Soap Discussion - July 2011

And here's a soap blog to end the month of July ...

Coronation Street: It's been a strange month for this soap. Unfairly picked on in the press and by former actors for being too gay/crime fuelled/humourless, it's almost a shame that the actual storylines themselves were overshadowed. Ken's grandson turned out to be a bad egg and fleeced him, Leanne suffered a miscarriage, Gary held Izzie hostage and even Tracy got her own back when Steve rejected her for the millionth time. Still Amber returned, there was less of Becky and Fiz and Sylvia remained amusing, so the month wasn't all bad.

EastEnders: You lose a Mitchell, you gain a Mitchell. With Ronnie getting sent down and finally ending this ridiculous baby swap nonsense, Billy and Julie gained a mouthy granddaughter in the shape of Lola, whose only purpose so far is arson and getting between Jay and Abi. Meanwhile as Max and Tanya's affair continued, Lauren made a tit out of herself and Rainie spiralled yet again, the arrival of Eddie's other sons, Tyler and Anthony proved that some people really do get hired on this show without the need of basic acting ability. On the plus side, at least I managed to go through an episode where Zainab managed to get her points across in relation to Christian and Syed's adoption process that I could agree with.

Emmerdale: Aw, here I was hoping they might actually send Aaron down for his part in Jackson's death. Nope, I guess we're stuck with the misery guts for another while. I know the acting in this storyline has been great but it doesn't mask how much I've hated Jackson's death and how bored I am with the never ending angst surrounding Aaron. There are limits and Paddy and Chas's overprotectiveness as well has been more headwrecking than endearing too. In other storylines, it doesn't take much to see that Leyla's inches away from telling Jacob who his real mother is and even I'm confused about Sarah's bruises. Could Samson really have done it? The stuff involving Declan and Ella on the other hand is boring me senseless.

Fair City: Bit of a dull month on this show. Carol's pregnant and we're still not sure who the father is, Jo and Tommy's affair is still nonsensical as it's dull, while I struggle to see what David sees in the miserable Suzanne. At least they sort of progressed the Sarah arc a bit by introducing her mother, even if Barry was a little too successful in getting her off the scent.

Hollyoaks: Ah, Bart and Sinead - love's young dream those two certainly aren't and the Romeo And Juliet style antics were not all that amusing to watch either, well, at least not as funny as Ethan getting his comeuppance via Theresa, Liberty and Rae publicly humiliating him with milkshake. Less impressive was Noah's crappy exit at the hand of Brendan once again finding away to sabotage Ste's love life. Oh and wasn't there a serial killer supposed to be looming about the village?

Soap Discussion - June 2011

And now my usual way to end the month ....

Coronation Street: Becky McDonald - in six years, I've gone from disliking you to tolerating you to absolutely despising you to the point where I'm hoping your exit at the start of 2012 results in death. The sulky, tantrum throwing bitch seems to becoming more and more of a pain in the arse every time she disgraces the screen, that it's amazing new manager Stella hasn't smacked her one yet. Michelle Collins Northern accent might be dodgy as hell but the character's likeable enough and the storyline involving Leanne is interesting enough too. Also interesting this month included Carla's meltdown over her mother's death and Sylvia's acid response to learning about Roy and Hayley's relationship.

EastEnders: Another month, another influx of Moons to descend on the square. Okay, while Tyler falls into the cute but bland category, at least Eddie actually has made a decent impact and Michael has becoming a far more fascinating character. Actually, this has been a great month for the show - the disastrous mendhi, Yusef's reveal of being responsible for Zainab's scars, Janine losing her grandmother and even Max and Tanya's affair have all been good storylines. Less good is surly Shirley and her jealousy over Phil and Rainie but you can't get everything right though.
Emmerdale: Okay, I am not congratulating this show on Jackson's death because like a certain baby swap storyline in another soap, this storyline did not move me - it annoyed me deeply and there's a part of me that doesn't give a damn if Aaron winds up being sent down for it. The acting was fine, great in parts but the whole storyline in general has left a bad feeling for me and it hasn't help that the rest of this month's storylines haven't been interesting. Did I need to see Gennie get rejected by Nikhil or even Debbie miscarry or the tedium of Adam and Ella? Sort it out, show.
Fair City: Otherwise known as the month for an affair between Jo and Tommy that came out of nowhere or the fling between Yvonne and Dean that similarly came out of nowhere. Or the month where Carol wound up pregnant and doesn't know who the father is or the month where Mark snapped, beat the crap out of Suzanne and she briefly went out with David, the son of Esther's we previously knew nothing about. Funny enough, apart from the first storyline, the rest of them have been enjoyable.

Hollyoaks: Leanne, you're becoming a bad joke. Your bunny boiling antics with Lee and Amy were entertaining a while ago but now it's just tiresome to watch. And why would she pull the same stunt with Amy this time that she did beforehand? Oh yeah - because everyone's been downing stupid pills and believe that Amy attacked Leanne. Still, it's not as insulting as gormless Liberty and Theresa being two timed by Ethan or Mercedes being daft enough to keep pretending she's carrying Riley's child. On the plus side, I did enjoy meeting Bart's mates, who were far less annoying than I feared.

Soap Discussion - May 2011

And here endeth the month of May with a soap blog ...

Coronation Street: Another month of mixed delights. On one hand, there's the tedium of Steve and Becky's crumbling marriage and Tracy's involvement in matter, except this time around, even Amy is getting a little scheming as well. That couple with the boring Tina/Graham/Xin plot and you have more of a disaster than Kevin Webster's near death experience. On the plus side, the last few episodes have been building towards John Stape's exit and with him involving Fiz into his schemes and holding Chesney and the Hoyles captive, there's a silver lining to a somewhat uninspired month. Oh and Sean and Marcus got back together but that was handled in too a rushed manner for me to properly care.

EastEnders: One of their better months, taking the sheer dreck of Heather's internet dating storyline out of the mix, I liked this month. There was even comedy - mostly from Kim being her usual madcap self and the hilarious banter between Janine and her grandmother, Lydia and the show even gave us a post sex scene with Syed and Christian in last night's episode. Still, this being Walford, misery was still there - Kat laying into a recently bailed Ronnie about Tommy, Zainab and Masood's marriage going down the crapper thanks to Yusef, the temporary departure of Jane and the pernament one of Jim. I have to admit it but the show is starting to improve now. Even Fatboy and Mercy's sham marriage storyline has been surprisingly decent as well.
Emmerdale: Okay, so Debbie's pregnant - great, another thing for her to scowl at and another reason for Cain to cement his hatred for Cameron. Is there anyone on this show that Cain actually likes nowadays? Nope, thought not. Still, this month has it's moments - Jackson's days are numbered, Amy managed to scheme nicely for a bit, Adam/Ella's affair is giving their characters something to do, the Nicola/Jimmy/Kelly triangle is better than it should be and Rhona has finally given birth. And that's including the fact that over the new few weeks/months this cast is going to get a little lighter.

Fair City: Not too bad a month but apart from the whole twisted dynamic between killer and cover up man, Barry and Denzo, not too much of interest happened. Damien and Mark's sister, Laura returned and we learned she's gay, Yvonne/Niamh/Jo/Carol recreated Come Dine With Me again and there was considerable screen time given to both Dean/Caoimhe and Esther/Charlie's relationships as well as Keith and Orla's in case viewers had actually forgotten they were dating in the first place.

Hollyoaks: I hate when this show finally put Silas back in the fray last month, he's now relegated to the sidelines. Come on, show, surely he can kill off some more people - like his gormless grandson, Riley who managed to be duped spectacularly by Warren this month with a robbery over a stupid football cap of Carl's. Warren, thankfully had a much better storyline when he was forced into admitting to Mitzeee that he was responsible for Louise's death and the fact that he managed to derail Ethan at every turn was a lot better than Brendan's attempts of tearing both Noah and Ste apart - those two need to get smart and fast. In lighter plots, Ruby's scheming over her illiteracy and Pete was amusing as was Texas and Mandy's fleecing of Cindy at every opportunity and the rom com elements of Lee and Amy. I guess this was the best soap this month or had the least aggravating plots.

Soap Discussion - April 2011

Another month comes to an end, so here's some thoughts on the soaps from that month...

Coronation Street: Not necessarily a remarkable month for the show if I'm being honest, apart from the fact that John's unraveling should lead to a good exit next month but apart from that and the double weddings of David/She Demon Kylie and Graeme/Xin, the rest of it was rather tedious with the contrived way of splitting up Eddie/Anna and the somewhat rushed return of Todd with posh totty Jools and Marcus and Sean catching up. I already know where Sean and Marcus's storyline is going as well and I'm not sure I care that much. Still, it's better than anything concerning Steve/Becky/Tracy though.

Emmerdale: Now this was a dull month to be honest that really nothing stood out too much. Cain sleeping with Amy just basically reinforced his inability to keep his dick in his pants and Chariry chickening out on getting even with him irritated me to no end. Also, like Faye, Maisie and Will, Ryan was given a pretty duff exit and the feuding between John and Declan over the farm was anything but riveting. Even the Aaron/Jackson storyline managed to bore but that could be done to my own hang ups about where it's going to go though.

EastEnders: Ah, finally the resolution of the baby swap storyline. Ronnie ended up finally doing the right thing and giving Kat/Alfie back baby Tommy and creating even more ripples as a result. Luckily we had Jean on hand, wasn't it when it came to Kat? Elsewhere, Tanya/Greg's wedding wasn't riveting until she starting kissing Max, Whitney's return just happened and the writers tried to make me care about Heather's lovelife and Mercy being threatened with deportation. Well, I did say tried but it was a better month for the show regardless.

Fair City: Okay spending most of the month being falsely accused of being a paedophile but then ending the month by killing off the rather harmless Sarah was another. You have to hand it to Barry - the man is both horribly unlucky and spectacularly messes up and having Denzo an ally/blackmailer is also just as unfortunate. It's also one of the best storylines they've done this year and anything is better than the show's usual commentary on the character's financial struggles.
Hollyoaks: Silas strikes again. He might have failed to do in Lindsay but he managed to bump off Jenny/Rebecca during her own failed attempts to con him and while I don't feel sorry for either Doug or Brendan, I do like how her death is having major consequences for the characters. Sil;as is definitely shaping up to be one of the best soap villains and given the way he was looking at Mercedes last night, it looks like he has another victim lined up in the next few weeks. On a less positive note though, can the show do away with the Amy/Lee/Leanne triangle already? Maybe Leanne could just bugger off already.

Soap Discussion - March 2011

And here's a look into what happened soap wise during March ... EastEnders: Okay, apart from the Whitney sex exploitation storyline and the Comic Relief scene that actually utilised Janine, Lauren and to a lesser extent, Ricky, Max and Carol, it was another dire month on the Square. Glenda left in underwhelming style, both Kat and Ronnie were frustrating to watch and Jack's jjumping back and forth between businesses was also pretty boring to watch along with Darren and Jodie being on and off again. Still, we got an interesting new friendship with Syed and Tanya and a nice romance between Abi and Jay, so it wasn't all bad.

Coronation Street: Oh Becky, why do you always self-destruct? I guess having to face some consequences from her actions from Dev/Sunita was one thing but Liz, Tracy and Kylie continuing to rub it in was another, eh? Still, frustrating as that was it was better than this hasty marriage plot with Xin and Graeme and David/Kylie really do make for a nasty couple. It was also nice to see more of Sally vs. Kevin, Janice's departure amongsts other storylines.

Emmerdale: Want a soap cliche - give Jimmy both amnesia, the return of Kelly and a son named Elliot from the saucy girl and a rivalry between her and Nicola. Daft as it sounds, it's actually a fun storyline and this month we needed the fun. With the fallout of Lisa's rape and Jackson's further depression, Kelly's return was definitely something of a more lighter affair as well as Chas and Diane going into partnership and Andy/Alicia making for an oddly fun couple as well. Good work, show. Oh but the less said about Cain/Charity/Jai and Faye's rubbish exit, the better though.

Hollyoaks: And the award for best soap of the month goes to this show. From the silly Heat inspired photoshoot to Warren and Brendan knocking the crap out of each other, this one delivered in both the comedy and serious stakes. On the srious note, there was Ste's coming out and putting Brendan in the hospital, Lindsay nearly becoming another of Silas's victims as well as Jacqui and Gilly in the rape trial, which has dominated this week. I won't tell you the verdict but it's definitely an interesting resolve for this different look at a tricky subject matter.

Fair City: It was the month of Louis and Carol being publicly shamed with their affair, thanks to a spiteful Bob and a broken hearted Christy selling his shares of McCoys. It was also the same month of Finn opening up a trendier bar and the Bishops beating the crap out of a dodgy uncle and getting a cousin named Sasha, who manages to be even more chavvier than they are as well as a plot with Cass in pajamas but it was mostly amusing as well.

Soap Discussion - February 2011

And to end this week (but not this month), here's a soap blog for February 2011 ...

Coronation Street: A mostly interesting month to be honest. Peter and Leanne's wedding (or not a wedding) was highlight, what with the former managing to verbally rip the latter to pieces by exposing her affair to Nick to a packed audience. However four days later, Peter managed to put it behind him and take Leanne and promptly go on holiday. Personally, I'm not compalining because their storyline was the most riveting in a month where money troubles (Steve/Becky, Dev/Sunita, Lloyd) and revenge (Owen shopping Eileen to the cops) were also a dominant focus. Still though, some comic moments did resume throughout Weatherfield with Sally and Kevin re-enacting War Of The Roses, Rosie and Betty discussing the fine art of tweeting and Julie taking an active interest in Tyrone's grooming habits. Less fun was anything involving Tracy (they are wasting her character) and poor Janice getting burgled but that's Weatherfield for you

Emmerdale: Last month set up two major storylines and this month more or less brought them to a conclusion of sorts. Henshall going nuts and holding Katie hostage made for a good week, along with his death but it's definitely Lisa's rape coming out to the village that made the last week more discussion worthy. Some wonderful acting from all the Dingles as they learnt the truth about horrible Derek but this was definitely a busy month - Doug's departure, Kelly's return along with Jimmy going missing, the Aaron/Jackson/Flynn saga and some much needed comedy with Marlon, Paddy and Rhona during the birthing classes as well. The only thing that didn't really hit the mark is the whole Adam/Mia dynamic but that's because I don't really care for either character all that much. And is it me or is Alicia less irritating than usual?

EastEnders: Another dull and depressing month for this show. Apart from Whitney's downward spiral and falling into the arms of a pimp named Rob, I can't think of much that I liked this month. Okay, apart from Kim and maybe Yusef but seriously, this show is producing some dreadful storylines. I'm not interested in Glenda and Roxy trying to get revenge on Phil because it's looking likely that they'll fail. I similarly have no interest in Christian/Syed wanting Roxy as a baby mama because it's a storyline that's come out of nowhere and a week detailing Heather's financial woes because Cheryl Fergison isn't a strong enough actress to pull something that heavy off to be honest. And the sooner this baby swap rubbish with Ronnie/Kat is dealt with, the better too. Oh and Michael is still bland as anything.

Hollyoaks: Over the last few months, I've come to be interested in Brendan as a character. It's probably helped that Emmet Scanlan's acting has significantly improved but it's more down to his interactions with Ste, Rae, Warren, Gaz and now Pete that have done it more as well as his amusingly fake relationship with Mitzee. I'll still never support him and Ste as a couple (though Ste/Noah, I potentially could) but he's definitely improved as a character. The other major plot points of the month were interesting too - nice to see more people learning that Theresa killed Calvin and the Gilly/Jacqui rape plot is definitely a complicated one too. However, I do hope the show gives us more of killer Silas soon, given that he's seemingly been in hibernation for a while now.

Fair City: I have to hand it to Bob Charles - he really is a cockroach in human form. Whenever you think he's totally squashed, he manages to turn his luck around. The start of this month, he was looking after Turlough and not getting well compensated for it. When Turlough popped his clogs (death by mirror glass - never a nice way to go), he managed to snare 200 grand and The Hungry Pig, irating both Louie and Neasa in equal measure. Shame Turlough had to die though - I liked him and Neasa's relationship and while the Dillons have become a vocal point in the series now, they're still a rather interesting family dynamic. Most of the stuff involving Decco throwing his weight about and being the hard man though is boring, compared to Suzanne's return, the brief arrival of Louie's ex-wife and kids and the rest.

Soap Discussion - January 2011

And to end January off, here's a soap blog for you all ....

Coronation Street: This show has continued to improve over the last few months and the residual consequences of the tram crash storyline have been gripping stuff. It served as a motive for Claire being the one responsible for Tracy getting her head caved and there was an interesting sense of community spirit as everyone helped her escape the police. Tracy's going to have find some other way to vent her rage now. Also when we weren't dealing with Janice being burgled or Fiz's growing financial woes (and the unwise choice of helping to claim Joy Fishwick's will), there was John having a breakdown. He's really sensitive for a killer, ain't he? Gary's continuous breakdowns are also apt but the writers do need to give him to do as well and Eileen's stealing off Owen was surprisingly short lived. Highlight of the month was Sally's means of trying to dissuade buyers from her house. Take that, Kevin Webster.

EastEnders: For a show that won Best Soap at the NTA's last week, I'm struggling to think of one of the many big storylines in January 2011 that was actually likeable. I'm not gonna further comment on the baby swap storyline because it's so damn tedious that I don't want to care. Similarly I can't bring myself to care about Christian and Syed's boring quest to have a baby with Roxy because the writers can't be arsed to actually develop them as a couple. Nor do I care about Phil's near but not deadly heart attack or his tiresome feuding with Ian. Plus, if I go into the Carol/Connor and Phil/Glenda/Ian affairs, I might just throw up and unlike Heather's fecking sneezing about the place last week, I would be convincing. Overall, this was a month that gave and gave bad storylines in spades.

Emmerdale: Maybe the producers were feeling left out with the tram stuff but did they really think a fire storyline was going to ignite the same talk? Probably but it wasn't as good and given that both Terry and Viv were long time characters, they deserved better an exit. Plus, I don't believe Katie's really worth the effort, Henshall, though he didn't have to do much to convince the village that Andy was responsible though, did he? Better thought out storylines was Lisa's rape by creepy Derek, Maisie and Will's more subdued but effective exits and the recent antics with Faye, Cain, Charity and Jai, even if it does make Cain look like a dolt. Also, why do I get the bad feeling that Aaron and Jackson are effectively doomed? Those recent video diaries of Jackson's are not a good omen and neither is the arrival of Flynn, who I did find rather cute by the way.

Hollyoaks: A really great month for this show, even if I couldn't care less about Mercedes cheating on Riley with his dad. Overall, I'm loving the inclusion of Mitzee into the Brendan/Ste plot, enjoying the weird but interesting partnership of Brendan and Warren, the fallout of Jasmine/Jason's GID storyline with the Costellos and even little Tom trying to defend Jack from an intruder. For a soap that's heavily youth obsessed, it can be quite brilliant with storylines that other soaps aren't at times. Even the return of the rather annoying Gaz for a brief time couldn't deter the greatness of this month, though Nancy's moaning about Darren being a new dad was a little tiresome. Plus, no overkill on the McQueens as well certainly helped matters.

Fair City: I won't be talking about this soap every month (or maybe I will) but I have to admit that I like it when a soap gives us an odd coupling and Turlough and Neasa perfectly fit that trope. Not only have I managed to actually like Turlough and feel bad for him but it was nice to see one male character on the show not treat Neasa like a bimbo either. Too bad Bob has to be a perennial spanner in the works with his inane glee in trying to wreck both Turlough/Neasa and Carol/Louis whenever he got the chance to. And while I'm finding the whole trying to normalise the other Bishop brothers a bit too rushed, points to the show for the brief Come Dine With Me subplot with Niamh, Orla, Yvonne and Carol as well this month.

Blood On The Cobbles - Soaps December Review

Okay, this is my last blog for 2010 and I might as well end the year with a soap one. It's been an interesting TV year for the most part and here's hoping 2011 maintains that in every TV medium.

Coronation Street - Tracy Barlow is a woman who certainly knows how to turn an entire cast against her, isn't she? Less than a week back on the cobbles, she's managed to insult everyone, bed David Platt (yuck) and got her head caved in as well. I think it's obvious to assume that Steve and Becky aren't guilty of this one, even if the next few weeks will keep them in the frame. Apart from that, Gary's PTSD storyline as well as Sally and Tyrone turning on Kevin have been the only other strong storylines going, post-tram. Oh and if Leanne can stop berating Nick for five minutes that would be nice too. I also have to admit to enjoying the presence of Claudia during tonight's New Year's Eve episode as well.

EastEnders - Every now and then, a soap writer gets the idea to ACTUALLY allow someone to get away with murder and despite Janine's best efforts over the Christmas, Stacey Slater managed to leave Walford without Ryan but with her baby and enough cash from Max to escape the coppers. As frustrating as I've found Stacey a lot of the time, a part of me was pleased that she did get away with killing Archie. However tonight's episode pleased me less with Ronnie's one day old son dying and her taking Kat's baby. I'm not a sensitive viewer but even I think this upcoming baby swap storyline is a little too cruel, despite the fact that I'm confident with both Jessie Wallace and Samantha Womack being able to deliver. On the plus side, Kim is still bags of fun and the less I focus on Carol/Connor or Ian/Glenda/Phil, the more bearable certain episodes are to watch.

Emmerdale - Ooh, I like a good wedding, especially if it's one where Chas finally got her revenge on Carl and Eve before the latter scurried off. As storylines went, the build up to this one has been great and the pay off was fun but in spite of all her hatred for him, I'm still betting that Chas will get back with Carl in 2011. Other highlights of the month have been the return of Eric's other son, the arrival of Declan's father Dermot and Aaron and Jackson actually getting some scenes together where it isn't an angst fest. Any chance things can be lighter for the pair next year?

Hollyoaks - For a soap aimed largely for teens, this has definitely been a darker and more hard hitting month for it. India got murdered in the most horrible way going, thanks to crazy Silas and Jasmine/Jason's GID storyline has finally become public knowledge with some predictable reactions from her family (and some humorous ones as well, courtesy of Mitzee). On the plus side, the show's also making progress in trying to develop Brendan as a character as his dyanamics with Danny, Ste and Warren have all taken interesting turns. I'm not sold on him still but he's definitely improving as a character.

Doctors - I rarely watch this show and with an episode called The Living Gaylights, I have to admit that I've probably seen better acting in panto but even I find Simon Bond rather cute. The episode where he was dreaming about being a gay James Bond, replete with hot scantily clad men and being tied up was definitely one of the sillier soap storylines done in a while. On the serious side, they also tackled a near suicide attempt with the character as well but luckily, there's still a hot gay guy in this soap.

Soaps - November Highlights

And here's another one of these soap highlights. Next one, New Year's Eve.

Coronation Street - Aww, even I felt bad seeing poor Jack Duckworth dying in a rather poignant episode and while I was initially sceptical of the use of Vera, I thought it worked brilliantly for his big send. This show has improved in months - the Nick/Leanne/Peter/Carla quadrangle is actually interesting, Charlotte's nuttiness is surprisingly making me feel bad for John and the writers have dialled down the Steve/Becky stuff. Now if Tina could go five minutes without scowling and the Molly/Kevin rubbish could come to an end, this show would be perfect.

EastEnders - Double weddings will not be the only thing that pull Kat and Ronnie together during December but it was certainly nice to see the two of them bond, amidst the chaos of their weddings to Alfie and Jack though. This month has been mixed in some ways - Phil/Shirley stealing Roxy's money was crap, Carol/Connor are crap, Glenda/Ian - just, no but I did like the Msaood's stuff with Yusef and Lauren gunning for Stacey has been more entertaining. Stacey - you think you have problems now - wait until Janine finds out that you've bumped Archie. Then you really will be up the creek without a paddle.

Emmerdale - Hell hath no fury like a Dingle scorned. While Marlon might settle for disowning both Rhona and Paddy, Chastity is less charitable. Toffee in hats and damaging USB keys might be childsplay but planning an elaborate wedding purely to humiliate both Carl and Eve definitely takes the biscuit. Who am I kidding? This plot is actually a lot of fun, more so with Aaron and Charity in on it and so far, better than Debbie's low-key return and Nathan and Natasha's respective exits. In other stuff, not sure how to take both Ella and Mia at the moment, even if it's wise to extend Declan's family but Holly's drug addiction storyline has actually gotten far better at the moment.

Fair City - Domestic violence storylines are ten a penny on soaps but fair play to this show for actually doing one where it's Suzanne who was the aggressor and Damien the victim. Even better is the fact that Suzanne is gettting her comeuppance at the moment and that her only ally is Yvonne of all people (where the fuck is Connie by the way?). Apart from that, the rest of the storylines are more or less a commentary on the recession again and given the 'bloodbath budget' we're getting in Ireland next Tuesday, I'm sure these will only intensify.

Hollyoaks - Okay, the fire was an excellent story. Pleased as I am that Amy survived (get Lee away from Leanne now), I was sad to see Steph go, even if it was obvious that Dom was stupidly responsible for the blaze. I'm not too sure on Warren's return just yet but I'll take him over Brendan, who just doesn't convince as a hardman. Nice to see Ste's storyline continuing and the teenage pregnancy plot with Amber/Finn and gender identity with Jasmine also progressing along nicely. Oh and I was sad to see Malachy die that I even felt bad for Mercedes for once.

Trial And Error - October 2010 Soaps

I'd promise I'd do a soap blog once a month so here's the one that I was meant to do for October. Hope you enjoy.

Coronation Street: I won't beat around the bush - I couldn't give a flying fig about Steve and Becky more of the time (he's dull, she's overrated) and the addition of Becky's godawful sister, Kylie has meant more screentime. Sometimes I wish I didn't read stuff in advance but anyone could've told that Becky would become desperate to want to adopt her nephew and it seems that Kylie isn't that bothered with selling him off either. Thankfully more interesting/less irritating stuff did happen last month with the gradual acceptance of Sophie/Sian, Rosie getting her claws into Jason and a mysterious person leaving a wreath at the doors of Underworld. There was also the reveal that Jack hadn't long to live as well, which I did find sad but apart from that and the ongoing feud with Tina/Graeme vs. David, it does seem like everything is only leading to the tram crash in December. I can think of a few characters I wouldn't mind seeing perish during that particular event, particularly Claire and Ashley who won't just bugger off to France already.

EastEnders: Speaking of countdowns, you can just tell that Stacey Slater is on the way out because the emphasis on her has been more heavier than usual (then again, I can't remember a period of things being a Stacey free zone). The last few weeks have seen her and Janine beating the shit out of each other (usually with Kat stirring things in the background) as well as her and Ryan becoming closer due to his desire to be involved in Lily's life. However, the more important thing is that it finally looks like someone other than Max will get a clue about Stacey murdering Archie. Now that Janine knows her former lover was a rapist and Lauren's privy to Bradley not being the killer, surely one of them will deduce that Stacey murdered Archie. As for Alfie and Kat, they're mostly working though it should be fun enough to see how they are in the not so revamped Queen Vic and Roxy is surprisingly less irritating as well. I think we could've done without seeing Billie's death, despite some truly great performances (Carol's breakdown) and I have little interest in Billy's storyline with Julie. Just saying.

Emmerdale: Probably the most consistently written soap and definitely the most eventful over the last few weeks. The angst between Aaron and Jackson might have needed toning down but the van crash was pretty powerful TV and it's a bloody miracle that Jackson didn't actually die given that characters have died on this show in less dangerous ways. It's also been nice to see more of Hazel and Jackson's father and more importantly, Bob's addition into this story has felt like tacked on than Paddy's constant attachment with anything Aaron. Speaking of Paddy, I'm not particularly interested in the triangle with him, Marlon and Rhona but it's watchable and like the Chas/Carl/Eve storyline better handled (or least less annoying) than most soap affairs. As for Ryan's trial/Nathan's kidnapping by Cain/Natasha turning herself in - it made for some great TV but it's also nice to see it finally wind down as well. And if the writers can find some way of breaking up Charity and Cain and giving the former more to do, that would be nice as well. Also, Amy and Victoria seem like a recipe for menace as well.

Hollyoaks: Over the last few weeks, I've been watching this more for the Ste/Brendon storyline than anything else. As a couple, it's hard to ship them - not only is Brendon still not an engaging villain but given that his relationship with Ste is about to become abusive, should I even favour it in the first place. Also in less intense storylines, 'alien' Kevin is amusing enough as was Lee's godawful stage play and Darren and India's attempts of stopping Jamil from an arranged marriage. The Costellos and Theresa seemed more dominant in last week's Hollyoaks Later special but those specials aren't as great as the main show, even if they are supposed to be more 'grittier'. Oh, and someone who's supposed to be dead is back soon.

Hollyoaks - Ste/Brendon Spoiler

I promised I'd start talking more about gay plot in soaps storylines, so here's another blog, following some news concerning Hollyoaks.

It seems actor Kieran Richardson, who plays former bad boy, Ste Hay has come out as gay. Although I had sort of already guessed, the actor announced his sexuality on This Morning today as a plotline concerning his character has also been revealed.

It seems that Ste's volatile relationship with employer/gangster, Brendan Brady (Emmett Scanlan) will take another turn when the pair kiss and Brendan then rejects Ste. The scenes are due to air next month as executive producer, Paul Marquess promises that both Ste and Brendan will have different viewpoints on their mutual attraction to the same sex. I like Ste but I've struggled to find Brendan all that interesting but I'm intrigued by this storyline.

More Details: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s13/hollyoaks/news/a276979/oaks-actor-comes-out-confirms-gay-plot.html