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Should Ken Barlow die on screen? |
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#1 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 1,383
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Should Ken Barlow die on screen?
I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I know Bill Roach has said that he'd stay in the role until he was 120 if they'd have him but would it not be much better for Ken to die on the street, it's the kind of death that would hopefully affect every character in the show and him dying of natural causes in his home would be a fitting end. I'm not saying do it any time, but if Bill Roach's health declines would it not be better to do that than have Ken go somewhere for years. I find it very unlikely he'd leave the street, he belongs their the same way Albert Tatlock talks about in the original series of 13 episodes.
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#2 |
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Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 645
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Maybe. There's a whole generation of characters whose time is coming to the end. Maybe one big car crash with Ken, Rita and Emily?
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#3 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
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Maybe. There's a whole generation of characters whose time is coming to the end. Maybe one big car crash with Ken, Rita and Emily?
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#4 |
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Maybe. There's a whole generation of characters whose time is coming to the end. Maybe one big car crash with Ken, Rita and Emily?
You'd be hard-pressed to see Ken want to see his days out with Peter, his brother is dead, Tracy's a liability and lives on the street anyway. So it would make sense for Ken to go on the street. If Bill Roach's health does take a decline it would just seem unrealistic for Ken to move, I know they wrote him out for his trial (which you could argue means he would move, he's done it before) but he's lived there his entire life. It would seem odd for a character who's spent his entire life in one space to just leave it behind. |
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#5 |
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Join Date: Mar 2013
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It would obviously be better to get a proper onscreen death for Ken, like Jack Duckworth's for example, but if Bill's still working by then, there's nothing really stopping them doing what they did with Stan back in the 80s - having him become housebound then admitted to hospital before his screen death. That'd save Ken moving away and it would keep the character alive and remembered until they decide to pay tribute onscreen.
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#6 |
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Join Date: May 2008
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Would it make any difference? Some of the off-screen deaths have been the most moving, such as Stan Ogden's.
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#7 |
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Join Date: Feb 2012
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Yes, soon hopefully.
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#8 |
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I just hope when the character does die he passes away while still living on the street.
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#9 |
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Join Date: Jun 2008
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Quote:
I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I know Bill Roach has said that he'd stay in the role until he was 120 if they'd have him but would it not be much better for Ken to die on the street, it's the kind of death that would hopefully affect every character in the show and him dying of natural causes in his home would be a fitting end. I'm not saying do it any time, but if Bill Roach's health declines would it not be better to do that than have Ken go somewhere for years. I find it very unlikely he'd leave the street, he belongs their the same way Albert Tatlock talks about in the original series of 13 episodes.
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#10 |
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Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 5,403
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I'm not sure if there is a complex implication here which is easy to miss. Are you suggesting that when the time comes and Bill Roach is in his last moments he should incorporate his own death 'on camera' with that of Ken, so the two pass away simultaneously? Or have I misunderstood this?
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#11 |
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Eek. I hope you have. A "snuff soap" would be of dubious taste!
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#12 |
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Imagine if it was a live episode and all
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#13 |
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Join Date: Mar 2016
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I'm getting a bit of deja vu about this thread, I'm sure the idea of Ken "dying live" has come up before, though possibly not via the OP (and I'm sure/I hope that's not what they mean in this case...)
The character of Ken Barlow is so rooted in the street that it would seem odd for him to move away, although then again in the 60s he had ambitions for Australia and he recently went to Canada to attend to his sick grandson, so it's plausible. You'd expect Ken to die in the street, doing a Stan Ogden with him is difficult because Dierdre is no longer there, the Stan and Hilda stuff worked because they had such a lasting and close relationship. Who would fill the Hilda role? Tracy, who's shown no interest in any human being and isn't actually his daughter? Which is why I suggest killing the character before his health declines, personally I'll never understand why Bill Roach still does Corrie but we'll leave that. I mean if he and Audrey get together and last a decade or two it might work (but then Bill'd be in his mid 90s to early 100s). |
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#14 |
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I don't mind an offscreen death with Ken. Im not a fan of Bill, but i do admit that would be wrongn for the character. So to kill him onscreen would be huge, it would be a huge momment in soap Genre, and i would love it if we all got to say goodbye to him after nearly a 1000 years.
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#15 |
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Join Date: Jun 2008
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What would the storyline be though? It has to be appropriate somehow. Could they work in that cat who used to be in the credits in the 80s as a nod to long-term viewers? Maybe he could trip up and smash his cranium on a wobbly cobble? It would be a hard task for ther story team thats for sure.
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#16 |
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What would the storyline be though? It has to be appropriate somehow. Could they work in that cat who used to be in the credits in the 80s as a nod to long-term viewers? Maybe he could trip up and smash his cranium on a wobbly cobble? It would be a hard task for ther story team thats for sure.
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#17 |
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I think this is one of those occasions where he should just die of old age. No stunts, gimmcks etc. Have his family and friends round him and pass on.
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#18 |
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Once any character gets to a certain age, unless the actor wants to go, they're very nearly all set up for life. There seems to a bit of a taboo about killing off older characters.
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#19 |
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Once any character gets to a certain age, unless the actor wants to go, they're very nearly all set up for life. There seems to a bit of a taboo about killing off older characters.
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#20 |
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Join Date: Mar 2016
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Once any character gets to a certain age, unless the actor wants to go, they're very nearly all set up for life. There seems to a bit of a taboo about killing off older characters.
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Ken Barlow should be an exception, he has managed to make it to Legend status by basically being the longest serving cast member, but has not had a decent storyline for about 25 years, were he has actually shown us he deserves his legendary status.
I'll always have a massive respect for the way Eileen Derbyshire has managed to completely maintain a private life and only ever given one out of character interview. Whatever her reasons for doing it it's remarkable. Apparently, it's two now. (but Barbara Knox absolutely dominates that interview, constantly cutting Eileen off). |
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#21 |
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Imagine if it was a live episode and all
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#22 |
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Would it make any difference? Some of the off-screen deaths have been the most moving, such as Stan Ogden's.
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#23 |
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Join Date: Nov 2008
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Yes indeed. Hilda opening Stan's possessions the hospital had sent her and breaking down when she opened his glasses case can still bring tears to my eyes.
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#24 |
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Join Date: Mar 2016
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Yes indeed. Hilda opening Stan's possessions the hospital had sent her and breaking down when she opened his glasses case can still bring tears to my eyes.
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#25 |
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What would the storyline be though? It has to be appropriate somehow. Could they work in that cat who used to be in the credits in the 80s as a nod to long-term viewers? Maybe he could trip up and smash his cranium on a wobbly cobble? It would be a hard task for ther story team thats for sure.
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