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HOLLYOAKS: Are there any reasons left to watch?


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Old 13-05-2016, 13:31
soapnut
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Just where exactly do you begin with this trainwreck of a programme?

Viewer treatment and the continued insult to their intelligence
The lost premise
Terrible actors
Actor favouritism
Ridiculous characters
Sensationalism
Block storytelling
The careless and inexplicable mockery of serious, real-life issues
The wreckless and irresponsible representation of real-life charities and organisations - (How have they got the nerve to direct viewers who "may have been affected" to the Channel 4 website?)
Relentless nudity (a constant for Hollyoaks, but it's reached new, disturbing levels ..)
The sick obsession with murder and death .. it's VERY wrong ..

Have I missed anything?

Is anyone else actually beginning to feel quite sickened and disturbed by this programme - and the person in charge of it?
How is it's content being green-lighted to air in a 6:30pm timeslot?
Why has the direction of the show and it's questionable content not been reviewed by TV regulators?
Is the way in which the programme is being executed not a huge and careless risk?
How can Channel 4 controller Jay Hunt justify this as youth programming or content for the younger demographic? - Is it REALLY what Channel 4 want?
Why is Bryan Kirkwood even still there?
How has he got away with passing comment - and not in a good way - on the programme's own viewers?
Has he got ANY respect for the viewers, his cast members or their potential future careers? (Providing they can act to begin with)
Do the viewing figures warrant it's continuation?
Can they really get away with having none other than FOUR characters portrayed as serial killers all at the same time?

I think Hollyoaks has reached the point of no return. It has itself lost the plot and is beyond fantasy. There's escapism and then there's WTF tv. This programme isn't even at the other end of the spectrum, it doesn't appear, full stop.

3 things that need to happen immediately:

Bryan Kirkwood should be moved on and a new producer installed.
The programme should return to it's original premise and focus on real issues in a responsible and sensitive manner.
A new team of talented and creative writers brought on-board.

Failing that, cancel it.

I implore everyone on this forum to add their input to this thread - good or bad (some people seem to like it) - to tell TPTB what we really think of this programme. BK is dangerously close to taking a step too far with the upcoming Summer storyline featuring his pet-favourite Keiron Richardson. A subject that is certainty not for mocking, ridiculing or indeed, sensationalizing. It is frightening to think about what they will do with it. They have already over-stepped the mark considering the nature in which it begins ..
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Old 13-05-2016, 13:46
Neomysterio
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For me its...

Anna Passey (Love her acting)
Jade / Alfie.
Sally.

I think thats actually it... Which saddens me greatly because I've always loved Hollyoaks but it really is a shell of its once great self. I really wish BK would do one and pronto...
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Old 13-05-2016, 13:56
soapnut
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For me its...

Anna Passey (Love her acting)
Jade / Alfie.
Sally.

I think thats actually it... Which saddens me greatly because I've always loved Hollyoaks but it really is a shell of its once great self. I really wish BK would do one and pronto...
Have to agree. Anna Passey is a superb actress and any outlandish plots involving her are forgiven! Sally needs way more screentime, Annie Wallace is marvellous and wasted in a show like this. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Jade/Alfie cancer storyline was ruined in any way either. BK should be sacked IMO. I'm actually sickened by him!
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Old 13-05-2016, 14:03
sorcha_healy27
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I'm only tuning in for Silas and Lindsay.
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Old 13-05-2016, 14:07
Mark_Washingto1
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I enjoy Hollyoaks and right now I've been enjoying it more than Corrie and Emmerdale, however I've only been watching it for 2 years and I'm from the US so I'm sued to crazy stories.

I really like the Trevor and Sienna pairing they have great chemistry and their pairing has humanized both characters, before they started interacting I didn't care for either character. I also love the Lovedays, Simone especially. its really great to see a black family that are fully developed characters with front burner stories. I look at Corrie with Steph and Luke who have been there for like 3 years and their characters haven't been fleshed out like the Lovedays.

Now that being said there are somethings I don't like, I don't care for Freddie and I had hoped he was really dead, the character is terrible and played by one of the worst actors I've ever seen on soaps. I also don't like Ste becoming a Meth addict and Harry's indecent proposal. Much like Aaron on Emmerdale they seem to love giving misery to Ste but its way overboard with Ste. Also if the rumors are true and
Spoiler
I will be really pissed.

I think if Kirkwood wants Hollyoaks to be over the top and unrealistic he needs to look back to Days of Our Lives and what Jim Riley did with it in the 90's. Riley was telling crazy stories like Marlena's Posession and many others but he always stayed true to the characters, The only time you saw character transplants was if they were possessed or had been brainwashed by Stefano. Also Riley was big on couples you had John and Marlena, Bo and Hope, Sami and Austin, we all knew who loved who and who wanted to be with who, where has Hollyoaks people flip flop on who they want on a daily basis. If Kirkwood were to make Trevor and Sienna star crossed lovers who spend the next two years trying to get together it could make for a great story. Also the social issues need to be dropped, when you have four serial killers running around the town you can't be telling stories about cancer, child abuse and drug abuse because it doesn't fit in.
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Old 13-05-2016, 14:08
soapnut
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I'm only tuning in for Silas and Lindsay.
Even though it's a complete hatchet job of a story?

My plan was to see it through to the bitter end then give up.

More Ste addiction and woe is me? No thanks.
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Old 13-05-2016, 14:14
katt
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its Hollyoaks

everything nowadays is OTT - its just the way it has gone *shrug*

doesnt bother me tbh - its a fictional drama and with Birkwood in charge I am not expecting realism

if you dont like it - switch off - its that simple
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Old 13-05-2016, 14:15
seventhwave
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I think the show does still have some good aspects. There are characters that can still work: IMO Tony, Mercedes, Myra, John Paul, Celine, Cleo, Cindy, Dirk, Jack, Frankie, Esther, Simone, Louis, Trevor, Grace, Sienna, Alfie, Jade, Sally and, yes, Ste all have actors who can be good on the occasion that they are given something half decent to work with. (That's partly why there was so much frustration over storylines like Ste's HIV diagnosis, Jade and Alfie's cancer, John Paul's rape, Mercedes' stillbirth, Cleo and Pete etc. which started well and then turned into crap.) But these are vastly overshadowed by the problems you mention: the sensationalism, the repetition, the constant stunts, everyone and their dog being a serial killer.

BK is dangerously close to taking a step too far with the upcoming Summer storyline featuring his pet-favourite Keiron Richardson. A subject that is certainty not for mocking, ridiculing or indeed, sensationalizing. It is frightening to think about what they will do with it ..
It's not even that big an issue in the UK? We do not currently have the problems with meth use that the USA does. Rather than have Ste get into, say, crack or heroin (which have been done before on soaps and don't have the benefit of a recent multi-award-winning US TV drama publicising them) as usual C4/Kirkwood just want to grab another "first" for the show (like first gay wedding, first female serial killer, etc.) And after Lindsey and Silas leave we will still have three serial killers on the loose, don't forget Warren is one ...

They do at least seem to have some idea of where to draw the line. Sam (Twitter/Tumblr spoiler source who's usually accurate) has said that the original plan for the Lisa storyline was based around the Fritzl case and it would turn out that she had been kept as a sex slave and had children fathered by the rapist! Luckily someone pulled the plug on that and replaced it with Margaret taking her ...
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Old 13-05-2016, 14:36
soapnut
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its Hollyoaks

everything nowadays is OTT - its just the way it has gone *shrug*

doesnt bother me tbh - its a fictional drama and with Birkwood in charge I am not expecting realism

if you dont like it - switch off - its that simple
Yes, I know where my remote is

It's the fact that it's so irresponsible and the sick producer that I have a major problem with. They glorify serious issues - as do all soaps - but Hollyoaks is on another level. Considering it's intended target audience, the wrong message is often sent and I strongly disagree with that. We all know that there are people out there who are unable to seperate fact from fiction and I think that the storytelling is quite risky in that respect. I agree, all soaps are guilty of it to an extent, but they are still more grounded - way more so than Hollyoaks who take it to the absolute extreme.
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Old 13-05-2016, 14:37
Neomysterio
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Completely forgot to mention Simone and Louis Loveday.

Add them to my "Thumbs Up" list.
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Old 13-05-2016, 14:56
sorcha_healy27
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Even though it's a complete hatchet job of a story?

My plan was to see it through to the bitter end then give up.

More Ste addiction and woe is me? No thanks.
Yes I know but I love Silas
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Old 13-05-2016, 19:14
soapnut
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Yes I know but I love Silas
Shame he's been ruined with this GHK nonsense
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Old 13-05-2016, 20:29
c0bo
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Hollyoaks is terrible lately what with the too many actors and the terrible story lines. The problem that Hollyoaks has is that the story lines are good but then they get dragged on. And did I mention the terrible actors.
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Old 13-05-2016, 20:47
thejoyof_pat
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I'm in the minority but I love it, Marnie is such a treat for one, she's so fabulous and camp. I hate the GHK because it still makes no sense being Lindsey but I guess I will have to get on board and there is far too much Ste but oh well, it's bonkers but funny in parts
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Old 13-05-2016, 21:26
alienghost
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I don't think I take Hollyoaks as deadly serious as some people do. It's always had a reputation for poor acting and OTT plots. I also only tend to dip in and out of it rather than watch it all year round every year.

But I have to say I am enjoying it at the moment, as daft as it can be. I'm finding it entertaining.

I really like some of the new-ish additions to it actually, such as Sally, the Lovedays, Jade and Alfie.

I agree that Anna Passey is very good.

However, I also agree that the amount of serial killers about in the show is getting a bit exhausting.

I've also never liked Warren, so not looking forward to him coming back.
Spoiler
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Old 13-05-2016, 21:42
seventhwave
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I don't think I take Hollyoaks as deadly serious as some people do. It's always had a reputation for poor acting and OTT plots. I also only tend to dip in and out of it rather than watch it all year round every year.
It did have a run of several years though (around 2006-2012) when it was known for plots that got a lot of praise, including: John Paul and Craig, Ste and Brendan, Hannah's anorexia, Silas's original run, Niall and the McQueens, Amy's pregnancy, Becca and Justin's affair, Jason Costello's transition, Tony and Mandy's daughter dying from SIDS, the minibus crash, etc. And it was being taken a lot more seriously as a soap at that time. I think that's the era a lot of people would like to see back and are disappointed at what it currently is
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Old 13-05-2016, 22:04
NoughtiesMusic
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Either Kirkwood wants to stick around as long as he can, as it's probably the only show that would keep him in his position, he'd be laughed out of anywhere after what he did to EE and his current run on HO. Or maybe another exec doesn't wish to step in because it's so embarrassing.

Jade/Alfie and the Loveday saga are literally the only worthwhile parts at the moment. Never has a single soap had a cast where almost half of them are completely unlikeable.
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Old 13-05-2016, 22:10
Aura101
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Either Kirkwood wants to stick around as long as he can, as it's probably the only show that would keep him in his position, he'd be laughed out of anywhere after what he did to EE and his current run on HO. Or maybe another exec doesn't wish to step in because it's so embarrassing.

Jade/Alfie and the Loveday saga are literally the only worthwhile parts at the moment. Never has a single soap had a cast where almost half of them are completely unlikeable.
Birkwood has some dirt on Channel 4 , he must do, how else is he still in a job !! he has managed to ruin 2 soaps in a row. Atleast eastenders has now managed to salvage something from the wreckage he left it in.
Hollyoaks is just utterly utterly appalling, if it was not on bang on dinner time then there is no way i would still be watching
i have sort of made a pact with my BFF that we will stop watching once the SIlas/Lyndsy thing is over, just out of pure curiosity more than anything else.
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Old 13-05-2016, 22:44
SecretLifeoBees
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For me I still watch for :
- Silas ( Jeff Rawle is just fab)
- Sally (the best new addition to the cast)
- Esther (such a shame she is wasted on crap 90% of the time)
- Alfie and Jade's cancer storyline (thought I would hate it but I have found it interesting and at times really well played by the two young actors)

Reasons to turn off
- Ste and Harry. Worst couple ever.
- Ste's constant hard luck stories. Boring!
- Marnie and James. Awful characters.
- Cameron in general.
- Tony's money troubles
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Old 14-05-2016, 01:36
soapnut
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Birkwood has some dirt on Channel 4 , he must do, how else is he still in a job !! he has managed to ruin 2 soaps in a row. Atleast eastenders has now managed to salvage something from the wreckage he left it in.
Hollyoaks is just utterly utterly appalling, if it was not on bang on dinner time then there is no way i would still be watching
i have sort of made a pact with my BFF that we will stop watching once the SIlas/Lyndsy thing is over, just out of pure curiosity more than anything else.
Yes, BK is surely unemployable elsewhere. Unsurprisingly, he appears to be universally hated on this forum and shows nothing but contempt for the fans.

The thought of a whole Summer of Ste and another addiction, Cameron becoming the latest serial killer, Trevor going, Warren returning, yet another pointless detective, the Dumb & Dumber love triangle and no doubt endless deaths/murders/whatever is enough to put anyone off. The GHK farce has sealed it for me I think. I just can't see the show improving in any way shape or form whatsoever. It has become a chore to watch and difficult to sit through - especially episodes featuring the ghastly bug-eyed mannequin that is Charlie Clapham. His 'performance' actually worsens by the episode, it's so forced and painful. should have died for real at the hands of Lindsey, end of.
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Old 14-05-2016, 01:40
Scorpio2
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I actually enjoy it more than Emmerdale and Corrie. The plots are nonsense and unrealistic but it's fun to watch.

Also we have the wonderful Marnie who's one of the best characters in a long time.
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Old 14-05-2016, 01:48
Charmaine_PIat1
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The thought of a whole Summer of Ste and another addiction, Cameron becoming the latest serial killer, Trevor going, Warren returning, yet another pointless detective, the Dumb & Dumber love triangle and no doubt endless deaths/murders/whatever is enough to put anyone off. The GHK farce has sealed it for me I think. I just can't see the show improving in any way shape or form whatsoever. It has become a chore to watch and difficult to sit through - especially episodes featuring the ghastly bug-eyed mannequin that is Charlie Clapham. His 'performance' actually worsens by the episode, it's so forced and painful. should have died for real at the hands of Lindsey, end of.
Even more reasons not to watch anymore
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Old 14-05-2016, 02:45
Hankshaw
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Mary Whitehouse has risen.

The McQueens, Sally and Scott have been hilarious, tense, real and moving.

Some of the best scenes have just happened between Parry Glasspool and Nick Pickard.

Cameron vs Ste is so dark and sinister. Very exciting.

Jade and Alfie are adorable.

Silas and Lindsey have become an amusing double act. Get killed or kill someone please.

Also Summer is coming which means six weeks of madness is coming.
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Old 14-05-2016, 15:56
soapnut
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Mary Whitehouse has risen.

The McQueens, Sally and Scott have been hilarious, tense, real and moving.

Some of the best scenes have just happened between Parry Glasspool and Nick Pickard.

Cameron vs Ste is so dark and sinister. Very exciting.

Jade and Alfie are adorable.

Silas and Lindsey have become an amusing double act. Get killed or kill someone please.

Also Summer is coming which means six weeks of madness is coming.
It may be a fictional soap but there should be some limitations and at least a scrap of credibility!

The McQueens are dated and stale, until the next never-mentioned-before batch crawl out of the woodwork when current members leave or die under a rock or train. They certainly aren't funny, just painful. Myra's return was a bit pointless and she's now nothing but a prop.

Sally is fantastic, no disagreement there. I've warmed to Scott slightly but NO to him and JP. Way too convenient for the lazy writers.

Parry Glasspool was clearly hired for his looks and nothing else.

Cameron is the next have-a-go serial killer which will no doubt come to light in two years time if we're lucky. A ruined character about to be destroyed completely if he hasn't been already - join the mounting scrapheap. His war with Ste just an excuse to shove Ste to the forefront again.

Ste - so he's about to have a new addiction and hit rock bottom - who cares? Same old, same old.

Jade & Alfie - both wasted in this programme with at least one of them headed for certain doom to balance the death tally out.

Silas & Lindsey/GHK - both annihilated as characters and the senseless story an all-time low for Hollyoaks. Robbed the show further of any credibilty it may have once had.

Six weeks of Summer - translates to Six weeks of death, murder, kidnap, blackmail and infidelity. A substantial portion of the usual with a huge dollop of extra helpings for good measure.

At least give us something new which is vaguely interesting and doesn't require an impromptu character transplant, an overheard conversation, secretly overseen meeting or stolen mobile phone to shuffle the story along a nanometre - incredibly unimaginative and lazy storytelling which the writers are far too reliant upon, either of those scenarios if not all of them happen in almost every episode - boring, repetitive and totally predictable.

We have only touched upon a handful of characters/stories and you just can't polish a turd as they say, especially not this one.
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Old 14-05-2016, 16:18
AEC2600
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I watch in the hope it gets better. I'm deluded of course as it won't but still.
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