Coronation Street gets it right

This really isn't meant to be a blog article to point you to a news item that I've read, though this item inspired this post. That's another review of Vera Duckworth's memorable death last Friday but that's not what I wanted to muse over. That article ended with "a soap that very rarely gets it wrong."

We're here because we love Coronation Street. It's changed quite a lot since it's early days in the 1960s. People have grown up watching it and now their children and grandchildren watch it too. It's changed with the times and a lot of people moan that it's just not as good as it used to be. But it is. It's just different. Corrie in the 1960s reflected Northern city life, and it was dreary, grey and tough with a bit of humour thrown in because you need that to get through the day sometimes.

As society changed, as the way we relate to each other and to the media changed, so has Coronation Street. Morals got looser, storylines became more "sensational" to keep the interest in a television world filled with more than just 2 or 3 channels. Storylines have always reflected issues but the issues have changed from love affairs and love stories, the occasional murder or attack, and people with drink problems to diseases (cancer, Alzheimer's), serial killers, drug problems, transexuals and surrogate pregnancies. The love affairs, car crashes, occasional murders still happen. People still get married and divorced and they still have babies and troubled teens. Through it all, Coronation Street writers have usually "got it right".

There's a saying among fans, "bad Coronation Street is still better than just about anything else on telly" and I say that still holds true. After 47 plus years, it can't be easy to find a new way of telling a story and sometimes, some of them flop. Sometimes that's because the story itself is not that interesting, sometimes the characters involved are dull, sometimes it drags on too long or not long enough. There are probably lots of reasons you can devise but you get the picture. Usually, though, the story suits the character, and the characters are usually pretty consistent. The writing very often sparkles and glows, enhanced by the very talented actors who deliver the dialogue with impeccable timing and ad lib a look or a reaction that can steal the scene!

The humour that the writers inject into Corrie is really what makes the whole show. Even in the darkest moments, such as the death of beloved Vera Duckworth, there's a moment when you have to smile in agreement when Jack told the paramedics that his fifty year marraige was nothing but cross words. When Corrie can make you laugh and cry at the same time, they've got it right. When they can create long term characters that you really care about, whether you like the character or hate them, they've got it right.

If we didn't love the show, we wouldn't watch. We wouldn't bother to complain about it. We complain sometimes because we know how good it can be and we're spoiled. We complain when the continuity stuffs up but that's because it's usually so consistent. Not every storyline is going to please and not every character is liked and that's ok. Not every actor works out but when an actor/character combination clicks, they really strike gold. The actors have to have chemistry but the show has to have chemistry with the viewers as well.

Coronation Street has been on the air 47 years. I think they've got it right.