Should Alzheimer's Be Used As Cheap Entertainment & for Ratings by TV Soap?

Date: Saturday 21 May 2005

Coronation Street is the world's longest running TV Show and it is also the UK's most watched programme. However while it remains still very popular in the UK, over the last 5 years its audience like many other TV shows is dwindling in this digital age (for e.g. in 2,000 it enjoyed audiences of 17-19 million, now it is more like 8-12 million). As a result gone are the days of the character driven stories it was loved and admired for - the subtle humour and occasional high drama are almost a thing of the past. Now in the main it is issue driven stories that are designed to shock and grab the headlines and give it 15 minutes of fame rather than be articulate and well thought out.

The latest sensational story rumoured is for a long-term character to get Alzheimer's Disease. Reading the views of others and considering my own thoughts, I strongly feel a TV show like Coronation Street cannot cover this story adequately, responsibly, sensitively, informatively and at the same time be entertainment to the masses. If they do embark on such a story they will have to gloss over many of the aspects of this terrible illness. If any story has to be glossed over in the telling then what is the purpose of it being told in the first place?

Please visithttp://www.alz.org/AboutAD/Stages.asp for an indication of what Coronation Street should be covering if they want to tackle this story properly. You should especially read this site if you think watching Alzheimer's unfold is going to be a lot of fun.

There are pros to a popular drama such as this covering Alzheimer's disease. It means it can get some publicity and bring awareness to the general public at large. However there are also many cons. A show like Coronation Street that goes out in a family slot at 7:30pm at night cannot hope to cover all the ground needed to give this story justice. Furthermore in recent years Coronation Street have been criticised more than once for sloppy background research when covering stories. Even now there is still some controversy surrounding a cervical cancer storyline they carried out in 2001 regarding the death of a character called Alma Baldwin.

Johnny Briggs (who plays Mike Baldwin the character in quesiton) is supposed to be leaving the series in 2006. Alzheimer's Disease however on average lasts 3-20 years with most people dying around 8 years in.

Alzheimer's does not deserve to be used for a chance of sensationalism and quick ratings and for someone to make a quick buck at its expense. Please Coronation Street there is time to change your minds. Alzheimer's can take years to be diagnosed also people can wrongly be diagnosed with it. Many other illness and deficiencies can exhibit the early symptoms of Alzheimer's and not actually be it at all.

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THE HISTORY OF THE RUMOURS AND THE EARLY SIGNS OF THEM PLAYING OUT - BADLY!

Two months ago it was rumoured in a UK tabloid that the character of Mike Baldwin would be written out after 30 years of service. He would go into a world of madness as a result of Alzheimer's in a modern day version of King Lear (Read original article by visiting here http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/tm_objectid=15334944\%26method=full\%26siteid=50143\%26headline=corrie\%2ds\%2dmike\%2dto\%2dget\%2dalzheimer\%2ds-name_page.html). It is unclear at this stage whether he will die from it but it will be his exit story.

If you know anything about Alzheimer's disease then you already know there is a lot more involved than a case of going mad and it shouldn't be a re-enactment of Shakespeare's classic King Lear. Not only is Alzheimer's a cruel disease to the sufferer and affects everyone differently, it is also a tragedy to the silent victims - the family and loved ones! In whatever way it affects the sufferer, in the end there can only be one outcome - death!

Two weeks ago the first indications that Coronation Street might seriously be considering Alzheimer's Disease as a story began to play out on screen. Mike Baldwin's personality changed over night, he became considerate and asked a woman to move in with him and proposed. The woman in question up to this point had always bored him, she did all the chasing and he treated her appallingly - even on occasion trying to get rid of her from his life. In the last week Mike has started to lose his memory. Alzheimer's does not take genuanely take affect so fast and be so obvious?

Whoever thought up this idea disgusts me. How can the current producer sanction this with a clear conscience?