LondonScribe

I think the best way to answer the question is to compare it to going to a music festival and seeing a popular act on the main stage. On occasion, one goes to the front and risks being battered in the mosh pit or being doused with stuff from the act on the stage. I am the cautious so-and-so enjoying the act from a distance, close enough to see the act, facial expressions and all, but far enough to make a dash for it if it's not great or it starts raining. In other words, I'm enjoying the show for what it is (and it's certainly not Pinter or Shakespeare) but the investment is not there. If it goes pear-shaped, it won't hurt me. This is a show under Paul Marquess, the man who devised Footballers Wives, and turned The Bill from a police show to a show about models who happen to wear police uniforms. This isn't a knock on Paul Marquess, who has his finger on some kind of pulse. And I'm not going to say I haven't enjoyed some of his work in the past but I haven't been expecting philosophical enlightenment or the answers to any of life's questions. People have been somewhat spoiled by Bryan Kirkwood's stewardship of Hollyoaks, as his vision of the show was deeper and more complex than it was before or perhaps it ever will be again. If people expect that level of depth from the show under Paul Marquess then the disappointment will be palpable and possibly jading. The majority of the praise for the show now comes from the 'Seth is fit' and 'Mitzeee is a hottie, check out that a***' brigade, so that is where we are. Again, it's not a knock as it can be argued that the show has a 'typical' audience to service, and I can't speak for anyone else. In my view, the show is good to look at and it's colourful but I'm not going to just head first into a paddling pool. (At 6'1, that would be daft)...

After all this (pointless, in my view) talk about the new credits, they arrive and the children on Digital Spy are not happy. Hilarious... Anyway, I happened upon this old treasure from 2000. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQilATEA2iE&feature=related My favourite version of the theme.

It feels odd only reading about the British Soaps and not being able to watch them. I'm currently in the States and it also feels odd with the roles being totally reversed and being able to watch the American soaps as they are shown. By the sounds of it, Hollyoaks is starting to wobble again, as it finds its feet under Paul Marquess, which is disappointing. I guess I can form a comprehensive opinion when I get back to London.

I'll come back to you on that one on August 1st.... Or would September 1st be more appropriate? Two months may be a better indicator.

Regarding the new titles, I think it will swing one of two ways. They will either be previewed/leaked before the end of the week (or shown with First Look on e4) or they will do what they did with the current style and wait until the 5 the the premier them. I remember they put the old credits over the Friday e4 episode to avoid 'leaks'

Ah, Toups, the mirror falling on Warren was actually the last Bryan Kirkwood credited episode (I believe). The episode that followed was the first episode Lucy Allan was credited with. IIRC, Kirkwood had said in an interview that as long as he was in charge of Hollyoaks, Warren wouldn't pay for his crimes or die, as Warren was a character he had invested so much in. When Kirkwood, and then later Jamie Lomas, decided to leave, it was decided that Warren would leave with Kirkwood's end on the show. I was willing to give Lucy Allan a chance, seeing as she worked so closely with Kirkwood, and helped put the 3 years together. But then concern started to abound when reading her first interview (which I believe was Producer's Season 2009). The best way to describe it is that there was a certain coldness and distance that came from the interview and the promise that the younger characters would be the focus. The following few months, particularly with the promising but ultimately dull baby-selling storyline amongst others actually saw me withdraw from the show. An inspiration for my own writing it was not... I've gone off on one again. Pardom me....

Seeing as we are entering the final week of stories (seemingly) written by Lucy Allan, I thought it only fitting that we start to mention and recall the memorable stories, those plots and characters that really made you glad you invested your time, energy and emotions in Hollyoaks following on from the mostly successful period under Bryan Kirkwood........ > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ....... Anything?

July 5th? Damn... He clearly has the patience of a saint to wait until July 5th (true to form or not), but the question is, do we? Or will it be harder to compliment anything we see from now till then because we know it was sired by Lucy Allan, tweaks or otherwise....

Watched first look e4 and it looks like it is the wedding week. Lucy Allan is still credited, so I was wrong... However, I have a sneaky suspicion she didn't produce it...

Based on the fact that Lucy Allan's name remains on the credits suggests to me that Paul Marquess has stuck to type and kept clear of what he doesn't want to be associated with. Reading between the lines (based on the little we have read), I am suggesting that Paul Marquess will be credited as Producer beginning the week of Calvin/Carmel's wedding. Hey, I could be totally wrong...

Information by not-so-tenuous link time: The acting class my sister is attached to has just sent 3 of its pupils to Liverpool to (in the words of my sister) "audition for a new family. The only reason I didn't go is because I'm not 16 or over" Plus, the 3 pupils are all black. So, as I expected, it looks like this new family Paul Marquess is casting for is a direct replacement for the Valentines. But, I don't think for a second that this will be the only new family. If the focus and dynamic is altered (as I expect Marquess to do) then I believe there will be at least one more family/unit.

I guess written humour is not my forte. I'll get it right.

I'm going out on a limb here, but do you think Paul Marquess has been given all but TOTAL autonomy over the show's vision in a way Lucy Allan wasn't?

It's not a recent thing. I wasn't a watcher of Brookside, but did watch Family Affairs and still do watch The Bill. Both shows were rendered unrecognisable by Mr Marquess. To his credit, The Bill gained a new audience and became fashionable (in a different way). To this day, it struggles to shake the 'soap' tag (despite the best efforts of current Executive Producer Johnathan Young). Family Affairs improved massively but had other problems (poor advertising, being on Channel 5, channel 5 being more interested in Australian soap, etc). And Hollyoaks clearly needs an overhaul. This is only the beginning...

Sean did meet an untimely demise on a New Years Eve (I forget which year) at the hands of a little thug called Liam. In turn, Tanya left Liam as he died of an asthma attack. Blowing up the Harts on the boat was the work of former Coronation Street producer Brian Park, who oversaw the first revamp of the show back in late 1998/early 1999. The original premise of the show was the focus on the Harts. Brian Park saw this as an obstacle to the show's sucess so removed the Harts and relocated the show to west London.

Family Affairs suffered mainly because it was on Channel 5. Even now (with its stability and decent quality programming) it still suffers from tha old stigma of being 'that cheap one with the dodgy porn and shitty docs'. Family Affairs was originally made by both (Talkback) Thames and Channel 5, whose Head of Drama was Corrine Hollingsworth (Former Eastenders and Eldorado producer). Thus she was listed as Exec Producer. Her Series Producer was Jane Harris. In the early years, that role was occupied by Mal Young (co-creator of the show who went on to be Head of Drama at the BBC). When Channel 5 realised the show was suffering badly, they handed the production to (Talkback) Thames and their Head of Drama was Paul Marquess. He drafted in his own Series Producer and many of the writers and technical staff from The Bill (such as writer Steve Hughes and senior writer Catherine Cooke). Another reason the show had problems was because it was on at 18:30- the exact same time as Hollyoaks, which had younger and more attractive actors. Now make no mistake, Hollyoaks was largely diabolical at the time, but all they had to do was put the character Natalie Osbourne (for example) on screen in a low cut top and that was it. As for gay character, one of the first Marquess introduced was Sean Steele, who with best friend Tanya Woods became the Will and Grace (if you will) of Charnham. And he was paired with Brendan Boulter, who hid his sexual orientation (I believe he was bi) on account of his family and the fact he was black. I'll not get carried away as this is the Hollyoaks thread, but Paul Marquess helped the show for a while. Gave it a new lease of life..... Goodness me, I clearly have too much space in my head if I remembered all of that

Paul Marquess has become somewhat of a 'fixer' and does not waste time. When he took over as the Executive Producer at Family Affairs, 5 characters were written out by the end of the first week (Matt, Karen and Jim left for Spain on Wednesday and Fern and Robert were killed when Jake drove one of Gabriel's dodgy cars [that he was meant to ditch in the river] through the cafe entrance). This period began (if I remember correctly) on the 1st September 2003. By Decemeber, about half of the cast had been removed (including the last remaining original character, Roy Farmer). He and Alison Davis (Series Producer) did admittedly make the show much better. Ultimately, it suffered from being on Channel 5 and from not having much money thrown at it. When he took over at The Bill, by the end of 8 episodes, 2 long-serving characters were part of the 7 out of 8 that died in fire-related incidents. The 8th resigned before being prosecuted for beating up a racist suspect. The aforementioned explosions (linked below) being in retaliation to the beating done by DS Singh. Derek Conway's death (Episode 6) The Big Explosion (Episode 8) Marquess (similarly to Bryan Kirkwood) has no problems prolonging a story if there is mileage to it. That approach doesn't always work, but I will credit the man with turning The Bill around and possibly saving it from the axe. His first 6 months, culminating in Superintendent Tom Chandler's suicide were a good watch, even if you did have to remind yourself at times it was called The Bill So happy were ITV with what he did that a 'Golden Handcuffs' deal was put in place guaranteeing the show remained on air until at least 2010. So I would say his first 6 months (to a year) if he is allowed free reign should be pretty interesting, although mark my words, the show will probably be rendered unrecognisable. Whether we like what the end result will be remains to be seen...

Seeing as my name was mentioned, and I've been looking for a reason to post after merely being a lurker for the best part of the year, I thought I would comment on this. I think it goes without saying that I did NOT see this coming. If there was ever a show Bryan Kirkwood was 'destined' to write for, it was Coronation Street. Then again, Maria Arena Bell wasn't supposed to be the Big Bad Wolf, so nothing can be taken for granted. This is possibly the biggest challenge of Bryan Kirkwood's producing career. With all due respect to Hollyoaks (which has, for the record, declined massively since Lucy Allan has taken the helm), Eastenders is a much bigger soap. Not only that, it is an institution, as much a part of the British psyche as The Queen, Wimbledon and the Teletubbies (I hope you can all appreciate how legendary the latter truly is). It is also a machine, one that is not easy to mould or manipulate in the same way Hollyoaks was. Bryan Kirkwood will not be able to stylise the show, add music or incorporate the quirks he did with Hollyoaks. Musical scores are virtually non-existent and the tone of the show, whilst gritty is not dark in the same way Hollyoaks. His success on Eastenders will depend almost soley on his storytelling. I've waxed lyrical since 2006 about his abilty to tell stories, and whilst the run-up to his departure didn't tally with the rest of his tenure, his time on Hollyoaks has shown his ability to craft stories and create interesting characters. Obviously he will be working within stricter parameters and a firmer production frame, but if his creative ability has been refined and improved since he became an executive, then this gig should establish Bryan Kirkwood as a production heavyweight. One that will allow him to break free of the 'Hollyoaks Man' shackle he undoubtedly has.

Bryan Kirkwood joined in January in 2006, but didn't jump straight in. He sat back and waited, though he did work with the previous Series Producer, David Hanson to steer the show to where he wanted it to be when he took over. Justin and Becca was the work of David Hanson and Previous EP Jo Hallows (who between them nearly destroyed the show in my view). The dates escape me, but the week that led up to the Twins Birthday/the reveal of Justin and Becca was Kirkwood's first set of episodes. I believe it was May or June 2006. The next few months that led to the explosion at the pub were what could be classed as a 'transition period' where characters came and left (Warren, The Valentines, McQueens, Kris, Zoe, Will, etc arrived. Olivia, Joe, the Twins, Sam Owen, Jez, etc left) and the stories shifted. The tone of the show also changed. According to Bryan Kirkwood, one of the first things he did was call a massive story conference, in which he and his storyliners (details might be sketchy, as I'm typing from memory, here) mapped out the show's stories for the next two years. (These included the explosion, Clare's terrorising of Max, Tom and O.B, Clare being pushed, JP and Craig, Hannah's anorexia, the continued McQueen sagas, Will and Zoe, etc). I'm sad to see Bryan Kirkwood leave, as he clearly has talent as a storyteller (Coronation had problems with their stories around the time he left, which wasn't helped by the fact Steve Frost was an inept producer, but that's another topic). If he is able to adapt his storytelling style, then he will go far. It's not likely going to happen, but imagine if he was given the pen to an American soap. He could be the 'new blood' some have been asking for. Imagine he and Bevan Lee (Home and Away) being allowed to write a soap in the U.S. Producers here can vary in role. Usually, they work with all areas of production and writing. They set the tone of the show. They are an amalgimation of the Head Writer and EP. They may not map the specifics, but the direction and outcome generally come from them. Each has their own strengths. For example, Diederick Santer's strengths lie in production (compare it to Edward Scott), whereas Bryan Kirkwood is a storyteller, so he is hands-on in that department.