Does Coronation Street accurately represent the youth of today? I've commented before that many of Corrie's younger characters seem to be old before their time, while others, like Sophie Webster, never seem to grow up!Characters like Tyrone, Fiz and Maria are all meant to be in their late twenties/early thirties but all three have had the weight of the world on their shoulders for years! Chesney and Sinead while sweet and kind are also like a couple of young codgers. Do the writers heap too much misery on the young these days?
In years gone by young people were fairly neglected amongst the Weatherfield demographic. In the early years it was all down to Ken, his brother David and Dennis Tanner. The only child was Lucille Hewitt. By the 1990s the production team had caught on to the idea that young people mattered, probably spurred on by the success of youth-oriented hits like Neighbours and the younger casts of rivals Brookside and EastEnders. We saw the arrival of the McDonald twins, more appearances from Tracy-Luv Barlow and later, Fiona Middleton.
In recent times some long time viewers could almost be forgiven for mixing up much of Corrie's present cast with that of Hollyoaks (shudder). Many of the young cast these days seem interchangeable with the other soaps. Katy Armstrong is a good example of this. I just fail to see what value she brings to Coronation Street, although I worry the writers are lining her up to be the next sensation (screen hogger) once Tina McIntyre meets her maker.I do really like Eva and Jason. I think they are dreadfully underused at present. I'm glad Eva has been kept on after the departure of Gloria and Stella, she is by far the strongest of the three. Jason has matured and developed a great deal over the years and really does deserve a major storyline, unlike his brother Todd who I'd happily see the back of immediately. Sophie and Maddie need to bog off big time although I do think Steph Britton shows promise. She just needs to get away from Tina before her ways rub off on her.
Ah yes, Tina. Overexposed and over-appreciated. Flavour of the month along the same lines as Michelle, Becky and Sean before her. Why must the writers continue along the same destructive path? They gather information from online forums that a particular character is popular or an actress is capable of flogging magazines and they force them front and centre at every given opportunity. None of the above are unwatchable, but it stretches the patience of even the most loyal viewer to see them feature in storylines that dominate endlessly for months on end.
Anyway, which of the younger Corrie cast are your favourites? And which would you happily see the back of?
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13 comments:
I'm not particularly fond of any of the younger characters at the moment but I think that is down to poor plots by the writers. I love Fiz & Tyrone but can't stomach David & Kylie. The sad thing is, most of the younger folks are great actors but they aren't being given any good material to work. Hopefully, we'll see some better plot lines once Tina is out of the way - with any luck, she'll take Gary & Todd with her.
Oh Graeme, you've done it again, I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment of the streets youth.
I really enjoyed the kids of the 80s and 90s; Steve and Andy, Fiona.
Tyrone I don't think I appreciated till he got older, Maria, I never liked, still don't.
I would love to see Katy go, and Sinead who I thought would bring some much needed balance;so far hasn't.
Chesney also, kind, sensible people aren't always dull, but the writing is.
Sophie could have left years ago, I cannot stand her or the character, and Maddie I can't watch those two together, I leave when they're on screen.
Steph I agree shows promise; she's sympathetic and also curious and could be fun.
Fiona started off great but lately she's been a pain to watch.
Jason I agree has matured nicely, Todd isn't bringing much joy to anyone, and Eva is also underused as you say.
I don't want to see a big storyline featuring Katy, but I'm sure, given the current predicament of the Windass/Armstrongs, we'll be getting one.
Sophie and Maddie need to go ASAP, along with Chesney and Sinead who are boring as sin. I don't mind Katy, she's the best family member of the Windass's/Armstrong and I enjoy her scenes with Steph. Steph is brilliant a much needed breath of fresh air.
I'd happily see the back of Tyrone and Fiz. Both characters have had their day and I can't stand Fiz anymore after the Cancer story. Maria should stay as Samia Ghadie is a reasonable actress and I enjoy her relationship with Kirk also am enjoying seeing her character being developed with her current storyline.
Am loving Eva and Jason, it's nice to see both characters matured. Much better relationship than Eva/Nick and Jason/Rosie
I like Jason and Eva and would like to see more of them as long as neither gets a personality transplant. I think Todd is ok, it was just hard for me to swallow that he's the "bad" brother now after he was the "good" one for so long before he went to London.
Katy, Izzy, and Gary have never been favourites of mine -- in fact the whole Windass clan could go and I wouldn't mind one bit!
I liked Sinead when she first arrived. She was quirky and I thought she would be a lot of fun. Then the writers sort of bleached her out and she lost a lot of the quirkiness lately. I hope they figure out how to bring that back. Cheney made a success of a market stall and now is running the kebab shop for Dev. I hope to see that he's learning from Dev and in time runs his own business.
Well done Graeme, another well written blog. I'm loving Eva and Jason together,if only I could get Stella out of my head. Ty and Fiz, I've waited years for these two to get back together, please writers, don't spoil it. David and Kylie, didn't like them at first but now they're a great couple. These couples and their children are the future of corrie.I wish they would do something constructive with Sophie, the Maddie scenario is painful to watch. I think there are too many youngsters at the moment but I wouldn't like to be the one who decides who stays and who goes. Definitely would keep Steph though. And let's see more of Jenna.
Thank you :) I'm glad you agree, and that you enjoyed it!
I like David and Kylie especially the latter. I wouldnt call Tyrone and Fizz the young characters any longer, same as Maria who is looking a bit middle aged now! Chesney and Sinead are nice but dull. Same as Katie. I think Steph and her bro show promise and the dreadful spoilt shreaker Sophie and the repulsive Maddar are almost unwatchable these days.
Sofa and Madduh needs to go posthaste. Sinead and Chesney are 20-something going on 55. None of the younger characters ever seem to do anything appropriate to their ages! Well, Katie went through a very brief clubbing phase with Ryan (who, horrible as he was, was probably the only young character who went out partying like anyone his age would do). They all seem so grim and joyless. I think the last time we had youthful characters written "correctly" would have been in the days of Sarah, Candice, the mumbly younger Baldwin son, etc. This latest crop seem so burdened with responsibility, except for Sofa, and she can, as my sainted mother would say, go jump in the lake.
I would love to see a good story line with Jason and Eva, I agree that they are so underused. (And let's see more Deidre!!!) Sophie and Maddie can go sleep in the street in London with a phone call once in a while, that story is just worthless. Maybe they can go live with Rosie.
Agree with Defrost Indoors about the last lot of believable youngsters ie Candice and co, and that's why Steph works. She's in the Candice mould. Apart from her, the writers lump the under-30's together, maybe because they have children - Katie, Tina (kind of), Chesney. It doesn't ring true that the likes of Sinead and Chesney would go drinking with family in the fuddy duddy Rovers. And here's another thing, nobody has any friends away from the Street. I hope we hear Steph saying she's going clubbing with some (unseen) mates.
As for which youngsters can leave without being missed, I vote for: Sophie and Maddie, Chesney and Sinead, Katie, Faye.
Todd's not working for me because we're still in the dark about what happened in London. Just another panto baddie. He should have confided in Sean why he's so self-centred and then we might see a few more layers to his character.
I may be in the minority but I think Sinead is a breath of fresh air on the Street.She is a nice sensible,down to earth girl who unlike some of the others,[Katy,Tina for example]is committed to Chesney and doesn't feel the need to sleep around for 'excitement'.I would prefer to see more storylines with the Tinker\Sutherland clan than another round of Tina whining'It's not fair because her latest manipulative scheme did not work!
Anon 20.49
just give Sinead some time, she will do the bedroom merry-go-round. Maria, Rosie, Leanne, Carla, Katy, Sunita, Molly all began as relatively monogamous. Soaps just do not know what else to do with attractive females.
I like Sinead, too, but they need to do something more with her and Chesney. I do like David and Kylie a lot and I like Steph and so far, her brother. Like everyone else, I don't like Katy, she's a bit pointless. If they hadn't given her a baby and had her be best friends with STeph, there might have been more interest. There hasn't been a good pairing of young women best mates for quite some time. That's another long tradition in Corrie going back to Sheila Birtles and Doreen Lostock. Maxine and Fiona were a good pair and even Sarah and Candice worked well for awhile. Steph and Tina might have been good except Tina was already pulled in the wrong direction, first with the surrogacy and t hen with Peter and really wasn't in a position for bezzy mates. There was also a bit of possibility between Kylie and Eva and though they still do show that they're friends, they don't have a lot of ongoing stuff anymore.
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