A couple of names immediately sprung to mind, and I wondered if I should go with my gut, or give it some thought; after all there are a lot of characters to choose from, and just because they don’t instantly come to mind, might not mean they aren’t a favourite. My seven, as it turned out, arose from a mixture of thought and instinct, and here they are:
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| Peter Barlow |
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| Todd Grimshaw |
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| Liz McDonald |
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| David Platt |
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| Roy Cropper |
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| Ken Barlow |
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| Pat Phelan |
As Graeme says, the exercise did reveal more about ourselves than we might have thought it could, and I managed to surprise not only him with my choices, but myself as well.
The first thing of note was that six out of my seven were men, while most people tweeting on #7favcorriecharacters were choosing women, and almost exclusively at that, including our Graeme. In my case, even the ones I had laboured over, but who didn’t make the list, were mainly male.
As I picked them purely because they are my favourites, I wondered what my choices said about me, and how they might reveal what I enjoy best in a Corrie character. Here's what I learned:
- My six men all have one thing in common; they’re not afraid to stand up for themselves. My sole lady, Liz, is the same.
- With the exception of Phelan, there is a vulnerability to them.
- I love Phelan regardless.
- My male choices don’t fit the strong women and mithered men trope. Okay, most men on Corrie find themselves henpecked at some point, but these are more likely to resist it, answer back or reach a point where they’ve had enough, and are not afraid to say so. I admire this in them.
So, Graeme has asked you to try and pick your seven favourite characters. What I want you to tell me is, what do you think your selection says about you and what you enjoy in a character?
By Emma Hynes
www.emmahynes.net
Twitter: @ELHynes
Facebook: @EmmaHynesWrites
Instagram: emmalouhynes
By Emma Hynes
www.emmahynes.net
Twitter: @ELHynes
Facebook: @EmmaHynesWrites
Instagram: emmalouhynes
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4 comments:
Sally - an Annie Walker in the making. Get her and Tim either in the pub or the corner shop, sit back and enjoy the ride.
Zeedan - not sure why as he hasn't had the chance to do much of any note, but I liked his older-brother type relationship with Simon, his loyalty to Leanne and his brief flirtation with Todd in a throwaway 5 second scene many months back. So much potential there - hopefully he'll get his time to shine.
Audrey - I love her. I'd quite like to be her mate.
Leanne - not so keen when they heap the misery upon her and she's moping, but she is feisty, independent and doesn't take any BS from anybody. Again, I think she'd be a good friend, and she was superb bouncing off Janice (who I miss a lot)
Yasmeen - poor old Nazirs come in for quite a kicking but I like the facade of refined dignity she displays, which comes crashing down when wound up by characters such as Sally. She was great when mourning her son and similarly when expressing sympathy for the Platts in the Kylie aftermath.
Todd - initially bought back as a one dimensional sociopath, it's been great to see a dogged protective attitude towards his family and friends develop more recently.
Liz - those exaggerated vowels and obscene outfits...she's legendary. Just hope Bev can have a more consistent presence onscreen once her illness is under control.
Sadly, most of my favourites have gone from the screen recently. Carla, Tony, Julie, Deirdre, Hayley, Becky, Janice, Kelly....it was difficult to pick out many favourites from the dearth of identifiable characters on screen. Oates needs to ditch a lot of the hangers on (Sinead anyone?!) and build up more distinct individuals. At the moment I find it all b nondescript.
Rita - She is the mother of the street. I just love her and everything she does. She is often very wise and comforting. She has many links to the street. I've seen her being a mother to the likes of Jenny, Sharon, Tina, Tommy, even Sally and now Gemma. Maybe Norris and Roy too to an extent. Rita is just everything you could want from a legend.
Yasmeen - Her personality and enthusiasm is so fresh and unique and the only way to compare her is to call her a mix of Julie and Deirdre?? We've seen her for just over two years now and I know she is quite a controversial character, but I'm one of the millions (hopefully) who love her. Her deadpan expression to the likes of Tracy and Norris, her loving nature towards Roy and Cathy, but the most thrilling thing to watch is when she talks about the loss of Kal. She doesn't sugarcoat it, she tells people the truth. About how broken she is inside and how she has to keep her cool for the family. It's tear-jerking stuff, sure, but it's what makes it so real. I hope Kate Oakes keeps this character the way she is.
Dennis - So I've only seen him on screen for a few years but who hasn't who's under the age of 50? He brought so much to his role and I'm still hoping for a return. We a need a true Tanner on the street.
Ken - How can I not have Ken Barlow in my top 7? He's been with Corrie from the start and it's a weird feeling knowing that people have watched his live his life on the screen. They've watched him grow as a person and now when he does get a storyline , people understand why he does this or that. They know him too well. Ken Barlow is Coronation Street.
Hayley - Growing up, Hayley to me was just another character. She was no Rita but she was nice. I enjoyed seeing her in the cafe or factory, but the shining moment for me was the factory siege where I truly appreciated the character, even if I was only 10. So, when she got diagnosed with cancer, I prepared myself for the worst. The best storyline, no, but the best death on Corrie that I've seen. Not necessarily the way she died, but the way it affected me and the way Roy tried to deal with his grief.
Becky - I don't remember when she first joined Corrie, but I do remember a few years into her stint in Corrie that I was fascinated by Becky's character. Her one liners, her feud with Tracy, her relationship with Steve, they were all great. She was an amazing mother figure to Amy. Anyone is better than Tracy, but Becky was good. When Max came along, it all seemed perfect, but it all ended in tears. Although she had the perfect ending, I do hope she returns one day. Roy needs someone other than Cathy and Yasmeen now that Carla, Hayley and possibly Emily have gone...
Blanche - So I had two or three years of Blanche before she died but she was the funniest character on Corrie. Although there's been some amusing moments, nothing has quite compared to Blanche in the way it should, possibly other than Yasmeen and Gemma. Sally has been funny but Corrie really needs someone like Blanche, and I'm not talking about someone like Tracy having her lines because it just comes off as bitchy. Amy has been entertaining and I don't want that to stop, but Corrie was comedy gold when it had Blanche.
Mine were Deirdre, Roy, Liz, Gail, Peter Barlow, Curly, Audrey
It was a difficult choice, though, and the list could have been so much longer. What do they say about me? they're a diverse lot, from the perceived perennial loser, Curly, to the meek geek with a core of kindness and strength that is Roy, to the weak and vulnerable Peter. Deirdre was daft but also strong and Audrey was like that as well. A bit less daft that she was in her younger years but I love her strength and her love of family. I feel that way about Gail, too. No matter what they've done with her, her bond to her family is her strength even if she's a bit Ivy Brennanish about it and Liz, Liz is, as someone else said, a legend. She is strong and feisty and fierce in her love for her family.
Emma,
Thanks for sharing your picks. Based on your always wonderful blog posts-past, I would say there's one more thread running through your top-7. Maybe, with the exception of Liz, they all have a touch of Iago, the character who stands to one side, formulates insights that he shares via asides, outsiders all, even or especially Ken Barlow who was never meant to live his life on the Street, but stayed nonetheless.
-ELK
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