eric braeden

Is it even possible to imagine The Young and the Restless without Eric Braeden as hero/villain Victor Newman? You would think not, but then Days of Our Lives moved on without Deidre Hall as Dr. Marlena Evans, didn't it? Still, Braeden and his alter ego Victor is still a front and center presence on the show, an integral part of the storytelling. Therefore, the news that The Young and the Restless is contemplating killing off Victor if they cannot resolve the contract dispute with Braeden is a shocker.

Braeden is working now under a contract that lasts till 2010, and his reps have said that he would take a pay cut once the term is up. However, producers are asking him to take a pay cut now. That, my friends, is the rub. Braeden wants to help the show stay on the air, but he's not ready to take an economic hit until he has to. That's understandable.

To quote Danny Glover in every Lethal Weapon, I'm too old for this shit.

I never thought I could get hooked on another soap opera. I watched Guiding Light every single day for over 20 years, but got away from it when they stopped focusing on the Bauers and then went all crazy with the way they shot the show (I'm back now that Grant Aleksander has returned). And I watched All My Children and One Life To Live in the 80s, though I haven't watched either of those shows in 15 years and would probably be lost now. But I can at least imagine going back to that show because I know a lot of the characters and can figure things out.

But can someone explain to me how I'm suddenly hooked on a soap opera I've never seen before?

(S04E06) This was an odd episode. Sure, it gave us some closure on the Stella storyline and also gave us a lot of insight on why Robin acts like an alpha male even as she rocks the hell out of a cocktail dress. There were some genuinely funny moments. But, oddly enough, all of it was wrapped in a sitcommy device that just didn't seem to justify the flashback-fest we got. Maybe spending half an episode under a restaurant table just doesn't foster the funny. Or maybe it's because I've seen the gag a hundred times before. Either way, it killed whatever comedic and emotional momentum this episode was trying to build towards yet another reset in Ted's love life.

Occasionally, you'll see an actor being allowed to be on more than one show at a time, like when Heather Locklear was a regular on Dynasty and T.J. Hooker. The catch is that it's usually one actor working two shows for the same network. Finola Hughes, apparently, was trying to do the two-show tango with General Hospital and The Young and the Restless, but ABC put a stop to that before it ever started. In the May 26 issue of TV Guide, you'll read a report that Finola was cast as Sabrina's hot mom on Y&R, while continuing to pop up throughout the summer on ABC's GH as Anna. After the magazine went to the printers, ABC contacted Finola Hughes -- probably her agent -- and she backed out of Y&R.

Presumably, ABC leaned on Finola to give up the opportunity to appear on the number one daytime drama, promising her a heavy storyline in the months ahead. The actress has been an ABC soap star for a long time, having been front and center on GH and All My Children in the past. She's also the host on How Do I Look on the Style Network. The network has never objected to the actress doing Style, so it would seem that the conflict here is about Finola drawing soap fans from the ABC lineup to CBS's.

One of the reasons for The Young and the Restless' ongoing success -- and when I say ongoing, I mean long-term, sustained and unprecedented -- is the acting ensemble that has remained intact for well over 20 years. Fans are happy to see their favorite characters, and the actors playing them, year in and year out. Leading that Y&R troupe is Eric Braeden, the dominating, dynamic and demanding Victor Newman. His character is a scion, a tycoon, a romantic and still terrifying figure in the tapestry of the show that Bill Bell created 35 years ago. Victor Newman has ruled for 28 of those years, and Eric Braeden has always played him, and played him very well. The former primetime performer -- Rat Patrol, 1966-68, when he went by the name Hans Gudegast, his real name -- and lots of episodic work -- has been one of the soap world's leading stars.
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For one thousand weeks -- that's 19 years -- CBS's daytime drama The Young & the Restless has been number in the Nielsens, the highest-rated soap on the air. Back in December 1988, when this streak started, the number one show in prime time was The Cosby Show. The number one song was "Faith" by George Michael (do you hear that, Eli Stone?). And Ronald Reagan was winding up his second term as President. In other words, it was a looooong time ago.

Of course, this being a soap, not much has changed on Y&R in nearly 20 years. Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) is still the ruthless scion involved in an on-again, off-again marriage/love story with Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott). Jill (Jess Walton) is still a social-climbing vixen. Brad Carlton (Don Diamont) has graduated from hot pool boy to hot corporate executive. Jeanne Cooper is still playing grande dame Katherine Chancellor. And Genoa City, Wisconsin (yes, really, Wisconsin!) is the center of the universe for these characters.