State of the Street - September 2011

September was a bit grim wasn't it? Car crashes, Rapes, Bickering.

More drama for Leanne and Stella. This might be the turning point, the accident. Leanne even turned to Stella after a row with Peter over Carla. Leanne and Stella and Eva will be one big happy family soon I suppose. Well, maybe not Eva and Leanne. I think that's going to be a rockier road.

Meanwhile, Frank and Carla's relationship blew out of the water. Frank can hold it over Carla that he took the blame for her dring driving and that relationship went from bad to worse, ending in the rape. Nobody likes to see that sort of storyline. It was tough watching when it was Toyah and it's tough watching now. Because she can't have Peter, Carla took on Frank and then dumped him almost minutes before their wedding. Well, with anyone else, that would have been the smart choice. Back out before it's too late. But control freak Frank didn't take it very well truly believing she was having an affair with Peter and Carla got the worst of it. What is it with her and controlling blokes?

A bit more about this over on this blog post. The more i watch of this, the more i'm very impressed with all the performances and how it was written. Will Peter and Leanne fall apart over his defence of Carla? It looks like it at this point and I can see how she'd be suspicious. You need to trust your husband but he's sure putting out a lot of wrong signals and she knows how Carla feels about him. Frank hissing poison in her ear, too, is adding to the problem. What could really break them up is Peter getting pissed that Leanne won't trust him. Frank is pathological, isn't he? That could be his undoing.

Of course it's another round of Becky, Steve and Tracy. I don't know if i can stand it! Tracy gloating. Becky glaring. Steve looking gormless. How can he stay upright without a spine? I suppose he's got lots of practice. As much as i like Katherine Kelly, this storyline is getting dull. We know she's leaving so wouldn't it have been better to cut and run now rather than drag it out? They'll probably put Steve and Tracy together which is absolutely awful but what else could they do? There's nobody left to put him with and there are children involved. She's not going to soften, not really, she's only pretending so she can get her claws into him. He's going to be saddled with yet another loose cannon woman and will wonder why it all went so spectactularly wrong. Let's just hope he's not wondering it after that blunt instrument comes out of the closet.

I like Kirsty and i think she's probably quite good for Tyrone but she has an awful lot of hair! Would a police officer really have that much hair? And why did they have to hire a Cheryl clone? Though I have to say, I like Kirsty. She's feisty and strong and probably very good for Tyrone. Will it last? Who knows. It's Tyrone's first foray out of the gate since Molly.

Meanwhile, Tina and Kirsty are at loggerheads over car parking mishaps and Tina's being a real cow, as per usual. I used to like her but she's getting up my nose now. She's not very pleasant most of the time. I do think Kirsty wouldn't block someone in even if she thought it was Tina's car. She's a police officer after all so it made no sense that she wouldn't have noticed Rita's car there. All these accusations Tina keeps making, I hope Kirsty arrests her for slander! That would teach the opinionated little madam. And if Tyrone is going to be Kirsty's boyfriend, Tina isn't going to have a home very much longer if she keeps this up.

Two storylines started the month, then dropped suddently out of sight.

Once the Keystone Cops kidnapped the drug dealer and Norris managed to get him jailed, Fiz was free to release her inner Cilla and I guess isn't having any more bother since she's not been mentioned or seen. I am looking forward to having this all over with and Fiz coming home. She's innocent and will be set free at some point. I'm not going to spoil how it comes out if you don't already know but it will finally be time for Fiz to look to a new future with her baby.

One visit with Max and we've not seen barely hide nor fingernails of David and Kylie aside from the brief mobile nail pimping in the pub once, I think. You didn't really think David and Kylie would move out, did you? Not when the welfare of wee Maxie was at stake and after all, Gail would brick them in the house rather that let another one of her precious little boys leave the nest! I don't know why the Social Worker was worried about all that change for Max. Coming back to his mother and another new home etc, what's the difference which new home it is? Gail's or a new flat? I'm sure we'll get back to this, in fact, I'm predicting that will be one of the Christmas Storylines, Max coming "home" to his mum.

It's Grim up North

You don't see Carla crack very often but ripping at clothes and sobbing in Maria's arms this week, the poor woman was in bits. I know the rape storyline was controversial but I think it's been done really well, with a lot of realism and sensitivity. It's made for a fairly dark week on Corrie but I don't think it's been over the top, either. Coronation Street does drama very well and in spite of all the loud and obnoxious headlines you see in the tabloids when the spoilers first come out, the storylines are usually always handled with a much more even hand.

We didn't have to see the actual event to know what happened. We saw the aftermath, the police and doctors and questioning. We saw Frank released pending further inquiries. And we saw Frank push Peter into an assault that would further back up his own claims that Carla and Peter were having an affair and setting him up for this charge. Frank really does believe that Carla and Peter have and are continuing to have an affair, I think, but using that as an excuse to say they were setting him up for a fall is just him justifying his actions, I believe.

Frank was so creepy! He almost immediately had himself convinced he'd done nothing wrong yet you could still see flickers of doubt cross his mind now and then. Down deep he knows what he's done but he's not going to admit it, even to himself. He is determined to take his revenge, mainly on Peter so far. He whispered to Peter that Carla had "it" coming, he then hissed that Carla liked it rough so that's what he gave her, and he got what he wanted. Peter blew his stack and got arrested for laying a beating on Frank.

Meanwhile, Carla has made amends with Maria, the only person that really knows what Frank can be like. Her newly patched up friendship with Leanne is probably not going to stick together, not with accusations and suspicions still very much forefront in Leanne's mind. It's pretty hard to believe in Peter when you know Carla wanted and probably still does want Peter and his actions seem to be a bit more than necessary for a mere mate. Even if Leanne believes that Peter hasn't actually had sex with Carla, she'd be stupid to think he doesn't have feelings for her.  Peter and Leanne's marriage had a big crack in it when he found out about her affair Nick and it's been in a fragile state ever since. Could this break it irreparably?

It seems like Peter does have some feelings for Carla even though I truly believe he does love Leanne and his little family. I think he is attracted to Carla and maybe even loves her a bit. Infatuated, perhaps. It's a very strong pull. Leanne really is his true love but if he can't get Carla out of his head, it's going to go pear shaped and fast. I really hate to see he and Leanne break up because they really are good for each other but on soaps, there can't be a happy relationship for long.

The performances have also been riveting, I think. All four of the actors are really giving it their all. I'm sure it must have been a huge challenge to do. Carla isn't really one of my favourite characters but I have grown to like her over the years. Peter and Leanne are two of my favourites and I always enjoy their storylines. I hope they really show all of the bumps and struggles Carla is going to have getting over this, between the rape itself,  the trial and dealing with Frank (and his harridan mother).

"Confident Carla" is going to take a real knock back and we should see how she manages to get back on her feet again. Will we see the same old Carla after awhile? The one with the brittle shell? Or will she finally reach out and take the support offered and accept new friendships so she won't be so isolated. Having Maria on her side is a good first step.

Over the next weeks we'll see if Frank is actually charged and if he is, I expect we'll see a trial. Maybe Carla will manage to stitch him up or trick him into a mistake that will help her case. He did rape her. He can't get away with it. It's a soap law! But it's not over by a long shot.

Who should Peter choose?

This sort-of triangle has been brewing and bubbling under the surface for a year. Every now and then it breaks the seal and bubbles over. It started off last year around this time when Leanne was busy getting ready to open the Joinery with Nick and Carla's drinking was getting out of hand. Peter was helping and supporting her but in secret, because she didn't want anyone to know. We could see Carla developing feelings for Peter, whether that was a false dependency or not, it was hard to say.

She even made a pass at him, just weeks before he was due to marry Leanne but he gently rejected her. She used her knowlege of Nick and Leanne's affair to try to drive a wedge between them and it's because of her that Nick and Peter were in the office at the club on the night of the tram crash. She'd encouraged Nick to spill the beans to Peter and he'd taken Peter in there for a quiet word just as the explosion and crash trapped them in there.

All the dirty little secrets came out and Leanne has been resentful and defensive about Carla all year. Peter has always been awkward around Carla but has always been faithful to Leanne. Lately, Carla's feelings have simmered over again and we saw Peter and Carla in a smokin' hot kiss in the flat while Leanne was in hospital, having lost her baby. Was Peter really giving in to his inner feelings or was he feeling guilt and pain over the loss and needed someone to reach out to?

Because she can't have Peter, Carla is feeling cornered into marrying Frank, a man she doesn't love, in much the same way as she married Tony Gordon after losing Liam. Now she's got all that guilt over having run over Stella and destroyed the betting shop and she's trying desperately to get Peter to see that he loves her, not Leanne. Is this yet another reaction to knowing she's marrying someone she doesn't love? Does she truly love Peter or is it still that dependency attachment and infatuation?

That's what I believe. I think Carla became infatuated with Peter and is attracted to him but I don't think what she feels is true love. She's always hankered after men that she couldn't have and married the ones she didn't really want as compensation.

Does Peter secretly love Carla? I don't think so. I think he does care for her and I'm sure he is attracted to her but I really think his heart and soulmate is Leanne. When he tries to talk sense to Carla, it seems to me that he isn't really torn between two loves and is staying with Leanne out of a sense of duty or guilt. He loves Leanne and they are a strong couple. Sure, he messes up sometimes as does she but they're good for each other and they're there for each other and they both know it.

I think Peter would have liked to be mates with Carla if Leanne hadn't been so insecure about it, but who could blame her? She knows Carla wanted her husband and she knows Carla still does. Women know these things. Should Peter have told Leanne that Carla was still after him? Probably, but it wouldn't really have helped the situation. It would only serve to push it back into out and out war and when they've all got to live and work and drink on the same Street, it's counter-productive.

So, I think Peter should choose Leanne. There maybe Peter/Carla fans out there, though. Anyone? What's your argument if you are on that side of the fence? (and I refuse to make those silly co-joined names of the couples, k? Just sayin'!)

State of the Street - August 2011

Where last month was Barlow month, this month was Fiz month. Make sure you remember, she's got a suspended sentence on the fraud charges, that was thrown in there but the murder charges still stand. I guess they figure they could get her on that so more or less forgave the other charges that she actually admitted to. We have seen her dealing with the drugs dealer, Ruth and, having snitched, she's now terrified for her safety and that of her baby. It might be prudent to give that baby back to the Croppers now. I do wonder, though, as much as these women threaten to hurt Hope, if they actually would harm an infant. I think there's some that would be hard enough or damaged enough but overall, I don't think most women would have it in them to hurt a baby. Fiz can't be sure though.

I know a lot of people are tired of Becky but I'm not and I find it sad though inevitable that she and Steve have split. Now she has to face the prospect Max back on the street again with Kylie, Becky's worst nightmare. Meanwhile, Kylie and David are trying to modernise the salon with spa treatments that Kylie is supposedly learning in college. I think they've only just told her about them. It's good fun to watch though. Poor Kylie jumped from the frying pan into the fire with her attitude, lashing out and blackmailing Audrey. I knew from the first I would enjoy Kylie and Gail at each other's throats and I've not been proven wrong. I'm also not surprised that Kylie and David make such a really great couple. Kylie just goes from strength to strength as a character, played by the most excellent Paula Lane.

Seeing Becky bond with Hope was nice, too. The media of course screamed that Becky was going to run off with Hope when all she did was consider it but in the end only went to the park with the baby for a bit. I never thought she'd do it. You really do have to take the tabloid headlines with a grain of salt sometimes. It's a shame that there are people willing to sell storyline leaks to the tabloids and it's shameful the way the tabs try to manipulate readers.


And it looks like we'll soon see the end of the Gray family. I won't be sorry to see the three of them go. Dull, boring, pointless, just like their name. Gray. Dropped the plot of Chris's domestic violence though when he first came on the scene, Cheryl did say it only really started when he was unemployed and feeling very down on himself. I suppose you could use that to get round the apparent turnabout. Now he's grappling with a brain tumour. Heavy stuff and really, the actor isn't a bad one. But the problem is he's acting circles around the one that plays Cheryl. So the Gray family will be leaving and Lloyd is going to be stuck living with that awful bright pink sofa and that tatty pink flowered wallpaper! No wonder he'll be hiding out for awhile (in real life, the actor will be off for a bit filming a new series of Red Dwarf)

Frank is another character I don't really care about. I don't imagine he's in it for the long haul and he's being set up as a villain but having him pant after Carla like a puppy in heat is unworthy. No complaints about the actor, he's fine. But villains need to have a bit more about them and I just don't buy it. He doesn't have that edge like Tony did or even Richard Hillman. And for a smart (supposedly) man, he's pretty stupid. He proposes, in the middle of the pub which is pretty much tradition on Coronation Street, and when she turns him down, he figures she's still in love with Peter. Which she is. But when cornered, she says she'll marry him and he goes all gooey eyed.


Marc decided to come out on, coincidentally, Manchester Pride weekend. Sounds like calculated timing on the part of the Powers that Be. It was a brave move but unfortunately, everyone's including Audrey's reactions are more often the usual. At least, though there were a few jokes made at Marcia's and Audrey's expense, they weren't really mean spirited. Stella showed perfect landlady aplomb, she's probably seen it all anyway and Mary just wittered on idiotically as usual. I'm starting to this this character is past her sell by date.

Back home, once the shock and initial anger wore off, Audrey was calm and honest with Marc about not being able to cope the way she thought she should and the way she wanted to and tried to but couldn't, knowing that she just couldn't do what she knew was the right thing. It's sad to see her heart broken again but she handled it all the right way at least, rather than screaming and shouting though still angry at the start.

The storyline might have been ill-conceived and badly cast but I thought the concept was good. And, while these situations often will have a happy ending, (think of Roy and Hayley's situation which is different, but not all that dissimilar in some ways) having it end this way shows that things don't always get tied up in neat little packages, Happy Ever After and it was the right ending for a storyline like this that involved a character like Audrey and was very true to the character herself.