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Like the song from Sound of Music,  How do you solve a problem like Ben? 

Whoever wrote that, I do agree with some of their points. First, you have to accept that there's a certain segment of the audience that is NEVER going to like Ben. You can retcon every bad thing he did and they'll still hate him. Which is their right and ironically how I feel about DAYS' Ben (he's always going to be the killer that strangled Will) . LOL 

However, I also think there's a large segment of the audience that might hate Ben now or hate the writing, but could like him again, if the show committed to a course correction. That's where I fall at the moment. I used to love Ballum, not now. I still love Callum, but until the show puts in an effort with Ben, want Callum as far away from Ben as possible. 

They hit the nail on the head in that the writing for Ben is very imbalanced. They do focus far more on his bad traits than good. Has Ben made more of an effort to be a father to Lexi? Sure, but for every 1 episode we see him go a dance recital we have about 3-4 episodes where he's a terrible dad. Same with Callum. We'll get one or two episodes where Ben is a great boyfriend or husband, than for next 2 weeks treat Callum like dirt. It's hard to keep liking or supporting a character that's being written that way. 

It also doesn't help they that make Ben partially responsible for most of the bad things that happen and even though there's almost always some qualifier written in so that Ben's involvement is rarely as bad as could be, people are still tired of it. 

 

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I have to say I was always suspicious of 'Rocky' from the start. It all seemed 'too good to be true' (and it was) with him. It's a nice twist I suppose. I like him so I hope they don't write him into a corner. So they will.

 

I just can't take beer belly Ben seriously. LOL. I miss the cuter Ben's with the glasses and personality. 

 

Nailed it 

 

This Ben is hard to invest in. The writing doesn't help. The actor is fine, I like him.

Edited by KMan101
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It's not great by any means LOL. 

 

I agree. I find Dotty interesting. I find some things interesting, but the show as a whole seems .... lost. I don't want constant drama and trauma but there's a lack of energy. I think that's why I perk up with Janine and some others because the actors clearly enjoy working with Charlie Brooks and it shows.

 

Is the writing interesting? Not really ... so many characters just seem to be ... existing.

 

It's hard to explain.

Edited by KMan101
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I know exactly what u mean. I was a die hard EE Fan. Have watched all 6300 + Episodes and own them on my hard drive. I didnt just started the Classics on ITV3. I started EE in 2006/07 from the beginning and watched them all.

I think the last time this show was any good was like during the 35th Anniversary but otherwise there is nothing else to look forward there.

Always Phil the King of the Square or a cheating scandal or a murder of the week. I thought Emmerdale could be boring sometimes but damn.. I was so wrong about that.

Grays storyline could've gotten EE bigger awards if they wouldn't have dragged it out after Chantelles death.

But even the actors seem tired during their scenes. Ratings were down to 1.7 Millionen last week. Like how the hell could they sink so low ?

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