State of the Street - October

The aftermath of Callum's death has been mainly Sarah having panic attack after panic attack, hovering dangerously on the verge of spilling her guts to the police and the local vicar, Billy. I didn't think I could take much more of it but thankfully, David managed to get Sarah out of town for a few weeks. He tried to convince her to go back to Italy but Kylie talked her into a holiday. I guess that means Bethany is yanked out of school, just when it seems like she's settling in. That's also illegal in the UK, taking your child out of school Yet, Leanne did it too, with Simon unless she's organized for him to attend school in Portsmouth with Peter.

David has been managing to keep a cool head, even to the point of using dark humour often. But considering David's somewhat psycho past, it's not surprising he's able to keep his nerve. Even Kylie shows signs of shaky nerves now that Sarah's not there and she doesn't have to keep up a front to keep Sarah from crumbling. I was wondering when it was going to hit Kylie. Now that Callum's body is cemented over, though, what's going to happen?

We know, because it's soap law, that the truth will come out at some point. Will it be sooner or later? I wonder if Tony could take the fall for it, since he's the one that blew up Callum's car and he's the one that cemented the body in the hole, albeit unknowingly. He's got motivation because of Callum's attack on Jason and he had some opportunity. If he gets arrested for it, though, would Kylie or Sarah let him take the rap for it? David would, but I'm not sure the women would. It's too bad because it was clear cut self defence, and even moving the body into the kitchen could be explained by not wanting Bethany to see it.

There will continue to be consequences in the weeks to come. Someone's going to crack first, even if it ends up being the concrete.

Tim and Sally managed to get married. Anna, of course, spilled the beans about Sally kissing Kevin. It didn't seem fair that Kevin was immediately forgiven and Sally wasn't. Can't blame Tim for feeling hurt, of course, but it was hardly a steamy affair. Why is it people get that bent out of shape over a kiss? Chesney and Katy broke up over a kiss as well. I'm not saying Tim shouldn't have been upset but refusing to talk and work it through, for what would seem to be a first offence, is hardly logical either. But that's what you get with soaps. It's all about the drama. I'm glad they tied the knot. Sally and Kevin were done and over and I really didn't want them to go over the same old ground time and time again.

Juxtapose this with Gary's reaction to Alya's confession that she had a one night stand with Jason. In the Muslim religion, women are supposed to be a virgin on their wedding night and we have always seen that her religion is very important to Alya. Gary loves her so he respected her wishes and didn't press the issue. Thus the reveal that she had sex with Jason had a doubly hard impact. It seemed like even more of a betrayal and it was far more than a kiss. Gary didn't even thump Jason so you know he must have been in shock. Gary's temper is usually such that he'd have made Callum's beating of Jason look like horseplay! 

Carla's back flying high again, now that she knows she wasn't to blame for the fire and deaths of Kal and Maddie. It's in typical. Carla was hollered at, insulted publically, and shunned when everyone thought it was her. Aside from Yasmeen, I've not seen anyone scream at Tracy Barlow in the street. The only other consequence is Sophie being rude to her in the corner shop but Sophie's rude to most people. Why doesn't Tracy deserve the same pariah treatment? I suppose because it's nothing new, she's already treated like dirt by the community in general. Am I right in thinking that though some people know, Ken doesn't know Tracy caused the fire? He certainly isn't acting like it but enough people know that the gossip must have made the roundsd back to his ears. No wonder Tracy gets away with these things. Both Ken and Deirdre always frowned at her a bit, sighed and maybe acted angry for about a day and a half and then it was always forgotten again.

We have a new family in town, more of the Connor clan, distant cousins. It appears Johnny and Michelle's dad, Barry are first cousins. You can work the rest of it out yourselves. I'm not sure if they're trying to make Johnny a new sort of Mike Baldwin or if Aidan's supposed to be filling that role. Or either of them, for that matter, since Carla has always filled Mike's shoes ably. It feels like there are far too many of them in the factory, now, though, all milling about. Three managers, a trainee manager and a PA (Plus the daughter, Kate, popping in and hanging around) in that tiny office is far too many.

I do like Kate so far. She's got spark and cheek. I love the brother-sister thing going on and she's most definitely the apple of her daddy's eye. She's a bit spoiled and clearly headstrong and seems like fun. I hope she manages to make friends on the street. She's got a fiancee but I'd love to see her become good friends with someone. That's one thing Corrie seems to be falling down on in recent years, female friendships. You do see it but it doesn't seem like you're getting that girl power best mates connection much these days. Let's not put Sophie and Kate together just because they're both gay. Let's keep Kate's fiancee and have Sophie and Kate become really good friends. Or maybe Kate should become really good friends with Alya who certainly needs one. Steph also needs a BFF now that Katy's gone and Tina's dead.

Looks like Mary finally has a storyline of her own and that's a big Yay from me. I've been hot and cold on Mary over the years but they've brought her back to the quirky version with her oddball stories. Putting her in there as the twins' nanny/caretaker shows her maternal side though I would have thought Dev would have offered her the corner shop flat long before now. She must still be living under his roof and it's probably wearing on his nerves! Is there another flat available? Is anyone living over the community centre now? I think that was the last empty one besides the shop flat.

I really hesitate to say too much about the illness that little Hope is going through. I find it isn't a storyline I'm enjoying only in that it's difficult to watch. I know Hope will survive so all this drama makes it feel that much more false. They won't have a child die, it would be far too sad for a soap. They rarely have a child die under any circumstances aside from the rare infant (meningitis, newborn virus infection). I am pleased to see various and sundry in the neighbourhood help out, contribute or offer support. That sort of thing does bring people together, at least in agreement if nothing else. Nobody wants to see a child suffer illness like that. The actors chosen for the storyline, however, are doing a good job with it, very believable as parents thrust into such a heartbreaking situation.

Ken seems to be managing on his own but it looks like he's starting to cling to Audrey's company. Is it a kind of rebound thing? I know that it isn't unknown for someone to find a new partner very soon after a death but fans are not going to take it as a sign of respect for the dearly departed Deirdre. Think on, producers. Not everyone has to be in a relationship and Ken Barlow is a bit long in the tooth to be chasing skirts willy nilly.

State of the Street - September

The Corrie Live episode and the calamity of Callum seems to have overshadowed most of the month. It's what most people are going to think about, looking back but while this storyline muscled it's way into the forefront, there were other good storylines brewing and bubbling on the back burner.

And back to the Platt storyline. This has been simmering nearly a year. You may remember Kylie being distraught at Max's ADHD diagnosis and seeking out Callum to find out if Max could have picked up the gene from that pool. Things went from bad to worse when Kylie's self esteem took knock after knock and by Christmas she was back on blow and chucked out of the house. David then proceeded to blame her for the next six months for her absence, the absence he insisted on, which left him to deal with Callum who decided he rather liked the idea of having a child, even if he didn't actually want or know how to be a father. He enjoyed winding up the Platts more than any parental desires but he sued for access and planned to go for custody. The storyline dragged on painfully until...

Kylie came back. The action heated up again and the story lurched forward, Callum putting more and more pressure on, dating newly returned Sarah (who equally enjoyed winding up her brother from behind her blinders) and using young teenage Bethany and her crush on him to add insult to injury. Jason got involved because he still feels a responsibility towards Bethany, it seems, if not Sarah and got broken for his efforts. We all knew Callum would ended up six feet under, we just didn't realize it would be under Gail's floor! Adding Jason and by extension, his father Tony, to the mix is adding suspects to the list of who's going to kill Callum (or, now that we know the answer to that) who's going to be done for it.

Because adding Tony and Jason (and Todd) into it could possibly mean that due to fingerprints on the burned out vehicle and Tony and Jason doing the building work at the Platts, the police may see them as having a very good motive for murder even before they find out about the blackmail.

Sarah's the weakest link here, she's a gibbering mess. Kylie is shaky but so far is managing to keep it together and David seems to have nerves of steel and can even make jokes about it all. The fallout of the Platt storyline will continue over October so we're not out of the woods with them yet. Who's going to be the first one to crack? Everyone thinks it will be Sarah but I wonder if it will be someone totally unexpected.

David can't explain to Max why Callum will never hurt any of them again but he does have a pang of guilt or two because he thinks he can't ever adopt Max now. That's horse hockey, folks. He was going to do it well before Callum was even in the picture. If he could do it then, why can't he do it now? Even if the authorities want Callum's permission now that they know he's had legal doings with Max, if he never shows up after a proscribed amount of time, I'm sure Kylie can go ahead with the legalities.

But I digress.

September was also the month when Sally Webster got her comeuppance well and truly. She always used to be ambitious for Kevin when they were married and he resisted her every step of the way. He finally started expanding his business and Sally compared him to her window washer and a little frisson of that old ambition and the excitement of her old hopes and dreams, and a lot of vodka, pushed her into kissing Kevin.

Now a few years ago, Kevin would have been like a dog with two tails at the thought that Sally wanted him again, and would have been in there lickety split. But not now. He's best mates with the window washer and he knows Sally and Tim have a good thing going and he stopped her cold. She instantly regretted her actions and it was a big secret to be locked in the closet until Sophie found out and Anna overheard Sally and Sophie talking about it. Anna and Sally have always had a difficult relationship, Anna being a vague threat because she's the adopted mother of Tim's daughter. Their sniping has always been a source of amusement but Sally went a little too far and a drunken Anna let the cat out of the bag. Tim is hurt, betrayed and has called off the wedding.

I don't know if they're going to manage to get married. Sally has every hope the wedding will go forward but as October begins, days away from the wedding, we don't know if he'll forgive her or not. I hope he does, regardless of the wedding being on or off. If he doesn't show up, I expect they'll be reconciled by Christmas as long as either one of them doesn't do something stupid. It's a soap. Someone probably will. But barring that, I think it's time for Sally to have a little happiness. I get so sick and tired of relationships being destroyed forever because of a simple kiss. It's ok to feel hurt and upset, but to even refuse to talk or work things out is a bit unrealistic.

Roy and Cathy have finally and gently made their way to each other as more than friends. Both of them seem to have come to the point in the aftermath of their bereavement where they have realized it's all right to want to be with someone else. They can move on with their lives. They won't forget their late partners but they can be happy again. It's going to be a very slow process because that's the type of people they are but I think they could be good together. Cathy is similar to Roy in that she, too, is unsure and not very confident, a bit awkward and a bit nerdy. If the actress decides to stay with the show, they can go the distance.

Carla's dealing with the revelation that she didn't cause the fire that killed Kal and Maddie and it's a weight off her shoulders. Tracy, who didn't have a reputation to worry about, nor the goodwill of the neighbours to try to retain, is walking around with the glare of the residents burning in her back as per usual. It's funny. They all seem to be glossing over the fact that she started the fire, albeit accidentally, and just ignoring her for the most part but they all snubbed and/or screamed at Carla in the middle of the road.

Yasmeen is the only one that's really vocal and angry about Tracy, even more than she was at Carla. Maybe that's because she was too shocked and numb at the time and now she's deep into the anger stage of grief. Carla wasn't charged with the fire and Tracy hasn't been either because there's no proof. Tracy lied to the police and even though she admitted it to Carla, there's no evidence to back it up and she pretended to justify it as saving Carla from suicide with her confession.

It's tough for us watching to see Tracy continually getting away with things like that. Ok, she didn't start the fire on purpose but she did break into Carla's with the intent on hurting her. And this new thing with her ex-husband is boring me to tears. He is dull, dull, dull. She cheated on him when they were married and I bet it was because she was bored. She's only clinging to him now because she's in a tailspin after her mother died and he's a link to the past. I have a hard time getting past him saying how well he knows her and accepts her for who and what she is, too. He has no idea. A lot of years have gone by since she left him and she's done a lot of awful things, very likely more than she's told him. Most of them were in callous cold blood, too.

We've got a new Connor on the scene with more of his family due to arrive in October. I'm reserving judgement for now. Aidan seems ok but we don't know him yet. He seems to have taken the factory in hand quite well. The character hasn't really been fleshed out. I suppose that will start to happen soon.

Leanne and Simon's story was a bit difficult to watch, only because it was well done but sad. Who couldn't see it coming after all these years of that child surviving trauma after trauma. He said to Leanne that everyone leaves him and that's true from his perspective. Now she's shipped him off to Peter who's back in Portsmouth after his first foray into the Caribbean, where he was supposed to be for six months. I don't think it was six weeks, was it? Not much more. I expect Simon will come back  all settled and on an even keel for awhile. I still think he'll go totally off the rails when he's about 15 or 16, probably drugs seeing as he's the child of an addict.

Tyrone and Fiz have a long and tough road ahead. It's not going to be easy watching them worry over a sick child. It was difficult enough to watch Hayley die of cancer, something that touches so many lives. Having a story about a sick little girl seems to be a bit too realistic though I have no doubt the powers that be will handle it carefully. I also think Hope will survive in the end. I really think they won't go so far as to have a child dying of cancer on screen. I wonder what kind of effect all that pressure and worry is going to have on Fiz and Tyrone's relationship, though, and I suppose that will also be a large part of the story.

I am continually impressed with Colson Smith as Craig. What a belter he is! They seem to have toned Bethany down a shade so she might work out ok. I'm still not keen on Sarah but then I never was. I'm really going to miss Lloyd, not so much Andrea. She was ok but I never warmed up to her over much.