I found this photograph here when searching for another one for another blog post, and I couldn't resist blogging it. I'm sure some of you must have seen it before. Apparently, it's the original cast, taken on the roof of Granada studios in Manchester. I just love it. Lovely to see Doris Speed of course, and Violet Carson looking so proud in the centre, Pat Phoenix fabulous beside her, and William Roache looking very windswept and "Melvin Bragg" at the front!
The death of Jack Duckworth has really made me think about where Corrie goes from here. It's often been said that "the oldies" are the backbone of the Street. Well, we've recently lost a few "vertebrae" in the form of Blanche, Vera, Jack, and we're soon to lose Liz (sorry Liz - you're not old - but you know what I mean). Stalwarts. Corrie needs its stalwarts, and I'm wondering where the next generation is going to come from. Is it even possible, in today's TV and acting world, to have stalwarts? I don't know. I'm just a fan, not part of the machine.
Let's face it. The current incumbents of "the metaphorical snug" are going to move on in one way or another over the foreseeable. Whos' going to replace them? The Corrie powers that be must be thinking about that.
Us viewers get fond of our characters. We know they're not "real people" yet part of us responds to them as if they are. That's why we watch Corrie. We like the characters, and we identify with them. Storylines, serial killers and tram crashes come and go but it's the characters (underpinned by dialogue) that hold the whole thing together and that's why Corrie's lasted for fifty flaming years!
Do soaps like Corrie need to fulfil a social role any more? I'm not sure. The way we use media has changed so much over the past ten, twenty years. We used to relate to the continuity of Coronation Street - it gave a sense of stability, even if it was illusory. Perhaps it's only oldies like me who still look for that! I don't know. Questions, questions.
Anybody else been thinking ahead?
Carla Connor, and the Windass clan have the potential I think
ReplyDeleteThe Windasses, perhaps. Carla Connor???? Not in a million.
ReplyDeleteI see the Croppers as non-movers, along with the Websters.
Unfortunately, with the spectre of the cult of celebrity, many actors want to do more than just act.
"Read my latest column" "Buy my keep-fit video" "Read all about my wedding in Hello magazine"
Me, me, me.
There are still many, many actors out there who would welcome the chance to join a stable, long-running soap.
The problem, in my eyes, is one of youth. Look at that cast photo. Not a one of them under 25... most well over that. Career actors.
The over-emphasis in the media of the vapid and shallow youth culture has, since the 80's, forced soaps to feature storylines with exclusively teenage actors, most of whom would balk at the idea of spending the rest of their lives in a soap.
The future of soap is, I feel, going to be entirely transient (much like the real world we live in today)
Steve MacDonald and Eileen both strike me as future stalwarts; I don't see them going anywhere. And it's true that the Websters and Gail look like they'll be around for a while too. I can see Sally and Gail sharing a drink in the Rovers the way Emily and Rita do today.
ReplyDeleteA difference is in the way that soaps are seen nowadays, as well; they were looked down upon for decades, but actors like Sarah Lancashire, Suranne Jones, Tamzin Outhwaite and Ross Kemp have broken out of the mantle. There's a lot more opportunity for a good soap actor than there was thirty years ago.
As for the curse of youth - Sunny Jim's excellent series shows that Corrie's always had young stars and storylines. Think Gail and Suzie Birchall, or Terry, Curly and Kevin.
Those were the days, gritty storylines and A class acting from unknowns who were soon to become household names. There are still some good actors but too many storylines depend on bed hopping and shrieking at each other. The writers today dont know when to stop a story either and they just seem to drag on and on like groundhog day, John Stape and Kylie for example would have been good if they had been short but they have to go on and on and on. I think Corrie is watched for being an insitution these days more than the quality of production which i am afraid I think is pretty poor lately.
ReplyDeleteVery well said, lovely post. I think Steve McDonald has the potential to be a Corrie stalwart. Possibly Peter Barlow too. Deirdre of course as well.
ReplyDeleteI thought you meant even newer one, I already class Steve, Kevin, Sally, Gail, Liz, Peter and Leanne to be classic characters
ReplyDeleteBut people move on in real life - for example, in the area of the village where I live, there are 8 bungalows - we've been in ours for the past 37 years, but the others have seen several families come and go at relatively frequent intervals.
ReplyDeleteI'm an oldie and I remember thinking when people like Elsie, Ena, Hilda etc were written out, that it would never be the same without them. But new people come and "replace" them in our affections, which I think is the "normal" thing to happen.
Sorry for waffling :-)
I think there are several characters which aren't being used enough and could do so much more for Corrie.
ReplyDeleteHow about Bill and Pam for starters. Classic potential and Pam had such funny lines and was also quite serious when she discovered Molly and Kevin.
I agree there is 'mature' potential in Bill and especially Pam. But also remember in the 1980s when the show lost the original stalwarts and we all said it will never be the same again... then Percy, Philis, Maud, Balnche etc came along
ReplyDeleteThe show only ever held on to a couple of characters in the very long term, so to have the likes of Fizz, Tyrone, Steve, Jason, David, Leanne, Peter etc stay longer than 5 years is an achievement.
For me the problem arrises when a character captures the public imagination and become high profile: Raquel, Karen and now Becky. The actors realise their high profile and decide to try and spread their wings... It happens on all shows, but I think the tide is turning and they are realising to be a star of a show is likely to keep them in the style they're accustomed to... see all the returnees to EastEnders.
So I think that Phil Collinson's biggest contribution to the street will be the creation of new characters in all age groups that are not created to be exciting or shocking, but to become linchpins of the show