[Redway]

No denying it's come a long way since the late Brookside-esque SOC/Yorke days but in terms of public perception it's never been as unpopular and irrelevant. Does anyone think there's potential for a golden era still?

[RileyH]

no it's Hollyoaks' time now

[Greg!]

It's a lot better than it was for the last couple of years but it won't be relevant again until the Christmas eps, hopefully it can build momentum from there

[Redway]

Originally Posted by RileyH

no it's Hollyoaks' time now

Hollyoaks is even more irrelevant and on its way out.

[Daniel.]

Originally Posted by Redway

Hollyoaks is even more irrelevant and on its way out.

The public disagrees hence why they won Best Soap

[Redway]

Originally Posted by Daniel.

The public disagrees hence why they won Best Soap

Easties still gets more viewers though.

[Amy Jade]

For me, no not really.

It's gotten a little better and some things they have done have really paid off - Ruby being back for instance I love her, great character and I like that they are rebuilding the Beales (BUT BRING BACK OUR JANE!) and I also like Sharon getting a more central role.

However the casting of Ben has been a disaster, he's absolutely terrible and the Halfway storyline feels so shoehorned in to recreate the Robron couple and please its worshippers. Stuart staying around too, he's a rapist and a killer and they expect us to forgive and forget?

[Redway]

Stuart for all his faults is no rapist.

[Amy Jade]

He raped or at least assaulted Tina didn't he?

[Redway]

Locked her in a car or something.

[Redway]

Originally Posted by Amy Jade

For me, no not really.

It's gotten a little better and some things they have done have really paid off - Ruby being back for instance I love her, great character and I like that they are rebuilding the Beales (BUT BRING BACK OUR JANE!) and I also like Sharon getting a more central role.

However the casting of Ben has been a disaster, he's absolutely terrible and the Halfway storyline feels so shoehorned in to recreate the Robron couple and please its worshippers. Stuart staying around too, he's a rapist and a killer and they expect us to forgive and forget?

Turns out you were right, about Ben and the state of the show back then. We (some of us) used to like to pretend that 2019 was good because in comparison to 2011-13, 2015-18 and 2020/21 it kinda was, still, but it’s still part of the overall worst era in the show’s history. Nothing from 2016 to 2021 was really that good and people can say that with their chests now-that Clenshaw’s catapulted us into a much better era (2022-present). 2019 was utter garbage.

[Vanessa]

Yes. I'm loving it again.

[Redway]

Ballum, dArkMaRtin and Ben’s human trafficking, Mel’s needless death and Xmas were all notable lowlights of a pretty dodgy year. Some people swear by solo Oates and that 2019 was a great year but it wasn’t. Sean’s return was one of the only genuinely interesting things about that year. As-for the people who predicted how bad Ballum was gonna be, well done. Their fan-base eventually became excruciating and defended the indefensible.

Thank God we’re past the dark days of 2015-21 is all I can say.

[DrunkerThanMoses]

Lol no Clenshaw has made it unwatchable. Thank **** he is leaving. 3 years too late

[Redway]

Originally Posted by DrunkerThanMoses

Lol no Clenshaw has made it unwatchable. Thank **** he is leaving. 3 years too late

I mean, heaven help you if you think Clenners’ era is more unwatchable than the 11 years which came before it (minus 2014, the one truly decent year in that interlude). What did he do, split up Ballum? And that’s why you’re vexing?

[Redway]

Thoughts on Linda’s alcoholic “what if”-sequence episode?

[Cherie]

The only time I watch it is Christmas Day and you can pick up what is going and then leave it until the following Christmas

[Crimson Dynamo]

It dies on it's ar&e years ago

Embarrassing

[Redway]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/20...alth-storyline

(Depressive psychosis.)

I do not particularly like Phil’s character and haven’t for many years but he’s been on a redemption arc under Clenshaw (something of it), he’s a bona-fide soap-legend (love or loathe him) and McFadden’s going to blow this out of the water. Educating the general public about the spectrum and potential severity of major depression is an important topic to cover as well, and Phil, with all his alcoholic loading and the way he’s alienated himself from all the people he’s treated like crap since the mid.-90s, is literally the perfect character for this.