Lite från Colin angående Gennies död

Happy Hallowe’en folks! What spooky timing from TV4! And what shocking timing by Gennie! Why couldn’t she have waited longer before leaving the house? Or if only she had had chance to get out before they even came back to the house! :(
 
I know there’ll be many opinions on today’s events – some of you will have found it thrilling drama, and others will feel it was a step too far. Most of the early part of this post is primarily addressed towards people feeling like that, putting the events into context of the soap world Emmerdale is part of, and trying to give hope for the future. Later there are interviews with “Cameron”, “Gennie” and “Brenda”, plus more!
 
It was officially made public that Sian Reese-Williams was leaving - her own decision by the way (more about that later) - nearly 11 weeks prior to these episodes being shown, and trailers (adverts for TV shows) had been running in the week up to her exit revealing she would be involved in a car chase and crash with Cameron. However the exact nature of her death was kept a secret from the public – but at least we were prepared. I know some idiot spoiled that Gennie would die on the blog (Marie told me, though I don’t know if the person revealed any further details about when or how), but for most of you (except probably most of those who’ve mentioned that they have found things out accidentally on youtube) this would have come as a big shock. Although having said that, I know nothing about Swedish broadcasting regulations: would an announcement have been made warning of violent and/or upsetting scenes beforehand? Do you even have such a thing as a ‘watershed’? Wikipedia certainly makes no mention of it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watershed_(broadcasting)
 
I know some of you will probably feel like switching off for good after today – several people wrote on UK forums saying they would do just that. Yet equally, having heard something big was happening, some people said they watched the show for the first time that night! I think perhaps this indicates a reason why soaps have big storylines like this. In this age of ‘social media’ (i.e. facebook, twitter etc) stories like this get people talking about the show , which in turn makes people watch it. People complain about ‘chasing ratings’ but the fact is for ITV – and consequently for Emmerdale - ratings are important. The Emmerdale team want the show to be a success and so you need these big storylines which create a ‘buzz’ on social media. Emmerdale has had big moments that create talking points for over twenty years of course, but I do think social media has perhaps made these moments more important than they used to be. To demonstrate, as the storyline reached its final stages viewers were even encouraged by ITV to tweet using #KillerCameron.
 
Reading your reactions to Thursday’s episodes, it’s good to see so many of you have thankfully managed to avoid knowledge of Gennie’s demise. Of course though when I see people getting excited that Cameron is going to get his comeuppance (Declan phoning the police recently was another good example of false hope) I can’t help thinking ‘if only you knew what happens next’ and imagine your disappointment the next day. The start of this paragraph has been rewritten to reflect additional replies. Originally it gave me a good excuse to single out Pandora’s excited comments, and then reflect back to October 2012 (when Sweden had just shown Viv and Terry’s deaths) when I responded to another of Pandora’s comments by saying that of the big four UK soaps Emmerdale was the only one that had never had a serial killer (Cameron had recently killed Carl at this point but I still had no idea that Alex would follow). Because of that, I think it was really *inevitable* that at some point Emmerdale would have a serial killer storyline of their own. In fact it is now true to say that Emmerdale is the only one of our main soaps to have only had one serial killer (if you define ‘serial’ as being three victims)!
 
So yes Emmerdale now officially has a serial killer, but not everything is doom and gloom! I think in some ways this week has really shown the diversity of what Emmerdale can offer. We’ve had the devastation at the end of the week, but it started with the joy and fun of the Handfasting, complete with brass band and helicopter! As long as characters like Bob and Dan are in the show, and also people like Nicola there will always be humour in Emmerdale – and honestly if you keep watching I think you will find that the amount of humour DOES increase. I often find things laugh-out-loud funny, and at a recent awards ceremony (the “Inside Soap Awards” – Inside Soap is Britain’s only weekly magazine dedicated to all things soap, though voting is open to everybody) Emmerdale was deemed to have the funniest female character in British soap.
 
I guarantee that if you keep watching Emmerdale it will keep delivering unexpected twists (Rishi announcing himself as Archie’s father is one of my favourites) and some really pleasant surprises. In the short term, there is what I think many will find a really interesting story starting in the next couple of weeks. It’s worth pointing out also that at last years’ Inside Soap Awards, presented around this time last year, Emmerdale was voted by fans as Britain’s Best Soap, the first time it had been awarded such a title since Emmerdale won Best Soap at the BAFTA’s (the UK equivalent of the Oscar’s and Emmy’s) way back in 2000 (which had been judged by a panel of experts).
 
What though of Cameron’s story? I know many of you are keen to see it come to an end. The dictaphone will of course be discovered – but by who, and will they listen to it? And what will they do when they do hear it? The end will come, somehow, and it WILL make for exciting viewing. Emmerdale’s producer, Kate Oates, spoke at the time of Gennie’s death giving her thoughts on people’s desire to see the story finished quickly: “There’s been a lot of talk about when Cameron will get found out. I think there are a lot of viewers who are impatient for it. It’s interesting to see how viewers take to different villains. When you look at Carl King for instance, he killed his own dad and did some terrible things but people were quite content to see him carry on in the village. Yet with Cameron they seem to be chomping at the bit.” Speaking at a later time about another story, Kate gave some explanation as to why these big stories do last a while: “It’s always really interesting when we hear people say they want characters to get their comeuppance, as I always quite like watching people get away with it! It doesn’t just extend the drama, but it also means those characters have to be even more conniving and think of new ways to get out of trouble.”
 
Of course, it isn’t just the nature of the story or the graphic content that generated discussion. As you can imagine there was much debate over the plot too! For what it’s worth, here are a few of my own thoughts. Ignoring the obvious – why didn’t Gennie go to the pub! – the main thing I want to discuss is Debbie’s role. Many people have called her a murderer because of what happened. I’m not wanting to stick up for her – what she did was dangerous, wreckless, and stupid beyond belief, and she ought to have realised what the possible consequences of a high speed chase were. Yet, somehow, caught up in the moment, I honestly don’t think she did realise! The fact that when Gennie nearly went off the road the first time, Debbie said “what is she doing?” is what makes me think this. She seemed genuinely baffled why Gennie was driving so erratically (even though she’d only just passed her test and in fact had never even driven that car before)! In any normal situation you’d think someone would realise what could happen and they’d ease off. In the aftermath Debbie did seem genuinely horrified by what she had caused, so I think it’s unfair to claim Debbie had any intentions to run Gennie off the road. As irresponsible and wreckless as Debbie’s actions were, I simply don’t think she was thinking straight. I don’t know about Sweden, but actually in the UK we have a separate crime for causing death on the road – “Death by Dangerous Driving”, so unless you could prove Debbie deliberately intended for Gennie to crash, it wouldn’t count as murder in any case. I talked about timing at the start and how seconds could have saved her life. Think then of how DAYS could have saved Gennie’s life, if only the Macey’s had done the right thing. Even if Cameron was yet to have been found responsible for Alex’s death, Declan or Katie’s intervention would surely have been enough to change Cameron’s behaviour sufficiently that even if the Carl confession had still happened, Gennie would probably never have been there at the time it would have happened. I’m applying some ‘Butterfly Theory’ (Fjärilseffekten)-type theory here!
 
If you’re going to carry on watching (and I hope you do) it might help if I try and help you feel just a tiny bit of sympathy for Cameron! Impossible you say? Perhaps! Here though is what Dominic Power said about his character in a radiotimes.com interview at the time he dug Alex’s body up.
How intense has it been filming Cameron’s story?
I don’t think I’ll ever do a more gruelling acting gig in my life. If you do a one-off drama or a film, your shooting time is between three to six weeks. Here, I’ve had nine months of this constant outpouring of emotion. So it’s been tiring.
But in terms of the storyline, it’s been a huge pat on the back. When I came in, Cameron was a very low-key character. They eased me in gently over that first year and, to begin with, he was actually a bit of a romantic. Then it spiraled out of control, which has been great.
Do you think he’s been a bit of a victim of circumstances?
Yes, it’s been a bit Breaking Bad. And it all started with the saviour sibling storyline when Debbie had to have a baby with Andy. That freaked him out, especially when they did it behind his back. Ordinarily, in that circumstance, you’d go mad and get angry. But because it was to save a dying child, he couldn’t. So he kept it in and imploded rather than exploded. And the implosion was basically having the affair with Chas, killing Carl, killing Alex and then killing....well I can’t say!
Gennie?
I’m sworn to secrecy. Maybe that’s what they want you to think!
Did you know that this was the arc the character was going to take when you signed up?
No. It’s a constant to and fro between writers and actors as you build ideas. And you can be quite crafty at dropping things in to manipulate the writers. In a good way, of course. The moment they started to see the edgier side of Cameron was after Andy got a bit obsessed with Debbie over the whole saviour sibling thing. There was a scene where Cameron had to go round and threaten Andy - now, I don’t know whether you’ve noticed, but Kelvin Fletcher’s arms are the width of my back! So the only way I thought I could do it was by being a bit menacing and a bit psycho. And I think that after that, the writers saw that Cameron had this edge and started to wonder what they could do with it. And here I am.
The Emmerdale story is really about Cameron disintegrating before our eyes, isn’t it?
Absolutely. Because of the journey that this character’s been on, he’s not just a black and white villain. And he also reveals an exaggerated version of the weaknesses that we all have – that cowardice that’s in everyone, you know. That part of us that would let someone take the rap to save their own skin. And you do ask the question: would I do that in his position? And I think that’s what rattles a lot of people. They don’t want to think about that kind of thing.
Yes. Because of the things to do with Cameron deal with quite universal themes – fathers and sons, the relationship we have with our own children…
I think it’s a lovely touch that in the middle of this digging, he gets a call from his son. Back when they knew it was all going to turn bad, the writers made sure that there was a scene with me playing air guitar with young Sarah. It’s just to remind the audience that he has these murderous tendencies, but he’s a pretty good dad! He’s got a nice side.
Is there a shelf life for this character? After all, soap is a very moral universe…
Yes, it is. Obviously he will have to get what’s due to him. But this is soapland and people can forget very easily. I mean, I had a lot of viewers saying, “oh, I hate Cameron” until the moment that he started to turn on Robbie. And then they were saying, “Well, I don’t like Cameron, but I really hate Robbie!” It’s amazing what audiences are prepared to forgive. In Breaking Bad, for instance, the guy’s done some horrible things but he’s the lead guy and you’re rooting for him. And I’ve been told that you have to kill six people before you become a serial killer in soapland [as the record (at this time at least) was four victims this seems a strange comment to me].
Could he be rehabilitated?
Possibly. He’s done unforgivable things so at some point he’s going to have to face up to that. People keep reminding me that Carl King lasted nine years after being responsible for some deaths, one of whom was his dad.
It’s come to the stage now though when everything he says to Chas is either a lie, a half truth or filled with guilt of some kind.
Yes, for about six months the stage directions at the end of my scenes have been either ‘Leave it on Cameron – torn’. Or it might be: ‘Leave it on Cameron – jealous’.
How do you differentiate between the two?
Oh, it takes years of practice, you know! Luckily, I was at drama school that day!
 
Moving on from Dominic, let’s get back to Sian Reese-Williams!  Her departure was announced on May 12th with a statement where she said: “It was an incredibly difficult decision to make and I will miss my friends, the show and of course Genesis. But as an actor, my main passion has always been playing many different people, and I'm really looking forward to doing that again” Sian actually told Emmerdale nearly a year in advance of her decision to leave – she wanted to make sure that Gennie was given a big memorable exit. Speaking a few days before Gennie’s death was screened, Sian discussed her feelings about leaving and her exit story:
It was really emotional and hard to watch. Of course it's not me dying, but it's a part of me. I've spent more time being her than being myself during the past five years. Gennie was so annoying but I was crying saying goodbye to her. I loved her because I spent so much time in her head.

"When I found out that I was going to be killed off I was scared to start with. It made my decision that bit more final - there was no going back. But now I am happy because it really is an amazing way to go. I wouldn't have wanted to leave in the back of a cab."
 
Sian was given the opportunity to change her mind when she was told of the plans to kill her off, but she stuck to her guns. Indeed I’ve often pondered if her decision to leave - giving producers an easy choice of who to make Cameron’s third victim - potentially saved another actors job!
 
Here is a video interview which was released to the public on July 25th, the day Gennie’s death was shown.https://www.dropbox.com/s/beo070hb0nthfkd/July%2025th%2C%20Press%20Association%20interview.mp4?dl=0 Sammy by the way is Sammy Winward (Katie)
 
And here is a TV interview from the day after on “This Morning” (sorry about the poor sound quality on this one). https://www.dropbox.com/s/4ygq5ay8r8g4vnh/July%2026th%2C%20This%20Morning%20interview.mp4?dl=0 Yes, that is Spice Girl Emma Bunton interviewing her – a guest host on Fridays during that summer. Reference is made to Emma’s own (brief) appearance on BBC soap EastEnders before she was famous. If you want to see the clip (from 1992) you can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2B2lYpj3-4
 
OK that’s my “Bus eller godis” trick :p This is the real Emma Bunton EastEnders link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVCGutw7N5E Though that other youtube link is actually a treat that IS worth clicking if you haven’t already.
 
One final thought on the crash. Did it remind long-term viewers of a similar incident? Here is a lesson on what not to do if you find sheep in the road!: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8ixzkc5ngiw7oof/Pat%20Sugden%20death%2C%201986.mp4?dl=0
 
 
Moving on from Gennie (sort of), mention was made of Lesley Dunlop’s new look, and of a picture. Angelica T was possibly referring to this one: https://www.dropbox.com/s/k5z28vq6jxh2wv0/Lesley%20Dunlop%20has%20head%20shaved.jpg?dl=0
In this interview from digitalspy.co.uk Lesley discussed this dedication to her art and the reaction to the cancer storyline!
What were those scenes like to film with Sian Reese-Williams, who plays Gennie?
"Very emotional! We were obviously shaving off my hair as well, so it had to be one take. What we'd said would happen was that Sian would do the first two or three shaves with the clippers, then they'd cut the scene and we'd go into make-up to finish it off. But in the end they decided that Sian would keep going, so she did the lot. I imagine it was very nerve-wracking for her."

Why did you decide to have your head shaved in real life?
"I knew if we were going to do this storyline, we had to do it properly. I have a friend who has cancer who said to me, 'Oh you're shaving your head, that's so brave'. But I looked at her and thought, 'Well this isn't brave - I don't actually have cancer, I'm just shaving my head'.

"I felt that it was the least I could do for all the people who don't have a choice, really, and I felt absolutely fine about it. I did embrace it, actually."

How are you feeling about it now that a bit of time has passed?
"Oh, it's just so much easier! I've got so much more time available! I've spent so much time on my hair in the past few years, whether it's been getting ready for work, having to dry it and using straighteners. Now I just wash and go!

"Brenda does have some wigs in the storyline, but I do prefer going without them. It's been quite warm lately and I get a bit of a heat rash, which doesn't look very attractive when you take the wig off! I don't even think about it anymore, but I do jump when I walk past the mirror!

"I think every woman should do it once in their life, because it does feel liberating. I don't know why, probably because I've hidden behind my hair for so long. My face is out there now and maybe it's my age, that you don't worry so much about what people think of you. Everyone has been so complimentary as well."
How have your loved ones in real life reacted to the change?
"They love it! My daughters think it looks great and they're really proud of me. People keep saying, 'Well done for doing it!', but because of relating to my friend and doing some work with brain cancer charities, for me it's been a doddle. It's the least I can do. Everyone has been so complimentary and I never realised I had a good shaved head!"

Have you had much feedback for the story so far?
"Yes, I get lots of comments from people who have brain cancer or people saying, 'Well done Emmerdale for doing this storyline and highlighting it'. It's one of the highest killers of young people, which I had no idea about, but it's also one of the lowest funded of all the cancer research charities. It only gets 0.7% of the funding, so it's raising the profile of it.

"Hopefully it will encourage people to specifically donate to brain cancer charities. I've heard charities say that when they're out on the street, people say, 'Oh no, I give to cancer, not brain tumour charities'. They have to say, 'This is a form of cancer' as people don't realise. The comments I've had have been really positive."

With Gennie leaving the show, are you going to miss working with Sian?
"I can't actually bring myself to think about it at the moment! We've done lots of crying scenes and thinking about Sian going has helped with those. I'll still see her, but I'll miss her terribly - and it'll be very quiet!"
 
I mentioned the Inside Soap Awards a couple of times. Emmerdale actually won 4 awards in 2013! As well as Best Soap they got Best Bad Boy (Cameron), Best Storyline (Cameron) and a special Outstanding Achievement Award for the live episode. Here you can see Domnic and Jane Cox (Lisa) with the awards alongside Lesley when her hair was starting to grow back. https://www.dropbox.com/s/oi82o064rueovrd/Inside%20Soap%20Awards%202013.jpg?dl=0
 
One final treat. Mention was also made about Gennie’s singing, and was it really Sian. As some of you remembered, Gennie was involved in a church choir story back in 2008, at a time when she was a much less confident about singing in public. Here are a couple of funny clips from the start of Gennie’s involvement in the choir. (I especially like Betty and Sarah in this!) https://www.dropbox.com/s/tacrif50owrhvgj/Gennie%20Sings%20%28November%202008%29.mp4?dl=0

RIP Genesis Walker: 15th November 1987 – 25th July 2013 :(
 
P.S.Thanks for the replies to my last post from 4th October :) JH, did you see it by the way?

Kommentarer
Postat av: JH

Hej Colin!
Jo jag såg ditt inlägg och jag försökte svara på det två gånger men det gick inte att publicera. Det stod att inläggen skulle godkännas först. Jag skrev dem på engelska så kanske något spamfilter tog dem. Jag ville inte skriva på svenska ifall det skulle missförstås. Men tack för ditt svar, det var intressant att läsa om din synpunkt! :)

2014-11-02 @ 10:58:27
Postat av: AnnaS

Vad gäller Debbies roll i Gennies död: jag tror inte heller att hon skulle dömas för mord i Sverige heller, men antagligen vållande till annans död. Jag tycker inte att hon är skyldig till Gennies krasch, det var uppenbarligen inte hennes avsikt, det ser man ju på hennes reaktion sen. Jag undrar däremot hur hon kunde vara så naiv och låta Cameron gå ner till Gennie själv. Men hon kanske inte kunde tänka sig att han skulle göra henne illa.

2014-11-02 @ 23:24:29
Postat av: Agneta

Thanks Colin. Very interesting!

2014-11-03 @ 19:13:45
Postat av: Linn

Colin: Thanks for all the info!

2014-11-03 @ 19:45:30
Postat av: Dekbedden aanbieding

It's hard to find well-informed people on this subject, however, you seem
like you know what you're talking about! Thanks

2017-09-21 @ 10:49:52
URL: http://https://www.hoeslakenland.nl/

Kommentera inlägget här:

Namn:
Kom ihåg mig?

E-postadress: (publiceras ej)

URL/Bloggadress:

Kommentar:

Trackback
RSS 2.0