Menu
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
Latest activity
Awards
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Forums
Telly Talk Soaps
UK Soaps Forum
Brookside
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 404732" data-attributes="member: 23"><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>Episodes 376 - 390</strong></span></p> <p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>3 June - 22 July 1986</strong></span></p> <p style="text-align: center"></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em>continued</em></p> <p style="text-align: center"></p><p></p><p></p><p>On paper, a rape whodunnit reads as highly tacky and salacious. I don’t know why this feels particularly taboo, since most whodunnits focus on serious crimes and could be viewed as trivialising murder or attempted murder or whatever. But taboo it feels.</p><p></p><p>The execution is another matter entirely. This feels groundbreaking not just in its subject matter, but in its focus. An episode summary or trailer showing soundbites of moments of heightened emotion could give the impression that this is sensationalism. But spending time in the Grants’ household after Sheila returns home, with Karen and Damon processing with the news that their mother has been assaulted and this is as intimate as it gets. It was actually Karen’s frozen horror that got to me more than anything as I watched.</p><p></p><p>This is a subject that has cropped up numerous times in dramatic television over the years but, even four decades on, it <em>still</em> feels refreshingly different to focus on the impact on the family as a whole and not just the victim or the victim and their partner.</p><p></p><p>There’s a great scene in the aftermath where Bobby and Sheila are in the bedroom while Karen and Damon are on the landing. She asks him to go down and make yet more tea, but Damon fumes that it's all wrong. Bobby is heard from the bedroom telling Damon to do as he’s told but Damon pushes back and rails that they should be doing something, before acquiescing and doing what is asked. This contrasts perfectly with him sobbing in the living room and Karen comforting him while Bobby looks on almost powerlessly. Nobody quite knows what to say or do and everyone goes through the motions, but there’s also a trust within the family that means everyone is somehow held.</p><p></p><p>Damon has been terrific since returning from Torquay. He’s grown up massively, and has become a voice of reason and of wisdom. But there’s also enough of the young innocent in him to make him vulnerable. He’s the one that’s pulled Bobby on not supporting Sheila enough when she was shaken over a run-in. He threw his Uncle Matty out of the house when he became aggressive with Sheila. But there’s a moment where he learns that Pat is charged with rape and meekly says “me Mam” that reminds the audience he’s still a young lad in many ways.</p><p></p><p>Another way these episodes strike exactly the right chord is adding balance with some much-needed lighter stories and even levity.</p><p></p><p>Harry Cross has been responsible for much of this. Ahead of this his antics have seen him locked out of his own house by his lodger (Ralph was annoyed that Harry had blabbed to Sheila about Guy spending the night with Karen and went the most passive-aggressive route by sending him to Coventry. Scenes that pushed my low Ralph tolerance beyond its limit).</p><p></p><p>Harry and Ralph have also been brought to the periphery of the current main storyline as observers and interested parties. Harry learning to drive tied in to this in an episode where we watched him pretending to drive from the comfort of his living room using two chairs with books as pedals. After Pat’s physical fight with Sandra, Harry and Ralph watch Pat race into the van and screech carelessly off at speed, prompting Harry to tut “I don’t think much of his clutch control”.</p><p></p><p>When the police are questioning neighbours, Harry gives them the rundown on the entire Close from the Corkhills (“council estate mentality”) to the Collinses (“too uppity”), naturally saying all the incriminating things about the Grants and his tenants. After describing every character but himself, he’s asked where he fits in. “I keep myself to myself”.</p><p></p><p>There’s also quite a chilling moment where Harry and Ralph read about a “mother of four” who has been raped, not knowing it’s their neighbour. Harry scoffing that she’d probably left her young kids at home then led on her boyfriend at the pub was a fascinating study of human cynicism and of media intrusion. Contrasting the dehumanised “story” with the reality of Sheila’s ordeal (and her distress upon seeing the story in print) is another thing I don’t recall seeing too often.</p><p></p><p>The storyline has seen an unusual east/west division in the Close, with the east side being almost entirely uninvolved. Barring Nick waving to an unseeing Sheila as she stumbled home and Billy asking Damon why the busies had visited Number Five, everyone’s been involved in their own storylines.</p><p></p><p>The excitement at Number Ten has come from Billy’s too-good-to-be-true job offer with large salary, company car and his own pager. Doreen celebrates by buying Tracy a hideous outfit, which she hastily exchanges for a migraine inducing number. Billy’s so happy he’s even made peace with Rod’s application to join the police force.</p><p></p><p>And Heather is now Mrs Nicholas Black (or, as she puts it on her wedding night, he is now Mr Heather Haversham). And now she’s contending with stroppy teens who don’t want a stepmother - especially one who likes peace and order. And she’s found large cash withdrawals from Nick’s account. More trouble can’t be far away, but seeing Heather keeping her patience in check while Nick is as insouciant as ever is enjoyable enough without any escalation. </p><p></p><p>I’m curious to know how much the audience knew ahead of time regarding Sheila’s rape. Like the siege, the events leading up to and the fallout from Sheila’s rape has a sense of event. It’s shocking, ugly and brutal, but it’s also compelling drama, brilliantly written and played. Just as the high drama of the siege or George Jackson’s false imprisonment was utilised to draw in new viewers, it’s difficult to imagine this not being utilised to promote or sell the series, particularly given the quality of the production at this point.</p><p></p><p>As we watched last night, someone asked if <em>Brookie</em> had received any awards or official recognition for this storyline. I wasn't actually 100% certain. I know it's extremely highly regarded even now, but suspect it wasn't the era where this kind of work was rewarded to the extent it deserved.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mel O'Drama, post: 404732, member: 23"] [CENTER][SIZE=5][B]Episodes 376 - 390 3 June - 22 July 1986[/B][/SIZE] [I]continued[/I] [/CENTER] On paper, a rape whodunnit reads as highly tacky and salacious. I don’t know why this feels particularly taboo, since most whodunnits focus on serious crimes and could be viewed as trivialising murder or attempted murder or whatever. But taboo it feels. The execution is another matter entirely. This feels groundbreaking not just in its subject matter, but in its focus. An episode summary or trailer showing soundbites of moments of heightened emotion could give the impression that this is sensationalism. But spending time in the Grants’ household after Sheila returns home, with Karen and Damon processing with the news that their mother has been assaulted and this is as intimate as it gets. It was actually Karen’s frozen horror that got to me more than anything as I watched. This is a subject that has cropped up numerous times in dramatic television over the years but, even four decades on, it [I]still[/I] feels refreshingly different to focus on the impact on the family as a whole and not just the victim or the victim and their partner. There’s a great scene in the aftermath where Bobby and Sheila are in the bedroom while Karen and Damon are on the landing. She asks him to go down and make yet more tea, but Damon fumes that it's all wrong. Bobby is heard from the bedroom telling Damon to do as he’s told but Damon pushes back and rails that they should be doing something, before acquiescing and doing what is asked. This contrasts perfectly with him sobbing in the living room and Karen comforting him while Bobby looks on almost powerlessly. Nobody quite knows what to say or do and everyone goes through the motions, but there’s also a trust within the family that means everyone is somehow held. Damon has been terrific since returning from Torquay. He’s grown up massively, and has become a voice of reason and of wisdom. But there’s also enough of the young innocent in him to make him vulnerable. He’s the one that’s pulled Bobby on not supporting Sheila enough when she was shaken over a run-in. He threw his Uncle Matty out of the house when he became aggressive with Sheila. But there’s a moment where he learns that Pat is charged with rape and meekly says “me Mam” that reminds the audience he’s still a young lad in many ways. Another way these episodes strike exactly the right chord is adding balance with some much-needed lighter stories and even levity. Harry Cross has been responsible for much of this. Ahead of this his antics have seen him locked out of his own house by his lodger (Ralph was annoyed that Harry had blabbed to Sheila about Guy spending the night with Karen and went the most passive-aggressive route by sending him to Coventry. Scenes that pushed my low Ralph tolerance beyond its limit). Harry and Ralph have also been brought to the periphery of the current main storyline as observers and interested parties. Harry learning to drive tied in to this in an episode where we watched him pretending to drive from the comfort of his living room using two chairs with books as pedals. After Pat’s physical fight with Sandra, Harry and Ralph watch Pat race into the van and screech carelessly off at speed, prompting Harry to tut “I don’t think much of his clutch control”. When the police are questioning neighbours, Harry gives them the rundown on the entire Close from the Corkhills (“council estate mentality”) to the Collinses (“too uppity”), naturally saying all the incriminating things about the Grants and his tenants. After describing every character but himself, he’s asked where he fits in. “I keep myself to myself”. There’s also quite a chilling moment where Harry and Ralph read about a “mother of four” who has been raped, not knowing it’s their neighbour. Harry scoffing that she’d probably left her young kids at home then led on her boyfriend at the pub was a fascinating study of human cynicism and of media intrusion. Contrasting the dehumanised “story” with the reality of Sheila’s ordeal (and her distress upon seeing the story in print) is another thing I don’t recall seeing too often. The storyline has seen an unusual east/west division in the Close, with the east side being almost entirely uninvolved. Barring Nick waving to an unseeing Sheila as she stumbled home and Billy asking Damon why the busies had visited Number Five, everyone’s been involved in their own storylines. The excitement at Number Ten has come from Billy’s too-good-to-be-true job offer with large salary, company car and his own pager. Doreen celebrates by buying Tracy a hideous outfit, which she hastily exchanges for a migraine inducing number. Billy’s so happy he’s even made peace with Rod’s application to join the police force. And Heather is now Mrs Nicholas Black (or, as she puts it on her wedding night, he is now Mr Heather Haversham). And now she’s contending with stroppy teens who don’t want a stepmother - especially one who likes peace and order. And she’s found large cash withdrawals from Nick’s account. More trouble can’t be far away, but seeing Heather keeping her patience in check while Nick is as insouciant as ever is enjoyable enough without any escalation. I’m curious to know how much the audience knew ahead of time regarding Sheila’s rape. Like the siege, the events leading up to and the fallout from Sheila’s rape has a sense of event. It’s shocking, ugly and brutal, but it’s also compelling drama, brilliantly written and played. Just as the high drama of the siege or George Jackson’s false imprisonment was utilised to draw in new viewers, it’s difficult to imagine this not being utilised to promote or sell the series, particularly given the quality of the production at this point. As we watched last night, someone asked if [I]Brookie[/I] had received any awards or official recognition for this storyline. I wasn't actually 100% certain. I know it's extremely highly regarded even now, but suspect it wasn't the era where this kind of work was rewarded to the extent it deserved. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Who played JR Ewing?
Post reply
Forums
Telly Talk Soaps
UK Soaps Forum
Brookside
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
Accept
Learn more…
Top