Interesting though this sounds, I'm intrigued as to why Corrie are bringing in Carla's mum, even if it is just for her funeral. Could this be the start of bringing in more of Carla's family, including her much-rumoured brother?
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
Are Carla Connor's family secrets about to be exposed?
Interesting though this sounds, I'm intrigued as to why Corrie are bringing in Carla's mum, even if it is just for her funeral. Could this be the start of bringing in more of Carla's family, including her much-rumoured brother?
Rapists are so attractive to distressed women,obviously.
ReplyDeleteI know, it's quite ridiculous. Where's the Carla Connor who first came into the show?
ReplyDeleteSo does Carla have or doesn't have a drinking problem?
ReplyDeleteOr did it disappear with David's epilepsy and Chris' wife bashing ways?
Consistency in Corrie has long gone. Never mind the Carla Connor who first came to the show Flaming Nora, where's the Carla Connor from a few month's back?
Ridiculous it most certainly is I so agree!
To be honest I have no interest in Carla or her past, another one that is getting perilously close to her sell by.
ReplyDeleteFrosty the Snowman... now you are just talking rubbish! Carla is an amazing character with so many layers and could go on for years!!! although I hope she leaves before she's old... it'd be weird seeing her old lol!
ReplyDeleteCarla does have a drink problem - I don't think she has ever been presented as a full blown alcoholic a la Peter Barlow, but it is clear that she does have a problem, which has been rumbling along quietly in the background for quite some time now. I imagine this storyline is intended to bring that problem back into focus once more and move it forward a few steps.
ReplyDeleteViewers often complain that this or that character no longer has any point or has past their sell-by when they've gone through a quiet patch or had a run of less than engaging storylines, but often it doesn't take much to rejuvenate them. It makes sense to me that Carla would be struggling badly after everything she's gone through, no matter how hard the character is, she has her breaking point like everyone else. The question is whether or not she can pick herself back up again in time - and how long it will take her to get to that point. I'm sure it is possible, we just have to bear with her as she works through her issues.
This storyline sounds totally plausible to me- grief can make people do the funniest of things and act totally out of character afterall. In terms of Frank Carla has had second thoughts for a while, they get on she's drunk so it could realistically happen. I for one am very interested in Carlas past. She is a complex and interesting character who has plenty of mileage left in her in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteCarla certainly is a complex character. Peter Barlow thinks she's an alcoholic, (and he should know), and rushes to her aid constantly, then suddenly she's cured of all that. She's willing to back Maria against Frank whatever the cost to the Factory, then she's telling Maria to surpress her ill feelings. Her mobile 'phone goes on the blink when she visits that London, so she's not in contact with the factory when its most vital order is due.
ReplyDeleteShe carries on like something out of Dickens in running the factory, but claims the welfare of her staff is top priority. She sacks Janice for speaking out of turn in the Rovers, which is illegal, but re-instates Kirk who was guilty of gross misconduct. She carries on as if Maria is a contender for PA of the Year, then treats her like something nasty she stepped in. She doesn't need a PA, she does need a PA......
There is no consistency in her character and though I want to like Carla, I can't because she's not credible as a Factory Manager and is more changeable than the wind. The producers and writers need to decide who she is. My most frequent feeling when she is on screen is pity for Alison King.
Peter Barlow thinks she's an alcoholic, (and he should know), and rushes to her aid constantly, then suddenly she's cured of all that.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, I don't feel that Carla has ever been portrayed as being cured. It was shown that she had a nascent dependency problem, rather than full blown alcoholism. Peter attempted to help her with it, and succeeded for a while, but what with one thing and another a wedge was driven between them and Carla is now on her own again - and has been shown drinking to excess since, which to me clearly implies that her problem is not under control, however much she likes to tell herself that it is. The problem hasn't been a storyline focus for a while, but that doesn't mean it has gone away. I think she's just in denial about having a problem and this storyline is clearly intended to bring that back into focus once more.
I also think that Carla's drinking played a part in her inconsistent treatment of Maria over the Frank thing - she was very, very desperate, financially speaking, and allowed a combination of desperation and alcohol to cloud her judgement. We were shown that she was drinking to excess during at least part of that storyline, and that wasn't accidental.
I can't stand Carla..too flip floppy. What killed it for me was her fling with the 'bin man'.Not even remotely believable.I fully expect a return from Tony Gordon..new face from plastic surgery (old one burned in the fire)new background and won't she be surprised.BWAAHHAAA.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the difference between a "nascent dependency problem" and "full blown alcoholism"?
ReplyDeleteI did not say she was cured of her alcoholism; I said she was cured of needing support due to her excessive drinking.
As many others have said, the character is too inconsistant. She falls out with her "best friend", watches her ex best friend marry the man she supposedly loves, has a huge financial crisis and manages to control her drinking better without any support. Let's abolish Alcoholics Anonymous and just pile difficulties on problem drinkers, because apparently that's what works.
And my point was that she clearly does still need support and is floundering without it. She doesn't come across as cured of needing support to me. She just isn't getting any at the moment. To me, she comes across as in denial and struggling, and I suspect a lot of her inconsistent behaviour in recent months has come about because she is struggling and still has a problem with her drinking. She just isn't facing up to that problem because she has convinced herself that she has it under control. Just because she is managing to make it look as if she has it under control doesn't mean we should fall into the trap of believing that she has. ;) This spoiler, in fact, makes it clear that she hasn't.
ReplyDeleteIf you do a bit of research on alcoholism (chemical addiction) and alcohol dependence, which is more of an emotional/psychiatric issue, you'll see that there is a clear difference between the two. They are both points along the same path, sure, but are distinct issues.
i know what everyone means it just not consistent anymore and not just with carla-one minute she ponders whther to drink then shes drinking away in the rovers and its not even touched on
ReplyDeletei know they cant constantly refer to it but at least be more consistant
the whole frank maria thing annoyed me so much with her siding with maria then saying she over reacted
Another character that's getting stale... change in the underwear factory's management is needed. I've no interest in this character's past or her family... not anymore-- too little too late...
ReplyDelete@ Anna - Your opinion is not everyone's opinion. I don't think Frosty is talking rubbish, I totally agree with him.
ReplyDeletewith carla-one minute she ponders whther to drink then shes drinking away in the rovers and its not even touched on. i know they cant constantly refer to it but at least be more consistant
ReplyDeleteI think this is where differing viewer interpretations come into play - and maybe, perhaps, the show being a bit too subtle. Because as I've said above, I don't think those inconsistencies in Carla's attitude toward drink are a sign of the show being careless or forgetting that she has a problem. I think it is a symptom of the problem that she definitely has. Some days she feels good enough about herself to moderate her drinking. Other days she feels depressed and lets herself drink to excess. That behaviour could be interpreted the show being inconsistent in its approach to the character - or it can be interpreted the way I see it, as a consistent pattern of inconsistent behaviour that clearly indicates Carla's fragile mental state. Like I said above, just because the drink problem hasn't been a storyline focus and has been allowed instead to rumble along quietly in the background doesn't mean that it has been forgotten about or that Carla's behaviour hasn't been deliberately shaped by the writers all this time.
Why don't you reread your posts Llywela and then you might see them for the patronising rubbish that they are. Gems like "a consistent pattern of inconsistent behaviour" are good for a laugh though.
ReplyDeleteYou may be right that the show is being too subtle for all us dumb viewers to understand and only you can see what the intention is. On the other hand, it's more likely that the pressure of doing 5+ shows a week with different writers means that inconsistency, not just for alcoholic characters, is rife.
Alcoholism comes in all shapes and sizes and to be honest the way soaps usually depict it is unrealistic. Alcoholics in real life dont suddenly become alcoholics and at the same time can have periods when they are in a fair bit of control. Carla is clearly dependent on alcohol but has binge periods- a realistic scenario rather than inconsistent plotting.
ReplyDeleteYou know, it is possible to debate differing interpretations without resorting to insult, and if you don't like my writing style, fine, but there's no need to be rude. I stand by my interpretation, mere hypothesis though it is at this stage. Yes, the writers are under a lot of pressure which can lead to inconsistency in their work and yes, sometimes characterisation can take second place to plot device. But very often the writing team also turn out to have a plan. I didn't say anyone was too dumb to understand anything. I said that if my interpretation is correct and it turns out that Carla's erratic behaviour has been deliberate all along, then if that fact hasn't been apparent to most viewers, then clearly the softly-softly subtle approach that's been taken hasn't worked and it needed to be more overt.
ReplyDeleteAs for the phrase that struck you as so hilarious, perhaps my meaning will be clearer to you if I re-phrase and say that to my mind, Carla has been consistently portrayed as behaving erratically for quite some time now, and it seems reasonable to suppose that this is actually leading somewhere rather than being random. Because that way both the character and the storyline make sense. Let's not forget that Carla was having moderate periods followed by binge periods even when Peter was supporting her, so there hasn't really been that much change since his support was withdrawn, we just haven't really seen it in close detail. Other people are free to interpret however they choose, but I prefer to give the writers the benefit of the doubt and assume, until proved otherwise, that they have some kind of plan, rather than simply dismiss everything that happens as rubbish just because I don't know where it is going yet. If I thought the show was that badly written, why would I even bother watching at all?
Nicely said Llywela. Some folk are so quick to put the streets writers down.
ReplyDeleteSome folk are very easily pleased.
ReplyDeleteLlewela's writing style is always considered and elegant. She frequently demonstrates insight into the writing process and her ability to craft a sentence is rather more sophisticated than that of many of the posters on here. How typical of one quick to hurl abuse at someone expressing a different view from their own that they sign their vitriol 'Anonymous'
ReplyDelete(No offence to other people who post as Anonymous)
Thank you, Cobblestone. I appreciate your kind words :)
ReplyDelete