History Characters / ToddInTheShadows

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7aWz8q_IM4 A video]] by Creator/LindsayEllis clarified that he is, in fact, half-Vietnamese. Notably, we also learn that Todd might not even be his real name.

** He references ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' a fair bit too

* BileFascination: Invoked, out of character, with music and other media (in ''Film/GreenLantern'' [[WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick Lindsay]] and Todd said they went there to see why it's being reviewed so badly; in ''Theatre/SpiderManTurnOffTheDark'', he says the two, plus Lupa and Lindsay's friends went there "because they need to see everything!").

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: By his non-music related workmates, except the one who loves/stalks him.

* CausticCritic: His venom is really intense.

* VitriolicBestBuds / NotSoDifferent : Him and WebVideo/TheRapCritic bicker a lot and, oddly enough, both make a great team in crossovers.

* AcceptableTargets: One would expect Todd, as a music critic on the Internet, to take cheap shots at popularly-hated acts. [[AvertedTrope He does not.]] He owns up to liking some songs from [[Music/LadyGaga certain performers]] [[Music/KatyPerry people love]] [[Music/TheBlackEyedPeas to hate]], he made his case against Music/JustinBieber very clearly (and even admitted that he didn't hate "Baby" as much as his other songs), and he even [[SubvertedTrope faked out the audience]] by pretending to have a deep-seated hatred of Music/BarryManilow before admitting he really had nothing against the guy.
** However, he really doesn't like Music/{{Chicago}} (the band, not the city - aside from the Cubs).
** And he's pretty open about his ''loathing'' of Music/ChrisBrown (he even started [[http://trollingchrisbrown.tumblr.com/ this]]), but most people find this to be justified.
** Though not talked about that much in his videos, he also really hates the band Music/{{Nickelback}}, whom he often uses as a comparison for music he absolutely loathes (such as Chris Brown's verse in Look At Me Now). He explains his hatred of the band in his FAQ (short version: It's not that they suck, it's that they so ''consistently'' suck across such a long period of time).
** Christmas music - he's sick of most Christmas songs due to how overplayed they are.
** Todd also seems to think that people with mental illnesses are acceptable targets. Or at least that mentally ill people make bad music (Train's awful lyrics are the result of the frontman's schizophrenic aphasia, Bruno Mars' dramatic whining is caused by a need for Zoloft, Wyclef Jean's bizarre wailing on "We Are the World" was caused by a lack of psychotropic drugs, etc.)

* FanHater: [[invoked]] He really hates [[Music/ChrisBrown Team Breezy,]] if only for their refusal to admit Chris Brown has done anything wrong.

** Him and Lindsay are still great friends despite being broken up for several years, but they frequently make eachother suffer through awful movies and musicals.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7aWz8q_IM4 A video]] by Creator/LindsayEllis clarified that he is, in fact, half-Vietnamese.

* AcceptableTargets: One would expect Todd, as a music critic on the Internet, to take cheap shots at popularly-hated acts. [[AvertedTrope He does not.]] He owns up to liking some songs from [[Music/LadyGaga certain performers]] [[Music/KatyPerry people love]] [[Music/TheBlackEyedPeas to hate]], he made his case against Music/JustinBieber very clearly (and even admitted that he didn't hate "Baby" as much as his other songs), and he even [[SubvertedTrope faked out the audience]] by pretending to have a deep-seated hatred of Music/BarryManilow before admitting he really had nothing against the guy. [[invoked]]

** Todd recites the MST3KMantra during the "Party Rock Anthem" review. In doing so, however, he endangers his very purpose for being, and he [[DelayedRippleEffect almost fades from existence.]] [[Invoked]]

* INeedToGoIronMyDog: To avoid doing a crossover with WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick for ''Crossroads'', he says,"I need to go wash my dog... fish...".

* {{Adorkable}}
** Just look at him singing at the start of the "The Spider-Man Musical Review".
** Or whenever he starts singing or dancing along with the track - especially in his Best of 2011 video when he dances to Usher's More (Remix)
** By the time of the Worst of 2012 list, Todd has come to see Pitbull as this.

** Appeared in the rendition of ''One Day More'' at the end of WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick's review of ''Theatre/LesMiserables''. And later, in her review of ''Disney/TheLittleMermaid'', ignoring the Chick's pleas of going out with him; and in ''Film/{{Grease 2}}'' getting a makeover from The Makeover Fairy.

** He thinks Music/NickiMinaj made the music video for '"Anaconda" to specifically appeal to him personally, because it includes an allusion to Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000.

* InexplicablyAwesome: In comparison to the rest of the cast. The man could be a Time Lord.

* LoveTriangle: [[TriangRelations Type 5 triangle]], as he wants WebVideo/ObscurusLupa [[StalkerWithACrush to an unhealthy level]], while WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick is equally fixated on him and is [[SanitySlippage losing her mind rapidly]]. Taken to a natural conclusion on a [[http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/teamt/ol/specials/31893-honor-and-glory Chick/Lupa crossover]], where Todd crashes the Chick's apartment, Lupa rejects him, and an angered Chick starts a CatFight.

* TheOneThatGotAway: In WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick's review of ''Film/SleeplessInSeattle'' Todd angrily rants at the screen at Bill Pullman's character for not fighting for Meg Ryan, "You idiot! Fight for her! What is wrong with you!? Why don't you say something!?" before breaking down in sobs, "Why didn't I say something?" Later in the review Todd is still clearly distraught "Why didn't I do something? Why did I just let her leave?" and WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick asks if he is upset over Lupa, Todd replies, "Who?" It's not her.

*** Creator/JewWario tried to look beneath his mask, only to for Todd to hold him at gunpoint.

* ButNotTooForeign: Apparently, Todd is a 13-and-57-year-old black, white, beige, chola, Lebanese, Oriental Asian-American girl with blonde hair who looks like Creator/JimCarrey wearing a Creator/DannyDeVito mask with a [[JayLeno Leno]] chin... '''''[+as far as we know+]'''''.

* YourCostumeNeedsWork: [[http://twitter.com/#!/ShadowTodd/status/125322503718567936 Unbelievably so.]]

** Any comment that seems to pin down Todd's ethnicity is accompanied by the caption "As far as you know", or other mitigations.

* DefeatMeansFriendship[=/=]LoveAtFirstPunch: Despite "negative amounts of talent", Katy Perry appears on his Top Ten Singles of The Year three years in a row. Todd grudgingly admits defeat in hating her.

* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield[=/=]CityWithNoName: Kind of... in "Black and Yellow", he names his city as "Bumfuck Nowhere, VA".[[note]]Though the zip code listed for "BFE, VA" in a later episode is that of Lynchburg, a town he sometimes mentions in tweets.[[/note]]

* MeanCharacterNiceActor: Todd in the Shadows is highly messed up and treats his colleagues poorly. Todd Nathanson is a sweetie.

* RealitySubtext: InUniverse, The Nostalgia obsessively stalks Todd and he's barely aware that she exists. In real life, Todd and Lindsay were not only dating but they were described by their co-reviewers as "a sickeningly adorable couple".

** In the other hand, Todd ignores when WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick tries to get his attention. [[spoiler:(in RealLife, [[OfficialCouple it's a whole different matter]])]]

* RealitySubtext: InUniverse, The Nostalgia Chick obsessively stalks Todd and he's barely aware that she exists. In real life, Todd and Lindsay are not only dating but they're described by their co-reviewers as "a sickeningly adorable couple".

** While admitting the running gag has been run into the ground, he confirmed that he is not of black ethnicity in his "[[Music/ChildishGambino This is America]]" review.
-->'''Todd:''' I'm a lot of other things, but not black.

* SmallNameBigEgo: [[{{In-universe}} Parodied.]]

** He thinks Music/NickiMinaj made the music video for '"Anaconda" to specifically appeal to him personally, because it includes an allusion to MysteryScienceTheater3000.

* TheOneThatGotAway: In WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick's review of ''SleeplessInSeattle'' Todd angrily rants at the screen at Bill Pullman's character for not fighting for Meg Ryan, "You idiot! Fight for her! What is wrong with you!? Why don't you say something!?" before breaking down in sobs, "Why didn't I say something?" Later in the review Todd is still clearly distraught "Why didn't I do something? Why did I just let her leave?" and WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick asks if he is upset over Lupa, Todd replies, "Who?" It's not her.