A Corrie retrospective: 1980s v 2010s

(This post was originally posted by Graeme N on the Coronation Street Blog in May 2013.)

I very much enjoyed reading Llifon's recent blog post on the major events that took place in Corrie during the 1980s. I have very distant memories of the tale end of that decade however from watching a lot of DVDs I know it was a strong period for the street.

This set me off wondering how the Coronation Street of the 2010s will be viewed retrospectively. The one thing that struck me was the sheer volume of high quality, iconic storylines that unfolded in Weatherfield during the 1980s. Is Corrie today capable of matching, or even exceeding that?

From the Mike, Deirdre and Ken love triangle of 1983 and the death of Stan Ogden in 1984 to the Rovers fire of '86 and the long-running reign of dastardly Alan Bradley, Coronation Street really was firing on all cylinders for most of that decade. How much of this is looking back through rose tinted specs I don't know as I wasn't old enough to enjoy these stories as a regular Corrie viewer. However it does seem to me that Corrie did big event storylines in a much more subtle, realistic way. Many events such as the death or departure of a long running character were underplayed therefore having a greater impact.

While many of the events that took place in Corrie during the 1980s are quite major or life-changing, they were spread out over ten years. A huge amount has already happened to the Street residents and this current decade is still young. 

Is it all getting a bit much? Would such carnage and mayhem really strike so many residents of such a tiny back street? I am sure you all have quite strident thoughts on that.

Take Stella for example. In just shy of two years she has found a daughter she abandoned at birth, found out that Karl had a gambling addiction, found out that Karl had cheated on her with Sunita, been knocked down by a drunken Carla Connor and nearly died when trapped in the Rovers fire. Throw in a relationship with a man young enough to be her son and being caught using Gail's mop whilst giving the Bistro a good bottoming and you have a very unlikely, not to mention, very unlucky two years.


I wonder how the immediate post-tram crash years in Corrie will be viewed in years to come. Some telly gets better with age while some does not. Who knows, we may look back fondly on Corrie's sixth decade in years to come, although for me the jury is firmly out.

What do you think?



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