I caught some of BBC Radio 4's documentary Coronation Strasse today (still available on BBC I-Player) which recounts the success of the German soap Lindenstrasse.
The series was inspired by Corrie and has been on-air since 1985. Interestingly, Lindenstrasse credits its success to the telling of straightforward human interest stories, rather to the 'nuts and sluts' approach favoured by many of their contemporaries. Certainly the Lindenstrasse approach seemed to find favour with the assembled UK soap gurus.
Whether or not Corrie would benefit from a 'back-to-basics' approach is debatable. These days, the basic art of story-telling seems to lose out in UK soaps. With up to five episodes to fill, there seems to be a constant need for visual stimulation. Writers and producers are therefore constrained by the requirement of blockbuster storylines. It is the kind of thing that Channel 4 drama Brookside was ridiculed for a decade ago. For them, a never-ending diet of sieges, murders and a helicopter crashing into the shops every other week finally did for the twenty one year old soap. The somewhat earthy drama of 1982 left the screen as a faintly ridiculous, hollowed-out shell of its former self in 2003.
BBC Radio 4's The Archers, of course, has to rely on the power of the spoken word only. For them, an exploding village pub or the prospect of a herd of angry cows ploughing through Lynda Snell's back garden is not an option. Without the visual outlet though, the emphasis is firmly on the characters and their traits. All of them are damaged or weakened in some way or another and more often than not, the listener is prodded into recalling those foibles.
As a Corrie viewer, I do enjoy the odd set piece. However, the regular occurrences of murder, fire and infidelity are wearing a little thin. There are only so many times that t'faktry can be torched, that Tracy can be a scheming bitch or that Eileen, glowering through yet another relationship breakdown, can be of any interest. Maybe we could find out a little of Mary's back-story or discover what happened during Dennis Tanner's missing years. We need a break from pyrotechnics and marriage merry-go-rounds.
Lindenstrasse gives a nod to Corrie for its own success. Is it time that Corrie went full circle and re-discovered its own roots?
You can follow us on Twitter @CoroStreetBlog and Facebook: CoronationStreetBlog
All original work on the Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
You might also like...
-
Friday 19th April 2024 DANIEL HANDS MAX A SMOKING GUN Bethany does her best to persuade Daniel to put thoughts of Lauren to the back of his ...
-
Here are the major storylines for the week ahead on Coronation Street, all wrapped up nicely in 50 words or less. Monday 29 April to Friday ...
-
Wednesday 24th April 2024 TOYAH’S SECRET IS REVEALED Nick desperately tries to keep the peace between Leanne and Toyah. When Joel asks Leann...
-
Monday 22nd April 2024 TOYAH SEES RED ON THE REC Leanne facetimes Rowan to tell him about Toyah’s negativity towards the Institute and Rowan...
-
Apologies for absence last Friday - I was off to Bari on Saturday and ran out of time. Tonight in Weatherfield Nick looks continually perpl...
-
Why do you think Bobby was so suspicious of Roy in the beginning? It was that thing of Bobby being new to the street and outwardly Roy has...
-
So first of all, the week starts with Paul appearing on Amy's radio show. How does that all go for him? Yes, that's quite an inte...
-
Here are the major storylines for the week ahead on Coronation Street, all wrapped up nicely in 50 words or less. Monday 22 April to Friday ...
-
Wednesday 17th April 2024 DANIEL’S OLD JACKET ATTRACTS SOME FUZZ Bobby’s face pales as he receives a call summoning him to the station for f...
-
Roy Cropper is innocent - it says so on this fab t-shirt sent to me from ITV. But don't just take my word for it, hear what Carla has...
6 comments:
Absolutely time! The visuals do not make credible or enjoyable sensational crummy storylines and/or dialogue. Good article, David.
I agree w/ Anonymous - you said exactly what my Corrie fan friends have been talking about for some time. Corrie writers...are you listening?
In the past 3 years or so, we've had a tram crash, two young women who can't conceive, a bunch of babies, one of which was the product of an affair, 2 jilted brides, a fire in the Rovers, a couple of murders,...
In the same time, Gail remained unemployed, Sally got divorced, Lloyd found a long lost love and a child he never knew, Amy's custody went a convicted murderer instead of the father who raised and adored her, Dennis returned from roving, bright students Chesney and Sophie dropped out,... These emotional, DRAMATIC(!) issues were explored in less time than a quick one at the Rovers. Sad.
I couldn't agree more. Corrie has never gone short of high dramas, but if we look at the events of the '60s, '70s and '80s we can see that the vast majority of story-lines were of the mundane, human variety: Annie Walker was threatened in her bedroom, Lynne Johnson murdered in Len Fairclough's parlour and the warehouse burned in 1975, Ernie Bishop was shot dead in a wages snatch in 1978 and a lorry crashed into the Rovers in 1979, the Rovers burned down in 1986 and Alan Bradley terrorized Rita in 1989, but all these major dramas were interspersed between absolutely loads of "Annie is acting up at the Rovers/Stan has stubbed his toe on a paving slab/Percy is avoiding Phyllis/Curly has bought a new telescope/Mavis is torn between Derek and Victor" style stories. I really miss all that.
I listened to this on the BBC i player and quite enjoyed it. I loved how the creator said he watched his girlfriend watching Corrie and knew she was watchign something very special!
I've given up hoping Coronation Street will return to its roots.
Post a Comment