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I watch it occasionally when I go see my mum for dinner.
They've incorporated cinematography techniques and shots you'd expect in a thriller, so it'll sometimes be a normal soap then suddenly switch to being an episode of Prime Suspect.
Emmerdale does the same thing. It's weird AF but hilarious when it goes from a normal bantering in a cafe scene to a really intense traumatic flashback.
I don't like soaps but it's actually made them watchable... in a car crash television sort of way. It's more tonally jarring than From Dusk Til Dawn.
Plus the actors really can't pull off the gravitas. Charity Dingle(?) had PTSD for months and I was pissing myself laughing every time she had one of her Vietnam flashbacks.
You weren't there, man! The first thing you lose in Emmerdale... is innocence!
It's been going downhill for years. It's got the cream of the crop from the Manchester/Cheshire diaspora of professional actors. But the writing, plotlines and directing are pure dogshit. Rinse and repeat for Eastenders and Emmerdale.
I think the pressure of them having to produce 4+ episodes per week really affects the quality of all the soaps.
That turnaround time is insane for scripted drama. No wonder the writing quality has declined and the acting is sometimes bad.
They don't have enough time to polish anything. Most of the scenes get one or two takes and then it's on to the next one.
There's a reason EastEnders was in its heyday between 1985 and 1996. Fewer episodes.
Which is daft really as ITV has two soaps, it would make more sense to alternate between them. I'd rather have higher quality episodes than more of them.
You may like to look at r/coronationstreet
But yes it's been hit n miss of recent times. Leanne joined a cult type place, Roy just been released from prison (didn't do it) for the murder kidnap of a girl Lauren (no one could care less about) we know the killer /attacker now but that's still going on who his next victim will be, will they find out (dropped off the police investigation stuff now) babies that weren't conceived /via toyahs rape ordeal being found buried in the park 20 yrs later.
Too many cast members not enough laughs /storylines that are ticking boxes /repeats of what other soaps have done
I only see Corrie if I’m visiting my parents and it looks so weird at the minute. It feels as though it’s being made by Film Studies students who want to make something unique and edgy but they can’t pull it off because it’s a soap.
I’ve also noticed that there seems to be no background music or extras in the cafe or Rovers. Everything is quiet and deserted and it feels as though they’re still filming under covid restrictions!
They've got a wierd one child on screen thing going on.
Every time there's a scene were there should be more than one child there. Theres one.
They do panning shots of the quadruplets. Then suddenly they focus on one child.
There's no background extras were they should be.
The lack of background noise is the biggest difference I’ve noticed from the Classic episodes v today. The pub scenes don’t feel remotely like a pub because of the lack noise and the lack of extras. My guess is that streaming has just spread the budgets of advertisers way too thinly so channels cannot afford to pay for quality programming any more.
Yeah that’s what I mean. It’s the advertisers who bring in the money to pay for the programming. And if they’re nit getting the same level of advertising income, they’re going to have to find ways to cut programming costs. I think this is probably the same reason that the street feels empty now - just not enough going on around the main players for each episode. It’s starting to feel more like a stage play.
I've been watching 2004 episodes and enjoyed them so much more than the current ones. There are touching stories but also a lot of humor. Modern Corrie is too serious and trying to be flashy. It's a back street in Manchester not a Hollywood thriller.
I've not watched it for well over a decade now, used to watch it with my mum when I lived at home and it was still appointment viewing when I was a media student. My mate sent me a clip from an episode a couple of weeks ago where Roy was in a cell and it was like something out of the David Lynch film "Lost Highway". My mum has since stopped watching but my gran does, despite her admitting it's been to OTT for about 20 years. I genuinely think they need to take it back to two or three half-an-hour episodes a week, focus much more on the characters and less on issues based storylines. Every other person on the cobbles is a murderer and so many have taken place on that one street it's a wonder it wasn't bulldozed years ago.
I’ve been watching some of the very early 80s episodes on YouTube. The acting and storylines are so down to earth and the comedy is fantastic. Fred Gee hiring out Mrs Walker’s car to a dodgy bookie and then trying to get it back before Mrs Walker gets back from her holidays!
The production values are absolutely dreadful. Posters here have mentioned the writing and directing but it’s so much more than that.
The lighting, set design and wardrobe departments are way off. Characters on the bread line wearing brand new high street clothing that you can tell is fresh from the store.
They added a CGI shot recently of the outside of a prison and it was even worse than you’d expect. There was just no need for the shot to be included at all.
It needs a complete overhaul and a new producer to lead new writers, half the cast needs to be axed and they need to focus on character driven stories not event driven. The heart of the show was always character driven with strong women and feckless men dealing with mundane and slightly absurd real situations and that has sadly been lacking for some years.
The recent producers have been truly awful and they are entirely to blame for the sad state it is in.
I was a Coronation Street addict, I once got my Mum to video (this was pre-internet) 14 days worth of programmes when I went on holiday. Stopped watching during the Pat Phelan story which just went on and on until it drove me nuts. Never watched it again.
She might be right.
They have changed something.
I don't watch it, more like I'm in the room when it's on.
But it is probably different.
The writing is not good.
Way too much misery.
It hasn't quite sunk to the depths of Emmerdale.
Which is literally devoting entire episodes to constant misery that's unwatchable.
The freaking dinner party ones. FFS.
I can't be in the room when it's on anymore.
I think they've had their budget cut. They hardly have any extras and they hardly ever go on location plus the cast is full of more younger actors who are probably cheaper to pay.
Your mum is right. Characters who have been developed for years have been handed complete personality changes to facilitate'issue based' stories thst are badly planned, two-dimensional and designed to be forgotten as soon as the next shrill and overdramatic plot is shoved at some beloved resident.
I honestly still don’t understand why anyone even cares what’s happening on the most miserable street in the country. If I wanted to see real life minus anything good happening to anyone I’d just turn on the news.
It should switch to Channel 5 and go back to being a cozy show about normal people with ordinary lives
Nostalgia stuff for older viewers, like All Creatures Great and Small, works on Five in a way it doesn't on ITV
True. I do wonder how much of it is nostalgia for times past. Yeah, Corrie doesn't feel the same as when I watched 25 years ago (or watching classic episodes) but life in our own communities doesn't feel like it did 25 years ago either. I think a lot of times what we are missing are things they couldn't accurately portray nowadays.
It's definitely declined in the past 15 years. Too much preachy/teachy, dark social issues and obvious representation quotas, leading to worse acting when skill is de emphasized.
Worse writing that emphasizes preposterous plots vs consistent, believable characters.Too many sudden personality transplants. Not enough comedy. Oversized casts.
Too many affairs.
It's trying too hard to emulated East Enders. 'Enders wins all the awards but Corrie lost what made it unique.
At least that's the impression I got every time I went round my mum's for tea.
Not a recent thing though.
I don’t think it’s trying to emulate EastEnders as EE has only had occasional peaks in quality since 2004.
I think the problem is it’s become a replacement for other continuing ITV dramas that have been cancelled or which aren’t accepted for production anymore.
So Coronation Street used to be a kitchen sink drama about a street in Manchester. But now it’s trying to be Coronation Street but also The Bill, Heartbeat, The Royal, Prime Suspect, Taggart etc.
The show now has elements of all these dramas which are no longer produced, and ITV are reliant on the ad revenue it generates. They can’t afford to take risks on producing new continuing dramas so everything that might have been tackled is lumped into their soaps.
To be honest, I would say that most of the soaps have gone downhill 😏 I have always been a big fan of Eastenders, Corrie and emmerdale. But I have noticed that they are not really what they used to be since 2020 lockdown 😌
I really like Hollyoaks, I find it interesting… but I’m not really excited to watch corrie and eastenders anymore like I once used to be! Lol I mean I’ve missed too many episodes of the shows I’ve mentioned and I’m not even slightly bothered 😂
Am I missing something with the whole Peter/Carla break-up? It seemed so...out of the blue/rushed/weird. He went on a sailing trip after she pushed him to go to follow his dreams, and now he is seeing someone else?
(I'm in Canada, so we're behind.)
She's watching the "special" week of episodes that they traditionally do during the Britain's Got Talent live finals week. This year they had scenes playing in reverse, with weird light filtering.
Aha! I thought you could be American or Canadian No problem, it's just Mancunians watching Corrie would say Mum or Mam.
I amazed it's watched so far away tbh
Glad you enjoy the show 😉 👍🏻
OP your Mom is absolutely correct- I watch with my Mum & she’s watched for decades.
It’s become very odd- for at least 5 years it’s gradually got worse & worse.
We generally just watch out of habit.
Many episodes are like a ‘Public Service Announcement’ with plots shoehorned in a clumsy manner to preach whichever political issue is trending at the time.
Characters who have been regular for years have had personality transplants- so confusing.
Some storylines are literally never fully concluded.
Also they are trying to use very strange ‘special effects’ during the filming style, including odd drug trips, flash backs, psychotic breaks & so on, it’s so ‘try hard’ & out of place for a British soap.
I imagine many viewers feel the same- it’s sad as my mum loved the show, but it’s just miserable & ‘off’.
I feel sad for your Mom - she isn’t alone as here in the uk viewers feel the same
It's become a cross of The Bill meets Grange Hill at the moment and has lost most of the gritty humour it was once famous for. It even has a story about a Scientology type cult in Manchester at the moment. I'd agree with your Mother that it's definitely losing a lot of viewers according to official figures.
Been watching some of the old ones classics.
Len Fairclough, Ray Langton, Fred Gee, Stan and Hilda, Elsie Tanner.
Makes the modern ones look absolutely shite..
Here is Jean Alexander aka Hilda Ogden on Wogan after she left the show in 1987 and she discusses the shooting schedule of two episodes a week.
[Jean Alexander - Wogan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGwBsQhoI-U)
Hello, thank you for posting to r/BritishTV! We have recently updated our rules. Please read the sidebar and make sure you're up to date, otherwise your post may be removed. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/BritishTV) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I watch it occasionally when I go see my mum for dinner. They've incorporated cinematography techniques and shots you'd expect in a thriller, so it'll sometimes be a normal soap then suddenly switch to being an episode of Prime Suspect. Emmerdale does the same thing. It's weird AF but hilarious when it goes from a normal bantering in a cafe scene to a really intense traumatic flashback.
Holby City did the same, just as it went into it's death spiral. I mean, what kind of hospital has dark moody lighting?
Hospitals tend to have moody lighting during night shifts.
>I mean, what kind of hospital has dark moody lighting? Dunno, have Estates been round to fix that light in bay two yet?
Definitely not you need to email 6 people and wait the appropriate 12 weeks for estates to swap a bulb!
Every American one on TV? House was terrible for this.
I caught an episode of Emmerdale at my mum's one day recently and said the same thing. It's so weird.
I don't like soaps but it's actually made them watchable... in a car crash television sort of way. It's more tonally jarring than From Dusk Til Dawn. Plus the actors really can't pull off the gravitas. Charity Dingle(?) had PTSD for months and I was pissing myself laughing every time she had one of her Vietnam flashbacks. You weren't there, man! The first thing you lose in Emmerdale... is innocence!
Looks like I should start watching Corrie again
This is why I stopped watching Casualty
It's been going downhill for years. It's got the cream of the crop from the Manchester/Cheshire diaspora of professional actors. But the writing, plotlines and directing are pure dogshit. Rinse and repeat for Eastenders and Emmerdale.
I think the pressure of them having to produce 4+ episodes per week really affects the quality of all the soaps. That turnaround time is insane for scripted drama. No wonder the writing quality has declined and the acting is sometimes bad. They don't have enough time to polish anything. Most of the scenes get one or two takes and then it's on to the next one. There's a reason EastEnders was in its heyday between 1985 and 1996. Fewer episodes.
Which is daft really as ITV has two soaps, it would make more sense to alternate between them. I'd rather have higher quality episodes than more of them.
6 times a week for Corrie and Emmerdale. It's just a factory churning out content these days.
You may like to look at r/coronationstreet But yes it's been hit n miss of recent times. Leanne joined a cult type place, Roy just been released from prison (didn't do it) for the murder kidnap of a girl Lauren (no one could care less about) we know the killer /attacker now but that's still going on who his next victim will be, will they find out (dropped off the police investigation stuff now) babies that weren't conceived /via toyahs rape ordeal being found buried in the park 20 yrs later. Too many cast members not enough laughs /storylines that are ticking boxes /repeats of what other soaps have done
I haven't watched since I was a kid but I heard Roy (was still in it and) got arrested. I'm glad he's not guilty - he was my favourite
I've noticed similar plotlines doing the rounds of different soaps.
I only see Corrie if I’m visiting my parents and it looks so weird at the minute. It feels as though it’s being made by Film Studies students who want to make something unique and edgy but they can’t pull it off because it’s a soap. I’ve also noticed that there seems to be no background music or extras in the cafe or Rovers. Everything is quiet and deserted and it feels as though they’re still filming under covid restrictions!
There have writers on their main writing team who were given the job on the back of a 10 week internship scheme.
They've got a wierd one child on screen thing going on. Every time there's a scene were there should be more than one child there. Theres one. They do panning shots of the quadruplets. Then suddenly they focus on one child. There's no background extras were they should be.
I'm gonna have to watch now just to see how weird it's gotten 😂
The lack of background noise is the biggest difference I’ve noticed from the Classic episodes v today. The pub scenes don’t feel remotely like a pub because of the lack noise and the lack of extras. My guess is that streaming has just spread the budgets of advertisers way too thinly so channels cannot afford to pay for quality programming any more.
I agree but I also read that they’re cutting back on using extras to save money
Yeah that’s what I mean. It’s the advertisers who bring in the money to pay for the programming. And if they’re nit getting the same level of advertising income, they’re going to have to find ways to cut programming costs. I think this is probably the same reason that the street feels empty now - just not enough going on around the main players for each episode. It’s starting to feel more like a stage play.
I've been watching 2004 episodes and enjoyed them so much more than the current ones. There are touching stories but also a lot of humor. Modern Corrie is too serious and trying to be flashy. It's a back street in Manchester not a Hollywood thriller.
I've not watched it for well over a decade now, used to watch it with my mum when I lived at home and it was still appointment viewing when I was a media student. My mate sent me a clip from an episode a couple of weeks ago where Roy was in a cell and it was like something out of the David Lynch film "Lost Highway". My mum has since stopped watching but my gran does, despite her admitting it's been to OTT for about 20 years. I genuinely think they need to take it back to two or three half-an-hour episodes a week, focus much more on the characters and less on issues based storylines. Every other person on the cobbles is a murderer and so many have taken place on that one street it's a wonder it wasn't bulldozed years ago.
I’ve been watching some of the very early 80s episodes on YouTube. The acting and storylines are so down to earth and the comedy is fantastic. Fred Gee hiring out Mrs Walker’s car to a dodgy bookie and then trying to get it back before Mrs Walker gets back from her holidays!
The production values are absolutely dreadful. Posters here have mentioned the writing and directing but it’s so much more than that. The lighting, set design and wardrobe departments are way off. Characters on the bread line wearing brand new high street clothing that you can tell is fresh from the store. They added a CGI shot recently of the outside of a prison and it was even worse than you’d expect. There was just no need for the shot to be included at all.
It needs a complete overhaul and a new producer to lead new writers, half the cast needs to be axed and they need to focus on character driven stories not event driven. The heart of the show was always character driven with strong women and feckless men dealing with mundane and slightly absurd real situations and that has sadly been lacking for some years. The recent producers have been truly awful and they are entirely to blame for the sad state it is in.
I was a Coronation Street addict, I once got my Mum to video (this was pre-internet) 14 days worth of programmes when I went on holiday. Stopped watching during the Pat Phelan story which just went on and on until it drove me nuts. Never watched it again.
The Pat Phelan storyline is like the holy grail compared to the dross we get now
Same!! I loved Corrie but the Phelan storyline went on for so long that I stopped watching it
Honestly it’s just drivel these days. Time it was put out of its misery.
She might be right. They have changed something. I don't watch it, more like I'm in the room when it's on. But it is probably different. The writing is not good. Way too much misery. It hasn't quite sunk to the depths of Emmerdale. Which is literally devoting entire episodes to constant misery that's unwatchable. The freaking dinner party ones. FFS. I can't be in the room when it's on anymore.
I haven't watched it for years, but recently when it came on after something else we'd watched, I noticed they added dramatic music to a scene.
I think they've had their budget cut. They hardly have any extras and they hardly ever go on location plus the cast is full of more younger actors who are probably cheaper to pay.
Your mum is right. Characters who have been developed for years have been handed complete personality changes to facilitate'issue based' stories thst are badly planned, two-dimensional and designed to be forgotten as soon as the next shrill and overdramatic plot is shoved at some beloved resident.
I’m more of a Minnie Caldwell Ena Sharples n Hilda Ogden era, has it changed much since then?
>has it changed much since then? *Too* much.
I honestly still don’t understand why anyone even cares what’s happening on the most miserable street in the country. If I wanted to see real life minus anything good happening to anyone I’d just turn on the news.
It should switch to Channel 5 and go back to being a cozy show about normal people with ordinary lives Nostalgia stuff for older viewers, like All Creatures Great and Small, works on Five in a way it doesn't on ITV
Rosy retrospection. People have been complaining that "it's not as good as it used to be" for over 70 years.
True. I do wonder how much of it is nostalgia for times past. Yeah, Corrie doesn't feel the same as when I watched 25 years ago (or watching classic episodes) but life in our own communities doesn't feel like it did 25 years ago either. I think a lot of times what we are missing are things they couldn't accurately portray nowadays.
It's definitely declined in the past 15 years. Too much preachy/teachy, dark social issues and obvious representation quotas, leading to worse acting when skill is de emphasized. Worse writing that emphasizes preposterous plots vs consistent, believable characters.Too many sudden personality transplants. Not enough comedy. Oversized casts. Too many affairs.
It's trying too hard to emulated East Enders. 'Enders wins all the awards but Corrie lost what made it unique. At least that's the impression I got every time I went round my mum's for tea. Not a recent thing though.
I don’t think it’s trying to emulate EastEnders as EE has only had occasional peaks in quality since 2004. I think the problem is it’s become a replacement for other continuing ITV dramas that have been cancelled or which aren’t accepted for production anymore. So Coronation Street used to be a kitchen sink drama about a street in Manchester. But now it’s trying to be Coronation Street but also The Bill, Heartbeat, The Royal, Prime Suspect, Taggart etc. The show now has elements of all these dramas which are no longer produced, and ITV are reliant on the ad revenue it generates. They can’t afford to take risks on producing new continuing dramas so everything that might have been tackled is lumped into their soaps.
I think you've hit the nail on the head there, shame though.
To be honest, I would say that most of the soaps have gone downhill 😏 I have always been a big fan of Eastenders, Corrie and emmerdale. But I have noticed that they are not really what they used to be since 2020 lockdown 😌 I really like Hollyoaks, I find it interesting… but I’m not really excited to watch corrie and eastenders anymore like I once used to be! Lol I mean I’ve missed too many episodes of the shows I’ve mentioned and I’m not even slightly bothered 😂
Am I missing something with the whole Peter/Carla break-up? It seemed so...out of the blue/rushed/weird. He went on a sailing trip after she pushed him to go to follow his dreams, and now he is seeing someone else? (I'm in Canada, so we're behind.)
i’m in canada too dw my mom is so genuinely confused
She's watching the "special" week of episodes that they traditionally do during the Britain's Got Talent live finals week. This year they had scenes playing in reverse, with weird light filtering.
'Mom' are you American? Just asking 🤔
canadian
Aha! I thought you could be American or Canadian No problem, it's just Mancunians watching Corrie would say Mum or Mam. I amazed it's watched so far away tbh Glad you enjoy the show 😉 👍🏻
OP your Mom is absolutely correct- I watch with my Mum & she’s watched for decades. It’s become very odd- for at least 5 years it’s gradually got worse & worse. We generally just watch out of habit. Many episodes are like a ‘Public Service Announcement’ with plots shoehorned in a clumsy manner to preach whichever political issue is trending at the time. Characters who have been regular for years have had personality transplants- so confusing. Some storylines are literally never fully concluded. Also they are trying to use very strange ‘special effects’ during the filming style, including odd drug trips, flash backs, psychotic breaks & so on, it’s so ‘try hard’ & out of place for a British soap. I imagine many viewers feel the same- it’s sad as my mum loved the show, but it’s just miserable & ‘off’. I feel sad for your Mom - she isn’t alone as here in the uk viewers feel the same
It's become a cross of The Bill meets Grange Hill at the moment and has lost most of the gritty humour it was once famous for. It even has a story about a Scientology type cult in Manchester at the moment. I'd agree with your Mother that it's definitely losing a lot of viewers according to official figures.
Been watching some of the old ones classics. Len Fairclough, Ray Langton, Fred Gee, Stan and Hilda, Elsie Tanner. Makes the modern ones look absolutely shite..
You can see the plot lines coming a mile off. The recent relationship shenanigans you can see coming before the actors can half the time.
Here is Jean Alexander aka Hilda Ogden on Wogan after she left the show in 1987 and she discusses the shooting schedule of two episodes a week. [Jean Alexander - Wogan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGwBsQhoI-U)
*Mom* ?
Normal term in the midlands / Black Country.
Is it fuck, it’s an American term
Educate yourself, you rude individual: https://www.birminghamworld.uk/news/birmingham-accent-mom-mum-4193963
What a dick thing to say. Mom has been used for a long, long time in the West Mids.
sorry buddy i unfortunately am a canadian brit 😔
Please don't apologise to random ignorant Redditors, you use whichever word you damn well choose.