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The Likeability Factor |
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#1 |
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The Likeability Factor
Do you think it's important that you find something likeable or endearing about a character to enjoy them? I know a lot of people don't give a stuff one way or the other but for me if I don't find anything likeable about a character I just can't get invested in them or their storylines.
Characters like Phil, Shirley, Ian and Jane are quite contemptable but no matter how bad they get they always manage to pull it back eventually and come off as sympathetic, funny or even likeable. Loveable in some cases. This brings me to the reason I'm posing this question. Stacey. No doubt a good (if extremely overrated "Oscar Winning" actress) but the character lacks any likeability at all as far as I can see. Sure, she was on the right track of development a while back but that was tossed out before anything substantial came of it. She's moody, rude, aggressive, a liar, a cheat, self righteous, judgemental, miserable, selfish, disloyal, obnoxious and never truly accepts responsibility for her actions. Even when she went to prison for murder, although manipulated by her mother and Kat, she used her bipolar as an excuse to get out of jail thereby rendering the whole thing pointless. You could level any and all of these accusations at many of the characters but Stacey doesn't even have a decent personality or a sense of humour to overlook her flaws. Do people actually like Stacey or is it just Lacey's acting they appreciate? Nothing wrong with that of course but I struggle with this character mainly because she doesn't appear to have any redeeming qualities. Even Nick Cotton was enjoyable with his panto acting despite being total scum. I don't even mind Richard Blackwood's appalling acting because it's funny to watch. Stacey is neither compelling, sympathetic or entertaining but that's just how I see it. |
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#2 |
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Join Date: Dec 2011
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It is very hypocritical for you to constantly bang on about Stacey when you are the very first to whine when people express negativity towards Sharon. You should practice what you preach every once in a while.
I love Stacey and find her way more likeable than Phil and Ian. I suppose they get it easier because they are men despite being guilty of a long list of heinous crimes. |
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#3 |
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I don't know how anyone can like a woman who killed a defenceless old man and allowed her dead husband to be blamed.
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#4 |
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Quote:
It is very hypocritical for you to constantly bang on about Stacey when you are the very first to whine when people express negativity towards Sharon. You should practice what you preach every once in a while.
I love Stacey and find her way more likeable than Phil and Ian. I suppose they get it easier because they are men despite being guilty of a long list of heinous crimes. Don't start with the sexism bullshit when I included Shirley and Jane in my examples of characters who behave badly but are likeable. Try to read and digest people's posts before you launch your vitriol at them. What do you find likeable about Stacey? You haven't said. You haven't said anything in fact beyond telling me off and having a tantrum because I don't worship at the altar of Saint Stacey the Oscar winner. |
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#5 |
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Quote:
It is very hypocritical for you to constantly bang on about Stacey when you are the very first to whine when people express negativity towards Sharon. You should practice what you preach every once in a while.
I love Stacey and find her way more likeable than Phil and Ian. I suppose they get it easier because they are men despite being guilty of a long list of heinous crimes. The difference with Phil and Ian is they aren't potrayed as characters to like and feel sorry for after all the bad stuff they do. Poor Stace sleeps with her friends boyfriend and out comes the bipolar so that we and shabnam leave her alone. |
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#6 |
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Quote:
It is very hypocritical for you to constantly bang on about Stacey when you are the very first to whine when people express negativity towards Sharon. You should practice what you preach every once in a while.
I love Stacey and find her way more likeable than Phil and Ian. I suppose they get it easier because they are men despite being guilty of a long list of heinous crimes. |
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#7 |
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I only started posting on here in 2012 so I missed out on the first Stacey era. I have read the forum for years so I knew she had a strong fanbase. I think it's quite interesting the amount of slagging off Sharon, Phil and other characters get on here but the minute anyone doesn't bow down to Stacey the toys are thrown out of the pram and all objectivity and reason goes out the window.
Most fans of the big characters like Phil, Ian, Sharon, Jane, Shirley, Mick and so on will freely admit the shortcomings of those characters whether it's the writing, the acting or just the fact they're very flawed people. I've never seen fans of any character besides Stacey tell other posters to shut up or lose their shit so completely at the mere hint of criticism. I'm sure some are going to say the same thing happens when Sharon, Phil, Shirley are criticised but I'd like to see one post where fans of those characters told other posters to shut up and completely ignored any points they made, valid or otherwise. |
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#8 |
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Vey true. Lettita dean is a crap actress she no where as good as Lacey turner, Diane Parish, Linda henry and co. I can't stand the character of Sharon.
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#9 |
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I like stacey. Phil on the other hand i find very little to like if anything. I don't really feel any sympathy for him. On top of that I find Phil a very tired character who needs to leave (either a year long break or killed off at the end of this storyline).
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#10 |
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I like stacey. Phil on the other hand i find very little to like if anything. I don't really feel any sympathy for him. On top of that I find Phil a very tired character who needs to leave (either a year long break or killed off at the end of this storyline).
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#11 |
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Off topic but I'm really fed up of people attacking Broken_Arrow because he doesn't like Stacey so they annoy/troll him by being spiteful about his favourite character on purpose. I'm a fan of Stacey but she's unlikeable sometimes like many characters. BA is allowed to talk about Stacey and it's not fair that he's being attacked for his views. I don't like my characters sometimes so I'm not going to defend them on their actions. Eg: Phil/Sharon/Stacey/Shirley/Mick.
BA praised Stacey plenty of times in the past before the writers made her unlikeable. I have proof of this and I hope BA doesn't mind me posting this. http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2039042 There is really no need to be so mean to him. Sorry for the rant. |
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#12 |
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Quote:
. I think it's quite interesting the amount of slagging off Sharon, Phil and other characters get on here but the minute anyone doesn't bow down to Stacey the toys are thrown out of the pram and all objectivity and reason goes out the window.
. Ronnie and Stacey have always been "those who must not be criticised" on here. This also happens with Shirley, to a lesser extent. Whereas characters like Phil, Sharon, Ian etc are apparently fair game. For the record, I think Lacey Turner is a great actress and put in some excellent performances in her first stint as Stacey. The bi-polar stuff and her scenes with Jean in 2009/10 were amazing. But the character is just a complete bitch, I'm afraid. All she does is go around wrecking marriages and destroying people's lives for a quick shag. Ah, but "plenty of other characters do the same", I hear you cry. "Pat was a right slapper back in her day". True, but at least Pat owned up to it and didn't try to blame everyone else. Stacey is a master at playing the victim to get out of a difficult situation. She even claimed that she murdered Archie in "self-defence" - rather different to my recollection of what happened. I really liked the mature Stacey that returned in 2014, but my god they did a pretty quick u-turn on that. She's gone back to being the moody, nasty, cheating, face-like-a-smacked-arse homewrecking cow that she was before. |
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#13 |
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Quote:
Off topic but I'm really fed up of people attacking Broken_Arrow because he doesn't like Stacey so they have to resort bullying him by being nasty about his favourite character. I'm a fan of Stacey but she's unlikeable sometimes like many characters. BA is allowed to talk about Stacey and it's not fair that he's being attacked for his views.
BA praised Stacey plenty of timesi in the past before the writers made her unlikeable. I have proof of this and I hope BA doesn't mind me posting this. http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2039042 There is really no need to be so mean to him. Sorry for the rant. ![]() I'd understand the reaction if I lacked objectivity about my favourite characters but I freely admit when I don't like how they're behaving. I couldn't stick Sharon a couple of years ago and Letitia's performances were appalling
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#14 |
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Quote:
That's all well and good but Lacey Turner isn't as good as Linda Henry and Diane Parish either. She's an extremely overrated actress who doesn't possess much veratility at all. Yep, she can act but she's not the second coming like some people would have us believe. Nothing wrong with stating that and no need to get your knickers in a twist and childishly slate Letitia Dean as some sort of payback for committing blashpemy against The Virgin Stacey.
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#15 |
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Quote:
The difference with Phil and Ian is they aren't potrayed as characters to like and feel sorry for after all the bad stuff they do. Poor Stace sleeps with her friends boyfriend and out comes the bipolar so that we and shabnam leave her alone.
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#16 |
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Join Date: Feb 2010
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Quote:
Off topic but I'm really fed up of people attacking Broken_Arrow because he doesn't like Stacey so they annoy/troll him by being spiteful about his favourite character on purpose. I'm a fan of Stacey but she's unlikeable sometimes like many characters. BA is allowed to talk about Stacey and it's not fair that he's being attacked for his views. I don't like my characters sometimes so I'm not going to defend them on their actions. Eg: Phil/Sharon/Stacey/Shirley/Mick.
BA praised Stacey plenty of times in the past before the writers made her unlikeable. I have proof of this and I hope BA doesn't mind me posting this. http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2039042 There is really no need to be so mean to him. Sorry for the rant. |
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#17 |
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Also - people should be able to outline why they dislike a particular character without being accused of "attacking" or "trolling". The rise of the 'my precious opinion' brigade on this forum has directly coincided with the decline in quality of debate. So many people seem to take personal offence to their favourite characters being criticised and it is frankly ridiculous.
Ironically, the people who readily dish out criticism of certain characters are usually the exact same people who can't take it when it comes to their own favourites being slagged off. As this thread has shown. |
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#18 |
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Excellent post Broken_Arrow.
Stacey has been back two years but they needed another mental health story to generate any interest in her again. That doesn't surprise me because dealing with Jean or her own Bipolar is the only time I've ever seen anything interesting about her. Her relationships are always a particular snore because Jake Wood is the only man to have chemistry with her (Callum, Ryan, Kush and Martin stories are particularly tedious) and her general character is just a rehashed second rate Kat Slater derivative without the charm. The problem is she has all of Kats negative traits such as selfishness, sluttiness and aggressiveness but with extra sourness and none of Kat's positive traits. Kat has heart, humour and a dash of charisma so I understand why the people around her put up with her even though she can be a total nightmare. Stacey has none of these things, she's a dull, unpleasant bitch or she's seriously unwell or she's the little victim and that's how it's been more the majority of her time on the show. Lacey Turner plays mental illness very well but her general acting is mediocre at best. She is very one note. All lines delivered in that whiny, vibrating voice, constant nostril flaring and permanent smacked arse face. She'll play Stacey as a one note bitch for a story block and then a one note poor little victim for the next block. No colour, no shade. Compare that to Linda Henry and Jessie Wallace who can play both insufferable bitch/ sympathetic within the same scene if necessary and mix strong dramatic skills with good comic timing. They understand light and shade, colour and texture. Turner does not. That isn't to say Shirley cant go episode after episode as a total nightmare because she can but Linda Henry is the master at playing Shirley completely unlikeable and remaining compelling anyway. Jessie Wallace is excellent portraying Kat as hard and bitchy on the outside but soft and vulnerable underneath which is also compelling. Both ladies are flawed and fascinating. Lacey Turner is good at playing mental illness but does nothing to make the character of Stacey special. The Lacey Turner Oscar talk is just the same nonsense Adam Woodyatt generated after Live Week. People were calling for Oscars and Baftas for him and he too is an overrated actor with some strong soap skills in specific areas but very little versatility. Neither have the class or craftsmanship of a truly good actor. I think Stacey is a bore and Lacey Turner hilariously overrated. If that causes toys thrown from prams so be it. |
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#19 |
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Broken_Arrow Do you think Stacey can be redeemed if she takes responsibility for everything she has done like cheating ect and says sorry to everyone she has hurt? Also did you like Stacey and Bradley together as a couple and did you feel sorry for Stacey when she was sectioned in 2009?
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#20 |
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Quote:
Broken_Arrow Do you think Stacey can be redeemed if she takes responsibility for everything she has done like cheating ect and says sorry to everyone she has hurt? Also did you like Stacey and Bradley together as a couple and did you feel sorry for Stacey when she was sectioned in 2009?
No, I didn't like Stacey and Bradley as a couple. She made a mug of him and is the reason he's dead. Bradley deserved better and so does Martin. I can't remember what I felt for Stacey when she was sectioned the first time but at least it wasn't used as an excuse to gloss over her screwing her best friend over and trying to pass another man's baby off as someone else's. |
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#21 |
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Quote:
I don't know how anyone can like a woman who killed a defenceless old man and allowed her dead husband to be blamed.
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#22 |
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For me, Stacey was never a likable character. Stacey came in as the chav who stole, lied and was down right rude to everyone. But it was her vulnerability that drew me to her. She never pretended to be perfect, she knew people had flaws and tried her best to be a good person. It was the week with Jean in 2005 that I first fell in love with this character and actress. Stacey became this chav with attitude, who had a genuine reason for being defensive and negative about life.
That theme continued throughout her stories. And the bigger the hype about Lacey, the bigger the material became. Killing Archie was a mistake too far, and Lacey made the correct decision to escape when she did. DTC did alot of good work undoing that damage. Having Stacey mature, being supportive to those in the Square like Linda following her rape really helped people connect with her. They almost ruined it with the Kush twist. Her friendship with Shabnam was so good, her relationship with Martin could be but they almost threw it all away for the sake of a twist. I think the last two/three weeks with Shabnam's exit and Martin doing everything he can with Stacey has really saved her again. Yes it's another mental health story, but it's the sort of story that EastEnders should be telling. And this time around we actually get to see Stacey's treatment and her getting better which makes much better viewing than her just turning up again well and ready for her next massive story. They need to move on from slag Stacey, and onto grown up, family Stacey. That is the much more interesting development because she hasn't been part of that type of dynamic since she was a child. With the likes of Sharon, Phil, Jane and Ian, it's more the writing that lets them down. We know why Jane did what she did. But why do the write her so hypocritical and act like she is better than everyone else. That was never Jane before, they could link it into the secret, but they don't ever give us that exploration of the character. With Sharon it's because she was always the strong one, but now she's being played by the two men in her life. That's not Sharon, they've tried to link it into a sense of loss and grief for Dennis over the years, with the pill addiction and then discovering about Phil/Dennis, building the Albert and building a family for Dennis, but they've never quite hit the nail on the head. With Stacey over the others for me, they've always quite hit the nail on the head. She's never acted like she's a saint, but recently the writing for her dragged her backwards instead of forwards. But they've always done this over the years. Look at Pat and Patrick's affair a few years back. It came out of nowhere and was more about giving a story, than actually developing the characters. |
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#23 |
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he was evil
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#24 |
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The exact same thing used to happen with Ronnie. Any time anybody dared to criticise Ronnie's outrageous behaviour her legions of fanboys/girls would descend upon the thread and shut down the discussion. That period when she returned in late-2013 was unbearable on here. Thankfully this has died down a lot; presumably her fanbase has dwindled because she's only ever on screen for about three weeks before Sam Womack takes yet another extended break.
Ronnie and Stacey have always been "those who must not be criticised" on here. This also happens with Shirley, to a lesser extent. Whereas characters like Phil, Sharon, Ian etc are apparently fair game. For the record, I think Lacey Turner is a great actress and put in some excellent performances in her first stint as Stacey. The bi-polar stuff and her scenes with Jean in 2009/10 were amazing. But the character is just a complete bitch, I'm afraid. All she does is go around wrecking marriages and destroying people's lives for a quick shag. Ah, but "plenty of other characters do the same", I hear you cry. "Pat was a right slapper back in her day". True, but at least Pat owned up to it and didn't try to blame everyone else. Stacey is a master at playing the victim to get out of a difficult situation. She even claimed that she murdered Archie in "self-defence" - rather different to my recollection of what happened. I really liked the mature Stacey that returned in 2014, but my god they did a pretty quick u-turn on that. She's gone back to being the moody, nasty, cheating, face-like-a-smacked-arse homewrecking cow that she was before. |
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#25 |
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She was pretty much redeemed in 2014 bt then she reverted to type. I was really championing her before that happened but now I realise it's just in the character's makeup to behave appallingly and to be as selfish as she likes.
No, I didn't like Stacey and Bradley as a couple. She made a mug of him and is the reason he's dead. Bradley deserved better and so does Martin. I can't remember what I felt for Stacey when she was sectioned the first time but at least it wasn't used as an excuse to gloss over her screwing her best friend over and trying to pass another man's baby off as someone else's. |
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actress) but the character lacks any likeability at all as far as I can see. Sure, she was on the right track of development a while back but that was tossed out before anything substantial came of it. She's moody, rude, aggressive, a liar, a cheat, self righteous, judgemental, miserable, selfish, disloyal, obnoxious and never truly accepts responsibility for her actions. Even when she went to prison for murder, although manipulated by her mother and Kat, she used her bipolar as an excuse to get out of jail thereby rendering the whole thing pointless. You could level any and all of these accusations at many of the characters but Stacey doesn't even have a decent personality or a sense of humour to overlook her flaws. 
