I seem to be out of step with... ooh, just about everyone on this but I do not like Carla and Roy's friendship and I never have. It's a relationship that has always felt rather forced to this Coronation Street fan. I kept quiet about that for a long time because I love Roy and I've grown to love Carla - but the two of them together? Nope.
And as for Roy donating his kidney to Carla? Double nope.
The problem with their friendship, for me, is that Carla was thrown together with Roy by the powers-that-be at Coronation Street to make Carla appear more fluffy than she actually is.
ITV admitted that here.
ITV's drama director John Whiston said about Alison King: 'She is a consummate actress but somehow she was not breaking through in the research. We thought, 'What can we do to show a different side of her? She had a soft spot for Roy Cropper - this strange character we all love. That boosted her image and it showed she must be a nice person to like Roy.'
So, does it work for you, this friendship between Roy and Carla? Yay or Nay?
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I'm not a Carla fan but Alison King did an amazing job with her OTT scripts. It's all in the scripts. Characters' personalities can turn on a sixpence depending on where the writers want storylines to go. So if Roy and Carla get wonderful words then, yes, awards all around. However, if this storyline becomes yet another medical saga with endless scenes in a hospital then, no, too mawkish for words. Their relationship isn't separate from the storyline. The actors have terrific chemistry but if the storyline is rubbish, the relationship will seem contrived. It depends how long Alison King wants to stay in Corrie or whether any of the other actors are being given a sensational exit. So far, so sweet.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a Carla fan but Alison King did an amazing job with her OTT scripts. It's all in the scripts. Characters' personalities can turn on a sixpence depending on where the writers want storylines to go. So if Roy and Carla get wonderful words then, yes, awards all around. However, if this storyline becomes yet another medical saga with endless scenes in a hospital then, no, too mawkish for words. Their relationship isn't separate from the storyline. The actors have terrific chemistry but if the storyline is rubbish, the relationship will seem contrived. It depends how long Alison King wants to stay in Corrie or whether any of the other actors are being given a sensational exit. So far, so sweet.
ReplyDeleteIts a yay from me. Whatever their reasoning, it was written in an organic natural way, and as mentioned above, the actors have great chemistry. However I do think it was a mistake for ITV to admit that the friendship was created for other reasons. They didn't have to tell us that and I can see your point about not enjoying the Carla and Roy scenes because of it.
ReplyDeleteIt’s hard to say because they are both such terrific actors. What started out as a formulaic solution truly seemed (IMO) to be genuine friendship after Haley’s death. I don’t buy that he will be a kidney donor but that, Roy being who he is, he is getting informed and will do ‘something’ Roy-ish and special.
ReplyDeleteI have an idea about what I’d like to see but it would be spoilerish so I’ll keep it to myself for now.
Oh yeah, and a Yay.
DeleteYes it works for me. It grew out of Carla's respect and friendship with Hayley in the beginning. Carla was always so brittle with defences up and didn't let many get through them. Not a great childhood, she's a survivor but everyone has a vulnerable side to them, even if they keep it well hidden. Every time she let a man breech the walls, she got hurt. But through Hayley, she found that there are good men and she found the father figure she always needed. Roy always seemed to be drawn to lost souls like Becky and now Carla. He knew there were good people underneath a troubled exterior. After Hayley died, they supported each other and as Carla said, more or less, Roy is the father she wished she'd had, even though Johnny is her father biologically. It's not the same. Yes, for me, I say Yay
ReplyDeleteI believe in this friendship so much. Roy has always been one of the few people on the street who see the softer side of Carla that she hides so well. Yes they were thrown together because of Hayley but they've been through so much together that has really cemented their friendship and Carla was right last night that Roy's been more of a dad to her than her own. The fact that he's the only one that knows she's ill only goes to show how close they are. I can't wait to see them grow closer over 2018 as he continues to support her.
ReplyDeleteI do like the friendship. I think it got started after the Tony Gordon seige thing when Hayley was involved. I quite like the odd couple aspect of it. Although I'm not keen on them making Carla like Roy to make her more appealing, I expect they have made decisions like that many times over the years.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.
This relationship gets a Yay from me. I thought it was awkward at first as if the characters themselves saw that they needed a friendship from each other but didn't know quite how to do it... and they chipped away at the other's walls until they were able to find each other. Roy is a man that won't let Carla down and she is a friend that will keep him grounded in the real world... and keep him "cool". He is more of a dad to her then her own dad or even Johnny. Thank goodness... I can keep watching... it's been a tough haul with the Billy story line likely all scrambled up due to the Todd-leaving-abruptly requirement.
ReplyDeleteIt's also a yay from me. No matter why it started, it reflects what happens in real life to have these two characters who don't seem like they'd have anything in common, be friends just the same. Sometimes, you and someone else just click and it becomes a friendship that outlasts those born of convenience like with schoolmates or neighbors.
ReplyDeleteAnd, when you really think about it, Roy and Carla are both oddballs and outsiders due to their childhoods and they share an indifference about fitting in that's very refreshing.
No, it's a nay from me. I don't like Carla, never have, never will. I don't mind Roy but not his biggest fan. Their "friendship" always felt forced to me, in real life someone like Carla wouldn't give someone like Roy the time of day, she's that fickle.
ReplyDeleteAlso I have an inkling that Roy is just beginning to look upon Carla as slightly more than a friend..but by what she said on the last episode, she looks at him more as a father figure (although she could possibly be older than him).
I'm a nay too Nora.. just don't buy it. Never have..
ReplyDelete