Coronation Street: Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

For such a famous impression, the Mavis one isn't that good...

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[BetterForgotten]

For those who have no interest in watching the entire BSA 2015 show, here is the Anne Kirkbride Lifetime Achievement/tribute section:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-7CmNGeHKs

Sometimes I still can't believe she's no longer with us...

Edited May 23, 2015 by BetterForgotten

[DRW50]

Thanks.

[DRW50]

ENOUGH OF THE NEW JACK AND VERA [!@#$%^&*]!!

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a648977/coronation-streets-kym-marsh-id-love-michelle-and-steve-to-be-like-jack-and-vera.html

[BetterForgotten]

I just can't, and the sad thing is, this may be Steve's longest paring. We know Kym Marsh will sadly be there forever and she knows that her future isn't bright without the show (unlike Suranne Jones and Katherine Kelly).

As I said before, I can't think of two worst characters being paired together than these two.

[NothinButAttitude]

How does Kym Marsh even form her mouth to even say crap like that? She seriously thinks that Michelle is along the lines of Bet, Vera, Hilda, etc. Like seriously. I'm ready for Anthony Cotton to come out and say that Sean is the newest Bet.

Corrie needs to seriously get rid of that little deluded clique that runs and poisons the cobbles [i.e. Anthony, Kim, Jennie].

[DRW50]

They've said she's the new Bet, the new Elsie, the new Vera...she's not even up to being Florrie.

[NothinButAttitude]

Well they need to stop telling her that b/c she is none of them. She can't even sit at the same table as them. Michelle is a flop character. She's never impressed me.

[BetterForgotten]

She's never been as popular as the show wanted (and still wants) the general public to believe. There was never a time IMO where she was even close to being among the most popular actresses on the show. I don't think they've ever tried harder to make both a character and actress happen longer over such a long period of time. They've never understood this, however.

The closest I think Corrie has gotten close to creating a character over the past few years to approach Elsie/Bet territory is probably with Carla. Becky arguably came as well, but that was shot to hell during her last two years or so.

[DRW50]

Reading through an old soap magazine that had a Bill Tarmey article...it's still sad to me that the Duckworth family's last legacy on the show was pointless Tommy, played by an actor who was clearly too old for the role and was dropped as damage control, literally disappearing into thin air.

Bill was so underrated...I don't think people ever fully appreciated how much he brought to the show.

At least they got his exit right. The one time that hack Collinson did. It's a good thing Michelle Collins hadn't joined yet.

[Bright Eyes]

A random thought.

I think Nicole Walker from DAYS would be a great landlady of the Rovers. Written at her best, with the many dark wounds of her past, the world always seemingly against her, she's sort of similar to the great Bet Lynch.

[DRW50]

And she'd hate Liz and Michelle too.

[TimWil]

I think Nicole's a combination of Bet and Tracy.

[DRW50]

I watched the last three episodes...the first full Corrie episodes I've watched since that hack Collinson ruined the show.

One thing I'll give these episodes over the tram crash is that Blackburn at least knew to focus this on women. Women built Corrie, with men mostly in secondary roles. Rather than focusing on yet more shrieking over Peter (no wonder the actor finally quit...) or Nick, Carla, Leanne and Tracy were on display for their own identities and histories.

Jane Danson was wonderful in Thursday's episode - she really made some hokey material, like Leanne accepting Kal's proposal right before he died, believable. She's always dependable, but she was special there. I felt very proud of her.

Kate Ford just isn't a good actress, but when they don't go for camp, she can make it work. I thought she did a decent job showing Tracy's guilt alongside her desperate projections/delusions/self-denial.

Alison King is an old hand at playing Carla's guilt and pain, but she didn't phone it in, to her credit. I love Carla's relationship with Roy and it pleased me to see it showcased on Friday. With that said, this is miserable, repetitive material for Carla, and I can see why Alison King asked for an extended break.

There was one shot at the end of Thursday's episode that I absolutely loved - the camera on Leanne, then Carla, then Tracy, each stunned in their own way. The essence of soap.

The scene where the Nazir mother told Simon about Kal's death. I get why people call the family wooden, but I thought she did well in that scene.

- the faceoff between Jenny Bradley and Maddie was better than I'd expected. The girl who plays Maddie will be a real loss to the show, which seems to be awash in young people who can't act.

- Gary, questionable haircut aside, is still hot. So is Andy. And while something seemed off with Jason's voice (or have I just forgotten his voice?), he still looks good too. And Nick doesn't look as wizened as he did when I last watched.

Now, what didn't work for me:

- the crockery smashing with Liz. An embarrassment. That's being kind, really. The scene where Andrea and Sean had to hold her back has been rightfully torn to pieces...much like the scenery. Liz's bizarre moment of semi-smugly telling Tracy "Amy's in there" is one to keep you up at night - was that intended as her not giving a [!@#$%^&*] about her granddaughter possibly burning to death, or was it just a poorly directed scene, not helped by Bev Callard's plastic surgery? I find Liz pathetic at this point, unsuited to the Rovers (which just feels like another set now, and has for ages). I really think it may be time to call it a day on this character.

- Silly to have the David and Max scenes in the midst of the dramatic Thursday episode. I understand the idea of needing to start that story up again to lead into Friday and next week, but the scenes left a dull thud, and the boy who plays Max is wooden. Instead of being torn between parents he just seems petulant and disconnected.

- The idea of Bethany is much more interesting than the reality seems to be. She seems so generic.

- I'm glad that the writing was fairly sincere, and not drowning in cynicism like Collinson's era was, but one of the downsides of that is when you don't have a well-polished show, cliche moments (everyone who dies planning a trip or a marriage proposal, and so on) stick out more. This is where they need overall stronger production. There's a lot of over self-awareness in some of how the show is done these days.

- Norris has visibly aged quite a bit since I last saw him, which is fine, just somewhat startling, and nothing to do with my point. My point is that he just seems nasty and petty, without the traces of humor he once had. I think, like Liz, it's time for Norris to say goodbye.

Edited May 30, 2015 by DRW50

[NothinButAttitude]

Did Tracy's dumb ass start the fire?