Movin’ on down

A scene I liked in a storyline that’s not up to par. First, the scene (a two-parter): Sunita and Dev in the Rovers talking to Ashley and Claire about living on the side of the street that has, as Dev says, “outdoor loos.” (Sunita had learned from Kirk that Maria is planning to put her house up for sale.) What ensues is a discussion on whether movin’ on down or up is preferable.

Claire and Ashley have lived on both sides of the street, and know whereof they speak. Claire defends her house, that it’s not “pokey.” Ashley takes the middle of the road – yes it is “a bit” but it’s all right.

I was touched when Dev came around to the idea of living on the street by Sunita’s argument that the money saved could help put the twins through university. You could see the Dream on his face; his kids doing what perhaps he wished he had. Now, I just remembered he’s already got one kid, Amber, who has recently started university in London. Still, I guess you have dreams for all of them and, at times, those dreams can seem impossible and enticing. And with these kids, he hopes, he’ll see what he didn’t see with Amber: the childhood before university.

Plot-driving Sunita

But the storyline: it’s a plot-driven clunker. Throughout it, I’ve been embarrassed for Sunita. She is bright and level-headed, yet nothing that has come out of her mouth about this mania to move has made a lick of sense. Since the beginning, you could see the writers’ planning meetings behind it and you should not be able to see that. With Sunita back, they want to put her and Dev more in the centre of things, and that means physically closer to the Street. Ok, they’ve got some mileage out of the unsuitability of Dev’s flat. Although I don’t remember it ever being described as small before. It’s a luxury apartment, not a pokey little flat.  Even as that, it may well not be suitable for kids.

But Sunita’s arguments that the twins need stability, that their present house means nothing to them. It’s the only house they’ve known! What would have no meaning for them whatsoever is Coronation Street! They were infants when they moved into that house. And she and Dev moved into it, so it wasn’t too far from the shop before. Plus, Dev has seven shops. Why should he be closer to one than the others?

You could pick holes in Sunita’s arguments forever, but the point clearly – too clearly – has been the need to have Sunita and Dev back in the Street. Ok, but please write it in a way that keeps Sunita’s brain evident. It’s been bad enough to watch Dev, formerly Mr. Cool and Suave, turn into a buffoon, but now Sunita?

Plot-driving Jason too

Having, in the same episode, Jason fall and suffer amnesia so that he doesn’t remember that Tina has broken up with him? Everybody has to tippy-toe around to not upset him. Perhaps it was just an unfortunate coincidence of writing ideas.

But Sunita’s storyline already had me thinking too much about Days of our Lives’ writing. Please, character-driven, not plot-driven! There are other ways, more true to character, to get Dev and Sunita to buy Maria’s house. Characters movin’ on down is one thing, writing doing so quite another.

Writer’s Digest has a good article by author Alverne Ball about plot and character in writing.