We are always divided when it comes to which Corrie characters work and which simply do not. Most avid viewers will always appreciate characters like Deirdre, Audrey, Rita, Steve and Lloyd. Roy and Hayley will always be true Weatherfield legends. However more and more it feels like our screens are being filled with dead end characters that we don't care about in the present, never mind hoping they will develop into the next generation of Corrie legends.
While Fiz, Tyrone, Jason and Leanne have achieved longevity and popularity as they developed, will we one day say the same about Sophie, Jenna, Tim or Faye? It's hard to believe the current incarnation of Sophie Webster has been on screen for nearly ten years. She was adorable as a child actor, very sharp, funny and the antithesis of sister Rosie. Then she grew up, stopped being sharp, funny or even interesting. I didn't get Sophie and Sian; I didn't like Sophie and Jenna. All she does is moan, whinge and strop. She should really get herself to EastEnders with manners like hers.
Jenna is a more sympathetic character (it wouldn't be hard). Apart from her scenes with Lloyd, she just doesn't seem to gel. Maybe it was just me, but Jenna's scenes with Roy on Friday evening just didn't quite come off. I would like her to stay around, but she really does need to escape the mess Sophie got her into. Would it be wrong to have one young female Corrie character with a successful career away from the street itself?
TIm was an interesting arrival. Joe Duttine is a great actor with a good track record in other telly and films. The writers kept us guessing for ages - was Tim really a dreadful father or just a bit hopeless, but still genuine underneath. Putting TIm with Sally is a huge mistake. I do love Sally. She's like Leanne in many ways - she has different facets and can go from sympathetic (her lovely chat with Roy recently) to snob (her comments on Anna's soft furnishings) with ease. However Tim's character development seems to have hit the skids. There's only so many times we can see him let everyone down and appear not to care.
Of course it doesn't help that the daughter at the centre of this storyline is Faye. She remains deeply unlikeable and I can't for the life of me see why Anna is so besotted with the little madam. Adding the vile Grace to the mix really isn't helping one bit. We all know what will happen. Grace will encourage and pressurise Faye to do increasingly horrid things to other adults and children, daft Anna will defend them both to the hilt, blinkered as usual, then it will all come out in the wash. I cannot wait.
So is it just me, is there really a clutch of unsympathetic, unlikeable, EastEnders style characters populating our favourite street at the moment? Can you see a way forward for Sophie, Jenna, Tim or Faye?
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15 comments:
I think that part of the problem is that characters that are brought in to "bump" up a storyline should stay as temporary characters - Kirsty's mother for example. For some strange unexplicable reason others are then brought in as permanent characters when they really shouldnt be - Mandy, Jenna, Paul the Fireman and now the originally showing promise but dull as ditchwater Vanilla Sinead and of course the worst of the lot - the dreadful almost unwatchable Gloria. Certain characters have a shelf life that that should be it otherwise they soon become pointless and annoying.
I think what might happen is Grace pushing Owen to the point of him slapping her and there being a court case storyline as a result. This could then jeopardise Anna's adoption of Faye, possibly leading to her having to dump Owen and then the way is paved for Tim and Anna to get together which, I think, was always the plan. That might redeem both Faye and her dad.
Jenna is more problematic - her storyline was being Lloyd's daughter and coming out as a lesbian. They've painted her into a corner with the Sophie shenanigans, which lost her her job and saw her languishing in the caff. She needs a new job and a new girlfriend STAT and then perhaps they can develop her a bit further.
Sophie? Is she really so unambitious, she's happy to work at Dev's and live with her mum forever? Shouldn't she be thinking of doing something else with her life? They could send her away to university, surely, or at least to college to do an access course or something. She wouldn't even have to leave her mum's.
I think Anna has already adopted Faye, Poof. But I agree something is brewing with Owen and Dis-Grace, especially as he keeps giving her lifts home, I reckon she will accuse him of molesting her or sommat.
I agree re Jenna, she has potential but she doesn't seem to click with the other characters somehow. She appears to have been written into a dead-end and I expect to see her leaving in a taxi to join her mother sometime soon:) But other characters without discernible personalities seem to drift along for years, like Maria and Katie. If they are pretty and wear nice frocks to awards ceremonies, that seems to be enough to warrant contract renewal:(
I agree with the suggestion that Grace will be Owen's downfall. She might persuade Faye to make an allegation against Owen who will then be removed from the household. As far I'm concerned Tim, Owen, Anna, Faye etc can all leave town. Faye is a troubled child but this only comes out in discussions on blogs like this and in soap mags. We shouldn't have to fill in the gaps in character development. Why isn't Faye discussing her troubled past with a teacher? We could really get to see another side of this otherwise unlikeable character.
Sophie gets a new partner and Jenna decides she can't live in the street anymore so leaves for a new life. Shame, could have worked but the Sophie storyline was pointless.
Haven't seen Gary and Izzie for a while. Has anyone noticed?
I'm glad Liz is back. She's not a brilliant character but she's absolutely right for Corrie. Kirk is another one who's right but we hardly ever see him. He doesn't need a major storyline but it would nice to see more of him.
Being able to act would probably be a requirement somewhere. The producer's hire top notch actors and pair them with duds who have been on the show milking the gravy train for years just because...what?? Or, the actors are just one dimensional-stuck in the one persona and when they try to break out of it they fail miserably. IMO those that fill the requirements that need to go are:
Sophie
Chesnsey
Tim
Katie
Ken
Kevin
Tracy
Rob
Faye
Bring in a new family and have more substance to them.
Kill off Tracy Barlow once and for all.
I doubt the producers would even approach such a storyline as per P Pigg suggested - wouldn't touch it with a barge pole in light of what's happened with a couple of cast members.
At one time I would have considered that Anna and Tim could have had a future but he's proving himself so useless that I can't see it now.
I really wish Sophie would go back to school and find something she can be passionate about, something that would make her happy but she's turning into a moaner. Even when she was with Jenna, we never saw her happy.
I think whatever ultimate trouble Grace causes, Faye will finally tell on her when she sees her family is in jeopardy. She doesn't want to lose that above all. She could still grow up to be the next Tracy Barlow but so far, I think down deep, she's not a bad kid.
Always smile when I read that a new producer is coming in and going to axe all the deadwood. If only a producer was brave enough to axe some longstanding but dead end characters like Maria,Chesney or Dev not to mention more recent arrivals like Sinead,Jenna or Katie. They add nothing to the show and only drag it down when they're at the centre of stories. I think that the reason some get to stay is because of their longevity. There is a perception that someone like Maria or Chesney is popular with the viewers,but would they be missed? I also think that there may be an element of box ticking. Izzy is not a strong character,imo,but as the sole character with a disability there is more of a reason to keep her character than there would be otherwise. Likewise there may be a greater reluctance to get rid of Jenna,for instance,because she represents both the Lesbian and black community. It's easier than having to develop some interesting new black characters. Ditto Dev- although hopefully Jimi Mistry will be a good addition to the cast.
Some are safe because they're part of a long established family. Sophie is safe because with Rosie gone,and Kev absent,they need a Webster. Ditto Nick- who would have been much too dull as a stand alone character. I fear that they also can't realistically lose the dreaded Faye without sacrificing the entire Armstrong-Windass
clan. There is also the totty factor- so a young,good looking character like Katie will be kept on regardless of their contribution.
So,I reckon we're lumbered with much of the deadwood- for these varied reasons- for the foreseeable future.
The problem is, the characters you've listed have all been victims of sensationalised stories that have done nothing for the characters themselves.
Sophie/Jenna: I was really excited when I read that Ryan would cause Sophie's accident, and I thought it would lead to a paralysis storyline. How good would that have been? But Collinson dumped the idea because apparently we have to have a lesbian romance on the street. Which is something I've been mad about since. Sophie and Jenna could have fallen for each other later down the line but there was a bigger story to be told that promised character development for both characters - and Ryan!
I like the actress who plays Jenna but she doesn't really gel anyway. Especially at Roy's Rolls. She'll probably be out within the next five years. Sooner even.
Tim, I think, was supposed to be Corrie's next villain because apparently we didn't have enough of them. Hence the threatening Chesney scene. But then Blackburn decided to pair him with Sally, and that kinda ruined his character. I REALLY do not want to see Tim/Sally scenes all the way through to the new year when Kevin returns. It was a mistake to break up Kevin and Sally in the first place and I'd sooner have them back together again and Tim leave. He can take Faye with him.
Todd won't last long - not if they stick with the new personality thing.
After this week, I see Faye & Anna as a rehash of David & Gail. A troubled kid pushed to do horrible things by a villain, and a mommy with blinders to it all. *sigh* (Oh, and David, do try & get a job with Claudia. I think I'd like those fireworks.)
I've been saying all along that Sophie needs to make something of herself. She fell off the tracks during the Rosie drama when her parents barely noticed her. If she doesn't go back to school, maybe Dev could send her on a course. She was a good student and has a talent for computers. Something, anything, or she really should go live with Rosie.
Jenna has potential -- I like her with Sally & Lloyd. She needs to make friends her own age, and try to get her career back. Even the frustration watching her try and fail would be better than making sandwiches. I don't think Tim, on the other hand, has anywhere to go. He seems happy with his lot, not interested in changing. Too bad, because he started out okay.
Yeah, I noticed Izzy & Gary's disappearance, too. Didn't care. They don't want to make a story of the baby raising challenges of a physically disabled mom and an emotional train wreck dad, then why did we need all the lead up drama? Disposable characters. Take Katy with you.
It's great that 30ish Maria, Ty and Jason are succeeding in jobs they trained for. Would be better if at least one the 20ish made something of themselves. Ches, Sophie, even Sinead need something positive in their lives to be more watchable.
I suppose that Corrie needs bland ordinary characters like Katy, Michelle or Maria, but there seem to be too many of them around. The fundamental problem is that plots are more important than character. Sally's aspirations wax and wane. Why's she with a drifter builder's labourer, not plotting to take over from Hayley, not persuading Sophie to better herself and boasting about Rosie?
I suspect another fundamental problem is that most of those connected with the programme don't know any working class people and so have no real experience to draw on.
Extremely valid point that there has been too much focus on sensational storylines that leave us with empty characters. Sure, characters need time and space to develop but there must be some way to introduce them slowly but with interest (that doesn't make us roll our eyes).
I think Anonymous 01:08 has hit the nail on the head.
Write what you know. Tony Warren knew those people. How many of the current writers do you think grew up on a street like this, with a mom who stitched in a faktry or a layabout dad?
Now that David is about to leave, what a good story line if Gail became a community police officer.She would start off suspecting everyone and becomes even more annoying than usual and finally cautions Ken,Kevin and Sean for running a paedophile ring!
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