TVSquad

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.

First, Paula Abdul walks away from American Idol (or was she shoved out by the producers a bit?), now comes news that Susan Lucci's not sure about sticking with All My Children when the ABC soap relocates to Los Angeles in December. My thought was there's no way La Lucci was going to pass on the chance to keep on working, but she's saying it's a tough decision. "I don't know ... I love the show and I love playing Erica, but I'm just now going to have a couple of days off. It's a lot to think about."

Could Susan truly be thinking anything but, "Yes, I'm going"? Seriously, All My Children has been her mainstay for 39 years. That's right, nearly four decades of continuous employment in essentially a starring role.

NBC seems determined to destroy Days of Our Lives, the last soap left on the network. After receiving a truck load of negative press for firing/letting go/dumping Deidre Hall and Drake Hogestyn, the producers are now dropping the axe on perhaps the most popular romantic couple ever on the show, Patch and Kayla. According to Soap Opera Digest, Mary Beth Evans and Stephen Nichols have been let go.

This may seem like an economic necessity for Days of Our Lives, especially since the soap only has a year-and-a-half to prove to NBC that it's still viable -- that was the length of the pick up it received when it was renewed in 2008 -- but to fans this is just another slap in the face.

Just a couple of weeks ago, all was fine and dandy in Days of Our Lives-world. Or so it seemed. The big fan shindig at Universal in Hollywood seemed to signal that the status quo was holding that the lone NBC soap still in production would be able to use the 18-month renewal granted by NBC to climb in the ratings and return to past glory. Now comes the shocking news that NBC has fired Days of Our Lives' two biggest stars, Deidre Hall (Marlena) and Drake Hogestyn (John). By the way, Deidre and Drake were at the fanfest. You think they knew the pink slips were on the way? Um, no.

This is all about money, folks, and instead of seeking other ways to trim costs, Executive Producer Ken Corday and company have used a hatchet and chopped off the top salaries. Don't be shocked to hear that more is coming. That could be Peter Reckell and Kristian Alfonso -- Bo and Hope -- the other iconic romantic couple on the show, right after Marlena and John.

Superhero TV shows can be really great if done right, but for every Heroes or The Flash we get a half dozen shows that never made it past the pilot episode or made it and just weren't very good. Cracked recently had a feature about comic books that shouldn't be made into movies, and that got me thinking about superhero TV shows that failed and/or weren't that great. Below are six examples of shows that should have never been made, along with video clips so you can marinate in their awfulness.

About two years ago, I set out to list the hottest women on TV who are over 40, over 50, and over 60. There were a lot candidates to choose from, even in the over 60 category, making it a particularly tough set of list to compose.

But now that our friends at AOL have decided to compile a list of TV's 50 sexiest women of all time (starting today with Nos. 50-41), I'm going to take on an even greater challenge: making one master list of seventeen beauties over 40. It's not as easy as you think; the TV landscape has changed a bit, and a few new strong contenders have recently entered their 40s, and a few of the previous list members have left the TV landscape. To make this list, a woman has to have been a regular or significant guest on a TV series or news program in 2007. So, after the jump, a list -- in no particular order -- of fifteen beauties who combine looks, maturity and grace to make one compellingly sexy package.

Thumbnails are with the list, but you can click on the gallery below to get a much better view of these lovely women. Then add your own choices in the comments.