Vera's Era

So Vera's dead. And while it is All Very Sad, is it really the end of an era? Vera's era ended a few years back when she and Jack were virtually squeezed out of Corrie, relegated to the odd scene in the Rovers or being used to further plots involving Tyrone, Molly or the oaken Paul. This was of course necessary, Liz Dawn hasn't been well for a while, but it means that all those classic Jack and Vera moments are such a distant blur in the memory. Younger viewers will have no idea why Vera's passing is such a momentous occasion.

And there are so many brilliant Jack and Vera nuggets, it's a shame more weren't used in their final episode together. It was no secret that Vera was going to die, so why not make it a self-indulgent love-in for one of TV's greatest comedy creations? A two-hander between the two characters would have been lovely, interspersed with classic clips as the couple reminisced about their time on the Street. Instead, the poignant passing away was buried amongst Janice's naughty knicker night and the extremely slow-burning swapped-at-birth storyline.

It is sad to be saying tara to Vera for ever - but her spirit lives on in the likes of Molly and Fiz. Hopefully she's gone to work at Mike Baldwin's big factory up in the sky, giving him grief and enjoying a nice cuppa with crazy old Ivy Tisley.

Mints. Fork. Brilliant.

Moving Wallpaper is brilliant. It really is. Even if the joke about Casualty in episode two was the only gag in the series, I'd still love it. Only problem is, will a non-obsessive, casual TV viewer get it? Fingers crossed as this is just what ITV should be doing (and shunting Moving Wallpaper off ITV2 onto the main channel in a big slot is a big move). Here are five reasons you should love it too:

1. The cast are all great, especially Ben 'Not Stiller' Miller who does slimy, pompous and poignant all at the same time (a feat only previously achieved by more former boss). What's more - it doesn't rely on cameos from the Echo Beach stars.

2. Susie Amy. Footie Wives' Chardonnay plays herself, kind of, accept it's a version of herself who'll do anything to get a bigger role in the soap. The only character to straddle Moving Wallpaper and Echo Beach, Susie's ascent from bit-player to all-out star is hilarious and, one can only assume, probably refers to at least one former soap star.

3. Not only does it make fun of Echo Beach, soaps and TV in general, it somehow manages to continually have a dig at itself. As the spiel about wanting to attract an audience of 'twentysomething females who work in the media' in episode makes clear.

4. It just proves that focus groups, middle management and ego-crazed executives can't make good television (sadly Echo Beach is a bit lame, though I can't work out whether that's intentional or not).

5. The Casualty sketch. Mints. Fork. Brilliant.

'Certainly not as daring as the flesh-flashing trailers implied'

What to make of Mistresses, BBC1’s stab at a new Sex & the City/Desperate Housewives/Cutting It drama? Well, as you’d expect from anything starring Sarah Parish and Sharon Small, the cast are all great (apart from the guy from Spooks who still can’t persuade his voice to convey emotion) and gel perfectly, instantly becoming their new characters despite being known for a million other shows. It’s the cast that might well keep people watching this piece of fluffy hokum, as the storylines aren't particularly inventive.

IVF, office romances, lesbian flings – we’ve been here before in most female-skewed series. The Sarah Parish euthanasia plot could prove interesting, if only the character wasn’t the dumbest doctor to ever grace our screens and every twist and turn wasn’t signposted thirty minutes in advance. And Sharon Small’s 9/11 widow story also proves different, though we really need something totally unexpected to happen with it – rather than the obvious Patrick Baladi being a fraudster angle which was heavily implied last night.

Mistresses’ main fault is that it's just so middle of the road. It should have been racy, like Sex & the City. Funny, like Desperate Housewives. Or all-out melodrama like Cutting It. In fact, it was just an enjoyable-but-non-essential amalgamation of all three, coupled with quite possibly the worst incidental music heard outside Heartbeat. Hopefully things will pick up, but Mistresses felt dated and certainly not as daring as the flesh-baring trailers implied. Give us large dollops of titillating sex, laugh-out-loud humour and gut-wrenching melodrama and we’d be happy.

'Heather Trott Should Be Made Queen'

So Emmerdale and EastEnders went head-to-head last night for the first of their Tuesday-night tussles, and in terms of viewers Emmerdale edged ahead. But the victory was hardly resounding. It was a pretty good episode too, with a moving performance from Roxanne Pallett (who’s turned into quite a good little actress) with a genuine shock when Andy was sent to prison. But can the writers come up with great stories to drag out for an hour each week?

Emmerdale has a gift for keeping plot twists secret that EastEnders could learn a lot from. And while in terms of plot, last night’s Enders was a repetitive as ever, there are real signs that it’s on the road to recovery. The new characters are all pretty good: Shirley rocks, Jack and Ronnie have a good Moonlighting thing going on, crazy Rainie’s back and Heather Trott should be made queen. But the storylines are just so repetitive – affairs with your partner’s relatives, deaths that someone else is the Square is responsible for, a vengeful long-lost son plot ripped straight off Neighbours, anything to do with that rubbish car lot.

EastEnders looks great while Emmerdale’s feeling a little tired. Though the Yorkshire soap has more heart, better writing and the ability to surprise, it is in risk of getting a little stale. Hopefully the new producer will be willing to take a few risks and axe some of the cast to make way for a fresh new family. A spring clean is needed if Emmerdale is going to keep winning its war with the Square.