Emmerdale: Discussion Thread

[I Am A Swede]

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Edited March 14 by I Am A Swede

[I Am A Swede]

I have finally managed to get back to watching the old episodes of Emmerdale Farm, and we've just left 1973 behind us and entered 1974. Unfortunately this means that we're rapidly approaching the departure of Frank and Janie, and I'm not looking forward to that. I'm really going to miss them when they go. Frank has just received an offer from a school in Essex for a teaching position and Janie has found out that she's pregnant.

The Christmas episodes were delightful with a nativity play in the church, which would feel totally out of place on today's show, but was perfect for this era. You also got a little lump in your throat when Annie and Matt spent New Year's Eve together in a quiet kitchen, looking back on the year and thinking about Peggy. They have special relationship those two. Sometimes Matt feels more like a son to Annie than either Jack or Joe.

[DRW50]

I'm glad the tight unit of the first few decades meant Matt was always part of the family. That wouldn't have happened after the Farm era.

I really like Franke and Janie too. I don't know why they got rid of them.

[I Am A Swede]

I found Janie a bit annoying when she first came on, but she gradually won me over and it felt like she really grew up after Peggy's death. After that she has become a firm favourite of mine. I like to pretend that the return of the character with a different actress in 1986 never happened, and that Janie and Frank remained happily married, raising their family in Essex.

[I Am A Swede]

Annie really didn't like Ruth (Pat) Merrick in the early days. I wonder if she subconsciously blamed her for Jack leaving all those years ago . Completely wrong of course, that had nothing to do with Ruth. But maybe it was easier for Annie to blame Ruth than accepting that Jack just didn't feel at home at the farm.

[I Am A Swede]

And so they're gone....

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Frank and Janie left Beckindale in the latest episode. The same episode where Sam and Sally were finally christened. And it felt right somehow that the episode ended on a somber note, with Matt and Reverend Ruskin at Peggy's grave.

[I Am A Swede]

Wow, the hatchet job they've done on Joe Tate is really something special.... I guess this was inevitable, since he dared to go against the royal family of Emmerdale, the Dingles.  

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Thank God for the old episodes. Not a Dingle in sight.  

[I Am A Swede]

I quite like the early stages of the Joe/Christine romance back in the old days. But the way Christine is being written early on makes the reason for the rapid destruction of their marriage seem very strange. I wonder if something happened backstage that impacted the story.

[AMCOLTLLover]

Joes return without Debbie around makes no sense and is a bust

[DRW50]

I don't think he needed Debbie. I also think the story is very typical of the Tates, who were often conniving and cold, but it has no real legs if he's just back to be a baddie who causes problems for the Dingles.

[I Am A Swede]

I could live with that if he had more than a snowball's chance in hell of being successful. But we all know that's never going to happen. The Dingles are untouchable and will always come out on top, so this is just another story where a character is thrown under the bus to make them look good.  

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[AMCOLTLLover]

Tonights Episode was interesting.. Maybe John is an imposter. That would be a Twist! AND it would explain why he kept himself so Distant to Victoria etc. Otherwise his character would be a complete bust. Let’s Hope they turn it around here now

[I Am A Swede]

I hope so! I used to wish that the Sugden family would be revitalized, but this whole story has been a mistake. It's simply been an attempt to re-create Aaron/Robert, and such things never work....

[I Am A Swede]

I knew it!!   

Emmerdale's Oliver Farnworth breaks silence on John Sugden's chilling secrets

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[Bright Eyes]

A version of this story was done on Shortland Street with Dr. Josh Gallagher. It was one of my favourite stories I've ever watched in real time. I always thought the story should have been done on DAYS with Dr. Daniel Jonas. I doubt Emmerdale are doing it justice.