mikelyons

3 hours ago, I Am A Swede said:

 

Whether someone is a good actor/actress is irrelevant to me when it comes to the Dingles. They could have Emma Thompson play a Dingle and I would still hate that character. Ok, maybe Emma Thompson was a bad example since she can do no wrong () but you get the general idea.  

I think EMMERDALE has some of the best actors on UK TV in its cast. My complaint isn't against the actress, it's against the character of Liv. Gobby, aimless, useless... 

2 hours ago, I Am A Swede said:

And now it's official, Joe Tate has fallen victim to the Debbie Dingle curse. 

The last few days have been almost unbearable with so much Debbie, Aaron and Liv. Three of the worst characters ever on this show. 

I'll have to agree with you. I love Aaron, but this mess with Liv and the aimlessness of the character have made him utterly unbearable for the last year. I will not be happy with Liv until she's out of the village - for good...and she can take Paddy with her. 

Every single time someone mentions "Liv" take a shot. (Do they even make that much booze...?)

I remember when a character went to prison on a soap, they were off screen for their sentence! Not precious Liv... 

12 minutes ago, I Am A Swede said:

 

Only if at least 75% of the casualties are Dingles.   

Agreed!!! The only thing Vanessa has done in the last month is chase after and fret about Charity... No wonder she lost her job. Tracy is getting on my nerves! And why are they intent on destroying Megan? I mean, they've killed off her brother and son, let Jai & Layla humiliate her, and... I just can't anymore.EMMERDALE is giving me a headache. 

It's time to drop another airplane on the village... 

I can't even bring myself to watch the May 1st episode. *sigh* When does the new team begin??

3 hours ago, I Am A Swede said:

Ugh, so Moira finds out about Debbie's involvement in what happened to Ross, but decides not to tell. I guess the Dingle's moral code (or lack thereof) has rubbed off on her.  

When is that little bitch Debbie gonna get her comeuppance?!  

1

AND they didn't even show the talk between Debbie and Moira. They sat down and then walked out of the pub. Where's the drama? Where's the tension? 

1 hour ago, cassadine1991 said:

Iain MacLeod's replacements named

Good. I'm glad he's leaving. EMMERDALE is a boring chore to watch these days. Hopefully, the new producers will right the ship or at least tighten the dead spaces. 

1 hour ago, DRW50 said:

 

 

WOW! Thank you, DRW50!!! :-) 

On 4/3/2018 at 6:45 AM, I Am A Swede said:

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.

 

 

 

I haven't seen them until now and I was very impressed by the tightness of the scripts and fully realized characters. The first episode tells you all you need to know about this world, the relationships between the characters, and what's to come. Now if I could only find Episode #2...

Many, many thanks for the first episode!

Does anyone have a link to the first episode of EMMERDALE FARM? There's a copy on Dailymotion, but it's out of synch and it was driving me crazy. The second episode doesn't seem to be online either, but the rest of the original run seems to be on YouTube. Thanks in advance!

16 minutes ago, MichaelGL said:

I wholeheartedly agree with what you said about the absence of the seniors. Quite frankly I wasn't all that impressed with Edna's funeral, and knew from there what path the show was heading down in regards to its older cast. 

 

Funerals used to mean something on the show. I'd never seen EMMERDALE before 2007, but when Stef showed up at Alan's funeral, you just knew she was trouble, the villagers were shocked to see her, and it was a big deal - even if for an episode. Ashley's funeral was bunk. The whole cast should've turned out for it. Edna's, too. (Side note: There shouldn't be anymore births or deaths in the village for three years. I can't keep up!)

Remember whenever a character was leaving the show, they'd almost always leave in a taxi out of the village? *sigh*

I do think the fact that the show saves every big moment for the two Thursday episodes hurts the overall structure of the show. Surprise me in any day that ends in "y". Don't save it. (Sorry. That's the producer in me.)

3 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

 

The budget is likely too small for Home Farm now. They should scrap it.

 

I miss the old theme. I've never liked the current version. A former writer called it drunk carnival music, or something like that. 

Drunk carnival music. HA! Yes, it is!! But aren't the Dingles meant to be travelers, so I guess it fits... (That's a joke, everyone.)

19 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

 

I think Ned Porteous has done a decent enough job with Joe's anger toward Charity, but the story has barely been about Charity. They don't seem to know what they want to do with Joe. They want us to boo and hiss him, which is why we get the [!@#$%^&*] boring, one-sided pissing contests with Robert, yet they also want us to seemingly care about whether or not he loves Debbie. 

 

I think that Justin mostly lost interest in Jacob after he remarried, but it would be nice if they remembered him.

 

Ah yes - Maurel.

 

I hated the Jackson stuff and especially Viv and Terry's deaths. I was not watching when Carl was ruined. I would have hated that too. Then I hated the Katie death plot. Since then I have mostly just checked out mentally, as that told me "my" Emmerdale was gone. I do think the Finn and Kasim story was a huge piece of [!@#$%^&*] though. And I hate the way the show treats Aaron's mental illness. A mockery of self-harm. A mockery of sexual abuse. Using his sexual abuse for a romantic reunion (with a man who abused him and didn't even believe Aaron over his father). And most recently, having Aaron say if he didn't fully accept Robert's son, he was no better than his father. Sick writing.

 

I think most of the village will side with Tracy, but I just don't really care. I'd rather they move Tracy on and let her mature. 

 

I agree with you both about Victoria. Sadly she has been so downgraded over the last decade she doesn't even have a personality anymore. 

You're right about Justin... He checked out eons ago.

Viv was a wonderful character who I adored and I'm still baffled (as with the actress who portrayed her) why they killed Viv in the fire. Terry, too. 

The way they killed off Katie was gross, but I waited for Robert to get his comeuppance, but... Yeah...

And why have they gotten rid of all of the animals on the show? Tootsie, Alfie, Daisy, Dog... *sigh*

On a production level, I hate what they've done to Home Farm by shrinking the set in half and getting rid of the stables. Most of this happened when Declan lived there and ran the business into the ground, so I get that "it never recovered", but it's egregious. It reminds me of what they did to the Chancellor Mansion on The Young and the Restless following the death of Katherine Chancellor. 

Lastly (and I promise!), can we go back to the old opening title sequence with the full orchestra and luscious shots of the Yorkshire moors? When they used the original theme song for Jack's funeral (where Robert watched from a distance) was so moving I nearly cried...and I don't cry when I watch TV.

I'm with you, I Am a Swede.

Victoria shouldn't be relegated to the back burner or anyone's agony aunt because she is Jack Sugden's daughter and Annie Sugden's granddaughter. I haven't thought about it until now, but Victoria deserves a real story for a young woman with her own business (whatever happened to that?!?), a husband on the run, and a village full of sexy men. A while ago, I briefly saw a rumor that Daz (not the current Daz) was headed back to town, but I guess they meant the current Daz. I suppose Victoria's greatest moment will be falling through the ice, seeing Shane, and having no one believe her for months and months. That was an epic story which engulfed the whole show, sent Debbie to prison, drove Jasmine crazy, and so much more. 

Liv is the most useless character that EMMERDALE has ever introduced. DeeDee had more of a purpose and they shipped her off to Australia after two weeks. The problem with Liv is she has no life outside of Aaron or complicating Aaron's life. Aaron has gone from one of the most beguiling, complex character who only came back to town as a teen because Gordon had enough of him and we watched him struggle with his own life, then his sexuality, then dealing with the fallout of coming out, and so much more. Now he just frets about Robert and Rebecca. I want to scream at the TV that Aaron loved Jackson so much he was apart of his assisted suicide. That was a story!

My least favorite character from that day in January 2007 when I first started watching until now is Paddy Kirk. He's useless, never has a storyline or family of his own, sticks his nose in everyone else's business and then tries to tell them how to run their lives when he's far from a stand-up character. Let us not forget he ruined Rhona and Marlon's relationship, insisted he was one of Leo's dad's (umm... no.) and cheated on Rhona with Tess which introduced Piers, who Tess warned Paddy about when they were having an affair. Every time Paddy is on screen, I roll my eyes and check my phone. Ugh.

I will say that I've always liked Debbie. Maybe it's because I like Charley Webb, but every time Debbie is off screen for an extended period of time, I just want her back in the village. The writer's haven't done Debbie any favors in years. The Debbie/Cameron/Chaz story was a beautifully told, extremely complex tale with a man I wouldn't've kicked out of bed... It seems like the writers think it's easier to make Debbie a perpetual victim instead of the tough young lady who went to prison for the woman she loved and fought Andy to regain custody of Sarah. 

The only storyline I hated before the current producer, but kept me enthralled, was Laurel and Marlon's affair. I detested every minute of it, but Charlotte Bellamy's performance was too riveting not to invest in on a daily basis. Laurel and Ashley were the perfect soap couple (Highs! Lows! Gabby! Daniel!! Getting Arthur back!) and splitting them up made me furious...until they were remarried.

DRW50, I do agree with you that the cast and some of the writers have kept EMMERDALE at peak quality especially in the last year (for me). I have noticed a few strong storyliners have left in the last year and that may be why I'm unimpressed with the show. If there isn't a strong hand guiding even the most ridiculous story every day, then does anyone really stand a chance to shine?

2 hours ago, I Am A Swede said:

^^

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.  

  

The return of Joe Tate has been a flop since the day after his real identity was revealed. I'll always remember the first or second day Charity was in the village after Debbie walked in on Charity and Michael's wedding with Noah and Debbie screamed to Noah, "Your daddy was a very bad man who did very bad things!" That was how many years ago and I can remember it. I can't even remember what Joe did two weeks ago. Ugh. I heard the actress who originally played Zoe Tate is ill, but it would've been wonderful for one of Joe's siblings to be controlling Joe from a distance or something to that effect. Ned Porteous (sp?) isn't a strong enough actor to convey all of the anger and vitriol of the Tate family towards Charity. He'd be a fine solicitor/local posh boy love interest for Rebecca or Victoria, but he's a dud as Joe Tate. 

2 hours ago, DRW50 said:

 

I always loved that too but I can't say it's anything I've felt the show has lost recently. I'd say it started losing this years ago, especially after Gavin Blyth took over in 2009. Since then I have never managed to watch on a consistent basis as there are lengthy dead spots, lots and lots of plot over character, and lots of stories that are hyped but in the end feel nasty and pointless. I'd say Kate Oates was the worst for that. A number of her stories, like the Alicia rape story and the Katie death story, damaged the show in ways it will never fully recover from.

 

I barely bother to watch at present and I doubt a new producer will make a difference. The strengths of Emmerdale remain its cast and some of the individual scriptwriters. Hopefully that will continue to be the case.

 

As for when Macleod will be fired, the ratings are still good, and producers are rarely let go, so he won't be. All of the Corrie and Emmerdale producers of the last few decades only stay 3 years, so this will likely be his last year.

 

I'd say Liv is mostly there to recreate Aaron's old stories, more than giving him anything to do. Aaron has become a meaningless character - nothing is about him.

 

Isobel Steele is a wonderful actress so I can see why they will want to use her until she moves on. I just wish her stories weren't interchangeable misery.

 

The problem with Tracy is the show's refusal to write her as anything but a victim and a "poor me" character. They posture about how tough she is, but all of her stories from the time they brought her back have been the same. I've lost count of how many characters have been damaged to benefit her.

 

The problem with Priya is that she is and has always been a plot device. She was brought back for this purpose, so that Cain could sleep with her to hurt Jai. Then she was there to keep David and Alicia apart. The only time they almost wrote for her in her own right was when she was pregnant and when she was involved with Rakesh, but she barely appeared. And then last year when she began to get airtime again - shocker, she's back to being a plot device. Maybe this will change. I hope so, as Fiona Wade is a good actress with real charisma.

 

I'd say that the grimy, trashy affair with Jai damaged Leyla more than David ever did. And she's another character who was trashed to prop up Tracy. 

 

David was changed for the better as a character when he got involved with Leyla and slowly began to mature, rather than just being a dumbass. Of course that too also had to eventually be ruined for Tracy prop duty.

 

Tracy Tracy Tracy. I don't mind her, really, but they are desperately insecure about how viewers feel about her, and it does nothing but damage all in her life, and the show as a whole.

Ah, you make a lot of good points! 

I like Tracy, but without Finn and Val, she has no one on her side because we always know Eric (and everyone else except Vanessa and Frank) will side with David. If no one on the show roots for Tracy, why will the audience care about her?

Fiona Wade is a wonderful actress. Yes, you're right that her last good story was battling anorexia through her pregnancy. Why they don't write her as a woman battling her spoiled brother for control of the family business is beyond me. Oh, I wish they'd bring back Georgia!

Leyla, Leyla, Leyla. I counted the days until she came back to the show. I've always adored Leyla and Roxi Shahidi (sp?). They haven't known what to do with her since she came back to town and it's a real shame. Such a unique, interesting, flawed character played by a great actress and we get... Well... Yeah...

Oh, and this is a pet peeve of mine, but can David either adopt Jacob or can Justin come to the village and fight for his son? Alicia is in Portugal and her ex-husband, who has no rights to him, is raising him when his biological father and stepmother live down the road? Come on, EMMERDALE. 

When is ITV going to fire Iain MacLeod? His stewardship of EMMERDALE has been uninspired, boring, poorly structured, and downright mind numbing to watch on a daily basis.

The last good story was James Barton's death and Emma's descent into madness because it enveloped the whole canvas, but they coasted on it for way too long, killed off too many characters, and now it's a mess of a show. The wonderfully plotted, beautifully shot show I watched with baited breath has been replaced with one where plots come out of nowhere, storylines are resolved in a matter of days, and the Dingles keep taking over the show (and I like the Dingles!). One thing I always loved about EMMERDALE was that stories sprang from character and they never really had a beginning, middle, or end because they were parts of a character's bigger life that created a sense of unity and cohesion across the whole show. 

I felt like the deaths of Laurence, Chrissie, Finn, and Emma were unnecessary in every sense of the word. Also, where are our seniors? The hole left by Edna, Sandy, Alan, and so many more is felt because they provided a sense of continuity and stability to the show. The quirky, richly drawn female characters (Priya, Alicia, Layla, and Tracy) have been battered beyond recognition by being saddled into storylines with David, who is no longer the lovable ne're-do-well he was when he schemed with Nicola to turn the church into flats.

I've been watching EMMERDALE every day since January of 2007 and I've never posted one comment about it on a message board. Am I alone in my thinking or is it simply show fatigue? 

Today's episode was wonderful. I will always maintain that Adam is Aaron's one true love. 

https://youtu.be/x45hm_pjhbc

I don't know if this has been posted before, but here's a great behind the scenes documentary featuring the producers, writers, camera operators, and more from the Royal Television Society about EMMERDALE.

Where did you here that she wrote for YDM? That's interesting. What other radio soaps did she write?

In her new archive at Northwestern University. They have all of her non-AMC/OLTL stuff that UPenn didn't want to archive. YDM was an Irna Phillips soap, so it makes sense that when Agnes was freelancing in NYC, she would pen this Phillips show. There were quite a few scripts from YDM in there. It's quite interesting how Agnes was writing for these shows (YDM, MA PERKINS) and she's never mentioned them in the press. When I saw the MA PERKINS script, I nearly fell out of my chair!

I don't know if anyone is intersted in modern attempts at radio drama, but I came across this demo for a show, AFFAIRS OF THE HEART. It has a great tone and the stories show promise. This is the link: http://www.affairsoftheheartsoap.com/demo/

I really wish we had more soaps instead of the four on TV... Hey, even the UK has THE ARCHERS!

The ROSEMARY episodes are on Archives.org (https://archive.org/details/Rosemary04Eps). I love this show. It actually uses sound effects and it sets the scene so well. I know Irna and the Hummerts eschewed it, but it adds something when you're listening, especially on headphones.

Agnes also wrote for YOUNG DR. MALONE when it was on the radio, too. It's always seemed to me that when Agnes stopped writing WOMAN IN WHITE with Irna, they completely parted ways until Agnes started writing for THE GUIDING LIGHT when it was on TV and radio. But based on my research, when Agnes left WIW, she moved to New York and Irna moved to California. But during that time, Agnes worked for Irna on YDM and she wrote freelance for soaps, primetime radio, and TV when it was in its golden age.

Here's a little unknown radio soap fact: Agnes Nixon (nee Eckhardt) wrote at least three episodes of MA PERKINS in 1945-1946. I came across the scripts in her new archive at Northwestern.

I'm so glad other people are talking about radio soaps. I love them. I listened to five episodes of ROSEMARY the other day and I was completely hooked.