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Viewpoint Special

May 5, 2006
by Todd Brown

Eric Braeden has gotten his wish. After complaining to the media that his character, Victor Newman, had been castrated by the writers and threatening to leave the show, Y&R has restored Victor to full force. He's back to being the big, bad, all-powerful, omnipotent Victor of old. At least he's happy, although he may be the only one.

It's not that I mind Victor being a villain, or a hateful ass, which is basically what he's become lately. Every show needs a good villain. Think of Adam Chandler on All My Children, or Stefano DiMira, formerly of Days of our Lives. The antagonist is a basic element in any good story.

The problem with Victor is that, for whatever reason, his character has no depth. He's a hateful ass for no apparent reason. He's two dimensional and often contradictory. The Chandlers and the DiMeras of daytime TV are often defeated and learn lessons from their mistakes. Victor never does.

Whether it's reverence for the character on the part of the writers, or whether it's a contract-mandated stipulation by Braeden himself, Victor never loses. There is therefore no reason to become invested in anything having to do with him. You know how it's going to end before it even gets started. Am I supposed to be caught up in Nick and Victoria's take-over bid for Newman Enterprises, as though there is any chance in hell someone will one day get a leg up on old Victor? Not a chance.

Victor has become as stale as day old toast. Which is a shame because there is certainly potential for growth in this character. Take the example of what happened to Victor when he was convicted of mail fraud and bribery. Here was a perfect opportunity for the character to actually grow and learn from his mistakes. Victor should have really been made to suffer. He should have been ordered to pay such an enormous sum of money to Jabot that it actually crippled him financially, forcing him to start once again from the ground up. He should have lost the trust and respect of his family. The board of directors should have forced him out of his own company.

Instead, what happened? Nothing. Victor got a little slap on the wrist, threw around some money, and recruited some teenagers to build a "rec center" in lieu of retribution, the likes of which hasn't been seen since. All the while his probation officer sang his praises and fairly swooned as though he were God's gift to charitable causes. Victor always wins, and Victor never pays. It's tiresome.

It's the way the writers constantly prop Victor up as righteous that makes him so nauseating. It's almost propaganda, like expecting people to cheer for Hitler. Yes, I realize that's an extreme comparison, but it's no fun for the audience to be subjected to Victor's authority, temper and power without any chance of ever seeing him lose. It's frustrating and it's tiresome.

What makes Victor all the more laughable is the way he is continually portrayed, even as he approaches his dotage, as Y&R's answer to Steven Segal. The man is pushing 70 and yet here he is, once again, shown beating up healthy, rugged young men half his age. As if.

Nor are any of the characters allowed to point out his rather obvious faults. Does no one in town ever make fun of the way he punctuates each order by barking "YOU GOT THAT?" I'd kill to hear just one person snicker behind his back and do their impression of him while he wasn't looking. I'd love it if just once, when asked "YOU GOT THAT?" by Victor, someone had the nerve to reply "No, sorry, I didn't get that. Perhaps if you didn't mumble so much I might have understood what you said. Would you mind repeating it, and try enunciating a bit more?"

The mumbling, the barking, and the way he stares out the window or looks up at the ceiling when he's talking to people, are apparently meant to be signs of strength and power rather than acting limitations judging by the fact that all the other characters seem not to take note of these things. These little "ticks" of Victor's should be acknowledged and referred to by others if the writers intend for Victor to be in any way believable. Seemingly, the people of Genoa City do not see Victor the way the show's audience does, or someone would have speculated by now that Victor is likely to break a hip or have a heart attack if he keeps carrying on like a 30 year old.

Sorry, Y&R. This viewer is not happy to see Victor returned to the spotlight. If anything his continued presence on this show is stifling the life out of it. Without Victor, the potential for this show is enormous. Anything could happen if Victor weren't around. But with Victor around, nothing can happen. And nothing ever does.