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Message: <blockquote data-quote="J. R.&#039;s Piece" data-source="post: 20648" data-attributes="member: 12">"HollyoaksHas Hollyoaks finally found the right balance between stunts, shocks and story?Here's why autumn stunt week has been such a huge hit<img src="http://digitalspyuk.cdnds.net/16/44/980x490/landscape-1478114458-soaps-hollyoaks-mercedes-sienna-4.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />By <a href="http://www.digitalspy.com/author/12935/daniel-kilkelly/" target="_blank">Daniel Kilkelly</a>3 November 2016 5:00 PMIt's not just the loss of big-name characters that's really surprised us in Hollyoaks this week.The Channel 4 soap has been delivering some of its biggest episodes of 2016 <a href="http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/hollyoaks/feature/a812308/hollyoaks-10-dramatic-spoilers-for-the-sinister-halloween-week/" target="_blank">with its annual autumn stunt week</a>, which always sees disaster hit the village around this time of year. (When will the local residents learn to book a nice autumn holiday?)The latest spectacle was <a href="http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/hollyoaks/news/a812511/hollyoaks-spoilers-halloween-fire-kills-off-two-characters/" target="_blank">a huge fire started by Cameron Campbell at the village's "Halloween Spooktacular" fairground event</a>, which claimed the lives of serial killer <a href="http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/hollyoaks/news/a812714/hollyoaks-catch-up-main-character-killed-warren-fox-heartbreaking-choice/" target="_blank">Nico Blake</a> and popular mechanic <a href="http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/hollyoaks/news/a812826/hollyoaks-catch-up-second-main-character-killed-off/" target="_blank">Joe Roscoe</a>.Sounds like standard Hollyoaks fare, right? But, much to our surprise, this was actually a big Hollyoaks week where story finally came before stunts. Could the show have – gasp – <a href="http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/eastenders/feature/a808647/is-eastenders-going-back-down-to-earth-under-new-producer-sean-oconnor/" target="_blank">done an EastEnders</a> and toned down the sensationalism levels just a tad?<img src="http://digitalspyuk.cdnds.net/16/43/768x387/gallery-1477557680-soaps-hollyoaks-halloween-promo-1.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/hollyoaks/feature/a813017/hollyoaks-has-the-show-finally-found-the-right-balance/&media=http://digitalspyuk.cdnds.net/16/43/1600x806/gallery-1477557680-soaps-hollyoaks-halloween-promo-1.jpg&description=Has%20Hollyoaks%20finally%20found%20the%20right%20balance%20between%20stunts%2C%20shocks%20and%20story%3F - DigitalSpy.com" target="_blank"> </a>©  Lime PicturesWe usually know what to expect from a week of Chester carnage – psychopaths running riot, three-quarters of the cast in jeopardy, a totally bonkers breakneck pace, and half a dozen huge storylines all loudly vying for our attention.While there was certainly some of that this time around, the true success of Hollyoaks this week has been giving the big storylines room to breathe. And that's meant not letting our favourite characters and their journeys get overshadowed by the bangs and whistles.For example, in any other year, we might have seen half of the village stuck inside that Monster Maze when Cameron set it alight, not to mention a few expendable characters killed off alongside Nico just for the hell of it.Instead, the Monster Maze was only really there to set the stage for the inevitable final showdown between Nico and Sienna, as well as Warren's devastating choice of who to save when disaster struck.<img src="http://digitalspyuk.cdnds.net/16/43/768x432/gallery-1477684685-soaps-hollyoaks-fire-1.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/hollyoaks/feature/a813017/hollyoaks-has-the-show-finally-found-the-right-balance/&media=http://digitalspyuk.cdnds.net/16/43/1600x900/gallery-1477684685-soaps-hollyoaks-fire-1.jpg&description=Has%20Hollyoaks%20finally%20found%20the%20right%20balance%20between%20stunts%2C%20shocks%20and%20story%3F - DigitalSpy.com" target="_blank"> </a>©  Lime PicturesWhile the bloodthirsty contingent of the Hollyoaks fanbase may have been disappointed not to see more characters in danger, we're really glad that it was just Nico, Sienna and Warren involved in those maze scenes. It was dramatic, powerful, gripping and surprising without any unnecessary distractions.They took a similar approach with Joe's horrifying demise on that ferris wheel. There could have been countless characters in the danger zone - or the ferris wheel might have pointlessly collapsed and flattened a few gawping villagers below.Instead it was the relationship between Joe and Mercedes that took centre stage as they finally got themselves back on track, giving Joe's death so much more impact in the moment.It was all a far cry from previous high-casualty stunt weeks, which although thrilling and entertaining, did tend to throw everything including the kitchen sink at the screen and leave us wondering what the hell just happened.<img src="http://digitalspyuk.cdnds.net/16/44/768x431/gallery-1477935469-soaps-hollyoaks-mercedes-joe-1.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/hollyoaks/feature/a813017/hollyoaks-has-the-show-finally-found-the-right-balance/&media=http://digitalspyuk.cdnds.net/16/44/1280x719/gallery-1477935469-soaps-hollyoaks-mercedes-joe-1.png&description=Has%20Hollyoaks%20finally%20found%20the%20right%20balance%20between%20stunts%2C%20shocks%20and%20story%3F - DigitalSpy.com" target="_blank"> </a>©  Lime PicturesIt was even slightly more realistic than "Super Soap Week" on ITV last month (as much as we loved it!), <a href="http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/emmerdale/news/a811687/emmerdale-catch-up-emma-barton-causes-devastating-road-pile-up/" target="_blank">when every big-name Emmerdale character coincidentally ended up on the foggy Hotten Bypass at the same time</a> and <a href="http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/coronation-street/news/a810492/coronation-street-spoilers-david-platt-is-held-captive-by-his-family-as-he-plans-to-kill-clayton-and-himself/" target="_blank">Corrie's David Platt had a one-week mission to become a crazy car smasher</a>.More generally, we're really pleased that Hollyoaks is improving its tone and balance of storylines too. Cindy and Jude have been a real delight to watch throughout the week, adding the much-needed ingredients of comedy and warmth alongside the more dramatic scenes.Aftermath – which if we're honest, is often a problem on Hollyoaks – has been spot on this week too. Nobody would have expected <a href="http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/hollyoaks/news/a812956/hollyoaks-airs-heartbreaking-mercedes-sienna-scenes/" target="_blank">such touching scenes between Mercedes and Sienna last night</a> as they were united in grief, given that they've barely exchanged a word in four years.We were also surprised by just how affecting the scenes were when Mercy and Freddie had to tell Lexi and JJ that Joe was dead.<img src="http://digitalspyuk.cdnds.net/16/44/768x432/gallery-1478114404-soaps-hollyoaks-mercedes-sienna-3.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/hollyoaks/feature/a813017/hollyoaks-has-the-show-finally-found-the-right-balance/&media=http://digitalspyuk.cdnds.net/16/44/1600x900/gallery-1478114404-soaps-hollyoaks-mercedes-sienna-3.jpg&description=Has%20Hollyoaks%20finally%20found%20the%20right%20balance%20between%20stunts%2C%20shocks%20and%20story%3F - DigitalSpy.com" target="_blank"> </a>©  Lime PicturesAlthough the show hasn't made a big song and dance about it, there's clearly been a bit of a rethink of Hollyoaks in general this year. The storylines are still big and dramatic, but not quite as crazy.We also feel more invested in the characters again thanks to a better focus on community and families, with Nancy, Darren and the rest of the Osbornes standing out particularly strong.When Digital Spy caught up with Hollyoaks boss Bryan Kirkwood at a press event last week and asked if the recent changes were deliberate, he replied: "Absolutely. We're really hard on ourselves. Collectively, as a team of writers and producers, we step back and examine where we're good and where we're not so good."About nine months ago, we realised that we needed to be funnier, we needed to be warmer and we needed a better sense of community. I think we're doing a lot better in those three areas."<img src="http://digitalspyuk.cdnds.net/16/44/768x431/gallery-1478114218-soaps-hollyoaks-mercedes-2.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/hollyoaks/feature/a813017/hollyoaks-has-the-show-finally-found-the-right-balance/&media=http://digitalspyuk.cdnds.net/16/44/1280x719/gallery-1478114218-soaps-hollyoaks-mercedes-2.png&description=Has%20Hollyoaks%20finally%20found%20the%20right%20balance%20between%20stunts%2C%20shocks%20and%20story%3F - DigitalSpy.com" target="_blank"> </a>©  Lime PicturesIt's paying off. Although it's easy to poke fun at Hollyoaks in its crazier moments, it's actually one of the soaps that's in really strong shape at the moment.As a show that prides itself on not having "quiet weeks", Hollyoaks has managed to keep each episode bold, engaging and entertaining while working harder on community and characterisation. And let's not forget the best cinematography of all the soaps, particularly this week with Sean Glynn directing.Keep it up, guys, and there might be a few more Soap Awards heading your way next year..."<a href="http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/hollyoaks/feature/a813017/hollyoaks-has-the-show-finally-found-the-right-balance/" target="_blank">http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/hollyoaks/feature/a813017/hollyoaks-has-the-show-finally-found-the-right-balance/</a></blockquote>

Verification: Who played JR Ewing?