While I dislike how far they've taken Robert, this week's episodes were enjoyable viewing. Actors portraying Aaron and Robert are great and I so hope they keep Robert around. Unlike how I think an American soap would be, even with the plot driven twists, we got to see Robert's reactions portrayed more as a human being and not just a cartoon villain. Maybe it's the actor? And sure others disagree...

The two have great chemistry and I really could see them being like Roger/Holly on Guiding Light. Toxic on so many levels, but so fascinating to watch together.

For those interested in Emmerdale Farm during the 80s this site has a lot of material about that era.

http://emmerdalearchive.blogspot.se/

Awful writing to have Diane go on about how she can't forgive adultery when she had an affair with Andy's father, a child abuser no less, an affair that helped send Jack to an early grave.

AWFUL, AWFUL writing.

Any damn time she's around the Sugdens, the show makes her look tin-eared, self-righteous, and annoying as hell.

She's never been a mother to Robert and I wish he'd tell her to [!@#$%^&*] off and die. I'm bored to tears with it.

Edited July 28, 201510 yr by DRW50

Awful writing to have Diane go on about how she can't forgive adultery when she had an affair with Andy's father, a child abuser no less, an affair that helped send Jack to an early grave.

AWFUL, AWFUL writing.

Any damn time she's around the Sugdens, the show makes her look tin-eared, self-righteous, and annoying as hell.

She's never been a mother to Robert and I wish he'd tell her to [!@#$%^&*] off and die. I'm bored to tears with it.

She also married Jack Sugden, a serial adulterer, not to mention the fact that her daughter is an adulteress, and her sister committed adultery with her then husband....

I agree that it's horrible writing when they have characters do and say things that make them seem so hypocritical. Had it been Victoria it would have made more sense. She has been terribly affected by adultery throughout her life.

Wow that's true about Diane? How odd. Andys reaction made sense but Diane's seems odd, as did Victoria's detached reaction. Considering Andy killed Roberts and Victoria's mom, you'd think they'd all be s little bit more open minded.

Am I a bad person that I still feel sympathy for Robert? He's such a complex character with his background etc, although should be better written.

She also married Jack Sugden, a serial adulterer, not to mention the fact that her daughter is an adulteress, and her sister committed adultery with her then husband....

I agree that it's horrible writing when they have characters do and say things that make them seem so hypocritical. Had it been Victoria it would have made more sense. She has been terribly affected by adultery throughout her life.

I get that on soaps everyone is an adulterer (mostly everyone), but this particular instance was so egregious that it just made her look terrible.

Another fault of plot-driven writing.

Wow that's true about Diane? How odd. Andys reaction made sense but Diane's seems odd, as did Victoria's detached reaction. Considering Andy killed Roberts and Victoria's mom, you'd think they'd all be s little bit more open minded.

Am I a bad person that I still feel sympathy for Robert? He's such a complex character with his background etc, although should be better written.

You're definitely not a bad person. Robert is a fascinating character, worthy of much better writing than he gets. I've always felt more sympathy for Robert than for Andy. It used to annoy me how Jack always sided with Andy and always seemed to have more affection for him than for Robert, his biological son.

Technically Sarah wasn't Robert's mom, only Victoria's. But his biological mom died when he was only 4-5 months old, and Sarah was the only mom he'd ever known. It must have been so hard for him when Jack did everything he could for Andy after Sarah's death, but almost seemed to forget Robert.

The show is such a hot mess. Eric is crazy in love with Val...who I can't stand except when she's with Eric. She's coco for coca puffs batsh*t crazy and its just too funny watching Eric react to it all. Still though their romance is pretty sweet.

Loved sassy Finn give it to Debbie the Ho...oh Ross you could do so much better. It could be me bae.

Charity is also loony toons nuts. Not interested in Cain except when he's terrorizing Robert which is always fun to watch.

The show is such a hot mess. Eric is crazy in love with Val...who I can't stand except when she's with Eric. She's coco for coca puffs batsh*t crazy and its just too funny watching Eric react to it all. Still though their romance is pretty sweet.

Loved sassy Finn give it to Debbie the Ho...oh Ross you could do so much better. It could be me bae.

Charity is also loony toons nuts. Not interested in Cain except when he's terrorizing Robert which is always fun to watch.

The show is such a hot mess. Eric is crazy in love with Val...who I can't stand except when she's with Eric. She's coco for coca puffs batsh*t crazy and its just too funny watching Eric react to it all. Still though their romance is pretty sweet.

Loved sassy Finn give it to Debbie the Ho...oh Ross you could do so much better. It could be me bae. 

Charity is also loony toons nuts. Not interested in Cain except when he's terrorizing Robert which is always fun to watch.

The last scene with Eric and Val broke my heart a little. He just cherishes her, many messy flaws and all.

Seeing Finn be so bitter with Debbie, someone he used to respect, was tough to  watch, although she brought it on herself. It seems like there are fewer and fewer positive relationships on the show now.

 

Cain and Robert on that bed was hot.

 

Anyway, someone has put up some ED episodes (4) from 1978, 1988, and 1989, including the infamous one where a certain Doctor Who actor gets gored by a bull.

https://vimeo.com/user13925252

You can find more clips from the EF era here.

http://www.dailymotion.com/bhtvclassics

Mike Parr interview (possible spoilers)

I wish I could say I was looking forward to next week, but the spoilers I've read don't exactly sound great, and this week was a real letdown, with zero aftermath for the Aaron/Robert affair reveal, and far too much of pathetic professional victim Chrissie and her rapist son. We saw zero conversations between any Sugdens, but we got 500 different scenes of Chrissie hissing about her husband <mock Dynasty pose> sleeping with another man </mock Dynasty pose>. 

They really let themselves down this week, other than some of the stuff that wasn't even intended as major material (like Val and Eric, one or two Ross and Finn scenes, and what is likely Ruby's goodbye). If or when they get low ratings next week, it's to be expected given the time of year and ITV's lack of interest, but they also threw away a lot of potential viewers this week.

    Anyway, someone has put up some ED episodes (4) from 1978, 1988, and 1989, including the infamous one where a certain Doctor Who actor gets gored by a bull.

https://vimeo.com/user13925252

Great episodes.

In one of the 1978 episodes I did spot a possible mistake when Reverend Hinton and Annie were discussing his children. He referred to his daughter as Christine, but when she appeared on the show a few years later she was called Barbara.

The much vaunted stunt event is next week right? I'm kinda preparing myself for a big let down. From the trailers it looks like a circus just rolls into town which doesn't seem like it will be all that exciting.

I am excited to see what Ross will do next though.

Not sure how many spoilers you want, so I'll put them in space just in case.

Idiot Chrissie sets fire to Robert's car. Gas canisters nearby cause an explosion that causes a nearby helicopter to crash into the village hall.

Meanwhile, Cain has left Ross in a van tied up and on a van perched on the edge of a cliff.

 They really let themselves down this week, other than some of the stuff that wasn't even intended as major material (like Val and Eric, one or two Ross and Finn scenes, and what is likely Ruby's goodbye). If or when they get low ratings next week, it's to be expected given the time of year and ITV's lack of interest, but they also threw away a lot of potential viewers this week.

Completely agree - the revelation of a gay affair in the village should have been huge, but it felt like a damp squib and there's so much else going on that it just felt like most people just shrugged and carried on. On a smaller scale, I felt the same when Laurel killed Marlon's dog - in reality she would have been ostracised by people and the show could have squeezed some drama out of that. (From the likes of Edna, especially). But the plot just kept on moving.