LondonScribe

This Monday’s Y&R (March 1st) is written by someone named Susan Banks (no, not that one 🤣) Anything known?

When I was much younger, I couldn’t get into any of the ABC soaps or into Emmerdale. The ABC soaps because I was raised on Y&R and tonally, production, writing, and sound-wise, they were just so different. Emmerdale because it looked so different to anything I was familiar with, as a London council estate kid, and I found it quite dreary. I’d like to think I’m a bit more aware of what I should have been paying attention to and what I note now.

It’s amazing. Out of all the shows and their producers, Iain MacLeod was the one with the lowest standing, off the back of his rather bland period in charge of Emmerdale. And now, at the end of 2020, Coronation Street is arguably in the strongest position of the 4. Just goes to show.

I did a double take when I saw that John Bishop is joining the show. I don’t recall seeing him act before, but he’s got decent screen presence, is handsome (pretty widely accepted, though I suspect that won’t matter on the show 😉) and has a certain charisma. For those who don’t know, he’s a stand up comedian by ‘trade’ and has a very pronounced Liverpool accent. I do think his character will speak slower than perhaps John Bishop does normally. Certainly no Jamie Carragher or Conor Coady vibes here. Look them up...

That is true. Brian Park’s tenure seemed like an attempt to keep up with Eastenders and Brookside in the ‘drama’ and sensationalism, which increased the ratings initially, but as was said, ripped the heart (or certain something) out of the show that has never been truly restored. Jane McNaught’s tenure did even more damage, by going for the throat, with Alma’s death and Toyah’s rape. Though the latter does happen in life, it seemed to be told in such a ham-fisted, jarring way. British soaps have a tendency to do that. Throwing out the baby with the bath water.

I watched the Eastenders Christmas Day episode- the first full episode in a long, long time, and oh Lordy. What a s*** show! I thought Kate Oates sensibilities would suit the show, but it looks like her worst instincts are more prominent here than at Emmerdale Coronation Street. But the biggest culprit (in my view) is Jon Sen. I wasn’t fond of his work on Casualty (really making background music a feature of the series and playing with a few production techniques), and remember being surprised when he was made EP of Eastenders, especially as I’m sure he was not a producer on the previous show. A few people I’ve spoken to believe Jon Sen’s rapid ascension up the ranks is identity and class politics at work, due to the fact he is Indian and is a graduate of the University of Cambridge. I’m not so cynical, mind you. One thing I do agree on is the Fox family should take a bow. Denise and Chelsea were powerful and Diane Parrish is a force of nature. Lucas is not a changed man, that’s for sure. There were enough anvils dropped in this episode alone that I think subtlety, nuance and some compelling beats will be missing from this story. I’m predicting he will kill or be killed by Anniversary week.

It’s a pretty fun video, though it is ever so slightly ‘spoilery’. And I’m watching at Australian pace as well.

It’s an odd one. They’ve been saying for a large part of the year that Adam Woodyatt is taking a break from the show but very recently, I’ve started to think that the information being released is a red herring and that Ian is in fact being killed off. If he is, either Woodyatt has decided he’s wanted a change (because unlike the other ‘episode one’ originals, Letitia Dean and Gillian Taylforth, who have both had extended periods away from the show, AW has, more consistently been there for all 35 years) or Jon Sen/Kate Oates are making a VERY bold statement and writing him out.

William Roache has played Ken Barlow in Coronation Street, almost continuously, since Episode 1 on December 9th 1960. His only soap role. I think he’s still in the Guinness World Records as the longest serving male television star in a continuous role.

Kate Oates has form for producing long-running deaths. Remember, it was her who started the Ashley Thomas Dementia storyline in Emmerdale (though it was Iain MacLeod who took it over and concluded it), and Aiden Connor’s depression and suicide in Coronation Street. And as we’ve seen, her day-to-day Executive Producer, Jon Sen, prefers long-form storytelling. At the risk of repeating myself, he apparently has story planned up to Christmas/New Year 2021/22. I fully expect Kush to die, especially since the other long-planned exit made a point of the door being left open for the character to return.

Cards on the table, I’m no longer an avid watcher, but still know what’s going on. But I’m not a ‘stan’ for Jon Sen, either, though I appreciate his profile and some of the powerful stuff he’s produced/directed drawing attention to the Asian community (I think he’s Indian, but not certain), but his last job before Eastenders was as a director on Casualty, which succumbed to the filmic gloss a while ago. If I’m honest, I think that period Kate Oates produced the show solo was stronger than when he took over the day-to-day running. But you never know, something might click, a la Iain MacLeod at Coronation Street (as I understand it) and things pick up.

I’m pretty sure I read a quote from Executive Producer Jon Sen saying the story had been planned out with a clear ending in mind from the very beginning. Come roughly September 18th (the speculated date of transmission), this would have been running for about 18 months. The fact that he has plotted Christmas 2021 probably tells you all you need to know about his long-term planning 🤣

The conclusion to the Chantelle and Gray domestic abuse storyline has been revealed by Eastenders themselves tonight... I’ll not state it myself (as it has not been broadcast, so technically counts as a spoiler) but the fact they decided to is very significant and actually marks a first in British soaps. Anyone who finds out will see the sense in my rather garbled message and understand why they probably had to.

Curious question, totally hypothetical (as I imagine he has his next gig lined up) but if he did go over to America, what soap (or show as a whole) do you think he would suit most?

You know what, I had a feeling within my bones that he was going to leave. Don’t ask me why, I just had a feeling. Whoever replaces him is going to be massively important. Because whatever people think of him now, he has a place in Hollyoaks (and British soap) history. In terms of making the show award-worthy and increasing its coverage in the media. Previously, actors would have to go to another show to enhance their profile. I’ve been watching the show on-and-off since it began in 1995, and his arrival the first time in 2006 was the start of something different. He clearly has a very firm grip on all aspects of the show and it is a ‘bigger’ programme than it was before. That’s not to comment on the quality of the storylines, acting, etc. I mean, my viewing is ‘on-and-off’ for a reason 🤣 Do we reckon someone will be promoted from within or will they hire someone with experience to manage the show given the scale of the show?

I presume this is in relation to American soaps? Because I first became aware of Mark Ruffalo in the late 90’s (or early 00’s) from Australian soap opera Home And Away. I don’t recall much about his character other than he made a dramatic exit in a plane/helicopter 🤣

Exactly this. I’m making YouTube videos, and getting bogged down in other stuff, but I plan to knuckle down properly and add to my short story and increase my output every day. This is a great achievement and I’ll try my darnedest to get a hold of a copy.

My writing has taken the form of short films and short stories. I’m toying around with formats and sentence construction in a short story. Once I’m finished with it, I plan to self-publish, so looking forward to that. I resisted writing anything set in lockdown but I think I’ve found a way to make it work. As for short scripts, I’ve had 3 made into short films (though the 1st was more me taking someone’s idea and putting my own spin on it. My professional background made me able to mould the story plausibly). I was in the very early stages of getting a crew together to make another one when the pandemic hit. I’ve been interested in writing radio drama or a radio serial, but know very little about it, so I look forward to researching that and trying to put something together 😊 I deliberately didn’t talk about my own writing on here- because, who wants to know about little old me, eh? 🤣, plus I try my darnedest not to imagine myself writing these existing shows, (though the real network nonsense allows me to not want such a job, and thus, not apply my mind to it)... but this thread came along. On the back of this, I went and looked for any of the written stuff I did in my own soap and I managed to find the whole story outline from 2003-2007. Some of it was totally bonkers, but it does flow, story-wise.

Wrote and formulated a series back in 1994. It actually started as a teenage serial, focussing on 2 teenage private detectives, Troy and Tracy, who were twins, brother and sister. I was really really young so logic wasn’t really there. Their recurring mother was the voice of reason. It focussed on the siblings and the crimes they would solve, and their band of friends. If I had anything of it left, it would probably be appalling. But I used to tell my siblings these stories and it kept them entertained. Within 3 months, I’d fallen in love with all of the characters and fictional seaside town they lived in, and expanded it into a full-on soap. I SORAS’d Troy and Tracy (and all their friends) into adults, moved them into the town’s CID and told what I perceived to be more mature stories, which included the mother of one of the friends being caught in an explosion after a siege. My first big ‘controversial’ story was having Troy and Tracy’s sweet, wise mother ripped off by an ageing con artist she had fallen for and subsequently dying in her sleep of a broken heart. At that point, my siblings lost interest, even when I introduced characters based on them 🤣 I carried it on until 1998, then did other teenage things. I then found myself drawn back to it in 2000, and revamped it, and carried it on, inventing producers and head writer (equivalents) to explain away any changes in storytelling style. Then, in 2007, I just stopped. 13 years later and my mind occasionally wonders what the characters are up to. I hadn’t really thought about it until this thread came up 🤔 Now, I mainly work on other writing projects and (short) film scripts.

South Africa: Generations: The Legacy (2014-present). Originally called Generations, it debuted in 1994, and ran until a dispute led to the entire cast being fired in 2014. The present iteration was born from that. Nigeria: Tinsel (2008- present) Nigeria: Super Story (2001- present, though reportedly may not be around for too much longer). Funny story. And I’ve never disclosed this, but in somewhat of a ‘sliding doors’ moment, I could have worked with the show’s creator.

Allocco and Kurtz’ scores are definitely missed. And I mean a lot of gothic, moody and sinister stuff from the 80’s and early 90’s. However good it would be to hear the litany of classic scores, the way the show is designed, shot, lit, written (number of scenes per episode, as well as the type of storytelling), and directed, I don’t think they would completely fit anymore. Sad though that is.

It’s been about a month or so since Iain McLeod exited stage left at Emmerdale (at least as far as what’s in screen is concern, loose-ends notwithstanding). Is the show any more watchable?

Iain Macleod’s name is gone from the credits? Well, I’ll let the anniversary week pass (likely when he planned some of his stories to conclude) and gauge the general consensus before deciding whether to get back in or not. His Emmerdale was not for me. I’m taking the Y&R approach (though I think that may turn into a more long term ‘holiday’ given the shiny new hatchet gifted to Mal Young).

http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/eastenders/news/a863452/eastenders-casualty-holby-city-new-producer-kate-oates/ Reality is often more bizarre than fiction. And she’ll be overseeing Casualty and Holby City, too 😳 If I’m right, I believe this also makes her the first producer to get the ‘top job’ on the traditionally BIG 3 soaps (of the past 30 years) Of Eastenders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/6839858/kate-oates-heading-to-walford/ Nothing even close to being confirmed, but it seems it was more than just wishful thinking by the DS forum crowd.