I Am A Swede

He! He! He! Ron is a man, and there is no indication that he sees himself any other way. I think this practice of using female pronouns in this derogatory way against gay men should stop. It's homophobic, not to mention sexist, since it obviously implies that being feminine is less worthy than being masculine.

Absolutely nothing about this anniversary has been good, in any way. I should have known better, but I so wanted them to do something special. 50 years is such a massive achievement, but they utterly failed to celebrate it. The documentary, Emmerdale - 50 Unforgettable Years, was frankly shockingly bad. Almost nothing about the show's early years, and the only actor from the old days to appear was Frazer Hines. I realize that many of them are gone, but certainly not all. Shame on you Emmerdale.

I sincerely hope (no pun intended) that Brad Bell does not go there with Brooke and Liam. I don't see how Brooke could remain a viable character after that. Yes, a similar thing happened with Deacon, but some vital aspects are different. Hope and Liam are in love, Deacon and Bridget weren't. Hope and Liam have kids, Deacon and Bridget didn't. When Brooke/Deacon happened she hadn't done something like it before, but to repeat it would be stooping to a level that is unimaginable. And the age difference between Brooke and Deacon was much smaller than it is between Brooke and Liam. It would be like robbing the cradle. And I really don't think Liam is Brooke's type either. Plus KKL and SC have no (sexual) chemistry whatsoever, unlike KKL and SK.

I could have lived with the send-off Annie got. It was kind of touching in its simplicity. But when they justify doing a grand funeral for Faith and Liv with the words that they used (hugely epic and much loved), then I see red. Annie was Emmerdale Farm for 20 years, and compared to her Faith and Liv are insignificant nobodies.

Glad I'm not the only one who was confused.

Sorry, wrong info. Apparently there are two Marcella Martin. 😳

It's starting to feel like 2016 all over again.

That's old. Eric/Ridge/Thorne anyone?

Yep. I guess she just wasn't as hugely epic and much loved as Faith and Liv.

Unlike Annie Sugden, who didn't get any kind of worthwhile send-off.....

Being married only two times on a soap is practically the equivalent to being a virgin!

There are sooo many other characters I would rather see leave than Priya. Many, many, many other...... But it seems that it is Fiona's own decision to leave, which makes it slightly easier to take.

A very good read, and I particularly agree with this

I think what they should have done, instead of the storm, is have it be an anniversary for The Woolpack. Maybe it could celebrate 100 or 150 years or something. That would have given them a reason to bring back some characters from the past with ties to The Woolpack for the festivities. Dolly, who was introduced to the show as a barmaid, Marian Wilks, whose father used to co-own it and Kathy, who also used to work there, are obvious choices. They could also remember that longtime customer Seth actually had two sons (Jimmy and Fred) and bring one or both of them back, with a family. Other possible visits could be Lynn and Louise. Maybe Sandie as well. It would also have given them the opportunity to show some clips from the shows past and remember people and events from bygone years. Just like an anniversary celebration should do.

It is indeed sad that they so completely squandered this moment. It's not that many shows in history that gets to celebrate a 50th anniversary and they really should have done more with it than they did. I know that Emmerdale is addicted to disasters, and has been ever since the success of the plane crash, but was it really necessary to go back to that well once again for this occasion? Couldn't they have gone in a more positive direction...some kind of jubilee instead for example. There is always so much death and destruction going on and it is exhausting to watch misery all the time. It has been stated repeatedly in this thread that Emmerdale has really done a number on its own history and it's moments like these when that really comes back to bite the show. They have so successfully removed almost all the ties to pre-plane crash Emmerdale that it's almost impossible to look back to those years. Killing off so many of the younger generation of the extended Sugden family has proved disastrous. Sam & Sally, Jackie and Mark all died without having children, not to mention Joe, and the ones who did have children like Sandie and Rachel have seemingly been erased from history. For all intents and purposes it seems that Emmerdale wants us to think that the show began in the mid 1990s. Anything that happened before (the show's golden years in my opinion) is obviously not important anymore.

It's a show that just feels empty now, and devoid of any real emotions. Empty and hollow.

That was always the most delicious part of it for me. Stephanie's feelings towards Brooke drove her actions in this story and led directly to Brooke taking over FC. If Stephanie and, it has to be said, Eric, had just listened to Ridge on how to handle the contract situation none of it would have happened. But Stephanie refused to see any good in Brooke and to believe that she would/could be reasoned with, and instead resorted to lies and manipulations. And when it blew up in her face it was sooo good. The scene where Brooke finally retaliates and slaps Stephanie back remains my all-time favourite B&B scene.

Only I'm not counting Faith since she died of cancer before the storm. So, I'd say that this storm has been a major letdown, and definitely not what I would call a worthy celebration of the 50th anniversary in any way. And the fact that Tracy, Aaron and Diane were the only characters returning just shows how little thought went into this. I'm bitterly disappointed with every aspect of it.