Brookside Brookside

[Carrie Fairchild]

Based on what I've seen, Hollyoaks is an exhausting series to watch. Even bearing in mind this seems to be some kind of "event week", there's just too much going on to care.

I used to watch it, probably up until the mid to late 00’s, and even during “event weeks”, there was a bit of balance to proceedings. Now, even when I’ve caught bits of regular episodes, it’s just a series of mad stuff happening to characters, to the point that it’s normalised, which I think dilutes the dramatic effect. I’m well above the age of its target audience now though.

Then there are the convoluted love triangles and quadrangles, and every other character is gay (the one that looks like Rylan had about four different guys clamouring after him across the two versions of the show, at least one of whom was supposed to be dead, of course).

I think you may be thinking of Ste. What I found jarring was that in the earlier episode, his niece is crushed to death by a chimney following the plane crash but the next time you see Ste, a few hours later in the Later episode, he’s running around Liverpool after one of his lovers, who is subsequently mowed down by a car. The continuity is all over the place / non existent.

The Scum-like rape was particularly distasteful because you just know it's going to be sold as addressing an important issue when it's really just screaming for attention and ratings.

The insane thing about this is that it was the producers harking back to the very first Hollyoaks Later episode where Luke Morgan (Gary Lucy) was sexually assaulted. It was them “paying tribute” to the show’s history.

 

[Spells & Karma]

Now, even when I’ve caught bits of regular episodes, it’s just a series of mad stuff happening to characters, to the point that it’s normalised, which I think dilutes the dramatic effect.

Somewhere mid-watch, as I tried to get a handle on these characters and their various ties, I read up some character information on the Hollyoaks wiki. They were all so extreme and bonkers. It seemed as though every character had been shot, assaulted, died and returned or was responsible for the death of other characters. Then there are all the explosions and crashes and things dropping onto this small village. It all felt so meaningless. Tedious even.

I think you may be thinking of Ste. What I found jarring was that in the earlier episode, his niece is crushed to death by a chimney following the plane crash but the next time you see Ste, a few hours later in the Later episode, he’s running around Liverpool after one of his lovers, who is subsequently mowed down by a car. The continuity is all over the place / non existent.

Absolutely true. Worse still he was running around Liverpool after his son's lover right after saying how his niece's death had made him realise the importance of being there for children and family. Even by soap standards, there was no logic at all.

The insane thing about this is that it was the producers harking back to the very first Hollyoaks Later episode where Luke Morgan (Gary Lucy) was sexually assaulted. It was them “paying tribute” to the show’s history.

Yikes. Tackier and tackier.

On that note, it raised an eyebrow that as Hollyoaks Later ended on the C4 app, the next suggested programme was the 1986 Brookie where Sheila was raped. Despite the Redmond connection (and Sheila appearing in the earlier episode), I thought the link was in very poor taste and it made me wonder about the mindset of whoever curates these suggestions.

 

[Spells & Karma]

I rounded off my viewing of The Royle Family with Ricky and Sue's episode of DNA Journey, which appeared in my suggestions somewhere along the way:

Much like ...A Trip Or Two, their warm friendship was tangible, and the way they supported one another was lovely to watch. And there were some revelations. Given their passionate socialism, it was funny that there was a Tory MP in one of their families.

It's also wonderful to see how easily they connect with everyone with whom they came into contact: whether it's someone with royal connections or the lady serving at the tea van, everyone gets the same down-to-earth chat.

Programmes like this are fascinating, and this one has reminded me how much I'd love to have a go at tracing my own roots sometime (even though I suspect it will be a somewhat less-expansive search given I don't have ITV's weight behind me).