Emmerdale: Discussion Thread

[I Am A Swede]

 

That's wonderful news. I'm happy for Leah and her family.  

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[I Am A Swede]

Well, at the very least I got the pleasure of seeing Debbie hurt in Wednesday's episode. That almost made it worthwhile.  

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But seriously, Kim's arrival at Home Farm just made it even more obvious what a failure her return is. Only Eric and Sam knew who she was, and of those two only Eric had any substantial interaction with her during her original stint. What's the point of bringing back such a legendary character when there's practically no-one left with whom she has history?

It was the relationships Kim had that made her such a memorable character. Frank, Chris, Zoe, Joe (Sugden), Kathy, Seth, Dave..... all those people played a big part in Kim's story, and without any of them around she feels out of place.

And Graham, who supposedly loves her, just looks constipated and miserable.

Edited October 11, 2018 by I Am A Swede

[JamesF]

Seconded. I've watched this week because I've always said the only thing that could lure me back was Kim Tate. I cannot believe the tacky pantomime I'm watching... I might post more thoughts once the week is out but at the moment I'm astounded adults have been paid to produce what I've watched.

[DRW50]

 

When did you stop watching?

 

Emmerdale hasn't really been the same since about 2009. The quality ebbs and flows. Mostly ebbs. 

[JamesF]

Probably 2000, around when it went to five nights a week and Sarah Sugden was killed. I never particularly cared for that character (I found the actress irritating) but she served a clear purpose in the Sugden family. When she went, it felt like the start of a decline I guess. There was this air of transforming the show into something else that was more ITV cookie cutter. This was a period where I recall the whole drama slate on ITV becoming very basic and broad strokes.  

 

With Emmerdale this seemed to be through hollowing out the families, relationships and characters that had built up during the 90s (the building blocks of what makes a soap a soap) and replacing them with gimmicky, comedy characters. I remember finding Bernice really jarring in those days. I never liked the Dingles and they came to feel like the only stable family. 

 

I've kept tabs on and off over the years and the only period I actually enjoyed again was Gavin Blythe's era at the helm. The Wyldes, that Fatal Attraction story and Aaron stuff pulled me back in. It wasn't high quality per se but there was cohesion to it and soapy twists and turns that at least had some logic to them.

 

I remember finding the Emma Barton stuff ludicrous a couple of years ago but I watched that week and appreciated the audacity of it. At least it felt like they were putting in huge amounts of effort and playing it straight.

 

But this week...they've effectively shat on the memories of what I enjoyed when I loved the show. Kim is unrecognisable (I couldn't even call her a character), the story makes no sense and killing off Joe is insane.

 

I rarely feel truly sentimental about soaps and certainly never thought I'd feel so outraged by Emmerdale but these episodes are appalling. Story, acting, production. Absolutely everything.

 

 

[I Am A Swede]

 

While I confess that I won't be shedding any tears over Joseph's untimely demise (to me he was ruined when he actually fell for Debbie) I have to agree that this week's episodes have been absolutely appalling. In every aspect. I've never hidden my disdain for what the show has become and especially the relentless focus on the trinity from hell (Charity, Cain and Debbie), but it has sunk to new depths of suckiness this week.

When Joseph first returned I was somewhat excited that they were bringing back the Tates, but the way his return was handled, and now the horrible return of Kim, I wish the Tates had remained a thing of the past.

 

[JamesF]

I've not seen a great deal of Joseph at all but can see why you'd feel that way because I can't bear any of those characters either 

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  The Tates though are so iconic to me and when I read ages ago that they were being revisited, I had misplaced hopes that it was the start of building a next generation. Particularly because the show is not one to draw on history from that era and I thought there was so much potential in it.

 

Another side note and complaint, wtf has happened to the Home Farm set? It looks like it was designed and dressed for a school play.

[DRW50]

 

The set has looked that way since, I think, the Wyldes or the Maceys moved in. I assume it's budget cuts. It's another reason I wish they would just get rid of Home Farm. 

 

Joe wasn't a bad character, and I think he could have become more if Ned Porteous hadn't left, but they clearly never knew what to do with him. 

[I Am A Swede]

 

I could have liked him if he had remained antagonistic towards Charity and the rest of the Dingles. That made me happier with this show than I have been in a very, very long time.

But naturally that couldn't last. The Dingles always have to get the upper hand, and as soon as he softened towards Debbie he really had outlived his usefulness.

[DRW50]

 

If they'd had a nuanced rivalry then I could have enjoyed it but they just focused on the most histrionic stuff (like blaming her for Chris dying), likely because they didn't want the Dingles to look bad. 

 

To me the feud with Robert and having Liv sent to youth offenders did a lot of damage to the character, and they seemed to spend most of their time after that backpedaling.

[I Am A Swede]

I wonder what this unexpected story-twist with Joseph will mean for Kim. It was said that she was back only for a very brief stint, but I can't help but wonder now if that was just a way to keep Joseph's death a surprise. What possible way could they have to write her out now?

 

 

Bingo!!

But alas, it won't work on me. They could spend their entire days saving bunnies and feeding the homeless and I would still see them as nothing but scum.  

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[JamesF]

http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/emmerdale/news/a868277/emmerdale-spoilers-kim-tate-return-confirmed-claire-king/

 

So there we have it... I'll pop back in to the show again when she returns but assuming it'll be Kim Tate vs the Dingles I won't be sticking around.

[I Am A Swede]

 

Of course it will be. And I think we all know who will come out on top. (Hint: it's not Kim!)  

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I'm not sure I will be able to stand watching Charity and/or Debbie get the upper hand on Kim. Even though I think her return has been a dismal flop I would still rather watch her than any of the Dingles.

 

[I Am A Swede]

Now that this (over-)hyped week is over I can safely say that it's been a HUGE letdown. I'm not excpecting the kind of quality that we used to get from Emmerdale anymore, but this was worse than I could have imagined. Everything fell completely flat, the writing was horrible, the performances even worse and the execution (no pun intended) of it all was appalling. I'm actually shocked at how bad it was.

If this is what we can expect from Emmerdale in the future then I say cancel it now and start airing re-runs from the beginning instead.

[I Am A Swede]

I wonder what this will mean for the character of Daz Spencer if Mark Jordon is found guilty.

http://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/emmerdale/news/a867881/emmerdale-mark-jordon-charged-assault-gbh-court-date/

 

After all, Luke Tittensor was fired from the show after his conviction for the same thing. Ironically his character was also called Daz.....