Emmerdale

[Red Ranger 1]

Charity doesn't seem to have been improved by recent experiences, continuing to screech and play the victim.The scene where she stands around breaking windows at Home Farm after it was repossessed seemed horribly badly pitched:It was impossible to either sympathise with her or enjoy her downfall because she was being so vile and no-one was willing to do anything other than roll their eyes a lot.Were we expected to cheer her irrepressible nature or something?For a family that are meant to have cut her out, the Dingles still seem to be running around after her an awful lot. Still, she's now been left at the mercy of Moira and making her work on a farm is the best punishment yet.(Mind you, knowing her she'll now and seduce Moira.Well, she tried it with Zoe Tate...)

I'm not keen on having Lisa back, the way she came in and laid down the law to everyone made me wish her heart condition was more serious.Zak can get away with that sort of thing but given that Lisa's recent history consists of a truckload of bad calls I wasn't really in the mood for her to play the big I Am.

I rather like Lawrence and I'd like them to use his connection to Edna a bit more, although I suspect they won't.I kind of get the feeling they hired John Bowe and then thought "Hang on, this guy's too good to waste on a two episode guest spot, let's have him come back and buy Home Farm."I might go off him depending on how it goes: Not wanting your daughter to marry Robert is one thing, faking chest pains to stop the wedding is a step too far.Quite like Chrissie despite her dubious taste in men.Nicola trying desperately to get in with the new owners and failing miserably was kind of amusing.I did wonder for a moment if Rodney would end up as estate manager again but probably not.

[Slade]

Can't stand Charity but have pretty much accepted that if she survived the stuff with Declan and Jai she is going nowhere so I'm going to have to suck it up for now. Anyway at least she did something useful. I hated the protection racket storyline so hopefully it's over. I do find it a bit hard to believe that Cain's attempts to scare Maxine into getting her son to lay off Adam in jail failed whereas Charity was able to succeed. Perhaps Maxine thought maybe Cain was the sort of person who wouldn't harm a woman. So Charity back into one Dingle's good books in what appears to be record time. I'm guessing Debbie will be next, then Chas followed by the rest of them although I don't think Sam will forgive her any time soon.

I actually don't mind Lawrence and his daughter so it will be interesting to see how they settle in at home farm. Really, really not happy about Robert coming back though. Never liked him and I suspect he will probably try and get in the way of Andy and Katie at some point.

So Ruby found out about Dan and Ali's liaison. Not sure if she's gone for good but if she has I'm not really bothered even though I don't mind her.

Really, really wasn't happy about the way Marlon cancelled the Halloween party. Don't get me wrong, I understand April is his priority but just felt they went to a lot of trouble and there were a lot of other kids there and if she was that frightened perhaps he could have sat up in her room with her for a couple of hours.

I usually find Nicola quite annoying but despite her resistance to Jimmy spending time with baby Carl, I loved the way she reacted so strongly and is determined to fight Jimmy's corner now that Juliette has changed her mind about Jimmy spending time with him. I think Juliette's been harsh but I can definitely understand her reasoning. I think it's an unfortunate situation as nobody is really at fault here bar the clinic. If this had been the US that clinic would be slapped with one big fat lawsuit.

[Red Ranger 1]

Charity's lost Home Farm and pretty much everything else she gained but she's already clawing her way back up with help from unlikely stooges Aaron and Ross.The ending of the Maxine storyline was a bit of an anti-climax (if Charity had driven them both off the cliff, that would have been a great ending) and the whole thing feels like an excuse to keep Adam in the storyline.

I'm not sure about Lawrence, I kind of like him but it feels like he's going too far in trying to get rid of Robert, especially since, despite being obnoxious to Andy and Katie, Robert hasn't done anything overt to make Lawrence distrust him.Marlon is so unlikable at the moment I actually feel sorry for Laurel.Nicola's support of Jimmy, who has turned into one of the stars of the show, is fairly heart-warming and her encouraging him to get a vasectomy reversal is good comedy.It's a shame if that's the end of baby Carl.

I'm kind of glad that Vanessa and Kirin seem to be working out, despite a feeling that they'll break up sooner or later.Paddy's snide remarks had gone past wearing, so I'm glad Kirin won him over with the video game marathon.

[Homeandawayfan.]

I wonder if Belle Dingle will turn out to be a killer again, she seems to have hardened up no end now she is out of juvenile. I would have thought she had learned from her mistake over the manslaughter of Gemma.

I quite like Lawrence. I dont know why but I like Robert as he is a legacy character. I wonder if Lawrence will succeed in his quest to out and boot Robert from Chrissie's life and Home Farm?

[Red Ranger 1]

Well, despite Robert's plan falling apart spectacularly and Lawrence ending up in hospital, he still seems to have come out on top with Lawrence seeing him as a hero.I find Ross more amusing than I probably should and loved how he got into the swing of things playing the part of the robber.Even his partners in crime seemed thoroughly bemused by it all.

Debbie is seriously getting on my nerves.Her determination to hang onto the kids seems like pure selfishness and I really don't like the smug way she acts around Andy.I'm hoping for her to have a huge fall, lose the kids and Pete, but she'll probably come out on top again.

Belle is having a seriously hard time coping with being back in the village.I've seen it suggested on other sites that she's staging all the incidents herself and I'm increasingly inclined to agree, her "illness" to get out of going to school seemed very convenient.

I love that Jai's got Archie back, another part of Charity's tissue of lies that has come apart.It's just a shame he seems to have stored up trouble for himself by lying about meeting Rachel, although at least Ali seems to have dropped it for now.

[Slade]

It's reaching the point where I'm not really enjoying Emmerdale anymore. I just find so many of the characters so unlikeable. And most of those that aren't, I just don't care about.

I really like Belle and quite like her storyline with the mental health issues. I also really like Lawrence and his daughter. Aaron is also another character that's grown on me. Then there's Nicola and Jimmy. There are times where some of their scenes are just so funny i.e. when Jimmy had his vasectomy reversed and Nicola told Angelica to mind her dad then Angelica jumped on him and caught him right in the nether regions. Also Jimmy's expression when Bernice spent the night with that old bloke dressed up as Santa and he made a remark and Nicola turned round and gave him a dirty look.

The storylines that I find frustrating at the moment:

Robbery at Home Farm - I was really annoyed how Robert orchestrated the whole thing and the lack of remorse Ross had (at least Aaron didn't want to do it and actually felt guilty afterwards). I was pleased when Lawrence decided to get revenge on Ross by punishing other people (as I find Moira and Debbie both a pain in the backside) so when Chrisie convinced Lawrence that Ross wasn't guilty (even though he was), I hated how Lawrence had to grovel to Moira, James and Ross afterwards and pay them some compensation. And it's annoying how Ross was so smug about it. And Lawrence now owes him one and presumably Ross is going to get back at Adam some how?

Jai/Archie - Really don't like the way Rachel's suddenly "disappeared" as Jai is always walking on eggshells and we are always wondering if we will be able to keep archie. I don't like the way he's continually have to lie to cover his tracks and the way Megan sent Archie a birthday present pretending to be from Rachel. What's most annoying is Ali. She is absolutely doing my head in the way she is like a dog with a bone and keeps banging on about her right to see him.

Anything involving Charity - Firstly, I'm actually annoyed with Rakesh and Kirin about this. If Kirin has just fessed up to the police about the hit and run on Moira, Cain may have not been in a position to threaten Rakesh into defending Charity which means she'll probably pull another Houdini and get out of this too. She's been extremely annoying outstaying her welcome, leaving her trucks outside or Moira's and throwing the Christmas party in complete disregard for other people. So I was pleased when Cain decided to let Moira throw her out so I was annoyed when Charity manipulated him into letting her stay.

With regards to Cain, he normally has nerves of steel regardless of how severe the situation he's in so him acting like this makes me think only one thing. His actions have directly/indirectly lead to someone's death. The fact that he's got rid of his car makes me wonder if it is a possible hit and run.

I mentioned Robert above and as someone who can't stand him I was pleased he got outted for trying to sabotage Kate and Andy's wedding. I can only assume that Aaron's interest in him is physical because it sure as hell can't be his personality. I think this approach is an interesting one and ironic that given what Lawrence sexually preference is that Robert is cheating on his daughter with another man.

I absolutely loathe Ross but have to admit, him tellling Bernice to go for it re Andy was pure genius and had me in stitches, especially when she put Katie's wedding dress on and made a play for Andy at the church just before the wedding. The only thing remotely redeemable about Ross is the relationship with April. Although it is frustrating that he is the only person who has the magic touch given that April only really sees him as mummy's friend. Didn't really know what to make of the scene where he was having Christmas dinner with Laurel/Marlon/Paddy and Rhona. April made a very valid argument but I'm not sure it should be extended to Ross. I did kind of like the way Rhona and Paddy were trying to be as festive as possible and Rhona was trying to make small talk him and Paddy cracked a not so funny joke which made everyone give him a funny look. I am very impressed with Laurel. Having to sit across the same table as the person who tried to car jack her for the sake of her step daughter shows she is trying her best to make the marriage work.

[Homeandawayfan.]

I think the current producer of Emmerdale, Kate Oates, is not really up for the job. She has introduced a lot of unnecessary innuendo to the show and made many characters unlikeable such as Robert, Ross, Kezzaman Wyatt, Marloon Dingle etc. I find Ross is the most loathsome and unbearable character in the show.

[Red Ranger 1]

I continue to be exceptionally fond of Ross, even when he's winding everyone up, although sending Bernice after Andy was possibly a bit far.I love how he managed to annoy Marlon and Laurel without even doing anything wrong, just because April gets on with him better than them.I'm glad Andy and Katie got married.Not sure what to make of their altercation with Robert.It might be a bit of a stretch to describe Robert as "sincere" but I do think he was trying to make peace, even if it was probably only to impress Aaron.

Charity's continued ability to worm her way out of trouble continues to frustrate.The only thing that gives me slight hope is that I've heard other viewers saying that Emma Atkins is visibly pregnant (I hadn't noticed but take their word for it), which suggests she's going to leave for a bit.But 50/50 she gets off and then goes on holiday to Barbados.Nicola's miscarriage was very affecting, moreso because of the way it was underplayed, with Nicola's matter of fact reaction to it all.I hope she and Jimmy keep trying despite the setback.

I think that Jai is storing up a lot of trouble with his lies about Rachel, although I can understand his concerns at worrying Archie would be taken off him if the truth came out.I don't blame Ali for worrying about her sister being missing in action.But it is hard to see how this can be resolved without Rachel coming back, unless she turns up dead or something?

I'm kind of interested in Belle's storyline but it's dragging a bit and Lisa's being incredibly frustrating with the way she's switching between viewing Belle as a complete innocent and blaming everyone else, and coming down hard on her without bothering to think about why she's acting the way she is.Part of me would have rather Belle came back sane.I am kind of enjoying the repartee between her and Lachlan though.

[JimRRR]

Only saw 3 episodes last year

[Slade]

It's been a long time coming but finally Charity has gotten hers (Well at least for now anyway). I loved that they brought Rachel back and I loved Megan's reaction. I was always hoping that she would be found guilty of something so I'm glad that came true. The only slight bit of doubt was the comeback on Rakesh but I don't know if Cain is going to follow through with what he said to Charity about making him pay. I was a bit disappointed Sam lied but I could understand his position, given that Charity had completely vindicated herself with the rest of the Dingles and Cain was basically threatening him. This storyline with Cain and his aneurysm appears to have served no other purpose except to allow Charity to fall in love with him to make her exit more meaningful. It's like as if nothing happened. I would have expected the doctors to have shaved his head before performing the operation and him to take several weeks to recover fully.

Although I was glad they brought Rachel back initially I've quickly gone to disliking her. I do think it was a good idea to bring Tracy back at the same time although at first I really wasn't happy about that and couldn't understand what the writers are doing but I'm assuming it's to give same some sort of storyline. My issue with Rachel is her attitude towards Jai regarding Archie. I hated how she said to Ali "do you think I would let Jai anywhere near him?". He's his father and has got as much right to see him as anyone else. So when Tracy stuck her oar in when Rachel went to see Sam and told her how it was I was cheering her on. Ali has annoyed me even more and when she got on her highhorse yet again and called the police I loathed her.

This incident shows how incredibly stupid Jai has been. I know hindsight is a wonderful thing but I always thought it was extremely reckless to just hand over a large sum of money again given that he got burnt before without so much as a shred of proof. He should have got a DNS test done at the very least or asked to have seen Rachel. So unfortunately this is all coming back to bite him. I'm surprised how attached Megan has become to the fake Archie given that she was dead against what Jai was doing before and her running off with him is beyond crazy given that she married Jai just last week. What is she going to do for cash?

I don't like Robert but Katie's gone back to being annoying again so I liked how he made her look like an idiot re Alicia. Chas has also been annoying regarding this particular part of the storyline so I was glad she was made to look stupid too. I really hope Chas catches Robert and Aaron in bed together (or something like that) just to see the look on her face. I do have to admit Robert can actually be quite likeable when he wants to be but I'm not sure whether it's all an act.

I quite like that they've brought Emma into the equation regarding the Bartons. Her coming back seems to have pacified Ross (and by that he hasn't done anything reprehensible within the last couple of weeks although he did trash her flat) and I do actually quite like the scenes between them. BTW - was anybody else pleased when that guy knocked Ross to the floor in the gay bar they were in just before they met Emma? I think Emma does seem to have a manipulative side. Finding out about Donna, going to her grave buying the same flowers that Ross always does and leaving them on the table to use that as an excuse to bond with him. Unfortunately I cannot warm to Finn at all. I think he's an absolutely dreadful character and I would be happy if he left and never came back. But he seems to be one of the few people who Ross genuinely cares for. Emma and James seem to be getting on OK but I wonder what is going to happen if Ross finds out she tried to kill him when he was a baby.