State of the Street - October 2017

October started off with a bang and the trial of Nathan and Neil. Kind of wished there were more courtroom scenes because it seemed to be over so quickly. Bethany did really well in court though they did their best to twist her words and discredit her. Craig fared worse, the barrister making him look pretty sad and incompetent though he ended off rather well, I thought, with the Bible waving and insisting he always tells the truth. Nathan and Neil putting a spin on their activities was creepy, wasn't it?

I tried to watch it as if I was a jury member hearing Nathan for the first time. Did he come across insincere? I really couldn't tell because I did know he was bullshitting high and deep, really trying to work the jury members and sucking up, putting on a performance with the face emotion. Surely that came across like it actually was, an arrogant deviant trying to wriggle out of the charges like he had so many times before. Even his barrister was very clearly disgusted with him. I bet she felt dirty every night when she got home! He got caught up in his own ego, though, when the the police followed the money and it led back to him. Isn't that what they always say? Follow/find the money? In the end all were pronounced guilty as we knew they would be. Soap Law dictates they wouldn't get away with it.

It was a near thing, though, with the drama of Mel kidnapping Bethany to stop her testifying. Mel was a figure to feel sorry for, though, so under Nathan's control as she was. She had nothing else and he had worked his way into her brain for many years. As Bethany pointed out, he kept her around to make the other girls feel safe. I thought she often showed regrets and feelings of guilt at times, especially when Bethany really started poking holes in her perfect wall of excuses. She must have felt particularly bad about luring young Lara in so that when she killed herself, it cracked Mel's exterior and she couldn't avoid the truth any longer. We all hope she does find a better life. Wonder if she'll ever appear in Weatherfield in the future?

Rita was diagnosed with a brain tumour and didn't know if she'd have the operation to remove it in spite of the fairly good prognosis. It fell to Norris to listen to her fears and help her get through it. It was a lovely scene with the two of them. She really was afraid she'd not be the woman she was but without the operation, she already was becoming that stranger. I can't imagine the Street without Rita but if the actress has/had decided to retire, I know people would want Rita to have a proper send off and if that meant a fatal brain tumour, well it would allow Barbara Knox to go out on a high note of drama. We rarely see the full force of her acting chops these days and you forget what she can do.

Just prior to the operation, while she was working up to it, the odious Colin from that Mr. and Mrs. competition that Norris and Mary had blown out to be with Rita was lurking around. He wants to buy the Kabin from Norris and the flat from Rita and we saw a brief scene where he talked about backdating a document. He also went to the hospital when Rita was first admitted and it seems he's got her signature on an agreement to sell to him, obviously taking advantage of her state of mind and emotional upset. She's got to find a way of breaking the contract if her results are good and she will be sticking around, but it shouldn't be too difficult. A doctor can point to the tumour and it's effect on her memory making her not responsible, surely.

I really think the character of Colin is thoroughly detestable and cringeworthy. I really could have done without that aspect of the storyline altogether. I don't even "Love to Hate" him, and  the fact that he's a temporary character  is the only thing that makes me say I'll never watch Corrie as long as he's on it because I come perilously close to feeling like that when I see his face.He strikes me as a character in the long tradition of boobs like Reg Holdsworth and the type of person Norris Cole was when he first came into the show in the 90s and even Derek Wilton to an extent. Thinking far too highly of themselves when they're really just ridiculous little losers but Derek had a soft side to him in his love for Mavis and Norris in his return to the Street had slightly humbled as well. I still don't like Norris much but I can accept him now. Holdsworth was such a comic idiot that I never minded him. As a double act with Curly Watts, he was funny now and then and was always an object of ridicule to all the other characters. Colin is in the same realm of my contempt that the early Norris Cole was. Just go away.


The factory is empty, roofless and reeling. Will it be able to rise from the rubble yet again as it has so many times before? Everyone suspects Eva and Adam might have had a hand in its downfall but there's no proof just yet. Eva feels terrible and she should be livid with Adam who went ahead with the plan even though he'd been told not to. He might have thought it was too late but really, he could have called it off. He was too greedy and it didn't get him the factory, just a bit of revenge on the Connors. It may lead to his downfall in the long run, I don't know. I hope that the factory will rise again and I've heard rumours but I will avoid spoilers.


Phelan still has Andy in the cellar and is getting well and truly sick of it yet he can't let him go. But with Daniel starting to root around, digging up dirt on him, it looked like he may have the solution. He keeps saying he's no killer but he comes very bloody close and he's decided that he can replace Andy in the cellar with someone else, leaving Andy to do the day to day care which was Andy's idea in the first place. Turns out, it's not going to be Daniel though it looked like it for awhile. He managed to shut Daniel's investigation down cold. But Daniel's investigations  into Phelan's failed building project has turned up Vinny's mother. Remember Vinny? The one that ran with the cash and double crossed Phelan?

Phelan has challenged Vinny to a showdown, he used Vinny's mother and has got the cash Vinny owed him. Now Vinny's in the cellar *with* Andy.   Daniel would have too many people asking questions if he disappeared, as would any of Phelan's other enemies on the Street. Vinny really has no ties other than a mother who expects a phone call once a year.

You noticed that Phelan told Andy that it was Vinny who was the reason Michael died. I figured he was going to push Andy's buttons and give Andy a reason to want to kill Vinny. Andy won't really think he has anything to lose after being locked away in a rat infested cellar for nearly a year.

But that's now how it went down.  Phelan forced Andy to kill Vinny and had to badger him relentlessly until he pulled the trigger. Andy turned the gun on Phelan but didn't shoot again. Phelan then shot Andy. It seems so unfair that Andy lived all that time in a cellar as a prisoner only to be killed anyway but from Phelan's point of view, he really didn't have a choice. It's the beginning of the ultimate end. Murdering scum cannot get away with it. I'm really enjoying this storyline mainly due to the mighty Connor McIntyre!

Billy and Todd have their hands full with Summer who reacted so badly after they were rowing on the day that her late father's birthday was marked that she took a dare and smoked some drugs and collapsed. It wasn't your bog standard marijuana, it was laced with something called spice which is really a thing apparently and a bad thing. Because it was Simon that dared her, Billy ended up violently laying into Peter who was possibly unintentionally pushing Billy's guilt button. It was shocking to see Billy react like that and so soon after he stole the money from the law office thinking it was Adam's profit from the factory job. He played Robin Hood but it was actually Shona's money. Still, that's two strikes for the vicar. Will there be a third?

Then Billy turned himself in even though Peter wasn't going to press any charges. I've seen a spoiler that indicates to me that the only reason this happened is that it leads to his fingerprints connecting him to an old unsolved case. I like Billy but he can be a bit sanctimonious at times. I understand his position, he needs to be an example but he's also putting his family in jeopardy and they could end up losing Summer to Social Services' Care or worse, to her grandparents. It's actually very interesting to see how Todd has turned around from someone that didn't want to be a father into someone that's really bonded with Summer and really taken to fatherhood like a duck to water even if his moral judgment is a bit too liberal at times!  Telling her it's ok to break the rules sometimes probably wasn't the best thing to say!

Sally's running for mayor and it was mostly a quiet month on the campaign trail though she's not best pleased that her own sister is backing the opposition, a man in a bee suit. Honestly, you wouldn't think someone like Kirk would be able to fill out all the forms you have to do when you submit your name for candidacy as well as come up with the fee. At least, that's how it works here where I live. Maybe it doesn't work like that in the Manchester area. It's all played for a laugh so why aren't we getting more scenes to laugh at? By the time it happened, the election was very much an anti climax.

Sally won but only by 51 votes. Kirk's conscience was pricked by the fact that he really isn't a politician and was only in it for a laugh, she being the better candidate. He threw his support behind her at the last minute. Otherwise, it could have been him wearing that chain and he would have been a terrible mayor. But surely there were more than just the two candidates? I can't imagine all those town councillors and other politically minded citizens thinking it's a great idea to have an election come down to one semi-qualified person with a bit of political experience and a doofus in a bee suit. "Oh well, Sally Metcalfe who was a councillor for 5 minutes and a bee mascot, there's no point in me throwing my hat in the ring. I've only got 30 years experience on the town council"

Peter and Toyah are pregnant via the surrogate. So far it's very much off screen. I wonder if we'll see more on that. Eva's at loose ends but with a flat to her own name. I wonder if she kept the pink car as well. Very much a hollow victory. Be careful what you wish for.The Devster has leaped off into another relationship, this time with Sally's sister Gina. I don't think they're suited any more than he was with Julie or Erica but it's put a smile on his face and even more, hers. Isn't it wonderful to see Gina's smile? She's usually moaning and whinging, resentful of Sally, worried about bills. To see her coming down them stairs with Dev completely relaxed and happy? Looked like a different person altogether and you realize just how pretty Connie Hyde is!

Nicola is pregnant too, minutes after shagging Gary Windass. But she got quite a shock. Anna finally told her the truth about what happened between she and Phelan and Nicola saw that Anna wasn't lying. Add to that, her mother's friend's reaction to Phelan's photo and Nicola dug in and discovered his mother did not have an affair, she was raped. Nicola confronted Phelan with it and even then he couldn't accept what he did with her mother was rape though finally did admit that he forced Anna by blackmail. He can't take responsibility for his own actions and he's a classic sociopath and narcissist. What a great villain, though!




Tvor (Twitter @tvordlj)