Emmerdale: Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

I'm never going to feel like this story with Aaron and Gordon was the right idea, and I'm always going to think this story was a huge waste of what Gordon could have been, but I will say I'm glad that the verdict was actually guilty. To the end I was expecting one last "twist," like Gordon being found not guilty but keeling over from illness, or some type of murder mystery. I've come to expect the absolute worst from soap rape and sexual abuse stories, after the fiascos with Alicia and with Carla on Corrie.

[DRW50]

Someone asked me for more episodes with the Rosemary/Perdy/Grayson saga, and there are other things in them I thought you might enjoy (if you haven't seen these episodes before of course). 

 

This one has the oddly short guest turn of Cathy Tyson (of Mona Lisa fame) as a neighbor and friend of Terry's father Duke. Duke is irascible and a man who doesn't want to admit he can't cope with a modern world (and with the "yoof gangs" who plague modern soaps). He is forced to move to the village with estranged son Terry. There was a possibility that Cathy and Terry could have become a couple, or that her teenage son (who appears once or twice) could have settled in with the teen scene (Daz, Scarlett, Victoria), but it never happened and she only made a few more appearances. The most confusing thing about Duke was they wrote him as a fitness fanatic, needling Terry about his gut, when Terry was actually in decent shape and Duke had a spare tire. I kept waiting for a scriptwriter to point this out, but no one ever did. Duke was OK, and I loved Terry so I was glad to see him get more focus, but he never really fit in, especially with the older set. I wasn't surprised to see he was gone by early 2008.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7B8vsTbSUM&feature=youtu.be

 

This episode continues a strand set up in the first one - Val's long-simmering tension with Sharon, her mini-me and soon forgotten daughter. Val had slept with her boyfriend when she was like 15, which, needless to say, destroyed an already poor relationship. Sharon had been mentioned for several years but only appeared in early 2007, planning to marry a footballer. She made some amends with Val, but Val ruined her wedding by erroneously telling her that her groom-to-be was broke. Sharon then sold a tabloid story about her, and things truly crash around this time due to Val's jealousy of Sharon's bond with Paul, Sharon making a pass at Val's boyfriend Billy Hopwood (just to rile Val up), etc. Diane is in love with Billy at this point (I can't say I blame her - David Crellin was so oddly charismatic in that role), so there's some angst for her as well while she gets in the middle. 

 

Anyway, in the second episode, Val spitefully ruins Sharon's big modeling gig, and Sharon ends up getting in a food fight with her at Paul's party-planning Home Farm debut. 

 

 

I really miss that old Blackstock-Lambert family unit.

[DRW50]

This story with Zak, Joanie, Belle and Lisa feels so unpleasant to watch - dirty. They want to show the consequences of an affair, yet they also don't want us to be too hostile toward Joanie and Zak, so everyone involved looks bad. Even though Belle annoys me at times, I still have more pity for her (yes even cheating with a married man - at least I understand it, which I still don't with Joanie) and Lisa than I do for Joanie and Zak. And Kerry's involvement annoys me, because it may be typical of the nastier sides of Kerry, but they can do better with her than this. They were for a lot of last year. As it is I don't know how Lisa doesn't knock her ass out. 

 

The mess with Paddy and Rhona - yikes. I'd say we're getting a break but I imagine she will be soon be pierced by Pierce. He's hot but the story is not. I'd rather she try again with Vanessa. Have Pierce date Pearl. She needs a good man. Or he can have some fun with Charity. This story has taken a hammer to Paddy's character. A part of me wishes he wouldn't even come back. 

 

While I'm glad they aren't trying to make Sandra look like an abusive mother, I don't understand why they don't just have her stay with Liv in the village. Do we need "dad Aaron" that much? I want to like Liv but they make it very hard when she's so abrasive. Why do soap teenage girls always need to be abrasive now?

 

The stuff with Charity and Ross and the baby is cuter than it should be.

[NothinButAttitude]

Do you think they are building up for Charity/Ross love story with Debbie returning as an interloper? That's what I've been getting since they tossed them into the same orbit upon Charity's return. I'm sure Cain will become more involved, which Holly will use to her advantage if all of this occurs. 

 

I don't care for Liv either but I figured she'd stay as they needed to build up their teen bunch. I'm sure she'll set her sights on Jacob soon enough, thus sending Gabi back into the rapist Lachlan orbit. 

 

I want Pierce to be for Harriet. I've grown to adore her and would love to see her in love. I think he'd be a nice beau for her. Hell, I wouldn't mind if he and Leyla got involved. I'm with you that I don't want Rhona to get involved with him. It's too expected. 

 

With Zak/Joanie/Lisa/Belle--I pity NONE of them. I'm over Lisa sobbing over Zak. I wish she'd just get out and date again or hurry up and put her and Zak back together. Hurry up and slap Rishi and Joanie together. And Belle.... I've never cared for Belle. She reminds me of Starr (of OLTL) too much. I just want her to go away.

[DRW50]

Ignoring the heavy push on social media and shipping in this, I agree with a fair amount of what the new producer says - especially about how small moments can have the most impact.

 

http://metro.co.uk/2016/04/18/emmerdale-producer-discusses-storylines-and-its-great-news-for-robron-and-coira-fans-5825130/

[DRW50]

I have skipped all the Andy/Chrissie scenes, so maybe he talked about them then, but Andy not mentioning his kids in months really diluted any impact that could have been had when he was desperate to find them today. If he’d spent a tenth as much time looking as he had talking about how terrible Robert is, imagine where he might have been.

Of course then I realized we weren’t really supposed to care anyway, as the whole thing was about causing more drama for Cain, Holly and Moira. 

The Sugdens will forever be plot devices.

Edited April 20, 2016 by DRW50

[Bright Eyes]

Gabi and Liv getting along was a welcome surprise. It probably won't last, but I'll take while I can.

[TimWil]

I thought the nurse attending David's scan was adorable.

[DRW50]

In the debate over whether the show "panders" to "Robron" fans, I think this week's episodes would probably be a "no." The show in recent years rarely gets couples right, so I don't think, as some do, that it's fear of showing an m/m couple, but even then, I was surprised at any actual relationship-building material being skipped over so that they could spend their time watching Aaron 3.0 (Sean being 2.0) sour and snarl her way through Aaron's wallet. Whether it's another example of Kate Oates never actually liking the relationship and feeling she had to reconcile them, or just another example of Kate Oates overegging all of her storylines with zero time to breathe and endless complications, it's caused a number of fans of that relationship to either take a break or quit watching. I guess it's best for them to quit now as the show was never going to be the Archive Of Our Own/Fanfiction . Net paradise they wanted, but I was somewhat surprised at the total lack of effort, especially as some felt the show was going to push them to try to get votes for the BSA. Clearly not. No wonder Iain Macleod is so OTT in shilling them in interviews - he's probably afraid by the time his work appears, said fans will already be on to making "Starry" tribute videos and endless gifsets, or just back to watching Brendan punch Ste in the stomach out of love.

[NothinButAttitude]

Besides David's cancer story and Ashley's dementia, I can see my time watching ED decreasing. I don't care for Belle boinking some doctor, the Whites and their woes, Charity/Ross scheme of the week, or even Robron at the moment. 

 

I feel like 2016 is gonna on a dull note. 

 

I did enjoy the Carly/Finn/Tracy scenes tonight along with all of David's scenes. Other than that, meh.

[DRW50]

I'm hoping things will improve with a new producer. Kate Oates has hollowed the show out this past year. There are still good moments at times, but it's lacking heart and most of what I watched for in earlier years, like friendship or community, is gone. And the show is plot-driven, but none of the plots make any sense because there is no time taken to build them and because everything is overcooked.

[NothinButAttitude]

@DRW50, yes, there are still good moments but the show does seem hollow (as you stated). I just seems to be floating by the seat of its pants with nothing really going on.

[DRW50]

It bothers me because it's a poisoned chalice. I realize Iain Macleod could be absolute horse sh!t, but he really will get all the blame and none of the praise now unless he's phenomenal right out of the gate. I feel like Kate Oates wanted all of her ideas for the show onscreen before she left, and I'm sorry, but I find that selfish. 

[MichaelGL]

It seems like Oates is just bidding her time until she leaves for CS, as demonstrated by the past week (My excitement has vastly decreased for ED after the conclusion of Gordon's trial and Paddy's departure). And no, Holly is not going to jump start my interest in the show.  Shame.

[DRW50]

It's been like this for a while. I'm hoping that Finn getting more airtime will get my interest. David's story also works for me. I guess at least there isn't anything horrific, but it's just so...sluggish and confused.