Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Sorry Michelle

spoiler alert: this post makes reference to the September 8 episode on CBC

Let's get right to it. What's the problem with Michelle? She's vivacious, attractive and a definite asset to the Rovers in terms of providing eye-candy for the punters. (Hey, what about Betty Turpin? - ed). She's also in a relationship with the incomparable Steverino, the quintessential lad and man of a 1,000 facial expressions. Her character should be sparkling and yet I find her to be strangely uncompelling and even, dare I say it, uninteresting.

Now, I'm no psychologist (How do you feel about that? -ed) but there seem to be some reasons for this. Case in point: Michelle is supposed to be a semi-professional singer (she used to be the vocalist for Vernon's band) and went on a cruise with JD's band and did a session in the studio. Exciting stuff. Did we ever hear anything about that? No. I assume she has some interest in music, but we never, ever see that interest manifested in her life. You never see her learning a song, or listening to the radio or even talking about the music she likes. Vernon, on the other hand, was consistently passionate about music. It was part of his character and it was part of what made him interesting (and funny).

And what about her biological son, Alex? That was a big deal -- for a couple of weeks -- and now he seems to have vanished as a factor in her life. Then there was her reaction to Liam's death. Others have pointed out that her mourning period was rather short and before you could say 'Irish wake', she was back to her old self, working on her prime objective which seems to be 'catching Steve out' (Not very difficult - ed).

Don't even get me started on the whole ' let's have a day-long wedding anniversary party for my parents in the Rovers' storyline -- or the fact that Steve has to be under 'house arrest' for the duration of the party. None of it makes any sense, but that's not the problem. The real problem is Michelle - we just don't really have a sense of who she is and what makes her tick.

Sorry Michelle

3 comments:

  1. Hi Corrie, I am slow catching up after a week away. I answered your quiz long after it was over. Twas fun anyway. I agree completely with this post. Esp. about her Alex. So unrealistic.I don't think Michelle is long for this show. They have made her easily replacable. Methinks Steve & Becky will eventually hook up. Lots of storyline there. Can't you just see Becks as Lady of the pub? Ha!! Mary

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  2. Mary, thanks for the comments and the answers to the quiz (all correct, I might add). Always appreciate your thoughtful insights. Steve & Becky? Wow, now that would be quite a combo and quite a storyline. Cheers and all the best, Corrie

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  3. Oh Corrie Heart, I so much agree with your description of Michelle, she is totally lacking in sincerity and warmth and VERY "uninteresting".

    But her wanting to throw a ridiculous day-long party fits in with her behaviour and seeming disinterest after Liam's death. She appears to think only of herself most of the time. Perhaps she is striving for attention and is trying to outdo Tony's stag party (in length).

    And with regard to Alex - the mysteriously vanished Alex - if it was important enough for him to spend time in Ireland getting to know his biological grandparents, why was it not important for him to be at this anniversary gathering?

    Well in all fairness to the writers, maybe those inconsistencies have been explained away at some point, and CBC has seen fit to eliminate the explanations and keep us in the dark. Who knows?

    Please don't get too serious Corrie Heart, I love laughing at your humorous viewpoint on our favourite show.

    Rosie not-Webster

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