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by Todd Brown
 

Originally published May 5, 2006

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.

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