InLoveWithSoaps

A few thoughts on the past year as I finish up 2023.

Gotta love how the Marshall character was erased from existence probably only because he was as bad an actor as it can get. Then Jai sums it up pretty well, along the lines of ‘he was a closed shell’, which I never got was the intent with the character but the result of the zero emotion portrayal.

I’ll always find the Caleb character a bit of a cheat from the writers, because he came on two months after Faith died and it felt as though they had nicely wrapped up everything with her character and her relationship with her children, but we then find out she had kept the existence of a brother from them (although Cain had known, they never talked about it when Faith was still on the show). I felt it cheapened and negated it all. After an entire year of Caleb on the show, I don’t see the point, yes the actor has some charisma but making him, say, Will’s brother would have been less overkill. I don’t see the point either of his affair with Tracy, as it’s overkill with the affairs as well.

Billy and Dawn have had very little to do and I’m just left wondering what it’ll take to cut these two dead weights from the show; Dawn is a fine actress but has no screen presence. I’m surprised this whole weird set-up at Home Farm with Kim living with Will’s relatives hasn’t turned into ‘Kim screws Billy’ which is about the only dramatic thing they could get out of it.

I’m glad they offed the Harry character and it’s such a lousy Emmerdale thing at this point to have a big bad guy if not Cain kidnap someone over an affair or something along the lines and keeping them bound in a barn or basement (see: Al, only to have Cain do the same with Aaron a few months later).

The whole Chloe/Mack saga was a chore to get through and she should just not have survived the crash. She’s a pretty loathsome character. Maybe things would have turned out better had Kerry’s presence been possible to create a relationship there, but I can no longer take Amy either, it’s always whining hour with her with unbelievable hypocrisy thrown in for good measure.

Although ED had a pretty bad year I’ll just end on a positive note: I love Mary who adds a lot of heart to the show. And I’ll add Claudette too, who fits well with the show’s history of similar peripheral characters. And I knew it re: the Jamie actor! Looking at the current Max on Corrie now then.

It was a bad decision given MZ’s passing and thus the loss of the Roger character, when the early 90’s team had deemed it necessary to bring on a second child for Roger, which was a good choice, so they should have thought of preserving the few of his relatives around. It was short-sighted IMO and then indirectly led to the weird Sebastian character, which could have just been Hart (with another actor) had they just written him out. And having Dinah kill someone was a mistake too. As for Grillo, he was easily replaceable and ultimately miscast. They should have just rested the character, go with the same exit but with no body found.

Wow I missed the announcement that it would no longer air on Channel 4. That’s pretty big, and worries me. I personally was okay with Lucy Allan’s run but obviously things weren’t working as well as I thought. It’s sad to me this show has been viewed so poorly since the 2010’s and now when it could be strong at times and have a real identity.

Getting rid of Grace is one of LA’s mistakes (although I get how she’d be seen as expendable, long before Kirkwood left she just lingered on, her killing a pregnant woman is something I’ve never looked past, and I’d say once Trevor was gone, a lot of the spark went out) but we never really saw her as a mom so when she went to prison and sobbed over Curtis it felt hollow. Much like Damon and Scott’s farewell, this brother relationship was completely ignored after the initial storyline. And I’ll take this opportunity to say how I hated that Ollie and Imran’s beautiful friendship somehow became completely forgotten and that even before the recast.

I thought ED somewhat improved by the time Hannah Cheers’ name appeared on the credits so we’ll see, but no longer on Channel 4 does not bode well…

I hope they finally get rid of Goldie, but I was glad both her sons came back, especially Hunter.

One thing I do like which I get others may not, is the Norma character, Glynis Barber is incredible in that role, and I’d say bring on both Ronnie and Roxy as her daughters (just kidding, but one of them might happen).

I guess we’ll see Maxine’s insta family which was unnecessarily complicated with step-kids and kids from previous relationships be one of the first casualties of the post-LA team, I do like Mason though.

I'm probably alone in this but I always think they had the perfect opportunity to bring back Hope when they cast Selena. Patti d'Arbanville could have easily been believable as a Hope recast and is one of the only times they cast a 50-something blonde actress in later years and they kind of let Selena fizzle out after a while. They could have tweaked the story a bit, get rid of the ex prostitute angle, but keep her as Abby's cellmate because of a DUI that could have led to a mystery, with the Bauers having a hard time processing one of their own ending up in prison, with her being Abby's cellmate thrusting her into the dramas of her family right away, keep Drew as her daughter giving another angle to her friendship with Michelle. And then bring back A-M.
I also think of Terry Davis as another one who could have worked in the role.

I loved Gemma Atkinson on Emmerdale and have always been waiting for her to return so I'm fine with her back to Hollyoaks. I also love to see Katie McGlynn on as I loved her on Corrie. Although as I recall her first scene was her around the hospital and she seemed to have no issue going there and then 3/4 months later she's anti-hospital. It's great to have a character like that though and I loved when she was all ignorant about Luke's condition and suggested to Zara and Cindy they "do their research".
What they've done with the Deveraux is great but what a mistake it was to kill off Lisa, as Toby and even Celeste can never recover from that. That's just an impulse Hollyoaks had at the time to just go overboard with the killings, I still think Harry being killed by Breda in the SK storyline was a massive mistake. Toby killing Pete they could have gotten away with, but what he did to Lisa was so violent and unforgivable. Shame as that added nothing and ruined what clearly could have been good for a long time. Also recast Mitchell or something.

I'd also like to see them recast Ellie Nightingale down the line. She wasn't all that memorable and can be reinvented with another actress à la Liberty. I'll suggest Louise Marwood!
Also does Lucy Allan have a connection with Emmerdale as we have "Alicia" in a minor role (so far) as a cop, surely there'll be something more, and "Cameron" has popped up. I've also noticed the series producers from under Kirkwood have been replaced and the episode writers and directors seem to always be new names. So far I'd say she's doing a fine job, obviously dedicated to tie up loose ends. I did find the Fergus ending a bit of an anti-climax as he didn't see it coming, and I don't think they needed the McQueens to leave the Dog, also what happened to their old house which I liked?
I don't know where the Darren story is going as of a month ago but I do find the hotel mystery with Ste's cleaning crew going to work there a nice different kind of mystery with the setting being part of it.

What strikes me when watching Corrie is the strong characterizations going, all those peripheral characters that add so much to their roles with true craft. Debbie Webster has an amazing delivery, what a genius idea to bring her back, of recent additions, Evelyn is always a pleasure to watch, Nina is a gem, and Daisy is just a classic in the making. They've also clearly struck gold with the Curtis actor and his pairing with Emma.
I'm glad Toyah and Imran, random pairing it started as yet feels organic by now, have more to do currently as for a long long time Toyah was barely on.
The Horror Nation Street week was nicely done, except Abi's outbursts, I like her but I've realized she's basically a knock-off Charity Dingle. I liked Natasha too, which is very different from what I felt about her as pointless Joanne on Hollyoaks. The kid playing her son is good, and no way is the kid playing Kevin's son only 11 years old. I gladly take this break from Alina. And poor Maria, she's still just... there.

One thing that hit me while watching circa 2000 episodes is how they hit it out of the ballpark with Diane's extended family. Diane, Bernice, Val, Nicola, Rodney. All very well-defined and larger-than-life characters with years of stories in them, some clans have just a couple of stand out members but with those they really created something special. Although if it were a US soap, Nicola (& Jimmy) would have been dumped to recurring a long time ago. On the subject, having Nicola half take over the caff is the best thing they've done for her in years. As random as it started as, having Gabby pregnant by Jamie and scheming is a good way to mine the character and maybe let her become as iconic as other members of her family, while remaining a mostly good person.
If they hadn't turned Meena into a killer, Manpreet's family could have been an interesting long-term addition with a recast Ayesha cause she was a bit out there herself, last time I said Manpreet had no personality but that's not really true, she's goofy so they can play on that.

Paige Sandhu is one hell of an actress. What she was capable of doing with Meena in terms of characterization, when the woman playing her sister is just there, not infusing her character with any personality. It's a bit too much that David was with Maya, who abused his son, and then he gets with a woman who kills people. I thought they'd found something that worked with his pairing with Tracy but it's as though it never happened (she and Nate and their unneeded baby are such filler). Leanna was never a stand-out but the actress did good work when confronting Meena.
I'm making my way through July and at least that shook things up. I hate Liv's alcoholism story, but nothing can be as draining as the Paul/Mandy/Vinny hour the show had become. Paul was played by a decent enough actor but I couldn't stand seeing him on every. single. day.
The Kim/Jamie drama was okay but I've never taken Jamie that seriously. He went from being a goody two-shoes to being the devil of the town for no apparent reason overnight around last year. The story with him and Belle being a couple but Belle was really playing him made no sense. Then him being Gabby's baby daddy is just as random. I'm glad Bernice is back that being said.
Although we haven't seen her much leading up to the summer, I have to laugh at the hatchet job they've done on Harriet. At least her replacement Charles is a decent addition but his pairing with Andrea is as filler and random as other things I mentioned. Andrea is actually someone I find has potential but she needs more purpose.
Also what's the story with Debbie's exit right after coming back from maternity leave? That story with Al and Priya is the only time Al has been worth a little airtime.

Was there fan outcry at Mick and Linda leaving the Vic? It wasn't amazing or anything, but Sharon being the "new" landlady could have worked well, and now it's back to Mick & Linda and it feels like they're going backwards. I thought it sort of revitalized them a bit to be out of the Vic too. What was the point?
It only adds to highlighting how random, aimless and confusing the show is.
One good thing is that the episodes' new length (around 20 minutes as opposed to about 28/29) since last year makes it easier to catch up, is it a permanent thing?

I wonder what happened with the Ollie recast. British soaps never do immediate recasts like that (although they did wait a few weeks) and there is no reason given as to Aedan Duckworth's exit, the show just strangely said he "no longer appears on the show". Has he commented himself?
I liked him a lot but I do like the new Ollie. In his first episode, he even did the random weird smiling of his predecessor, I thought that was a clever way to transition. And the BFF friendship of Imran and Ollie is one of the best things on the show so I'm glad it can go on. I'd just like to say it's crazy how good the casting has gotten on there, when you look at people like Juliet and Sid, there's a true balance of voices, styles and personalities, and I'd hate to see a return to basic casting once Kirkwood leaves. They also found the Nicky actress from Coronation Street first, and in just one episode I wanted to see so much more of her, but she's doing fantastic on Corrie!

I just knew Stephanie Davis wouldn't be returning after her one-year hiatus. Too bad because as an actress she's very watchable and did a good job on the story with her abusive hubby from Home & Away. Now can Ste stay gone as well?
Kyle's suicide story is one of the things HO can pull off so well these days yet never get credit for. Jessica Fox did/is doing such good work, I'm glad they seem to value her.
It sucks to lose Imran Adams so soon but actors seem to want out of this show as soon as possible even when they end up doing little else. I could have done without the Big Little Lies police questioning fast forward scenes.

Loved Goldie's new look! But her and Joel continue to feel like filler and I really like them both.

What's the thing with Joel? Is the actor busy elsewhere because Joel should be a main character. The pairing with Goldie doesn't work, I find her to be the weakest addition in recent years, and had it been me I'd have made the most of the Cleo/Joel pairing.

Do you think Deas could have worked as an Ed recast given recent discussion about the Ed's and the fact Deas' arrival meant Maureen's death? Might have kept her alive and fire PS instead. It's one thing I've wondered watching the excellent early 1994 episodes.

Richard Blackwood from EastEnders playing the triplets' father bugs me. I've been waiting for someone like the actress who played Roxy Mitchell, I didn't expect to get Vincent. Also think making them triplets was a mistake, as Celeste worked better as an outsider, maybe the daughter of the doctor who experimented on Toby but I'm glad they didn't completely phase out the Loveday family and rebooted it instead, we still have Lisa but to me she never recovered from her affair with Mac.
Still think the show made a huge mistake killing off Harry, especially for a weak serial killer story (how long before another one?) I had no idea people disliked Diane but I don't care for Tony's dad at all, Verity can be good though but she seems right out of Shortland Street. Sinead is not coming back is she?
Can we mention how ridiculous that all three Donovan brothers are dead now? And Liam right after Jesse. It's just too much. It reminds me of the long-forgotten half-brothers of Darren (will the ones that are alive ever be mentioned again?)
At least there's the Salon de Thé de Marnie to bring some light-hearted drama (OTOH, Cindy's new venture doesn't work as well). And Sid is a major star. The long Ste break has been nice.

Killing off Harry has to be one of the most vile things they've done in a while. I thought maybe there'd be a way out with that old bat Breda keeping him somewhere, but I just watched James identify his body. Even if Parry wanted to leave he could have returned at some point. There's no way they can justify this.
It was nice to see the original Liam in Years and Years, I had liked him in HO and I'm glad he's moved on to bigger things. The Liam recast has worked but they've totally changed the character, things like him saying "I don't like PDAs" I wouldn't have associated with the OG version. And didn't they re-introduce him by having him shoot someone dead?
The Maxine Munchauser story has been outrageously ridiculous. Mitchell being attracted to Scott with the bigoted granddad is one of the best things at the moment.

I'm liking Debbie being on the background and Victoria having more screentime. Shame about Sandra Marvin/Jessie, but Megan is one exit that feels like years coming. Maybe it's because the show feels sedated just going through the motions at times but I sometimes find myself feeling it is flooded with people that should have been gone years ago but stay because the actors just won't leave. Case in point, although I do like her a lot, Rhona. They just have her go through these random pairings, what a mismatch she and Pete were, and now I suppose they're going to move towards a new pairing with Graham (I'm a month behind). Pete doesn't work that well either. Jimmy and Nicola, I love them but they never seem to know what to do with them. Laurel and Jai, just another random couple although not completely without charm but it does feel like "here are two people we didn't know what to do with so there you go".
Kim's return improved over the months and it feels like they could tell a new great era of stories with her but what they do with her is a letdown. Jamie is nice but he pales in comparison to Joe. Kim blackmailing Cain into almost having sex with her, that was messy. Then her and Pete?
On the newer additions front, Matty is always great to watch, as is the Amy recast. But what have they done with the kids? Noah, Gabby, Amelia, Sarah, all went from appearing quite regularly to disappearing overnight.

I'm enjoying the show's turnaround and I think this summer has been the best EE's been in years. The episodes just fly by effortlessly with good balance and every scene has a point. They've managed to infuse the show with the energy and urgency that had been missing for a long time.
The Ben recast has turned out to be fantastic (didn't see Callum/Ben coming at all), as has the new Bobby. He is very fascinating to watch. Every scene seems to work and feel important and one I will single out is the lead-up to Gray beating his wife, which made for a most classic EastEnders moment. The way you could tell something was shifting in his behavior towards his wife between leaving the Vic and walking to their house, all leading up to a shocking attack once inside. I think the Taylors have been a very good addition to the canvas overall.
Other improvements is the whole Rainie/Max saga, it was just stalling and they found a way to make it interesting again, I know people hated Stuart but the actor has always been good and his 'friendship' with Rainie is one other thing that works.

The new Ben comes off as such a straight frat boy it's hard to imagine Phil would ever have had issues with his 'manliness' but I'm willing to give him a chance. At least someone realized Bex had story potential after what feels like years of being wasted, not sure her crushing on Kush is the best idea but it's a start. I'm so glad the Evie girl is gone on the other hand as it was the worst story for a time.

The balance has been an issue for some time now, characters have a 3 episode arc and then are off the show for several weeks. The other soaps have as many characters but it doesn't end up this way. I think why it can be frustrating with Hollyoaks is that these characters that disappear actually have a story going on.
Anyway I think the show is having a hell of a year so far. Some stuff has been exceptional, the racism story feels like a very important issue to tackle and is done in a current way, the Home & Away guy married to Sinead and harassing Sienna is very sinister, Mac's death was a long time coming (although I guess now we'll never know how he knew Breda killed Louis), Lily's self-harming, the reboot of the Nightingale family now that the OG ones are mostly gone. They had stopped killing off someone every other month but since last year it's started again, poor Lily.
Myra leaving (alive though) is a let-down given the McQueens are in shambles these days. I don't think that insta couple of Mercedes and Silver works so well, I just don't see the story potential with them when Mercy needs a big push now. I also don't understand why Cleo spends her time on the backburner when she's such a star. If it was up to me I would milk the Cleo and Joel pairing for all it's worth but they're never on and are no longer together. Why walking away from something like that that works so well? Maybe bringing back Zöe Lucker's Reenie would be a good idea if she's interested.
I also wonder why so many actors on this show are so quick to leave when they end up doing nothing (see the Freddie actor) and the show moves on so fast there's never any room to bring them back, that is if they weren't killed off.

Rhona and Pete are the definition of filler, and they still feel like a random pairing.

Everything about Maya is terrible.

I find Kim's face quite distracting still (it's all because of plastic surgery right?), and all the "she's OLD!!" jokes are wearing thin as well as her asking everyone she meets "and YOU are??". I'd hoped her real return would be less botched than the ludicrous short one last year but it doesn't seem to be going that way. I fail to understand all the focus on Graham, despite him being played by a fine actor there doesn't seem to be any reason why he's on so much. And what kind of work does Priya exactly do at Home Farm?!

Charity and Vanessa are about the only thing that feels real these days. And I hope they do well by Jessie and her sons as they work as the new family in the village which was needed.

In Italy no less. Did Reva have amnesia twice is what I don't get. When they brought her back in the mid-90's, were the Amish years established as all that had happened to her? How could they introduce the San Cristobel backstory years later and make it fit. It's just weird.
I thought it was such a missed opportunity never to bring on Marissa, Olivia's sister and Jon's adoptive mom, in the mid-00's. Instead they killed her off. There could have been a good rivalry with Reva over their son and an interesting relationship with Olivia, maybe an affair with Josh down the line.
I always thought anyway Olivia could have become Roxie before she appeared on air, with a mystery as to how she ended up in SC. And I thought Crystal C. would have fit the role well. Then again I also felt the looking for Reva's long-lost sister could easily have been reworked into looking for Roxie who would have escaped the mental institution. And if Reva just had to have a surprise sibling, wouldn't it have made far more sense for it to be deserter Hawk's kid rather than Sarah's?

The Carter-free second half of October really made the show easier to get through. I like Hayley but I think she should have been tied to other people than the Slaters, some of her mannerisms and toughness makes me think of Kathy and that's one part of the canvas that could use something more.

I wonder if Kate Oates will switch things up at the Vic, she changed the landlords of both ED and Corrie's pubs, and it's time the Carters retired. My first bet would be on Martin and Stacey but it could go to new characters.

Good to see Sean Mahon from Red Rock in Walford. His RR character was despicable but he was one of their MVP's. I surprisingly thought the prison storyline for Mick worked far better than anything else Mick in ages. It's weird they could see the Aidan/whatever his real name was and his drugs were plaguing the show and so they dropped it but with Stuart they're hell-bent on keeping him around when everyone is complaining.
Sharon/Keanu would have had more resonance had Phil taken to him as the son he desired and then he sleeps with his wife.
I've enjoyed Kate Oates' Corrie to be honest, so I hope she can do good things for EE as it desperately needs it. I'd like for her to bring on Louise Marwood as the new HBIC!

Both Frank and Finn are gone as well now? How come?
I've had to let go of the show as the HQ version stopped being available but I still check the LQ from time to time and I'm a bit confused everytime with all these short-term characters fading in and out of the canvas, and I never trust them with Jack's boyfriends of the month, they always end up disappearing or dying. The new one slept with Nicole... Speaking of her, I'm not too sad Vinnie is gone as the domestic/money problem stories they always got were redundant.

There really was no need to kill off Dirk, especially after bringing on a fantastic Liberty recast (I can't say enough good things about her!) Him & Cindy looked unlikely on paper but worked well on screen. I'm wondering what they'll do with Cindy now relationship-wise. Now that her daughter is going, I hope they delve more into her relationship with Alfie, it's always been put aside.

 

The Mandy/Darren affair has been the weakest part of the show since the story started but I do admire the show for having a very traditional slow-paced approach to a lot of things, like the Milo saga that went on for over a year and was actually well put together. The Ollie/Brodie abuse storyline has been very well written too, the reveal was probably some of the best episodes out of any soap this year.

 

They've done well with the new young men overall, Imran, Ollie, Hunter to name a few are exactly the type of new generation teens that are lacking on other shows outside of H&A (Ryder, Ty and Coco most recently, I can take or leave Raffie). I'm surprised they've managed to hold on to Harry and Cleo for so long. Too bad they killed off Nico for good this time but she could never have been a viable character again.

 

I've seen people on another board saying they should just kill off Dot as she's off the show most of the time. How insensitive and wrong and offensive that would be.

I liked the Slater's Hour at first as it brought some light-hearted drama onto the show but now it's redundant. A little bit of Jean goes a long way. Kat feels like a background character and I can already see her quitting soon.

I don't know why they keep killing off their young characters, and those who stay are hardly ever properly used. Bex was one of the best parts of those dull SOC days but since the bullying storyline finished she has been given nothing. EE just isn't building its future self it seems. It's not going to be Halfway and Whitney. Stuart is a creep and I guess they want us to think he's to be Zsa Zsa's father?