DRW50

Some new cast members. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s13/hollyoaks/news/a233106/hollyoaks-confirms-more-new-cast.html

I was cringing for most of the Graeme/David "comedy" scenes. The actors were obviously enjoying themselves, and that's great, but that was pretty much the entirety of the scenes -- actors making silly faces and yelling. Everything was so forced, like the Joker painting a smile on a victim. This is a story where: - Graeme hopped into bed with a woman in need of serious professional help, who not even a month ago was obsessed with sending an innocent woman to prison and could barely leave the house. So what is Tina now? Oh, that's right -- she's a piece of a$$ for three men to fight over. She has no purpose or point of view of her own. - David is a lunatic - not a comic relief lunatic, but someone who nearly killed Jason, nearly killed his mother, drove his car into the canal, etc. etc. - Graeme is a selfish, petty character, one who passes himself off as a nice guy. Graeme claims this was difficult for him and yet he sits there and repeatedly taunts David after telling him the news. Graeme claims he cares about Tina, and yet he reduces her to nothing more than "his" woman when he's talking to David. This isn't about Tina at all, it's about Graeme landing an attractive woman who 9 times out of 10 would not give him a second look. So what is this story exactly? Is it comic relief? Is it supposed to be some sort of great love for the ages? To me it seems like nothing but an easy way out. Tina yet again throwing herself from one man in that family to another. Graeme making stupid faces for laughs. Rinse and repeat. It's a huge waste of Michelle Keegan's talents, frankly. They seem to be wasting no time at all in this stuff with Lewis and Deirdre. While I'll be glad to see Deirdre knocked off her high horse soon enough, I kind of wish they'd just had Lewis and Audrey break up because she realized she had little interest in him once he stopped being some sort of forbidden pleasure. It's an odd episode when the best scenes involve Michelle and Ciaran.

I wonder if that made the Rachel/Felicia friendship awkward to play... Linda was probably right though, Felicia being the tragic comedic figure, instead of the diva you would have expected, was a real shot in the arm to AW and I think she and Cass really carried huge portions of the show for long periods of time. AW managed to create very few successful new families after the Frames but Felicia, Cass, and their assorted lovers and friends made a family.

Did Marley keep changing faces and heights?

Charity's pretty much always been alone but they could still do more to work with what she has. I would say she could go with the Kings but I don't think she would fit in that well with Jimmy or Carl. There was a daughter, Georgina, who was only mentioned once and then forgotten. They could have Charity and Cain track her down.

They did have the whole car deal gone wrong with Cain and the Sharmas, didn't they? I had forgotten about that. I wonder if they will ever go back to Nikhil and Debbie. I also wonder if poor Jai will ever get a story. Chris Bisson is a great actor. I don't know if Cain and Charity are held back by being together, as they have strong chemistry and the actors are good, but I think that Charity can be a lot more. Charity was riveting to watch when she was climbing up and up and Cain was there to try to bring her back down. Cain works best when he has some comedy and some family scenes (I don't mean the Dingle comedy with drunken pratfalls or money scams, I mean like his scenes with Aaron). Sometimes they go a bit too far with him as the Snoop Sister of the village. The only time I really dislike him is when he starts degrading Charity.

I don't fault them either, I think they have done a decent job with this lately, they let us see a kiss and then t hey were at least in the room together the morning after. I know some wanted a kiss or some affection of some type on Tuesday's show but I thought they did OK. The whole "one shirt one not" rule is something which seems to apply to all British soaps. They seem to have struggles for story with Cain since his return. They had him with the Wyldes, they were hinting he'd get together with Faye (which I think would have worked well), then Charity returned and there seemed to be months where he called her a prostitute and then suddenly they got back together. Do you know what the story would have been if Charley Webb hadn't had to go for a while? I like Charity a lot and I like Cain most of the time but sometimes I wonder if they had any plans for them. At least they fixed Charity's hair, which is a big improvement.

Those boiler suits tend to highlight the best features of Aaron/Cain/Ryan, but Sutton's ass always looks pretty good. Now if only he had some storyline to go with it... I really enjoyed the stuff on Tuesday's show with Natasha getting the flowers from "Mark" and quietly melting down, and then we see the tension with Natasha and Nathan, and we see Maisie missing her father, and becoming closer to Nikhil. I know some are upset that Cain is involved in this story, putting his nose in yet again, but I think the character works OK as stirring things up, even though Jeff Hordley can do better if he gets the chance. The stuff with Aaron and Jackson was pretty good too. Aaron was a bit muted but I think he's probably still trying to process all that's happened. They also kept to the rule where if there's a gay couple one of them has to keep their shirt on. I wonder if they would get away with having someone wearing only a top

I hate Cheryl so much I think I put someone else in her place

That is scandalous! I guess this all stems from the rumors she was upset that Kent Riley was fired. If she was causing trouble I guess I can see why they wrote her out quickly, but it's a shame. Considering that Marquess let her interview him in that welcome interview he did for the HO site, they may have had good plans for her if she'd stayed. What do you think of the show lately? Do you like the Sharpes?

I guess this is another example of how some EE fans tend to overhype the show and how they make it more difficult for expectations to be met. Until I read your post I didn't know these would be seen as good ratings. When I read Digital Spy this morning the ratings were either not talked about or were framed as being low or disappointing for the show, some of that by EE fans. This after time spent the day before talking about how the lower ratings for Emmerdale proved people don't care about watching Emmerdale and Eastenders has done great. So the very sudden stop to that talk made me wonder what had happened.

Considering that this was one of the biggest episodes of the year, and that Eastenders usually benefits from more consistent scheduling than Corrie and a later timeslot than Emmerdale, I actually thought the ratings would have been a bit higher. There was some talk in DS's ratings thread the day before about how Eastenders did so much better than Emmerdale around that timeslot and people just must be more interested -- yet when the ratings for EE's Wednesday's episode came out there was very little discussion of them, people either said nothing or were upset that the ratings were lower than expected.

I don't think Ross is ever coming back. I was actually trying to be restrained about Tanya. I just cannot stand the smugness. This character has no reason to be smug, considering her background and the circumstances of her relationships, yet it is her default mode. If they actually explored that, fine, but instead, it's usually just bedhopping.

The best thing with Den and Angie was the humor. I don't know if we'll ever get that again. But I think Harry and Vanessa have a very interesting relationship. There's something about that family, because he gives the appearance of letting his wife and daughter do what they want but underneath the reins are held close. I hope people will give them a chance, as I've already seen a lot of writing Vanessa off because they think she's just repeating her Footballers Wives character. I think Ryan and Stacey will have a brief relationship, or almost have one, but then Stacey will have to leave. They are suddenly changing it to where Ryan loves Stacey but I don't think Stacey feels the same way about him. I think Ryan will eventually learn about her killing Archie and will let her leave so he can protect her and his child. The problem is I don't see what is left for Ryan. The stuff with Janine pretty much died for good with this episode, if you ask me. Perhaps they should have him leave with Stacey. Becca's definitely going to go nuts at some point. I wonder if she might end up causing Charlie's death.

The positives of the episode: Once they got past the dull yelling in the rain and actually got to the hospital, Stacey's birthing scenes were extremely effective. Smart writing choice to shift the focus onto Stacey's shame and guilt and how it threatens her future. Lacey did a wonderful job in those scenes and when put in a minimal role, Ryan was fine. The use of Julia's Theme was more than appropriate and really added the right amount of poignancy. The constant reminders of Bradley were heartbreaking, not only because Stacey finally realized just how much she ruined Bradley's life, but because the comments which were meant well, like Dot saying the baby has Bradley's eyes or saying she wanted to put up a photo of Bradley, were just twisting the knife. Finally, for at least one episode, the enormity of Stacey's lies and Stacey's murder of Archie came back in a big way. The scenes in the Vic were great. The sense of community without a lot of clowning around is something I've really missed on the show in recent years. Pat and Peggy were of great use, whether it was talking about childbirth, about Bradley, or the refreshingly layered moment between Pat and Janine. The Golds. I think they have a lot of potential. I am becoming more and more interested in Vanessa, thanks to her chemistry with Max and the glimpses at her private life. Harry has a menace about him but he's not an over the top figure, they're taking their time. Jodie I still like, I think she has so far been played as someone who is bubbly and accepting but not "thick." Of course going on about how gorgeous Darren is might make her seem a bit silly but it's nice to see a sweet character who doesn't go around messing up words to show us how "cute" she is. She's sort of what they tried to do with Preeti. I still think they could have done more with Preeti. The stuff I didn't care as much for: Tanya and that overfamiliar SMIRK of hers as soon as she walked onscreen. Nothing ever changes with this character. Oh Max, I'm a good parent, you're not. Nothing says good parenting like trying to murder her husband, taking up with psycho Sean, the games she played with her daughters regarding Bradley's funeral, et al. Oh Max, I've found (yet another) love of my life, and he's so much better than you are. Wasn't this the same crap she said when she was with Jack? Tanya cannot live even a moment without a man. I cannot take any more of Max making puppy dog eyes at "Tan." When this character comes back for good I wish they would make drastic changes to her and to her relationship with Max. Spending so many of Lauren's scenes remembering that she ran her father over. I actually wonder if this is one of the main reasons why she is being recast. What an awful writing choice that was. I think this has to be the end of the line for Ryan and Janine. He has behaved like he has a split personality with how he acts towards her. He wants her to be good, yet he indulges her in her stupid schemes, time and time again. Now suddenly he says he was wrong and she's not good underneath so she has to go. Ryan just wants to have Janine around so he can feel morally superior to her. Ryan is one of those "I'm a good person because I say so" types of characters, and his sanctimoniousness oozes off the screen. If they want to rush towards a Stacey/Ryan relationship then they should have started this months ago, instead of having the silly bet stuff.

So did they have the episode where Tom Verica was in his underwear yet? For some reason I remember that CPW scene even if I don't remembst 99% of the rest...

Amello, I think they wrote that Darren/Rhys scene just for you, the one where Rhys was in his face and said, "I'm watching you." The scenes with Tony and Taylor Sharpe were a lot better than I expected, but I don't think it's his business to go in there and make all these presumptions about Gaby and her marriage. She was a lot nicer than I might have been in that situation. I guess my response at least means I care about her and her son (still not sure on the monotone daughter). Who do you think walked in on Darren and Suzanne? Oddly enough the synopsis I read before the episode said someone walked in on NEVILLE and Suzanne.

Yeah, it's kind of odd to say you aren't going to look back and then say you have the new Charlie Stubbs. I think there's a way to not go too far backwards and yet still use past characters for present story. Why not have Martin Platt return for one or two episodes to tie up his relationship with his son David? Or have a few old faces like Curly or Terry show up as Jack leaves? Or bring back Jed Stone to tie up his story with Tony and to talk with Emily one last time about the old days of the Street? Not to mention that Charlie Stubbs started out slowly and most of his stories involved people who had been on the show for a while. I don't dislike this Cheryl but it's hard to care about her. The problem is that the show seems to have very little future at the moment. I don't think there are a huge number of the cast who are such burdens that they have to go immediately, but there's a lot of dead weight and I think some viewers might be waiting to hear about a clearout before they start back again. By not doing this the show isn't committing to moving forward. And since they aren't bringing anyone back for the anniversary that means they also aren't trying to bring back viewers who have left but might return to see some old friends. And they also aren't saying anything about clearing up some of the poor storylines which have cropped up in recent years. So they are pretty much not doing anything to commit to their past or their future. If viewers don't want to stay around who can blame them? Leanne did mention her as a reason why she wanted to start Underworld up again but other than that nothing. Is it me or did he seem very adamant about Carla not getting any family? That was one of the strongest parts of the interview. I almost wonder if they are phasing Carla out of the show, either through firing Allison or through her wanting to leave, and that bringing Michelle into the factory and having Nick run his own version of the factory or whatever might be a way to give her a clean break.

That clip with Mitch and Rachel was good, Espy was so gorgeous. That clip gets very intense near the end. I often wonder if one of the reasons AW lost viewers in that era was because they still had the characters in those long, deep psychological conversations, endlessly. The weird thing with Alice and Rachel is that Robin Strasser was so delicate while Jacqui Courtney was kind of butch. I wonder if that helped make the triangle more of a success, the sort of role reversal in actresses.

Yes, I wanted to hear about change. I mean, tell me that Tyrone will be wearing a polar bear suit and dancing the Macarena, just tell me something different. I guess any changes will have to be slow but honestly after some of the casting decisions I am starting to think that nothing big will change, and I'm also starting to wonder if Granada or ITV are somehow pleased with the way the show is and don't want big changes. Perhaps Kim Crowther actually did want to leave, or they just thought she was bad at PR, and they didn't have any objections to her work. I know that he can't blast her stuff but to have to hear praise for the Molvin story -- which featured such deathless lines as "I want to jump your bones" -- is sad. I liked his work on Doctor Who so I am going to hope for the best but when your big highlight is Michelle working at Underworld...

Everything seemed very pat and safe. It just seemed kind of like he was getting his answers out of a machine. After the Crowther interview controversies I was hoping for a little more. I actually groaned out loud when he said Eileen would have a big story coming up. Kim Crowther said that for years! It hasn't been months that Eileen hasn't had a story, it's been over TWO YEARS! The stuff with her father was barely about her. The fact that he didn't say what her story was while he went into details about others suggests she isn't getting a story. No returns? What a sad anniversary. No one is going to buy that about how we're not focusing on the past because everyone already knows that Jean Alexander turned the show down. At least it sounds like Emily will have something to do...I hope? So is this some kind of a jab at Siege Week? The descriptions of the new characters sound poor. Izzy's father is too dull to have a dark side, and the others are just boilerplate. The new Charlie Stubbs. A new vixen. Why not try something different? My jaw dropped when I read that about Michelle working at the factory. I guess that makes sense, given that her brothers ran it, but that's hard to picture, especially since Michelle has no experience in this area. She had her moments at the pub, especially with Ciaran and Liz. Perhaps she will take after her brothers by dying within the year? Poor Allison King. The highlight of her year will be working with Michelle. I notice he didn't say anything about the John Stape story, which is supposedly going to be big. I wonder if he doesn't want to give details. The tabloids have already given them so that might be moot.

The stuff with Tony and Gabby is still good, although he's becoming very familiar with her very quickly. They're really making me start to hate Suzanne. Newt's mother talks just like Amy (I want to hear her say, "I don't curr."). I assume the thrilling cliffhanger will have Newt assume his mother is gone for good but then she actually is just gone on a job interview.

OSSF do you think you could repost the RH magazine stuff that isn't showing up now?

Here's a Pat/Janine scene before Janine is arrested. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kvn-4DROqEM