Take Gloria. No really, please take her. The bo-ho bint has spent over a year being unpleasant. Every sentence was riddled with a nasty barb and yet here she is, sweetness and light, toying with the increasingly odd Dennis Tanner. Will somebody please return the old sourpuss back where she belongs as the new version is a worry.
Of course, Dennis' slightly over-the-top manner may be due to him living with the Moral Majority known as Rita. In the space of a few weeks, the red-headed lovely has morphed into a spiteful old spitbag. On she goes, berating and badgering. A snipe here, a snotty word there. Rita, please sit yourself down and have a big hot cup of shut up.
Meanwhile at the Rovers, pray silence for the Sisters Grim. Michelle is now folding her arms so frequently that Steve is considering installing hinges on her armpits. She beats a steady, sour path from 'back room' to bar, stopping only to offer a stream of vindictiveness with her partner-in-doom, Liz 'Ronald' McDonald. Liz has proved, as if we actually ever needed proof, that she will never step forward to receive a Mother of the Year award. While she laughs, snorts and points at Steve, maybe she ought to remember who invited her back to the Rovers. Maybe Steve will get the last laugh and send these two mirthless hyenas packing.
Kylie we love. Let's re-iterate: we love Kylie. There are ominous signs though that she is starting to do a 'Becky', that endless cycle of joy and retribution. Please, powers-that-be, let's not go there.
Eileen continues to shuffle around like the Ghost of Christmas Past, now aided by her '36 year old' (stop sniggering) sister. We've had the Sisters Grim, now make way for the Sisters Grimshaw. Maybe 2014 will be kinder to them.
Add to this bunch a slightly batty Carla, all of the Armstrong/Windass women, Tangerine Tina and creepy Gail languishing in the House of Oedipus and you have a somewhat disconcerting bunch of females. We should cling to and cherish the likes of Audrey, Beth and for a little while longer, Hayley. As for the rest? They need an away day in Morecambe. Now.
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12 comments:
I agree the characterisation of some of the street's women has been off recently, not enough one liners, Rita's just unpleasant, Tina's gone bunny boiler and Carla's gone mad. Stereotypes. 'Bint' is a bit jarring though!!
I have been complaining about this for years. The women for the most part are horrible miserable bags and the men, Steve is the absolute worse, are wimps. I would love to see Steve tell Michelle where to get off. Leanne has been, for the past couple of years, the most negative horrible woman I have ever seen. I can't understand Liz at all. Steve should tell her where to get off as well. So this comes down to the writers. I have said it before and will say it again, Coronation Street needs some new writers. This time, pick male writers that like women and female writers that like men and then maybe we can get some good going in the street again.
Something has changed between the males and females on Corrie. We seem to be living in Andy Capp country. (for overseas fans, that's a cartoon strip featuring a layabout from the North East and his long-suffering wife.) The men in Corrie are dim/weak/lazy and only respond to harsh words. Notable exceptions are Roy & Hayley; Tyrone & Fiz, although you can see how that might evolve along 'traditional' lines; Chesney & Sinead. The writers do what they're told so the problem lies higher up the chain. The good thing about Liz and Michelle ganging up is that it's a change from them hating each other.
Jeez, when you see it listed out like this it makes you realize just how horrible they do portray women on this show. It makes you think, when the best woman on the show used to be a man. What are these writers trying to say?
I'm with Mary, Corrie is in desperate need of new realistic writers. It seems that hate is all they can write about.
Most annoying for this viewer is what they've done to Rita.
The writers have no clue what a 'strong' woman is. They think she has to be a complete bitch and that's the problem. None of them have a clue IMO. They have already turned a strong yet empathetic female character into a loathsome bitch - I used to really like Rita but now I'd like to push her down the stairs - she'd be fine though - her crown of petrified hair would break her fall. Gail used to be strong, and she was funny, her family was her priority bar none. She is now a total mental case relegated to cleaning her son's bog and whimpering around like a whipped child. Leanne? Ex prostie,druggie,arsonist etc etc is now a pillar of the community. Liz...why did they even ask her back if she's just going to be a douche to her son? And Sally - once strong and independent is now crawling around after some loser like a dog in heat. Now we have Kylie resorting to binge drinking and carousing around ala Becky to look forward to next year.
So agree with you, Clinkers. IMHO, Fiz is not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but capable of being a responsible parent, holding a job and making a family with Ty. Eileen is right there, too, now that she's rid of Paul, although her household needs to be trimmed of a few young adults living as children (save Sean who pays room & board). I think they're the only realistic major characters going right now. Maybe Leanne, although her past clouds our perception; she was a very caring spouse when Nick was ill and has always been a good mom to Simon.
The rest are so flawed or weak or far astray from their established personalities or just not believable that Corrie may as well be a Saturday morning cartoon (something we American kids grew up on, not sure if they're a worldwide staple). Anna, for example, vacillates between the harridan who moved in years ago, and a kind earth mother who literally wears hearts on her apron. Carla, Brian, Dev, all too smart to be blind and dumb. WTH happened to Rita? They'd better have a good explanation, like she's off her meds. And I'm not even going to touch Tracy, Mary or Michelle; people like that simply don't exist.
I love Corrie, but wish it were more grounded; that's what got me hooked in the first place. I do wish they'd forget about the 'exciting new.....' and focus on 'typical residents of a quiet backstreet'
I agree that the writers are for the most part doing the female characters (and the actors who play them) a major disservice.
On the other hand, I think the development of Beth's character is Corrie at its best. They have slowly let her evolve. I've always enjoyed her almost cameo appearances. But just when we thought her role was simply to provide light relief, she suddenly showed some depth during the Karl/Craig storyline. Those who can remember that far back will recall that Vera's development followed a similar pattern.
I wish they'd take that template, bottle it, and apply it without fail to the introduction of new characters. Slow and steady wins the race.
Why is it that the Coronation Street team think shouty and unpleasant harridans are entertainng? Now we are to have the ghastly Sophie's girlfriend introduced who is a 'feisty' character which is producer speak for a shouty, gobby nasty piece of work - God give us strength and FGS get rid of the Grimshaw twins, Julie should have gone with Brian and the miseryfest that is Eileen should just GO.
To be fair, Kylie has history of this sort. They aren't turning her into "Becky". I think it's just a phase and she'll sort herself out. But face it, what other way of coping does she know after the life she's had? She's feeling hurt and betrayed and drinking is the only way she knows to cope.
LOVED the remark about the House of Oedipus! hahahahah!
I have to agree with the commenter who said that the writers have no concept of a "strong woman" and it's unfortunate that they are just buying into society stereotypes. A strong woman takes what is thrown at her, heads up her family, and is smart and capable enough to have a mind of her own. And a strong woman does that without the need to crush a man under her feet. What they are portraying as a strong woman just looks like a petty teenager. There's no difference between how Michelle and Liz treat Steve than what Faye and Grace have been doing, IMO.
I'm a few episodes behind but I'm appalled at what they have turned Rita into. The way she treats Dennis is horrible, especially when she found him in the Rovers with Gloria and there was no need to go that route or turn Dennis into a man child. What did they gain from it? Nothing.
And also they all need the services of a good hairdresser. Everyone has hideous hair.
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