Eric Braeden-related stories
Posted Jan 16th 2010 9:03AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Today was a big day on
The Young and the Restless. It wasn't just that Fridays are always big for story revelations -- and there were some doozies today! -- it was the return to the show of one of the biggest stars in the business.
Eric Braeden, as his alter ego Victor Newman, made a dramatic entrance just as his two sons were beating the crap out of each other in Victor's office. In typical Victor fashion, Braeden strode into the office and growled, "What the hell is going on here?"
Ironically,
Y&R fans were saying the same thing a few months back when Braeden quit the show after a contract dispute. Instead of remaining quiet, the fans spoke out and according to Braeden, there were two major influences that got him back. One was
Les Moonves, the president and CEO of CBS Corporation.
"But
who essentially stepped in was Les Moonves, who has always been a friend and supporter," Braeden told TV Guide's Michael Logan.
Continue reading Who really got Eric Braeden back on The Young and the Restless
Posted Dec 31st 2009 10:05AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Industry, OpEd, Daytime, Celebrities, Cancellations, Ratings, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free
I'm not going to go into
the best and worst things that happened in the world of soaps in 2009, but I have do some thoughts I'd like to share. So before we drop the ball and turn the calendar to 2010, a few highs -- and lows -- from daytime this past year.
1. Disappointing daytime. How could any soap fan not be upset about the fate of
Guiding Light and
As the World Turns in 2009?
Guiding Light departed daytime after 72 years, going out not with a bang, but definitely a whisper. The show was a shadow of its former self, relegated to on-the-fly shooting with camcorders and lights that were likely bought at Home Depot. CBS then made the pain of
GL's exit more painful but announcing that
As the World Turns would be ending in 2010.
Continue reading Looking back at the soaps in 2009
Posted Dec 1st 2009 1:03PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Video, Celebrities, Emmys, Reality-Free
Where has the time gone? Is it really
20 years that Peter Bergman's played Jack Abbott on
The Young and the Restless? Amazing, but true. Not only has Bergman been tearing it up as Jack for two decades, he's pretty much eradicated the memory of his tenure on
All My Children where he was nice guy, Dr. Cliff Warner. Say what you will about Jack, he's not a nice guy. He can have his good moments, but this character is too complicated, too selfish, too diabolical ever to be confused with a noble man like Cliff.
Which is what has made Peter Bergman's time on
Y&R so remarkable! The character had been so sharply defined by Terry Lester that it was going to be tough for any actor to take over the part.
Continue reading Peter Bergman celebrates 20 years on The Young and the Restless
Posted Nov 7th 2009 4:04PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Industry, OpEd, Daytime, Reality-Free
Sometimes it's true that all's well that ends well. And sometimes to reach that happy ending, arms are twisted, feelings are hurt, and bad blood is spilled. In the case of
The Young and the Restless and actor
Eric Braeden, there was a good deal of acrimony on both sides. The fact that Braeden is back in the fold now and he will continue as Victor Newman for the foreseeable future, doesn't obscure the fact that it was a nasty situation.
Continue reading How The Young and the Restless got Eric Braeden back
Posted Oct 30th 2009 9:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Reality-Free
It's been a
tumultuous six weeks for Eric Braeden and The Young and the Restless. For a while, it looked like he was on his way out of the soap when contract talks broke down between the star and Sony. Then there was a story in the trades about
other actors being contacted to possibly replace him, including William Devane, Paul Michael Glaser and Peter Strauss. Before you could say Jabot Cosmetics,
Bob posted the news that Eric and Sony had reached an agreement and Victor Newman would continue to be played by Eric Braeden. Crisis averted.
Well, while he was still in exit mode, the show wrote Victor out. In the storyline, Victor is recovering from a heart transplant and has decided to go to a clinic in Belgium to rehabilitate. This week he's been tying up loose ends before leaving.
Continue reading Victor's Greatest Hits on The Young and the Restless
Posted Oct 24th 2009 11:31AM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Daytime, Celebrities, Reality-Free
Actually, I'm not sure he even had time to pack up his stuff at CBS and leave the building, but
Eric Braeden is returning to The Young and the Restless.
Allison told you that
contract negotiations between Braeden and Sony had come to a standstill. Braeden has been on the show for 30 years and knew that he had to take a pay cut (like everyone in the industry is doing these days), but they couldn't come to terms on what that pay should be, and Braeden felt that Sony had reneged on what they had promised. But it's all in the past now. Braeden will stay with the show.
Continue reading Update: Eric Braeden coming back to Young and the Restless
Posted Oct 22nd 2009 6:14PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
When
Eric Braeden walked out of The Young and the Restless, it was my belief that the powers that be would find some way to reach a compromise with him and Victor Newman would remain an integral part of Genoa City. However, the negotiations between
Braeden and the folks at Sony turned cold.
Cold as in heartless. Considering the character Braeden has played for nearly 30 years, Victor Newman, he should have understood the daytime TV business had changed. Instead, he was insulted and -- apparently -- grew stubborn. So instead of a compromise, it looks like Braeden is really leaving.
However, today's news suggests that while he walked from a job that was asking him to take a pay cut from $1.5 million a year to $1 million a year,
other actors are interested in filling Braeden's shoes. The question is this, though: can another actor play Victor Newman?
Continue reading Some interesting names may be angling for Eric Braeden's role
Posted Oct 10th 2009 9:38AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, How I Met Your Mother, Casting, Reality-Free
It'll be how I met Lily's dad on
How I Met Your Mother.
Chris Elliott has been cast as Lily's father on the CBS sitcom, a character who is supposedly something of a good-for-nothing parent. Elliott is hilarious and specializes in playing these kind of goofy roles. On
Everybody Loves Raymond, for instance, his was Robert's overly familiar brother-in-law, Peter, who liked Ray just a little too much.
On
HIMYM, Lily's dad will appear for the upcoming Thanksgiving episode on November 23. According to Michael Ausiello of EW.com, there will be series of flashbacks to illustrate exactly what's what with Lily and her father, why their relationship is "troubled." I'm hoping for more from this casting than
Eric Braeden as Robin's dad; they never really used him right.
Continue reading Chris Elliott cast as Lily's pop on How I Met Your Mother
Posted Oct 7th 2009 9:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Watercooler Talk, Reality-Free
If you were to take the collective temperature of the loyal viewers of
The Young and the Restless, the number one daytime drama in the Nielsen ratings for 20 years in a row, you would learn that the fans are hot! They are steamed and fuming and ready to boil over with rage. What's got so many people so incensed? Well, it might be easy to say it's
Y&R's recent baby-switch story line -- where Sharon's baby was taken from her and given to Ashley, with neither woman aware of the crime committed against them -- but it's actually more than that.
Y&R fans are up in arms over happenings on screen and off. The very idea that Eric Braeden is leaving the show, that the character of
Victor Newman is going to be killed off, has been a shock. After the near exit of Melody Thomas Scott and Jess Walton recently, it appears as though the foundation of the show -- the most integral characters and the actors who play them -- are being destroyed. Fans are wondering what the powers that be are doing to "their" show!
Continue reading Has The Young and the Restless pushed the fans too far?
Posted Sep 30th 2009 11:00AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Casting, Emmys, Reality-Free
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.
Continue reading Will The Young and the Restless really kill off Victor Newman?
Posted Mar 18th 2009 7:02PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Daytime, Reality-Free
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?
Continue reading Suddenly, I'm hooked on The Young and the Restless (send help)
Posted Nov 4th 2008 12:26AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: OpEd, How I Met Your Mother, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(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.
Continue reading How I Met Your Mother: Happily Ever After
Posted May 21st 2008 2:03PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Daytime, Casting, Reality-Free
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.
Continue reading Finola Hughes caught in the middle
Posted Apr 9th 2008 2:09PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, Daytime, Reality-Free
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.
Continue reading TV Squad Soap Report - Why Eric Braeden nearly bolted The Young and the Restless
Posted Mar 7th 2008 8:03AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Daytime, Celebrities, Ratings, Emmys
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.
Continue reading The Young & the Restless reaches 19 years as #1
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