Coronation Street: Discussion Thread

[Forever8]

Really? Oops my bad!!! 

So Emma could be Steve's kid after all? 

[Forever8]

Also in the Interview and Documentaries category in the Discuss The Soaps. I posted this documentary from 2004 about the past and present child characters/actors in the show's history. 

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[victoria foxton]

https://www.radiotimes.com/news/soaps/coronation-street/2019-10-01/emily-bishop-return-date/ Coronation Street confirms Emily Bishop return date – and another surprise comeback

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[I Am A Swede]

How nice. I didn't think she would turn up on the show again.

[victoria foxton]

 

 

[DRW50]

I didn't know that was against their rules. I thought Alan Halsall did the same thing.

[Graham]

He needs some Botox while he's at it. Those are some deep lines for 31.

[victoria foxton]

Coronation Street man-eater Tracy Barlow is to bed Sophie Webster’s ex-girlfriend Paula in major soap twist .https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/10207371/tracy-barlow-lesbian-sophie-webster/

[BetterForgotten]

I've been on a classic Corrie binge lately (mostly 70's though early 90's), and I'm just sad that the current show resembles nothing of what once made it so special. Corrie had such vivid and complex characters for a long period of time, the type of characters you couldn't find anywhere else. There is no character writing anymore, it's just one bad plot after another. 

[DRW50]

 

The best of Corrie ended in about 1995. Then at a push, early 2005. 

 

I will say I thought the episode on Friday where Sinead died was very powerful. 

[BetterForgotten]

I always read that gay men had a strong affinity for Bet, but I don't think that's necessarily because of her unique sense of style/fashion (as this clip tries to portray). I think it had more to do with being someone vulnerable yet strong, and constantly being knocked down in life yet having the ability to persevere and holding your head up high in the end. I know that's what I identify most with when watching Bet's best years. 

 

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[DRW50]

 

That's it exactly. Even moreso than with Elsie, we, at Bet's best, saw the heartbreak underneath the brass. Susi Hush, the controversial producer of the mid-70s, is the one I credit most (beyond Julie herself of course) for bringing out those layers. She was the one who did the devastating storyline where the son Bet gave up for adoption came to Weatherfield and was disgusted by her drunken behavior, so left without telling her. Then when he was killed she attempted suicide. Another story she did was where the sleazy husband of former barmaid Concepta hit on her and ruined her relationship with a man she was crazy about. Bet told him she was sending a letter to Concepta, putting him in his place, but when she was alone, her confidence crumbled. 

 

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You simply don't have this layered writing for any character on a soap now, least of all female characters. 

[BetterForgotten]

The scene where Annie fires Bet after Bet told her the truth about him is amazing. The building of the tension, and Annie stuck in her ways as ever. Corrie doesn't write scenes like that anymore, nor are they capable with the current crop of characters. 

[I Am A Swede]

I wonder why the quality of writing has deteriorated so much over the years. I'm sure there are talented people still out there, capable of nuanced, layered writing. And shows like Coronation Street and EastEnders are primetime shows watched by large audiences. They should be able to attract more talented writers. But maybe their soap opera status is an obstacle?

 

[DRW50]

 

The move to sensationalism was the first step. That happened with Corrie around 1997, and led to the exit of longtime writers like Adele Rose. 

 

Too many episodes was the next step.

 

Corrie could, at the best of times, support 4 episodes a week. That was it. It's never been the same since they moved to 5 episodes. 

 

The last step is the show is too stuck in its own gaze, too afraid to make the changes it needs to make for modern times. Corrie always kept up with the times until about 2004 or 2005.