What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

[Tubby Isaacs]

What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

I'm assuming you'lle be several years behind with East Enders, WOM. Might be worth a watch.

It can sometimes be so bad it's funny. Shane Ritchie (a gameshow host) did OK behind the bar cracking jokes, but for some reason they decided they had to give him intense storylines. His acting out a breakdown was pure Feydeau. You'd think they'd have learnt from casting Mike Reid.

Then there was a ridiculous phase with about 8 different gangsters in it.

[Guest]

What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

The only reason both of these shows are still on the air is because the two networks are too lazy to put them out of their misery. They are both breathtakingly bad.

As UE says, EastEnders was semi-plausible for a few years, but that was more than 20 years ago.

[David Agnew]

What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

vennegoor strokes wrote:

The only reason both of these shows are still on the air is because the two networks are too lazy to put them out of their misery. They are both breathtakingly bad.

That and the fact that they are the most-watched shows in the country. Corrie brings in more money through ad revenue and overseas sales than any other ITV-made progam.

What would be the point of ccancelling your most watched shows, especially when they are profitable?

[erwin]

What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

vennegoor strokes wrote:

They are both breathtakingly bad.

Well, vs ... that's very easy to say. But why are they bad, in your opinion? What's your yardstick? What aspects of them are "bad"?

[EIM]

What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

Correh is fucking mint. Modern day Dickens, innit. And if David Platt isn't one of the best soap characters of modern times, than my name's not The Right Reverend Eric's Inner Monologue.

Eastenders is wankety wank. Everyone is either a gangster, works in a food establishment, a pathetically poor ethnic stereotype, or all of the above. I'd rather watch 60 Minute Makeover than 'Enders.

[Guest]

What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

I used to love Corrie back in the days when I worked in TV - we used to get the episodes in a week or two in advance, & we were all addicted. It was funny & well written & moving & entertaining & sharp. But this was in the days of Bet Lynch and Kevin & Sally and Gail & Brian and Mike & Ken & Deirdre. And the worst thing that happened was Sarah Lou being up the stick. And that Ashley that worked for Fred. And we had to watch all ITV & Five soaps (Family Affairs, anyone? Sunset Beach? The Bold and the Beautiful? Days of our Lives? etc), as well as the occasional BBC one, and comparatively it was the best. I'm sad to hear that it's shit now. Is Emmerdale Farm still on? Blimey. again I remember it from the days of Seth & assorted old men. Although by the time I was working on it it had dropped the Farm and was all Charity Dingle having affairs with both Zoe Tate and Zoe's brother that was in a wheelchair, and Cain Dingle roaming the set trying to be the sexy one from Cold Comfort Farm.

Eastenders though has been shit forever and ever. I've seen odd bits here & there and it's always really badly acted and really badly written.

[DCI Harry Batt]

What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

Are you dissing Family Affairs?

[Guest]

What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

Not at all, they were all great.

[MsD]

What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

Tubby Isaacs wrote:

It can sometimes be so bad it's funny. Shane Ritchie (a gameshow host) did OK behind the bar cracking jokes, but for some reason they decided they had to give him intense storylines. His acting out a breakdown was pure Feydeau.

Agreed, I loved the funny Alfie Moon, and if only they'd let him and Kat Slater be happy together, balanced with the odd sad story, that would have been nice, feel-good TV and more your aufentic East End.

Over on Corrie, Andrews Sachs is the new paper-boy at the Kabin.

And yes, I do like David Platt, a great character because I want him to get away with his awful schemes.

[wingco]

What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

Coronation Street in the era to which Lyra alludes was indeed sublime. It was a fantasy of the North, of course, but it was at once by some distance funnier than any sitcom ITV was attempting at the time, while also plumbing dramatic depths which felt like they'd brought the entire nation to a standstill - exhibit A, Hilda Ogden receiving a pathetic brown paper package of her late husband Stan's belongings, taking his glasses out of his case and breaking down at the table beneath her "muriel".

EastEnders I never liked. From early on, it developed a bad habit of altering characters according to the needs of dramatic plotlines. It was always devoid of humour, with characters either going on about "blood" and "family" in an aggressively defensive way as if Walford and its families were some sort of National Socialist enclave. It was pointlessly miserable. No one could have a conversation without the words "What's that's supposed to mean?" rearing up and snapping at the first opportunity.

Sadly, Coronation Street, after years of a formula that was perfectly successful both creatively and commercially, felt obliged to be pulled into EastEnders's world of sturm und drang. One by one, the comedy characters, often gentler, older, disappeared, to be supplanted by a new wave of moody yoof. The final straw came for me when Jim McDonald was recast as a wife beater - the consistency of a character betrayed for the sake of a plotline, a classic EastEnders trait. Having watched it for 20 years, I had to give up on it.

[erwin]

What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

Yeah, I think the presence/absence of humour, or at least wit, is the key in the Corrie/EE head-to-head. EE does attempt it at times - Dot and Jim, for example - but it's not enough to lift the whole thing above a general sense of misery. And I've got my own life for that.

[Guest]

What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

erwin wrote:

vennegoor strokes wrote:

They are both breathtakingly bad.

Well, vs ... that's very easy to say. But why are they bad, in your opinion? What's your yardstick? What aspects of them are "bad"?

The storylines and the acting. What else would I be objecting to? The theme tunes?

[erwin]

What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

Could have been the storylines. Or the acting. Or (now we know) both. Or other things, like the theme tunes ...

(Still don't know why they're "breathtakingly bad", though).

[Tony C]

What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

EIM wrote:

Correh is fucking mint. Modern day Dickens, innit. And if David Platt isn't one of the best soap characters of modern times, than my name's not The Right Reverend Eric's Inner Monologue.

Eastenders is wankety wank. Everyone is either a gangster, works in a food establishment, a pathetically poor ethnic stereotype, or all of the above. I'd rather watch 60 Minute Makeover than 'Enders.

Broadly speaking I'd go along with that, pretty much. I don't think Corrie is in the middle of a golden era right now but it's passable and at it's best is great telly.

Eastenders continuously commits the cardinal sin of soaps by just being mind-numbingly dull.

Emmerdale's millenium metamorphosis never fails to stagger me. Back in the day there would be outrage if Seth found that someone had watered down the sheep dip but mow it's like Sodom and Gommorah.

[DCI Harry Batt]

What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

Family Affairs was no worse than either of them, I say.

And Sunset Beach was at least funny.

[Lucia Lanigan]

What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

To this day, I can find only scant evidence of Lusty Jack, Duckworth's piratical alter ego when he was trying to convince everyone he'd been irreversably hypnotised. This went on for weeks, if memory serves. Superb stuff.

[Tubby Isaacs]

What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

There was a good plot must be nearly 30 years ago where Jack joined a dating agency under the name Vince Sinclair, and was spotted by Vera who arranged a date in the Rovers. With hilarious consequences.

What Wingco said about East Enders changing characters for short term convenience. Phil was originally "nice for a Mitchell", until they finally gave up on casting a real Kray in the soap and converted Phil to the part. Minty also, unless I'm mistaken, was originally a gangster who planted a load of drugs in Den's club. Belatedly they realised the actor- a stand up comic- might be better playing a funny chap.

Wasn't Billy horrible when he first appeared as well?

[Tony C]

What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

That dating agency plotline was absolute gold.

And it was Vince St. Clare to add a wonderfully appropriate cheesiness to it.

[MsD]

What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

Jack's had some comedy scenes lately. He's made a new lady friend (platonic) who shares his love of pigeons .. cue outraged friends listening at the door "that's it, you've got a good grip, firm but but gentle.. "

[Wolf2]

What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

Soaps are annoying. I can only understand their popularity in cold, rational terms. They're familiar, they're distracting, their routine is familiar. They give a common narrative to share with others, which is something humans seem to crave.

But I find them tedious to an absurd degree; the TV show 24 is more credulous.

[Wolf2]

What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

They are the Dan Brown of TV.

There. I've said it.

[pebblethefish]

What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

I think that most soap fans know that they're not hgih brow, realistic TV, but they don't care. The Dan Brown comparison is a good one, I think - sometimes you want to avoid having to engage your brain too much and just go for a bit of easy reading, or watching in this case.

I must confess to spending a few years of watching Hollyoaks. I knew it was utter tosh, but at the time I had a job that meant I got home at 6.30 every night, and just felt like turning my brain off for half an hour. And there were attractive women in it.

[Guest]

What's better: Corrie or Eastenders?

Oh yeah, Hollyoaks went through a gripping phase several years ago, when it was about Lucy & Ben and Ruth and whatever her bloke was called, and Luke got attacked, that sort of time. It swiftly became shit of course, and started with all the lame late-night-trying-to-be soft-porn episodes.