Last week I joined my family in sunny Bridlington, a seaside town I last visited in 1974 but seemingly forgot about shortly afterwards. With a day's crazy golf and ice cream behind us, we settled down for the nightly Corrie episodes. Well, we'd already sat through ITV's tatty 'end of the pier' talent show do we deserved a bit of drama. I could tell that things weren't going quite to plan though when various members of the family started up conversations part-way through Monday's episode. It was downhill from there on.
There were some praiseworthy performances though. As always, Sue Nicholls, Helen Worth and Alison King delivered the goods. The issue this week was that Corrie was attempting to make drama out of stories that were either well past their sell-by date or just a bit dull. The origins of the Audrey deception felt as though they were lost in the mists of time. We've had months of tedious whispering, some of it a bit camp, between 'them babbies', Nick and David. The latter is always fun to watch but with Nick, we seem to endure one scene of him squinting followed by another. Then another. On it goes. Plus he seems to drag Leanne down and she reverts to 'One Woman War' status. Give it another week and she'll be stomping across the cobbles in her M & S mac.
Also climbing several places in the Yawn Top 40 is the very unloveable Gary. I'm still not totally sure what was going on with him, comedy murderer Rick and an extra from Prisoner Cell Block H. My slow brain has still to work out why a machiavellian crook like Rick managed to leave his back door open so that Toyah and the M & S Munch Scream could stroll in and rifle through the filing cabinets. Much of this particular storyline didn't hang together. In addition it's difficult to feel much for Gary, a boorish bore who spends most of his life staring into the middle distance. For viewers to invest in a character, they need to have some redeeming qualities. Gary seems to have none, so as he lay on Rick's makeshift carpet (he should have opted for a deep shag like Sally), preparing to meet his end, I stared into the middle distance. Do your worst Rick. Except of course, he didn't. Suddenly there were police on the scene and Gary was legging it through that famous unlocked door. Then we discovered that he was responsible for the roof collapse and not Robert 'jugged hare' Preston. Of course, in soapland, misdemeanours never go unpunished and so Mr Windass will probably be the next Street resident to find himself on the prison set. Plenty of time for Gary to contemplate his lot and hone his middle-distance stare.
For this viewer then, not exactly a stellar week for Weatherfield. Awkward, confusing and at times, slightly dull episodes. Do you think that Corrie ticked the remit for the annual 'explosive week' or would we have encountered more drama watching Dev price up his tinned fruit?
By Clinkers to Riddle
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15 comments:
I am still confused as to how Gary escaped. He was at death's door when the police miraculously arrived, yet the hospital doctor said he'd been found on the street. If the police were raiding Rick's premises, why didn't they find and rescue Gary? Plus he recovered from his injuries pretty quickly.
The acting was outstanding and I’m sure it was an authentic portrayal of a sufferer’s distorted perception of reality. There was great camera work. Someone in Corrie is a big fan of film noir. All it needed was a naked light bulb swinging from side to side above Carla's hospital bed. But Hayley’s red mac broke the spell. Red macs can only mean the dwarf in ‘Don’t Look Now’. Perhaps intentional but for me it jarred. Rana’s appearance was a surprise and I liked the fact that Gary really was in Carla’s room. Yet again, though, a character manages to get into a private ward without anyone seeing them. Gary dealt with the messages while standing in the hospital lobby where he could easily have been spotted by Carla’s visitors. Perhaps there will be a twist; maybe he was caught on CCTV.
I hate this whole Carla-gone-apeshit story line. Once again, Corrie writers have turned a strong woman into a sniveling, cowardly mess. Are they trying to convey the impression that strong women are doomed to be beaten down by life? It especially just doesn't suit Carla Connor. I hope this storyline gets resolved and over quickly.
I'm someone who just can't get past Carla's eyebrows. No matter how good Alison King's acting is,no matter how dishevelled her hair, those pristine brows have got in the way. Surely a woman on the edge wouldn't be so well groomed? I am just fixated on them. And Nick's grimacing, breathless acting style grates too. It was a disappointing week from my point of view, and I drifted off into the kinder world of Corrie c.1992. (Well, maybe not so kind, Since Don's just lost his foot, Ted is about to meet his maker and Ivy's lips are permanently pursed)
The total lack of any meaningful award for the Street last night, should, but probably won’t, send a strong message to producer, directors and scriptwriters. You are just not good enough right now. I’m laughing at the stupidity of it all, Carla being top of the list, when I should be laughing at the comedy and being absorbed by the drama. And now Gemma’s going to have quadruplets....they can’t keep count of the. children as it is. Get a grip Corrie!
I still haven't watched an episode since the Gemma caravan rubbish.
I really hope you never have a family member go through this. My son is currently going through something like this and has turned him from a lovely, confident young man into a "sniveling cowardly mess". It's horrible to watch, and I totally empathise with Peter, as I know what he's going through! Yes, it can happen to anyone, and maybe even you one day!
Anonymous, my comments were directed at the absurdity of the show & its unrealistic progression. Obviously, I don't know your son but I do know Carla and the storyline just doesn't make sense to me. I'm sorry if my comments offended or hurt, that was not my intention.
Exactly, that's what I was trying to explain. The whole thing doesn't make sense. Psychosis doesn't pick and choose who it "takes". It's not selective. It effects anyone, including people like Carla and my son. It doesn't get resolved and sorted out quickly and it effects all family members and friends. That's what I was trying to get across. I feel Corrie have done this storyline sympathetically to suffers and their families. Well done to all concerned especially Alison King and Chris Gascoyne, even if has been difficult at times for me to watch.
I think the point the Anon poster was trying to make, is that it may seem unrealistic and absurd to those who haven’t experienced it themselves, but Alison King’s portrayal is actually scarily accurate and realistic: from the beginning when it was guilt and feeling that everyone despised her, to believing Rana was alive and ‘punishing’ her, to the extreme paranoia that she was chipped and being watched, and the hallucinations she experienced.
This storyline was chosen to really draw attention to the stigmas surrounding mental health, particularly that it only affects ‘weak’ people which is a horrible misconception and often why people who experience anything from depression to psychosis, and beyond, don’t come forward or seek help: because they’ll be seen as weak.
Jeanie (anon): Great points about the Carla storyline! As anon 14:23 says the whole point about removing the stigma is to try to show that mental illness is not caused by being weak or cowardly. That attitude ties into the outdated belief that if a person were strong enough, he/she'd be able to fight off their illness and never get sick. But that is just not the case. It's like saying that if person A, who was just hit by a car, had been physically stronger or maybe quicker reaction times, his leg wouldn't have been broken by the impact of the tire. But he was wounded by the car and no one questions his character, just as people can be wounded in the mind by life traumas.
That said, I'm not sure I find the portrayal of Carla's psychosis very authentic, although there are some good lines (like her health worker explaining to Peter that the essence of a psychosis is how real it seems to the person experiencing it). Sometimes I have a feeling when I'm watching that Carla's psychosis is just one more affliction being lobbed at her, and I find that offensive. Ie. we've done rape, we've done hostage and kidnapping, we've done gambling and alcoholism, we've done miscarriage. Now what's left? Oh I know, let's give her a mental illness and see how she deals with that! I find that approach--where the illness itself does not seem that authentic or generated in a very believable way--a bit offensive. Mental illness is just one more plot device in the series of afflictions that have befallen Carla over the years. And Coronation Street does seem very focused on psychologically torturing their main female protagonist over the years.
I completely see your point, but will respectfully disagree.
Carla’s mental health has been an ongoing issue throughout her tenure on the show. Carla’s decline began when Liam was killed by Tony and the fallout that occurred following that and the siege of Underworld. Carla never really handled her problems; always turning to something to mask it rather than deal with it: alcoholism, gambling, throwing herself into work...
I agree a lot has been thrown on the character and it would be nice to see her come out of this differently then be thrown back into the same old routine again. She will become strong again - after all, psychosis doesn’t make you weak, it just makes you the most terrified version of yourself - but perhaps a bit more open to accepting help and not carrying everything inside.
I think the issue is that there are so many writers that write things differently, and they often leave out scenes with explanations in exchange for a ridiculous attempt at humour in a side storyline. The only reason Carla’s character has remained somewhat consistent (albeit a bit of a train wreck) is down to Alison King and her knowing her character and the backstories and the traumas that have afflicted her, very well. In an interview she said Carlas psychosis was a culmination of everything she’s been through over the years: destructive relationships, the miscarriage, the rape, finding out her father was Johnny who never accepted she was his until 40 years later, Aidan’s suicide... and Rana’s death was the final straw. However, what of that was mentioned in the psychosis storyline? Where was the rape acknowledgment? (Which in my opinion, was a missed opportunity for what could have been a killer scene between Toyah and Carla) The miscarriage? In my humble opinion, that’s where the writers really dropped the ball, where the actress tried to encompass it; instead focusing on slapstick humour regarding Gemma, and Geoff, and Mary, that really fell flat.
It’s one of the reasons I feel she works so well with Chris Gascoyne: they are very dedicated to their roles, playing their self-destructiveness to near perfection, while in reality being very different from the character themselves and it’s a shame the writers don’t put the same kind of consistency to a character that (some) actors/actress’ do.
I do feel that if the producers are not careful, they’re going to lose some of their strong actors to burnout again.
Of course this is just my opinion. I remain, sometimes ridiculously, optimistic that the show will come back together. Finding a fine balance between intense drama and lighthearted comedy.
Bravo. Well said ����
Couldn't agree more. The powers that be should be ashamed of themselves. I feel sorry for the actors.
"That said, I'm not sure I find the portrayal of Carla's psychosis very authentic, although there are some good lines (like her health worker explaining to Peter that the essence of a psychosis is how real it seems to the person experiencing it). Sometimes I have a feeling when I'm watching that Carla's psychosis is just one more affliction being lobbed at her, and I find that offensive. Ie. we've done rape, we've done hostage and kidnapping, we've done gambling and alcoholism, we've done miscarriage. Now what's left? Oh I know, let's give her a mental illness and see how she deals with that! I find that approach--where the illness itself does not seem that authentic or generated in a very believable way--a bit offensive. Mental illness is just one more plot device in the series of afflictions that have befallen Carla over the years. And Coronation Street does seem very focused on psychologically torturing their main female protagonist over the years."
Thank you, I think you put into words the thoughts that I couldn't.
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