Emmerdale: Discussion Thread

[TimWil]

Sorry, I couldn't help but think of that poor family on Family Affairs that got blown up in a boat!

[DRW50]

I think they assumed as long as Jack and his children were around that's all they needed, and the show was beyond the Sugdens. It's a shame.

WIth that said, I think there's a lot you would enjoy even post-Farm.

I still can't believe that sometimes. Soaps in the early '00s were nuts.

[All My Shadows]

I think so, too, Carl. Emmerdale is the one surviving soap that I haven't regularly watched current episodes of, so I guess it deserve a shot one of these days. Y'all seem to be enjoying most of it.

Meanwhile, I've finally made a dent in those 1974 episodes. I could just LIVE in the world of Beckindale at this time period.

[Jkcdsm75]

Watching old episodes the one character I keep wanting to watch more of is Carl King. He seemed like a great character and good match for Chas. Seems stupid they killed him off (and also had him try to rape her). Any way he could come back from the dead?

[DRW50]

Sadly, no, but he was one of my favorites too. Such a dynamic character - funny, sad, sexy, etc.

[I Am A Swede]

Thankfully Emmerdale has never resorted to the back-from-the-dead scenario that is so common on American soaps. Even though there are characters I wish they hadn't killed off I'm still glad they've never gone down that road.

[DRW50]

The only time they sort of did was Kim Tate, although I'm not sure if viewers ever actually thought she was dead.

I uploaded 3 August 1990 episodes today and watched them for the first time in a while. I wonder what the show was trying to do with Kate. She was a strong person, but not all that likeable, and there was no chemistry with Frazer Hines. There are two whole episodes with her longtime friend popping in to visit and being horribly snobbish, horsing around the farm like it's some type of tourist attraction, and Kate pretty much enables all of it. The friend was named Fran. Was she around for a while?

I had also forgotten that Dolly was still around at this point. It's weird seeing her close with Frank and Kim and Kim talking about how much she'll miss Sam Skilbeck when he and Dolly are away. I never realized they crossed over.

Anyway, here are the episodes:

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Sometimes I wonder why they got rid of Archie. He's an interesting character (and kind of hot).

It never stops being weird seeing Neville Ashworth from Hollyoaks as the roguish seducer of Rachel Hughes.

Edited July 3, 2015 by DRW50

[I Am A Swede]

I can't speak for anyone else of course, but I never thought that Kim was dead.

I think Kate's friend Fran was with her in the car when she hit Pete Whiteley (Rachel's married lover), so that must be close to these episodes.

[DRW50]

Thanks. So I guess she was around for a few months then.

What did you think of the Hughes family?

It feels like Joe is a little more of a Sugden central force than Jack at this time...

I was surprised at how much I liked Sarah, and how lively she was. By the time of Allyson Spiro she seemed so somber. It seemed like Sugden wife recasts were put through heavy trauma before getting their new head.

[I Am A Swede]

The Hughes family felt a little like a new version of the Merrick family, and in a way as a replacement. Pat had of course died a few years before Kate, Rachel and Mark turned up, but within a year after their arrival both Jackie and Sandie Merrick were also gone from the show.

I never really felt that Joe and Kate were right for each other, but looking back now that was the case with nearly every girl Joe got involved with. He really didn't have much luck in love.

[DRW50]

I kind of liked him with that Karen woman (Jack's ex), but I guess that was doomed.

It seems like they never quite knew what to do with Joe, period.

Is it true that Dolly and Matt remarried again after she left the village?

[ThePrinceOfSunspear]

I wonder what it would take to drive a serious wedge between Ross and Finn....

[TimWil]

I'm pretty sure the actor playing Archie wanted to leave anyway-and what an exit-the character was vaporized!

Speaking of special effects what the hell do you reckon this show is doing that they will be known as "the biggest in British soap"? They're on Day #18!

https://twitter.com/duncanfo/status/617245273161641984

Edited July 4, 2015 by TimWil

[DRW50]

The show is becoming so plot-driven (which would not be so bad if some of the plots were not so threadbare and heavily padded) and I feel like characterization is being increasingly forgotten. I hope this is just for this sure to be pointless summer stunt and they can get back to normal soon. I especially hate how they keep writing Ross, Robert and Carly.

[TimWil]

This one sounds like the furthest thing from a pointless summer stunt, Carl. All the tweets I'm reading about it suggest it's a game changer for several characters.