The In Depth Story:

It was one of OLTL's most volatile storylines. In 1993, Todd and two Kappa Alpha Delta fraternity brothers cornered a drunken Marty Saybrooke at a party and proceeded to gang rape her. The young men went to trial, with Nora defending them - even though, she realized, Todd was guilty as sin. Todd was sentenced to eight years in prison, but in a soapy act of insta-redemption, was pardoned for his crimes when he saved Marty, Jessica and C.]. Roberts from a car crash.

Marty went on to find love with Celtic hunk Patrick Thornhart, but their and Todd's paths would continue to cross. Ultimately, to escape mobsters, Patrick faked his death, and he and new
bride Marty slipped away to Ireland in 1997.

But come the week of February 16, Marty resurfaces in Llanview, called on by Evangeline to offer insight into her client Todd's latest predicament - wife Blair's accusation of rape.  Upon Marty's arrival, will OLTL address her hushhush existence with presumed-dead Patrick (portrayed by Haskell's real-life love, Thorsten Kaye [Ian, PORT CHARLES]), and what she has been up to since? 'That will come up," co-headwriter Josh Griffith tells Soaps In Depth, "but her return will be focused more on her relationship with Todd. They will talk about what has happened to them over the years, how their separate lives have changed them" - new faces not withstanding! - "and how their perceptions of each other maybe are different now."

In Depth Report: How Tricky Is It To Bring Back A Past Character?

OLTL: “This Story Was Crying Out For Marty To Return!”

It's the lament of many longtime soap fans: "Bring back so-and-so!" But penning the return of a character from a sudser's rich past isn't always easy; rather, the timing has to be right to get the best payoff.

Take ONE ILFE TO LIVE as a very recent example. On Tuesday, February 17, Marty Saybrooke (played by Susan Haskell) will return to Llanview, and for a good reason: As a woman once raped by Todd, she will playa meaningful role in his trial for the alleged attack on Blair. Recalling the decision to explore this chestnut from OLTL’s history, co-headwriter Josh Griffith says, "It all just came together as we were plotting out this story. We want to play the story of, 'Can Todd ever truly escape the past and the image that people have of him?' So as we got to talking about it, the story was crying out for Marty to come back for a short time; we couldn't not bring her into it." 

But as Griffith u pointed out, Haskell's encore is only for a limited time. And that’s fine with the scribe, who is content with his current canvas, lightened up a bit by the Music Box Killer's reign of terror. 'There's always a long, long wish list [of possible returns]," he shares, "but we're in a place right now where we have a really strong canvas that is working well together. We have brought in a lot of new people, and a lot of recasts, so for a time now, we're going to stay settled."