I hate it when Coronation Street's shifted around the schedules to make way for an ITV money-spinner. And that's what's happened this week as Corrie's been on every night at 9pm to make way for Britain's Got the X-Factor Idol or whatever it's called. In order for us fans to get behind the change to our Cornation Street viewing schedule ITV have given it a name, "Big Week". Big Disappointment, more like.
It reminds me too much and too painfully or that awful dip in Corrie quality last summer when ITV showed Corrie every night as the John Stape storyline played out to its end. I turned Corrie off twice during that week, and that's not something I've ever done to my favourite soap before in over 30 years of watching. And I'm in danger of not giving a toss about it this week, either.
At the end of every episode so far this week, we've had trailers and previews of more "exciting" times to come the next night. But the trailer and preview turns out to BE the excitement. The rest of each episode feels like filler, every episode feels diluted. There's precious little in the way of quality dialogue, humour or action. It's moving too slowly, with the same scenes between Tina and Tommy for instance, played over again, the same words spoken in a different way.
So Tina's been left for dead in a pile of blood on the floor of a lapdancing club. On paper, I bet that sounded like a great idea. Exciting, even. But we knew Tina would recover, we know Terry will probably leave, we know Lesley will die. We know all this because ITV have told us. There's no drama, there's no suspense, there's no... hang on, I'm losing the will to tune in tonight. The only thing worth watching is Nigel Pivaro as he stumbles around the set as Terry Duckworth, he's so bad he's brilliant.
Or am I being a miserable old grump? What do you think of Corrie's "Big Week" so far?
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4 comments:
I find "Big Week" just more of the same - Corrie's been tilting towards boring for quite some time. So many of the endearing characters are gone especially the sardonic, quick-witted, sharp-tongued elders. Folks like Blanche added a heck of a lot to my enjoyment of the show. The current writers certainly do not seem to be up to snuff.
I'm finding it very difficult to watch the Alzheimer's story play out. My Mum had this disease, declining slowly for eight years or so; she was 86 when she passed away. My father was with her to the end, and never left her side through the whole horrible illness, no matter how difficult it became for him. So I guess that colours this whole storyline for me.
For us, it was very hard coping with Mum's illness, at times frustrating, and yes, sometimes patience failed. In that way, this is a realistic portrayal. But I'm not seeing the love and care shown so much. The way they talk about their affair and what to do with Lesley as if she's not even in the room with them just appalls me. The way Eileen rolls her eyes when Lesley says something that doesn't make sense. The way Paul yells at her. Just the general way they deal with her, no gentleness, they seem so agitated and angry it's no wonder she gets agitated as well. I guess this is supposed to be understood as frustration, but it just kills me.
I wish they had indicated in some way that Paul and Eileen had taken some training, read a book, or gone to some seminars, or SOMETHING. I just cannot believe that Eileen doesn't understand Lesley cannot be left alone, even for five minutes.
And in reality, I think it's pretty unlikely Paul would leave Eileen with his sick wife unless Eileen had some experience dealing with this illness. It's not easy to cope with and it's not the same as minding a child. And I think it's also unlikely that Eileen would accept the responsibility, as she must know it's way beyond her expertise.
Thanks for the space to rant in!
fondue123
I can appreciate your experiences. I do know from others that the basic portrayal is indeed very realistic and the actress is doing a really good job of it. One of my friends was disappointed that they have not shown that there are a lot of alternative helping programs out there. You're right about Eileen's reaction but then, where she's had no experience and no training, I think her handling of and reactions to Lesley was pretty much in character. The added affair and relationship is the part of the storyline that really puts it in a bad light in my mind too. I can appreciate that Paul is in a very tough position and probably was very lonely and I guess for the sake of dramatics, it has to be this way but i would have preferred he and Eileen to have stayed friends only.
I agree, the actress playing Lesley is doing very well, especially in those scenes in which she gets angry and lashes out, or in scenes such as last night, wringing her hands and muttering about a lost item. Brought tears to my eyes, honestly.
And for me also, probably the biggest problem I have with the storyline is the affair. I can see that they're in a difficult position, but I'm disappointed they went with the affair, rather than a platonic (for now) friendship. I think the way their relationship began may come back to haunt them later.
fondue123
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