Coronation Street: Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

They killed Becky with all the baby obsession. Some say she ruined Steve but he was already ruined by Michelle. The show has a terrible problem writing for main characters. They are just unsympathetic, loud, and nasty most of the time. I have to laugh when I hear some fans still using the line about Corrie being warm and safe - the show is about as warm as Siberia. Every time I have the stomach to watch again, Sally and Kevin are screaming and sneering and hypocrite Sally is manipulating her children for her own bitter agenda.

[DRW50]

Corrie is still peddling this stuff about Ken and Dennis Tanner being enemies. They weren't. Dennis disliked Ken early in the show and that was it, for about eight years.

If this is how they are bringing him back then Collinson has failed with another return.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/3482421/Watch-out-Ken-Dennis-is-back.html

[All My Shadows]

At least PL looks better than I was expecting, still has that slight twinkle in his eye.

Do we know anymore about Todd's return yet? I'll have to at least watch clips of my boy

[DRW50]

All that is known is he's returning with a rich boyfriend.

[All My Shadows]

That sounds good! I can work with that. I've always imagined him returning with someone and not alone. I hope they don't force some ridiculous relationship drama there. Just let him come back, do whatever, then go back with his rich boyfriend to a good life.

[DRW50]

Hopefully it will be good. Collinson's Corrie is generally very bitter and likes to make fun of people so I am expecting more of that.

[DRW50]

So any views on Liz's exit? I thought the audio flashbacks were good but I didn't buy that she cared about the pub and I thought it was all rushed. The rest of the show was so nasty and miserable. Why does Tracy and her hypocrisy and nasty, badly written one-liners have to take such prominence? And what is the point of any of this with Maria? Is it to teach a lesson that rape stories can be just as boring as any other story? I can barely stand to watch now - is it always like this, anyone who watches daily?

Oh and in more stunt casting, Michelle Collins is joining as the new landlady.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/soaps/3529414/Michelle-Collins-to-play-new-Rovers-Return-landlady.html

Edited April 15, 2011 by CarlD2

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I liked that type of exit better when they gave it to Elsie and then Bet...

[DRW50]

It was a bad ripoff of both, yes, and also showed how little they cared about Liz. They just slapped it on at the last minute.

Now they just need to rip off Hollyoaks. How about having a parachute murder for half the cast. John Stape can cut the cords, for 'comedy.'

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I'll never pretend she's the best actress ever, but I thought she just gelled very well playing Cindy Beale on EastEnders, and had a very good rapport with her castmembers.

The same probably wouldn't be true for her on Corrie.

Well, at least she'll finally get some revenge on Mathew Robinson and Mal Young, who apparently did like her and had Cindy killed because of it.

[DRW50]

Michelle was good on Eastenders and she can probably spit out wooden one-liners better than worthless Kylie and Tracy, but the show is so full of nasty people now that if she is playing a Cindy type she will just fade away.

[Ben]

I actually liked the armed robbery stuff with Jim. I thought they were written/played just right. You couldn't take it seriously (intentionally or not), and it had the right amount of comedy under pinning it. I liked how it all turned serious towards the end with Jim preparing to shoot himself, but Liz had to remind him of how much she loves him, and how much he has to live for. I believed in it.

I really felt for Liz when Jim heaped all that pressure on her and asked to wait for him, as without her support, he would die. I did think her exit was abrupt. I loved the audio flashbacks (they're no substitution for the real things), but I didn't believe for a second that Liz would just take off without saying goodbye to Deirdre or Amy.

I think at one point, Liz did care about the pub and being landlandy, but over the years has slowly let that go. This was a slight backwards step over that, as we were meant to believe that her passion for the Rovers had returned. When really, it was her desire to have a happy life with Jim, and ensure that Steve got the chance to start again with Amy, that made the Rovers central to those plans; but they chose to play up the wrong angle, when really Liz wouldn't have thought twice about leaving the Rovers behind.

The how is pretty much how you see it on a daily basis. Tracey and Kylie are as nasty as ever, and the show revels in it; Becky's as miserable as ever, and the show revels in it; Sally and Kevin are as bitter as ever, and the show revels in it... You get the drift. Speaking of Kevin, I didn't believe for a second that he would've refused to help Jim after their history. Kevin came off as such an ass in that scene.

It's all rather pointless to critique the show, b/c TPTB don't believe in listening to viewer feedback, as they're the professionals and they know best.

[DRW50]

Thanks for responding. I always look forward to your comments.

What do you think of the Maria story? I imagine at some point he will rape Maria, or Carla, or try to, and Maria will be proven right, and then Maria will also be victimized by her boyfriend who is boring and seems to have crawled out of a Deliverance remake. But this has been so poorly paced and told and makes Carla look like a total fool, not to mention a hypocrite and a schizo.

I don't understand why the show seems so poorly paced. Is this because Collinson has no soap background?

I still hear people say Eastenders is the miserable soap and Corrie is the comedy soap but it seems like comedy on Corrie now is only to ridicule - and that's not funny when it's done 5 times a week, with no variation.

I've never seen Corrie like this before. Even when the show was trying to be "relevant" and had so many unhappy stories, there was still a gentle humor in some places. Now it seems to be all bile. Even Mary is nasty now.

Edited April 16, 2011 by CarlD2

[Ben]

Ah, the Maria story. I don't know what it's supposed to be. Is it meant to be a social issue and questioning what constitutes attempted rape? Or is it something else entirely? All the characters involved are stupid. Anyone in Carla's potion would be able to see that Frank is harassing Maria, and that he does seem to have an unhealthy obsession with her. This is a smart and savvy business woman who is being manipulated and fooled by this man, to the point where she's believing his story over Maria's - a woman who she's known for how many years - and is coming across as cold and callous. I always thought Carla was a modern business woman who didn't need to flash her cleavage and slap on the charm in order to get ahead?

Maria's coming across a bit naive, and she does seem to have lost all her bite, and for some reason is trusting the woman who cheated with her fiancée (that's the right one, right?). I've read a lot of comments that say Maria should just quit and she's so stupid for staying in a job like that, but why should Maria be chased out of her job? Why should she let Frank win? OK, Maria doesn't really work at the factory, but that's not the point.

IA with you about Frank eventually raping Maria or Carla or someone, as he seems to have "I'm a villain" tattooed across his forehead.

[DRW50]

Kat Kelly is leaving. I guess this is why they have Kylie, the cheap imitation Becky, not to mention the wretched Tracy. Good job, Corrie, for totally ruining the character of Becky so that no one will have any positive memory of her.

http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a315056/katherine-kelly-to-leave-coronation-street.html