Are sympathetic characters out of fashion in Weatherfield? When the powers that be first announced the casting of Sue Johnston I was thrilled. I have always admired Sue's performances on screen and had great hopes for an enjoyable stint in Coronation Street. However, the honest truth is, I haven't enjoyed one bit of it and I thoroughly dislike her character.What a waste of good talent! I'm not about apportioning blame, but something has gone wrong somewhere along the line. I am not criticising Sue Johnston's acting talents at all, but the character of Gloria Price has just not taken off in my eyes. All she does is cause trouble for her family, pick fights and deceive people. I had hoped her return last night would see a change in direction, but no: within two episodes she had upset her entire family and picked fights with Carla and Peter. It wasn't enjoyable to watch, it wasn't dramatic, it wasn't even funny.
Don't get me wrong. I wasn't expecting a rehash of Barbara Royle or Sheila Grant, I hoped we would get something different. Just not this. Corrie has successfully introduced well known actresses in the past. I would love Rula Lenska to return as Claudia Colby one day, and Stephanie Cole continues to be superb as Roy's mum Sylvia.
Part of the problem is that Gloria has failed to interact with other characters in the Street. Practically all her scenes are with St Ella, Eva or Leanne. There was a brief glimmer of hope when Gail helped her out months ago, but nothing really came of that, apart from the dreadful scam over Lewis.
I'm not saying it's too late to salvage something from the wreckage. I keep waiting for the writers to explore Gloria's past and explain why she is the damaged, unpleasant woman she appears to be. If we are to take Gloria Price to our hearts, this better happen soon.
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20 comments:
Disagree 100% with everything in this article. She glows for me!
Thoroughly agree with Graham. Thought Gloria's character may have been softened a bit but she is as unpleasant a troubemaker as ever. What would a seemingly nice wealthy bloke like Eric see in this hag? Just dreadful.
Totally agree. Gloria is a bore. Be good, be nasty, it doesn't matter as long as you entertain. Gloria's scenes are just cringe-worthy. I groaned when I saw her return.
I feel the same about Tracyluv. Despite all her trouble making, hysterics, and "drama", she's the most boring and predictable character on Corrie.
Totally disagree 100% with you too, Gloria is hilarious, I can't stop laughing at every scene she is in. I love her with St Ella too. It makes St Ella better with a Mum to show that she is not without fault. Perhaps it's just a british humour that people don't get or maybe she just divides people like brown sauce. You either love it or hate it.
Problem for me is that they try too hard with Gloria. She's in your face and I realise some people in real life are like that but you soon get bored with them. Likewise Gloria. Same applies to Tracy, and Becky (at the end). Curiously, Eric seemed a breath of fresh air because he didn't fling himself about but just used his voice and facial expressions. The small screen can't really cope with theatricality and Gloria needs reining in. Unfortunately, she also has a lot of scenes with hopeless MC and they don't really mesh. It would be interesting to know whether people who like Gloria also like Tracy because they seem to play a similar role.
I guess the point of Gloria confronting Peter was to show Eric just what a harridan she is but I think it could have been done less dramatically. Really, who would put up with a relative who went off in a public space like that...all will be forgiven or glossed over in the next 5 mins apart from some snippy remarks at best. Didn't miss Gloria when she left.
I like her too, but she does need to interact with more of the neighbours.
I didn't like her first time. I couldn't stand what she did to Audrey. She was vile.
And last night ... she was no different. Vile as ever. Ill-mannered and rude in the Bistro for absolutely NO reason, other than that's what she is - a bitch. I hope she's not staying long.
~JB in Canada
Can't bear Gloria, who has no redeeming qualities (even Les Battersby had some redeeming qualities!) OR Tracey, who as said is so predictable, she is like a bobblehead doll.
Bev
I found Gloria funny when she first arrived but the novelty has worn off.
What was the point of the scene with Gloria shouting the odds at Peter and Carla?
Ranting and raving at Peter over something that happened when she wasn't even around. Yet again, it's all Peter's fault, not Leanne's.
I was right behind Carla when she said, "OAP or not, you're getting a slap"
She's annoying.
I absolutely cannot stand Gloria. As a matter of fact there are too many rotten women on the street such as Leanne, Sally, and Tracy and if they all left the show tomorrow I wouldn't miss them for a minute.
I am not looking forward to her return at all and will be doing a lot of fast forwarding.
It seems to be a trend that all older characters are fools, having learnt nothing from the trials of their lives. The young ones like Tina/Tommy/Chesney/Katie/?Sophie act as the mature ones while the oldsters behave like adolescents. .
I like her, a lot. Mind you, I haven't seen Monday's double episodes yet.... ;-)
I'm not a fan at all. I love the crotchety old characters like Sylvia, Blanche, and Norris, but Gloria is just awful. Maybe her, St Ella, and Eva will all be trapped upstairs in the fire next month ;)
Rebecca
I couldn't agree more. I can not stand Gloria, ignoring clear instructions to shut it, not enter the pub in a contest, not pick fights, you name it. Even her beloved Eric got exasperated with her.
Yes, if there's no sympathetic side to her, she'll turn into Tracy Barlow.
Our one consolation is that she's a temporary character.
There's no subtlety about the character. Loud and in your face is a novelty that soon wears thin. She's been in quite a few episodes now and I still haven't seen another side to her. Characters such as Blanche could be witty and wicked, and you loved them for it, but I just find Gloria unpleasant and obnoxious.
Agree. A good character (bad'un or otherwise) needs some redeeming qualities, or I just can't relate to them. Something's off, cause the actress can act her socks off.
Agree entirely that she's crass and annoying. Didn't like Gloria the first time, didn't miss her, cringe when she's onscreen now and won't miss her when she goes!
Is she going? I thought she was back for the long haul...if so, time for the Corrie Personality Transplant Fairy to work her magic, or viewers will be turning off in droves...it ain't working as she is:(
Oh, I hope she's not staying! I don't want to be driven off again like I was when Jack's son Terry returned. I just had to stop watching until he was gone.
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