Bo and Powell discovered Todd's location and burst in on the cottage. In a frenzy to escape, Todd let Rebecca go free and made off into the woods. Bo and Powell gave chase. In a fight on a footbridge, Todd was shot and fell into the icy river water. His body, it was assumed, was washed out to see. Rebecca and Powell returned to Llanview, breathless, and in the throes of a new-found love.

Before long, however, Todd resurfaced - literally. Again, he made his way back to Llanview - this time he chose to hide out in the Tabernacle. One day, Renee and Tina's children (whom she was babysitting for the day) stopped off at the tabernacle for some reason. CJ and Sarah wandered into the back room and found Todd, dressed in the clothes he'd found in the tabernacle. He told them his name was "Ali" and that he was a genie. The little children bought his story and told Todd he could hide in the gardner's shed of Llanfair. Learning that Rebecca was now working as a live-in babysitter at Llanfair, Todd snapped up the chance to get closer to her.

CJ and Sarah soon began telling Rebecca (and everyone else!) about the genie they were keeping hidden in the shed, but no one believed them. Tina was out of town at the time, on her honeymoon with Cain Rogan, so Todd had a free ride for over a month, during which time he made several small steps to make himself known to Rebecca. Eventually, however, Todd confronted Rebecca. He planted a long kiss on her, but she ran out in terror. Todd tore the shed to shambles in rage. The police swarmed in upon the scene, but Todd made another escape to New York, where he befriended a blind woman for a short time. She told Todd to return to the "woman he loves" and Todd did just that ... this time, appearing dressed as Zorro during the annual Costume Ball at Serenity Springs. Todd lured Rebecca outside and kissed her again. This time, she relented somewhat, but suddenly Powell broke them up and yelled for help. Todd ran off into the woods. The police gave chase. Finally, Todd was cornered and had no choice but to surrender. While Llanview breathed a collective sigh of relief, Todd was shipped off to Statesville prison. The night of his transfer, however, Marty was driving CJ and Jessica up to a music camp in the mountains. As her car rounded a curve in the road, the car carrying Todd was coming the other way. An accident followed, as Marty's car plummeted through a railing and down the face of the mountain, dangling precariously inches from a deadly cliff. Todd's car smashed into a tree, killing one of the officers. Todd broke out of the car and was about to escape again when he stumbled upon Marty and the children. CJ pleaded with "Ali" to help them, and he did so, even carrying Marty to safety after she nearly had a nervous breakdown. Though Todd then tried to escape again, he had lost precious time in his rescue effort ... Bo and the police soon cornered him as he tried to scale a cliff. Bo shouted for Todd to surrender ... Todd was turning to do so, when Bo's partner fired his gun instinctively. Todd fell to the ground and was rushed, under police custody, to the nearest hospital. He survived his wound quite well, and before long was shipped back to jail. However, this time CJ and Sarah pleaded with the governor of Pennsylvania to let Todd go free because he saved CJ's life.

In disbelief, Marty watched as Todd was granted a pardon and allowed to go free - his only penalty being that he had to wear an ankle monitor that tracked his movements. He was not allowed to leave Llanview - instead, he was trapped there with Marty...

Cassie's nervous breakdown. (January 1994 - March 1994)
Cassie's new-found happiness over finding a little baby in the manger on Christmas Eve turned to depression when she tried to adopt the baby and the natural mother, Beth Garvey (Dorothy Barton) decided she didn't want to give the baby up after all. Cassie did her best to keep custody of little "William," but Beth was the mother and managed to take her child - "River" - back. At one point, Cassie tried to steal the baby and skip the country, but Dorian stopped her and convinced her to give the baby up. Times were tough for Andrew and Cassie - she accused him of never wanting to have another child. He tried to assure her that wasn't true, but she continued to slip into her delusions that her miscarried child "William" was still alive and that Andrew had taken him from her. Dorian managed to get back into her daughter's good graces again by playing on her delusions - she even tried to harass Beth into giving the child back to Cassie, but Beth refused and Jason Webb told Dorian to butt out.

When Cassie's mental state continued to deteriorate, she was admitted to St. Anne's Psychiatric Ward. Andrew sat by her bedside day and night, but Cassie continued to blame him for losing William. She also accused good friend Luna Holden of assisting Andrew. She even turned her back on her cousin Blair (now played by Kassie Wesley), who had recently returned to town. As time passed, Cassie began to emerge from her psychosis, though she remained severely depressed. She was told by her obstetrician that she was now sterile as a result of PIV (pelvic inflammatory virus). Cassie told Andrew she was going to divorce him, because she didn't want to disappoint him by being unable to have a child. Andrew tried to talk her into adoption, but Cassie wouldn't listen. When Andrew refused to get a divorce, Cassie decided to go to a radical fertility doctor who gave her medication he assured her would "reverse" her sterility. Instead, it made Cassie violently ill. Things looked pretty bleak for the Carpenters until the day they were shocked to learn that Beth Garvey had died and wanted Cassie and Andrew to take care of her little River.... Cassie and Andrew gleefully agreed, naming their child William "River" Carpenter.

Tina and Cain's non-wedding. (January 1994 - February 1994)
After years of on-and-off love, Cain and Tina finally readied to tie the knot on Valentine's Day 1994. Unfortunately, Cain's ex-flame Angela Holliday was still up to her old tricks. She hired a fake minister to marry the two and skipped town, mailing the note to Llanview shortly after Tina and Cain left on their honeymoon.

Tina and Cain's wedding shower was highlighted by an appearance from Bill Medley and Darlene Love who crooned "Soul and Inspiration" to the lovebirds. They were then married at Llanfair and went off on their honeymoon. The last we saw of them, they were running from an angry hotel manager who had rung up a huge bill that Cain and Tina couldn't pay. So, instead, they jumped out a window. In this way, Karen Witter and Christopher Cousins left the show.

Max's gambling addiction (May 1994 - September 1994)
When Asa opened his newest acquisition, the Wild Rose casino, Max couldn't help but bring Luna to opening night. He returned often after that, gambling up a fortune and eventually losing it all. Blair Daimler, eager to get back into Max's good graces and renew their affair, encouraged Max in his gambling, partly because she knew how much Luna hated it. When Max lost a fortune in the stock market, Luna ordered him to stop gambling - Blair told Max that he was a winner and to be the old risk-taker he used to be. Max chose to listen to Blair. When his own money dried up, Max borrowed from Serenity Springs' budget, which drew business partner Cord into the melee. Cord sided with Luna and the two locked Max out of the spa's funds and asked the card sharks at the Wild Rose to prevent Max from gambling any more. A furious Max walked out on Luna, accused her of having an affair with Cord and ran off with Blair to Atlantic City, where he continued to lose big-time.

Running out of cash quickly, Max took a loan from a man by the name of Jimmy Glover (Timothy D. Stickney). When Max was unable to pay up, Jimmy called Luna in Llanview and told her where her beloved hubby was. Luna went to Atlantic City, where Max and Blair had just made love. When Luna stormed in the hotel room and saw Max's clothes on the couch, she screamed at Max that he was a "coward" and hauled off and slapped Blair.

Max and Luna's marriage had hit the rocks; Luna was beyond hurt, knowing her husband had had an affair. Max remained stubborn - instead he and Blair ran off to Sweetwater, Texas with Al. Cord convinced Luna to go after them, and he went along for the ride. While Max was with Al at a local carnival, Cord "kidnapped" Blair and dragged her to the Holden ranch. Luna and Max, meanwhile, squared off at the carnival.

Blair made Cord drop his guard by convincing him that she'd seen the error of her ways, but when his back was turn she smashed a vase over his head and took off in a pickup truck for the carnival. Max and Luna were engaged in a nasty fight when little Al walked in on them. When he saw them fightning, he ran off. Luna chased after him as he ran across the road. A hysterical Blair saw Luna race in front of the truck and slammed on the brakes, but it was too late. Luna was hit and lay unconscious on the side of the road, while Max held her in his arms crying. Blair and Max's romance was over.

But when Luna woke up in the hospital, she realized that she was paralyzed. Her anger and resentment and hurt prevented her from accepting Max's fervid apologies and pledges never to gamble again. Luna told Max he would have to deal with his pain on his own, because she had to concentrate on making herself better. Immediately, she underwent phsyical therapy, receiving support from Tina (now played by Krista Tesreau) and her newly-arrived brother Dylan (Christopher Douglas) Only much later, after Max had begun attending Gamblers' Outreach meetings and Luna had taken her first step, did the couple make up. On Christmas Eve, Luna told Max she was pregnant.

Dorian's trial; the murder of Victor Lord (January 1994 - July 1994)
Dorian's trial dominated much of 1994. Viki had long believed that her nemesis was actually a murderer, killing her poor father nearly 20 years ago. Things began to look up for Viki when she and Sloan journeyed to Miami to visit Dorian's neice Blair. Blair told them that Dorian had signed a confession to Victor's murder and that she had always been worried that Victor's nurse Ethel Crawford, might come forward with some damaging evidence. Blair followed Viki and Sloan back to town and watched as her Aunt Dorian squirmed. Dorian pleaded with Blair not to turn over the false confession papers to the police, but Blair made no promises at first, but did help Dorian acquire Nora Gannon's defense by switching some names around on the judge's "pro-bono" list..

Viki decided to have her father's body exhumed for an autopsy, hoping it would prove that Victor was murdered. Dorian found out about it, and the night before the exhumation, she hurried down to the mausoleum with a wrench and a can of caustic lye. She had just succeeded in moving the lid off the sarcophagus when Viki burst in. The bitter enemies duked it out in a vicious catfight. When Viki discovered the can of lye on the floor, she nearly lost it completely. Luckily, the noise had prompted the groundskeeper to notify the police. Nora burst in, advising her client to "shut up!" Viki handed the wrench and lye over to the police as evidence.

The autopsy revealed a startling fact: Victor hadn't died of a heart attack after all - instead, tiny fibers from a pillow were found in his lungs - he had been smothered! Viki felt vindicated and pushed ahead with the trial. She and Sloan also journeyed to Maryland to talk with nurse Ethel Crawford. Dorian was not far behind. Ethel refused to tell Viki and Sloan anything; when they left, Dorian snuck in, distracted Ethel and then gave her a potentially fatal dose of insulin.

But Ethel didn't die - instead she was alive and well enough to testify at Dorian's trial. Under oath, she told the court that Dorian had been paying her off for the past 18 years, to keep silent about what she saw. What did she see? Ethel testified that she'd been coming out of Victor's bathroom that night only to find a woman hunched over Victor's bed, pushing a pillow over his face. That was the damning evidence in the eyes of the jury. Though Nora bravely tried to discount her testimony, it was to no avail. When Dorian went on the stand, she only succeeded in damning herself further, by accusing the judge of using her trial as a stepping stone into the governor's office. Dorian was found guilty and, in a shocking move, was sent to death row. Cassie told Viki she would never forgive her for what she did to her mother.

Dorian needed a way out and she found it in a mysterious man by the name of David Vickers (Tuc Watkins). David came to town with shocking new evidence - a diary written by Irene Clayton - Victor's ex-mistress, Tina's mother, and the woman he claimed to be his OWN mother. Viki's world was turned upside down as she was faced with the possibility of another long-lost sibling. David proved his identity by presenting Viki with a ring given him by his mother - it was engraved with the initial E - for Eugenia, Viki's mother. The diary revealed that it had been Irene who killed Victor, and not Dorian. Dorian was freed and Viki was left with unanswered questions - and a new-found brother. Dorian planned to take revenge however - she found it in Viki's innocent son Joey.

The killer virus (Summer 1994)
Dr. Ben Price became concerned after diagnosing a series of related viral infections, in which the patients nervous system quickly deteriorated. He began to look into the matter, but his efforts to do so were hampered by hospital administrator Grace Atherton (Susan Gibney), who questioned every test he ordered in an attempt to conserve on hospital funds. But when the virus quickly spread, Llanview became frightened by the "killer flu." Ben and fiancee Rachel underwent their own investigation, even as the flu struck several Llanviewians. Beth Garvey caught the virus and was rushed to the hospital by Jason. When it became clear she would not live, Beth asked that her son River be handed over to Cassie and Andrew, who had cared for the little boy in the first months of his life. Jason, heartbroken that he never told Beth he loved her, left town after her death. Viki was the next to fall victim to the disease - though she survived after a tense surgery. Ben eventually tracked down the origin of the virus - to contaminated syringes ordered by Grace Atherton for their inexpensiveness. Grace was later arrested.

The serial rapist (August 1994 - December 1994)
After his pardon, Todd began filling his community service requirements at the hospital. It was there that he met new nurse Alice Henson - Todd and Alice got to know each other quite well, though she was initially terrified when he told her he had been arrested for rape. Then, one night, Alice walked out to her car, fumbled for her keys and was suddenly attacked from behind by a masked figure. Alice was raped there, in the parking lot and naturally, everyone blamed Todd. Though he maintained his innocence, Marty convinced Alice that it had to have been Todd that had raped her. When another nurse feel victim to the serial rapist, Todd's freedom came into question again.

When Todd tried to get close to Rebecca again, she pushed him away, scared that Todd was actually the culprit. Todd decided to find the criminal himself. He nearly caught him one night, trying to rape another woman, but the man got away. Then, Todd managed to track him to a hotel room. Breaking in, Todd was shocked to discover a notebook filled with poems to "Rebecca, my love". Powell was the rapist!

Indeed, Powell was in the middle of a nervous breakdown. His guilt over raping Marty Saybrooke and his hatred for Todd had merged - he now believed that he WAS Todd. At the same time, Powell wanted Todd dead. While Todd lay asleep in his motel room that night, Powell broke in and stabbed him after a struggle. Marty donated the blood that saved Todd's life. Powell returned again - this time, he took Todd hostage and threatened to kill both Todd and himself. Todd freed himself and attacked the psychotic Powell. Powell was arrested and sent to a mental institute, while Todd was exonerated once more. Marty and Todd shared a brief moment of semi-reconciliation, but she ran from facing her fears entirely.

Three relationships
Tina and David. Returning from her non-honeymoon with Cain, Tina was pleasantly surprised to meet her "brother" David. They were instantly drawn to each other, though their better senses warned them to be repulsed by any thoughts of intimate contact. It was not to be denied, however - at the mountain cabin one night sister and brother slept with each other. Later recoiling in horror, David was forced to admit to Tina that he wasn't her brother. Tina was initially furious, but later forgave and even married him at an Elvis chapel in Las Vegas.
Viki and Sloan. Sloan discovered that his Hodgkins disease was out of remission. Not wanting to put Viki through the pain of watching his death, he staged a breakup with her by pretending to fall in love with his ex-interest Beverly Crane. Beverly unwittingly went along with the plan. But when Clint discovered the truth, he realized that Sloan really did love Viki and told Viki the truth. Sloan and Viki were married shortly after Thanksgiving in a ceremony at the hospital, where Sloan suffered a relapse.
Joey and Dorian. Willing revenge on Viki, Dorian became involved with her son Joey (now played by Nathan Fillion). Hiring him to renovate her new home (Marty's old house), she slowly enticed him with romantic Italian cuisine and candlelight dancing and whispers of "Guiseppe". Then she seduced him (Joey lost his virginity to Dorian) and on Viki's intended wedding day, Dorian lured her to the house where she walked in on the two in the process of making out. Joey and Dorian continued their illicit affair when Dorian actually fell for Joey (an unplanned event).

RJ's vengeance plot against Hank (October 1994 - December 1994)
Jimmy Glover (Max's former loan shark) returned to town and revealed himself to be none other than RJ Gannon, Hank's no-good younger brother. RJ had always been jealous of Hank and now he set about to undermine the fine upstanding police commissioner. H e chose as his weapon a tampered videotape from twenty years prior (when Hank was a student at college) that allegedly showed Hank standing by a murder was committed. RJ held the doctored tape over Hank and Sheila's head and threatened to turn it over to the cops. He later tried to seduce Sheila, promising to return the tape if she slept with him. Sheila, to protect Hank's reputation, was going to, but RJ was arrested on a minor misdemeanor first.

In anger, RJ sent the tape to the governor, and his lie was out. Rachel was heartbroken as Nora tried to console her. Hank resigned, revealing that he had indeed been a member of the group that committed the murder, but had left the group prior to the killing. Bo would not stand by and watch his best friend resign - instead, he searched high and low for the real, untampered tape and found it hidden in a trophy case in RJ and Hank's old high school. The tape was made public; Hank kept his job; Rachel forgave him and RJ was madder than ever.

Alex and Asa's wedding (December 1994)
Asa and Alex were in for a surprise at their wedding. Asa's nemesis Buck Miller and Alex's longtime admirer Bulge Hackman decided to put a crimp in the ceremony by kidnapping the bride-to-be. As Alex arrived, adorned in the golden garb of Cleopatra (location scenes filmed in Central Park), Bulge and Buck, dressed as nuns, spirited her away. The Buchanan boys (Clint, Bo and Cord), headed by Asa, rode off on horseback to save the damsel in distress. In a chase through the countryside, Asa cut off the chariot carrying Alex and lassooed himself the culprits, who were then forced to watch the ceremony in person. Alex and Asa tied the knot in an extremely bizarre, Egyptian-motif ceremony, with Nora as the unwitting maid-of-honor.