And so, this time, it's over to Nic Richards...
The story regarding her mother wasn't retconned, it had always been written that her mum had left when she was young. Of course the powers that be were going to pursue it some day - this is soap! At least it wasn't a Danny Baldwin or Christian Gatley type affair where they unapologetically rewrote a character's established history in order to introduce a new character!
I thought it was a brave move to put someone completely new in charge at the Rovers following Liz's departure. It was more realistic than the prospect of an existing street resident suddenly revealing a hitherto undisclosed desire to be a Publican, and I couldn't think of a suitable candidate from the existing cast anyway. Michelle seemed to be the only person mooted for the job, but she's been too busy playing Apprentice at t'Faktry and turning a blind eye to all sorts - Steve's history of doing the dirty on her (it's like like they just got back together after a row - he married two women in the time they were apart, for God's sake!), her biological son's existence etc etc..
The scene in the street when Stella found out about Karl and Sunita was brilliant - one of my favourite ever Corrie moments! In the months that followed, throughout his time living with Sunita, Karl had made it obvious that he regretted the affair and losing Stella. Depending which way you look at it, the fact that Stella resisted the temptation to joyfully inform Sunita of Karl's duplicity shows that she was either reluctant to act vengefully, or she was keen to let treacherous Sunita make a fool of herself (I like the think the latter - and good for her!).
I really don't take issue with the fact that Stella sounded caution to Dev when he decided to reconcile with Sunita. The tradition of the older Corrie woman dishing out advice whilst making a pig's ear of her own life is nothing new. She's the landlady of the Rovers - isn't that part of the job description?! And whether you agree with it or not, Sunita was written as a highly unlikable character for her last year in the show. She had shown full commitment to the relationship with Karl until he called time on it. Only then did she go crawling back to Dev. Stella was right - Sunita's heart wasn't in it.
So, Stella took Karl back. Whilst I gratefully can't speak from experience; I think we're supposed to accept that a man running into a burning building in an attempt to save you is a bit of an aphrodisiac and displays some level of devotion. I guess the magnitude of almost losing her life and his actions to attempt to save her (weird suicide pact moment aside) made her reevaluate things. Remember their backstory - he'd cheated before in similar circumstances and she'd forgiven him.
Anyone watching Corrie in the past decade or more will have, on many occasions, found themselves screaming at the TV as one of the women plans her future with a man that we know to be a wrong-'un (Deidre and John Lindsay, Sally and Greg Kelly, Gail and Richard, Carla and Tony, Maria and Tony, Carla and Frank, Sally and Frank, Gail and Lewis). If you're suddenly bored of that, you can hardly blame Stella!
I can't help but think that a lot of the criticism she comes in for is about her storylines rather than her character. If everyone on the street made the right, sensible call every time, it would make for pretty dull viewing. So there you go, just some of the reasons that I actually like Stella. I hope Liz's imminent return doesn't herald the end of her tenure behind the bar at the Rovers - although a power struggle could be good!"
You can follow us on Twitter @CoroStreetBlog and Facebook: CoronationStreetBlog
All original work on the Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License
20 comments:
Oh for goodness sakes this getting silly now, Stella is not popular with most viewers end of.
Oh for goodness sake. Writing "end of" at the end of your post doesn't mean you win the argument. This isn't primary three. Nic has written a cogent. well argued contribution - that had been asked for. So wind yer neck in.
Well Nic, you've definitely fought Stella's corner! :)
The problem I have is not with the character, but the fact she's been forced upon us. I agree with you that as the Rovers landlady she has a central role to play, but that doesn't mean she has to butt in into other people's lives.
Yes, Annie Walker and Bet Lynch appeared in most episodes, but they only appeared in the Rovers in their own stories and didn't involve themselves in their customers' affairs, they just acted the role of hostess, whereas Stella seems to meddle where she's not needed. I was most annoyed when she was involved in Betty's death, where we as viewers didn't see her interact at all with Betty and yet it was her who took centre stage yet again when her future was threatened.
Producers and writers, tone her down and reduce her involvement in stories she doesn't have to be involved in. Maybe then she'll win our support.
As a long standing fan of Corrie, and the strong female characters in particular, I for one LOVE Stella. More power to her pint pulling elbow say I.
Llifon's point is valid. If Stella had not been playing the Saint giving advice to all these people she barely knew, and getting written into storylines she had no business being in, she might not have alienated so many viewers. Nic's defences are very good ones otherwise.
A very well-written piece Nic! I really enjoyed it. Most of us don't like Ms Price so it was good to read something which flies in the face of popular opinion.
IMO she's changed too much..morphed into a complete dumbass...must be the bleach getting into the little grey cells.
She was a take charge woman when she first arrived and now is just another babbling idiot who has nothing other to say than 'are you alright?' or 'If you need to talk, I'm here' or 'Mum' or 'Karl'. That seems to be the extent of her vocabulary and now, Karl does all the talking while she nods agreeingly.
ANYWAY...I think it's just all the horror and shock that she's gone through in the past couple of months and hopefully it will wear off soon and she'll see Karl for the creeping scumbag he is. I can also see her and Dev hitting the sheets sometime in the near future.
Billy Nibdik - You wind yer neck in mate - whatever that means. I say what I like. How many blogs about do we like Stella do we need, there are other things to discuss.
Billy Niblick - well said! :-)
It seems it is not only the powers that be at Corrie that seem to have an obsession with the Beige Landlady!
I appreciate your thoughts Nic. I don't happen to agree, but I appreciate your well thought out approach. I won't comment on each of your points, but I will comment on the last bit.
To say that I personally dislike St Ella because of the story lines would be inaccurate. I do not like St Ella's personality at all nor do I like the actress that plays her. I had never seen MC in anything else before (she isn't well known in Canada at all) so I really had no expectations for her performance at all. I can tell her accent is a bit different from everyone else's, but I know it doesn't grate on me like those of you who are from Great Britain. I just find that she is not a believable character. I know that if I walked into a pub and the landlady was a meddling wannabe with a whiny voice that is like fingernails on a chalkboard I'd be out of there in a heartbeat!
I like your post and it is exactly why I like Stella. She is different and I know a person in my life who is like Stella. She always know everyone's business, but it isn't a bad thing.
Well said, Billy Niblick. I'm more tired of FS than anyone on the show. I skip his comment like how some would fast forward scenes on the show.
"Anyone watching Corrie in the past decade or more will have, on many occasions, found themselves screaming at the TV as one of the women plans her future with a man that we know to be a wrong-'un (Deidre and John Lindsay, Sally and Greg Kelly, Gail and Richard, Carla and Tony, Maria and Tony, Carla and Frank, Sally and Frank, Gail and Lewis). If you're suddenly bored of that, you can hardly blame Stella!"
As a matter of fact, Nic, I DO blame St Ella. Because unlike the other mentioned woman, Beigey KNOWS that Karl is a cheating, lying, thieving, lazy scumbag. If she has a choice, she'll probably still tame him back after she finds out he's burned down the pub and killed Sunita because he's her "hero".
Stella is just too stupid to get any respect from me.
Thanks for your post. However, I don't agree with any of it.
OK - I don't know whether to like Stella or not after reading all these great comments so I will close with "what happened to Steve's hair". Anyone??
There definitely was some ret-conning involved in Stella's back-story. Les in the past had referred to Leanne's mother as 'Babs'. This change in name has never been explained. A bit like Rob-who-used-to-be-Darren I suppose...
It's a pointless discussion folks! Stella doesn't have a leg to stand on. Quite simply, she is not a northerner! She has a fake, dismally poor accent. No soul. She must go as soon as possible!
I don't like St Ella of the backroom, but this is a well-written, well thought out piece that is entertaining to read.
IT IS SO ANNOYING to see you telling us "there's no point, etc etc."
We like her. You don't. That's fine. We don't have to do what you want us to do.
I'm not a Stella fan either but lots of people are and it's important that fans' views are represented on the blog. This is an excellent post, well-written and thoughtful. I still can't like the character though but I do respect other people's views.
Well said.
Post a Comment