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The Horror That is Coronation Street = Horrornation Street


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Old 30-07-2015, 01:38
Keibro
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What in God's name have they done to Coronation Street? This once great phenom of a soap, once rich with humour and drama in equal measures, with characters likable, unlikable, ones you could imagine living next door to. 50 odd years on and this show still made the other soaps, the ones that came after it, green with envy. Whilst Brookside and EastEnders may have got the jump on then 20 odd year old Coronation Street in their early days, Corrie outweathered them both. Today, Brookside has been dead over ten years and EastEnders very much goes in waves, up one minute and down the next. Meanwhile, Coronation Street could always be relied upon to turn out an entertaining week, with promise of big drama, with characters we've known and loved for years. It's the soap that could give you a hug one minute, have you crying the next and then have you gripped on the edge of your seat after that.

But something is terribly wrong at Coronation Street today and has been for some time. The episodes that being churned out are missing that energy, that sparkling Northern wit. Scripts used to sparkle, characters effortlessly turned out scenes. Today's Corrie, the actors are reciting words from a page to each other, but don't seem engaged with the material. And if that is coming across on screen, no wonder that the a lot of viewers are also not engaging with the material. What is wrong with Corrie?

Storylines - There are absolutely none to speak of. "big" stories this year have appeared as if by magic, very conveniently around important weeks in the calander i.e. A Bus Crash on the week of the NTAs in January. Then a big fire, shockingly, on the same week as Britains Got Talent live week. And in September, ITV's anniversary and here we are getting a Live episode. Quite what that live episode will entail remains to be seen. The fact that we are none the wiser is quite scary really, as I imagine it will be more of the same dross. "Life changing" drama, sprung up literally overnight and then by the following week all forgotten. Lloyd and Andrea depart....hardly gripping is it.

Callum - it is clear Corrie are hedging their bets on this guy being a major bad ass and bringing in the ratings. It's not going to happen. He is the campest bad guy I've ever seen. He is a very good looking fella, but please, Norris is more menacing. The story of an infatuated Bethany Platt becoming a drugs mule could be good, if Bethany herself wasn't so unlikable already. But then she is her mother's daughter, who herself is even more unlikable since she came back. Quite what Sarah Louise Platt adds to the show since her return remains to be seen. I fear that by Christmas we will be treated to yet another Kylie and David festive fight, leading Kylie to straying again with Callum. *yawn*

Jason Grimshaw will be put in hospital, when he tangles with Callum. Why should Jason Grimshaw give a fig, when Gail and Eileen are still swinging their handbags 11 years after the infamous cobble ruck in 2004. I am not counting Gail vs Eileen 2015 because that was embarrassing. Even more embarrassing is how they are writing Gail these days. The simpering doe eyed buffoon, longing after the local burglar, who just happened to have fallen from her bed, into that of her arch nemesis Eileen. The burglar being played by Les Dennis just heightens to the cringe factor. Helen Worth has to despair at how her character is being destroyed. Is it intentional that Gail seems older than her mother Audrey these days?

Speaking of characters being destroyed. Todd "Scarred for life" Grimshaw. Returned from "that London" a right nasty piece of work. Think Tracy Barlow, but with a penis. Quite why he is suddenly like this has not been answered. Nor will it be. The crying "You always push me away" to Eileen a few months back, was pathetic. Where and when has this happened? Eileen always doted on Todd. Have they retconned the Grimshaw family backstory?

The biggest sign that all continues to be rotten at Corrie, was Deirdre Barlow's funeral. Coronation Street was rocked with the tragic death of Anne Kirkbride, but we all thought here is the opportunity for some classic Corrie. The chance to honour a legend....and I must say it was far from classic. It was cold and stale. Focusing on Tracy and Robert getting together and still forcing Callum on us, it certainly wasn't classic Corrie. And if a writer cannot write out a legend like Deirdre....it doesn't bode well for the future of the Street.

Tonight's episode, endless talk of Roy lecturing Kathy on the state of her house. Alya's all too predictable pregnancy. Eileen and Gail continuing to be embarrassing over casanova Rodwell Les Dennis. Liz and Tony *yawn*

Oh and we have what is sure to be "Corrie at it's best" when Beth, Kirk, Chesney and Sinead go carry on camping. You can see it now can't you. Every Corrie camp cliche trotted out as they desperately try to fill episodes with something. A hot mess

The next producer who eventually will come in, has a mammoth job on his hands. Corrie is unrecognisable. Long standing characters are being given character transplants. Emily, Rita, Norris etc are seen fleetingly. Meanwhile, it's all bad boys and 14 year old drug mules at the Platts. Our Leanne having survived a flash in the pan story of a hostage situation, will be treated appallingly by her little git of a son, who is neither related by marriage or by blood, in Corrie's latest bid at an issue led story. I think the issue of the lousy writing, the poor acting, the deadwood and the inept Producer long overdue the sack are the primary issues, Coronation Street need to focus on.
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Old 30-07-2015, 01:47
KornerKabin
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Beautiful yet tragic post.

Corrie is in a very, very bad way.

What would Ena Sharples say?
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Old 30-07-2015, 01:57
dancerdaisy
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Wow 😲 that's quite a list of things that are wrong with corrie at the moment, and the sad thing to l agree with you on most of them.
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Old 30-07-2015, 02:16
Gnomsie
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I hate to say I agree with you.

Corrie was always my constant, with Eastenders and Emmerdale gripping me occasionally. But I actually stopped watching when Jim McDonald was supplying Peter Barlow alcohol in prison.

I've been trying to get back into it for a few weeks now, in anticipation for the live, but I just can't seem to find anything that makes me look forward to the next episode.

Roy and Cathy's storyline has potential, and Tim and Sally can get a chuckle out of me, but the rest is absolute crap. I wish they'd have carried on the Jenny and Kevin storyline, and I'm hoping Carla's gambling addiction is well done, though I'm not impressed with how it's gone so far.

I couldn't give a stuff about Calum/Bethany/Sarah. It's vulgar. There's something repulsive about watching a man like that behave that way with a 15 year old, but I don't care about the characters enough to feel any sympathy for them.
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Old 30-07-2015, 02:21
Aaron_Silver
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I stopped watching Corrie a few years ago and I'm afraid that quality suffers the more episodes it churns out. I stopped when it went to 5 a week I think it's too many. Eastenders is the only one I watch now and I have watched them all at some point but EE and Corrie were the ones I didn't miss, but 5 a week is too many and the scripts and lack of rehearsal time means quality suffers.
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Old 30-07-2015, 02:28
JohnDoe14
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Give that man a round of applause! It's sad but it's true that I agree with everything on that list and you've only covered half of it. Carla's gambling storyline is being poorly done so far, Zeedan is running a gym on his own (because he's clearly qualified), Luke and Maria's storyline...oh no wait they've not had one because they apparently don't need screentime, the whereabouts of Andy and more.
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Old 30-07-2015, 03:35
notdebbiedingle
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Hi Kelbro,
Being relatively new to the forum I have got to admit that in the past I have read your posts as a Corrie hater, just trying to stir up trouble!! Having read this post I apologise to you!! I now realise that you care as much about the show as i do myself and are just as thoroughly disillusioned as I am rapidly becoming!!
The sad question is where on earth does a new producer start, always assuming they pick the right person for the job!! It just seems everything has gone wrong at the same time! Can the blame all be laid at Stuart Blackburn's door or is there a more deep rooted problem??
Starting with the storylines, whenever he previews them he can sell them & make you think 'Yess this is going to be good', yet I've lost count of the number of his storylines that have had me bitterly disappointed by what has appeared on screen!! So what goes wrong between Blackburn opening his mouth & we, the viewer watcing the scenes on our screens??
That takes us to the writers, but some of these guys have been writing for Corrie since well before Blackburn's time & not churning out dross like we're getting at the moment!! So who betweeen the producer& the writers is responsible for trying to force complete changes in the personality of almost every character just to fit certain storylines?? A classic current example is Kevin, a character who for 20+ years has dug his heels in against his former wife's social climbing & stubbornly fought to keep his life exactly the way it is!! Now suddenly, because we need Tim to feel inadequate, Kevin is transformed into a go ahead businessman, visitinh the bank in his suit & tie... please!! Kevin is just one example, don't even get me started on Gail, David, Sarah & many others!!
So how much can be laid at the door of the cast?? In my opinion, not much!! I would say barring the odd one or two regulars who have outstayed their welcome ( Liz, Sean & Tracy in my book) I believe Corrie's cast to be something to treasure, a great mix of young, old, good,bad, comedic characters, tragic characters, with a few 'normal' ones left in for the others to play off!! I think by & large they do a great job with the crap they're being fed to work with, but morale amongst them must be at a pretty low ebb whenever they read the current scripts!! Also one of the big issues for me is that Blackburn's new characters just haven't hit the spot, either that or he has introduced & then forgotten about them, or simply given them character transplants or stories that just don't suit their character ( in the case of poor little Sinead, all three!!) The likes of Callum, Erica, Alya, Kal, Robert, new Sarah etc are poor successors to the great Corrie characters of the past & will be remembered for nothing in a few year's time!! There are promiing newbies, Steph & Luke could be developed, Billy is an interesting idea for a character, Zeedan is just starting to show promise but they need to be properly integrated, interacting with more different characters!!

I don't have the answers of how to take the show back to the heights it was in the past, (the 00's would do me as that was a great era in my book) but I do believe it certainly won't improve under the current regime!! We need a producer & a set of writers who genuinely care for every character, care enough to know their history & not forget great chunks of it just to fit in with a story, we need new life breathing into forgotten characters like Maria, Jason, Tyrone etc & we need to remember the characters who have history with each other & get the characters interacting more, as a community!! One of the few things that pleases me about very recent weeks is the addition of litte references to the past & past storylines!! This needs to be built on, friendships between characters need to be remembered & rebuilt, even family connections rebuilt ( Michelle remembering she's young Liam's auntie is one example) & shake the whole bloody show out of the sloppy stupor it seems to think is acceptable at the moment!! Corrie fans are patient & fiercely loyal many like myself having grown up with it & watched it all our lives!! At the moment that patience & loyalty is wearing very very thin!!
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Old 30-07-2015, 04:39
Keibro
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Love your post notdebbiedingle. I agree with a lot of what you said. Kevin Webster's sudden ambition is quite baffling. You are absolutely right in saying that it's completely contrived in order to make Tim look and feel inferior and for Sally to maybe start looking at Kevin again. Quite why they feel the need to do this is beyond me, as Sally and Tim are the best thing about Coronation Street today. They are chalk and cheese but they work. Tim is a fabulous character who always gets a chuckle out of me. Sally Dveynor's "reinvention" of Sally works, because for years she's always had that ambition to climb the ladder. And we see that today, so that doesn't bother me at all. Sally and Tim need to stay together. Leave Kevin and Sally in the past.

Carla's gambling addiction I could buy as a reaction to her recent trauma, but she's gone offscreen with very little of the storyline being explored. We know she's been online and at the casino a lot, but I fear the whole story will be a rush job to write the wonderful Alison King out of the show indefinitely and she will leave penniless. Like very good addiction storyline it should be allowed time to develop and explored over time, I'm not sure Corrie have that time to do it justice.

I know all soaps have their peaks and troughs, but it seems ITV are happy to let Stuart Blackburn continue once Corrie can still top the ratings. However, under Stuart Blackburn nearly 2million viewers have switched off. Corrie once held `a one million plus lead over it's nearest rival EastEnders. Today the gap is a lot smaller and it's not down to EastEnders gaining any extra viewers but Corrie losing some.

Of course, the advantage Corrie has is with a bit of work, some proper stories put in place, the viewers will come back. The media love Corrie and it's still got a place in all of our hearts. I'm hoping the next Producer is someone who knows the Street and loves it. I think this was one of the important factors when EastEnders brought Dominic Treadwell Collins back to lead the show. Of course he isn't perfect, but the shows fortunes certainly did a big turnaround. The same has to happen for Corrie.
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Old 30-07-2015, 05:10
soapnut
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Sadly I deserted Corrie during the aftermath of the tram crash. The Kevin and Molly affair was an early signal for me that my viewing would soon come to an end. It just didn't sit right and the show was showing signs of decline for me even then. The Tram Crash was gripping but from that point onwards the whole saga just ground to a halt as quick as the I'll - fated tram did.

Enter Stuart Blackburn - who literally destroyed a thriving Emmerdale with a combine harvester then got happy with his s**t spreader - and you know knew Corrie was in terrible trouble - and not surprisingly he didn't disappoint. Unforseen and unexpected departures, a raft of ridiculous stories, totally dislikeable new characters, frontal lobotomy's of existing much loved ones and s**t writing provided the recipe for disaster. Too many episodes also spoilt the pudding. Car crash returns of popular characters, an endless stream of bad press, controversial off set antics and the tragic death of the wonderful Anne Kirkbride have cast a shadow upon this cherished and beloved show.

It is such a terrible shame and the show, it's reputation and it's respected stalwart cast deserve so much more. Corrie has been dogged with bad luck and tarnished for far too long now - somebody needs to act now and fast. Since SB has got his feet well and truly under the table I just find the show completely unwatchable. Not even the returns of Liz, Todd and Sarah Louise have enticed me back - all characters I originally loved and an important part of the show's history! Don't recognise them at all now in catching the odd episode. What on earth has happened? Too many murdering serial killers for a start - they should have left it at Richard Hillman - Corrie greatness like that can never be replicated and shouldn't be attempted either! SB has to go for sure as I think it will be the only event that will lure me back - until then he is still on a rampage in his combine harvester heading straight for Rosamund Street - somebody do something - NOW! - a sad and bewildered currently ex - corrie fan.
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Old 30-07-2015, 07:02
pollysue1939
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Someone asks where can they start to put things right. They need to give us a week of the basic gentle humour which made Coronation Street great. Put the dramatic stuff on the back burner for a while. The ordinary everyday jokes that we all enjoy with friends would go a long way towards mending things. We have enough violence with EastEnders, and disasters are Emmerdale's thing, Corrie could balance this nicely. I don't mean that we should loose all of the drama of course, that would be silly.
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