Emmerdale: Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

That was Chloe. She had split up Carl and Chas with the poison pen letters she wrote under the name of Carl's ex wife Colleen. Then she claimed she was pregnant. Carl stayed with her for the baby but he was splitting up with her. She got desperate and started taking pregnancy tests, and Chas found one. Then she dunked her. It was great stuff.

Cain is different this time around, mostly in wardrobe, and he's a bit milder in personality. He isn't quite the same as he was, he was a more interesting, dark character initially, but he still has some life in him, if they ever figure out what stories to give him. I'm glad when he came back he cut his hair and started wearing less layers. He wears jeans well.

I think Cain is going to give Aaron a lot of needling when he finds out, but hopefully it won't be too nasty.

[anita30]

Dammit I got tears in my eyes. Wow the second episode amazing. I have not had a good cry in while. Danny is rocking this storylie.

First episode Chas can shut the hell up. I mean seriously you really have not been there for your son. LOL Cain boy do I love this character. Takes no prisoner but boy I wander how he will feel when he truely finds out that Aaron is gay.

Second episode. wow just wow. I mean I have not had a good cry for a soap in a vey long time. I know the CPR was bad but with me being American and our crapy soap it was not bad at all.

Anoter great episode.

[DRW50]

Danny was phenomenal. He does so much with his face, yet he's never OTT about it. I've rarely seen a soap actor play internalized pain the way he does.

I've seen shows that glorify suicide, or suicide attempts, like B&B with Storm or GL with Olivia. I'm glad they showed just how ugly it is, especially those scenes where Aaron woke up in the middle of his suicide attempt, then the later scenes where you saw his eyes fluttering.

The CPR was bad but the acting in the scenes was so good I didn't really notice. Chastity's mememememe attitude got on my nerves but her pain over Aaron after she saw his near-lifeless body was hard to watch. And poor Paddy, completely stunned.

The show has found such a good thing with these strong and complicated relationships and friendships. They're using Paddy/Marlon very effectively, instead of just comedy, and Aaron/Adam, Aaron/Paddy, they really make you care.

I haven't paid as much attention to some of the other stories but I didn't really notice just how gorgeous Nikhil is until recently. Perhaps he's so obviously pretty I initially ignored him. I wonder if he's ever going to get a love interest.

Those scenes where Carl was so reluctant to let his kids go that he, perhaps unintentionally, guilted them into staying with him were very good, they seemed very real.

Edited April 23, 2010 by CarlD2

[Cat]

When Aaron opened his eyes halfway through the gassing, it was like 6 months of story just passed right through his eyes. Then he just closed them again.

Chas bugged me until I saw her running to Aaron like her life depended on it. When she gulped "Oh my God" open seeing Aaron, she sounded like a true mother in distress.

The episode was really well constructed, especially the way people passed the shed without noticing anything was wrong. Like when Aaron's friend was walking up to it, but then got called away. It really rammed the message home about people being wrapped in their own pain and others not picking up on it.

Nikhil seems to work well with an older woman, it seems. I always thought he had chemistry with Faith, Charity and Natasha. Speaking of Natasha, Amanda Donohoe is another actor who, like Danny Miller, produces the most multi-faceted performances in the most mundane and dialogue-light scenes.

[Bright Eyes]

Nikhil was being poised to get with Debbie, wasn't he? When she returns I can see them going back to that.

DAMN YOU ALL! The Box has yet to post this episode, so I still haven't seen it. I'm very anxious. I'm sure I'll ball like a little bitch like I did when he came out to Paddy.

[anita30]

Well just watched the clip. I love me some Cain. After he realized that Aaron was gay , he total did a 360 and understood. I like that he was so on Paddy side about who cared for Aaron to Chas.

Adam worried about his friend. I like that too.

I really wish Paddy would have a good go at Chas and not get the last word because honey he made a whole lot of sense that you only want to be his mother when it suits you.

[anita30]

Ok I have to share this with you guys. It was so perfect:

[DRW50]

The fallout of Aaron's suicide attempt has been wonderful viewing. It reminds me so much of the soaps I grew up with like ATWT, that sense of community, and you get to see the different reactions of so many characters, you get to hear what they think. None of this is considered boring or repetitive. And finally all the disparate Dingles are brought into this in one way or another, even if it's just talking to each other. I was especially glad they remembered how close Shadrach and Aaron once were. I hope he might get to see Aaron.

The tough talk from Chas to Aaron bothered me but I think he also needed to hear it.

I loved the conversation with Aaron and Adam, poor Aaron so vulnerable, asking Adam if they could be friends again. Then Adam getting him to laugh, and to get over himself, by making fun of his suicide attempt. You could tell Aaron wasn't expecting anyone to go there, but it did him a lot of good. They're great as friends.

Has David actually done anything on the council? Now he's resigning? I hope they will let another character get that seat -- being on the council provides good drama if the show makes the effort. As it is now, what will David do? I recommend underwear modeling.

Any time any character lashes out at Eric, I feel sorry for him.

[All My Shadows]

I guess I'll add Emmerdale to my watch list. I'd been watching the early, early episodes, but I guess I can also watch the current ones. Anyone care to fill me in on the current storylines...

...Carl???

[Bright Eyes]

Yay, glad to have you with AMS!

In the vaguest of summaries ...

Aaron is gay. He hates himself and tried to commit suicide.

Ashley was raped by psycho Sally and now that she's in prison etc ..., he's having trouble being intimate with his wife.

Holly is a coke-head.

Eric and Val own the B&B with Terry. Eric and Val let Olena, an illegal immigrant, work there and now that the Ukraine have taken her back, the business has taken a hit.

Bob is married to Viv. When she wrote him a letter from prison, he thought she was going to divorce him. Gennie, feeling rejected over her bad luck with men, has some wine with him one night, and they have sex. Gennie and Jamie (Bob's son) then fell in love. Jamie found out and broke up with her, but eventually they reconciled. Viv still doesn't know.

Natasha killed her cheating husband Mark, but everyone thinks he just left town after the his past and present trials were revealed. He was a bigamist (with Faye) and had an illegitimate son, Ryan, and was planning to reconcile with his first wife. Ryan and Maisie (Natasha and Mark's daughter) almost hooked up before they found out they were siblings. Maisie had a breakdown, but has since recovered.

Only Nathan, (Natasha and Mark's son) knows the truth. He blackmailed his mother to give him all the family's money and agreed to Natasha's demand that he leave town.

Debbie Dingle (the actress is on maternity leave) is in New Jersey on a job (she is the owner of "The Garage.") with her and Andy Sugden's daughter, Sarah.

Eli Dingle and Sam Dingle were both in love with Olena. Olena loved Eli. Eli is set to leave the village soon. Sam is mad at his father Zak for trying to get Olena out of town behind his back.

Declan has bought the majority of shares of Natasha's farm, as she is having money issues thanks to Nathan and Mark's accounts being closed because of his "disapperance."

Doug likes Diane (the owner of the Woolpack.) He lives with her. Diane and Doug are very good friends. Diane likes Rodney's friend, who may have something for her too.

Eve has returned to town. Katie hates her. Eve used to be a bad girl and was responsible for her and Andy's friend going to prison (or dying, I can't remember which.) Due to Andy's past he has agreed to let sleeping dogs lie, Katie is still a bitch to her though. Eve says, she's a changed woman now. Not even her grandmother, Edna Birch, believes her.

Is there more Carl?

I strongly URGE you to watch the CLIMAX and subsequent AFTERMATH of the Wydle/Lamb story. Utterly thrilling. You can find the story by itself on YouTube.

Edited April 29, 2010 by Amello

[DRW50]

You did a great job. I would have had about ten million paragraphs and no one would want to watch after that.

AMS if you want to see episodes from July-December 2009:

http://www.youtube.com/user/EmmerFan

[All My Shadows]

Thank you both very much! I was able to follow through Amello's summary and do some wikipediaing on the characters mentioned to get the gist of what's going on. When I watch an episode today or tomorrow or whenever, I'll see how much of it I can follow without having too many questions.

Now I'm sorta at a little crossroads. I want to see all this stuff from last year that you're raving about, but I also want to watch the current episodes, and I want to keep up with the old 70s episodes, too. What would either one of you suggest, watching the stuff from last year first then getting into the current episodes or just watching the current episodes and checking out the 2009 stuff whenever I get a chance too. Is the show "good" right now or "so-so" or just bad/boring?

[Bright Eyes]

AMS, to add, the show is also seemingly building up a Katie/Ryan/Eve triangle.

As to your question, I am currently watching the 70's episodes as well (just started really, like, yesterday). Presently, the show just hit the climax of the Aaron story so now the show is in build up mode to whatever the next lead story will be. Being that I've built up a connection to the characters I am still very interested but a newer viewer like yourself may be a tad bit bored.

For example, a new story with Nicola is starting next week.

I found Emmerdale very easy to get into and understand. Just looking at this thread I, myself, had quite a few questions, but the when I started (with the first episode of James Sutton's Ryan character) the show easily hooked me and got me to care about the characters and where the story was going.

In the end, I suggest for you to start watching now. The THURSDAY double episodes usually have some good plot movement in them. Though I started with every episode from late June 2009, I suggest you watch the current show but, in time, watch the great moments like Ryan/Lamb reveal, Sally trying to kill Laurel, etc just like you would with any other show's best moments. For instance, I have previously watched the famous plane crash of 1993 etc ...

Edited April 29, 2010 by Amello

[DRW50]

I think the show is good right now, not perfect, but most of it is decent, a lot of good acting and some interesting characters. I think it's easy to enjoy the episodes, they're a good way to pass time, and sometimes there's something really great to be found.

The 2009 stuff isn't anything that MUST be watched, it's just something that you may want to see if you want some build up to what is happening now. The only stuff from that time period I'd definitely recommend is Lexi King, Carl's wife, slowly falling apart and finally nearly committing suicide on the hospital roof. That was very good stuff, and helped lead into the story where Carl and Chastity got back together and broke Paddy's heart, which pushed Chas further away from Aaron, a story that is being echoed at the moment.

For a long time Emmerdale had a very complex history which would build for years and years and if you didn't know some of this it would almost feel like all the pieces of a puzzle weren't put together. But the show has lost a lot of characters over the past few years and most of the older characters they do have have been reset, so it's not difficult to get into the show now.

You may have already seen these but these are some great clips of some of the best moments on the show in recent years, like when Debbie gave birth to Sarah, Charity's exit in 2005, and Laurel and Ashley losing baby Daniel in 2008, one of the best soap episodes I have ever seen.

http://www.youtube.com/user/awweson1#g/c/6DB9194C7ABC9CDB

[Bright Eyes]

Whoa, Carl, is the hot guy that used to work with Marlon in the kitchen gay? I just watched the first few seconds of the Daniel,s death episode and he said he is. But I can't tell if he's joking or not.