I Am A Swede

I guess I must face the fact that the Dingles are popular. But when you hate a group of characters as much as I have come to hate them it makes it difficult to continue watching when the show just keeps on adding to that group. Furhermore, Charity already has three children. I realize it's not exactly the same since her child is going to be grown up, but why not give Victoria a child instead? You know, a member of the show's founding family, the daughter of Jack Sugden and the grand-daughter of Annie Sugden. The destruction the Sugden's have been subjected to makes it even more infuriating to think about the multiplying Dingles. Peggy was killed off, just like her two children were. Honorary Sugden Matt lost two further children with Dolly. Jack's son Jackie was killed off, and Kathy lost his unborn child. Joe never even got to have biological children, and even his two step-children were killed off.... I think the only reason Andy and Robert were allowed to have children was because it involved Dingles. Andy had his children with Debbie and Robert is married to Aaron.

In memory of Milos Forman.....

So, it looks like the rumours about Charity having a secret son will turn out to be true.... I guess we are supposed to feel for Charity now, but all I feel is annoyance. Yet another Dingle-brat who will run around the village and take up screentime....

I've always found the first episodes a little bit stiff, and the acting a bit wobbly in places. But despite that it's miles better than what we're getting nowadays. I think Gail Harrison as Marian Wilks is the best thing about those early episodes. She has a bit more spirit and energy than the Sugden family members. I wonder how things would have progressed if she had remained on the show. She did visit on two occasions during the seventies and I think she fit right in both times. I wasn't impressed with the recast Marian in the late 80s though. Too bad that Gail either wasn't available or interested in reprising her role.

Ms Show-Business herself here in Sweden, Barbro "Lill-Babs" Svensson, has passed away aged 80. A star since 1954 there's nothing she hasn't done. She's been a popstar, acted in films, on tv and on stage. In the early sixties she even got to write autographs to a then unknown British pop group when they first visited Sweden, The Beatles. At that time she was a bigger star here than they were. RIP and thanks for the memories....

RIP Jerry Williams (1942-2018)

^^ You're not alone in your thinking. I'm also really struggling with the show right now. My hatred for all things Dingle is hardly a secret here and right now I feel that they are monopolizing the show again. Joseph has, as expected, fallen victim to the Debbie Dingle curse. I feared that this would happen and now it has. A promising return completely ruined. I'm sure this will mean that Debbie's involvement in the acid attack on Ross will remain hidden, just like Cain's brutish behaviour towards Simon, and it makes me sick. And Liv must surely rank as one of the most useless characters ever created for this show. Her only purpose is to give Aaron more screentime and angst, as if he needed that. I know that it was Gillian Kearney's decision to leave, but I so wish she could have stayed. Emma was such a fascinating character and her absence is more noticeable than even Ashley's. Speaking of that I'm not all impressed with this Laurel/Bob/Brenda story. I guess I should be glad that Laurel isn't backburnered, but couldn't they have come up with a better story for her than this? Victoria seems to have been reduced to sporadic appearances again after Adam's departure. Why is it so hard for this show to write for her, but they can give Debbie story after story after story..... I can't completely let this show go, but it's now more of a chore to keep up with it at the moment. Thank god for Youtube and old episodes......

And so the whitewashing of Debbie has begun.... With Joseph now blackmailing her over her involvement in the acid attack on Ross everyone's anger will almost certainly be directed towards him when, or if, the truth comes out. All while Debbie (and Cain) will get off for what they've done. In other news: As expected Robert and Aaron have taken Sebastian away from Rebecca..... Yet another Dingle-brat is on it's way, and this time with Paddy as the father! O joy.... Sometimes I just hate this show so much!

I don't know how accurate it is but when they discussed Tillerson's dismissal on radio here in Sweden someone said that 43% of the staff in Trump's administration has left/been replaced during these first 13 months of his time in office. If it's true it's an astonishing number.