alexx

Roo is one of my favorite characters of the current cast and as you say Red Ranger, she seems to be the character the producers have been trying to come up with for a good while. There is also this warmth Georgie brings to the character that I really enjoy.

This weeks run of episodes and 'conclusion' (?) to the John Stape storyline have been great TV, espeically Friday. Very gritty and bold writing at times and some brilliant acting from those who play John and Fiz on the roof of the hospital.

Do you think maybe you're not used to the large cast?Looking at Aussie soaps they seem to have a cast of around twenty who can be guaranteed to pop up fairly regularly.Corrie, on the other hand, has a cast of around sixty many of whom fade into the background or disappear completely for months before suddenly becoming prominent.I guess if you're not used to that it can be a bit disconcerting. Yeah that could have something to do with it I suppose. I think my interest started drifting when Tracy, Becky and Steve became the main focus and they have featured rather heavily since. ...Anyway I'm still watching, at the moment for the John Stape plot which I do enjoy and I've also liked a few of the other subplots going on. I must say I was particularly impressed with the way a character who used to be in the show over 30 years ago was reintroduced and then they had that whole scene just talking about one of the original characters, Elsie Tanner. After that episode I did a bit of a YouTube search and I now feel like know the character - a very 'old time' type of a character with a silver screen feel to her. Anyway I just thought that was impressive to take the time within the episode to pay tribute to a character who left in the mid-80's let alone reintroduce one that hadn't been seen since the 60's (?!).

I must admit I've lost a lot of the interest I had in the show during the later part of last year and earlier this year; this happened last time I tried to get into Coronation Street. I cant really put my finger on why. Anyway I continue to watch because I have been enjoying a certain few storylines such as the adoption one - I actually thought Anna and Eddie were a great on screen couple so its annoying that he has gone (I presume for good the way it was written). I thought Liz's exit was really well done. I thought that climax when she was trying to convince Jim not to kill himself was gritty and powerful. I enjoyed the audio flashbacks. Obviously they were all just random voices to me since I've only been watching a few months but it even gave me a sense of nostalgia and I definitely appreciated that. I am also gripped by the John/Fiz storyline - this is my favorite. It is so complex, it has been black comedy and full of humor at times and yet now it has dived into a really tragic and serious plot, which needed to happen considering the content. Its great to watch and keeping me tuning in.

Just thought I'd throw in a positive post because I think this week the writing has improved with Marilyn some how, especially Thursday's episode (5279) - the entire episode she was very much in character, including her flustering, making mistakes and then trying to make up for them. And its probably note worthy that Sid was no where to be seen. Emily was also full of life. Good, hope it continues.

Yep its me again ranting about how the writers are screwing up Marilyn. Please see this topic - Warning it contains a spoiler - http://www.backtothebay.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=42206 - It is such a huge shame that fans are now saying they are finding Marilyn annoying, irritating, a meddler and a 'selfish cow'. This so not a description I would ever imagine people writing about her and yet this storyline and just the general way she is being written, this is the result. Please writers, if you do read these threads can you make a change becuase you are ruining a classic character by not understanding her or being ignorant as to what and who she is. You are turning a fun, bubbly, dizzy, positive woman into a tragic, obsessive over emotional wreck. I feel sorry for her.

I agree, I think that is what they are doing. I just dont think it is the right thing to do with a character like Marilyn, or at least, I dont think it is working becuase the balance isn't there Imo

What do you mean by slow down though? I think you miss my point when I say just becuase you get older doesn't mean your personalty diminishes or is toned right down to almost opposite. If you say daft things or laugh at silly words or get your own words mixed up every now and again for all of your life, you dont suddenly stop because you live in a house with teenagers (Colleen is an example of this - she is older and yet even more eccentric than she ever was). Even if that was humanly possible (to suddenly change), dont you think it is boring to strip a unique fun character of their personalty and turn them into yet any other wise old role model? I thought I read that you said you had gotten bored with Marliyn, maybe this is the reason. Besides she isn't a role model in the show, no one goes to her for advice, they go to have a friendly chat with her now and again but she isn't written as a motherly figure. I'm glad about that too, I dont want them to try and turn her into Pippa becuase that isn't the character. She was the one who needed advice from friends and whilst she could at times come up with some poignant and quirky things to say to people that helped them out, it was usually done unintentionally (which made those moments quite sweet) ending with dialogue like 'Thanks Maz' 'For what?' 'Being you'...and Marilyn is left oblivious.

I think the only comments I agree with in your post are; That is what I mean by she doesn't seem happy or like her old self - a major reason the audience would see Maz as 'cute and perky' is the sort of zany stuff she would come out with, the dialogue, the scripts and then Emily's portrayal obviously. But a lot of it has been missing from the writers/directors side. I certainly dont see her as manipulative though. Her relationship with Sid is pretty much, if not all based on disagreement, I dont get it. Its certainly not a match for the love that was evident and written faultlessly (Imo) between her and Fisher.

I think I've been into this before, I disagree. I am not saying she shouldn't become more motherly/older and wiser etc, that was evident during the 90's as she matured but I am complaining at the fact that her personalty traits have disappeared, people change yes but they dont become someone else. Same can be said for Irene and Leah too Imo To me its just lazy writing or not truly knowing the characters. Irene used to be a uni student and still very much acknowledged the fact that she was the town 'dill', but that went long ago. Its like saying Colleen shouldn't be gossipy or eccentric becuase she is older. Alf shouldn't say flamin becuase he is older etc That is part of their character, makes what they are as characters. I just think they've forgotten how to write Marilyn (or the current writers haven't written scripts for her before). Yes she can still want to adopt and settle down and still be motherly to Nicole etc but that doesn't mean they should dismiss what was a HUGE aspect of the character for 10 years. Haven't you ever seen adults who are rather dizzy and bubbly? They were young once too. At the moment I see the current Marilyn as how she was written when she was depressed after Byron was diagnosed with cancer 1999, she became quite serious and pensive showing the odd smile now and again. Its the same now, she doesn't seem happy.

I feel like they have watered down Marilyn too much now. The character traits are ALL coming from Emily Symons (which is fantastic) but the writers/directors dont seem to be giving her any material to work with at all. When was the last time she said anything remotely 'dizzy' or got her words mixed up? Its as if they kept it up for the first few months and then dropped it all. Basically everything she does and says now could be coming out of the mouth of any other regular character, there isn't anything in the scripts that are specifically character based on Marilyn. I'd like to see some more of this kind of thing coming from Maz these days; (0.17)

Although it wasn't explicitly stated that she and Tim (her boyfriend) had sex, there was a scene a few weeks earlier, just before Tim was arrested where they went upstairs holding hands after Tim said yes when Sally asked if he 'had any (protection)...'. So presumably this was Sally's first time.

I'm finding Deirdre quite annoying in her protests for Tracy - why is she so blind to her nasty behavior? She was standing in front of her during most of it on the night she was attacked. The thought of Claire bashing Tracy hadn't crossed my mind, but when you weigh it up she is a prime suspect, especially when you consider her reaction to Becky being arrested. I am finding that I have more sympathy for Kevin in this storyline which is surprising to me becuase my initial perception of Sally was a more positive one than the one I have of her now. She seems quite immature (it is entertaining to watch though) and in light of the fact she herself slept with her boss behind his back and he turned a blind eye to it yet she is acting like the total victim, its quite annoying. If she hadn't done that in the past I would be backing her totally. I've laughed a few times at some of the quick wit in the scripts and I'm quite intrigued by a few characters that haven't had that much screen time since I've been watching. I'm enjoying the storyline involving Gary and his family. Mary, she seems very eccentric and a bit creepy, I want to know what that chainsaw thing was all about. The John Stape storyline is quite varied, at times its felt like a black comedy and others quite tragic. I'm looking forward to how it pans out. I like how the guilt is really starting to creep in and how he continues to live a double life in an effort to escape 'Collin'.

I feel sorry for Kevin to a degree in this, as you pointed out, Sally has had an affair too (I've been catching up on the family online). To be honest their whole family seems like a sham, which was not my initial perception of them. I read how disastrous it all turned out from the late 90's, where originally they were one of the shows 'super couple' and had remained very faithful and in love for a solid decade or so. I really hope the writers will bring it all up and in a conversation between the two of them, I'd like to see Sally's reaction to being told Kevin knew she was sleeping with her boss behind his back and yet turned a blind eye to it for the sake of the children becuase its unfair the way they are treating him now. Having said that, I do feel sorry for Sally and the girls too, especially since she had cancer when it was all going on - basically their marriage is a mess and I hope they acknowledge that on screen and dont ignore it. Interesting dynamics going on with Claire and Nick, I also feel sorry for him and I enjoyed watching the scenes between Nick and his mum. Norris is one of those irritating nosy people, a bit like Colleen though so far I haven't seen any redeeming qualities in the character, he just seems quite brash and deluded to those around him. I'm glad Rita puts him in his place. Rita is an interesting character, I'd like to see more of her. Same goes for Connie - I liked how Connie and Molly's aunt were having digs at each other about what type of food to make for Tyrone, just makes the characters more entertaining. Te funeral episode when Tyrone realised it was Kevin was great to watch, especially when Kevin was obviously devastated (which did seem genuine) and Tyrone ended up hitting him into the grave, that was quite dark and morbid and made good tv. I think my favorite scene was between Tyrone and Bill.

Just caught up with the last two episodes of the week. I actually enjoyed all of the Sally/Kevin scenes, they felt very raw and I especially enjoyed seeing the same two characters in a picture taken of them from whats looks like the 80's! Just knowing that the two characters have been together on screen for that long and the characters are still being explored in depth is fantastic and makes me want to follow them both even more. I think the stand out of the first episode on Friday was Claire finally breaking down about Ashley and not being able to go to France. That was brilliantly played! As was that nice scene between Betty and Claire. Its all so genuinely played and the scripts are very human in that scene. The whole week has been great and acting by near enough all cast members has been faultless. The only thing that seems jarring to me at times is the very fast cut always and sometimes it seems as if during post production they have sped up the talking by cutting out natural pauses which can at times leave me wondering what has been said, espeically if it involved those with heavy accents. Great week of drama though, probably some of the best character driven TV I've seen this year!

I felt very sorry for Molly that she died feeling hated - I just wish Sally had held her hand as she passed. I'm intrigued by how Sally will take the news and looking forward to seeing how Kevin and Tyrone react. I wish Molly hadn't died because I liked her. Ashley and Claire haven't really featured much since I've been watching but that storyline was tragic, the phone message in the pub was one of my favorite moments of the episode. I dislike Leanne, again I haven't seen Peter and her together for very long but the way she went behind his back with Nick really flippantly I dont have much sympathy for her. The actress is brilliant though. The murder of that crazy woman is really interesting, I've gone back to watch how this storyline started and its been wacky and comical almost like a black comedy at times, yet very dark and sinister. There are so many unlikeable personalty traits with these characters but that makes the show all the more interesting. The live episode was pretty much flawless, I did have a problem hearing the dialogue at times but all in all it went really smoothly.

See I dont think the Charlie/Ruby mother/daughter relationship has worked ever becuase the writing just hasn't been up to scratch. The whole storyline wasn't character driven, it was event driven. The event being we found out/they found out...and then it faded into insignificance unrealistically. Like I said, it wasn't character focused. It should have been a major turning point for bother characters and we should have seen over the past year how both are affected by the situation but we haven't. Even the last couple of weeks of 2010 where Charlie is telling her what to do etc its not written from the characters angle, its more lets create friction out of no where and have Charlie suddenly act like a mother. I wish they hadn't even gone there with the two of them as some others have said, they worked better as sisters and the storyline hasn't done anything for the characters so there wasn't any point.

I saw it the same way Red Ranger - I just watched without expectation and so it all came out of the blue, I thought it was just fantastic - watching it back the only shot I think could be a bit distracting was seeing the reflection of the tram driver in the tram window as it headed for the corner shop but I didn't notice it as I watched first time around and overall I just thought it was all really well produced and epic, particularly watching in HD. Yeah I can see why people wouldn't like Molly but I think is is, despite hiding probably the biggest deceit from her husband, is quite a genuine girl and I feel sorry for her situation actually. She's obviously made a stupid mistake and regrets what she did to Tyrone and knows he deserves better. Yeah Tyrone seems rather 'young' in the way he thinks and seems to fall apart when things get tough. That's from what I've seen of him anyway. Haven't seen Tuesday's episode yet but I'm waiting for the HD upload! I've just watched 50 Years 50 Moments and it was really interesting to see how the show has involved and its past characters and 'icons'.

I cant stomach her, I've never been able to warm to her but I just tolerated her up until this year where she has got on my nerves more and more to the point where I cant stand hearing her speak/whine drivel in every scene she is in, she is one of the most uninteresting characters the show has written Imo

Wow! I am so glad I've stuck with watching this show over the past couple of months becuase its become rather addictive and tonights episodes, incredibly produced, in fact elements of it seemed like something out of Harry Potter such as that first shot when the camera pans up and we see the street and how it is situated in amongst rows of houses and you see the city in the distance. But that tram crashing down was horrific, I dont know how popular she is in the UK and I didnt see any of the affair she had with Kevin but I like both her and Tyrone, so that breakup has been really sad to watch. The thing I enjoy about the show is that it is very 'real' and human, humorous and dramatic. I've only been watching now for about 2/3 months and already I care about what happens to them with this huge event that's just happened. I felt sorry for Rita in her shop and it would have been terrifying to see a tram coming at you the way Molly did! Looking forward to what happens next...

I thought the Jack stuff was really well done, obviously I have no idea about the references to past cast and such but the way the scenes were written made me feel very welcome and I like that the show has such a rich history and they are obviously very proud of that. I was initially going to just carry on watching until Jack's death but I've grown quite fond of it, its got a very 'cosy' feel. That may be because there are so few scenes that take place outside of that little street and the shops around the corner. But I've enjoyed the warm, poignant moments very much. I also like how screen time seems to be equally shared, older characters and younger alike. There are lots of characters with huge flaws, which really makes them seem very human and I think that is a great thing, they are not all likable. I've particularly taken a dislike to the store owner who seems rather obnoxious and rude though he hasn't featured much in the time I've been watching and just in general some people I've thought are likable characters can come up with quite bitchy and two faced remarks - but then redeem themselves come the end of the week so I'm not quite sure how to take them. The show reminds me of 80's Neighbours in some ways...

I think that is why I haven't warmed to Sid and Marilyn together - he is just so boring and serious. Fisher was a serious character, but also had a lighthearted/comical aspect to him which made the two of them together like chalk and cheese, yet brought out some great elements in both characters resulting in a great on screen duo. The actors had great chemistry too, which I dont see with this pairing. Granted their current situation with Mitz has been rather tragic so there hasn't been much happiness for either of them, but I still think he is too bland and I notice Marilyn seems much more bright in scenes that dont involve him.

Every so often I try and get into watching Coronation Street since its such a long running soap and I always read positive things about it on sites...etc I thought I'd download a couple of episodes a few nights ago and it featured Jack telling his son (in law?) that he was going to die. I thought the acting was very realistic and natural from all concerned throughout the entire episode actually not just that storyline, I pretty much forgot it was actors in a studio and set. To me, its the sort of show that will take a bit of getting used to becuase to be honest I do tend to miss some of the phrases and colloquialisms which sort of takes me back from being able to fully engage in the 'tone' of the show, as in it feels very specific to that part of the UK, which is part of the charm and popularity I'm guessing. I'm going to download more episodes, I want to follow this Jack storyline until the end at least. I noticed the pace seems a bit different to when I last watched an episode, more...'sharp' as in as soon as they stop talking it flicks to the next scene rather than having a sort of establishing shot if you get me. It also feels more 'busy'.

To me the last few weeks wind down very naturally though and it wasn't as if nothing happened at all. I also enjoyed the light relief and focus on Lance and Martin in the last few episodes; they are by far up there as my favorite characters. I cant believe that is a whole season we've just watched! It seems to have zoomed by!

I'm not sure I would like her with Miles, they dont seem well suited in that regard to me. I just think Sid is a bit too boring for Marilyn, I mean there isn't much about him other than he has a shaky past in the women department. Other than that he seems a bit bland to me, cant see them having any fun or dizzy storylines together becuase he is too serious. She seems much more bubbly and bouncy when shes with characters she doesn't spend that much time with - like Angelo. Imo they had lots of chemistry, more than Angelo does with Charlie too.