State of the Street - October 2014

There were two main storylines this month, Peter's Trial leading to Rob's confession and Kylie's slide down the slippery slope.

In the lead up to the trial, Jim and Peter were dancing around each other like two dogs about to go to war but Jim needed to keep on the good side of Liz. He'd promised to keep Peter safe in exchange for Liz's visits. One slip, and he'd lose the tenuous hold he'd had on her. But Tony found out and he gave her an ultimatum. You don't give Liz anything that even smells of an ultimatum and she not only tore a strip off Tony but one off Jim just for good measure. Tony left her but they started sniffing around each other within days, both too stubborn to make the first move so you knew they'd get back together in the end.

Just her luck that they no sooner get back together when Tracy is arrested for perverting the course of justice, (more about that in a minute) and there's every chance Tony could get done for fencing stolen goods. Liz isn't going to stand for that and she told him so!

Time for the trial. I don't know where they got that jury. Even though there was some damning evidence, there was also evidence that should have raised reasonable doubt and not just because Carla said she thought he was innocent. Even though we didn't hear testimony that Deirdre washed the bracelet so that any subsequent fingerprints could not possibly point to a murderer, the fact that Peter didn't have blood on his clothes from any murder weapon should have done the trick. But as it's a soap, he's guilty until Rob can be busted.

And busted he will be. He buckled under the force that is Carla and confessed that he killed Tina and expected her to keep the secret, hoping her loyalty to him would be more than doing the right thing and not letting someone be jailed for something he didn't do. I figured Carla would be the one to bring Rob down though I didn't expect him to confess. I thought she'd figure it out but she got the wrong end of the stick and thought it was Tracy that did it. Anyway, it comes right down to the wedding day which started on Wednesday October 29 but concluded on Halloween.

(There's a lot more about the wedding here)

It's been a good storyline even if the original Peter-Tina affair was a bit hard to believe. I still found it easier to get on board with than I did Kevin and Molly, though. I've enjoyed watching the twists and turns and it will be a pity we have to lose Marc Baylis but that's soap law. He's got to pay for what he did and if he does a runner, he'll get caught eventually.

In the meantime, we get to watch with glee as Tracy's world crashes down around her. That's two weddings in a row that tanked. She might not want to try for a third. She's such a bitch that when karma finally bites her, we all enjoy it. Kate Ford has come a long way and Rob and Tracy had very good chemistry together, testament to the acting as well as the writing.

Meanwhile, Steve feels like his father used him to get to his mother and just when Jim thought he was close to being released to an open prison, meaning a bit more freedom, Steve nailed that door shut, reporting him for having a forbidden phone and harassing his mother. Busted and it's goodbye to Jimmy Mack. I did enjoy seeing him again. I always thought that he was a great character and he and Liz, aka Charlie Lawson and Bev Callard and also Simon Gregson, all three crackle with chemistry on screen.

Meanwhile, Steve is sinking into depression but everyone just thinks he's off in cloud cuckoo land, Planet Steve, his mother says and neither his mother nor Michelle, who would be the ones that know him best, spot that there's anything out of the ordinary wrong with him. It's going to be an interesting storyline, watching Steve battle depression.

Now over to Kylie's predicament. She really went off the rails, didn't she? Some might say it came out of nowhere when she'd been showing so much responsibility and maturity. But she still had an edge and was still volatile. The crisis with Max hit her hard with a great, big dollop of guilt. She knew she was a rubbish mother when he was little and decided his ADHD condition was all her fault and she wasn't coping well with his antics.

Now we find out that she used to be into drugs as well. It really didn't strike me as a ret-con because I could fully believe that she ran with a wild set. Becky did as well. And if she did drugs while pregnant, that's even more reason to feel guilty. She said she didn't while she was pregnant but there's always that first month or two when you don't realize you're up the duff and that's the time when drugs and alcohol do the worst damage to a baby. It's also possible Max inherited the gene from his father who turns out to be a really handsome drug dealer. He looks more like a pop star! Never mind.

I like that they're writing Kylie as conflicted, trying to live up to everyone's expectations, trying to handle the guilt but failing. She never did have a lot of self confidence and though she's trying hard, and doesn't want to lose her family, she's slipping. She has to, because the actress is going on maternity leave so we'll not have her on screen for awhile. Maybe she'll be in rehab or maybe she'll go to Becky to clean up leaving poor David reeling. Who'd have thought he'd get so mature?

The odious Cilla is back but she's changed. She still has a gob and she still hasn't got much tact but she's subdued and in pain a lot of the time. She's been brought down off her high horse. She realized what her children really think of her and knows it's all her fault. I guess it's a good thing Tyrone and Fiz built that room up in the loft! At least they have somewhere to put her until she goes back to Wolverhampton because she will. And Fiz will go with her because that actress is also going on maternity leave. I know some of you will be saying it's a personality transplant but I think Cilla had a big, bad reality check and that really snapped her former brashness out of her quite a lot.

Chesney is still bitter and resentful and you can understand why. Fiz is a mother now and she always was the more responsible one, having to look after Chesney because her mother was useless. I think she has a bit more sympathy because she always could take care of herself. Chesney was only a kid and left to his own devices, or put in care when Fiz was too young to take responsibility for him. She treated him pretty badly and he was a sensitive little boy, unlike Fiz who grew a tough hide. Fiz might be able to forgive her mother, but if Chesney ever does, it will be a longer time coming. It's interesting, though. I liked to hate Cilla and this is a different side of her but I think it's believable, too.

We had a nearly Windass-free month except for Gary and Alya mooning over each other. Is it me or are they really boring together? I like her, she's certainly got a mind of her own but I just can't see any sparks between them. It's interesting how Tim and Kevin are starting to become mates, and fun because it really annoys Sally! It's been a mostly Sophie and Maddie-free month too aside from a few episodes where we discovered that Tim can't read very well at all. I do like the chemistry and mutual respect between Maddie and Tim. I kind of feel like they're kindred spirits somehow. Really enjoying the character of Tim, too.

Who else has been in the cupboard... Nick, we've not seen much of him, nor have we seen much of Leanne and Kal though Kal is dealing with his resentful son, Zeedan. Can't blame him for taking against Leanne. On the surface, with her past, she doesn't look like a very good candidate, does she? We haven't seen much of Dev and Julie after an initial little spark between them but I think that's going to be persued, with poor Mary feeling pushed aside in the process. Careful, Julie, You don't want to make an enemy out of her!

November should see Rob dealt with one way or another as everyone else gets their head around the fall out. Kylie and David's story will have a few more twists and Steve's storyline will take more focus.