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Tuesday 20 September 2011

Is Carla being persecuted?

Carla has really been through the wringer since the character was first introduced 5 years ago.  She lost her cheating husband to a car crash, lost her lover to a murderer, married the murderer and was nearly killed by him when he set fire to the factory. She became an alcoholic, fell for her best friend's husband who nearly died in the tram crash and has now been raped by a man she doesn't love but nearly married anyway. Whew!

How many more nasty things can happen to one person? David Brown at the Radio Times wonders the same thing. This isn't the first time rape has been a major storyline on Corrie. It happened to Toyah Battersby 10 years ago but she didn't remember who assaulted her at first. The culprit turned out to be an aquaintance. David Platt roughed up ex-girlfriend Tina but backed off quickly when he realized that she thought he was going to rape her.

Although this new assault happened off screen, we are in no doubt what happened. Will this be the end of Carla as she hits bottom and nearly ends her life, or will she rise from it and finally find some happiness? Mr. Brown also reckons that Carla is the best factory boss since Mike Baldwin.

Do you agree that she's the new Mike Baldwin, and/or the new Elsie Tanner? Do you think the writers are targeting Carla for all the tragedy?

26 comments:

Adam Rekitt said...

Carla is the successor to Mike Baldwin in that she is a terrible boss. Treating the workers as idle, brainless and with barely concealed contempt disappeared in the 80s, along with the North's clothing factories. I would have shoved the cake the Faktry workers bought in Carla's face, so graceless was she about it. Frank has been much better as a Factory Manager and less like something out of Dickens.

Interestingly, whilst Mike Baldwin was supposedly a ladies man, (god knows how), loved and left them, Carla's love life has been nothing but tragic. Instead of making cow eyes at an alcoholic, backstreet bookie, 10 years her senior, it should be Carla dialling up an escort or dating a player from Wetherfield FC.

Anyone who says Carla is the new Elsie Tanner, was clearly unacquainted with Elsie. She was a warm, friendly, likeable woman. Carla has the warmth of a penguin's penis tip.

Llifon said...

I do believe she has this no nonsense strategy that Baldwin had. She's had big storylines in a small amount of time. If you look at maybe Ken, Rita and Deirdre, they didn't have big storylines one after another. Rita's biggest was in 1989 (some 17 years after her debut) while Deirdre had a gap of 15 years between her 1983 affair and free the Weatherfield one. But soaps change. The world is faster.

Looney Baloon said...

How old is Carla supposed to be then? I reckon about 40/41? She is played well by Ali King but as a character I dont like Carla at all. A terrible boss, a user, doesnt listen, selfish to the core. She is hard to have empathy with.

Anonymous said...

I think one of the reasons Carla gets a lot of darker storylines is because the writers are keen to show us that she has a softer, more vulnerable side, because the rest of the time she is plain horrible and unlikeable.

Anonymous said...

I hope Simon Barlow gets killed off. Its his fault.

John McE said...

I think the reason Carla lurches from one disaster to another is that she is such a hard, unsympathetic character, than she just wouldn't suit some of the lighter, more comic storylines that other characters get... so it's misfortune or nothing, as far as the writers are concerned.

Sea Penguin said...

I really like Carla. (and no way is Peter 10 years older than her by the way). I don't find her unsympathetic at all, and I too think she's a really good business woman-type character. Like her scenes with her solicitor especially. I'd really like to have seen her get the better of nasty, weaselly Frank though i.e. kicking him extremely hard in the nadgers.

Sea Penguin said...

I really like Carla. (and no way is Peter 10 years older than her by the way). I don't find her unsympathetic at all, and I too think she's a really good business woman-type character. Like her scenes with her solicitor especially. I'd really like to have seen her get the better of nasty, weaselly Frank though i.e. kicking him extremely hard in the nadgers.

Anonymous said...

I also really like carla, and think that ali king is such a talented actress.

Adam Rekitt said...

Peter is 46 (DOB: 5/4/65) and Carla is 36 (DOB 3/1/75), according to the Official Coronation Street website.

I also like Carla, but she should be better written. I think Alison King does a great job with very poor material.

Sea Penguin said...

Really? thanks Adam - I thought Carla and Peter were both about the 40 mark.

Humpty Dumpty said...

I don't think the rape scene was handled well at all. As for saying, it was clear what had happened, I beg to differ. If we hadn't had a million words written about the rape, a more likely assumption would be that Frank had beaten Carla up. He said the line often used by abusers: 'It's your fault, you made me do it.' True, his shirt was hanging a bit loose but really, without showing anything graphic,a menacing joke about old time's sake or a tug of her hair would have made it much more sinister. It's absolutely appalling that the writers rely on viewers reading the soap media to keep up with the plot.

Alison King was believable in her behaviour after the rape but the whole scene was sadly let down by Frank's acting and script. This is drama and nothing about his performance was dramatic.

The factory is completely out-dated. Surely, everyone knows clothes are made up overseas. She'd be better off selling luxury flats.

Anonymous said...

Humpty Dumpty- if Frank had beaten Carla up she'd have looked bruised. I think I was obvious enough what had happened. She couldn't even stand up, poor lass. I think Alison King is a great actress. Andrew Lancel was fine last night but I think Frank's characterisation is a bit flaky.

Anonymous said...

Allison King is a fine actress, I just wish they'd pair her with better actors. Frank is not at all believable as an evil villan. Wouldn't it be just too much if she finally bopped Peter and became preggers? Then we'd wonder if it was his or Franks baby. Oh..I guess they've already done that story.

Sea Penguin said...

Humpty Dumpty - I agree with you. The factory is a joke and reminds me of a 1970s sitcom. And yes, now that you point it out the rape story does seem to have relied a lot on all the hype round about it - plus, I think Carla would have given Frank a real fight & there would have been "blood and snotters" on the carpet (to borrow a phrase from Taggart's Matt Burke), Frank would have had at the very LEAST a few scratches on his face, rather than her just crawling about on the floor. Badly done Corrie.

Steven said...

Carla is great but she'll never EVER be a replacement for the Underworld legend that is Mike Baldwin.

Anonymous said...

Adam Rekitt - can you please tell my employers that it's no longer the 80s? They are clearly reading from that decade's management manuals. I agree that the faktry is a joke in this day and age and while I think Carla is good at being a bad boss, it's silly that she runs a knicker faktry, she seems far too modern for that; bring it up to date or get rid of it!

Anonymous said...

I may be standing alone here but I have never liked Carla from the time she came into the program. She is a horrible boss and continually lusts after other women's husbands!

I would love to see the back of her!

Anonymous said...

I love "Elsie Baldwin" She is the strongest character on the show right now and the first true successor to the force of nature, also known as Dennis' mother!

David Blue, Vancouver

John McE said...

It's spelt "FACTORY"!!!

Tvor said...

Some of the commentors use "facktry" because that's how Carla pronounces it, that's all.

Dilly Daydream said...

I agree with Anonymous (at 00:23) - I've never liked Carla either, and she looks much older than 36, I've always thought she was too old for most of the men on corrie.

Ugly old munter.

Blackie Bird said...

Oh dear John McE, the faktry went straight over your head didnt it! Sorry but Carla is pretty vile and anyone that tries to be kind or befriends her like Trev or Leanne will soon regret it. A definite Cruella de Ville but a good character who is well acted and a bit hard faced but hardly a munter!

Adam Rekitt said...

I would be happy to tell your employers that its no longer the 80s, Anonymous (0.08), but they probably would not hear me through all the big hair and mullets.

I should have said mostly disappeared in the 80s. Anyway, I hope things inmprove for you, or you find something better soon.

Anonymous said...

She looks older than 36, no way, I think she's the prettiest girl on the show xD Wtf xD

Anonymous said...

Danny Baldwin was the best Underworld Boss in my opinion. I hope he comes back to Coro one day!

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