Yes, it was good. Yes, it was drama. Yes, it was dark. But it wasn't Coronation Street, was it?
2. Anger
How dare they screw up my soap. How dare they.
3. Bargaining
I'll keep watching, just for another month, another week, another episode, just to see if it improves. It's got to improve, hasn't it? I'm sure it will. Just another week. It's not all dark and EastEnders, is it? There's still a reason to watch it, surely?
4. Depression
Hailed as the big comeback, Carla's return was spent in the misery of Weatherfield General, showing even more hospital scenes than we'd already been subjected to. But the good news was, she was back. And her big return storyline? A kidney transplant. Days after she's knocking back the wine. What kidney transplant? Too many episodes, too many mistakes, too many storylines knocked out and batted along without reference to what's gone on before - just days before too.
5. Acceptance
It's not my Corrie any more. I am no longer the target audience. My years, decades, of loyalty have been taken for granted - worse still, traded on. Well, not any more. Corrie, you and I we had a thing, a lovely thing. I supported you. Every Single Day. I wrote books in your honour. I ran two websites for your fans.
The blog will continue - we're a team here, all of us with different views. But my love for the show has now gone - and it's all your fault, ITV.
Glenda Young
Coronation Street Blog Editor
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26 comments:
I fear for your sanity! Reasons to be grateful:
a) Martin Platt, Claudia Colby and Lewis Archer
b) Moira's return and the recent party for Pat
c) Sally's wall paper and ability to entertain
d) Steve, Robert and Ali as the weirdest boyband in town
There is a real need to slow down, steady the ship and plug the continuity holes - they are large enough for a Tardis to stroll through at times.
Sorry Kosmo, I can't agree.
Moira is a mistake, and Sally's wallpaper story was a cruel joke, missing the comedy completely.
But yes, continuity is terrible right now.
Hope. Don’t forget Hope.
So how will the blog continue? As for Sally's wallpaper, it was no more a cruel joke than the time Annie got a new carpet, not realising that it had been pinched by Eddie Yeats, it was mocking Sally's snobbery and pretensions, just like that storyline mocked Annie's snobbery and pretensions.
I feel your pain and your sense of loss, Glenda.
Phelan wasn't drama and it wasn't good. It was ridiculous. Chaining people up for months.Pouring concrete in pouring rain with nobody else on site. Anna screeching incessantly with a preposterous trial. This was not of the nature or quality of Coronation Street.
(With apologies to any American Republicans who disagree; this is not a political statement, just one about my feelings) I think I cried for two days after Donald Trump won the election, absolutely terrified about what would become of my country. (Striving hard not to be more political here!!!) Then something took over. Something I used to console equally upset Republican friends 8 years earlier. Our nation is strong, there are checks and balances, and one day this will pass.
Corrie is strong as well. It will get through this. ITV has made a huge investment and is not about to let that go to waste. You may not like the darkness of Phelan and I agree it is more Life on Mars than soap, but it is a complex, well constructed tale and Connor McIntyre is a gem. I also agree that there are too many plot holes, suspensions of disbelief, discontinuities and out of character moments - if they can make David and Phelan multi faceted, consistent characters, why can’t they do that with Billy and Sophie? I didn’t watch prior to 2000 or so, but from discussions, it seems that prior Street folks had more real world struggles, like making rent or being able to pay their tab at the corner grocer. How can Gail, who hasn’t had full time work in at least 5 years, afford sessions with a psychic? And why, for that matter, isn’t she looking for a job and sharing her frustrations at not finding one, or going to some type of retraining for older workers? Instead of all the hype about major stories that overwhelm the 6 weekly episodes, I wish they’d give more space to the everyday. Flesh out what they already have, and keep the characters interesting and living consistently within their reality. At a minimum, Carla should have a bit of pain where the incision is healing. If common sense didn’t, that pain shoulda stopped her from schtupping her nephew. What are her future plans - she’s not one to live day to day. What’s going on with the Coles (apart from MHs illness)? Are they staying married? How’s newlywed life? Didn’t Daniel decide to go to Manchester U? Did he actually go? What’s he working on besides Sinead and delivering salads? Murder and racism and rape and grooming and unplanned pregnancies do happen but not one after another, and not without real life winding itself alongside. Corrie is fixable, if someone has the will to make it so.
What happened with Sally and the wallpaper was the unfortunate tendency of writers discovering 'something funny' and milking it to death. Sally is pretentious but she doesn't live in a 1970s sitcom. Once bitten, twice shy and she would hesitate to invite humiliation again. Carla and Michelle would only be allowed to view once the wallpaper had received other people's approval.
As for your feelings about the blog, Glenda, I'm intrigued. Apart from your on-going dissatisfaction, did something in particular trigger your remarks today? Also, did you feel it was your job to keep morale up amongst the troops ie: fans? That must be doubly hard when you're not that positive yourself. Phelan's exit will bring change because it was only the actor's skills which kept the saga going so long. A lesser actor and the story would have been wrapped up ages ago. They won't find his like again in a hurry so let's hope they take proper stock of viewers' feelings.
Wow Glenda, that must have been a very difficult piece to write. It may have shaken me out of my denial stage.
I just wanted to comment on the wallpaper story. Sally has been compared to Annie Walker but people forget that Annie’s grandiosity stemmed from her middle class upbringing and the fact that she “married down” when she wed Jack. Sally on the other hand craves social upward mobility. People could titter when Annie was taken down a peg but they’d never dare do it to her face. Whereas Michelle and Carla are just a couple of mean girls. Therefore the story, intended to be a copycat comedy, missed the mark and left some viewers (this viewer) feeling somewhat uncomfortable.
Agree with you utterly.
Continuity problems also appear when characters suddenly disappear and are not mentioned any more. Where is Simon? Why don't Peter and/or Leanne say anything about him? And Norris, I know from this web site that the actor is taking a long break but a person would think Rita would occasionally mention him. It's as if these people just disappear.
I had a thought about nu-Corrie today, stemming from something Kate Oates keeps saying in her many defensive interviews. Then I saw your blog post, Glenda, and decided to write about it. Your post today honestly didn't surprise me too much. You've been hinting at such feelings lately.
My thought is simple. It's that intense drama, some darkness and even the occasional inclusion of violence in Corrie is fine with me. These have always been part of the show and of life. My objection is that Kate keeps talking about dark humour, black humour and I think she even used the Goth word once as her favourite types of entertainment. She mentions this in almost every interview I've read or seen. Darkness and Humour need not meet every single time the writers sit at their table. That could be called an obsession.
There's a world of difference between black humour used as a template to place over the whole Phelan thread, and others, and alternatively using it just sometimes for fun. I feel we're being force fed her favourite spice every episode, week after week (despite a slight breather this week). It's just getting old now. And it's not fair. The new young viewers of Corrie are also forming ideas of the show (and life) from a relatively vulnerable position. Why throw all this dark gunk at them, just because it's her favourite kind of humour?
Corrie is not Black Mirror, Inside No. 9 or The League of Gentlemen. Taste in art is all relative and I respect others' taste and views. I just think the fit here for Corrie is all wrong and is at the heart of all the technical complaints arising, like plot holes, sloppy writing for "light" storylines and the overload of social suffering storylines jammed together and overlapping.
I don't know the solution. I just don't buy the line that the younger fans like it and they have to keep up ratings. I think that's a smokescreen used to cover their backs in head office at ITV and Corrie.
One other point. Does anyone else remember how ITV ruined The Bill? It started out a realistic, if a tad dull, show about policing. Then, in an effort to spice it up a little, it turned into a sensational load of twat. It very quickly lost touch with its roots and eventually burned out altogether.
I fear that Corrie is on the same path.
Oh, dear Glenda.. I feel your sense of loss too. I had a flicker of hope this week,that Corrie was getting back on track, and there was some respite from the grinding misery. I actually watched properly, instead of glancing out of the corner of my eye. I will persevere a while longer. I agree though, it is no longer aimed at my age group. Excellent comments too abbyk. I've been watching the 1988 episodes,they are wonderful.
Yes, I remember how The Bill was ruined too... we still talk about that in our house. I don't want the same for Corrie.
@Linda Shockley
It isn't that unusual for characters to disappear and then reappear, especially if they were children, even in the good old days. Also Simon might be at this thing called school.
Another thing
@humpty that's a case of double standards, ever seen keeping up appearances? that frequently made of Hyacinth's pretensions despite her being from lower background, so it was done in that same vein.
Agree with you 100% Glenda. It's heartbreaking that ITV is blatantly tossing long-term viewers on the scrapheap. I honestly would like to see Corrie axed before our memories are forever tainted by the rubbish currently being served up. This 'new' issue-based show is sadly the path they are determined to follow. It has reached a stage now that I don't even think a new producer could really improve it to any marked extent...
@David, I'm not just talking about the characters disappearing, but why are they not mentioned? A child goes to school then his mother never mentions him again? No references to "Simon just sent me an email that he has been assigned to an advanced math class" or whatever?
@Linda Shockley Jesus H Christ, just because he hasn't been seen for a few weeks, doesn't mean he's gone for good, this is classic case of complaining for the sake of it.
If you read the previews for this coming week, Simon is in the episodes. Panic over
@David and Anonymous, I was not in a panic, just joining the discussion about inconsistencies in the storyline when a character stops appearing for whatever reason and is never mentioned. It's unrealistic that people just go away and are never brought up in conversation. A good example of that is when Norris mentioned that he had gotten a letter from Emily. If that's complaining for the sake of complaining then so is this whole thread.
Linda. I wasn't being facetious when I said that Simon's in this week's episodes, I was merely informing you in case you didn't know. You took my comment completely the wrong way
Please, stop. No arguing, not here, not on this site.
I feel your pain Glenda, and that was a brilliant post.I've been watching Coronation Street for over forty years but it's simply not for me any more and this saddens me immensely.I'm just thankful I can still watch old episodes on YouTube and remember all the good times.
@Anonymous, actually I took your comment "Panic over" the wrong way. I agree with Nora, let's all calm down now.
Yes, supposedly the ratings are up and they have a whole bunch of new viewers. What would happen if all the long-time viewers were to stop watching? The spokespersons for the show seem to be saying that there are a lot of new viewers due to the storylines of the past year or two and the ratings are up because of the newer viewers. I wonder would the ratings stay up if many of the long-time viewers stopped watching? I am teetering on the edge of not watching anymore.....
Here in Canada Corrie fans used to be up in arms whenever CBC preempted the show for special programming such as the Olympics. Such was the loyalty of Canadian Corrie fans that Corrie is now given primetime broadcast. Perhaps it is time the CBC were informed that that loyalty has evaporated. Perhaps the CBC can return to giving that prime time slot back to Canadian programming. Also no need to repeat the show late at night in case we missed an episode, we are not that engaged anymore.
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