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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 360821" data-attributes="member: 23">7 May 1980 - 17 July 1980 3305 - 3334 I’m both extremely excited and mildly ashamed to reveal that I’ve made it to the final of the three sets in The Noele Gordon Collection. This means I’m now well over two-thirds of the way through the entire collection. There’s a good reason why I’ve hungrily devoured so many episodes in the last three months. There’s been a lot more good than bad and it’s an extremely watchable and moreish series. I’d love to say the latest batch of episodes represents Xrds at its best. Unfortunately, many of the most recent storylines have been a bit hard going for me. Many of soap’s best scenes come out of people making bad decisions, but that lightning in a bottle is absent here and if there’s a theme affecting my enjoyment of recent episodes, it’s that many of the female characters in particular are being presented in a particularly unflattering, unlikeable light to the point of annoyance. From the troublemakers to the drama queens to the fusspots, my patience is being tested left, right and centre. There was Mrs Prewett, of course. She was meant to be unlikeable and I wasn’t too sorry to see her go. Her exit came when Doris and Reg implied they may be getting married. And she had a terrific exit line as she attempted to put Reg in his place:But now there’s a new stirrer in the village and she makes me want to scream “Come back, Mrs P. All is forgiven.”From what I understand, Iris will be playing a BIG role in the series from now on, and this is a prospect that chills me to my bowels. We know she’s evil because she has a London accent, and I’d be fine with that. But, dear God. She’s terrible.To me, Iris looks, acts and feels very much like a precursor to Sons and Daughters’ Leigh Palmer. An annoying brat of a character played by an extremely unconvincing actress whose delivery is remedial to say the least. It’s the kind of delivery one simply doesn’t see anymore. The style that was acceptable on several of those long-forgotten Children’s ITV dramas. It’s not without its own charm when used sparely, but when she and her lockdown fringe are immediately plonked into several storylines and in any number of different settings - from the Brownlow house to the motel to the farm - it quickly wears out its welcome. Granted, Iris is meant to be a brat, but it feels like she’s played by a nice young woman who doesn’t have the fire or presence to pull it off. I’m guessing we’ll see the nicer side of her in time - much like we have with Glenda - and I’m hoping that’s a bit more tolerable.There’s a storyline with Iris buying a dog and bringing it home after Arthur has expressly said he doesn’t want one in the house. What I find interesting (and a little confusing) is that everyone seems to be falling down on Iris’s side, with Glenda and annoying fusspot Kath* both saying how unreasonable Arthur is being for not acquiescing to Iris’s emotional blackmail. I suppose there’s a truth in that. A matriarchal, misandrist truth. Still, there are 60% of the Brownlows I’m glad to see back. Arthur’s still a favourite (and I’ve yet to see him grumpy and unpleasant, despite Kath, Glenda and Iris constantly saying he is whenever they can’t railroad him). Glenda is as reliable as ever. And Ron was fairly solid, too (though he now seems to have departed). Some of the commentary around Ron’s redundancy and unemployment and resulting frustration and anger reminded me of what we’d be getting in Brookside a couple of years down the line. continued* As Xrds’ permed, fretting,  frumpy homebody feeder there are many similarities between Kath Brownlow and Beryl Palmer. I’m at a loss to explain why I absolutely adore Beryl but want to hurl something at the telly whenever Kath speaks or moves.</blockquote>

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