I've given up on Corrie because I hate most of the characters now.
Somewhere over the last year to eighteen months, Corrie's lost the ability to create conflict between their characters while keeping them sympathetic.
Tina vs the Windass-Armstrongs over the surrogacy is a prime example - a few years ago, you'd have watched this storyline and been Team Tina or Team Izzy but you'd be able to see the other side's POV (they'd just be wrong!) but I found both sides completely unsympathetic and when the baby was taken ill I kind of wanted him to die because he'd be better off without any of them and it'd serve them all right.
Another example would be the "feisty"/strong women - Tina was a prime offender here too along with Michelle and I think Fizz - instead of coming across as confident and forthright, we were given interfering, insensitive, rude bullies who rely on their men.
Even if it was just as a target.
Michelle.
I feel the same as everyone else here. I used to watch the soap religiously, but these days I watch it now and again. I always seem able to catch up by watching once a week, which proves that nothing is happening on the street.
The new writers were selected as part of the Original Voices scheme, which aims to find unique talent from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds living in the North West.
And in what way is this not racial discrimination?
I've given up on Corrie because I hate most of the characters now.
Somewhere over the last year to eighteen months, Corrie's lost the ability to create conflict between their characters while keeping them sympathetic.
Tina vs the Windass-Armstrongs over the surrogacy is a prime example - a few years ago, you'd have watched this storyline and been Team Tina or Team Izzy but you'd be able to see the other side's POV (they'd just be wrong!) but I found both sides completely unsympathetic and when the baby was taken ill I kind of wanted him to die because he'd be better off without any of them and it'd serve them all right.
Another example would be the "feisty"/strong women - Tina was a prime offender here too along with Michelle and I think Fizz - instead of coming across as confident and forthright, we were given interfering, insensitive, rude bullies who rely on their men.
Even if it was just as a target.
Michelle.
One thing Corrie really struggles with these days is strong women, and that's always been a strong point to their show!
One thing Corrie really struggles with these days is strong women, and that's always been a strong point to their show!
Wish they would write some good male characters, instead of psychos or complete wimps. Miss the likes of Len Fairclough, Mike Baldwin, Ray Langton, Jim McDonald, Fred Elliot etc, you'd think with the large cast they could introduce some characters like them.
It's shame that Karl Munro and Rob Donovan could of had potential, but had to be turned into another boring Corrie killers.
I'm not really surprised that corrie seems to be in a ratings crisis...the stories are just not there, there is nothing to grip you and it just seems boring at the moment with some lazy writing......maybe the 'Bus Crash' will turn things around but I find just skipping through parts of episodes at the moment !! Let's hope it improves !!
I find it funny that they say that killing off Tina is the main reason why the ratings have dropped.............it must be a poor show if she is the only reason why people were tuning in.
Viewing figures dropping because Tina was killed off?! Don't make me laugh, most of us couldn't wait for her to go, she was an interfering and annoying little harpy gobsh!te.
Viewers are deserting the show due to ridiculous, poorly written and nonsensical plotlines (well behaved Max suddenly catching ADHD, characters who had in years never shown the slightest interest in each other suddenly can't live without them, and now buying a house at auction and moving in before teatime's up!), characters we don't care about but who are forced down our throats as 'much loved and popular' (Michelle). And, worst of all, the truly appalling casting - the Nazir mother and father would struggle to land a small role in a local amateur dramatics group. Anthony Cotton gets a lot of slagging off - personally, I don't mind him, there are far worse - but he's like De Niro compared to that pair!
Been watching for over 40 years and have always loved the comedy that ran through the show - where has that gone now? - and which it has always been famous for. Nothing to laugh about now, certainly am not laughing at the state this once favourite programme has become.
I have all the boxed sets going back to the very beginning.
I find I am watching these instead of the current episodes and loving every minute of them. There is no comparison to today's poor excuse for a show.
I can't think of one of today's characters that I really care about and I think that's the difference.
The wonderful comic characters like Eddie Yeats just don't exist anymore and even the likes of Mike Baldwin at his worst were still good to watch.
I have to say though that even the stellar cast of yesteryear would struggle to make today's scripts amusing. Just dropping a few random cliched sayings into the conversation doesn't necessarily create humour.
Viewing figures dropping because Tina was killed off?! Don't make me laugh, most of us couldn't wait for her to go, she was an interfering and annoying little harpy gobsh!te.
Viewers are deserting the show due to ridiculous, poorly written and nonsensical plotlines (well behaved Max suddenly catching ADHD, characters who had in years never shown the slightest interest in each other suddenly can't live without them, and now buying a house at auction and moving in before teatime's up!), characters we don't care about but who are forced down our throats as 'much loved and popular' (Michelle). And, worst of all, the truly appalling casting - the Nazir mother and father would struggle to land a small role in a local amateur dramatics group. Anthony Cotton gets a lot of slagging off - personally, I don't mind him, there are far worse - but he's like De Niro compared to that pair!
Been watching for over 40 years and have always loved the comedy that ran through the show - where has that gone now? - and which it has always been famous for. Nothing to laugh about now, certainly am not laughing at the state this once favourite programme has become.
Oh I could've written that! Everything you've said is absolutely on the nose. I think I could add more but I can't be bothered with it anymore. That man has ruined any characters for whom I felt any sympathy or empathy .It's not even worth having the tv on.
I wish for Christmas that those eejits at ITV who are concerned about the ratings will read the posts on here to get an inkling of why their flagship(sinking fast) soap is floundering . That's my Christmas wish.
Been watching for over 40 years and have always loved the comedy that ran through the show - where has that gone now? - and which it has always been famous for. Nothing to laugh about now, certainly am not laughing at the state this once favourite programme has become.
It went when Brookside changed the way people view soaps. And then Eastenders became more popular than Coronation Street, it was after this that things started to change, Brian Tilsley getting stabbed and dying in a back alley, Alan Bradley going nuts, Don Brennan going nuts, teenage pregnancy, murder and so on.
I know that the comedy still continued for a while, with Reg Holdsworth and others, but I think it has completely faded out now and when it is put in, it seems forced, which is a shame.
Agree with nearly everything that's been said on this thread. I stopped watching after the Peter storyline finished, just don't care about it anymore, the characters aren't consistent
I use to be a regular CS viewer, but I haven't watched regularly for a few good years now. However, I do sometimes dip in and out and I switched it on a few weeks back and saw a storyline about Norris waiting for a parcel and missing it, is that was CS has now become? I get the everyday nonsence in reality!
Also; what the hell is Les Dennis doing in Gail Platt's house. This show is toilet water. Don't think I will be tuning in anytime soon.
It's very past its sell by date and nonsensical characters and storylines have derailed it. There's no attention to anything-cast, cast costumes etc. A run down back street in manchester, and everyone's walking about in 500 quid coats, shirts etc.
Ridiculous.
So is the box-ticking Nazir family.
I've also been watching the 70's boxset- first class.
Nowadays,Its not even so bad is good- is so bad its shi*.
They should really pull its plug.
- The crushing, all-encompassing dullness. We are finding out about storylines months or sometimes even a year in advance (Katy's exit was announced early this year and is still some time away). This is sapping tension away and it's not helped by the fact that storylines are ao uninspired and strange. Maria's psycho phase was appallingly out of character but was somehow dull nonetheless. Tina's murder was built up more than the Olympics and fell apart under its own weight. Blackburn has to start engaging viewers, with interesting and rapidly moving storylines. I'm not a particularly big fan of EE but the way their storylines evolve week by week and overlap with each other is an excellent example to other soaps.
- The wrong characters are at the forefront. I know it's an ensemble cast but Christmas is the most important time of year and the fact that Gary, Michelle, Tony, and Sean are at the forefront, and that Carla, Leanne, Sally and the Barlows are without a storyline should be ringing some alarm bells.
- The Nazirs deserve special mention as one of the worst new additions to Corrie in many years. Their tokenism - not helped by the overplayed accent from Yasmeen - is almost offensively obvious, and Yasmeen and Sharif are complete dead losses. The fact that they are receiving so much screen time but are universally unpopular has to be addressed immediately.
- The lack of continuity and sweeping changes to character/plot set-ups. Todd has turned from well-meaning weasel into a grown up Stewie Griffin with nothing in between. The characters of Michelle, Eileen and Liz have become dreary harridans. Giant plot leaps were taken to allow the Nazirs to settle in - the Windasses were uprooted, Katy, Leanne and Gail were pulled out of their roles to work for them, and Gary/Izzy were suddenly split up without warning. And don't get me started on Tim's illiteracy, which those of us in the SOR thread simply cannot accept.
- There seems to be no long-term plans and it truly seems like the writers are making it up as they go along. We know where the Kylie story is going and that Steve's depression will continue, but there is no groundwork being laid for the future. Is Faye's pregnancy ever going to happen? Will Katy ever leave? Is the gym ever going to have a purpose? And what on Earth is the plan for the tedious Les Dennis?
Put simply, there is very little reason to keep watching as it requires a tremendous amount of patience that is not being delivered upon. Sort it out!
I find that life is so increasingly busy and demanding that I dont have the time and energy to keep up with soaps anymore. Maybe the decline has more to do with the increasing pressures of society and less to do with the quality of the soap? Most tv shows seem to be in ratings decline these days.
I'm surprised it's still beating EastEnders to be honest. It doesn't even deserve those ratings. Maybe if it gets 5 million viewers per episode they might actually do something about it instead of trying to defend it.
Comments
Somewhere over the last year to eighteen months, Corrie's lost the ability to create conflict between their characters while keeping them sympathetic.
Tina vs the Windass-Armstrongs over the surrogacy is a prime example - a few years ago, you'd have watched this storyline and been Team Tina or Team Izzy but you'd be able to see the other side's POV (they'd just be wrong!) but I found both sides completely unsympathetic and when the baby was taken ill I kind of wanted him to die because he'd be better off without any of them and it'd serve them all right.
Another example would be the "feisty"/strong women - Tina was a prime offender here too along with Michelle and I think Fizz - instead of coming across as confident and forthright, we were given interfering, insensitive, rude bullies who rely on their men.
Even if it was just as a target.
Michelle.
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a617076/coronation-street-to-make-writing-team-more-diverse.html#~oYImEamSmf2Vpa
And in what way is this not racial discrimination?
One thing Corrie really struggles with these days is strong women, and that's always been a strong point to their show!
Wish they would write some good male characters, instead of psychos or complete wimps. Miss the likes of Len Fairclough, Mike Baldwin, Ray Langton, Jim McDonald, Fred Elliot etc, you'd think with the large cast they could introduce some characters like them.
It's shame that Karl Munro and Rob Donovan could of had potential, but had to be turned into another boring Corrie killers.
I find it funny that they say that killing off Tina is the main reason why the ratings have dropped.............it must be a poor show if she is the only reason why people were tuning in.
Viewers are deserting the show due to ridiculous, poorly written and nonsensical plotlines (well behaved Max suddenly catching ADHD, characters who had in years never shown the slightest interest in each other suddenly can't live without them, and now buying a house at auction and moving in before teatime's up!), characters we don't care about but who are forced down our throats as 'much loved and popular' (Michelle). And, worst of all, the truly appalling casting - the Nazir mother and father would struggle to land a small role in a local amateur dramatics group. Anthony Cotton gets a lot of slagging off - personally, I don't mind him, there are far worse - but he's like De Niro compared to that pair!
Been watching for over 40 years and have always loved the comedy that ran through the show - where has that gone now? - and which it has always been famous for. Nothing to laugh about now, certainly am not laughing at the state this once favourite programme has become.
I find I am watching these instead of the current episodes and loving every minute of them. There is no comparison to today's poor excuse for a show.
I can't think of one of today's characters that I really care about and I think that's the difference.
The wonderful comic characters like Eddie Yeats just don't exist anymore and even the likes of Mike Baldwin at his worst were still good to watch.
I have to say though that even the stellar cast of yesteryear would struggle to make today's scripts amusing. Just dropping a few random cliched sayings into the conversation doesn't necessarily create humour.
It makes me very sad to say it. I miss Corrie
Oh I could've written that! Everything you've said is absolutely on the nose. I think I could add more but I can't be bothered with it anymore. That man has ruined any characters for whom I felt any sympathy or empathy .It's not even worth having the tv on.
It went when Brookside changed the way people view soaps. And then Eastenders became more popular than Coronation Street, it was after this that things started to change, Brian Tilsley getting stabbed and dying in a back alley, Alan Bradley going nuts, Don Brennan going nuts, teenage pregnancy, murder and so on.
I know that the comedy still continued for a while, with Reg Holdsworth and others, but I think it has completely faded out now and when it is put in, it seems forced, which is a shame.
Also; what the hell is Les Dennis doing in Gail Platt's house. This show is toilet water. Don't think I will be tuning in anytime soon.
Ridiculous.
So is the box-ticking Nazir family.
I've also been watching the 70's boxset- first class.
Nowadays,Its not even so bad is good- is so bad its shi*.
They should really pull its plug.
- The crushing, all-encompassing dullness. We are finding out about storylines months or sometimes even a year in advance (Katy's exit was announced early this year and is still some time away). This is sapping tension away and it's not helped by the fact that storylines are ao uninspired and strange. Maria's psycho phase was appallingly out of character but was somehow dull nonetheless. Tina's murder was built up more than the Olympics and fell apart under its own weight. Blackburn has to start engaging viewers, with interesting and rapidly moving storylines. I'm not a particularly big fan of EE but the way their storylines evolve week by week and overlap with each other is an excellent example to other soaps.
- The wrong characters are at the forefront. I know it's an ensemble cast but Christmas is the most important time of year and the fact that Gary, Michelle, Tony, and Sean are at the forefront, and that Carla, Leanne, Sally and the Barlows are without a storyline should be ringing some alarm bells.
- The Nazirs deserve special mention as one of the worst new additions to Corrie in many years. Their tokenism - not helped by the overplayed accent from Yasmeen - is almost offensively obvious, and Yasmeen and Sharif are complete dead losses. The fact that they are receiving so much screen time but are universally unpopular has to be addressed immediately.
- The lack of continuity and sweeping changes to character/plot set-ups. Todd has turned from well-meaning weasel into a grown up Stewie Griffin with nothing in between. The characters of Michelle, Eileen and Liz have become dreary harridans. Giant plot leaps were taken to allow the Nazirs to settle in - the Windasses were uprooted, Katy, Leanne and Gail were pulled out of their roles to work for them, and Gary/Izzy were suddenly split up without warning. And don't get me started on Tim's illiteracy, which those of us in the SOR thread simply cannot accept.
- There seems to be no long-term plans and it truly seems like the writers are making it up as they go along. We know where the Kylie story is going and that Steve's depression will continue, but there is no groundwork being laid for the future. Is Faye's pregnancy ever going to happen? Will Katy ever leave? Is the gym ever going to have a purpose? And what on Earth is the plan for the tedious Les Dennis?
Put simply, there is very little reason to keep watching as it requires a tremendous amount of patience that is not being delivered upon. Sort it out!