The rewriting of history is all too jarring and indeed, a bit insulting to viewers who know that Annie Walker did not, in fact, own the pub so could not bequeath it to anyone. It should have been addressed, at least with a letter from Betty to Annie declining.
If we put that aside, though, the tribute was lovely. I've blogged a few more thoughts here and posted a number of photos of Betty that I had stashed away that might interest and amuse you. Do have a look!
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11 comments:
@Keira, yes, Tvor is pretty well known 'round these parts. Stick around, you'll enjoy her writing, as well as the rest of the gang.
I guess I've become numb to contrived nonsense like Stella and the letter, there have been so many, hardly notice them anymore. Even so, it really was a beautiful sendoff, even without a funeral. I guess that was in keeping with the cheery colors thing, even the audience wasn't going to be allowed to cry. Would have been nice if Bet, et al, could have at least sent flowers or a letter to Gordon. Did Steve even call Liz? Or Becky? I do hope that photo stays up, and gets referred to every once in a while.
What a wonderful tribute! Although we won't see it here in Canada for some time yet, it brought tears to my eyes. The photos were so touching. Nobody could have done a better job than you, Tvor, and a big thank you from a long time fan.
Have you done a character study of Betty Tvor? Cos it would be nice to have one so we can have a proper look back at her life on the cobbles :)
Betty was a real cornerstone of the street, the sort that they no longer create. The sad passing of Betty, both character and actress, has made me sit up and think.
The street has always coped well when its headline characters have moved on for one reason or another. There was a particularly tricky time around 1983/4 where we lost a number of key players. The difference between then and now is that there was a new flock of well established and loved characters waiting in the wings for their moment in the limelight. As viewers we knew we could invest in them as they already had a history and we imagined they would last the distance.
We have to face the facts that our current mainstays are in their autumn years and the likes of Ken, Emily, Rita, Audrey etc will not stay forever. We have Deidre, Gail and even Sally and Kevin but who else? Who is the next generation to invest in? The younger stars stay for a few years, wait until they 'make their mark'and then go on to other things. Sometimes they have so much drama squeezed into a few short years there is no other way. Burnt out.
Coronation street producers need to do a bit of 'succession planning' and start to create characters we, the viewers, will actually care enough about to watch over the next twenty years.
Phil Collinson has promised Tommy and Tina as the new Jack and Vera. Please?!? I have no interest in seeing two twenty somethings shout at each other knowing that its only a matter of a few more years before they are off.
Time to start planning ahead TPTB.- Micky
I haven't done a character study, no. I may do that some time.
Fiz and Kirkeh need to get back together...there's your next 'vintage' couple. He's not the brightest but neither was Jack and where Jack had his pigeons, Kirk has his dogs. Fiz can be quite the shrew as well. What are the writers waiting for?
I can do without all the bed-swaping trash that is Corrie at the moment. karl and Sunita make me gag. Not believable!!
Anonymous: What a good idea for a blog post, who are the mainstays of the future? Who will be the Kens, Bettys and Ritas of 2042?
We have of course the Websters, the extended Tisley/Platt crowd, the Grimshaw/Carps, they are all characters we have invested in, and could definitely imagine them st in the Rovers bickering in 30 years.
Personally I think Steve MacDonald and Leanne Battersby (Who should definitely be a couple, and a long term one at that. And get the Rovers back, So much mileage out of that. Ogdens meets the Walkers?)
Peter Barlow and Carla Connor are also future classics, in a Elsie Tanner and Ken Barlow mould, wild-child characters who would definitely mellow over time. Not too much, mind!
And not forgetting, a younger crowd including Kirky, Tyrone, Fiz and Chesney, they would be the comedy relief perfectly.
Oooh going to go away and have another think about this one :)
This has crossed my mind since I wrote yesterday. Perhaps the real issue is that characters like Betty had predictable behaviour. We could anticipate her reaction to events because we knew the chracter so well. Perhaps the answer is to stop characters behaving 'out of character' in order to create a story and get back to character lead interaction.
I have hope in Roy and Hayley, although sometimes they behave a little far fetched.
I disagree about the Kirk and Fiz scenario though as I feel, sad as I am to say it, that these two along with their siblings have probably been strung out as characters as long as they can be.
Once Eileen is over her current bloke then she could last the distance.
Am I overly worrying about this?!!! I love the idea of this for a future blog!- Micky
Oh yes ! Roy and Hayley, how could I have forgotten them!
Ok, as a compromise how about we have just Fiz and Kirk get together as a couple and the rest of their family leave, with the baby Hope who could turn into a clever little madam, a kennel full of dogs out back, we could have some clasic comedy set ups. Both these characters have shown consistency of behaviour, with believable development (well, Kirk hasn't developed much but I would like to see a few new facets of his character I think the actor is capable of more than gurning)
Probably should stop now as I'm hijacking the blog here :)
Who cars about this dumb character Betty. Considering she was hardly seen or given any storylines, she could of been up to anything. And why should we miss a thief stealing from the Rovers. R.I.P Betty, you should of been axed years ago.
Jack the lad that is practically blasphomous!- Micky
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