Saturday 10 December 2011

Coronation Street post-tramcrash - better, or worse?


(This post was originally posted by Seapenguin on the Coronation Street Blog in May, 2011.)

I've not been blogging here much lately due to total apathy regarding the state of the street. Up until the tram crash I'd watch avidly, but it's much easier for me now to walk away and put the kettle on than ever it's been in the past.

I think the scripts have picked up a bit recently, with a bit more humour, but I think the actual storylines are woeful with far too many in your face issue-driven plots. Homelessness. Transvestism. Sexuality. Schoolgirl mums. Broken families. Marc/Marcia must be a nadir. They've "done" cross-dressing before (Ida Fagg anyone? Duggie Ferguson even! Different world wasn't it?)

I find some of the new characters unappealing - Roy's mum, Ken's grandson. So far, I've no desire to get to know them any better. The two that keep me going at the moment are Kevin Webster (just does angry so well) and believe it or not, Owen Armstrong! He's getting some good lines and I like his gruff delivery.

As far as the Stape blockbuster goes, I will watch it with interest next week out of respect to Graeme Hawley, who has been terrific throughout. But overall, I'd far rather have seen him get back into therapy and settle down nicely with Fiz and the baby than run amok on a rooftop.

I remember people commenting a month or three ago that Coronation Street was just hitting a post-tram crash/post 50th slump, and that it would pick up again. Personally, I think that it has picked up but only very minimally. Anyone else got any thoughts?

2 comments:

nwtrunner said...

Yeah - seems the writing is not up to where it used to be. I'm sad at what they've done to Graeme - he had such comic potential! - and losing Eddie Windass too. Another one of Corrie's "loveable rogue" characters.

Tvor said...

I think the writing mostly is pretty good, the storylines themselves aren't always well thought out. Some of the dialogue just sparkles as much as it used to. I do think the show has suffered for having to do 5 half hour episodes a week, it's more rushed than it used to be with a lot more cast as well.

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