CBS Soap Wraps SC Shoot

The CBS Soap AS THE WORLD TURNS just wrapped up a special shoot in the Upstate of South Carolina.

As part of the show’s three-city “Never Surrender” tour, crews taped on location at the Greenville Pickens Speedway on Tuesday. Actors Michael Park (who plays Jack) and Maura West (who plays Carly) appear along with Mark Collier (who plays Mike).

The tour began in September when AS THE WORLD TURNS conducted casting calls in three cities: Greenville, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Ten locals were selected in each city to appear in upcoming episodes.

In the storyline, Detective Jack Snyder travels the country trying to make amends after accidentally shooting his own brother to death in a warehouse ambush. Although beaten down by the turn of events, the audience has come to expect that will Jack “never surrender,” and will watch him grapple with his own guilt. The episodes taped in Greenville begin airing on Wednesday, November 11.

AS THE WORLD TURNS airs weekdays at 2:00pm on LIVE 5 WCSC.

Braeden Works Out Deal to Stay on Y&R

Actor Eric Braeden, who shocked soap fans by announcing he was leaving THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS over a contract dispute, now says that his fans helped him change his mind.

The 68-year-old, who has portrayed villian Victor Newman for 29 years on the show, was approached about taking a pay cut before the end of his current contract. A clause in all AFTRA contracts allows producers of a television show to renegotiate details of the agreement, including salary, every 26 weeks, Braeden says.

The actors have no such authority in their contracts, and that led to some bitter moments at the negotiation table.

During an appearance on Fox’s Good Day Los Angeles, Braeden said he was willing to take a pay cut on his next contract, but not the current one. He thought his mind was made up.

“As an actor, when you work in a studio, you work in a cocoon,” Braeden said. “You don’t realize that what you do has an affect on people.”

The fan reaction to the news that he was vacating the role, a reaction he called “overwhelming” helped him rethink things.

“One is, in the end, thankful to have a job,” he said.

His new deal is a three-year contract, but he declined to reveal details about his salary and any other aspects of the agreement.

In the current storyline, Victor is preparing to leave Genoa City to spend time in an overseas rehabilitation clinic after surviving a heart transplant. His final episode was to have aired November 2nd, but there is no word as yet on when Braeden will appear.

The show is taped roughly one month or so in advance. THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS airs weekdays at 12:30pm on LIVE 5 WCSC, immediately following LIVE 5 NEWS AT NOON.

Price Catches Halloween Spirit

Drew Carey and company are celebrating halloween this Friday in an unusual way on THE PRICE IS RIGHT.

For the first time in the history of the 37-year-old game show, the host, announcer and models will dress up in costume as their favorite pricing games.

Carey will dress up as “Hans,” the yodeling mountain climber in the popular “Cliffhangers” game. Announcer Rich Fields will dress up as the show’s famous Big Wheel.

Model Rachel Reynolds will wear a Plinko chip costume, while Amber Lancaster will appear as the “Range Game” and Lanisha Cole will dress up as the cash register from “The Grocery Game,” one of the oldest pricing games on the show.

Also for the first time in the show’s history, the audience will appear in costume. Costumes have always been discouraged for audience members, though custom shirts with messages like “Pick Me” have always been allowed.

This special episode airs Friday at 11:00am on LIVE 5 WCSC, followed by LIVE 5 NEWS AT NOON.

Stay Eye-lerted!

We know that there’s nothing non-sports fans hate more on a Sunday night than missing their favorite CBS prime time show because football or other sporting events run long.

Now, there’s an easy way to be notified when a sports runover will postpone the start time of shows like 60 MINUTES and THE AMAZING RACE. Just go here to CBS.com and sign up for their alerts, which they’ve cleverly called “Eye-Lerts.”

Back to Hawaii?

Could the phrase, “Book ‘em, Danno” be returning to CBS? It’s possible.

The network is considering a remake of the classic 1970s detective drama HAWAII FIVE-0, and has ordered a pilot to be produced.

The executive producer of CSI: NY would also helm this pilot episode. Other than that, there aren’t many details about what would and what wouldn’t change in the remake.

The original version featured the late Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett, and its legendary theme music is still one of the most recognizable in television history. It premiered in 1968 and left the air in 1980. Years later, CBS returned to the islands with MAGNUM, P.I..

We’ll keep you posted if it looks like FIVE-0 will make it to the schedule!

Braeden Exiting Young and Restless?

Budget cuts may well have accomplished what a psycopath’s bullet couldn’t: ridding Genoa City of Victor Newman.

Soap Opera Digest is reporting that actor Eric Braeden, who originated the role of the mutil-millionaire 29 years ago on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, is being written off of the show over a contract dispute. That dispute apparently centers on a pay cut the show wants Braeden to take on his current contract, which expires next year.

Braeden told TV Guide that he was sympathetic to the changing economy and even says he was the first actor on the show to propose and accept a cut in pay on his current contract two years ago. But an odd clause that’s apparently standard operating procedure in the business allows the show to renegotiate key points like salary every 26 weeks, no matter how long the contract runs.

Braeden also says he’s not opposed to less pay on his next contract, but feels the way he was approached in this negotiation left a lot to be desired, describing his treatment as “cold, deeply insulting and unconscionable.”

Salary disputes during contract negotiations are nothing new in daytime, or even on Y&R. Melody Thomas Scott, who plays Victor’s ex-wife, Nikki Newman, was said to have reached a temporary impass that led to her absence from the show for several weeks. Similiar stories were circulated about Jess Walton, who portrays Jill Abbott.

But high-profile soap characters — the ones most long-time viewers would think are “safe,” have been written out before, including Days of Our Lives’ Deidre Hall, who was said to have been axed because of a large budget cut. During her tenure on that show, Hall was involved in a controversial storyline as the “Salem Stalker,” in which many of the show’s core characters, even original cast member Frances Reid, were supposedly killed. Much was made of Reid’s “final scenes” and the emotion on the set when she left the studio for the “last” time, only to return a few months later, her character alive and well.

So stories about major characters leaving, while not impossible, often turn out to be nothing.

For Y&R, life without Victor Newman, around whom many characters’ lives seem to revolve, is a tough pill to swallow.

Unless, of course, you’re Jack Abbott, Newman’s longtime nemesis.

Stay tuned.

Fifty Years in the Zone

For science fiction fans and classic TV buffs, today is a big day. It was half a century ago today that one of television’s most famous series made its debut right here on LIVE 5 WCSC.

That show was THE TWILIGHT ZONE.

The science fiction anthology series ran for just five seasons on CBS, but it is still a favorite and is regularly mentioned among the most favorite shows of all time.

The premiere episode was called, “Where is Everybody?” and starred Earl Holliman as an astronaut who finds himself in a deserted town desperate to find any signs of life. As his fear turns into paranoia, it is then revealed that it was all a delusion spawned by excessive time in solitary confinement, an experiment designed to test the affects of lonliness on a future astronaut as he travels into outer space.

Reliving the magic of creater Rod Serling’s series is as easy as going online! CBS offers full episodes available any time for free. Visit this page to take a trip into the Twilight Zone!

Which episode was your favorite?

Letterman Reveals Blackmail Plot

Viewers who tuned in to Thursday night’s episode of THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN heard the host reveal details of a personal story that was far from funny.

Letterman acknowledged having had sexual relationships with some female staffers on his show and then claimed that he had been the target of an extortion plot.

At first, it seemed like an elaborate setup to what must be a huge punchline. But as the details emerged, it became clear that the host, despite his humorous telling of the events, was serious.

Letterman said he had found a package in his car containing a letter from someone he didn’t identify. Letterman said the letter read, in part, “I know that you do some terrible, terrible things and that I can prove you do some terrible things.”

CBS News is now reporting that the man arrested in connection with the extortion plot is a veteran producer with 48 HOURS.

A network spokesman said CBS is cooperating fully with the authorities and the employee has been suspended pending the results of the investigation. The network added no further comments, stating it believes Letterman’s comments speak for themselves.

CBS has posted more details about the story and the investigation, as well as video of Letterman’s announcement from Thursday night’s show. View it here at CBSNews.com.