Since I’m making my way through the Available Works of Todd Stashwick, I thought I’d create a page for the things I recommend… and those I don’t. As with all personal views YMMV.
Highly recommended
1. 12 Monkeys
I dare you not to fall in love with Theodore Deacon. Heck, I double dog dare you. This is Todd at his very best, bringing every emotion to the screen and, frankly, dominating every scene. It’s best to watch the whole thing from the start, although Deacon doesn’t come in until the very end of episode 4. Which I viewed and realised that I was in Very Big Trouble. Oh boy.
I recommend watching 12 Monkeys before Picard (on the off chance you’ve not watched that yet) because Picard is littered with references that are so funny when you spot them. The knife. The Constance. Shaw humming a particular song. Oh, and watch for “Enemies”. It has a sucker punch that will leave you breathless.
2. Supernatural S4 Ep8 “Monster Movie”
“But Hels,” I hear you say. “What about Picard?” Patience, monkeys. Patience.
Season 4, episode 8 of Supernatural has Todd play a shapeshifter playing Bela Lugosi playing Dracula. Yeah, I know it’s confusing. On screen, it’s less so since we only actually see Todd as Dracula. And since he would weigh in at this point, I will mention that Bela Lugosi never wore fangs. There, sweetie, happy? *rolls eyes*
Ignore the plot. I mean, don’t, but that’s not why I recommend this episode. That is the absolute scene chewing Todd does throughout. Drac is over-the-top, over-dramatic, and ever so funny. His delivery of lines is utter perfection. Every nuance is pin-point accurate. Plus, Todd was clearly having a blast and his performances are always more fun when he does.
It’s Supernatural. It’s available everywhere. Seriously, there’s no excuse to not watch this.
3. Kim Possible
I AM GETTING THERE, OKAY?
Right. So, talking of Todd having a ball filming, I bring you the Disney Kim Possible Live Action Disney Movie. Yes, I know I said Disney twice. I mean, it is a Disney movie. It’s a Disney kids movie. As in cheesy as all heck, with a plot held together by string and chewing gum.
But there’s also Drakken.
Look, Todd is brilliant at comedy. More so when he’s not strictly meant to be comedic in terms of the script. Again, it comes down to how he delivers the lines. The impeccable timing. The playing hard at Drakken’s odd mix of naivety and ego. The overdose of pathos in moments that do not require it one little bit. It’s all blooming glorious and now I want to watch it again.
Also, Alyson Hannigan (Buffy’s Willow) plays Kim’s mom, so there’s that?
4. Star Trek: Picard
See? I told you.
Let’s ignore… well everything else and focus of Captain Liam Shaw. Our dipshit from Chicago. Our blue-collar engineer done good. Written for Todd by the 12 Monkeys team, the role plays to his strengths, resulting in one of Trek’s most memorable characters. The one everyone loves to hate… apparently.
I never did. I saw something in Shaw early on that I recognised. Possibly the very-done-with-this-nonsense-ness of him. We don’t often see a Starfleet officer that, you know, acts like one should? One grounded in the regs and the need to keep his crew safe. Sisco was like that, though more willing to bend. Liam… doesn’t, although he has really good reasons not to.
I can’t not mention the 10 Forward scene. It’s just… wow. Even when I watch it now, after goodness knows how many times, I still forget to breathe. I still cannot take my eyes off Todd. He grabs you and does not let go. It relentless, full of anger and pain, and if you aren’t moved, then you’re probably dead. I’d get that checked out.
With 135 credits, a lot of them in genre TV, I have no idea how Todd Stashwick passed me by until I watched Picard. Maybe because you hardly see his freaking face in a lot of them (Buffy and Angel, I’m looking at you.) Or the general weirdness of British TV when it comes to things like 12 Monkeys, which never crossed my radar. And that’s tuned to shows like that.
But Picard is where I came in. Vox is, at the heart of it, why this site exists. Going onto X to yell at Todd for making me cry and realising he was a nerd. A great, big, massive nerd. It was all downhill from there. 😀
5. Angel “To Shanshu in LA” S1 Ep22
I have to mention Vocah. I just do. Yes, I’m supposed to be on Angel’s side, but I’ve always been a Spike girl. Then Vocah is at W&H being so done with their naff organising and I fell in love. I am hopeless when it comes to snarky villains. See the Spike mention.
No, Vocah doesn’t make it out alive. But it’s still worth watching.
Borderline
1. The Originals
Look, The Originals is one of Todd’s longer roles. Father Kieran O’Connell is a sweetheart who you’ll root for from the moment he’s introduced.
And therein lies the rub.
I haven’t been able to bring myself to watch more than a couple of episodes because Kieran’s fate isn’t pretty. In fact, it’s downright ugly. There are only so many times that I’m willing to let Todd Stashwick break my heart, and 12 Monkeys has used up far more of them than it should.
I’m not going spoil things, just in case you decide to watch it. It’s all on Wikipedia. Just know it’s really pigging dark and Kieran deserved better. Poor man. *cuddles*
2. Grey’s Anatomy “Idle Hands” S9 Ep18
Being honest, this one is a Me Problem, which is why I put it in this section. Todd plays Kramer, a guy whose daughter is in surgery after a crash. It’s a very real, very raw performance, but the problem isn’t that. It’s the horrendous way his character is handled by the doctors. It hit a nerve. *shrug*
Yeah, no
One thing I learned very early on, is Todd’s characters tend to meet sticky ends. However, it wasn’t until one particular end that I started reading up on his episodes before I watched them.
1. 9-1-1: Lone Star “The Big Heat” S2 Ep12
Said episode. Follows on from episode 11 [“Slow Burn”] which is safe. This one, though? Look, without spoiling what happens, there’s not much I can put. Only… when I say it traumatised me, I’m not being dramatic. At all. This thing kept me awake at night.
Stop the moment that the interrogation scene starts, and you’re good.
2. Private Practice “Home Again” S4 Ep14
When a friend mentioned about watching this, I yelled at them not to. It’s not bad per se, and it’s not terribly traumatic. It will, however, shred your heart into little pieces. Unless you don’t think his character is lying, then it might not. I did and the end broke my heart.
Todd does that a lot. It’s very annoying.