Goodness knows, I'm no fan of Shane Richie's and I have no reason to defend him, but there's a thread on Digital Spy about actors holding producers to ransome, which is beyond stupid.
Let's get one thing straight. A lot of Richie's perceived "failure" as Vic landlord, on both occasions was down to circumstance and not the actor, himself.
When he has to step up to the plate, Richie delivers; it's just that the rest of the time, the writing for Alfie Moon is lame. During his first stint, he was bumped from the Vic to accommodate the great Leslie Grantham's rising from the dead - and that worked out very well, didn't it? Richie was hired by Louise Berridge specifically to front the Vic, and then almost immediately, in a panic attack at Coronation Street's sweeping the BSAs that year, he was removed as landlord because Grantham was back.
Also, Alfie and Kat, as a proper couple, never had a chance to be explored, because during this period, Jessie Wallace was either on suspension for bad behaviour or she was off pregnant.
Let's be brutally honest about Richie this time around: he's suffered because he was brought back - in a move endorsed by John Yorke - to front the Vic; but Bryan Kirkwood and his merry men and women in the writing room totally demolished Alfie's and Kat's characters. He went from a cheeky chappy with a resolve of steel and a dark side, to an abused doormat, whose wife is a serial cheat and an abuser who presents herself as an eternal victim. And at the same time that the Moons were brought back to front a newly-decorated Vic, the heart of the action of the show was moved from the Vic (traditionally the centrepiece of action in this programme) to Max Branning's front room, as we watched the show, under Kirkwood and more recently under Newman, morph into The Branning Show.
Now, Newman is intent on rehabilitating Kat, who was one of the first characters for whom she was responsible in creating. Kat was a much-loved character who left on an arc high and returned to be wantonly destroyed by the very programme who made her into an icon. She is spent; yet instead of rectifying a plethora of wrongs affecting the programme as a whole, Newman was intent on forcing the public to like Kat again, at the expense of many another character who deserved development.
Alfie and Roxy proved that that partnership worked, and it gave Alfie Moon a new lease on life. Yet in Newman's efforts to reunite Kat and Alfie, Roxy is made to be sacrificed.
It's not the fact that Richie is a bad actor. When called upon to turn a serious bent, he's one of the strongest actors in the show. It's just that lazy and weak writing has badly let this actor down.
As someone else pointed out, if Alfie were not in the Vic, who else is there? Sharon has been ruled out; indeed, she's another character who's been demolished by this writing room, possibly beyond repair. Phil isn't interested. Peggy has gone. Forget the Brannings or any permutation of their satellites - and, yes, vaslav37 the Obsessive, I'm talking about Cora the Bora; do we really want the Brannings dominating the forefront yet again?
As for the "new family," EastEnders tried once before introducing a new character as landlord of the pub. That venture failed so miserably, we ended up having Nick Cotton kill him off - or how many people don't remember Eddie Royle?
I'm for keeping Alfie in the pub. If I had my way, Jessie Wallace would get her marching orders, and I'd be doing more to move Rita Simons to the centre of the action. Her character badly needs developing.
Update: Proof positive that people cannot think critically is the insipid Digital Spy poster priscilla, who has a problem taking literally the fact that Roxy calls Alfie "granddad." FFS, it's a pet name, it has nothing to do with age. As pointed out Roxy is 35 and Alfie is 48, the same age difference which existed between Tiffany Mitchell and Grant Mitchell. In fact, both of Billy Mitchell's wives were far younger than Roxy is in relation to Alfie. As well, Kathy Beale, who was eleven years older than her second husband, Phil Mitchell, regularly called him "granddad," but that wasn't the reason their marriage imploded.
Roxy calls Alfie "granddad," because he was greying around the temples when she first met him; he calls her "peroxide," for obvious reasons. They are terms of endearment, which are far, far more original than the ubiquitous "babe."
Deal with it.
Let's get one thing straight. A lot of Richie's perceived "failure" as Vic landlord, on both occasions was down to circumstance and not the actor, himself.
When he has to step up to the plate, Richie delivers; it's just that the rest of the time, the writing for Alfie Moon is lame. During his first stint, he was bumped from the Vic to accommodate the great Leslie Grantham's rising from the dead - and that worked out very well, didn't it? Richie was hired by Louise Berridge specifically to front the Vic, and then almost immediately, in a panic attack at Coronation Street's sweeping the BSAs that year, he was removed as landlord because Grantham was back.
Also, Alfie and Kat, as a proper couple, never had a chance to be explored, because during this period, Jessie Wallace was either on suspension for bad behaviour or she was off pregnant.
Let's be brutally honest about Richie this time around: he's suffered because he was brought back - in a move endorsed by John Yorke - to front the Vic; but Bryan Kirkwood and his merry men and women in the writing room totally demolished Alfie's and Kat's characters. He went from a cheeky chappy with a resolve of steel and a dark side, to an abused doormat, whose wife is a serial cheat and an abuser who presents herself as an eternal victim. And at the same time that the Moons were brought back to front a newly-decorated Vic, the heart of the action of the show was moved from the Vic (traditionally the centrepiece of action in this programme) to Max Branning's front room, as we watched the show, under Kirkwood and more recently under Newman, morph into The Branning Show.
Now, Newman is intent on rehabilitating Kat, who was one of the first characters for whom she was responsible in creating. Kat was a much-loved character who left on an arc high and returned to be wantonly destroyed by the very programme who made her into an icon. She is spent; yet instead of rectifying a plethora of wrongs affecting the programme as a whole, Newman was intent on forcing the public to like Kat again, at the expense of many another character who deserved development.
Alfie and Roxy proved that that partnership worked, and it gave Alfie Moon a new lease on life. Yet in Newman's efforts to reunite Kat and Alfie, Roxy is made to be sacrificed.
It's not the fact that Richie is a bad actor. When called upon to turn a serious bent, he's one of the strongest actors in the show. It's just that lazy and weak writing has badly let this actor down.
As someone else pointed out, if Alfie were not in the Vic, who else is there? Sharon has been ruled out; indeed, she's another character who's been demolished by this writing room, possibly beyond repair. Phil isn't interested. Peggy has gone. Forget the Brannings or any permutation of their satellites - and, yes, vaslav37 the Obsessive, I'm talking about Cora the Bora; do we really want the Brannings dominating the forefront yet again?
As for the "new family," EastEnders tried once before introducing a new character as landlord of the pub. That venture failed so miserably, we ended up having Nick Cotton kill him off - or how many people don't remember Eddie Royle?
I'm for keeping Alfie in the pub. If I had my way, Jessie Wallace would get her marching orders, and I'd be doing more to move Rita Simons to the centre of the action. Her character badly needs developing.
Update: Proof positive that people cannot think critically is the insipid Digital Spy poster priscilla, who has a problem taking literally the fact that Roxy calls Alfie "granddad." FFS, it's a pet name, it has nothing to do with age. As pointed out Roxy is 35 and Alfie is 48, the same age difference which existed between Tiffany Mitchell and Grant Mitchell. In fact, both of Billy Mitchell's wives were far younger than Roxy is in relation to Alfie. As well, Kathy Beale, who was eleven years older than her second husband, Phil Mitchell, regularly called him "granddad," but that wasn't the reason their marriage imploded.
Roxy calls Alfie "granddad," because he was greying around the temples when she first met him; he calls her "peroxide," for obvious reasons. They are terms of endearment, which are far, far more original than the ubiquitous "babe."
Deal with it.
I have to disagree with you here Emilia. Alfie is a terrible landlord and figurehead for The Queen Vic. I'd also like to point out that Alfie wasn't removed from The Vic when Leslie Grantham returned. Alfie was the landlord throughout Den's 2nd coming. It wasn't until December 2004, a mere 2 months before Den was murdered, that he was put in The Vic. To say it is down to outside factors and the return of Den that Alfie has failed as landlord is simply untrue.
ReplyDeleteIf I had my way Richie would be axed for good.
In all fairness, Alfie and Kat should not have been brought back. Their character arc finished in 2005, and they left on a high. If anything, they should have been brought back on a higher level as the couple who were solid. Such things DO happen in real life. The fact remains that Grantham returned, and before his departure, it was worked so he could return to the Vic; by the time his murder had been resolved, the Mitchells were re-entranched in the Vic.
ReplyDeleteRichie is as bad as the writers have made him this time around, but then, the same could be said for Jessie Wallace, Patsy Palmer, Steve McFadden and Letitia Dean. At least Dean has the balls to tell TPTB that she's off until they sort her character out. Richie, on his day and used correctly, is actually one of the better actors on the show. The problem is that it's far easier for this lot of lazy asses in the writing room to let him be Shane Richie instead of what Alfie Moon originally was.
But he's there, and so is Wallace, until the next EP surfaces, at which time Sharon and Phil will be back behind the bar of the Vic.
Barbara Windsor was always going to return after her break due to her illness so Alfie would've taken a backseat to the Mitchells one way or the other. I didn't agree with killing Den a 2nd time, at least not so soon after his ill judged return, but Alfie couldn't have carried The Vic and EastEnders through 2005 the way Den's murder and Chrissie did. The character and actor just aren't that interesting.
ReplyDeleteI agree Kat and Alfie's story arc was over and they shouldn't have returned. It should have been Sharon returning to The Vic after Peggy's exit. I hope you're right about her being back behind the bar some day, hopefully when they've remembered how to write for her again.
The Moons are a fact until Lorraine Newman's tenure is over. Actually, Shane Richie has committed long-term to the show, and that shouldn't be dissed. An EP should be working full-time on developing characters like Alfie and Max, rather than wasting time with the talentless but pretty youth they are promoting.
Delete