Why is it that, every time I see someone named Todd on TV or in a movie, they're a total dork?
Then again, maybe it's not just a Hollywood thing. After I got to know one of my roomates in grad school he confessed that, before he'd met me, he'd dreaded having a roomate named Todd because every Todd he'd ever known had been a total tool. Now that I think about it, I don't recall him ever saying that he'd changed his opinion.
I happen to think Todds are pretty awesome, but TV and movie writers seem to disagree. According to them, Todds seem to fall into one of three categories:
The Yuppie. Usually a person that's a little wealthy, a little snobby, and usually pretty clueless. Movies like characters like this because they make a good bad guy, or at the very least, a guy that they can make fun of - and the audience won't feel sorry for them.
Prime example: Todd Chester, from Christmas Vacation:
The Nutjob. A guy that's obnoxious, a sexual deviant, or just plain off his rocker.
Prime example: "The Todd", from Scrubs:
The Total Freak - a misfit in every way.
Prime Example: Todd Cleary, from The Wedding Crashers.
Off the top of my head, I can only think of one movie Todd or, in this case, Tod, that I was proud to share my name with:
Tod, from the Fox & the Hound: