State of the Street - September 2009

Yay! Becky's off the hook thanks to 007.5, Lloyd! He found Slug and they all managed to convince him to tell the truth. I hope Liz gets to eat a very large portion of crow now she's been proven wrong. Everyone else, too, but Liz was the most vocal. She was the one that put the knife in over and over and made Becky decide to do a runner. Luckily, Steve caught her in time and talked her down. Beautiful little scene with Becky explaining things to Amy. It was odd after all that venom that Liz seemed to do an abrupt about face and now seems to think the world of Becky. Maybe it was because of the way Becky was with Amy that morning? I expect we won't see much of Steve and Becky now for a bit, with Carla back on the cobbles and the Tony storyline ramping up.

Next was Hooch letting Becky off. His explanation to Steve really was rather lame. It almost sounded like he was letting Steve off because Becky was bad news and she'd drag Steve down with her anyway. He really did have her bang to rights and could have decimated Slug on the witness stand but maybe his reputation within the department was still just a little too shaky to withstand the accusations anyway? They would be aware that he'sgot it in for Becky, after all. They wrapped that up a bit too quickly and too off-screen for my taste.

Claire and Ashley spent a few days sniping. Or rather, Claire did the sniping and Ashley spent it sucking up and then she cut off the rumpeh pumpeh. She can be a right cow, can't she? He's a coward. That's all it was, the only reason he didn't go through with the op. No second thoughts, no thinking of the future, not really. Claire had no business airing their dirty laundry in front of their neighbours at the dinner party. Yes, i know, she's terrified of being pregnant and has had enough of hospitals but if she's that adamant, an out patient surgery for her is always an option.

Kevin. Molly. Bleurgh. Are we going to have to go through months of them almost getting caught? I want Tyrone to find out and throw her out on her runner's buns. I don't want Sally to find out because Sally will be insufferable no matter how much Kevin deserves to pay. Oh wait, yes i do want Sally to find out so that Kevin can throw her affairs back at her! Molly is certainly coming over all pushy and demanding of Kevin's time, too, right off the post! That attitude is going to land her in it well and truly.

Maria and Tony were keeping an awfully low profile. Amber had the shortest university career on record. I love that Eileen has another new storyline. The business with her father was great, showcasing Sue Cleaver's dramatic talent and Jesse and the bird are showcasing her comedic talent. I also love the relationship between Blanche and Peter. Peter's having a few problems though. Dead rabbits and egg on his face, quite literally.

Some really funny stuff this month too. Technically Blanche's fortune telling was the last day of August but it was just too funny not to mention. The HiyaLowa auditions were really funny too, with the bird skwawking, and Sean and Eileen peeing themselves laughing. Incomprehensible moment of the month has to be Teresa and the tin of Spam. Does anyone know what that was about? I also laughed and cheered when Luke dumped Rosie in the pub with Sean, Janice and Kelly earwigging! Of course there was Mr. Gay Weatherfield himself, Jason Grimshaw!

Ramsay's storyline came to an end and unfortunately it leaves Emily bereft, having found love late in life yet never had the courage to tell him. Regrets. And Norris has had a few, too. It really threw him more than he realized. He pushed Ramsay away and didn't want to know but now that his brother is gone, he realizes just how much Ramsay got under his skin in the end. Lovely scene when Norris went through the trunk of Ramsay's belongings and finally admitted how he really felt. But it must have really ticked off Emily that he finally thought he should have been nicer to Ramsay which would have kept him in Weatherfield but it was too late. Ramsay's money looks to be invested in buying out Rita's share of the Kabin in yet another faster-than-light estate settling and real estate transaction. She wants to retire, or so she says but i have a feeling she's going to be behind that counter like Betty is behind the bar, till the end of her days. She'll sell up but I figure she'll be back part time.

Poor Simon lost his rabbit and Peter knows it's more about his mother's death than the rabbit's. I would have liked to have heard Peter talk about losing his own mother at much the same age but he was really good with the little lad. Leanne's back, too, and after a rocky start, they seem to be making a go of it. Problem with Peter is he really is a compulsive liar though doesn't do it to be mean. Michelle is back too, just to throw a monkey wrench into the mix. I really think that Leanne and Peter make a very good couple if they can manage to make a go of it. And how absolutely wonderful is Blanche? She's got an over abundance of chemistry with Simon and with Peter, she's like their real Gran, a fairy grandmother. She can be caustic and mean but when it really comes down to it, she's there and she tells them what they need to hear and she's the reason Leanne decided to stay and give it another go with Peter. We'll see how it goes.

And as annoying as Rosie has been this month? Don't worry. She's going to get her comeuppance. Soon. I can hardly wait!

Norris Cole, Flavour of the Month

Now, I've made no secret of the fact that I really don't like Norris Cole however, I do think his portrayer, Malcom Hebden, is superb! Over the last few years, it seemed like The Powers That Be (TPTB) have picked an actor and have featured them in storyline after storyline, good or bad. I don't know if that's because the actor's agent or publicist was very, very good or if the producers were cashing in on the popularity of the character or trying to make the character popular to bring in the punters. Perhaps a combination of all three! We've seen the characters of Michelle, Sean and Becky be spotlighted in recent days. All of them are young and likely to bring in their age group, which is what ITV wants. Bring them in young and maybe you'll keep them for life.

This year, though we have seen an awful lot of Becky, we've also seen a new trend and I like it a lot! The most recent character to receive a lot of focus is none other than Norris Cole! Think about it...competition madness leading to the storyline with Mary, then Ramsay, his long lost brother shows up. We're about to see Norris possibly become the new owner of the Kabin and ITV has announced that Mary Taylor is returning in the New Year! Two more Norris stories! For one of the more senior members of the cast to get so many front-burner storylines all in one year is unusual when you think back on Corrie over the last decade. They're lucky if they get one every few years! Yet this year, not only have we seen Norris in the forefront, we've also seen Ken Barlow, and Rita as well, in shiny storylines of their very own. You might say, "What about Emily?" She, too has had a good storyline but that's been part of Norris' which was the main focus of the long lost brother.
And that's the other good thing about featuring Norris. It also brings in other senior members into the forefront and that's never a bad thing *and* it's about flaming time! The older members of the cast have so much experience and so much talent and the younger actors can learn a lot from them.

Usually, when a storyline centres on an older person, they have their storyline and that's it for the rest of the year (or two!) and that seems to be the case with Ken Barlow and probably Jack Duckworth now he's going to be moving out of the street (while the actor is easing back on his workload). That's not going to change much but we can look forward to Blanche having a possible romance in the near future. That makes four romances in one year for four senior cast members! (Ken, Rita, Emily and now Blanche) That's got to be a first!

As much as Norris annoys the pants off me and gets right up my nose, I applaud Granada for bringing some focus back on the older generation. I get tired of seeing the under 30s all the time. One can only take so much of Rosie screeching and prancing and showing her cleavage all over the place. It gets tiresome to see David scowling and grimacing and skulking in corners. If I see Michelle flouncing around and sticking her new chest into scenes continually, i'm going to heave. Don't even get me started on all the fake tans and big shiny hoop earrings and pushup bras...and that's just Liz McDonald! ;) Just kidding, i love Liz!

Yes, we see a lot of Steve and Becky but I still love them. Always will like Gail Platt storylines because Helen Worth is an absolute star and I adore watching Sally's nose get higher and higher into the air.

That's beside the point, though. It seems like Norris Cole is this year's Corrie "Flavour of the Month" and that's actually not a bad thing on the whole.