Emmerdale: Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

I haven't gotten around to them yet but I can't wait. I know some used to be up at various places but I don't think some of the 1979-ish ones were. I hope they may have some of when Pat, Jackie, and her daughter (one of the few pseudo-Sugden relations who is still alive [along with Matt Skillbeck and son]) arrive.

[I Am A Swede]

I've been watching these old episodes all day. Mostly from 1978 and 1979, but I've also watched some from late 1989 (just when the Tates arrived in Beckindale), one from New Year's Eve 1974 (episode 222) and one from early 1976 which ended with the tragic train crash that killed Sam and Sally Skilbeck, Matt and Peggy's twins (episode 288).

It's such a treat to see these old episodes, and I absolutely love the show back then. The difference compared to now is immense, it's more of a regular drama series than a soapopera which it is now. All the familiar faces I remember from watching this show as a child, Annie, Sam, Matt, Dolly (the original one), Amos... Also some early Seth, and we get to see his wife and children!

The reverend back then, Donald Hinton, reminds me of Alan Turner, both in looks and the way he speaks.

I'm in Emmerdale-heaven!

[ThePrinceOfSunspear]

Our Robert is being a right !@#$%^&*] to poor Aaron...."it was nothing". BOY BYE.

[DRW50]

It's rough, but then, the day before Aaron told him he didn't like him or fancy him anymore. He cut everything off with Robert and I don't think he expected Robert to lash out.

What Robert doesn't get is that Aaron isn't entirely stable himself...he's very volatile and has just been trying to suppress it for ages.

The end of this is crazy eyes Aaron I haven't seen since circa 2009.

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[ThePrinceOfSunspear]

Is Aaron like mentally unstable you think? Or the show portrays him that way? I can root for and deal with characters who have anger issues or deep insecurity because we all go thru stuff like that...mentally unhinged characters though I don't find compelling that much.

i keep having this dread feeling Katie is going to die but I hope I'm wrong and she and Andy leave together happily.

Edited February 5, 2015 by ThePrinceOfSunspear

[DRW50]

Mentally unstable as in Belle - no.

Mentally unstable as in screwed up from a host of unresolved issues and likely to snap when pushed the wrong way (which is true of most Dingles, especially one of his favorite Dingles, Uncle Cain) - yes.

It's one of the more interesting parts of the story for me (whether it's even intentional or not, I have no idea), in that he tried to put that past him and seem grown up once everything happened with Jackson. Robert never knew about any of that, Robert just saw a hot, stubborn guy he enjoyed unraveling. And he did unravel Aaron very effectively (and I don't think all of that was completely intentional either), but what's underneath the front Aaron has tried to put up the last 3-4 years is really a big mess.

[ThePrinceOfSunspear]

Interesting...thanks for that perspective. I have seen a few episodes of his prior relationship but the way it ended was effed up to say the least and I def say glimpses of an angry Aaron that I probably would have disliked.

I was hoping that was a preview for next week but it was the scene with Katie at the end of yesterday. Still though I did note the weird glint in his eyes. He did seem a bit unhinged but in a happy way at his decision to just let it unravel (the affair with Robert).

[DRW50]

Well that's bye bye Emmerdale for me. Not here for "Robert abuses poor Aaron" or "Robert the villain/serial killer who will hold the town hostage" or however the script usually goes. Robert could and should have been so much more. He could have been the center of the show, a legacy to build on. Not another Cameron whatever his last name was.

I quit with Terry and Viv and I should have stuck to my guns.

Nice talking to you guys, and keep me updated if anything good happens.

[I Am A Swede]

What's happened? Don't tell me they're throwing Robert under the bus just to give Katie a dramatic sendoff?!!

Robert has always been treated badly, both by the writers and on the show itself. I never could understand why Jack so consistently took Andy's side over Robert's.

Well, I can always console myself with older episodes on Youtube. I've watched close to 50 of them the past few days, and I hope more will get uploaded.

[DRW50]

Robert shoved Katie to the ground when she was going to try to get away with evidence of his cheating on Chrissie. She fell through the floorboards and died.

I would say, "He didn't mean to kill her," but it's already turned into a coverup, and him guilting Aaron into silence, so given that many fans already hated the character, the neon signs of "serial killer" are flashing above his head. I doubt he'll be around more than another year, at most.

A huge huge waste on a show that needed good male characters.

I'll still watch past stuff, so thanks for reminding me. It just sucks. I guess that's what I get for falling for it.

[I Am A Swede]

That does indeed suck.

It seemed like the show was on the mend from the posts here, but this is a giant step backwards. Destroying Robert like that, and for someone like Katie!

Why couldn't they have made Andy responsible if anyone had to cause her death? Why did they have to kill her at all? Now there's no way to bring her back in the future if they had wanted to. It's such a short-sighted way of operating, killing characters off like this.

Oh well, I still have a few episodes from the late 1970s to watch, and when I'm done with those hopefully some more will have been uploaded. There's also some material from the 1980s and early 1990s I haven't watched yet. I also have one of the dvd releases from the show's beginning left to watch.

[DRW50]

How far did they go in the DVD releases? I think I may have some up to 1976...

Yeah, if they were going to kill her it should have been a total accident rather than this, which will probably turn into Robert bumping off randoms and being killed off so poor Annie can return for yet another Sugden funeral (if Sheila Mercer is still able).

The whole thing angers me. I wish I could say, "They won't take that road with Robert," not with how important he is to the show's past and future, but I just don't have any trust. They've killed off and written out so many Sugdens. Why do they keep doing this?

I'd say I wish someone would ask the producer, but we won't get a real answer anyway.

They cast such a wonderful actor in a vital role and we get this, with endless fan hate just to solidify his sure departure. While characters like Andy do everything but blow up the town and get a free pass every time.

Edited February 6, 2015 by DRW50

[I Am A Swede]

I have the four volumes available for purchase through amazon.co.uk and they only reach episode 116, screened in 1973. I do wish they would release more though. It was only on twice a week with seasonal breaks back then, so it shouldn't be impossible to get at least the 1970s episodes without too many volumes. Especially since there were long breaks in both 1976 and 1979. Only 38 episodes aired in 1976, and the show was off the air from 18 May 1976 to 3 January 1977. I'm not sure why there was such a long break that year.

In 1979 there was a strike at ITV, so the show had a break from 5 July 1979 to 8 January 1980. During that break there was also a major cast change when Katharine Barker left her role as Dolly Skilbeck and was replaced by Jean Rogers.

I can't for the life of me understand why they've chosen to take this direction with Robert. Like you said, he is such an important character to the show's history and with such potential for the future. But, he's not a Dingle, and therefore obviously not important enough. You mentioned Pat's daughter in an earlier post. She (Sandie Merrick) is Robert's half-sister, just like Victoria is, but I can't help but wonder if they even remember she exists?

It's a shame they never gave Joe any children, apart from his step-children Mark and Rachel. Of course they're both dead too.

With this development for Robert it's only a matter of time before Victoria is the only real Sugden left. I refuse to count Andy and his two kids as real Sugdens. Especially since Debbie Dingle is the kids' mother. She is one of the worst characters ever on this show.

[DRW50]

I had one of those books (I still have it somewhere) that explained the long breaks. I can't remember now.

So Sandie was her name. Thanks. All I remember of her was she wanted a career and she had an abortion and she was involved (?) with Eric Pollard.

I almost wonder if she begged the show not to kill her off, and she had incriminating photos, as they were happy to kill off every other Sugden.

I like Debbie, but yes, it is sad that after this with Robert, it means Victoria, Andy, and his kids are the only Sugdens.

I think they knew Sammy Winward wanted to leave so they thought, hey, Robert is bad, and we made him bisexual (since bisexual = murderer in fiction), so he can kill her, and isn't this shocking and amazing, and we'll all boo and hiss and he'll go. Most of the reaction I saw was apathetic so it didn't even work.

Ugh.

[ThePrinceOfSunspear]

Wow I just watched the episode....yeah there's really no going back for the character now is there? This just sucks....