Slade

Thanks for the updates Chris/Dan and for answering everybody's questions so far. I have several of my own - don't know whether this is just me (Sorry to be a pain in advance): 1. The Search facility doesn't seem to work properly. If you run the default settings without any filters it sometimes brings back old results. If you try specifying some terms in the General discussion area e.g. 'Sophie', 'Maddie', 'Alf', 'Irene' (all separate searches without the quotes) it throws up an error or comes back with no results. Am I doing something wrong? 2. Can't find the option to preview the post before actually posting it. Is this gone now? 3. The avatars seem to displayed at a lower resolution than previously. Do the images need to be re-uploaded? Thanks.

Not necessarily - not everyone does. However, they could have made more effort to make Maddy look sick! I think the problem is whenever the subject of chemotherapy and side effects are brought up most people will almost always associate it with hair loss. So if the writers are trying to do a cancer storyline and you have a character which some viewers associate with, not losing her hair in my opinion could potentially detract from the effects or seriousness of the storyline. Think about an attractive person and one of their best features suddenly goes. It makes some people think more about the situation. If the actress understandably wasn't prepared to shave her head they could at least have given her a wig or scarf like they did with Martha. I think that worked pretty well. I agree it doesn't help that a lot of the time she looks more like someone recovering after going out on a night on the lash than someone who is fighting for their life.

Even factoring in that the soap shown is 6-8 weeks from when it is actually shot and Anne Kirkbride died in January they still haven't written Deirdre out so it will be interesting to see when and how they do this. I have mixed feelings about this whole scam thing with Tony trying to con Liz/Steve out of the Rovers. I do quite like Steve and don't really want anything bad to happen to him. I really don't like Tony and see him as a bully and a criminal. However I don't like Michelle and cannot stand Liz. I often find Liz incredibly sanctimonious so part of me was glad to see this happen and I quite enjoyed it when Tracy told Liz everything. Although that didn't appear to take Liz down and peg a she reacted pretty badly to it. I would like to think that's the last we've seen of Tony but given that he owns half of the Rovers and the pawnbrokers I don't think so unfortunately. I remember when Tracy saved Carla's life shortly after the bus crash. Immediately afterwards it kinda felt weird when there was a truce between them and they were getting on but I thought they were taking their relationship in a different direction. Carla even helped to bail Tracy out when she was in trouble with her Pawnbroker's shop. But it seems as though Tracy hasn't learned a thing. She was blinded and consumed by pure hatred and jealousy. She was annoyed that Carla purchased the other half of the Rovers and foiled her attempt to be the landlady. But what this really is about is that Carla has succeeded where she failed in business and I guess from a personal point that people respected Carla. That drove her to set fire to Carla's flat (that's how I see it). So surely it's murder and surely she can't get away with this. Although baring a confession I don't see how she can get caught (she confessed to Deirdre about killing Charlie but there's no way she will be stupid enough to do it twice). The worst thing is how she's tried to pin everything on Carla. Although I did find Tracy's welcome to my world line interesting i.e. she couldn't be a success like Carla was so she wants Carla to be in her shoes and feel what she felt. There are times when Leanne annoys me because she comes across as extremely self-righteous but my reaction when she broke Carla's door down with the fire extinguisher, pulled her out of the flat and then when back when it was burning to rescue Amy was...WOW, what a woman. I was shocked when Cal ended up dying from the explosion. I really wasn't expecting that. They were previews about the fire but I thought Carla would be the person to come out the worst. I thought the Nazir's have handled the whole thing really well particularly Yasmeen and Sharif. I especially liked the way Yasmeen was with Simon when she told him about Cal. My opinion of Yasmeen has changed a lot since she first arrived. Even Zidane has been a lot better than how I thought he would be. I don't mind Maddie but was kinda glad she was injured in the other explosion just so it puts her out of action temporarily. She was about to foil Jenny's plan and I would like to see how that plays out. I do think it's a shame with Jenny as I quite liked her and Kevin together initially and thought they made a good couple. I also didn't like the way everyone ganged up on her when she came back. The issue was with Rita and nobody else's business. Even though Jenny was in the wrong I still found myself on her side versus Sophie because I just find Sophie so annoying so I was glad when she threw her toys out the pram when nobody believed her about Jenny then she moved out. It's a shame though because she is going to be proved right and it will be like.. I told you so! I am interested to know more about Jenny's back story. Her dependency on Jack made me initially think she had a son who died but I'm assuming what she said to Maddie it was a baby who died in her care. I'm glad Owen left Anna. He deserved so much better. He gave up everything for her and she treated him like crap a lot of the time constantly blaming him for everything and biting his head off at every opportunity. He should have left with his ex wife to go abroad. I'm glad Anna has been left on her own to look after Faye's baby. A lot of the time I find her utterly repugnant but this hasn't made her any better. She's actually gotten worse because of the pressure from raising a kid, bringing up Faye and trying to juggle this with work. I've found the dynamic between Callum and David fascinating. In one had Callum was prepared to make allowances for David where he wouldn't had that been anybody else purely because he was looking after Max. In the other hand the whole custody about Max thing has effectively become about power struggle and mind games. Such as turning up a David's whenever he feels like it, giving Max gifts to undermine him and engaging in a relationship with David's sister. You could even see it in Callum's eyes when he was staring across from David at the custody hearing. I cannot stand Sarah or Bethany. I find both of them highly annoying, especially Bethany. I don't find anything likeable or funny about either of them and wish they would both get back on a plane to Italy. Sarah annoyed me intensely when she engaged in a relationship with Callum even after he admitted to giving David a kicking. And Bethany also annoyed me when she told Callum about David's misgivings and Calum used that at the hearing against David. They were both a pain in the backside when they initially moved into David's with Sarah refusing to move out and Bethany pulling all kinds of stunts to avoid going back to her mum when Sarah was still abroad. Whilst David and Steph's brother also know about Andy's secret I wonder how long before everything comes out. It's bound to eventually. I thought Gail was kicking herself a while back when she let Gavin blackmail her and had she just waited a day or so (as he died in the accident) she would have saved herself a couple of grand.

OK, fair enough. Point taken! You've mixed my post up with Dee's - It was Dee who brought up the point about being bratty for not liking Maddy regardless of whether you agree with his/her reasoning for not liking her that is that poster's opinion. I agreed with this as I watch the episodes at UK pace and we are many weeks behind. Maddy hasn't been as bad since she had the big C but what I've seen about her has not been sufficient for me to like her (or forgive how she's behaved before - that is relevant IMO for getting past her previous behaviour). Another poster above has given several reasons why their opinion of Maddy has changed for the better. I can't comment on this because the show is not currently airing on the UK at the moment and won't be back for another couple of weeks. After that we will be many weeks behind. Even saying that I doubt it will be enough to change my opinion of her but we'll see. If you want to know why I dislike the character currently, please refer to my post on the previous page. I've gone into fairly lengthy detail about some of her behaviour. If those reasons are not good enough then they're not good enough. Cheers!

I hated him at first after running Casey of the road and wanted him gone but now Andy is one of my favourite characters. I do agree with Angelica in that it's all happened too quickly and did actually prefer it when everyone hated him but I enjoy a lot of his scenes. Whilst I'm not a fan of Hannah I do like the stuff with her and Andy at the moment. I like the effect it's had on him becoming her part time carer and taking on a certain level of commitment. I also like the way whenever he's with her sometimes he has a smile like a Cheshire cat all over his face. I'm quite satisfied that Denny has put her personal feelings aside towards him for the sake of Hannah's recovery. And I like the fact that she still doesn't like him but has accepted that his efforts are helping Hannah. I liked the fact that Evelyn was fighting Andy's corner when Josh was annoyed with him when Hannah almost drowned although I accept that Andy was unbelievably stupid letting Hannah go on a boat without a life jacket. Whilst Josh has the Braxtons to take care of him, I do think Andy needs to work on their relationship but I do like the consistency that they still see each other whilst having separate storylines and are effectively living separate lives. Not only do I not have a problem with him killing Pirovic but I'm glad he did it. I really liked Charlie so it's good to see some payback for her cold blooded murder. And let's not forget he killed Casey too. I think Andy did Brax a massive favour. Given that he already escaped from custody and already killed two people dear to Brax, Pirovic would have dedicated the rest of his existence to making Brax suffer and who knows who would have been next - Heath, Darcy, Harley. I'm glad Emerson didn't have the sense to follow the investigation up and with any luck this won't come back to bite Andy although I suspect either he will be brought to justice someday or one of Pirovic's cronies will catch up with him eventually...

That's fair enough. I can't speak for dee but I was talking from a personal viewpoint. I haven't seen the episodes you are referring to but it's going to take a LOT and some seriously decent writing to get me to the point where I even stop disliking her and I'm not sure the current writers are up to it at the moment. Cancer has been done to death in this show (as have rapes and abductions). So what if that's is the reason? What's the problem with that exactly? Why should somebody feel obliged to 'forgive' a fictional character for past deeds just because they've apparently changed for the better? There are threads were people have done exactly the same thing with other characters. Have you called them out Tebzpriscilla?

I know pathetic isn't it? After being annoying and highly unlikeable for quite a while they play the cancer card. They couldn't even be bothered to give her a different illness. But yep not falling for it.

Every time I see Debbie and Ross getting on I keep thinking it's inevitable something is going to happen but then they put it to bed by having Debbie playing it safe by sticking with Pete. So I'm not sure what the writers are playing at. Ali annoyed me with her attitude a while back towards Jai and whilst I agreed with her stance on Rachel, I've gone back to disliking her. It was Shaun's choice to join the army and Dan just supported him. Shaun then is involved in a car accident that was unrelated to his duties and Ali pins the whole thing on Dan. Blaming him for allowing Shaun to sign up in the first place, threatening to move and take Amelia away from him and generally being unpleasant. Whilst I loathe to agree with Keri, I was glad she stuck up for him. I have to admit, I am starting to quite like Tracy. I find her really funny sometimes. With Nicola gone, I think it's a great idea to have her move in with Jimmy as I've already enjoyed some of their scenes and it could make for a very interesting dynamic. A massive plus for me is the fact that Bernice can't stand her so it will wind her up to no end living with her and that's one of the best things about Tracy for me, the fact that she annoys characters that I generally don't like. I did find Val's reaction to her moving out quite interesting. She obviously views her as a replacement for Amy so she's hoping that things don't work out at Jimmy's so Tracy can come begging back to live there. Whilst I'm not particularly a fan of her character, I personally think this storyline with Laurel and her alcoholism has been brilliantly done. The acting from all those involved (particularly April's character has been first class). That scene where she shouted at April when April wanted to read a story and Laurel wanted her to go upstairs so she could get drunk was very powerful. I really liked the way April apologised twice and Laurel realised how horrible she had been told her that she loved her and gave her a hug. And then after Laurel passed out, April tried to wake her up and couldn't, Arthur left to get Marlon, Laurel started to choke on her own vomit and April had enough sense to call emergency services which ultimately led to saving Laurel's life. She's been extremely fortunate, not only to be alive but because Marlon decided to give her another chance. I was almost certain that he was going to want out of the marriage but I'm glad he didn't, for better and for worse and all that. And if he did end it all that stuff they went through previously would have been for nothing. Doug's attitude really annoyed me. I accept that Laurel is his daughter so he's obviously going to defend her which is fair enough but given that he kept the fact that Laurel took April to hospital he had the audacity to blame Marlon for the whole thing. I accept that Marlon hasn't been a good husband, particularly his attitude towards Laurel when they found out Donna was terminally ill but he had April dumped on him and had to adjust his whole life to accommodate her. Nobody forced Laurel to start drinking. She made that choice through her own free will. Hopefully she will think long and hard about this and try to get the helps she needs to sort herself out. One thing I did like was the way Rhona was more emphatic towards her given her own drug addiction. So Vanessa's pregnant and the baby could be...Adam's. Think I made a comment a while back about the UK stealing Aussie storylines although I accept this sort of thing does happen from time to time in British soaps as well.

Disliking Rachel more and more by the minute. I wanted the throttle her when she pulled that stunt with Belle, moving her medication claiming Belle had left her tablets lying around, claimed she had to take Archie to the hospital all as a convenient way to try and control Sam and use as an excuse not to live with the Dingles. I also didn't like the way she rocked up and expected Jai to give her a job even though he's already subsidising her. Another person I don't like is Carly. She's a selfish user. She used her own dad trying and con him out of the twins inheritance, she obviously doesn't really care about him. I hated the way she took advantage of Jimmy's good nature and deceived him into helping her commit a burglary and she had the gall the blame Jimmy for getting annoyed about it afterwards. I also hated her attitude towards Brenda when she clearly had reservations about Carly's honesty. I did think the scenes with her and Alicia were alright and she does appear to have been written slightly better this week. Emma is another deeply unpleasant person. And it's even worse for her because she is like a wolf in sheep's clothing. Extremely sly and manipulative. However I have to say she has been pure entertainment value. She played it brilliantly how she planted the seed at first with Rhona re Paddy and Chas. Then with James distrustful and at his weakest, slept with him and publicly announced it to Chas in the Woolpack. I was smiling through that whole scene and absolutely loved it. I also loved the way she laid into Debbie although that backfired on her. I'm torn because on one hand her behaviour obviously can't continue but on the other if she rubs Debbie up the wrong way then great. I had started to like Aaron especially after Katie's death but after he bottled James I was back to being disgusted with him the same way after he assaulted Paddy. I was actually glad that Emma called the police and would have been happy if he had gone to jail. Irrespective of James cheating on Chas he didn't deserve that. So Lachlan remains completely unrepentant about Alicia. I've got mixed feelings. Part of me would be happy to see the back of him but I really don't like Donny and don't want him winning and conning Lawrence out of a large sum of money (even if that means Robert has the upper hand). Quite enjoyed the interaction with Lawrence and Edna. It's a shame the writers used their past history as a reason for bringing him into the village in the first place but completely abandoned the idea shortly afterwards.

I generally avoid responding to your posts re Maddy which up until recently very often seemed to defend virtually any negative comment I made about her so I should probably continue biting my tongue here. And I can't see any good coming from this but here goes: It's interesting you say that because that and some of the reasons given above to defend/excuse some of the things I've criticised her about have been used to criticise other characters. Show me one post where I've said it was OK for him to cheat on her. Again don't recall saying they did nothing wrong. In fact I even said above they did the dirty which seems to have been ignored. And? Is it not feasible that she fully intended to sleep with Oscar to get back at Evelyn, followed through with her plan then the morning after her thought process was something along the lines of "What have I done?". Then the guilt and remorse kicked in. And she felt ashamed, even though the damage had already been done. Do people not do things without being able to think about the consequences unless doing so retrospectively? Did she not kiss Oscar at school in front of Evelyn/Josh purely for Evelyn's benefit the day before? Did Spencer not warn Oscar off Maddy shortly after that because he knew she was up to something and he was concerned that Oscar would get hurt? For clarification (in case nobody had worked out from my posts in the UK thread or here) I really don't like Maddy and my post above was not intended to provide balance. I wanted to highlight the reasons why I dislike her and find her annoying. And why should I feel obliged to be impartial?

Maddy is a selfish, self-centered, attention seeking drama queen. On the surface she may have angelic features but underneath she's shown herself to be a manipulative individual. She first started to annoy me regarding her attitude towards Roo. Roo decided to take her under her wing and treat her as her own daughter and Maddy was petulant, ungrateful and generally being a brat. She would purposely be disobedient purely for the sake of being difficult and because she had very little respect for other people. It certainly didn't help that Roo would treat her with kid gloves, mollycoddling her rather than putting her foot down and showing some discipline. I specifically recall one episode where Alf asked her to do something, she refused and went crying to Roo playing the victim putting on the butter-wouldn't-melt act and purposely causing an argument between them. Even when Alf threatened to throw her out, Maddy still refused to comply. He was bluffing but it didn't work. She only apologised in the end for her behaviour because Spencer gave her an ultimatum. I don't really care much about her relationship with Josh but she didn't have a good attitude towards his studies when it came to his exams. And it was all about her. Her attitude was that she was going to pass them with flying colours because she was so talented and he was going to fail because he was so dumb. She was quite dismissive and didn't like that his attention wasn't exclusively directed towards her when he had to study. When she did attempt the study group it didn't go well. So to my delight Josh passed and she didn't. The best thing about that was not the fact that she failed (which I imagine other posters would have really enjoyed) but she couldn't get her head around the fact that Josh beat her. She couldn't be happy for him. She even tried to blame Zac having a personal issue with her for her own failure. And when Sophie eventually said she had to repeat, that was the icing on the cake. Obviously during this time Josh and Evelyn went behind Maddy's back and did the dirty - I'm not going to even try to deny that. So they were going out, frustrated and in love Maddy wanted to get back with him but as payback to the person who stole her man out of pure spite and malice, she prostituted herself, taking advantage of the fact that Oscar had fallen for her purely because he was the closest person to Evelyn and she wanted to hit her right where it hurt. I was quite indifferent to her sleeping with Josh after Casey died but have to admit, I really enjoyed it when Alf laid into her and said she was low. I think she did use the situation to her advantage but Josh wanted it just as much or even more than she did. It's also interesting that she was so focused on that she didn't really seem to care about Casey's death even they were pretty close at one point. Oscar has not done himself any favours. And I've gone into depth about how stupid and delusional he's been but Maddy continued to take advantage of the situation. Not backing off and giving him space during his community service, shortly after he realised that she used him. Again she took advantage of his infatuation to offer to go with him to the dance purely to get closer to Josh - Not because she wanted to spend any time with Oscar. She only called him when she was bored and nobody else wanted to spend any time with her. Inviting him for a shopping spree, stealing Roo's credit card (Despite everything Roo had done for her). When she thought she was pregnant and believed that Josh might not be the father she wanted Oscar to lie about it as some sort of way to entrap Josh with very little regard for how it affected Oscar. The thing that makes me laugh is that she actually went on to claim that Oscar was her best friend. Because he was weak, submissive and did what she wanted. And I'll say what I said then, with friends like Maddy who needs enemies! I believe that Oscar had a lot of potential as a character that has been ruined by Maddy. Then we have the big C. It annoyed me how she did the disappearing act once again with very little regard for how it affected the people who cared about her. But they ruin the end of the season finale and the exciting bus crash with her damn voiceover. And now that she believes she's going to die, she suddenly 'decides' that she is in love with Oscar now and wants a 'relationship' with him. The timing couldn't have been anymore convenient. Let's not forget the fact that she has become completely dependent at someone being at her beck and call. That person has now wised up and realised that he's being played so with all this under threat Maddy basically gives him what he wanted all along. When Nate first told Maddy she was pregnant, I was dreading that storyline because I knew it would suck several characters in. When it was revealed that it was cancer my fear was that killing her off would effectively martyr her so I actually was hoping that she would be cured ASAP. This is the worst possible outcome for me. We are going to have to sit through several months of characters basically acting like she's the best thing since sliced bread and devoting a significant amount of their time to her. It's bad enough seeing Roo continue the mollycoddling but at least that's understandable. Now we have Spencer arranging the charity event and trying to suck Josh and Evelyn in. Oh and that idiot Chris wants to help too. And I'm sure the rest of the Summer Bay residents will be lining up. And I'm concerned that other characters will be ruined like Oscar is. Putting asside all that the worst thing about this storyline is the way she apparently seems to have given up. I actually preferred her before because although she was unlikeable at least she was entertaining. Now I'm finding her quite boring.

I agree it's definitely not the actress. Although I have been enjoying this storyline with her trying to cope with her injury but now that they've given her feeling back in her legs I fear she will be right back at the point before she had the accident so it's only served as a minor inconvenience and not contributed to character development.

I've never liked Hannah. As I mentioned in another thread IMO she is an absolutely dreadful character. She really is - Is there anybody in this forum at this present time who does like her or at least thinks the character adds value? I've mentioned in various threads how I feel about Maddy but at least at times she's provided a certain level of entertainment. Sadly the same cannot be said for Hannah. She's never struck me as someone that's been particularly likeable or pleasant. Even when she's smiling with someone or trying to be a guardian to Oscar and Evelyn she still doesn't seem nice. It all just seems fake, transparent and conceited. I didn't like her attitude towards Denny, when she first showed up, being very suspicious of her and making unpleasant remarks behind her back. I first started to really dislike her when she treated Zac like crap. She had a thing with Zac then decided to cool it because of the twins (or at least that was the excuse she gave). She gets with Andy then lies to Zac about it. I really like Andy now but at the time couldn't understand why she wanted to go out with him because he had no charm whatsoever so assumed it was purely physical. She starts sneaking him in and out of the house because she was to ashamed to tell everyone about him. Zac then sees them together himself which obviously hurt. After Zac slept with Bianca she threatened to take the twins off him. I know that was around the time Zac was drinking but I always got the impression that she was more annoyed about him sleeping with Bianca than the fact he was being a bad guardian. And I also felt she was to immature to get into a relationship with him before anyway. Even when she started giving Andy the runaround and Andy decided to blow her out, it annoyed me intensely how she was so self-absorbed she genuinely couldn't understand why Andy didn't want to spend time with her. As if she was so irresistible and what man in his right mind wouldn't want to be with her (*shakes head*). I'll never forget the expression on her face when Sophie first turned up and told Hannah, Zac spent the evening with her marking essays and Hannah had the audacity to roll her eyes as if Zac was cheating on her or something (you had your chance love!). And then after Andy hid the drugs in the barn, how could she be so stupid as to believe what Andy told her and accuse Zac of setting him up. Why would Zac risk everything just to frame him? So I was glad initially when he wanted nothing more to do with her at that particular time and also when Evelyn started to blow her out. Although Sophie was being ultra paranoid about her, I was glad when she started intimidating Hannah into staying way from Nate but Hannah cops off with Sophie's husband anyway. I'd been waiting a long time to see some comeback so I was really excited when Sophie went for her at the hospital and disappointed when Nate stopped her. Still I was glad when Sophie took her out when Hannah attempted to sedate her. Didn't have one iota of sympathy for her when she had the accident and couldn't walk. Even if she didn't survive the bus crash, I probably wouldn't have bat an eyelid. Probably going against the grain here but I am actually interested to see how this storyline with her and Andy unfolds. Not sure why now but I did feel a little bit sorry for her when Andy rejected her advances. It's odd because it comes down to sex and you'd think her priority would be trying to walk although needs must. Still my opinion about her is the same as it was before - unlikeable.

I very often enjoy reading some of your thoughts but have to admit, you were the last person I would have expected to say that. It's refreshing to know that there are people here that actually DON'T like Chris (or at least don't love him) and can see him for the annoying, useless buffoon he is. And I think it's good to restore some parity to this thread as so many people here seem to think he's a ray of sunshine. Regarding your last sentence, I mentioned a couple of days ago in another thread that a lot of the time I feel like punching him because of his behaviour. And I agree about him getting in people's faces. There was one episode where he grassed Andy up to the police and even though Alf was right to throw Andy out from the Caravan park (and he deserved everything he got afterwards), when Andy went after Chris, I wanted him to knock seven bells out of Chris just to put him out of action for a while and take him down a peg or two. And I was disappointed that Andy let it go.

There's no mention anywhere in my post about the actor, simply the character that is portrayed. The only person who 'attacked' an actor was you.

Funny and loveable in your opinion. So you say my post was harsh and kinda mean for slating and wanting a fictional character off our screens but refer to an actual actor as 'pathetic'. Interesting... So tell me Jacklost, what's the harm in bashing something or someone that doesn't exist in real life? Especially a character that IMO is as dreadful as Chris is.

IMO Chris is a cretinous moron. He's one of my least favourite characters in the show atm. Ever since he first turned up, I've found very little about him remotely entertaining or funny. Admittedly there have been a couple of times where he's made me laugh but for the most part he's incredibly annoying. He's portrayed as a character that's supposed to provide amusement and we're all meant to laugh at his silly little antics. However he's anything but amusing. He doesn't even perform the part of the town jester very well. Believing that he's funny and his humour will endear people towards him. And I suppose in some cases it does. But it doesn't cover up the fact that he is extremely immature. It's pretty sad that Jett and even the old VJ are ten times more grown up than he is. And he constantly has to try so hard to desperately get people to like him. And he seems to employ this tactic particularly around the female characters sometimes as a way to try and pick them up. And whilst he's had limited success - Indy, Denny and Shandi - eventually they grow tired of his behaviour and realise he isn't relationship material. It says a lot that the one person who did want to be with him was pretty much a stalker anyway. He's obviously good looking so clearly doesn't 't have a problem attracting them initially but if we take the way he acted when he first met Denny he basically talked her into going on a date and admits to her on the date that he only went out with her because it was a bribe, pursues her quite persistently afterwards, she agrees to go out with him again, he sleeps with her, she tells him she loves him then he starts avoiding her even pulling a sickie at work. So he wasn't grown up enough to be with her and even though I didn't agree with her eventually cheating on him I could understand and was actually glad in the end. You can argue whether Casey was a better boyfriend or not but that still doesn't negate the fact that Chris wasn't a good one. He actually reminds me a bit of Kyle Canning in Neighbours. Not particularly intelligent but not a bad person. Except that Kyle isn't actually infuriating like Chris is. So as far as I'm concerned Chris is an example of a character who isn't necessarily a bad person but I dislike intensely because he's annoying as hell. I also think he's a walking disaster. One example being trying to redecorate Irene's kitchen at 2am in the morning and making a complete pigs ear of it. His whole behaviour around that was infuriating, refusing to accept help from anyone because he solely wanted to claim the credit. And let's not forget he picked a set of poisonous mushrooms without bothering to check whether they were safe and incorporated them into a meal at the Diner, hospitalising several people resulting in Leah almost having a liver transplant. Putting aside the fact, the Diner could have been closed down after that, all that just to try and get Denny into bed. There have been a couple of occasions where I thought he had left for good. The most recent time I was absolutely over the moon then to my horror a few episodes later, I saw him walking towards Alf and Marilyn by the bait shop and my head dropped (and now he's a regular cast member ). Why oh why did Irene have to call him back? I just wish it was him that been involved on the bus crash and in a coma and not Leah. He's an absolute idiot and I can't stand the guy.

Felt really sorry for Alicia when Lachlan assaulted her. I ended up being actually quite annoyed with Chrissie. She's Lachlan's mother so I expect her to take his side but her refusal to even question his innocence made me think that she's ether blind or just plain stupid or in denial or totally delusional. I thought that even Lawrence could tell there was truth in what was being said. I mean all the warning signs were there. They had to leave the last place because of Lachlan's behaviour, he was stalking Belle, taking photographs of her and Chrissie was extremely concerned about that then she initially suspected that he was doing the same thing to Alicia. Then when the police come round and take Lachlan to the station about the allegations, he makes up some story about grooming and she believes it. And when the police drop the charges due to insufficient evidence she takes him away on holiday to reward him. I don't like Tracy but have to admit, I've really, really enjoyed seeing her wind people up i.e. Keri, Debbie, Rachel, Chas etc. I'm not a fan of the first three mentioned so it's especially satisfying. I'm also enjoying how she keeps rubbing everyone's faces in with her fling with Andy. And whilst I actually quite like Chas, I loved how Tracy gave Chas a serve at the Woolpak and told her some home truths. I'm not sure about Robert. He's another person I don't like but it does appear to be genuine the way he's helping Andy. And I agree that it's better for him to be seeing Tracy even if it's only been a month since Katie's death rather than kill himself. Well Aaron's runs are certainly helping out. I was certain that it was inevitable he was going to fess up to everything but with Andy seeing Tracy he seems to be coping a lot better now. And if Chas joins him on the runs that will also help. Whilst I don't dislike Vanessa like I did when she first arrived, I've never really been able to connect with the character so I can't feel this cancer storyline (ring any bells). I've got no interest in it whatsoever. I did find the chat with Kiran and Ross interesting though. With Ross telling him to get as far away as possible obviously to prevent Kiran from being hurt in the future like he was. I am kinda glad Val is going to be ok for now (provided she sticks with the meds) as although I disliked her intensely for the way she treated Eric a while back she's been alright as of late and I do find her quite amusing sometimes. I continue to be frustrated with Finn. IMO he's an absolutely dreadful character that provides no entertainment whatsoever and just wastes valuable screentime - As loathsome as Charity was/is, at least the character actually had purpose. Speaking of Charity, I wasn't happy seeing Cain visit her in prison, particularly as she actually seemed to have mellowed out significantly but I'm assuming they shot that before the actress went on maternity leave. I've really enjoyed seeing some of the scenes with April, firstly when she drunk Laurel's alcohol, had to go to hospital, Laurel tried to get her to help cover it up and she told Doug. Also when she and Bob's daughter sold the teddy bears to Rakesh.

When I look at Oscar now, I just think to myself what a shame. Initially I thought he wasn't the most exciting character but I liked him. I thought he was a much better version of Geoff when Geoff first appeared i.e. led quite a sheltered life and had a certain level of naivete but nowhere near as judgemental or self righteous and fairly likeable. I had a lot of respect for him when Evelyn disgustingly wanted him to save himself from getting in trouble for the hit and run on Tamara and was prepared to let her own uncle not only suffer the guilt but also go to jail and Oscar fessed up and did the right thing. I also respected the way he just tried to get on and do his community service and felt bad for him when Mitch started picking on him. I also initially had sympathy for him when he started getting the panic attacks a while back and when he over exerted himself during his training. I feel now that Maddy has completely ruined him. His head is so far up her arse that it has effectively nullified any character development. His entire existence has transcended into doing the right thing by her. I don't blame him for falling for her. She's physically very attractive, he was spending time with her so I get that from his perspective he saw that as bonding even though Maddy just wanted the company because nobody else really wanted to spend time with her. When she used him to get revenge on Evelyn stealing her man, again I couldn't blame him for sleeping with her. I'm willing to bet virtually any single heterosexual teenager in his position would have done the same thing. And I initially felt sorry for him afterwards when Maddy was spending time with him and she slapped him on the bottom and kissed him in front of Mitch obviously to make Oscar seem more manly (although how she thought Mitch would lay off after that is beyond me). What has annoyed me since is that there have been a number of occasions where it has been obvious that she doesn't love him and he should be focussing his energy on trying to move on rather than forcing something which isn't there. And every time he does seem to wake up and smell the coffee he falls back into the trap again. Take the dance, although she invited him she virtually blanked him repeatedly asking when Josh was coming. Even Zak asked him why he was prepared to put himself through this and he basically admitted he was a doormat, hoping for something. He should have just walked out at that instant and left her on her own. She apologised and gave him a sympathy dance later on but she shouldn't have been given that luxury at that particular moment (I also appreciate there was more important stuff going on). Fast forward and he starts hanging out with her again (dropping anything any time she calls her like some subordinate). He's forgotten that she's in love with Josh and only wants to hang out with him because she's bored and he's helping her buy some new clothes courtesy of Roo's plastic. When he told Roo and after he rejected her when she made a pass at him I thought 'Yes' but then he keeps trying to pressure Josh and Evelyn to get back together almost as a way to ensure that Maddy has no chance of getting back with Josh so he can have her all to himself (What!?). Don't get me wrong I like Josh/Evelyn but Oscar's motives were fuelled significantly by self-interest IMO. When Maddy was sick the first time it just annoyed me how he turned up at the hospital almost hassling Nate and then when he didn't get the information he wanted he went back to her place with three presents and couldn't take it when Maddy told him that she was pregnant and the baby wasn't his. You would think at that point he would back off but no he's chasing her again and then had a go at her for trying to use the situation (i.e. the pregnancy) to get Josh to try and fall in love with her even though he was doing EXACTLY the same thing. When he realised the baby could be Josh's he tells him the truth (knowing full well that it risks the wrath of Maddy) so fair play he went right up in my estimation and I thought he's got him self out of the situation (he wanted to do the right thing but there's still the self-interest argument too) but here at UK pace the latest instalment of the whole Oscar-trying-to-make-Maddy-fall-in-love-with-him thing, she has cancer, Oscar knows and well he's "supporting" her. I find the whole thing incredibly frustrating and tedious. It's like watching a football match with your favourite team and they keep missing so many golden opportunities to score. There are times where some of Oscar's behaviour has bordered on cringeworthy. The whole thing wreaks of desperation. I actually think this is quite realistic but from a viewers perspective (certainly this viewer), I'm sick to my back teeth of him going after her. It's not as if he doesn't know how she feels about Josh because she's made it clear several times. So it's gone way beyond her leading him on. I don't really think he gets on with Evelyn (obviously because of Maddy) and I can't remember the last time I actually enjoyed a scene with those two. I don't think there is enough interaction with Zak. I remember seeing the scenes at the party recently and when Sasha/Matt/Spencer/Josh spent a night out in the woods. I enjoyed both of those and wish Oscar had been part of that. But he seems like an outsider not sufficiently interacting with some of the younger characters. I live in hope that he will somehow fall out of love with her but other than a superhot chick turning up meeting Oscar and love at first sight, it's not looking good. Oh well. Just my opinion...

Emma is really shaping up to be quite a devious and unpleasant individual. The only reason James is still alive is because Pete turned up at the right (or from Emma's point of view the wrong) time. Else after deliberately causing the accident she was happy to leave him there to die. I was surprised at her reaction to Ross fessing up to the break in at her place as although it was different, the thought process basically mirrors what she did to him i.e. taking advantage of someone at a low point and manipulating them. I wasn't expecting Pete to reveal that she tried to kill Ross though. I actually think a lot of the hostility he has towards his mother is due to the fact that he's had to keep this secret for many years so ironically I think Pete's stance towards her will soften now. It will be interesting to see what Ross does. I don't like either of them (Ross or Emma that is) so I guess it's kind of a win win for me if he confronts her. Keri really is a loathsome creature. Everything about her annoys me. This weak I hated the way she was trying to put Georgia of buying the house (didn't like what Alicia was doing but she's nowhere near as annoying) so I was glad when Georgia said she was going to buy it anyway. Regarding Sam, I'm team Val and Tracy on this one. I don't like Tracy and think that once her financial situation improves and someone better comes along she will basically do a Rachel but I don't like the way Rachel has treated Jai (especially now she wants to take a job down south and take Archie from him again) so I'm firmly in Tracy's corner. I'm not keen on Val either although she is really funny sometimes and serves as a good counter balance to Keri. I've actually enjoyed seeing the rivalry between Katie and Robert and I've switched whose side I'm on several times. I don't like Robert at all so at first I wanted Katie to teach him a lesson, especially after he staged the robbery at Home Farm and try to ruin Katie and Andy's wedding but when she got Chas involved, I was on Robert's side and was glad he outsmarted her but when he deliberately burnt down Katie and Andy's caravan, I was back on Katie's side. And I was definitely on Katie's side after tonight's episode. In spite of what she did, she didn't deserve to die. And not like that. I'm also annoyed that Robert's dragged Aaron into this (even though I accept this is partly Aaron's fault) and tried to talk him into helping cover up his role in her death. Robert is very smart and I have a feeling he will somehow pin the blame on Aaron. I can understand why Aaron was so upset, especially given that he gets on with Andy and Katie was his mother's best mate. If it's one thing Aaron has it's a conscience and even if Robert manages to talk him into keeping quiet. I don't think he will keep stum for very long. I can see him confiding in Paddy and revealing all. Wow, fourteen years Katie's been on the show according to the presenter. That's a long time, especially given that she looks in her late twenties possibly. So she started around 13/14. Anyway whilst I wasn't a fan of her character, I think she was a good actress and I wish her all the best.

It's been a long time coming but finally Charity has gotten hers (Well at least for now anyway). I loved that they brought Rachel back and I loved Megan's reaction. I was always hoping that she would be found guilty of something so I'm glad that came true. The only slight bit of doubt was the comeback on Rakesh but I don't know if Cain is going to follow through with what he said to Charity about making him pay. I was a bit disappointed Sam lied but I could understand his position, given that Charity had completely vindicated herself with the rest of the Dingles and Cain was basically threatening him. This storyline with Cain and his aneurysm appears to have served no other purpose except to allow Charity to fall in love with him to make her exit more meaningful. It's like as if nothing happened. I would have expected the doctors to have shaved his head before performing the operation and him to take several weeks to recover fully. Although I was glad they brought Rachel back initially I've quickly gone to disliking her. I do think it was a good idea to bring Tracy back at the same time although at first I really wasn't happy about that and couldn't understand what the writers are doing but I'm assuming it's to give same some sort of storyline. My issue with Rachel is her attitude towards Jai regarding Archie. I hated how she said to Ali "do you think I would let Jai anywhere near him?". He's his father and has got as much right to see him as anyone else. So when Tracy stuck her oar in when Rachel went to see Sam and told her how it was I was cheering her on. Ali has annoyed me even more and when she got on her highhorse yet again and called the police I loathed her. This incident shows how incredibly stupid Jai has been. I know hindsight is a wonderful thing but I always thought it was extremely reckless to just hand over a large sum of money again given that he got burnt before without so much as a shred of proof. He should have got a DNS test done at the very least or asked to have seen Rachel. So unfortunately this is all coming back to bite him. I'm surprised how attached Megan has become to the fake Archie given that she was dead against what Jai was doing before and her running off with him is beyond crazy given that she married Jai just last week. What is she going to do for cash? I don't like Robert but Katie's gone back to being annoying again so I liked how he made her look like an idiot re Alicia. Chas has also been annoying regarding this particular part of the storyline so I was glad she was made to look stupid too. I really hope Chas catches Robert and Aaron in bed together (or something like that) just to see the look on her face. I do have to admit Robert can actually be quite likeable when he wants to be but I'm not sure whether it's all an act. I quite like that they've brought Emma into the equation regarding the Bartons. Her coming back seems to have pacified Ross (and by that he hasn't done anything reprehensible within the last couple of weeks although he did trash her flat) and I do actually quite like the scenes between them. BTW - was anybody else pleased when that guy knocked Ross to the floor in the gay bar they were in just before they met Emma? I think Emma does seem to have a manipulative side. Finding out about Donna, going to her grave buying the same flowers that Ross always does and leaving them on the table to use that as an excuse to bond with him. Unfortunately I cannot warm to Finn at all. I think he's an absolutely dreadful character and I would be happy if he left and never came back. But he seems to be one of the few people who Ross genuinely cares for. Emma and James seem to be getting on OK but I wonder what is going to happen if Ross finds out she tried to kill him when he was a baby.

Interesting the last post here about a year ago refers to the conclusion of a murder which took place and here we are again recently concluded another murder which I will come to in a bit. I think with Corrie I'm at about the same point as Emmerdale i.e. not really enjoying it as much but I like a lot more of the characters. Some of the storylines that I found particular memorable for one reason or another: Haley's death - The fact that I should have felt something but didn't. I was completely indifferent. One thing I won't forget was when Fizz discovered that Haley took her own life and her reaction when she took one look at Anna's face and realised that she knew all about it. Fizz was so annoying especially how she made it all about her and the fact that she wasn't filled in on Haley's plans to euthanise herself. Phelan - Thought him making Owen's life hell was kind of a role reversal given that Owen used to bully people. I also quite enjoyed the way he tormented Anna and blackmailed her into sleeping with him (I think it was the acting I liked more than anything). I don't like the fact that Phelan won but what frustrated me most about the storyline was the whole mess was Gary's fault. Because of his inability to control his temper they ended up losing everything and I personally felt at the time (and still feel now) that they would have better off letting Phelan go to the authorities and keeping everything even if that meant Gary going to jail. Maria - I thought Maria and Marcus were an absolute joke so I was not surprised Todd was able to steal him off her so easily. In saying that I loved that it made her go all obsessive regarding Tyronne. And I found Fizz so unbearable at the time I wanted Maria to succeed in her plan of stealing him off her. Nick going mental - This storyline I actually found really funny although I don't agree with the way he treated Leanne. Tina's murder - I was actually really disappointed that it was Rob as I quite liked him. I still had a hard time believing it. He was quite prepared to screw Carla over just a few months before so I struggled to get my head around the fact that he would risk everything just to stop her finding out that Tina was having an affair with Peter. Tina was actually pretty gobby at the time so I wasn't too bothered it was the end for her even though I thought she was quite cute. What's frustrating is that he framed Peter but when Peter was cleared he left the street anyway. I think Peter is weak and a cheat but it really annoyed me how when he returned most of the residents took the moral highground with him as if he were the actual killer. I do really like Tracy but she's a very selfish person although I accept her turning Rob in was probably the only time she hasn't been selfish. I quite liked the scene with her and Carla where they effectively buried their differences (hopefully). With regards to the more recent storylines: Todd's been pretty unpleasant since he returned but I have to admit I felt sorry for him after he got mugged and had his face scared. With regards to the depression re Steve, I'm wondering if he might be bi-polar. I say that because of how he's basically bankrupted Street Cars to pay for his sports car which he seems quite excited about and even how he was lively and jolly during Christmas. Loving the bromance with Kevin and Tim. I really enjoyed the storyline with the expensive red leather sofa. Love it when Corrie inject humour like that into their storylines every once in a while. Not particularly keen on the Nazir's although I don't mind Alya and Sharif. Cannot stand Yasmeen. I find her quite arrogant and think she generally looks down on certain people. And I struggle to find anything likeable about her. She annoyed me intensely the way she imposed her blasted library on Roy's Cafe. Zidane I find quite petulant and didn't like the way he was with Leanne either to start with. I've completely gone off Kal since he found out about Alya and Gary and punched Gary just because he was going out with his daughter. I'm going to give the Nazir's the benefit of the doubt and assume they don't like Gary because he's a reckless impulsive idiot with not many good career prospects and not because he's a non-muslim. I'm not sure what to make of Gary. I don't think he's a bad person and think he's his own worst enemy. I hate to see him wallowing in self pity but he never seems to learn from his mistakes. I'm not blaming him for what happened with Alya but the reason why he felt the need to steal from Roy was because he lost his temper and ended up smashing Faye's headphones an needed the cash to replace them. I really hope Roy just gets let off with a caution or a fine because after everything he's been through I don't think he deserves anything more and even Gary could see that. I do find it hard to have sympathy for Gary. I wanted to strangle Anna when she told Roy she didn't think she could forgive him. Don't really blame Sinead, I'd imagine watching Roy do that to someone couldn't have been pleasant. Just a shame it wasn't one of those youths who were hassling him. Good to see the actress who played Kim Tate from Emmerdale. Now that Nick's all loved up he's being very pleasant to Leanne and did what he should have done a long time ago, reinstated her as manager. I've never really liked Tony so I'm glad Tracy's got one up on him. I'm assuming she will use his infidelity as some sort of leverage at some point. Forgot to mention, great to see both Ken and Kevin back as full cast members. Oh and what has happened to Deirdre? Can't remember the last time I saw her.

It's reaching the point where I'm not really enjoying Emmerdale anymore. I just find so many of the characters so unlikeable. And most of those that aren't, I just don't care about. I really like Belle and quite like her storyline with the mental health issues. I also really like Lawrence and his daughter. Aaron is also another character that's grown on me. Then there's Nicola and Jimmy. There are times where some of their scenes are just so funny i.e. when Jimmy had his vasectomy reversed and Nicola told Angelica to mind her dad then Angelica jumped on him and caught him right in the nether regions. Also Jimmy's expression when Bernice spent the night with that old bloke dressed up as Santa and he made a remark and Nicola turned round and gave him a dirty look. The storylines that I find frustrating at the moment: Robbery at Home Farm - I was really annoyed how Robert orchestrated the whole thing and the lack of remorse Ross had (at least Aaron didn't want to do it and actually felt guilty afterwards). I was pleased when Lawrence decided to get revenge on Ross by punishing other people (as I find Moira and Debbie both a pain in the backside) so when Chrisie convinced Lawrence that Ross wasn't guilty (even though he was), I hated how Lawrence had to grovel to Moira, James and Ross afterwards and pay them some compensation. And it's annoying how Ross was so smug about it. And Lawrence now owes him one and presumably Ross is going to get back at Adam some how? Jai/Archie - Really don't like the way Rachel's suddenly "disappeared" as Jai is always walking on eggshells and we are always wondering if we will be able to keep archie. I don't like the way he's continually have to lie to cover his tracks and the way Megan sent Archie a birthday present pretending to be from Rachel. What's most annoying is Ali. She is absolutely doing my head in the way she is like a dog with a bone and keeps banging on about her right to see him. Anything involving Charity - Firstly, I'm actually annoyed with Rakesh and Kirin about this. If Kirin has just fessed up to the police about the hit and run on Moira, Cain may have not been in a position to threaten Rakesh into defending Charity which means she'll probably pull another Houdini and get out of this too. She's been extremely annoying outstaying her welcome, leaving her trucks outside or Moira's and throwing the Christmas party in complete disregard for other people. So I was pleased when Cain decided to let Moira throw her out so I was annoyed when Charity manipulated him into letting her stay. With regards to Cain, he normally has nerves of steel regardless of how severe the situation he's in so him acting like this makes me think only one thing. His actions have directly/indirectly lead to someone's death. The fact that he's got rid of his car makes me wonder if it is a possible hit and run. I mentioned Robert above and as someone who can't stand him I was pleased he got outted for trying to sabotage Kate and Andy's wedding. I can only assume that Aaron's interest in him is physical because it sure as hell can't be his personality. I think this approach is an interesting one and ironic that given what Lawrence sexually preference is that Robert is cheating on his daughter with another man. I absolutely loathe Ross but have to admit, him tellling Bernice to go for it re Andy was pure genius and had me in stitches, especially when she put Katie's wedding dress on and made a play for Andy at the church just before the wedding. The only thing remotely redeemable about Ross is the relationship with April. Although it is frustrating that he is the only person who has the magic touch given that April only really sees him as mummy's friend. Didn't really know what to make of the scene where he was having Christmas dinner with Laurel/Marlon/Paddy and Rhona. April made a very valid argument but I'm not sure it should be extended to Ross. I did kind of like the way Rhona and Paddy were trying to be as festive as possible and Rhona was trying to make small talk him and Paddy cracked a not so funny joke which made everyone give him a funny look. I am very impressed with Laurel. Having to sit across the same table as the person who tried to car jack her for the sake of her step daughter shows she is trying her best to make the marriage work.

Can't stand Charity but have pretty much accepted that if she survived the stuff with Declan and Jai she is going nowhere so I'm going to have to suck it up for now. Anyway at least she did something useful. I hated the protection racket storyline so hopefully it's over. I do find it a bit hard to believe that Cain's attempts to scare Maxine into getting her son to lay off Adam in jail failed whereas Charity was able to succeed. Perhaps Maxine thought maybe Cain was the sort of person who wouldn't harm a woman. So Charity back into one Dingle's good books in what appears to be record time. I'm guessing Debbie will be next, then Chas followed by the rest of them although I don't think Sam will forgive her any time soon. I actually don't mind Lawrence and his daughter so it will be interesting to see how they settle in at home farm. Really, really not happy about Robert coming back though. Never liked him and I suspect he will probably try and get in the way of Andy and Katie at some point. So Ruby found out about Dan and Ali's liaison. Not sure if she's gone for good but if she has I'm not really bothered even though I don't mind her. Really, really wasn't happy about the way Marlon cancelled the Halloween party. Don't get me wrong, I understand April is his priority but just felt they went to a lot of trouble and there were a lot of other kids there and if she was that frightened perhaps he could have sat up in her room with her for a couple of hours. I usually find Nicola quite annoying but despite her resistance to Jimmy spending time with baby Carl, I loved the way she reacted so strongly and is determined to fight Jimmy's corner now that Juliette has changed her mind about Jimmy spending time with him. I think Juliette's been harsh but I can definitely understand her reasoning. I think it's an unfortunate situation as nobody is really at fault here bar the clinic. If this had been the US that clinic would be slapped with one big fat lawsuit.

I thoroughly enjoyed Declan holding everyone at gunpoint and exposing Charity's indiscretions. And I also liked the way one by one each of the Dingles turned their backs on her. This week however has emphasised exactly the problem with simply making Charity suffer rather than actually killing her. Charity is a survivor. She always has been, always will be and will fight right to the bitter end. Even before Cain rescued her already you could see a change of heart from him and Zack. And now that she's been rescued the Dingles are going to be so focused on payback that they are going to forget about everything Charity has done over the last few months. I said in my last post that she's won and although it's not so much a victory now and she's probably going to face criminal charges, I fully expect her to get out of that somehow too. What was Jai thinking? Well I assume he wasn't thinking, which is why he kidnapped Charity and locked her up in that metal container in the first place. Did it occur to him how he would actually get away with it? Did he have a plan for how to play it if Charity didn't know where Rachel was? In spite of everything I still don't think he's a bad person just messed up because of Archie. I suspect by the time Cain has finished with him, if Jai does wake up from the coma, he's going to wish he hadn't The only saving grace is possible leverage whereby he can say that Sam pushed him down the stairs but there is still the issue of Charity going to the police about her kidnapping if he does that. I see Leyla's visit to the hospital has set the alarm bells off and it's only going to be a matter of time before Megan susses out that something has gone on with her and Jai. I'm glad the writers have left things open with Declan hopefully he will return and finish the job someday although that looks unlikely now. Really not liking this protection racket thing with Moira re Adam's safety in jail. I don't think Moira should have paid that woman off because she's only going to come back for more money again and I think with a situation like this she would be justified getting Cain involved.