I would love to think that this behaviour from Michelle is leading somewhere i.e. Steve cheating on her with Andrea because who would blame him? I would love to see a completely serious scene between Miss Hell and Steve when she finds out, her starting to go off on one but then Steve playing it straight for once* and really giving her it straight as to why he cheated and why he can no longer be with her. A real home truths scene to show Michelle what she's become. Perhaps she still resents him for throwing her over for Becky so it's coming out in this poisonous behaviour? I would love to think that this storyline is leading here but but I don't think the Corrie of today has the subtlety, they just think we're having a laugh. "Whey hey girls! Look at Michelle, she's strong you know, she takes no sh!t off her man, let's all cheer!" *roll eyes*
(* the actor who plays Steve is definitely capable of doing serious and I can't quite recall when he started being one of the 'comedy' characters? But I remember when he married Vicky just for her money, he was a right barsteward back then and that version of Steve would NEVER have let a woman drag him down the street by his ear.)
I don't think that will happen cos I don't think the viewers are supposed to think of it as abusive. I think we are meant to find it funny. Just like I think we are supposed to feel sorry for Tina. I think that THEY think she is sympathetic and a victim of Peter. But it just doesn't work cos she can't act her way out of a paper bag and they have just changed her personality completely. Same as Michelle. Same as Maria.
I don't think that will happen cos I don't think the viewers are supposed to think of it as abusive. I think we are meant to find it funny. Just like I think we are supposed to feel sorry for Tina. I think that THEY think she is sympathetic and a victim of Peter. But it just doesn't work cos she can't act her way out of a paper bag and they have just changed her personality completely. Same as Michelle. Same as Maria.
I do think they're going for a Jack and Vera dynamic but it doesn't work for several reasons. Firstly, it isn't 2 way - Jack used to snipe back - Stave doesn't. Secondly, Jack was often trying it on, seeing other women, gambling, skiving off work - Vera had some reasons to 'get' at him - Michelle really doesn't as wanting to go to College so you can help your kid with their homework is not a bad thing. Thirdly, there was always mutual affection between Jack and Vera - you felt that for all the bickering they would be lost without each other - that just isn't the case with Michelle and Steve.
Excellent post. Agree completely, and for me it's BIB in particular which made similar scenes with Jack and Vera 'humorous' as opposed to uncomfortable viewing.
I might also add that it's a generational thing too. Characters like Vera, Ivy or Mrs Brown were silly and OTT but believable (to an extent) but they are of their time. With their fishwife harking, pinnies, tabards and rollers. Michelle, or anyone not from that generation, do not fit that picture.
I see what they're trying to do but it's not working and it's entirely charmless.
I think the last male character Corrie had that could be considered to be strong was Karl, wasn't it? Which is awkward because he was a dirtbag towards women and ended up going psycho. But I mean strong in the way that he didn't let his girlfriend boss him about like Steve does. They really do need to introduce some fresh new male characters. Somebody like the Boyzone character we used to have, he was lovely.
You mean Keith Duffy?, the far too good partner of Michelle, who chewed him up and spat him out. She must be sub moronic when you think about it.
I think at least one of the writers has a problem with women. They've written Michelle as a loathsome bully and it's not fun to watch. With Steve written as a comedy character it just doesn't work.
You're probably right, although I wish they'd just skip the affair part for once (so she doesn't play the victim!) and just get straight to the serious conversation about her treatment of him and how he's had enough being made to feel like dirt. Then Steve can move onto whoever he wants (preferably not Andrea )
Good call, him not leaving her for anybody but finishing with her because he'd just had enough but be much more effective and would hit Michelle even harder as it's not that he loves someone more, he just can't stand to be with her for one more minute! Nice :cool:
I don't think that will happen cos I don't think the viewers are supposed to think of it as abusive. I think we are meant to find it funny. Just like I think we are supposed to feel sorry for Tina. I think that THEY think she is sympathetic and a victim of Peter. But it just doesn't work cos she can't act her way out of a paper bag and they have just changed her personality completely. Same as Michelle. Same as Maria.
How can we possibly feel sympathy for Tina when WE saw her actively chasing a married man, not seeming to care about his wife (who she's quite friendly with), even hanging around on his wedding day to seduce him and piling the pressure on big time lately practically forcing him to declare love etc? (NOT excusing Peter's actions by the way but just because he's a louse doesn't mean that Tina is any better, doesn't mean she's a 'victim'!) She even deluded herself that he'd leave Carla for her if she was pregnant? How many mistresses have been left to bring up baby alone eh?
I finally got round to watching the second part of Corrie and I have to agree, her 'crying' scene with Peter was quite abysmal - I couldn't see a tear! I wasn't convinced at all (she managed to squeeze a few out with Steph later on though.) I have a feeling the actress finds this storyline as stupid as the rest of us and can't commit!
Excellent post. Agree completely, and for me it's BIB in particular which made similar scenes with Jack and Vera 'humorous' as opposed to uncomfortable viewing.
I might also add that it's a generational thing too. Characters like Vera, Ivy or Mrs Brown were silly and OTT but believable (to an extent) but they are of their time. With their fishwife harking, pinnies, tabards and rollers. Michelle, or anyone not from that generation, do not fit that picture.
I see what they're trying to do but it's not working and it's entirely charmless.
Great point, you've hit on something I was thinking earlier but have expressed it so much better than I would have done The scene was a throwback to 70's Corrie and like you say it just doesn't transfer to a modern audience. At best it looks stupid, at worst it looks abusive.
Great point, you've hit on something I was thinking earlier but have expressed it so much better than I would have done The scene was a throwback to 70's Corrie and like you say it just doesn't transfer to a modern audience. At best it looks stupid, at worst it looks abusive.
It's also worth noting that Jack and Vera had been married for 22 years by the time they first appeared on screen together, and 26 by the time they moved into the street. You can't have their kinds of scenes with young unmarried couples, even in the 70s, which is why I roll my eyes whenever anyone is touted as the new Jack and Vera the moment they get together (who, as others have said, had a more loving and balanced relationship than Steve and Michelle anyway).
I do appreciate the writers trying to include more humour, but at times I think their experiences of the Duckworths amounts to clip shows and foggy memories of Vera shouting at Jack.
Reading through the laments about lack of solid male characters really makes you miss Mike Baldwin doesn't it? Multi-faceted, hard when he needed to be, yet still capable of falling flat on his face occasionally, picking himself up, and getting on with it.
I don't just think its the way Michelle is with Steve I think that's the way she is as a character.. Look at how she kept chipping away at Carla over her pregnancy when Carla was clearly in shock about her stepdad ..they really need to show a softer side to her character because at the moment is seems whenever something crosses her mind she's like a dog with a bone
BIB - Exactly! There's just no light and shade with Michelle, because she's a one-note character. Perhaps they are trying to make her and Steve into the new Jack and Vera, but the problem with that is Jack and Vera were a partnership - they each gave as good as they got and they clearly loved each other. There's no sense of that with Michelle and Steve. Nor is there the humour that there was with Jack and Vera (which was easy to do, due to Bill Tarmey and Liz Dawn's wonderful comic timing). I think Steve could be the new Jack, given the right partner - but it would need to be an actress with good comedic skills and chemistry. Kym Marsh is not that actress - I suspect that if she was, the script-writers would have incorporated more comedic stuff and more light and shade, but they know her limitations.
As for the 'domestic abuse' thing - the way I see it, it may not be full-on abuse, but it's certainly unhealthy. Would it be OK for Steve to be shown constantly belittling Michelle...or dragging her down the street by her ear? No, it wouldn't. So why is it OK for Michelle to be doing it to Steve?
Another pack of lies from Steve to Michelle. Loyal towards Peter but not his wife. Top bloke.
They aren't even married. -_-
But somehow its acceptable for Michelle to go running around with Carla, keeping secrets of the pregnancy from Peter. Dodging work and all that and going out almost every night with Carla.
I love how Steve is labeled thick, yet he is in charge of two businesses, and those who mock him such as Eileen, Lloyd, Liz and Michelle probably wouldn't be in work if it wasn't for him. Especially Michelle who lacks in ambition and needed to rely on Carla for a job at the factory, yet turned to bitching and disrespecting her because she dared allowed Peter a job there.
I think you might be misunderstanding "intelligent". It is perfectly possible, and indeed likely, that someone can be intelligent and sneer and scoff at someone. It is their intelligence that generally enables them to do so, by recognising flaws or weaknesses in other people. I think you are meaning pleasant or nice.
Michelle is as thick as two short planks. Being able to flap your gums for Britain does not mean you're intelligent! If she was so smart, she'd be out there looking for a decent job or even starting her own business, not living with a boyfriend she loathes in a backstreet pub!
If we're meant to see Michelle and Steve as Vera/Jack type characters they're nowhere near their league. Jack and Vera used to argue like the blazes but you could always see how much they loved each other. Michelle just comes across at times as hard and domineering while Steve is weak and hen pecked. It's rare to see any true affection between them these days or understand why they're together.
I thought the humiliation might have reached its peak when Michelle (and Liz) took every opportunity to ridicule Steve's decision to further his education.
I never understood why they found it so hilarious or felt the need to put him down with snide remarks.
Michelle is at another level now. Even Liz made reference to her sniping at him all day.
It was just so unnecessary.
I thought the writers did a pretty good job with the Tyrone/Kirsty storyline. While the threat of real physical injury isn't part of the Steve/Michelle storyline, I think the writers are undermining that good work by playing Michelle's treatment of Steve for laughs. I don't find it amusing.
I thought the humiliation might have reached its peak when Michelle (and Liz) took every opportunity to ridicule Steve's decision to further his education.
I never understood why they found it so hilarious or felt the need to put him down with snide remarks.
That part of the storyline had me shouting at the television in disgust. It sent a subliminal message to the audience that anyone who tries to better their education as an adult is worthy of being mocked and should expect to be mocked, which is exactly the opposite of how it should be. Maybe the producers and writers want their viewers passively sat there rotting their brains watching the imaginary lives of Tina and Peter rather than developing real interests in their real lives.
What I don't like about them is theres no light and shade. Michelle isn't nice, ever. All of her scenes are her name-calling Steve, belittling him, being sarcastic... the list goes on.
If we had those scenes with other ones where she was cuddling him saying she didn't mean it, I'd be fine. But its just because shes like that all the time, and he's such a coward he doesn't tell her to put a sock in it. It's clear the writers are trying to recreate a relationship where the woman wears the trousers, but this is too much! She shows no love or compassion for him, they really need to sort it out because its just tiresome at the moment.
Steve had much better chemistry with peter lol. Michelle is a horrible woman who is getting worse under Blackburn. I used to quite like her but she's just horrendously unpleasant now. It's a case of life imitating art now
In my opinion it became abuse when she decided he was going to have a vasectomy. It didn't matter what he thought..she had decided. Although I do think that when she dragged him into the pub by the ear THAT was definitely physically abusive. Since they got together, she's been showering him with mental abuse, which is often worse. I don't like the character...never did. But since she's become so abusive I really hate her now. I see nothing funny about it at all.
Comments
I don't think that will happen cos I don't think the viewers are supposed to think of it as abusive. I think we are meant to find it funny. Just like I think we are supposed to feel sorry for Tina. I think that THEY think she is sympathetic and a victim of Peter. But it just doesn't work cos she can't act her way out of a paper bag and they have just changed her personality completely. Same as Michelle. Same as Maria.
... and Marcus and Todd and Owen...
Yes that is a very good point RS.
Aww what a touching scene that was
Excellent post. Agree completely, and for me it's BIB in particular which made similar scenes with Jack and Vera 'humorous' as opposed to uncomfortable viewing.
I might also add that it's a generational thing too. Characters like Vera, Ivy or Mrs Brown were silly and OTT but believable (to an extent) but they are of their time. With their fishwife harking, pinnies, tabards and rollers. Michelle, or anyone not from that generation, do not fit that picture.
I see what they're trying to do but it's not working and it's entirely charmless.
You mean Keith Duffy?, the far too good partner of Michelle, who chewed him up and spat him out. She must be sub moronic when you think about it.
Yep, that's the one! Wish he'd come back and take MissHell away again, like he did with the cruise.
BIB At the very least!
Michelle needs psychiatric help. She clearly has delusions of grandeur and most likely thinks she's Napoleon Bonaparte or Julius Caesar.
Good call, him not leaving her for anybody but finishing with her because he'd just had enough but be much more effective and would hit Michelle even harder as it's not that he loves someone more, he just can't stand to be with her for one more minute! Nice :cool:
How can we possibly feel sympathy for Tina when WE saw her actively chasing a married man, not seeming to care about his wife (who she's quite friendly with), even hanging around on his wedding day to seduce him and piling the pressure on big time lately practically forcing him to declare love etc? (NOT excusing Peter's actions by the way but just because he's a louse doesn't mean that Tina is any better, doesn't mean she's a 'victim'!) She even deluded herself that he'd leave Carla for her if she was pregnant? How many mistresses have been left to bring up baby alone eh?
I finally got round to watching the second part of Corrie and I have to agree, her 'crying' scene with Peter was quite abysmal - I couldn't see a tear! I wasn't convinced at all (she managed to squeeze a few out with Steph later on though.) I have a feeling the actress finds this storyline as stupid as the rest of us and can't commit!
Anyway, back on topic
Perfect wasn't it? Jack and Vera were legends. Steve will never be a legend while he's with Miss Hell.
Great point, you've hit on something I was thinking earlier but have expressed it so much better than I would have done
It's also worth noting that Jack and Vera had been married for 22 years by the time they first appeared on screen together, and 26 by the time they moved into the street. You can't have their kinds of scenes with young unmarried couples, even in the 70s, which is why I roll my eyes whenever anyone is touted as the new Jack and Vera the moment they get together (who, as others have said, had a more loving and balanced relationship than Steve and Michelle anyway).
I do appreciate the writers trying to include more humour, but at times I think their experiences of the Duckworths amounts to clip shows and foggy memories of Vera shouting at Jack.
BIB - Exactly! There's just no light and shade with Michelle, because she's a one-note character. Perhaps they are trying to make her and Steve into the new Jack and Vera, but the problem with that is Jack and Vera were a partnership - they each gave as good as they got and they clearly loved each other. There's no sense of that with Michelle and Steve. Nor is there the humour that there was with Jack and Vera (which was easy to do, due to Bill Tarmey and Liz Dawn's wonderful comic timing). I think Steve could be the new Jack, given the right partner - but it would need to be an actress with good comedic skills and chemistry. Kym Marsh is not that actress - I suspect that if she was, the script-writers would have incorporated more comedic stuff and more light and shade, but they know her limitations.
As for the 'domestic abuse' thing - the way I see it, it may not be full-on abuse, but it's certainly unhealthy. Would it be OK for Steve to be shown constantly belittling Michelle...or dragging her down the street by her ear? No, it wouldn't. So why is it OK for Michelle to be doing it to Steve?
They aren't even married. -_-
But somehow its acceptable for Michelle to go running around with Carla, keeping secrets of the pregnancy from Peter. Dodging work and all that and going out almost every night with Carla.
I love how Steve is labeled thick, yet he is in charge of two businesses, and those who mock him such as Eileen, Lloyd, Liz and Michelle probably wouldn't be in work if it wasn't for him. Especially Michelle who lacks in ambition and needed to rely on Carla for a job at the factory, yet turned to bitching and disrespecting her because she dared allowed Peter a job there.
Michelle is as thick as two short planks. Being able to flap your gums for Britain does not mean you're intelligent! If she was so smart, she'd be out there looking for a decent job or even starting her own business, not living with a boyfriend she loathes in a backstreet pub!
I never understood why they found it so hilarious or felt the need to put him down with snide remarks.
Michelle is at another level now. Even Liz made reference to her sniping at him all day.
It was just so unnecessary.
I thought the writers did a pretty good job with the Tyrone/Kirsty storyline. While the threat of real physical injury isn't part of the Steve/Michelle storyline, I think the writers are undermining that good work by playing Michelle's treatment of Steve for laughs. I don't find it amusing.
If we had those scenes with other ones where she was cuddling him saying she didn't mean it, I'd be fine. But its just because shes like that all the time, and he's such a coward he doesn't tell her to put a sock in it. It's clear the writers are trying to recreate a relationship where the woman wears the trousers, but this is too much! She shows no love or compassion for him, they really need to sort it out because its just tiresome at the moment.