Why no send-off for Nora & everyone, for that matter?

[Who Is That Then]

Why no send-off for Nora & everyone, for that matter?

Did it seem odd to anybody why there was never any mention of any of the regular characters dying or why they suddenly weren't there anymore?? When regular series characters died there was never a mention that they died, I could go thru a whole long list of regularly seen characters that just disappeared after they died without a bit of a mention.

I didn't like how they were all just ignored after death without so much as a mention or a moment of sadness for them. And this especially is true of Nora. She died and it's explained away that she moved to Austrailia!! Like this was a likely move that Nora would have made at her stage of life. They should have had a story dealing with Nora's death. Only Compo's death was dealt with, all other characters who I thought were just as important as Compo were just never talked about when they suddenly disappeared from the show. I think it would have been a decent and respectful move to have at least mentioned that the various characters had died when they died and didn't just disappear into a dark cave never to be seen or mentioned again.

 

[Pearl]

Re: Why no send-off for Nora & everyone, for that matter?

I must admit I do feel the same way, but with such an old cast it was bound to happen alot but couldn't have that many funerals in one programme other wise it would have to be called The Funeral Show.
I do how ever think that some mention of the passing would have nice.

 

[barmpot]

Re: Why no send-off for Nora & everyone, for that matter?

Most shows do not mark the passing of a charcter due to death - Compo was the exception. There were some reflections by Ivy and Norah on their late huusbands in some episodes, one Christmas special particularly comes to mind, which one escapes me for now ...

 

[C W Northrop]

Re: Why no send-off for Nora & everyone, for that matter?

Most shows do not mark the passing of a charcter due to death - Compo was the exception. There were some reflections by Ivy and Norah on their late huusbands in some episodes, one Christmas special particularly comes to mind, which one escapes me for now ...

Crums IIRC

 

[barmpot]

Re: Why no send-off for Nora & everyone, for that matter?

Thank you - how could I forget my favourite Christmas Special title?

 

[Eli Thingy]

Re: Why no send-off for Nora & everyone, for that matter?

I didn't like how they were all just ignored after death without so much as a mention or a moment of sadness for them. And this especially is true of Nora. She died and it's explained away that she moved to Austrailia!! Like this was a likely move that Nora would have made at her stage of life. They should have had a story dealing with Nora's death.

don't forget Kathy left because she was unwell, at the time she hadnt died so its not really fair to kill her off before the actress has died

 

[barmpot]

Re: Why no send-off for Nora & everyone, for that matter?

She went to Australia when Kathy Staff reprised her Crossorads role as Doris Luke, so was absent fro a season but then returned if I recall the sequence correctly ....

 

[Eli Thingy]

Re: Why no send-off for Nora & everyone, for that matter?

She went to Australia when Kathy Staff reprised her Crossorads role as Doris Luke, so was absent fro a season but then returned if I recall the sequence correctly ....

she didnt leave to go back into crossroads, she left because she thought it was too different without Bill, i read somewhere it was just coincidental that she left LOTSW and a few days later she was annouced to go back to playing Doris Luke, altho i must admit i have no idea why she returned

 

[wstol]

Re: Why no send-off for Nora & everyone, for that matter?

When she left the series in the early 2000s, there were several nicely written remarks about it from the main characters. Kathy Staff had become a bit disillusioned with the series following the death of Bill Owen. She probably wondered why they were still making it. She did, co-incidently as far as I know, then reprise her role in the revived Crossroads, which I think she found even more disillusioning as the series was very different.

It would seem she missed Last of the Summer Wine as she very hastily returned for the next series. I don't think her return was mentioned in the series again.

Kathy Staff was too unwell to appear in Series 30. Her character returned to Australia. She died between the making of Series 30 and 31 I THINK. It's not Roy Clarke's style to make much of a fuss about the departure of a character who is not one of the main trio.

Series 31 was a short series, perhaps all the episodes had already be written so a suitable tribute was not included. I suppose some form of Nora Batty tribute episode would have been a reasonable idea for the final episode though.

 

[manfromoswestry]

Re: Why no send-off for Nora & everyone, for that matter?

I guess it was easier for Roy Clarke to say they moved away or ran off somewhere than to center an entire episode or two around a character's death. I'm reminded of Blamire's exit with a handwritten note he sent to Clegg in "The Man From Oswestry", although in real life, Michael Bates was seriously ill.

 

[happyjack]

Re: Why no send-off for Nora & everyone, for that matter?

I think Kathy was disillusioned with the Crossroads storylines which were a little bit to risque for want of a word because as we know Kathy was an active Christian all her life. Anyway for whatever reason we were all glad to have her back.

 

[wstol]

Re: Why no send-off for Nora & everyone, for that matter?

I would say that by writing Nora out in the 2008 special whilst Kathy was still alive meant there was no need to kill off the character once Kathy died shortly afterwards. This is a happy show after all.

 

[Who Is That Then]

Re: Why no send-off for Nora & everyone, for that matter?

Since, in the U.S. we don't see the "specials" I have never seen the special you say where they "wrote her out" claiming she was moving to Austraila. What was the name of this Special where they talked of Nora moving to Austrailia? I know she died in 2008 and the shows I've seen in one season she's living there, the next season suddenly a red haired lady is there who's supposed to be her cousin or something. While they mentioned Nora moved there was not much talk about it. If there was a Special where they made more a big a deal of Nora moving, I've never seen it.

 

[barmpot]

Re: Why no send-off for Nora & everyone, for that matter?

The lack of showing of specials used to be a problem in the UK in the early 1990s: they would show the series but not the special. I think that was still the mentality when the first DVD was released, hence no pilot ...

 

[wstol]

Re: Why no send-off for Nora & everyone, for that matter?

Since, in the U.S. we don't see the "specials" I have never seen the special you say where they "wrote her out" claiming she was moving to Austraila. What was the name of this Special where they talked of Nora moving to Austrailia? I know she died in 2008 and the shows I've seen in one season she's living there, the next season suddenly a red haired lady is there who's supposed to be her cousin or something. While they mentioned Nora moved there was not much talk about it. If there was a Special where they made more a big a deal of Nora moving, I've never seen it.

The special which explained Nora's departure for the second time to Australia was I was a Hitman for Primrose Dairies. It's worth noting as long ago as 1977 Nora's BROTHER was living in Australia. Later we discover her sister lives there.

 

[Who Is That Then]

Re: Why no send-off for Nora & everyone, for that matter?

Thank you, wstol. That explains it then, I've never seen that one because it is one of the dreaded "specials" that the U.S. stations never play. I suppose the deal PBS made with BBC was for the entire series except for all the specials, why, I have no idea. Maybe it's because the specials are usually longer than a 1/2 hour and wouldn't fit into the daily schedule. At any rate, the only way I can see these specials is to wait for the commercial DVD release, at least the US releases are now starting to carry the specials along with the regular series (the commercial discs used to skip the specials too).
Thanks Again.