When you think about classic soap Coronation Street, what comes to mind?
A brassy battle axe in leopard print prowling the cobbles?
An old biddy with a blue rinse sticking her nose in someone’s business?
Memories
Or an ageing Casanova with his glasses held together with a plaster, supping beer and gobbling one of Betty Turpin’s hotpots.
Oh, the memories. Great, aren’t they?
But if you were to mooch along Coronation Street in 2021 you’d struggle to find any of these great characters.
Now the tiny, hidden Weatherfield street is full of gangsters, serial killers, sex traffickers and gang members.
And the residents are having multiple affairs, suffering from terminal illnesses or dying by explosions and trams.
Streaming competition
To say the street is no longer the cosy and safe (-ish) place we all grew up with is something of an understatement.
Of course, the world of soap has changed considerably over the past 20 years.
There are more episodes to produce each week at a time when terrestrial TV is fast losing viewers to big shiny streaming services such as Netflix and Prime with their sexier and sassier shows.
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Too much drama – at what cost?
As a result, producers of the ‘Big Four’ (Corrie, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks) seem to be compelled to create hours of high-octane drama each week, desperately trying to outdo each other in terms of storylines and stunts, fighting tooth and nail for viewers’ attention so that they can receive that all important pat-on-the-back at the Soap Awards.
But sometimes these constant dramatic storylines can chip away at the elements that made the soap we love such a joy to watch.
Take Coronation Street, for example.
For as long as I can remember I have been enchanted by its iconic characters and brilliant writing.
Unlike EastEnders, it never dwelled too long in the murky waters of real life, but simply trundled along in a world populated with larger-than-life characters and peppered with witty, quotable dialogue that sounded as though Alan Bennett had written it in his armchair.
Beautifully crafted writing
Much of Corrie’s appeal came from its brilliant characters like Bet Lynch, Vera and Jack Duckworth and Mavis Riley and the beautifully crafted writing that balanced comedy and drama.
Sometimes, nothing much would happen in an episode, but we wouldn’t mind because we’d be enthralled by our favourite Weatherfield residents firing out witty one liners.
But as the years passed and the battle of the soaps intensified, Corrie’s remit changed and, like its dreary East London rival, it fast became a haven for serial killers, gangsters, drug addicts and poorly drawn youngsters.
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Where’s the fun and laughter?
Over the past few months, Corrie fans have had to wade through its umpteenth ‘tense’ courtroom drama, a slew of messy affairs, residents being abducted by gangsters, kids dying of rare diseases and Fizz and Tyrone being ripped apart.
These icky plots follow hot on the heels of storylines that have touched on male rape, cancer, heroin addicted vicars, more serial killers and all round general misery.
Even telly’s Fern Britton says she’s had enough of Corrie’s glum storytelling, admitting last year that said she wanted ‘fun and laughter, love and heart break.’
And that’s the problem, producers either dream up huge stunts like the ridiculous (though admittedly very exciting) tram crash or shoehorn in issue-led storylines that sometimes feel so out of place.
So how can Corrie be returned to its former glory?
The writing needs to be stronger
Corrie has always been lauded for its writing and the way its scribes can balance humour and tragedy. Brilliant writers such as Daran Lyttle, Jonathan Harvey and Damon Alexis-Rochford have over the years provided us with sassy scripts that sizzle with humour, pull tightly at the heart strings and have us guffawing with laughter.
Who can forget that classic Gail vs Eileen cobbles cat fight? Or even that touching monologue Gail recites through the window following Aidan’s tragic suicide.
In the hands of other writers, the balance seems a little off kilter and trying to make it through a half hour of sour faces mithering on about something is utterly torturous.
So please let’s have some more balance. Let’s have writers who can deftly weave comedy into scripts that are also full of drama and tragedy.
Bring back the oldies
For a long time, critics unfairly dismiss Corrie for being a bit fuddy duddy because of its older cast. And as more and more producers take the reins of the show, viewers have seen an influx of bland youngsters.
In the early days, Corrie bosses cast whippersnappers such as Tyrone, Fizz and Kirk who seemed to have that unique Weatherfield DNA – kooky, dopey, geeky, awkward – and they provided viewers with laughs aplenty.
The minute we met them, we just knew that one day they’d carry the torch held by the great battle axes and local deadheads of the past.
More brassy matriarchs
However, as the years drifted by, TV execs obsessed with attracting a younger audience (be patient guys – even the wildest kids eventually settle down to watching TV for the rest of their lives) and started to populate the cobbles with a bunch of bland but pretty cast which ultimately made the show occasionally feel like an episode of Hollyoaks!
Where are the brassy matriarchs of yesteryear, the tacky mums and grubby looking hubbies? Why is everyone trying so hard to be cool? Not everyone is.
The street needs a bit more class representation. It’s all getting a bit aspiring middle class. Where are the 21st Century Battersbees?
Reduce the number of episodes
One of the reasons many Corrie fans like me currently struggle with their favourite soap is that there are just too many episodes in a week to deal with.
Not only does this mean we have to invest a lot of our cherished time catching up with our extended TV families, we also have to endure tedious storylines that drag on way longer than they should to fill the space.
And that can be a hard slog indeed.
Take the Fizz and Tyrone spilt for example. What should resolve in three or for months has gone on for what seems like forever.
Viewing toil
Not only was it a stupid idea to rip apart viewers’ favourite couples (they were the new Jack and Vera, after all), the storyline was so long and drawn out that it became a toil to look at Fizz and Tyrone’s glum faces in every scene they appeared in.
This was a clear indication that the producers are unaware or simply didn’t care about what loyal fans wanted because they not only split up the beloved couple, they dragged out the storyline so long it almost became unbearable to watch. Thank god, things are finally changing.
Why can’t we go back to the days when Corrie was on three times a week. That way, it gives us a chance to miss it and to get on with other things in our lives (like watching Emmerdale!).
Being sparing with the issues
In the past, viewers used to tune in to Corrie to find out what their favourite characters were getting up to, whether it was to see what they look like on a hilariously disastrous date, or whether or not someone would dare to have that affair they were thinking about.
In recent years, those lightweight storylines made way for heavy issue-led plots such as rape, suicide, grooming, cancer and gang culture.
If these storylines appeared every so often, punctuating the lighter moments over a year, they would be enjoyably shocking and impactful.
An exhausting watch
But when they land one after the other – or all at the same time – Corrie becomes an exhausting watch. It encourages us to take time out for our own mental health.
Let’s go back to storylines driven by characters, with comedic arguments, hilarious misunderstandings, saucy shenanigans with the odd car crash, coma and tragic death thrown in every so often.
As the woeful EastEnders’ current ratings slump proves, endless misery, arguments and murder is quite the turn off.
A plea to producers
So come on Corrie, folks. The show is still a wonderful British institution after 60 amazing years, so let’s make sure we don’t damage the goods by trying to compete with its inferior rivals.
With the right mix of characters, clever writing and great actors, Corrie can carry on for another 60 years.
What do you think of the current storylines in Coronation Street? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know!