There's something about Neil

There has been a lot of contention about Lloyd and Andrea's storyline from the fans. People are really getting tired of this storyline and of Andea who was  breath of fresh air at the start. I sort of agree to a point. The storyline certainly became a bit tedious once Andrea's cliche secret was dragged out of the soap closet.

Neil, the long suffering husband, didn't think anything was wrong but to be fair, he worked away from home a lot, providing for his family. By her own admission, Andrea married young and in haste and once she had her daughter, felt trapped, unable to break up the family for no real good reason. Neil was never a bad man. He held down a good job, loved his family, treated them all well and maybe he wasn't very exciting but he was dependable. But he was gone a lot. I think Andrea became lonely and maybe resented shouldering all the responsibility of being a single parent when she really wasn't.

We see Neil as a wet blanket, a real drippy guy who's boring and kind of plodding through life, oblivious to his wife's unrest. People seem to be finding his near-stalking of Andrea and Lloyd tedious. Let's be fair, his world has fallen apart. He most definitely was taking his life and his wife for granted but he never expected this, didn't see it coming (which he might have if he'd not worked away most of the time). He thinks if he changes, if he gets a job at home, if he reminds her of the good times, maybe she'll realize he wasn't so bad. But he can't love her enough for both of them and she's long since fallen out of love with him.

Watching the show this week, I'm starting to find Neil a bit sinister. We've seen him take a load of abuse, from Lloyd and Andrea, shouting, cajoling, insulting, nothing seems to be getting through to him to convince him that his marriage is over. He's single minded and obsessed. He lets any and all insults roll off him like they weren't even uttered. Once in awhile, one of Andrea's blunt statements on how she feels seems to hit a sore spot but he immediately pushes it away and continues his determined quest to get her back. It's starting to be a bit scary.

I think he will increase the pressure more and more but stay just this side of legal. They won't be able to peg him for harassement or stalking because he's not threatening. Yet. I won't be at all surprised if he eventually kidnaps her and keeps her somewhere.

It kind of puts me in mind of John Stape stashing Rosie in the attic, justifying it because he blamed Rosie for throwing his life into chaos, mainly because he wouldn't accept his own responsibility for his actions. He was single minded and obsessed, too and he's got that glint in his eye. I can't fault the casting. William Travis is doing a very convincing job. I don't like Neil, I don't even really feel sorry for him but I do think the actor is making Neil believable, as far as you can with a soap.

Neil's motivations are different but his attitude seems to be sliding into that same sort of madness that came over Stape, the conviction that he was right and he can find a way to "make" Andrea love him again. He may even become suicidal with the view to killing her so nobody else can have her, or at least might threaten it. I don't know if he'd go that far but she may not realize it.

Everything will turn out ok, in the end, I should think but I really do see this escalating into something perhaps a bit more dangerous. What do you think?

Cheering for a Lloyd Storyline

I've always liked Lloyd Mullaney. He's always been a cheerful sort, most of the time,  unless life hurls a zinger at him. He's funny, he's loves music, he is kind, he's a good friend. He's also not had a lot of storylines of his own over the years but always seems to shine in the ones he does get.

Craig Charles really has grown on me as an actor since he started. I never watched Red Dwarf so I really had no previous knowledge of him but as far as I know, that's the main thing he's been known as and nobody really thought he'd work as a Corrie character. I think he's proved them all wrong. He's also shown he can do drama in addition to comedy.

Some of my favourite of those types of scenes/storylines were first when he and Liz broke up and later when he and Cheryl broke up. You don't often see men being reduced to tears over heartbreak. They usually get angry, get drunk, shag someone else. Lloyd barely kept it together, especially after Cheryl left and it was a refreshing take on the situation, for a soap. I don't think he was "wimpy" in the least for showing his emotions though I've heard that accusation from other quarters, usually from men. Lloyd was also wonderful when he was interacting with children, such as Finley Morton and Russ Gray. He's got such a big heart and has always wanted to be a dad and now he's finally got that wish.

Lloyd has discovered that he's got an adult daughter, a result from an affair he had 29  years ago. While I am rather disappointed that he did the dirty on his best friend, it has brought Lloyd to the forefront again. So far, he's only just discovered that Jenna is his daughter. Her mother, Mandy, is enraged that Lloyd pushed and pushed and found out the truth and is upset that Jenna overheard it as well. Jenna, naturally, is horrified and feels she has lived a lie all her life. She wants nothing to do with Lloyd.

We know that will change. It's a soap, come on! There are rumours that Mandy will remain in the show and be the new Rovers' cook and I do hope that's true because in spite of her being a bit mardy and prickly so far.  I think she'll be a great character and I love her wardrobe! Maybe she and Lloyd can rekindle their romance though at the moment she's still grieving for her late husband.

I also really love that Eileen is back in the cab office and is back in Lloyd and Steve's lives as all three were such good  friends and support for each other. They were missing that element while she was elsewhere and she barely had any contact with them at all which isn't realistic.  Even while working elsewhere, you'd think they would have interacted at the pub and helped each other through crises when needed. When Cheryl broke Lloyd's heart, it was mostly Steve that was there for him, as well as Becky but Eileen barely gave him a glance most of the time.

I think Lloyd's character has been well developed over the years and he remains one of my favourite characters.

Lloyd's Heartbreak

Usually when a man gets his heart broken on a soap, he gets drunk, he gets angry and maybe he shags or at least snogs someone else, someone he shouldn't. He might stare off into space moodily. He might snap at his mates. Maybe, just maybe, he might squeeze a little tear out or punch a hole in a wall.

That's why it's refreshing to watch pool Lloyd in bits and pieces. I don't mean that in a smug way. I just mean it's unusual to see a man barely holding his feelings back and it's unusual to see him baring his soul to his male friends and even a female friend without there being any other agenda or mis-placed snogs. You just don't see that side of a male character on a soap.

When it first happened, when he found out about Cheryl and Chris, we saw Lloyd and Steve in the bog of the pub, Lloyd crying in Steve's arms. Have you ever seen that before, one bloke holding another comforting him, in a bog no less? Girlfriends, yes. Absolutely. Then one will help fix the other's runny mascara and shore her up to go face the world again with her brave face on. But two men? Straight men? Never! Most of them are written to be far too macho for that. It's booze and broken knuckles and shattered glass usually.

I also loved the scenes with Lloyd and Becky, who wanted company to drown her sorrows the day she got her final divorce papers. The two of them listened to sad soul music ("What Becomes of the Broken Hearted" comes to mind) and downing shots of tequila while comparing notes. 

I feel so bad for Lloyd! I want to cry every time I see that adorable puppy dog face with tears brimming over. If Lloyd were a woman he'd have had mascara streaks down his cheeks for weeks! It makes it seem so much more real, seeing a man in that much distress over a bimbo that broke his heart. He really loved her, body and northern soul.

I never really believed that Cheryl loved Lloyd genuinely. I believe she liked him but he also rescued her from a bad relationship and I always thought it was more of a rebound than true love on her part. Lloyd was the knight driving a shining taxi. He stood up for her, he loved her kid, he was kind to her and gentle with her. He loved her and she deluded herself into thinking she loved him back.

Nobody suggested that Chris' tumour was to blame for his violence and indeed I don't believe it was. I think that's been going on long before there could have been any inkling of a tumour though medically, I could be wrong. Still, it wasn't brought up as a reason but as he dealt with it, he seemed to be the "old" Chris she fell in love with. In reality, he was milking it, using it for all he was worth to gain her sympathy. Sympathy and the old magic lured her back into his bed but when she found out about the lies, she went crawling back to Lloyd. To me, that's one of the worst things you can do and I'm so glad he didn't take her back.

A man's got to have his pride. He'd never trust her again and he knew it.

Lloyd has always been a really brilliant character and Craig Charles always puts in a hugely impressive performance with dramatic scenes like this. He and Simon Gregson make a superb double act and he pretty much has that sparking chemistry with anyone he's in a scene with. Except Cheryl. I'm sorry to say that I never thought the pair of them had any chemistry but that's also not down to the actress. The writers just created a character that was bland and uninteresting and it all went downhill from there, unfortunately.

Anyway, I digress somewhat.

As much as the whole Lloyd/Cheryl/Chris triangle was dreadful, it did show off Craig Charles' acting chops and gave Lloyd some great scenes, real Classic Coronation Street, I think.

High praise indeed

I've just *got* to bestow my praise and kudos to four actors in particular that have absolutely shone like a very shiny thing for me in recent episodes of Coronation Street.

The first storyline concerns Steve and Becky's current predicament. Now, logic tells us all that this will have a happy ending because, as far as we know, neither actor is leaving the show. In the meatime, we have to watch the frustration and pain of their backs against the wall in between where that rock and that hard place are. Becky went from feathery exuberance on her wedding day, determined not to mess up like the last time to about the lowest place she's ever been in her life. The rug was well and truly pulled out from under her white satin stilletos and add to that, the betrayal that the love of her life, her shiny new husband, didn't believe in her innocence. Steve, knowing how easy it is to fall back into shady deals and illegal measures, assumed the worst but when push came to shove, he realized she was set up and had a huge amount of groveling and making up to do. He was sincere about it too.

Becky spent her wedding night in the cell, had to endure Hooch's emotional torture and then had to face Steve in the morning. Steve and Becky sat in the car, he apologized, explained and groveled and she was very, very quiet. There was no shouting, no screaming recriminations. Just pain on both their parts.

Simon Gregson and Katherine Kelly were magnificent in both the wedding episode and in the aftermath, in my humble opinion. She was radiant in Friday's eps, just as her father-figure Roy said she was. She shook with pre-wedding nerves, held Roy captive with those big blue eyes when he had to convince her she wasn't ill nor dying, silently begging him to be right (he was, of course!). She practically danced down the short "aisle" of the registry office, excited and exuberantly giggling "I love it when he's gaggin' for it!" as Steve pulled her to the front so they could tie the knot. Simon played it just right. He and Becky have spark and fun together and this wedding certainly showed that up.

Later, when she was taken away in cuffs, as white as her dress, his face was grey with shock and you could almost feel that sick feeling in his gut when he seemed to think the worst, putting the wrong 2 and 2 together.

In the car the next day, they played it quietly. Katherine hardly looked at him at first, but had her face turned towards his side of the car, though looking past him to the back, towards where one of the cameras was. You could tell when he was finally getting through to her that he really did believe her and he really was sorry. She started glancing at him through her eyelashes and finally did look at him face to face, but you could feel the doubt, the weariness, the fear all etched into her expression. She put every ounce of vulnerability into that scene. Simon never took his eyes off her, pleading for her to forgive him but never whining, never in desperation, just earnestly and honestly. He wasn't blustering his excuses, he was stating where he was coming from and pledging to her that he really did believe her. He played it like a real grown up, something we haven't always seem Steve be when under pressure like this. He accepted his betrayal and was very sorry for it. He was gentle. He was patient. She had her defences up but didn't completely shut him away by turning her back on him. They didn't rush the scene. They nailed it.



The second storyline concerns Liz and Lloyd's breakup. The relationship was unexpected for both of them, starting off as two lonely friends reaching out. Lloyd is younger than Liz and is her son's best mate but he's older than Steve, too, probably about half way between Steve and Liz's age. Don't forget, Liz was only 17 when she had the twins so she really wouldn't be that much older than Lloyd, less than 10 years, is my guess. Still, she was never comfortable with the age difference since she was the older of the two. It mattered not at all to Lloyd and he seemed really taken with her, even moreso when she finally seemed to relax and enjoy their relationship. Even Steve seemed to come to terms with it and it all looked good. But then, Liz went to Spain to look after Andy and his bar while he was ill and stayed. And stayed. And it didn't look like she was going to come back. She stopped returning Lloyd's calls and messages leaving him bewildered and confused. Finally, she appeared in time for Steve and Becky's wedding and the stalled relationship whimpered to an end.

Many times when a couple breaks up there are rows and sobs, heart rending drama or cold, unfeeling declarations. This breakup was a little different than you usually see on telly. No rows, no name calling, but there were tears. There were tears, not only from Liz but from Lloyd, also unusual. Maybe that's because of the skill of the actor involved. Crying on screen is difficult for many actors and it doesn't always look very realistic. Craig Charles doesn't usually get dramatic scenes so you don't really realize how good an actor he can be. Lloyd is usually joking and silly with brief glimpses of anger depending on the situation. Bev Callard has always impressed me with her capabilities. This time she was playing it vulnerable, a bit confused, sad and maybe a little unsure she was doing the right thing. She bared her soul and was as honest as she could be, right down to having no makeup on and a very reserved tshirt and comfy trousers instead of her usual mask of makeup and tarty clothes. The tears on Craig Charles' face did look real and he put a truckload of emotion into their final breakup scene in the empty Rovers, the feathery, sparkly remains of the aborted wedding reception still on the walls around them. He gave Lloyd that reluctance to accept the end, the heartbreak of it and maybe, a little spark of hope against hope that someday she might change her mind. When Liz reminded Lloyd that Jim would soon be coming round, there was no puffed up blustering about being unafraid of the beligerent ex, just confidence and surprise that she might think he would be fearful. You get the feeling that he wouldn't be cowed so quickly as Vernon was by the face of Jim in a temper and could give as good as he gets. Lloyd might be a lover rather than a fighter but he'd be an even bet in most, I think.

That aside, it remains to be seen whether Lloyd and Liz will get back together though I'm guessing not. Steve and Becky will probably defeat Hooch and go at least some of the distance. I've long thought highly of Simon Gregson who has grown up into a really solid actor and he's really jumped up another level in my estimation lately. Craig Charles has jumped up several levels for me. I never thought he was a bad actor, but stretching to the emotional stuff really shows his acting chops off in a shining light. Bev Callard has always been solid and has always given us many sides of Liz. In one episode she showed her vulnerability and her rage and resentment towards her new daughter-in-law. Katherine Kelly just goes from peak to peak in her ability to portray Becky Granger McDonald as a loose cannon, a rough diamond who seems to gain confidence and self esteem only to have it thown out with the trash, sometimes by her own doing and sometimes not. She's cut from a similar cloth as Karen McDonald was but has a fiercer edge, a bit more desperation in her grasp to find some good in a life that didn't have a lot of it now that she realizes there are people who do believe in her and love her.

If you now ask me who my favourite character is, I will not be able to name just one. It'll be any one of these four though maybe Katherine Kelly has a slight edge.