I do agree, it needs to end after series 10. Of course it's an ever-evolving show, but there's only so many stories they can tell before they start to just repeat them but tell them in different ways (which they've already started doing because they're running out of ideas). I do think though that when the time comes they need to give it an appropriate send off - they need to have old cast members return; Denise Welch, Eva Pope, Chelsee Healy, etc, all of them returning would make for a very fitting ending to the show (although a story to fit them in would prove difficult). A "life goes on at Waterloo Road" type ending would be good too, like how Desperate Housewives came to an end.

Yeah, a fitting ending is definitely needed - some well loved characters from the past returning like Janeece and Rachel like you mentioned would be great, but I agree it will be hard to think of an relevant storyline. I suppose it wouldn't be too much of a surprise if the school did close when Waterloo Road finishes since throughout the show, the school has had trouble with staying open. But equally it could go the other way and it stays open and everyone lives happily ever after. :D

Yeah, a fitting ending is definitely needed - some well loved characters from the past returning like Janeece and Rachel like you mentioned would be great, but I agree it will be hard to think of an relevant storyline. I suppose it wouldn't be too much of a surprise if the school did close when Waterloo Road finishes since throughout the show, the school has had trouble with staying open. But equally it could go the other way and it stays open and everyone lives happily ever after. :D

I think if they managed to (this would never happen, but it's worth DREAMING of because it really would be the perfect ending for the show) get Eva Pope back, it'd have to be a story like the education board calling back a much-loved Head and asking them to take over the job if the school is failing and hope that she can get it back on track; having her back in the role and then we have the show end with that - Rachel back in the saddle and just being the fantastic Head she was. Janeece returning is easier to do because she could just drop in and see how things are, or return for a reason like Bolton did.

 

Anyway, tonight's episode was absolutely fantastic, they're getting better as this series goes on despite the start of it being quite silly and annoying (even if there are a couple of good characters who come close to saving it). The funeral scene at the beginning of the episode was absolutely beautiful, and a fitting way for them to commemorate Grantly properly. I thought at the end of last week's episode that that would be the end of it and we'd just hear them briefly mention him, but it was nice of them to add that in. Kevin looked amazing, as always. :kink: Simon and Sue are really dragging the series down, though. They're such HORRENDOUS characters. Can't bare to watch the pair of them and the dreadful nightmare Simon's turned into (although he always was that, TBH, just a ticking time bomb waiting to try and drag Christine down and nab the job for himself). Christine laying into him was one of the best things about the episode though, she really does know how to assert her authority when she needs to, and Laurie's just so good at it. :wub:

 

I love that they've started a 'traditional' thing with the directing too in the way that they have text appear on the screen when somebody gets a text. Nice addition. I love that we're finally getting to delve deeper into who Nikki really is, though. We've never really been told anything about her and it was great to see this story play out. She was a bit wooden at the end when she was saying goodbye to Eve, but meh. Eve's actress was really beautiful, need to see if she's been in anything else and try and watch it - her acting was really quite amazing too. The whole story between Eve and Nikki was amazing though, especially the scene when they first see each other and Nikki just stands there saying nothing... Quality acting. The scene at the end with Nikki too in her car was just REALLY emotional. :snif:

 

George continues to steal the show (in some ways) for me, though. His comment about Sue being able to get an Oscar after she "broke" her neck was hilarious. :lol: I hope he has some involvement in helping Christine fend off Simon and Sue and stop him from getting the Head job. Connor's normally really quite horrendous a character too but I love how he's kind of Maggie's confidant now, and the pair of them really work well together. Hopefully this continues beyond the grieving period. And finally (yay), Dynasty when she was cleaning the toilets was HILARIOUS - absolutely love her. :wub:

News about the show:

 

• The BBC Scotland commissioning for the show has been extended from 50 episodes to 70 episodes. 30 episodes comprising Series 8 have already aired and Series 9 has been extended from 20 episodes to 30, leaving 10 episodes for Series 10.

•

Nikki

,

Connor

and

Imogen

will be leaving at the end of Series 9 (or in 9.20).

Heather Peace

has tweeted suggesting she has now left the show and is going to work in England.

•

Charlie De'ath

has joined the cast as Vincent Wark, supposedly Gabrielle Wark's (a new character) father.

•

Max Bowden

has joined the cast as Justin Robinson who is supposedly Vaughan's son - so it's another Karen-Fisher-with-baggage storyline.

•

Tommy Knight

will be leaving at the end of Series 9 or during Series 10.

News about the show:

 

• The BBC Scotland commissioning for the show has been extended from 50 episodes to 70 episodes. 30 episodes comprising Series 8 have already aired and Series 9 has been extended from 20 episodes to 30, leaving 10 episodes for Series 10.

Hopefully that's a sign the show will finish after that final block of 10 episodes (although there's every chance they extend it again).

Hopefully that's a sign the show will finish after that final block of 10 episodes (although there's every chance they extend it again).

I really hope it is, unless they manage to somehow start to think of original and gripping ideas before the end of Series 9. But that was the case with Series 7 too - it was originally only commissioned for 10 episodes before they extended it to 30 episodes. I can see it getting extended again, but there's only so long you can show people what happens in a fictional school before they start to tire of it, no matter how many times you get a new Head or new teachers/pupils and switch the storylines slightly. :(

I really hope it is, unless they manage to somehow start to think of original and gripping ideas before the end of Series 9. But that was the case with Series 7 too - it was originally only commissioned for 10 episodes before they extended it to 30 episodes. I can see it getting extended again, but there's only so long you can show people what happens in a fictional school before they start to tire of it, no matter how many times you get a new Head or new teachers/pupils and switch the storylines slightly. :(

I don't really mind the recycled storylines exactly, it's just the bad acting and writing for me. Watching it makes me feel awkward and it looks very set-up whereas with earlier series - whilst some of the stuff that happened would probably never happen at a school, not on a regular basis at least - it was still very believable.

I don't really mind the recycled storylines exactly, it's just the bad acting and writing for me. Watching it makes me feel awkward and it looks very set-up whereas with earlier series - whilst some of the stuff that happened would probably never happen at a school, not on a regular basis at least - it was still very believable.

Oh yeah I do agree there, a lot of the acting in the recent series' has seemed very forced (although there are still a few who are extremely good in their roles and it seems very natural). Even Tom seemed a bit wooden and unnatural in his last few episodes; it was like they had forgotten how to write the character and it was a bit annoying. :( Like you said, it was so much better back between Series 1-6 (as terrible as Series 6 was in comparison to the previous 5), the characters were so easy to relate to and you could feel what they were going through, etc. It seems like they're just keeping the show going for the sake of it now, just like Shameless kept going in its last three series' before it eventually finished. I can't see this having any more than two years left in it.

Oh yeah I do agree there, a lot of the acting in the recent series' has seemed very forced (although there are still a few who are extremely good in their roles and it seems very natural). Even Tom seemed a bit wooden and unnatural in his last few episodes; it was like they had forgotten how to write the character and it was a bit annoying. :( Like you said, it was so much better back between Series 1-6 (as terrible as Series 6 was in comparison to the previous 5), the characters were so easy to relate to and you could feel what they were going through, etc. It seems like they're just keeping the show going for the sake of it now, just like Shameless kept going in its last three series' before it eventually finished. I can't see this having any more than two years left in it.

I thought Laurie Brett played Christine brilliantly when she had her alcohol addiction storyline - I think I actually said she was better than she was for the most part in Eastenders - but now I've gone off her a bit. Even the first 10 episodes of series 7 was good, most significantly Sambuca's cancer storyline as many seemed to be able to sympathise with her character. Yeah, my mum compares it to Shameless as she was a big fan of that before it dragged on too long. I'm not sure of the love/hate ratio of the recent series have been like but I know a large amount have all felt it's gone considerably downhill since moving to Scotland so that must affect the producers decision as for how long to continue.

I thought Laurie Brett played Christine brilliantly when she had her alcohol addiction storyline - I think I actually said she was better than she was for the most part in Eastenders - but now I've gone off her a bit. Even the first 10 episodes of series 7 was good, most significantly Sambuca's cancer storyline as many seemed to be able to sympathise with her character. Yeah, my mum compares it to Shameless as she was a big fan of that before it dragged on too long. I'm not sure of the love/hate ratio of the recent series have been like but I know a large amount have all felt it's gone considerably downhill since moving to Scotland so that must affect the producers decision as for how long to continue.

Oh yeah, I completely agree. Laurie really was the star of the show during her addiction storyline (which is probably the best storyline they've had running since the show moved to Scotland, and probably the only outstanding one they will have). The character does seem to have been watered down a bit though since she became sober, so I think a relapse is about due (hopefully this happens soon and is one of the reasons Simon can dig at her further and prove she's a failing Head).

 

I think the show has definitely attracted new fans since moving to Scotland, but I don't think there's a considerably larger fanbase at all, and I think it'll have lost a few fans along the way during the settling in period, and it's probably lost a few fans since the storylines have become a bit dry. I'd say it's definitely not as popular as it was back in its heyday, but it obviously still has enough (don't know how many that would be for the BBC to consider it okay for continual commissioning) fans to keep it going. I reckon they'll end it sooner rather than later though when they do realise they're levelling off on the amount of people watching and the storylines really don't have anywhere else to go.

Oh yeah, I completely agree. Laurie really was the star of the show during her addiction storyline (which is probably the best storyline they've had running since the show moved to Scotland, and probably the only outstanding one they will have). The character does seem to have been watered down a bit though since she became sober, so I think a relapse is about due (hopefully this happens soon and is one of the reasons Simon can dig at her further and prove she's a failing Head).

 

I think the show has definitely attracted new fans since moving to Scotland, but I don't think there's a considerably larger fanbase at all, and I think it'll have lost a few fans along the way during the settling in period, and it's probably lost a few fans since the storylines have become a bit dry. I'd say it's definitely not as popular as it was back in its heyday, but it obviously still has enough (don't know how many that would be for the BBC to consider it okay for continual commissioning) fans to keep it going. I reckon they'll end it sooner rather than later though when they do realise they're levelling off on the amount of people watching and the storylines really don't have anywhere else to go.

A relapse was hinted at the end of series 8 when Tom died so I think it's very much possible.

 

I've read reports about cast members claiming the show "reinvents itself" (lets not even go there) but they do say the show gains new audiences so like you say, that's obviously good enough for the show continuing. However, the latest episode got 2.61m views according to DigitalSpy and that's one of the lowest in terms of all the series (series 1-7 all had 4-7m aside from one episode in S5 which had 3.5m) and series 8 to now has seen it drop from ~4.5m to ~2.5m which is quite significant. The show must be coming to a close soon - after 10 series that's a good time to stop.

A relapse was hinted at the end of series 8 when Tom died so I think it's very much possible.

 

I've read reports about cast members claiming the show "reinvents itself" (lets not even go there) but they do say the show gains new audiences so like you say, that's obviously good enough for the show continuing. However, the latest episode got 2.61m views according to DigitalSpy and that's one of the lowest in terms of all the series (series 1-7 all had 4-7m aside from one episode in S5 which had 3.5m) and series 8 to now has seen it drop from ~4.5m to ~2.5m which is quite significant. The show must be coming to a close soon - after 10 series that's a good time to stop.

Yeah, there's only so many times she can keep pouring it down the sink before giving in to temptation when something REALLY serious happens. I expect she's going to go off the rails again if Simon gets his way and ultimately she doesn't get the Headship. It would probably make for an excellent storyline, and something to live up to the high standards that 8.14 set (I mean, that episode where she had a breakdown in the medical room and turned on Audrey was unbelievably beautiful acting - she needs to stay for as long as possible because she's keeping the show running, IMO).

 

I suppose the only audience that the show is going to attract now is hardcore fans who have stuck with it since the beginning, but even then along the way I think they've lost some of them because of the piss poor storylines, or the acting that isn't exactly up to scratch, or the constant removal of characters that have been there since the very beginning. It's all good for the cast to say that they like the dynamic of the show and that it is ever-changing, but it just seems as though the writers can't be bothered putting the time in any more to make space for storylines concerning the most important characters who have been there since the first day we saw the school and who are essentially what the show is about. They're not going to make any more characters that the audiences can fully relate to or begin to love, I don't think, so I do think that with that and the continual decline in viewing figures the show will end soon. They're bound to know that the move to Scotland would ruffle a few feathers, probably more-so than they expected.

Yeah, there's only so many times she can keep pouring it down the sink before giving in to temptation when something REALLY serious happens. I expect she's going to go off the rails again if Simon gets his way and ultimately she doesn't get the Headship. It would probably make for an excellent storyline, and something to live up to the high standards that 8.14 set (I mean, that episode where she had a breakdown in the medical room and turned on Audrey was unbelievably beautiful acting - she needs to stay for as long as possible because she's keeping the show running, IMO).

 

I suppose the only audience that the show is going to attract now is hardcore fans who have stuck with it since the beginning, but even then along the way I think they've lost some of them because of the piss poor storylines, or the acting that isn't exactly up to scratch, or the constant removal of characters that have been there since the very beginning. It's all good for the cast to say that they like the dynamic of the show and that it is ever-changing, but it just seems as though the writers can't be bothered putting the time in any more to make space for storylines concerning the most important characters who have been there since the first day we saw the school and who are essentially what the show is about. They're not going to make any more characters that the audiences can fully relate to or begin to love, I don't think, so I do think that with that and the continual decline in viewing figures the show will end soon. They're bound to know that the move to Scotland would ruffle a few feathers, probably more-so than they expected.

 

I agree that Laurie Brett's brilliance is keeping the show afloat. Without her, it would be dead in the water!

 

I only continue to watch it in the hope that it will return to Series 1-3 amazingness. Clearly not!

Yay! I'm glad I've found a decent forum to post about Waterloo Road :)

 

I just needed to vent somewhere about how bad the last couple of series have been. I originally started watching in mid-2009 halfway through Rachel Mason's days as head and I instantly fell in love with it. The acting was great, interesting storylines, great characters (Rachel, Steph, Grantly, Tom, Ruby etc.) and I've stuck with it since. I'm also currently catching up on Series 1-3 and I'm halfway through watching Series 2.

 

I'm just so sad that the show is now a parody of its former self. What on earth has happend? How did it go from being a brilliant, gripping drama that was must-watch TV to something little better than a children's TV show? It's crazy. I agree that it lost its heart when it moved to Scotland, but Series 6 and 7 weren't exactly great so I don't think it was just that. There just no real soul to the show now, it's become very formulaic, with shallow characters, badly thought out storylines, lack of continuation, suspension of disbelief.

 

Watching Series 2 on DVD whilst also watching Series 9 on a Thursday has just made it so clear to me just how far the show has fallen. I'm not saying it's all bad, there have been good moments from this series - Heather Peace is brilliant, I like Laurie Brett's characters, Audrey is funny and I'm quite liking Angus Deayton. But, as a whole, it does need to be put out of its misery. To think that now all the Rochdale characters are gone apart from Maggie and Harley.

 

They should never have done series with 30 episodes, it just watered down the quality completely. Series 1 worked great with just 10 episodes. With dramas it's all about quality, not quantity. I'm excited to watch Series 3 though as most people say it's the best of the lot! Each time I watch old episodes though it makes me sad that the show couldn't sustain that level of quality.

I agree with almost everything you've said there. I do think that by having 30 episodes a series they find it extremely difficult to maintain storylines and keep them going throughout the series, but even back in Series 3-6, they struggled to maintain characters and what had happened to them and if they were there with even just 20 episodes. They really should have stuck with an 8 or 12 episode format following from Series 2, although saying that if that had happened we probably wouldn't have got some of the amazing and beautiful episodes we have now.

 

The show was so much more mature and treated its audience with respect in its early days (namely Series 1-4) - it was a proper drama about proper people with properly gripping storylines, but they seem to have changed the whole ideology of the show and now target it at children just because of its educational nature. All of the violent and gripping scenes have been cut or watered down which is just terrible, and they tend to focus less on the serious issues themselves, go around them in a delicate way instead of tackling them head-on and have other stories running alongside it so that it doesn't take the episode's central focus either. I mean, Series 1 we had real life situations with Tom/Izzy/Lorna, we had Chlo and Donte's love for each other causing a whole load of trouble, we had Janeece doing all of the crazy things she was doing, we had the school close to closure, we had Jack and Steph at it like rabbits, Andrew trying to control Donte, etc - there was so much going on and they actually managed to pull it of in the way that they should be now, but it just... doesn't happen now.

The stories that will stick with the viewers who have watched since the start will probably be all of the Series 1-5 finales, and episodes in-between. Even Series 6 and 7 weren't that bad (the series' weren't as enjoyable as previous ones, but they did actually deal with a few mature storylines, e.g. Bex's disappearance, Sam's cancer, etc), but since the move to Scotland the storylines have just become such chores for the writers. I suppose as well though that's probably down to Maureen Chadwick leaving who was one of the original writers between herself and Ann McManus. Ann's still there, but Liz Lake has taken Maureen's place - it's quite obvious that together Ann and Liz just... can't think of the same compelling drama that she and Maureen once did. The show needs to end, soon.

Edited October 20, 201311 yr by Calum Sandé

Welcome to forum Simon! :D

 

Couldn't agree more with what you've said there. The amount of episodes in each series is definitely an issue - I think 20 is just right, whilst 30 just drags it on too long, especially since the show is struggling for storylines as it is.

 

You'll definitely enjoy series 3. I in fact just finished revisiting that series a couple of weeks back. There's several highlight episodes but I won't spoilt it for you!

Thanks Calum and thanks Liam! It's great to have somewhere to chat about this show :)

 

I was wondering about Maureen Chadwick and Ann McManus, Calum - I see they wrote a lot of the Series 1 episodes together, but after that it seems that there were a lot of guest writers for each episode. I wonder if that's at the root of the show's problems? Does Ann McManus still write for the show then? It makes sense that different writers will take a different spin on characters and storylines, hence why now there seems such discrepancies between episodes. For instance, Rhiannon goes from being kind and friendly to suddenly being a bully? Christine, as good a character as she is, also varies considerably episode to episode! She seems to have calmed down a bit now, though, but there is a certain 'where do we go with her now?' question mark hanging over her character.

 

I also forgot to say that I'm really liking Dynasty as a character, there's a lot of potential there for her to grow and develop.

 

And I definitely agree with you about the strength of the Tom/Izzy/Lorna storyline - it's great. And Steph/Maxine and Kim/Andrew in Series 2. Contrast these storylines with the ones we have now and it's worlds apart!

 

That's great Liam - I can't wait to start watching! I'm trying to go through the episodes slowly so I don't watch them all in one week (which I easily could!)

Edited October 20, 201311 yr by simonc13

Thanks Calum and thanks Liam! It's great to have somewhere to chat about this show :)

 

I was wondering about Maureen Chadwick and Ann McManus, Calum - I see they wrote a lot of the Series 1 episodes together, but after that it seems that there were a lot of guest writers for each episode. I wonder if that's at the root of the show's problems? Does Ann McManus still write for the show then? It makes sense that different writers will take a different spin on characters and storylines, hence why now there seems such discrepancies between episodes. For instance, Rhiannon goes from being kind and friendly to suddenly being a bully? Christine, as good a character as she is, also varies considerably episode to episode! She seems to have calmed down a bit now, though, but there is a certain 'where do we go with her now?' question mark hanging over her character.

 

I also forgot to say that I'm really liking Dynasty as a character, there's a lot of potential there for her to grow and develop.

 

That's great Liam - I can't wait to start watching! I'm trying to go through the episodes slowly so I don't watch them all in one week (which I easily could!)

It's great to have other people to talk to about the show, so you're very welcome! :D

 

Yeah, they did write a lot of series 1 together, and that was good because the series was all connected so strongly and all of the episodes made sense one after the other. But they did introduce guest writers as the series length continued to increase (mostly in series 3), and that's where it kind of started to fall apart in terms of how tight the storylines in each series were/are. Ann McManus does still write for the show, but she only writes the occasional episode with Liz Lake, I think - and Liz Lake also writes episodes by herself - some of the opening episodes for each series. Like you said, the sudden change from Rhiannon being the rebellious bully who was able to threaten anybody to being one of the most delicate and sensitive people there. :lol: I do agree about Christine too - it seems they don't know whether they want to come or go with her. I don't think they've decided whether they want to go back to alcoholic Christine or keep her as she is, and it's ruining the character a little, although she's still fantastic!

 

Glad you're liking Dynasty too, she's one of my favourite characters too! :wub:

That's great Liam - I can't wait to start watching! I'm trying to go through the episodes slowly so I don't watch them all in one week (which I easily could!)

Good luck with that! :lol: I watched Series 1-Series 5 Episode 10 for the first time earlier this year and I watched almost half a series each week because they were so gripping and entertaining!

Haha Liam, I'll do my best not to watch them too fast!

 

That's interesting that Ann McManus does still write for the show, Calum. It must be strange for her - it says at the start of each show that she and Maureen created it, I wonder if Ann herself has recognised how far the show she made has dropped in terms of quality? I wouldn't be surprised if the decent episodes these days are written by Ann! When did Liz replace Maureen?

 

I just think there's so many missed opportunities with the show these days, but that might be down to its relocation to Scotland. Grantly's furneral, for instance, was the perfect opportunity to bring back old favourites such as Steph and Ruby, and maybe some former pupils. Granted, they did bring back Tariq, but he was in just a handful of scenes so there really wasn't much point to that! I honestly think that if Denise Welch returned on a permanent basis then the show would be tons better. I'm not ashamed to admit that she was one of the best things about the show! She was so funny, but also had a real connection with the pupils that really came into its own especially with Maxine moving in with her (this is where I'm up to on Series 2 now). There's a chance she could return, but it's not likely now that the show has relocated.

 

I'm intrigued by Neil Pearson taking over as the new head teacher, as well. He seems like a good actor. Hopefully Christine is demoted and sticks with the show, maybe goes back on the booze and has a relapse now that she's not head anymore? Her storyline in Series 8 was probably the best one.

 

They also need to get rid of Sue and Simon! Awful characters. She is so one-dimensional it's crazy, she's like a parody of Lorna! Simon had potential, but so far he just seems creepy and try-hard.