There she blows!!!

And there it went, up in a ball of fire exploding out the front window. The Rovers WILL rise from the ashes but it may take some time.

And here are a few comments and observations on the episode from my sofa:

I've really been impressed by the special effects. They did a very good job.

Karl covering St. Ella's body and whispering "We'll die together" kind of creeped me out.

It was strange not seeing Roy and Hayley manning the teapots in the cafe, when everyone went to the Bistro instead.

Shout out to the fire in 1985:
Someone went for a ladder from the builder's yard.
Stella, a blonde, came out the same bedroom window Bet Lynch did.

Paul got Stella out and then Toni went up for Karl, got him out but then the ceiling collapsed on her and there was a big explosion. Norris later wondered what there was in a pub to explode. It was probably a gas line. Yet, I bet there won't be one crack in the wall of Number 1. A little smoke maybe. Paul's taking out his grief and anger out on Eileen already, nothing she says sits well with him at all. He's in shock and has lost a good friend. Probably something that they all dread when they go out to fight a fire.

Both of the most serious victims were described as "very poorly indeed".  That's putting it mildly. They're clinging to life with Sunita appearing to be the worse off if her brain has been starved of oxygen for too long according to the hospital staff. And if this is what we've got to look forward to for the next week or so, I think I'm going to lose my mind. What was all that triple-sniffing Dev kept doing? Worst. Acting. Ever. You call that crying? And boring the bejaysus out of Karl who was just itching to pull the plug on Sunita, couldn't you tell?

Gloria had a lovely scene talking to Stella. That's the kind of thing we wanted from Sue Johnston all this time. Her acting makes Dev look like one of those kids on the Bessie St. productions.


Poor Rita was having flashbacks to the tram crash and feeling guilty about it. I think if you're over 80 and survived something like that, a bit of forgiveness is due if you have a wobbler. Just when I wondered where Dennis was, Norris mentioned he was away so that answers that question. It was nice that Rita thanked Norris for fussing over her. This time.

There were two little "asides", one when Tina spotted Kirsty looking out her window and then griping to Tommy that you wouldn't know she was an ex-cop. What's that got to do with anything? And there was a bit of an armed truce between Gail and Kylie and Gail's been persuaded to go back home so David doesn't keep asking so many difficult questions.

Favourite line was between Peter and Rob who was persuaded to take Tracy and Eccles in over night.
Peter to Rob "If she starts wimpering you just have to let her out for a wee." Rob "I was talking about Tracy" Peter "So was I"

On the edge of my seat

The warm up to the Full Monty turned out to be Sunita tearing chunks out of Stella for ruining her reunion with Dev who rightly realized that Sunita really doesn't love him anymore and was agreeing to get back together with him for all the wrong reasons. Even though I can't blame Dev for putting the blocks on the reunion and even though it's clear that if it had gone ahead, sooner or later, Sunita would probably have left him, I still think it was none of Stella's business to stick her nose in it and eventually, Stella thought so too.

Here's how the Full Monty went: In order to spread out the event and use up valuable time, we had the introduction of each of the lads for a solo turn on the stage. Karl didn't like it, Rob reveled in it. Jason sure got the women going but the doctor and his stethoscope seemed to be the hit of the night. Tommy really got into it. I think he's done that before! Toni upped the ante to get the boys down to the brass tackle and the audience was suitably worked up for the main event, the troupe of dancers whipping their kit off to the tune of Hot Stuff (coincidence? I think not).

Sunita got drunk and laid into Stella, vowing to get even, along with the traditional drink thrown over the object of her venom  and the loud argy-bargy was entertaining to the punters who were waiting for the charity show to start. A guilty Stella's left the show for an early night in a hot bath.  Earlier in the day, Jason got the electrics working but Karl nicked the keys to the pub from behind the bar and was seen looking slipping out before the main event, after his solo.

(an aside: Did you notice in the Bistro when Karl returned that Paul seemed to sense something off? I reckon he smelled smoke on Karl but didn't quite put his finger on what he subconsciously detected.)

I thought Kirsty might have been the wild card to the fire but no, we saw Karl light the cgi fire and be discovered by Sunita and naturally during the argument between them, she went hurling down the steps and he left her there when the fire got a bit hotter. Did he really think that would be the answer to his prayers? Did he not realize that Stella was upstairs? Obviously he didn't see her slip out. I do wonder why there isn't a smoke detector in the cellar where the electrics are. It would have gone off long before.

But alas, Norris spotted the fire and the lads were saved the dignity when Norris that broke up the party just when the kit was coming down to the bare essentials and we're in full disaster mode.

While it was nothing close to the tram crash, I still think the pyrotechnics *were* impressive. It looked very cgi while Karl was in the basement but from the outside of the Rovers on the outdoor set,  and even with the indoor set fires and the stunt person standing in for Sunita, it looked very good. It was established that that most of the Barlows were out at an ice show but Tracy was rugged up in bed with a bad cold. Pity she did get out in time. Ok, that was mean but spoilers did say someone would die. Was there any reason why I shouldn't have hoped?

Karl played the hero and now he and Stella are both trapped upstairs while Sunita is inhaling possibly fatal amounts of smoke downstairs. Karl didn't even tell the others that she was in there, the bar steward!!!

Previews for the next episode look even more exciting! Wednesday will have us on the edge of our seats for sure. Well, me anyway!

Eve of Destruction

We all know the pub is going to "burn down". It's not going to burn to the ground literally. It's a brick building. But it will burn and it will be gutted out enough for a total renovation inside. Time to freshen up the set before the ITV studios move, I guess!

While it won't be destruction on the scale of the tram crash, we are heading into another disaster on Coronation Street. This week has the pieces of the puzzle being put into place and Monday will see them on the board in play.

We have the slow burn of Karl's resentment that's been building up for weeks now. Stella refuses to have him back and is flaunting Jason in his face, or so it feels to him. He has tried to make Jason look bad in Stella's eyes, he's tried to ruin Jason's business and it seems he's done that but it's backfired since Jason has moved into the pub and Stella's going to give him a job behind the bar. (What about Tim, I want to know?) He blames Sunita for his downfall, refusing to take any responsibility for his own actions. Now it looks like Dev and Sunita are back together and Jason is in his rightful place in the pub.

The pub had a leaky pipe, made worse by Tim who didn't turn the water off first like he was supposed to. The water went everywhere and Karl made sure it went into the electrical panel to short out the electricity to the pub. There! That'll put a wrench into the pub's business and make it look like it was Jason's fault. It didn't, though. And the pub reopened with water and candlelights and everyone had a great evening. Foiled again!

Karl even joined the Full Monty team because he knew Jason was doing it and maybe he thought he could do something else to make Jason look bad, I don't know.

Sophie has maneuvered Sunita and Dev back together. It was a bumpy road but it looked like it was going to happen. Dev drags Sunita into the pub to show off to the world that they've reunited, exactly what Sunita didn't want, dreading the reactions of the neighbours but mostly, they were surprised but silent.

All except for Stella who curlishly stirred up Dev's worst fears about Sunita. Why did she do that? Aside from asking him was he sure, she had no business as a friend or otherwise to put doubts in his mind and insult Sunita. Stella is supposed to be happy with Jason and Karl is ruined. Why does she feel the need to stop Dev and Sunita from getting back together? Move on, woman and if you can't, what does that say about your own life?

That aside, Dev is now showing his doubts to Sunita who isn't going to take it well. From spoilers we've seen and heard, she's going to blame Stella for ruining her reunion. There's going to be public threats and when the pub goes up in flames, is she going to be the first one suspected of arson? It seems so since Karl has been careful not to make any public declarations where anyone can hear. He's looking shifty, resentful and very, very angry though.

It's a given that the pub is going to burn. Is it an accident due to the water on the electrics? I'm guessing it is. The writers can't really think of a new plot device and accidental destruction worked the last time the pub went up in smoke in 1986 when Jack Duckworth put the wrong fuse in the fusebox. Put a little water in the wrong spot and surely that's enough to spark up a fire?

Ah, except it *was* done on purpose. I don't expect Karl thought it would cause a fire, just enough mayhem to cause trouble between Stella and Jason. It'll have to come out eventually. We've not heard that John Michie is leaving but how can he not after this? It might have been truly unintended so he may just do a short stint in jail instead.

I am looking forward to the drama, the tragedy and the new pub.