View Single Post
  #7  
Old 23rd November 2012, 10:53 PM
ScottishMermaid ScottishMermaid is offline
Cultist
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Aberdeenshire, Scotland, UK.
Default

I think that overall, I prefer the second half of the series. However, the first half is also fantastic. In the first half, I adored Bea, Vera, Powell and Jude but I find Lizzie to be overrated (though I do like the character) and cannot stand Doreen...in fact, I would go as far as to say I hate her and she spoiled the show for me in the first half. I also loved Franky Doyle and really wish her character lasted longer. The arrival of Kate, Sandy and Marie in the mid 200s was a fantastic change in the dynamics for me because although I absolutely love the character of Bea, her constant mood changes were really getting on my nerves. It would have been different watching as it went to air, because these changes wouldn't have occurred quite so close together as they did for me, as a person who watches on a very regular basis (and by regular, I mean a few episodes per night) so these stories happen very close together for me. It went from Bea being in love with Ken Pearce, Bea having amnesia, to Bea having Kidney disease...all so close together that there was a very long time of Bea being all vulnerable and just giving up....I hate Bea when she is like that...but when she is on top, tough form the character is fantastic and remains my equal second place character because of this. But, as a result of her drastic mood shifts, the show was becoming boring....Doreen pisses me off, and Lizzie is simply okay...and I love Jude but I found that it was just really Bea, Judy, Doreen and Lizzie who were the focus and it made it boring for a while...all the best characters were very much just supporting characters, such as Hazel and Margo. So yes, when Sandy, Kate and Marie arrived the show was absolutely fantastic for a while...it was great seeing other strong characters...up until Kate's exit was probably one of my all time favourite eras but if it wasn't for this era in the first half of the series, I would say without a doubt that the latter half was far superior.

However...talking about bad eras...the latter half was not without its boring times...The Barnhurst 5 era was rather disappointing I must say. I do not know if that is because the Myra episodes were so damn fantastic or not, but it really did get dull for a long time...thank goodness for Daphne Graham (yes, I actually LIKED her, lol), Alice Jenkins and Lou Kelly is all I can say, LOL!!

But in general, the later half...wow, I absolutely adore the cast from the later half. Lou Kelly, Alice Jenkins, Rita Connors are all very high up on my favourites list (as is Ferguson) and it amazes me that these characters never got the recognition that the Freak and Bea did. Oh well.

I tend to find that many people stop watching where Bea leaves and after watching I think they're crazy, lol....it only gets better...PCBH is more than Bea or the Freak, PCBH is a great show built on many great characters and a very large portion of that greatness is in the later episodes.

Reply With Quote