Todd Landers

Infobox soap character
colour = Television colour|Neighbours
name = Todd Landers
series=Neighbours


first = February 15, 1988
Episode 660
last = July 17, 1992
Episode 1725
cause = Died of Cardiac Arrest following surgery after being hit by a van
nickname = Bodd, Toddy
alias =
gender = Male
born = birth date|1974|11|28|df=y [According to his gravestone in the show]
death = Death date and age|1992|7|13|1974|11|28|df=yes [According to his gravestone in the show]
occupation = High School Student
title = Mr
parents = Bob Landers (father)
Annette Landers (mother)
siblings = Katie Landers (sister)
aunts/uncles = Beverly Marshall (aunt)
grandparents = Rhys Marshall (grandfather)
spouse =
children = Hope Gottlieb (daughter)
episode =
portrayer = Kristian Schmid
creator =

Todd Robert Landers [According to his gravestone in the show] was a fictional character in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Kristian Schmid. He first appeared in 1988 until the character's death in 1992.

Character's background

Todd was born in 1974, to Bob and Annette Landers in Adelaide. Three years later he was joined by a sister, Katie Landers.

Todd and Katie's upbringing was a tempestuous one, with Bob and Annette constantly at each other's throats. Their fortunes changed when they accompanied family friend Hilary Robinson, to their aunt Beverly Marshall's wedding to Hilary's cousin, Jim on Valentine's Day 1988. At the reception, when it was time to return to Adelaide, Todd and Katie ran away but were eventually found. Jim and Beverley agreed to sacrifice their honeymoon to look after them and let them stay at Number 26 with them while Bob and Annette worked through their problems.

Todd got into many scrapes over the years, including running away from home twice in 1988 and 1990, and assisting Bob, who had escaped from prison at Christmas 1991 and hid out at the recently vacated Number 32.

Todd's best friend was Josh Anderson.

Todd also had a series of girlfriends, Melissa Jarrett, Cody Willis, and Phoebe Bright.

Todd's relationship with Phoebe took a physical turn when they began sleeping together. Phoebe subsequently fell pregnant and decided to have an abortion, despite Todd promising to support her and the baby, by dropping out of school and finding work.

His death

On July 13 1992, tragedy struck when Todd was knocked down by an oncoming van in the middle of a busy freeway, while running to the abortion clinic to stop Phoebe from aborting the baby. Todd was taken to hospital and word quickly got to Phoebe, who was about to undergo the procedure. Phoebe and her guardian Dorothy Burke raced to the hospital.

Todd later woke up in hospital after a splenectomy, he appeared to be on the mend and told Phoebe she was beautiful, when suddenly he went into cardiac arrest due to a ruptured artery in his heart the doctors failed to notice. The doctor and several nurses did everything to resuscitate him, but Todd's heart beat flatlined, while Phoebe, Jim and Dorothy could do nothing but look on.

The day after his death, Todd appeared as a ghost in Phoebe's mirror telling her he'd always be there for her and the baby, which he correctly said was going to be a daughter.

Todd was the youngest character in Neighbours history to die (he was 17) and the first to be treated with a tribute end credits sequence, which consisted of pictures of Todd's time in the show accompanied by a sad piano version of the theme song over the credits. These played in the episode following Todd's death. [ [http://perfectblend.net/magic/1992/1721.htm] ] [ [http://perfectblend.net/magic/1992/1722.htm] ]

Todd Landers in popular culture

An English pop band, The Toddlanders (formed in 2001), were named after the character.

References

* [http://www.perfectblend.net/neighbourhood/bio/gottlieb-hope.htm]
* [http://perfectblend.net/neighbourhood/bio/landers-todd.htm]