Coronation Street: Discussion Thread

[Sylph]

<span style="font-size:105%;">The Guardian's Grace Dent reviewed the episode:

http://www.guardian....n-street-review

And the newspaper has a few other articles:

What I've learned from Corrie

http://www.guardian....ronation-street

Suicides, car crashes and one dead rabbit: Coronation Street's 50 years of catastrophe

http://www.guardian....street-50-years

Coronation Street through the years

http://www.guardian....n-street

</span>

Edited December 7, 2010 by Sylph

[DRW50]

I wonder if she knows that the guy who plays Gary was badly beaten a few years ago and had, I think, heavy facial injuries.

The list of the 50 moments was good, and I'm glad they focused on the lighter stuff too, especially since that seems to be gone from soaps now. I think that Elsie's one night stand's wife actually destroyed Elsie's whole house, not just her clothes. That was one of my favorite scenes. I really loved Elsie.

Edited December 7, 2010 by CarlD2

[DRW50]

[DRW50]

I've enjoyed some of the episodes, mainly the work from Sue Cleaver and a few others, but probably what I notice most is how upset some at DS get whenever anyone criticizes it. For instance, this Sun article:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/soaps/3265311/We-recreate-1m-Coronation-Street-crash-for-9950.html

[Sylph]

<span style="font-size:105%;">More photos:

http://www.dailymail...die.html

</span>

Edited December 8, 2010 by Sylph

[Ben]

What's surprised me the most so far, has been the direction - they've been taking risks, and doing more stylish, creative shots, which have been awesome. All of these episodes have a Hollywood disaster movie look and feel to them; a lot of thought has been put into the characters, and the increased budget has been spent well. On the whole, the stunt was awesome (bar one dodgy CGI shot of the tram driver crashing down), and the acting from the majority of cast has been surprisingly good - especially Jane Danson; it has shown that Fiz is just terrible, especially her cheesy blood-curdling scream "Johhhhnnn!!!"

I loved how they remembered Carla still haunted by the factory fire that nearly killed her, and the inclusion of Gary's PTSD, which has been played well; Janice being forced into nurse mode, and her initial hesitation was authentic - I can see her leaving to pursue nursing or something similar, if she doesn't die (I hope it's something positive for her, if she doesn't die).

The production of these episodes demonstrates that there has been a positive change in Corrie, sadly, the one thing that hasn't changed are the storylines, but hopefully once these are over, better ones will take their place. The sooner the crapfest that is John Stape and his rubbish storyline is over, the better (thank goodness Charlotte has left; a creepy character with potential in any other story bust this mess).

So, if you've tuned out, then tune back in, even if it is just for the disaster.

[DRW50]

I think they're pretentious and go against what made Coronation Street unique. I don't understand the point of that shaky cam when Charlotte attacked John. Everyone knows she is crazy -- they knew that without a shaky cam. I have read comments from people talking about how they laughed at those scenes and isn't it great that Corrie included comedy. I really don't think that was intended to be comedy.

I wasn't fond of that endless montage right before the tram crash either. I think a simple shot showing each different set of characters would have been fine. It's like the old MST3K joke. "Ooh, montage!"

All the time spent on this stuff makes me wonder how much time Collinson was spent on getting the cast ready for the episode, because the best were as good as they usually are, but some others were noticeably awful. Some actors are just not suited for this type of thing and may be better in other areas (like Helen Worth or William Roache), but some of the newer cast members, why were they included in this if they couldn't handle it? The stripper and the ex walked through like zombies. The new doctor was unbelievably bad. Both he and Ben Price reinforce bad stereotypes about soaps. I wonder if they watch Ronn Moss for acting tips.

I read some of the books on Coronation Street during both Wars and in the second book, an air raid causes a brick wall to collapse on several residents. Ena Sharples is the first to start moving bricks, with her bare hands. I kept thinking of that last night when the women stood around making terrified faces and worrying over their menfolk and being told to stay away. To see none of the women being allowed to help, while the likes of David Platt were up there as he-men, was odd. The only one who at one time might have been actively involved, Becky, is now reduced to wandering around aimlessly searching for yet another child she obsesses over. I haven't watched as much recently but I was surprised at how much life has been drained out of Becky. Katherine Kelly seems to have lost a lot of her spark. I know jobs are hard to come by but I wonder how much longer she is going to stay with the show.

Anyway, I did like some of the scenes, unfortunately the way the show is structured now, the sexism and the plot-driven material, clouded my views.

I thought Craig Charles (always underrated), Sue Cleaver, Graeme Hawley, Steven Arnold (I still don't understand why he was fired ) and Jane Danson and the guy who plays Peter were great. I also thought Vicky Binns was wonderful, finally going back to some of what once made me care about Molly. Alan Halsall was also very good. And I was surprised at how much I worried about Sunita. I hope they might do something with her now.

Edited December 8, 2010 by CarlD2

[Ben]

I get what you mean, but I think b/c of the type of story they're telling, and the need to show that your show can have more modernized production values, it was important to experiment with the direction. I guess for me, it wasn't the same ol' same ol' but something different and unexpected, which is what I liked. Soaps now-a-days have to be more modern, and fight to prove that they're still socially relevant, even though most of the time they don't craps what that is. Of course those scenes were not supposed to be comedy, that was obvious from the tone. I guess some people aren't used to this kind of thing, or are just stupid. Or maybe they have a strange sense of humour.

But HW has never been great, but always mediocre. That's not a surprise. That line that everyone is talking about that Bill delivered, was a terrible line anyway - "It's so frustrating not being able to do anything." Um, take a look around, Ken, there's plenty to do. That scene didn't need dialogue, a simple emotional reaction from Ken would've sufficed. Cheryl and Chris are pointless characters with a pointless story, anyway, and I didn't pay much attention to them, so didn't notice whether they were good or not. I didn't think the Dr. was all that bad. Better than Fizz, I thought, who you could so tell was struggling to act out her character's situation.

Again, I get what you mean, but I think it's instinct for men to want to protect their girls, when of course they'd be fine to help. I did think characters like Sophie and Sian would have got stuck in, like what Tina did before she discovered Graeham was alive.

I like Sunita, so I was worried for her, too. If they kill her off as the surprise 4th victim, I think that will be pretty pointless. Do you think they would actually kill Rita?

[DRW50]

I don't even know why Sophie and Sian were in the episode -- they just stood around. I am generally confused about what the show is planning to do with them because Sian just sort of seems like Sophie's parrot.

I would be less bothered by this if I saw stronger women on the canvas, but aside from a few of the underused actresses like Sue Cleaver, it's tough to find them. Leanne quivers over her creepy ex. Leanne isn't strong enough to end her engagement to Peter. The creepy ex is the one who is going to tell Peter about the affair. Carla immediately becomes obsessed with Peter because he's nice to her after she falls into a bottle. A few years ago the show had done a good job in giving Carla layers and now she struts around like one of the later seasons of Melrose Place.

I think Helen is good with the right material -- this type of huffy and melodramatic stuff isn't her strongsuit. That's what I meant with wondering about whether they could have spent more time figuring out who should say what.

I see what you mean, but I guess I wonder if it's worth the effort, especially if they end up being overshadowed anyway. People seemed to end up talking about the effects, or in some cases laughing at them, and the montage and the camera work was forgotten.

I know Corrie can't go back to the days of Albert Tatlock's allotment but I think these attempts at big shocking moments don't give people a reason to tune into the show on a regular basis. Like with siege week, earlier this year. What was there to make you keep watching? The only thing which got my interest was the stuff about baby Jack, and even that I am not thrilled with after reading

I don't know. Some are saying the show had a leaving party for her, and she did appear on some talk shows, which she usually doesn't do.

Edited December 8, 2010 by CarlD2

[DRW50]

The final results of Corriepedia's 50 Greatest Character poll are in, including a list of all 200. It's interesting just how low most of the Platts ranked -- either these particular voters weren't fond of them or the decade of overexposure took a toll.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=1360286&page=16

My love for the show is most in its first 20-25 or so years so I was most interested in how some of those characters did, especially if they were never given the legend status of Elsie and Ena. My favorites were Irma Ogden, Jerry Booth, and Harry and Concepta Hewitt, and Jack Walker, and Ray Langton and Dennis Tanner (right beside each other in the poll) so I'm glad they weren't all the way at the bottom, even if they deserved higher placements. Jack being so close to Liam Connor kind of made me laugh...surprising.

All in all these aren't bad results considering that so much was skewed by Sophie/Sian.

Edited December 9, 2010 by CarlD2

[All My Shadows]

Those results are interesting. The Sophie/Sian stuff is so Nuke-ian, it's ridiculous. I almost want to join DS just to point them into the direction of vanhansis.net to show them what they have to look forward to. Affair? Are they talking about when Sian was with Ryan? Jeez, that lasted for all of two minutes.

It's good to see some old school entries make it, though, like Rita/Mavis, Annie/Rovers staff, Hilda, Ena/Elsie, etc. Today's my first full day off in a long, long time, so I'm going to be lazy and watch Corrie all day. I've only been a fan for such a short, short time compared to how long it's been on, and even though it's a show based thousands of miles away and that virtually no one has ever heard of in my neck of the woods, I can't help but feel a little proud. I need to wash some of the Cockney out of my head anyway after all the EE I've been watching lately.

[DRW50]

I was surprised, and happy, that Dennis/Linda made it on the list at all. I guess Corrie hasn't had a ton of sibling relationships people will remember but it was still a nice surprise.

To be fair to Sophie and Sian fans it wasn't just that which annoyed me as being too modern -- there were other things like the godawful Michelle being best barmaid (or near the top anyway). I guess a lot of fans haven't seen very much of the earlier years.

To be honest I wouldn't have put Blanche at #1, I think Annie/Ena/Elsie were all more deserving, but compared to some of the others, I'm glad Blanche made it. I just wonder sometimes if people appreciate how special those early years were. I guess the man who came along and started dumping actors left and right in 1964 to somehow modernize the show might have had the right idea in the long run but I think those first few years were superb and I wonder what might have been if he hadn't come in and fired great characters like Martha and Harry.

[All My Shadows]

Sophie/Sian being modern doesn't really annoy me as much as them not having a whole lot to back up what they won. So I guess that kinda does fit in with them being more recent. For example, and one of the DS people said it perfectly, how can they be on a list for "memorable storylines" when their initial storyline is still in progress?

I skimmed through some of the live episode. I'll watch it all later, but some things stood out for me. It didn't feel like a live episode much at all. Maybe it's because I haven't watched in a while, but it felt like a normal Corrie episode to me, nothing out of the ordinary that would make someone see it as a different episode. The 40th anniversary live episode had a certain feel that made you just know it was live.

The dialogue is pretty terrible and cliche and predictable and what you would expect from something like this. I mean, of course, there are general characteristics that most people have when they're in a situation like this, but it all just felt...calculated.

And for the love of god, 90% of the lines were either gasped out or cried out. I get what's going on, but jeez, Molly spilling it all to Sally took forever. "We. Loved. Each. Oth. Er. For. A. While. But. He. Chose. You. And. Your. Girls. Over. Me. And. My. Boy. He. Didn't. Want. To. Hurt. You." And Sally STILL didn't get the hook. Maybe I'm horrible, but if I were Sally's place, I would have called after the paramedics, "Hey, come keep this bitch alive so I can whoop her ass." Sally Whittaker (I know that's not her name anymore, but I forget how to spell her husband's) did pretty well at the end.

Rita just rolling around on the Kabin floor was painful to watch and almost symbolic. "We dropped a building on history, and nobody knows or cares. But oh my god, we've got to get Graeme's thoughts on Ashley!"

Poor Ashley I don't understand how the writers can say they have absolutely nothing to do with a character without even trying anything at all.

Poor Gary! The PTSD scenes would have been better without the special effects, IMO.

Oh, and I swear I saw Izzy stand up in the Rovers. I thought the actress was paralyzed as well?

Edited December 10, 2010 by All My Shadows

[Ben]

I see. I think the whole Joe story really damaged her for me, as there were many moments when she was terrible, b/c the story was terrible, and I guess I do forget about her past work, b/c that story, that character tarnished her, and I no longer pay much attention to her.

Nothing. And I didn't. But, this like with most soaps these days (and years before really), where they churn out a disaster, but fail to capture the audience after. I think this event will keep the same amount of viewers that were watching it before, and possible a few more, but not many.

I don't believe that spoiler for one second; it's too random and stupid to be true. If it is, then it'll be worse than Molvin, and I will tune out, again.

That was grating, but I saw it more as Sally being in total disbelief. She didn't think it was real, which is why she wasn't getting the message, and had to ask point blankly. When something like this comes out of the blue, your initial reaction will be disbelief, and I think they got Sally's reaction just right.

Molly's delivery was like everyone else's that wasn't saying a line in a normal pitch - over exaggerated. I noticed it on EE's live ep, where everyone shouted their lines, and most people yesterday were shouting their lines, or screaming them (Fiz), or gasping them (Molly, Peter (who did a better job). I guess it's the nerves and adrenaline of knowingly being live.

BTW: I thought the girl that plays Kylie was awesome. It was like being live wasn't an issue for her, or that it was just a regular filming day. She wasn't OTT, shout-y or melodramatic, but kinda subtle. I also thought Dev was pretty good, considering his usual hammy acting.

I also thought the episode should've ended on Peter flatlining and Leanne's hysterics, not Tyrone hugging Sally and learning Molly is dead - that could've waited until the next episode, as the former was the perfect dramatic cliffhanger. Their choice lowered the impact.

Rita's situation is very symbolic, and really sad if she does end up dying in this . No-one is that concerned about Rita, even though they believe she's gone to meet Doreen, you'd think one of them would give Rita's cell a call, or Doreen for that matter.

Re Ashley: Don't you see that they have plenty of other characters that are so more important than a butcher who has been in the show for years? They have to continue to prop characters, like Sean, Michelle, Cirian, Nick, Fiz, John, Kirk, Chris, Cheryl, Julie, etc. Watching this, I think makes it more obvious that the show has more deadwood than they're actually getting rid of.

You did. And I'm not sure. Most of the time I think not, b/c she seems to move around in that chair a lot, and in positions I would've thought she couldn't do if she was paralysed.

I don't know why she stood up, or made it look like she was standing, b/c that was odd.

Edited December 10, 2010 by Ben

[DRW50]

The actress who plays Izzy can stand for short periods of time.

That's also how I felt. I thought it was all very cynical and also kind of overproduced. I'm glad they have given Gary a story but I felt like they had no faith in Mikey North because they kept on with all the smoke and mirrors and his own work was in the background behind the machine gun sounds and such. They also kept cutting away from him so quickly.

The show seems to lack characterization. Everyone moves based on what the plot says. David HATES Nick. It's not a sibling hate where they are still close when they need to be -- he really hates Nick. I don't believe he would run hysterically to greet Nick. I wonder if that was originally something they scripted for Gail. I also don't believe Sally would go in there to comfort dying Molly.

The whole thing with the deathbed wedding and Peter flatlining over the credits -- it's a good way to get people to stay tuned in, so kudos to them there, and most of the actors did a fine job, especially Jane Danson, but I don't believe he will die, and generally it does the characters no favors. My jaw dropped when Leanne essentially asked Nick PERMISSION to marry Peter. And noble Nick agreed. How considerate of him. Between this and those scenes of poor poor Graeme pouting about Ashley as Tina tells him that identifying a body is just too much (never mind that she identified her own father's body at the start of the year -- I guess the show forgot this), the women were certainly kept in their place in this episode. That seems to be a running theme in Collinson's tenure.

Allison King is a good actress but I don't really buy that Carla has any genuine love for Peter. I think she just wants to be dramatic and twist herself into knots and all the usual histrionics. The scene where she ran out of Peter's hospital room because she couldn't take it confused me because I have no idea why she was in there in the first place.

Everything with Becky and Steve and her pointless sister had no business being in this episode. Or any episode. I have no idea what this story is supposed to do, it just seems like they have no idea what to do with Becky now, or Steve, so this is marking time. I guess this is waiting until Tracy returns. Why not just have them in supporting roles for the tram crash? Instead they barely seemed to notice that there was a crash or an explosion. Other than a few scattered scenes here and there, these episodes lacked a community spirit, and the Steve/Becky stuff is a big reason why.

I did laugh when John Stape realized Charlotte was still alive. Apparently this is being played as comedy. I guess?

I did like the scenes with Claire sitting in the Rovers, hearing Ashley's final message to her, and I liked that they remembered Audrey's closeness to the family. That and a few performances from other actors are probably what I remember most from the episode.