4 hours ago, DRW50 said:

I'm glad you're enjoying the '80s episodes. One of the things I notice about them - and something that vanished fairly quickly with the arrival of the Tates and shortening of the title - is how introspective and intelligent many of the conversations are. The talks about religion and the loss of their wives with Rev. Manning and the rabbi are something that simply would not have aired on the show within a few years. Or the talk with the rabbi and Jack, even. There is also a very nice conversation with Jackie and Kathy about her fears of marriage due to the terrible relationship her parents had. Kathy often felt one-dimensional by the mid-90s...it's a bit sad to remember when she wasn't. 

 

I was thinking the exact same thing! I found it amazing that the conversation between Rev. Hinton and the rabbi went on for several minutes without interruption. That would be completely unthinkable on practically any tv-show nowadays.

I think all the characters were so much more three-dimensional back then, and we got to see much more of their different personalities.

Edited August 10, 20178 yr by I Am A Swede

I'm hoping Kasim will show up soon and tell Finn that HE saw Emma push James off that bridge. Kasim's distancing himself from Finn back in the winter didn't make sense then but it would now if it turned out that Kasim had recovered the rest of his memory but couldn't tell Finn for various reasons. But he can now. Maybe he could show up on Pete and Leyla's wedding day and the mother of the groom would then finally be arrested?

 

For those who think he'd have said something by now: he was obviously frightened by Emma back then and maybe he cared enough about Finn to keep Emma's responsibility for James' death from him. He'd know if Finn knew the truth he'd be destroyed. There was never a proper explanation as to why he suddenly shut himself off from Finn in the first place, only some vagaries about Finn being too clingy. 

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Edited August 16, 20178 yr by TimWil

I feel that the show is really not very interesting at the moment, and judging by the lack of posts I'm not the only one.... 

It isn't. It's floundering. Shame.

6 hours ago, I Am A Swede said:

I feel that the show is really not very interesting at the moment, and judging by the lack of posts I'm not the only one.... 

 

It's about the same for me as usual, which is mostly uneven, sometimes good, mostly a slog. I don't really post here much as I know most here don't talk about it. I did enjoy that the show remembered Leyla and Doug were once very close. And the Cain and Rhona scene was amusing. And Anthony Quinlan looks gorgeous half-naked. That's about it. 

 

I've found a few more '80s episodes. I'm not sure I'll post much as I don't really want to cut off anyone's access but I will be putting up a few more over time. One was the 1984 Christmas panto.

Monday night's episode was absolutely unbearable. That  Jimmy/Dan "competition" seemed endless. And Dan's little girl Amelia is just obnoxious beyond belief. I realize they're sort of making her a mini Nicola but that's not a good idea.

Edited August 23, 20178 yr by TimWil

6 minutes ago, TimWil said:

Monday night's episode was pretty unbearable with this Jimmy/Dan "competition" thing going on and on ad nauseum. And Dan's little girl is obnoxious beyond belief.

 

I don't have time to watch the soaps anymore, but just the fact that the show brought back his awful brother character (although he had a clear bias from the get-go for being named Daz ) and really seems to be limping along except for the Emma plot, maybe it's good that I can't watch. I don't dislike them, but Dan/Kerry are completely stale characters now. And it saddens me to read about this awful Leyla/Pete/Priya mess of a story. Plus, didn't I read that the marble mouthed kid who Tracy attacked is still around? I don't understand what McLeod is thinking. If Charlotte Bellamy ever leaves, they might as well close up shop.

Edited August 23, 20178 yr by Bright Eyes

Josh, who Tracy attacked, is facing jail time for using a shotgun (only Jack Sugden's gravestone got harmed). The boy playing Josh really did bear an unfortunate physical resemblance to the banjo playing inbred kid in Deliverance. So I guess he was good casting.

On 8/20/2017 at 0:43 PM, I Am A Swede said:

I feel that the show is really not very interesting at the moment, and judging by the lack of posts I'm not the only one.... 

For me the show lost all steam after Ashley died. There was some interest there when it seemed like Emma might get found out by Faith, but everything has been piss poor since then. I could care less about the triangle involving Pete (which was random and came out of nowhere).

26 minutes ago, MichaelGL said:

For me the show lost all steam after Ashley died. There was some interest there when it seemed like Emma might get found out by Faith, but everything has been piss poor since then. I could care less about the triangle involving Pete (which was random and came out of nowhere).

 

^

This.

 

The show lost steam for me once Ashley passed away. I feel like Emmerdale placed the bar so high with the writing and performances of everyone that all that is going down afterwards is dreadful. 

 

RobRon at odd for the 1000th time (due to Robert) is boring. Priya boning Pete came out of left field for me. What happened with him going after Moira? That just seemed to drop if you ask me. Emma getting discovered is long past due. I feel like she won't get discovered till Christmas (as usual) and everyone will be over it by then. Rhona's story with Pierce turned me off. I hate how Pierce had to be sacrificed so Rhona & Paddy could consider reconciling. 

 

I just need the show to tighten up again like it was last year. Emmerdale was must see then. Now it isn't. 

11 minutes ago, Nothin'ButAttitude said:

RobRon at odd for the 1000th time (due to Robert) is boring. Priya boning Pete came out of left field for me. What happened with him going after Moira? That just seemed to drop if you ask me. Emma getting discovered is long past due. I feel like she won't get discovered till Christmas (as usual) and everyone will be over it by then. Rhona's story with Pierce turned me off. I hate how Pierce had to be sacrificed so Rhona & Paddy could consider reconciling. 

 

I just need the show to tighten up again like it was last year. Emmerdale was must see then. Now it isn't. 

So much yes to this. Rhona's rape turned me off because of the brutal scenes that took place. However I did tune back in for the trial which I actually liked watching. Now that I've learned that Paddy and Rhona are in the process of reuniting, the story involving Pierce has forever left a bad taste in my mouth. This would be the SECOND rape story on this show used to reunite a couple on this show. The first being Robron. It's overkill, lazy, and just plain offensive. 

 

McLeod started off pretty strong, but his tenure at this moment has stalled and I honestly can say that I want Kate Oates back. 

Edited August 23, 20178 yr by MichaelGL

1 minute ago, MichaelGL said:

So much yes to this. Rhona's rape turned me off because of the brutal scenes that took place. However I did tune back in for the trial which I actually liked watching. Now that I've learned that Paddy and Rhona are in the process of reuniting, the story involving Pierce has forever left a bad taste in my mouth. This would be the SECOND rape story on this show used to reunite a couple on this show. The first being Robron. It's overkill, lazy, and just plain offensive. 

 

MacLeod started off pretty strong, but his tenure at this moment has stalled and I honestly can say that I was Kate Oates back. 

 

It is becoming a problem that this show (or any show for that matter) uses rape to reunite a coupling. I find it sick in some way. Especially, when the characters don't have long-term affects from it. It seems once they are reunited with their "true love" that all is forgotten about the horrendous assault that occurred to them. 

 

With RobRon, I am over Aaron constantly judging Robert. At times, it makes me wish that Kate Oates would've put him with Finn instead. Aaron unnerves me at times. He'll be righteous once second and does heinous, destructive acts himself the next. He's literally the male version of Debbie. He can do bad things and justify his actions for it but will look down on you for doing the same. 

 

Back to Pierce, I've always said this show should've made him a lothario that all the women in the village had a "good time" with. Rhona should've used Pierce to get her groove back then once she realized she wanted to get back with Paddy, she should've simply broke up with Pierce. Pierce could've went on to be a perfect love interest for women like Leyla, Bernice, or Chas in the future. Jonathan Wrather was wasted. 

2 minutes ago, Nothin'ButAttitude said:

Back to Pierce, I've always said this show should've made him a lothario that all the women in the village had a "good time" with. Rhona should've used Pierce to get her groove back then once she realized she wanted to get back with Paddy, she should've simply broke up with Pierce. Pierce could've went on to be a perfect love interest for women like Leyla, Bernice, or Chas in the future. Jonathan Wrather was wasted. 

Pierce, Gordon, etc. so wasted potential male leads.

12 minutes ago, MichaelGL said:

So much yes to this. Rhona's rape turned me off because of the brutal scenes that took place. However I did tune back in for the trial which I actually liked watching. Now that I've learned that Paddy and Rhona are in the process of reuniting, the story involving Pierce has forever left a bad taste in my mouth. This would be the SECOND rape story on this show used to reunite a couple on this show. The first being Robron. It's overkill, lazy, and just plain offensive. 

 

McLeod started off pretty strong, but his tenure at this moment has stalled and I honestly can say that I want Kate Oates back. 

 

I can't think of anything Oates did that made the show any better - to me the show at the end of her tenure (late 2015/early 2016) is the worst it's ever been. I would have quit watching if she'd stayed.

 

I haven't had a ton of interest in the Rhona story but I don't think it's the same as the Aaron and Robert rape storyline. There was a support system for Rhona throughout the plot and Paddy was not heavily involved until recently, whereas Robert was made the nearly sole focus of Aaron's sexual abuse. They also had Robert doubt that Aaron had been sexually abused and confront him, which disgusted me and has disgusted me ever since. Paddy hasn't done that. And it looks like they are still going to be dragging this reunion out for a while (

 

I think he's supposed to take up with Chas again when she returns

), so it hasn't been the main thrust of the story. I feel like most of it has been about Rhona. 

 

The main problem with the show is that they don't ever know how to tell stories. Oates didn't and Macleod doesn't - they just don't know how in different ways. The day-to-day storyline that should build things up is nowhere to be found. We don't see couples built up, they're just thrown together. Stories disappear and reappear. We are mostly just told things and not shown them. Motivations aren't there. 

 

Last year it was also very stalled out around this time - it was mainly the Ashley and Holly stories that kept me involved. At present if it's anything it's Emma's story, not much else. But this isn't really new for me with the show. I feel like it's been uneven to poor since about 2010 or 2011, which is why I quit for years. Sometimes I wish I hadn't come back, but I genuinely like most of the characters, and when it's good, it's better by far than anything else on soaps now.

Edited August 23, 20178 yr by DRW50

Just now, MichaelGL said:

Pierce, Gordon, etc. so wasted potential male leads.

 

I didn't see anything special about Gordon, but I didn't care about them retconning him into a child molester after all these years. Such an odd story for us to simply feel pity for Aaron & for Danny Miller to get material for the BSAs.