Emmerdale: Discussion Thread

[NothinButAttitude]

 

Is it bad that I found Lisa's death to be underwhelming and rushed? 

 

Some of the acting was a tad bit off too. At least Jane Cox got to shine in this story. 

[DRW50]

 

I thought the rushed element made the story better. There's no need to drag out this type of plot. 

 

Steve Halliwell has never been a strong actor, but Eden Taylor Draper was excellent. I thought the way they wrote her exit - a happy day, mixed with uncertainty and sadness, ending in her quietly passing away - was truer to Emmerdale than most of what they do these days. I also liked that they used the dog to make us feel as they likely knew it wasn't going to happen with Zak after the way he treated Lisa. 

[I Am A Swede]

 

I realize that they didn't know at the time that Jane Cox was going to leave, but that whole story with Zak leaving Lisa for Joanie feels even more pointless now. It didn't really make sense when it happened, and now it just feels like a colossal waste of time. I never cared about Zak, and it's been a long time since I cared about Lisa, but I never doubted that they belonged together and the destruction of their relationship was a big mistake. One of many mistakes this show has made the last few years....

[MichaelGL]

The episodes dealing with the aftermath were pretty solid IMO. Great acting from those that play Zak, Belle, and Cain. 

[DRW50]

 

I'll never forget Denise Black (Joanie) saying Kate Oates told her the story was to show that older people can still find love. What a way to show it!

[NothinButAttitude]

 

^

This.

 

His performance was horrid. Did he even conjure up a tear? Thank God for Eden because she was the one to bring it home. I would've found it more compelling had Belle found Lisa dead and had a moment with her versus Zak.

 

Also, I do not pity Zak at all in those given how he treated both Joanie and now Lisa. I'm all for him being lonely.

[I Am A Swede]

This show.....

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I can just hear the discussion:

-What were we thinking? Giving a major storyline to a Sugden?!! Now people will expect us to show how Victoria deals with her ordeal, and that will take away screentime from important characters, like the Dingles. How can we solve this.....? I know, let's send her out of town for a while. Then we she comes back she's all over it and can be safely put back on the backburner. An added bonus is that it gets Robert off-screen too, while we deal with the very important story of Lisa's death. That way we can show Aaron only with his Dingle relatives, you know, the characters that really matter to us! Brilliant!!

 

And in other news, apparently Jamie Tate has a wife and a five-year old child. Have they forgotten that he's not yet turned 23?! I know it's not unheard of to have children while you're a teenager, but this feels so unncessary. I guess I should be thankful though, because at least this means that he's safe from involvement with any Dingle, for the time being anyway.....

 

And one more thing. Could Liv be any more annoying?! Everything is about her. I wanted to throw something hard at her when she tried to make Lisa staying away all her fault. Yeah, everything revolves around you, you self-centered, obnoxious little brat!!! 

[vetsoapfan]

 

 

I have not had access to Emmerdale episodes for a long time now, so I can no longer watch it, but I agree that I'd be much more upset over hearing about Annie's off-screen death than I would be over any ON-SCREEN tragedy that befell the dread Dingle clan.

 

I wish TPTB would resurrect Joe Sudgen (even if via an improbable storyline, I'd still accept his return) and put more emphasis on the core Sudgen family.

 

When was the last time anyone even mentioned Annie?

[Bright Eyes]

 

She was mentioned briefly this week when Victoria came back. Victoria had used her as excuse to leave the village, but when she returned she said Annie was fine and she didn't go see her after all. The clip is on their YT page where Victoria informs Charity, Chas, Ellis that she was raped, explaining her "strange" behaviour.

[vetsoapfan]

 

Thanks for the update. As I say, although I no longer have access to episodes of the show, I still miss certain characters.

[I Am A Swede]

 

So do I!

I try to keep up with the show, but it's not as important to me as it once was. There are simply too few characters I care about anymore, and far too many characters I dislike, even hate.

[vetsoapfan]

 

I have always maintained that a soap's audience remains loyal primarily because of characters whom they care for; beloved characters are even more important to a soap than its plots. If a soap goes through periods of weak writing, fans are more likely to keep tuning in if they see familiar faces. But if a show guts its cast of the characters whom the audience wants to watch AND the writing is weak as well, viewers will revolt and drift away. Far too many core Emmerdalians have left the series, for one reason or another, and tepid writing combined with the endless Dingle fever which has infected the serial for so long...egads! I'm surprised the show survives at all.

[DRW50]

 

In ratings terms it's probably holding on to its longtime viewers more than the other soaps.

 

Speaking for myself, the disgusting treatment of social issues and the serial killer stories have made me lapse as a viewer. Kim's ridiculous return didn't help. 

[Emma1420]

 

I've never minded the Dingles.  Well I like Chas and Cain, and Marlon doesn't annoy me too much.  The rest of them I could do without.   I agree though that there is a general over emphasis on their stories at the expense of other character's stories.  To me the two most compelling stories on the show right now are the aftermath of Vic's rape and then the grooming stuff with Jacob and Maya.   However, they are both dark stories, and I feel like the show really needs something happier to balance those out. And killing off Lisa and having episode after episode of Dingles crying about her death (when let's be fair outside of Belle, I didn't think majority of them gave a toss about Lisa when she was alive).  And outside of Chas & Paddy and their pregnancy, everything else seems pretty depressing.

 

And if I wanted to watch something endlessly depressing I'll watch Eastenders instead.

[vetsoapfan]

 

Back in the day, soaps would often focus on star-crossed romances that made the audience get teary-eyed day after day, week after week, month after month...BUT! We knew the score. We knew that no matter how torturous the road became for the characters we loved, in the end they would be blessed with a happy ending/fairy-tale wedding. So there was always hope.

 

Soaps today are relentlessly grim, with toxic and degenerate characters committing heinous crimes and never paying the consequences. There's dark, repugnant violence and little light, little hope. Personally, instead of tuning in every day anticipating that longed-for happy ending, I tend to tune OUT because everything is so unpleasant and so hopeless, and so few of my favorite characters remain.

 

Today's PTB do not understand the soap genre or how to produce it in such a way as to satisfy an audience. I do not see that changing any time soon, alas.