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Bad Girls: Where Did It Go Wrong?

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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,497
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    I love Bad Girls! I don't think it has "gone wrong" as such but has certainly changed a lot and I will admit that it's not half as good as used to be ;):( Having said that I can't wait for the Xmas special and I think it's great they're having Fenner in it as a ghost! :D
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 137
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    i dont think bad girls has gone wrong :confused: but i think for me it went downhill alot when yvonne and recently fenner left :cry: i think they made it bad girls :):) oh and shell too :D
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    jwn007jwn007 Posts: 116
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    series 4 was weak-ish...rest has been gr8...fenner dying was big blow, as the end of the series was pish...we need the whole buxton kerrigan rivalry to hot up
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,527
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    Bad Girls started to go wrong for several reasons:-

    - The departure of Yvonne, Denny, Shell, Babs, Buki, Snowball and Karen in series 5 meant that Bad Girls lost several of its most integral and popular characters in one fell swoop. This resulted in series 6 being awash with new faces, which viewers took time to accept.

    - The lighting in series 6 and 7 has became much brighter, which has made Larkhall look like a much nicer place. In its early days, Bad Girls was always lit quite darkly, to match the sombre setting of the show.

    - Similar to the above, the characters are all now dressed much more glamorously and some (e.g. Natalie, Phyl, etc) of them look too stylish to be in prison. Back in the first few series, the characters looked downtrodden and wore cheap-looking clothes.

    - Bad Girls has always been dark, but in its early days, it was also humorous and could make you laugh out loud with some snippy one-liners. Now, it seems more people laugh at the content of the show, rather than what the characters are actually saying. More comedy needs to be injected into the scripts for the show to survive past series 8.

    - Although a fantastic character and a great actor, far too much reliance was placed on Jim Fenner as the show's main character. There were so many other officers that we barely got a chance to know because the scripts contained too much of Fenner - for example, Mark Waddle, Gina Rossi, etc - 2 characters who had such potential and were wasted in series 3 and 4.

    - Bad Girls has always had te ability to shock and leave viewers stunned. But the decision to kill off Yvonne Atkins in a "final showdown" type of storyline with Fenner at the end of series 5 was completely unnecessary and I think played a big part in alienating fans from the show. It would be like killing off Tanya Turner from Footballers Wives - viewers just wouldn't forgive it.


    Despite all of the above, Bad Girls is still one of my favourite shows and I am an avid fan. Its just that looking back over the DVD's from series 1-6, you can see how the show has started to spiral downward slightly. Rachel Snell, who was responsible for producing series 7, has done a fantastic job with starting to get Bad Girls back to its roots - with gritty drama and some wonderful humour. Whoever takes on the role of producer as series 8 will hopefully continue her great work, and make sure Bad Girls continues past series 8.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,708
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    I have been addicted to BG since the start however last year I thought there were too many existing characters going away & too many new ones. However some of the new arrivals were pure gold - love Natalie & pat!!!!

    Can anyone tell me when the Xmas special is on - seen it advertised however missed the time!!!
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    stud u likestud u like Posts: 42,100
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    its on Monday at 9pm
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,708
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    Thanks stud u like. Trailer looked good. The return of u know how!!!
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 154
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    I don't see how a non-mainstream show that is almost in it's 8th series can be described as having gone wrong
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    Sinbazro_05Sinbazro_05 Posts: 923
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    Bad Girls started to go wrong for several reasons:-

    - The departure of Yvonne, Denny, Shell, Babs, Buki, Snowball and Karen in series 5 meant that Bad Girls lost several of its most integral and popular characters in one fell swoop. This resulted in series 6 being awash with new faces, which viewers took time to accept.

    - The lighting in series 6 and 7 has became much brighter, which has made Larkhall look like a much nicer place. In its early days, Bad Girls was always lit quite darkly, to match the sombre setting of the show.

    - Similar to the above, the characters are all now dressed much more glamorously and some (e.g. Natalie, Phyl, etc) of them look too stylish to be in prison. Back in the first few series, the characters looked downtrodden and wore cheap-looking clothes.

    - Bad Girls has always been dark, but in its early days, it was also humorous and could make you laugh out loud with some snippy one-liners. Now, it seems more people laugh at the content of the show, rather than what the characters are actually saying. More comedy needs to be injected into the scripts for the show to survive past series 8.

    - Although a fantastic character and a great actor, far too much reliance was placed on Jim Fenner as the show's main character. There were so many other officers that we barely got a chance to know because the scripts contained too much of Fenner - for example, Mark Waddle, Gina Rossi, etc - 2 characters who had such potential and were wasted in series 3 and 4.

    - Bad Girls has always had te ability to shock and leave viewers stunned. But the decision to kill off Yvonne Atkins in a "final showdown" type of storyline with Fenner at the end of series 5 was completely unnecessary and I think played a big part in alienating fans from the show. It would be like killing off Tanya Turner from Footballers Wives - viewers just wouldn't forgive it.


    Despite all of the above, Bad Girls is still one of my favourite shows and I am an avid fan. Its just that looking back over the DVD's from series 1-6, you can see how the show has started to spiral downward slightly. Rachel Snell, who was responsible for producing series 7, has done a fantastic job with starting to get Bad Girls back to its roots - with gritty drama and some wonderful humour. Whoever takes on the role of producer as series 8 will hopefully continue her great work, and make sure Bad Girls continues past series 8.

    You're spot on manfrommars!
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    Sinbazro_05Sinbazro_05 Posts: 923
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    I don't see how a non-mainstream show that is almost in it's 8th series can be described as having gone wrong

    Ratings for the show have fallen significantly and it looked doubtful that an eighth series would be commisioned.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,380
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    dont get me wrong. i love it and will keep watching til the end and have all the dvd's to date. i just think the glory days of series 1-3 are well and truly gone
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    SecretLifeoBeesSecretLifeoBees Posts: 50,923
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    This has probably all been mentioned but in my opinion they lost the plot when Fenner kept getting away with everything and still kept his job..... I mean he streaked through the prison one week and the next he was back like nothing happened. He was framed for the hit and run, got away with that, everyone from the governors to the prisoners knew he was bad news, yet there was never any investigations into his behaviour etc. I am actually glad they killed him off, I just hope when the next series starts he doesn't make a miraculous return.
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    Sinbazro_05Sinbazro_05 Posts: 923
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    He's back in ghost form for the Christmas Special. :rolleyes:
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,380
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    Lol! yea that was unrealistic about fenner in the end. there's no way he would have got his job back after being sectioned for amoungst other things beating and urinating on an inmate!
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    Sinbazro_05Sinbazro_05 Posts: 923
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    He didn't just get his job back, he got a friggin' promotion to Governing Governor. :rolleyes:
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,380
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    exactly! getting into the prison service is such a rigorous thing, there's no way he woulda even been a PO again after gettin sectioned nevemind governing gov! :rolleyes:
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