So Mike Balwin is going to suffer from Altzeimers. Forget all the prattle about will we notice cos he cant remember his lines anyway.

Do you think this is a good thing.

In the past when soaps have tackled problems like debt or drinking they are done so shallowly that I wish they hadn't have tried.

I just hope this time, as a person with an elderly person in the family with it is handled with authenticity.

The soaps, after all, do influence many people.

There have been cases where I (a man who hates :rant: with a passion all things soap) have been really impressed with the way a storyline has been handled.

An example would be Eastenders where (apart from admiring Tracy Ann Oberman) the treatment of the adult iliteracy storyline was very, very well done and stood out as a careful and well researched piece.

Hollyoaks on the other hand seems to screw up whatever it touches such as with the storyline where the young lad smoked one spliff and went on a rampage for two or three weeks (amazing considering the fact that cannabis is a drug widely known for its calming and sedative qualities) behaving more like a drunk than a pothead. Kinda pathetic when you consider the way in which the soap casually portrays the whole cast drinking heavily in almost every scene!

Just pray they handle this one well.

Let's hope they do it better than Eastender's, when Nana Moon was suspected as having altzheimers, then it was found to be something else, completely cureable with a simple operation. It was such a cop out, and a cowardly way of dealing with such a heartbreaking subject. :rant:

Just like the way that Hollyoaks "turned" a character's alcoholism on and off to suit the storyline...well done, you reduced a serious and potentially life-destroying condition into a convenient way to have a wife and kids get mad with their dad! :rant:

I think that closer examination of the storyline will reveal the early stages. He seems to have mentioned forgetting things twice recently.
So, as a topic, would you like to know your future in the same way that we can foretell the future for soap characters?

Originally posted by Carmine
Just like the way that Hollyoaks "turned" a character's alcoholism on and off to suit the storyline...well done, you reduced a serious and potentially life-destroying condition into a convenient way to have a wife and kids get mad with their dad! :rant:

Ahhhh, Hollyoaks. The soap for those who grew out of Grange Hill but don't understand any of the others. It pi**es me off too that every time a viable proper topic comes up that they:

A) Have to reiterate every point twelve times in a variety of ways incase you didn't get it fifth time round

B) Reduce a serious issue that probably relates to quite a few viewers to a tawdry ratings booster.

C) Have an unrealistic, unworkable solution to most of them

The people who are influenced by soap storylines are those who are unlikely to gain information elsewhere, so better for them to clearly understand what happened to " 'im off the telly" than for the message not to reach them at all. If soaps portray issues better maybe people may actually learn something.

On the other hand maybe they shouldn't rely on the lives of the Websters/Deans/Moons to provide illumination through life.

Originally posted by feargal
Let's hope they do it better than Eastender's, when Nana Moon was suspected as having altzheimers, then it was found to be something else, completely cureable with a simple operation. It was such a cop out, and a cowardly way of dealing with such a heartbreaking subject. :rant:

Eastenders did it years ago with Frank Butcher's mum. I seem to recall that was handled quite well and very sad.

I'll always remember the scene where Frank is with his mum and she is talking about the war like it was yesterday. She didn't know who she was talking to, and then Frank started to cry.

Far cry from 'Runaround nowwwwwww' when Mo Butcher left her keys on top of the post box.

I wonder if this is just a way to cut back on costs, by showing the same epiosde all week for mikes perspective? That would make me chuckle.

I wonder if this is just a way to cut back on costs, by showing the same epiosde all week for mikes perspective? That would make me chuckle.

I wonder if this is just a way to cut back on costs, by showing the same epiosde all week for mikes perspective? That would make me chuckle.

...and have every TV in the street showing the old film "Hornblower" with Gregory Peck...

These days Baldwin's lines seem to consist of little more than yelling "What the hell's going on here?" when he catches the factory girls skiving.

When the Alzheimer's kicks in perhaps they could confuse him even more by saying (in unison) "we've already told you, Mr Baldwin" (except for Haley, of course).

Sorry, my mistake. Make that 633 Squadron on TV.

Originally posted by mojoworking
These days Baldwin's lines seem to consist of little more than yelling "What the hell's going on here?" when he catches the factory girls skiving.

When the Alzheimer's kicks in perhaps they could confuse him even more by saying (in unison) "we've already told you, Mr Baldwin" (except for Haley, of course).

I thought Mr Baldwin was supposed to be the Alpha Male of Corry (along with Dev, maybe).

Perhaps Boring Ken Barlow should suffer from Alzheimers, seeing as the unfortunate wretch is the Streets' whipping boy.

Ken's ability to lose court cases both on and off screen is an eerie case of art imitating life.