Coronation Street: Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

I've heard some say a new family should take it over. I think that would be a mistake.

[BadBoy93]

No way. They need established characters in the rovers. Thats why i suggested The Barlows Or The Websters.

[DRW50]

The Barlows being there would be fun. I can see Deirdre getting drunk a lot and having lock-ins with Eileen and some other friends.

[All My Shadows]

What about the Grimshaws? I think Eileen could run a fine establishment with Jason pitching in at the bar sometimes.

[DRW50]

I don't think Eileen is ever going to get a story again.

I guess it depends on who Collinson's favorites are. Since he, like so many before him, is fond of Sean and Michelle, it might be them.

[DRW50]

The list is starting to get a bit too focused on modern characters, with Simon Barlow (who stopped working once they wrote him as too self-aware) at #35 and Sian Powers (!) at #33.

Sadly I am also not even sure about whether Carla should have been on the list. She was fantastic in 2008 but has not had any interesting storyline since.

[All My Shadows]

Yeah, Simon being on the list was enough to make me gasp, but then seeing Sian on there was enough to make me apathetic about the whole thing. Nothing against her, but how could she possibly measure up against characters like Jim, Liz, Sally, Kevin, Deirdre, and even Carla or David? She's been on for barely a year and a half and her only story has been sidelined like crazy.

I totally see Sean and Michelle running the Rovers, but the last episode I saw had Carla trying to talk Michelle into joining her in business. I decided to stop watching once Graeme woke up because...well, I don't need to see him without a shirt on and because I don't want to see him and Tina making baseless accusations against David. I liked that we were seeing Ashley a lot but knowing why really doesn't give me an incentive to watch for him. And where the hell are Rita, Norris, Mary, and Emily?

[DRW50]

Poor Ken is at #30 in the poll Both he and Deirdre would have been better off with other partners, as they tend to stagnate each other and have for quite a few years.

Anyway, onto happier news...a Digest article from November 6, 1979. SOD Publishing Inc. Corrie is coming to the States! (which it did, repeatedly, over the next few decades, before finding something of a footing through torrents and Youtube).

Edited November 22, 2010 by CarlD2

[DRW50]

[BadBoy93]

interesting read. I hope Phil Collison regains that street feel again because it hasn`t felt like it in a while.

[DRW50]

Yeah, reading about when the show didn't have murderers and when it seemed more real -- now it's all random psychos, silly shock value stories, and stunts. I saw some interview with Ryan Thomas and the one who plays Cheryl the stripper and they were both almost yawning their way through the shocking moment that the tram crash is supposed to be. I miss that Corrie, it wasn't perfect by any means, but the characters were so strong then. The characters now just seem much more generic and poorly used. It seems like Collinson is moving the show in an even more generic direction by getting rid of people like Ashley and Claire.

I love the line from Doris Speed saying Americans will get used to the language, as British people did with Hollywood. She's right -- you get used to it fairly quickly.

Tony Jordan has talked to Collinson about making the show look less glossy, in how the sets or people are dressed. I wonder if that will happen.

[DRW50]

Rare interview with Barbara Knox and Eileen Derbyshire. Eileen rarely talks to the press. I'm glad they are being honored. I'm especially glad for Eileen because she gets little notice for being in Corrie for nearly 50 years. Emily has always been a strong supporting presence, and when she gets the chance to lead a story, she is brilliant. Emily is the type of character so often sneered at by soap fans as "boring" or "dead wood." The time that these characters leave is when soaps lose all connection to reality.

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[DRW50]

Rare interview with Barbara Knox. She explains why she's wearing that hat, talks about how she got on Corrie, and they show a clip I'd never seen before -- Rita's first scene. Oh how I miss Dennis.

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[Bright Eyes]

Does Jack die Monday?

[All My Shadows]

I love me some Barbara Knox. Such a fun, bubbly personality. She's almost like a slightly tamer Eileen Fulton, and geez, can you imagine those two working together?

It always makes me a little sad when UK soap vets kinda allude to how much the shows have changed. She's obviously still having a ball doing Corrie, but that face/tone when she talked about the increase in weekly episodes speaks a lot. Just like I want all US soaps to go back to 30 minutes, I wouldn't mind it if the UK soaps all went back to two episodes a week. Of course, it's always a question of whether TPTB would trim the shows in the right way.

That huge article on Corrie coming to the States is great! Doris Speed, bless her heart. I wonder how the show fared in those markets.