Coronation Street

I used to be a huge fan of Coronation Street and would defend it to the hilt .. it was based around ordinary people doing ordinary things .. shopping, gossiping in the pub or on the street with lots of laughs and witty dialogue and some occasional high drama .. I sadly gave up on Corrie in 2011 when yet another serial killer to live in the street, John Stape, fell off a hospital roof, which was at least 5 floors or so, onto concrete and got up and walked away. That was the last straw for me and I haven't watched it since. The producers now seem to think they are making a Hollywood film al la Die Hard ... whenever I read about current storylines in the TV magazines it seems to be full of serial killers, psychopaths, revenge and general nastiness. Ena, Minnie, Annie, Albert, Elsie, Len, Stan and Betty etc ... must be spinning in their graves. Too many episodes with too many characters all needing something to do .. usually killing !!! The golden goose has sadly died.

There was a time, when I used to look forward to watching Coronation Street, but those days are no more. There are a number of reasons for the decline in the show, to understand them you have to seperate the show into two eras - before and after Eastenders! The soap was significantly different before February 1985 - the year that Eastenders began. The characters were likable and you warmed to them, the stoylines were almost an issue free environment. In order to compete with the new kid on the block, the establshed characters, and their storylines became darker. New, more realistic characters were introduced, in the begining they worked quite well. We are talking about the period from 1989 to the early nineties. The episodes increased from twice a week, to the six we have in the modern era. The quality of the writing and acting has fallen dramatically. Many of the modern storylines are issue led, which can make for tedious viewing. I can't tell whether I am watching Eastenders or Brookside sometimes!. The show has become a shadow of it's former self,

Who invited this walking bad decision onto the cobbles? The man rolls in with smirks, secrets, and a garage full of drama-and suddenly Abi's forgetting what loyalty looks like?! While Kevin battles cancer in silence, she's playing pub flirt with Carl, who honestly has the emotional depth of a puddle in July.

And don't get me started on Carl's smarmy charm. It's all "Oi, fancy a drink?" and "Just helping out, mate," while he snakes his way through Kevin's business, family, and wife like it's a sport. Red flag? Carl's basically the Manchester United of red flags.

Also? If he pulls one more "I'm misunderstood" pout, I will personally send Sophie Webster a first-class ticket to come shut this mess down. Weatherfield's had enough chaos-Carl just adds smokescreens and sex appeal he thinks he has.

Run, Abi. Run fast, run far, and take the receipts.

I have been watching Classic Corrie and it is up to 2004. The storylines are better and so is the acting. At this point in time the programmes were shorter and this may possibly mean the script writers were not under the same pressure. Around 2004 the storylines were also believable, things that could have happened anywhere including the murders. At the moment the storyline includes Tracy and her baby and about the McDonald's reaction to it. No wonder Suranne Jones went on to bigger things, she was brilliant as was Katherine Kelly and others of that time. There are still some excellent actors such as the actors who plays Paul and Damien but there are also some actors who don't make the character believable, although that may be the writing. The solicitors, oh please. The police, dear me. I think the programme makers could do with sitting down and watching a couple of years worth of Classic Corrie.

I once rated this legendary soap as the best drama series ever made! It had everything...great characters, superb storylines, lots of laughs intermingled with some hard hitting and serious plots. A wonderful programme, it was peerless, no other series came close. It was quite easily a 10/10.

Then the slow decline started from the late 90s. It remained a good show though, despite losing its unequalled dominance...but the rot set in deeper and deeper until it is now just another British soap that is using murder and mayhem to shock us into watching. Gone is the comedy that set it apart from other soaps. Gone are most of the legendary characters. Gone is the superb acting where just a raise of the eyebrows told us all we needed to know. It has been replaced with shouty, unpleasant characters, serial killings galore, forced and unfunny "comedy" lines and unbelievable nonsensical plots.

They maintain some decent performances with a few of the characters from the old days still there flying the flag for this iconic show. But I dread what the show will become when the very last one of them finally leaves. With regret, it will probably die a natural death and be removed from our screens.

That would be a sad day indeed.