New Year, New Directions?

It's the beginning of a new year. After the tram crash in December and all the secrets that got blown out of the closet on Corrie, it seems the Powers That Be (TPTB) are planning to shake things up considerably on the Street. Is that a bad thing? Some people are already grumbling about some things, especially about the return of Tracy Barlow and other impending spoilers, if they're true at all.

I'm not happy about the return of Miss Thing, either, mainly because I'm just not that fond of the actress and her style of acting. My fiance says he's finding her funny, like a pantomime villain but I don't think Corrie should have a full out panto type villain really. It's too over the top and grating. Tracy Barlow is like a steamroller, unrelenting and very one dimensional. However, there's a light at the end of the tunnel with recent reports that Kate Ford, who I'm sure is a lovely person, is finding it difficult to be away from her baby and will not renew her 6 month contract. With Tracy facing a retrial, I'm guessing that will send her back to the nick. Or she'll be killed off. It's possible. She's pissed off a lot of people and she's only been back a week!

So. New directions. I'd like to see them explore Gary's post traumatic stress a bit more. I don't want it to be a one off where he has a crisis and then it's over and all done and dusted. Show the ongoing effects even if he is getting help for his anxiety. It's such a relevant story and lots of families are affected in similar ways. I would also like to see a continuing relationship with Izzy but i fear his problems will end up splitting them up in spite of her trying to be supportive. Too bad, I liked them as a couple. Unfortunately, Eddie is leaving the show and I fear that doesn't bode well for the rest of the family. That's too bad, too. I've grown to like all three Windasses.

Kylie is returning so there will be more angst over little Max. I think, in a way, I'd rather see Max returned to his mother and the pair of them leave the Street because otherwise this is going to be a long, drawn out and very irritating tug of war. I do like Kylie. Well i don't, but i like the actress and hopefully if she's returning, they'll flesh her out a bit more and we'll see other sides of her.

I would like to see the whole Stape-gate sorted out even if it means John goes to jail. How can he not? I really hate that he keeps getting away with all this. Now he's crossed the line and deliberately killed someone. There were no witnesses so even if he tries to say it was self defence, it won't fly. Charlotte was running away from him when he clocked her in the back of the head. It wasn't pre meditated, but certainly a second degree or manslaughter type charge. He should also do jail time for hiding Colin's body and that has to come out at some point, too.

Some people have found this storyline going on too long. I haven't found that. Though I don't like Stape, I do like Fiz and I do like Graeme Hawley, the actor who plays John. The twists and turns have kept me entertained even if i've also despaired of John ever getting caught. It has to end sometime though. It's Soap Law. He's done wrong and must be made to face justice. He's dragging Fiz down and she needs to wash her hands of him and move on. Fiz is better off without him, I've always said that. She's a mother now and no matter how much she may think that child needs a father, she doesn't need one that puts his own needs first. Hope is Fiz's future but her future with a father like John may not be too rosy.

I'd like to see Maria in a new storyline but i fear it's going to be with that Chris and he's a violent man. That means she's going to experience some of that too but even she seems to have enough backbone to find the courage to get out of it. She stood up to Charlie Stubbs when she realized he was  controlling her and violent towards David. She stood her ground with Tony once she knew what he was about, as well. We'll see where this one goes.

The Peter/Leanne/Nick triangle isn't finished by a long chalk. Not sure i'm happy about it but it's pretty typical soap stuff. The Webster/Dobbs debacle is going to play out for awhile. I really hope Kevin and Sally don't get back together but I fear they may in the end. They shouldn't. No matter how many affairs each of them have had in the past, this one really does seem to have been the straw that broke the back of the marraige. Sally's cancer may have made Kevin realize what was important in the end but he *was* ready to leave on Christmas Day and there *was* a baby involved and he *did* not only betray his family but his best friend. If i was Sally, I wouldn't have him back under any circumstances.

And what of Tyrone? He has nothing left but an empty house and a partnership in a business which is pretty shaky at the moment. It just doesn't make sense that he could continue on working with Kevin.

Just an aside, having said that, I can't get over how the garage and Underworld had no damage whatsoever after the tram took out the Kabin and flats. Not a crack or a broken window. The garage especially should have had at least some structural damage to the back of it. And how come nobody has made any mention about the Kabin flat that Jason and Tina still own? I hope they had insurance but there's been no mention of that either, in amidst talk of Rita losing her home and Graeme and Tina being rehoused in Dev's Victoria Court flat.

I'd like to see Steve and Becky settle down without all these crises but I don't think that will ever happen. She's even more of a loose cannon than Karen was and if the actress doesn't renew her contract, the marraige is going to explode again and just not recover. It's too bad that Steve seems to be most attracted to women like that because it will never work out for him. I'd like to see Liz leave on a happy note, with Jim. Apparently the actress will be back for her exit storyline, not just stay in Spain with Andy where she is now.

I'd like to see Eileen finally find a nice guy. She had one once, with Dennis but he preferred Janice and then he died. I don't think this is going to be her  year, though, because she's been stealing from Owen and when he finally finds out, he's going to be very pissed and given his temper, she'll be in jail before she can say ATM.

I'd like to see Gail take the blinders off where it comes to her golden boy sons. Even though she knows what David can be like, she finds excuses and Nick? The sun shines out of his ass and we all know he's a slimy bastard. She needs to get real and practice some tough love, chuck them all out of the  house and put her feet up and relax. I think she should give a new man a miss though. She doesn't seem to have the ability to pick 'em and they all die on her (except for Martin who escaped).

I'd like to see Roy and Hayley with a new storyline and apparently Roy's mother is joining the show. I fear that might be a replacement for Blanche so expect a battleaxe with lots of blunt lines. While that's not a bad thing, and the actress is an excellent one, I hope they explore the relationship between Roy and his mother and their past history in more detail.

This year on Coronation Street will unfold and we won't like all the stories and characters. We may despair the direction the new production team is taking the show in but overall, we always know that Corrie still has that little something that no other show has. Storylines and characters come and go. I don't think it's hitting a low point, even if the going feels a bit rocky lately, but if you do, don't worry, this too shall pass. Corrie has a long way to go yet.