Random comments

Luke is dead at the hands of Pat Phelan because you know, once you've killed, it's not  quite so difficult to kill again. It was a bit of a gruesome death, though, burned alive in an exploding car. What I wondered was...what was Pat's plan previous to that where he got Seb's fingerprints on the gun? Was he going to set up Seb for the death of Andy and Vinny should the bodies surface? The big hole there is that Seb wouldn't have any motiviation. He didn't even know them. Did Phelan check to see where Seb actually was on the night they were killed? The bodies have been in the water awhile, I don't know if they could with any certainty know the exact day they were killed. And now that Pat used the gun himself, the prints will have been worn off by the gloves her was wearing.

Let's move over to Rana who was frantically trying to get hold of Luke all day. We know his battery died but the voice messages would still be saved on the phone company's system. Luke thought Rana was pregnant but she's now lied to Zeedan and brushed off Luke's remarks as having got the wrong end of the stick. She was terrified that Luke would tell Zeedan that he was told directly that Rana was pregnant. He can't tell anyone anything now but the voice mail messages might raise some interesting questions. 

Are the bodies about to resurface? Whose shoe popped up coincidentally when Phelan was at the pond? That was a bit contrived.

Rana's brother, Imran, is now in the show. We haven't seen much of him yet but so far I think I kind of like him. Charming but not too cheeky and annoying or arrogant. A good foil for Adam who thinks very much of himself. Is he an actual solicitor or is he a paralegal like Todd? He's newly single, as well. My guess is Maria. She is usually the first one a single man sleeps with before he settles down with someone else, isn't she? Wouldn't it be nice to see him take a shine to Izzy?

Jude and Angie are still around, I see, and not found a home of their own yet. When ITV opens up the set to new streets or parts thereof, I am guessing that's where their home will be. Poor Sean ends up losing both of his jobs though neither was due to Jude and Angie. But if you go blabbing about a patient's personal health in public like he did while talking to Eileen, it was right that someone report him. It's down to him that he chose to quit because Dr. Gaddas was only going to give him a warning. He also lost his lodgings so he does what a lot of people have been doing lately, turn up on the doorstep of Number 9. I guess all these guests are putting that loft conversion to good use. Poor kids still don't have a place to play but the lodgers have a place to crash. Or so it seems.

Peter sacking Sean seemed a bit abrupt but I don't think Peter was ever comfortable with Sean behind the bar. He knew that Sean was Team Liz and probably felt that Sean would rather be working for the McDonalds. Sometimes you gain staff with a business that you kind of have to keep but they'd be the first ones you'd replace if you had the opportunity. I wonder if Peter will take him back?

Daniel turned on the self sacrifice to push Sinead away. It's clear he still loves her but he ended up telling her he never loved her. The wedding is coming up soon. The thing is, I do think Sinead is better off with Chesney, they have much more in common. They do make for a deadly ordinary couple but Sinead and Daniel never did click for me, either.

I've never liked Michelle, but this week she surpassed my low expectations for her. How on earth would she believe that Steve missed paying her 10K in the divorce settlement? I reckon she probably knows down deep that he is making excuses and she has no guilt taking his hard earned money but she also had no guilt robbing the Bistro and defrauding the insurance company with rigged and untrue claims on how much was in the till. If she's wiling to do that, she certainly has crossed that line; it's only a matter of time.

It seems wrong seeing Tracy and Steve looking all loved up. It has to go wrong, it always does. I'm with Amy, the pair of them are toxic to each other. Most of the time they have known each other since Amy was conceived they've hated each other. There was only one brief moment that they were a real couple and that's only because she got pregnant with twins. Then she ruined it all by losing the babies and lied that Becky pushed her down the stairs. It feels like they've put them together because they don't know what else to do with them. Both Steve and Tracy are settling for each other rather than be alone.

Carla's back and I'm thrilled but since she needs a kidney transplant, likely from a family member, I have a bad feeling. Johnny could never be a donor because of his MS diagnosis but there are enough Connors to pick from. Someone's going to be a match and there's always a possibility that someone will die and be a donor that way. That person may or may not be a family member. In the meantime, the burning question on everyone's lips is ... who will they pair Carla with? Will they split up Peter and Toyah? Carla had more chemistry in one scene with Peter than Toyah has, that was evident. Toyah knew it, too. Should they put Peter and Carla back together? Probably not.

It's a pity we've lost Bruno Langley. That really put a ragged rip in the storyline fabric that is going to be difficult and awkward to set right. I hope Summer comes back and I hope Billy doesn't lose her to that awful Geraldine.

And finally, Brian and Cathy are moving into number 12, the flat he used to own with Julie. When Brian left the show, there was talk about Julie buying his half and she couldn't afford to. It seemed to be a dropped subject after that and we don't know  that the flat was sold or not. It's been empty for a couple of years. Now Brian has the key and he's moving into it. Has he had the key all along? there has been no word that he re-purchased it or contacted the new owner so I must assume he still owns it or a share of it. And if that's the case, why on earth was he blagging a place to stay with Norris and later, Roy? For the comedy value? Because I can tell you there wasn't any of that for me. Inquiring minds want to know why the continuity elves missed this one.


Tvor (Twitter @tvordlj)

I can't wait

When  I'm watching Coronation Street, There are storylines that really engage me. I watch with relish. I anticipate. I wait for the next thing that's going to happen. I speculate. I really look forward to seeing some things such as...

Phelan is now a murderer. He will be taken down and will have to face the music.
I can't wait.

Will his vendetta against Anna ultimately be his downfall? Or will he kill her? Maybe he will and then get caught. However it happens...
I can't wait!

Nicola is having Gary's baby. Sarah will have to find out at some point because these things never stay secret for long. I like Gary and Sarah together, and I don't think Gary and Nicola suit as well. So what's going to happen when this all hits the fan?
I can't wait!

Rita finds out tonight if the tumour operation was a success. I've got a good feeling  about this. But she sold her flat to that odious Colin so she'll still have to contend with that. Surely her being under the influence of a brain tumour is a legal enough reason to back out of the contract. Come on Adam, you're slithery. You can sort it out.
I can't wait!

Mary's finally got the family she always wanted but it's off to a very rocky start. There's a lot more going on between she and Angie than she realizes with Angie having trouble bonding with baby George and upset that her new mother-in-law seems to be taking over ably. Poor Jude is getting stuck between a rock and  a hard place. Her new BFF, Toyah, is a councillor, maybe she'll be a help?
I can't wait.

Sally is now the mayor of Weatherfield. What does that make Tim? Surely there will be a lot of conflict when she needs him by her side at formal functions. If last week's episodes are anything to go by, she's going to have to make sure she doesn't let politics overrun her family life. She did say she needed to keep her priorities straight. Someone's going to have to keep her grounded. I hope we get to see a bit of Sally the Politician and see her be successful at it.
I can't wait!

The factory is in ruins. Will it ever rise like a phoenix again? Surely it will. I'm hoping when Carla comes back, she'll put that factory back on the map.
I can't wait!

The whole Connor family seems to be in disarray. Maria made a fool of herself over Aidan who made a fool of himself right back and Eva played them both for fools and she ended up with a flat and a car. An empty victory, I think. Johnny and Jenny got married but starting up the factory seems to be too much for him to think about. Kate's in love with a married woman. They all need their collective heads knocking together. It bears repeating...

Carla's coming back!!
I can't wait!


Tvor (Twitter @tvordlj)

Musing on Dramatic License

Bethany's storyline has been quite controversial. Some viewers think it's gone too far. Some hate that a corrupt policeman has been added for dramatic effect, saying that it could stop someone going for help in "real life". People know this is a fictional drama, and though these things happen in life, most of the police are not going to be corrupt. This kind of situation is nothing new. Pimps have been seducing vulnerable young women for centuries. Bethany might not have been forced to walk the streets for her clients but Nathan is pimping her out just the same. There have also always been corrupt police so why not introduce one to the storyline? Surely people watching have the sense to understand that it's still fiction they're watching on the screen.

Mind you, I should know better than to say that. I used to process the email that came in through the Corrie.net website. Flaming Nora can back me up here. There would occasionally be an email from someone that didn't seem to understand that what they were watching was acting. I remember when Alma died of cancer. There were a half dozen or more emails from people who really thought the actress was dying and how brave was it of her to portray Alma's death on screen. When the storyline aired in Canada some months later, in popped a few more similar emails. I guess there really are some people that get far too involved and confuse fantasy with reality.

Would it really be possible for a mother to disappear without a trace for 7 years, leaving a 15 year old alone as Denise did with Daniel? The financial aspect alone would make it nearly impossible. She had a breakdown, allegedly, so how was she getting the money to put in the bank to pay the rent and bills? Yet apparently she did that. So why didn't Daniel trace her through the bank deposits? Why did not one neighbour or friend find it suspicious that she hadn't been seen for years? Why didn't Denise contact Ken and send Daniel to him if she wasn't going to be around? Daniel wasn't too keen on having his father in his life, as we saw during that last time Ken saw him but rather than leave your child alone, she had that option. Daniel could only lie and cover for her for so long before someone would start asking questions. We complain a bit but more or less accept the storyline as given because it's fiction.


I'm finding it a little difficult to accept that a man diagnosed with terminal cancer only bothered to try to find a guardian for his daughter almost before it was too late. He knew he didn't have much time left, he told that to Billy when he first appeared on the screen about a month ago. Surely if you have cancer, even if you don't know yet that it's terminal, you would scramble to get your house in order especially if you had the guardianship of a child to worry about, and especially knowing she'd either go into care or be given to your homophobic parents if you didn't make prior arrangements or at least write a will and express your wishes there. Social services might still get involved under those circumstances but surely they'd lean towards a big hearted gay vicar over a mean spirited homophobic grandmother.

I can't say yet if this story is going to interest me much but I will say this, if Billy and Todd do end up with Summer, they had better find somewhere to live. I'm pretty sure Eileen isn't going to go for having yet another mouth to feed.

David finally found out Shona's connection to his late wife, the fact that her child is the one that killed Kylie. Naturally he went ballistic, particularly because he was finding that he was attracted to her and it was mutual. She went and ran off but I'm sure she'll be back and in the time honoured tradition of soaps, they'll eventually get together though it's going to be weird that Kylie's kids' step-mother is the mother of the man that killed their mother. My head hurts already!

We all know that Eva's been in full on Bridezilla mode, trying to get Aidan to propose. She's been dropping hints like the flower girl drops rose petals up the church aisle. He's not picking them up. Deliberately. He likes having it both ways, a gorgeous blonde in his bed and another beauty on the side. He can continue to make promises to both of them and probably enjoys the danger zone. Eva took desperate measures and proposed to him in public so what could he do but say yes! Just to cement the deal, Eva is now pregnant though of course, she wouldn't have known that before the proposal I don't think. What I do think is that I wouldn't put it past her to have placed herself in that position of the possibility of getting pregnant because that would be her backup guarantee of a wedding.

Eva's always been full-on with relationships, pushing them into the next step before the fella was ready for it. I think that's why she kept getting engaged and then dumped. When we first met her, she was licking her wounds after a broken engagement and was there not something about when she was staying in France (when the actress was on maternity leave), that she wrote to Leanne that she met a guy and got engaged? When she returned, she was broken hearted again. Those relationships start up and zoom through to that huge commitment stage far too quickly and that's her fueling the zoom bit just like she's done with Aidan. First it was the push to get him to move in and recently it's been the proposal anticipation. But while she's told him about the baby, she's also going to be plotting his downfall while he continues to gleefully juggle both women, making empty promises to each.

 We suspend disbelief in most cases when dramatic license is taken. There's no harm in that. Tv, movies, books, fiction. Sometimes the writers need to throw in a twist or two that might be a bit over the top.

What bothers me is the nit-picky stuff, or if a character is written to do something that we know they would never, ever do. (i.e. when it was discovered that Betty Williams pilfered all those bar glasses) We also stand up and holler if Corrie history is blatantly rewritten (Annie Walker couldn't leave the pub to Betty because the brewery owned it and did until Bet Lynch left and the Duckies bought it from Newton and Ridley.) Would one small neighbourhood have that many people that have had anywhere between 4 and 6 spouses? Would one small neighbourhood have a building bursting into flame every year or two? Sometimes, you just roll your eyes and get on with it.




Tvor (Twitter @tvordlj)

Storyline rambles

A few random thoughts, theories and little amusements have been rattling around in my head lately and I've just got to write about them so that they won't keep nagging me! Yes, I'm that much of a Corrie-obsessed nutter. That, or I've had too much Easter chocolate.

This past week, Maria told David about her fling with Aidan and he said something to the effect that she doesn't go around nicking other women's blokes. Um. yes, yes, she does and David should remember it very well. He nearly got drowned in the bath by one of them after Maria was shagging Charlie Stubbs who was living with Tracy Barlow at the time. We've had a recent reminder that she had an affair with Toyah's boyfriend once, a university professor. She got pregnant and had a termination that time. In a way, she took Liam off Carla. She was with Liam before she knew he fancied Carla but she then did everything she could to keep them apart and get him for herself. It kind of counts. She was also obsessed with a Fiz-committed Tyrone after she had a breakdown when Marcus left her, she certainly encouraged Marcus away from Sean and now she's all over Aidan.So yes, she has made a habit of going for men already in relationships with other women (and men!)

It also made me chuckle when Anna decided to sell her clothes to help the financial woes in the Webster house. I thought "How is a tenner going to help in any way? It's only going to buy a couple of loaves, a bottle of milk and a packet of coffee". It's not as if Anna has been swanning around in designer gear, is it? She probably buys most of her clothes off the market or the charity shops. Even her few nice dresses are likely only from a high street shop.

So now that Kevin has been given 19 grand from David, is that it? Crisis over? We'll say no more about it? Probably, in true Corrie form, it will now all be forgotten and swept under the rub. I did wonder. Kevin's debt was partly personal due to Sophie's bills and partly professional because the insurance wouldn't pay out on the fire for the other garage. If he went bankrupt, I wonder how that would affect Tyrone. Tyrone owns half of the garage and if Kevin had to sell his half, Tyrone would still be ok though probably couldn't afford to buy Kevin's half. Maybe Luke could have obtained a loan, even if with his father's backing.

I don't think Sarah has told Gail or Audrey how old Nathan really is, has she? Rana has seen him and I think has noted that he was older but hasn't really said anything to anyone besides Sarah. I keep waiting for Shona to find out because we're all pretty sure he was the abusive boyfriend she got away from and I'm dead curious to find out more about her story. It's a good storyline mainly because Chris Harper is so very good at playing Nathan. He's very believable and making Nathan really creepy. Bethany has had so much self esteem knocked out of her  after all that bullying that it's made her a perfect target for him.

It does irritate me that there are so many near misses. Nathan has been curb crawling around Bethany in his car for months, and popping in and out but Shona hasn't seen him, nor has Gail got a glimpse. It's always like that on Corrie when there are secrets. In such a small neighbourhood that normally has people out and about and looking out windows, nobody ever sees anything they shouldn't until it's time for a secret to come out. That's just the way soaps are, I know.

As for Ken's attacker, ITV are now pushing Amy out as another suspect but I really can't see it. They could go that way but I think that, while Amy is quite a little madam, I don't think she's cold enough to whack her grandfather over the head and not show more signs of being upset after. Even if it was accidental struggle and fall, and his head injury is only from the fall, Amy would still be upset especially with other members of the family being accused.

Regarding this week's episodes, the spoilers say "Amy phones the police, telling them to check the fingerprints on the new kitchen worktop that Phelan fitted on the night of Ken's accident. " which then gets Adam arrested on the fingerprint evidence.  That is very easily disproven. Adam has been working on the kitchen and all the rest of the Barlows can testify to it. I think it was all set up so that Tracy is suspecting Amy but Amy probably did it to deflect suspcions from her mother and neither is revealing it to the other.
 
Who dunnit? I am still going with a secondary character, probably Chloe.

The story about Sally's troll is also very good and is keeping me interested. This past week, the troll upped the game with the obituary and the gruesome gift and you have to assume this person really is suffering from a mental health issue. Being nasty online, hurling insults is one thing but this is going the next step into stalker and there are definitely laws against that. Again, spoilers are pointing to Sally's sister, Gina as evidenced by her step daughter, the one Rosie and Sophie track down but I wonder if it doesn't turn out to be the step daughter after all. It will be interesting to see how it comes out. I love seeing Rosie and Sophie involved in trying to help. Rosie even seems to be the more aggressive of the two and I love that. She might be daft, but she's determined. Sally Dynevor really is putting in another powerhouse performance, in any case.

Don't get me started on Michelle's rebound with Robert. I sympathise with her on one level, after losing a child and finding out her husband had another child with someone else, and it wasn't even a grand love affair which, at least, might have been more understandable. I can understand her bitterness and rage and wanting revenge but since I've never really liked Michelle, it's difficult to be on her side and the less reasonable she is over the divorce, the less sympathy I have for her.

Producer Kate Oates says there will be a new name over the Rovers' door. I think that leaves Michelle out of the picture because her name is still over the door as co-licensee. That would be nothing new, just leaving Steve's name off it. I would like to see Dev buy Steve's share and put Erica in as co-manager with Liz. Aside from the Connors, nobody else really has the money along with any inclination. Dev might have lost out on the gym, but he still owns the flat Nick and Leanne live in, doesn't he? And the shop and number 7 so he's got the collaterol. Or perhaps Erica's mother dies and leaves her enough to buy it. I'd enjoy seeing Erica and Liz run the bar together.

That's enough for one session, I think. Coronation Street has been very good lately and I'm really enjoying it. So far, the new producer is getting good marks from me. Keep it up!


Tvor (Twitter @tvordlj)

Let's Play Detective - Who tried to kill Ken Barlow?

Ken nearly came a cropper again but it wasn't a stroke this time. Surprisingly, really, considering the stress and shouting going on there over the past month. I really did expect another stroke. He's been losing his temper left, right and centre. Adam and the drug dealer, Daniel chucking Oxford away, Tracy giving him grief, Peter maybe drinking and cheating (he wasn't but Ken thinks he was). It hasn't let up.

But no, all these people are building up grudges against him and he's landed at the bottom of the stairs in a right old mess.The police have been called to the hospital. They say he's got bruises on his wrists consistent with a struggle and a bash on the back of the head that looks very much like someone hit him. He bruises easily due to medication but I think someone still has to have grabbed his wrists tightly and I think that leaves off Amy at least.

But who could it be? The publicity photo above shows all the suspects that ITV is suggesting. I don't think it's any of them. The most likely suspects would probably be Peter, Phelan, and maybe Daniel. They were harbouring the most anger.

Sinead was drunk but she was on her way to see Ken to give him a piece of her mind. No, it wasn't her. Tracy was angry that Ken wouldn't back her and help her buy the flower shop from Peter but though she might have struggled with him, I don't think she'd have bashed him over the head no matter what she's done to Charlie Stubbs in the past. She was out looking for Amy and didn't have an alibi but I think she's off the list, too.

Phelan says he came in the back door to shout at Ken and found him at the bottom of the stairs just as Daniel arrived. I know he's got history, having left Michael to die and having presumably killed Andy but I think he's too obvious.

That leaves Daniel, Peter and Adam. If any of those actors were known to be leaving the show, I'd have said that would be the person. But as far as we know, that's not happening. Adam has a grudge and Amy was going to slip him some cash. Adam knows where the spare key is and was going to go in and get the money. Did he? Did Ken find him at the top of the stairs? Adam pretended to get a flight back to Manchester the instant Tracy texted him and timed his arrival at the hospital to make it seem like he did just that but we know he was skulking around the night before. I don't know if he'd have shown up at the hospital if he thought Ken might remember it was him, though.

That could be said for Daniel or Peter, too. Daniel has a temper, we've all seen it. But Daniel was on his way to Number 1 after seeing an inscription from Ken on a book. That doesn't seem like a guilty man. Peter was pretty close to the edge over the Chloe stuff. He nearly drank and it looked like he was about to do a runner when he saw the ambulance. He didn't look guilty to me though in the hospital the next day when the police got involved, he did look worried. He does blame his father for ruining his life yet again. He does have the best motive of all of them.

But that's the thing. In soaps, the most obvious or likely usually isn't the perpetrator of a crime though they're usually the one arrested. Therefore, Soap Law says it can't have been Peter.

So who was it?

I have two suspects with a third runner up in a pinch. The guilty party is almost always a secondary character, an expendable  crewmember that we can lose easily unless we know an actor is leaving the show. Barring that, and we haven't heard anything to that effect, there are two.

Chloe. She is obsessed with Peter. She could have done it to set Peter up in revenge. Another one it might have been is that young whippernsipper, Seb. He might have got into the house to try to steal something. He's tried that before. Ken might have caught him. Either of those chartacters are unnecessary to the plot. Chloe's involvement would stitch up Peter so that might be the more likely. The outsider is Adam, in spite of what I said. Or maybe it's wishful thinking because he's not a character I enjoy at all.

The next few weeks or months will tell. I don't know how long it will take. The new producer has been quite good and springing surprises on the viewers and that's a good thing.


Tvor (Twitter @tvordlj)

The Madness of Michelle

I don't like Michelle much, I never did. I always thought she dragged Steve down with her drama. Having said that, I do feel badly for what she's been through, losing a baby and then finding out her husband has a newborn by another woman, not even a woman he had a proper affair with. There was no love between Leanne and Steve, it was a pity party. It didn't matter that Steve thought he lost Michelle. She was on her way out of town, and turned around a few hours later, that's barely enough to qualify being "on a break". He didn't know that at the time but he didn't waste any of that time, either. She's allowed to feel angry and betrayed.

Yes, I felt terrible for her. For about a minute. Until she laced into Leanne and gave her a bloody nose. My sympathy slipped a little but her reaction was understandable. The instant she went shrieking it all out to everyone in the pub,  she lost a bit more of my sympathy and when she assaulted Eva, she lost it all. I can't blame her for being angry but her attack on Eva was uncalled for and I don't care that she was pissed that Eva knew about the baby.

So did Liz, so did Toyah and they came away unscathed. Locking Liz and Steve out of the pub and threatening to take half of everything was vindictive but a less violent reaction but I doubt very much she has a legal right to take half of everything. Liz owns half of the pub so I do hope the writers remember that and only award her half of Steve's share. I don't think she should have half of Steve's share of the cab firm either, because he owned it long before he married her but again, where Tim owns half, she should only get her manicured mitts on one quarter.

She's out of control and all the things she's doing and will do in the near future are not winning her any votes of sympathy from me in spite of her situation being indescribably dire. I get that she's out for vengeance. What Steve's done is much worse than her flirtation and near affair with that Will fella. Had he told her from the start what happened, he probably wouldn't be in this mess. Would he have lost Michelle if he'd told her about the one night stand? Possibly but possibly not. When Leanne then found that she was pregnant, it would have hurt Michelle, but she probably wouldn't have got pregnant herself. She'd have been too angry with Steve to want to have a baby with him, providing she was even still living under the same roof as he.

We all know Steve is a bit of an idiot. He continually lies, thinking he's doing it for the right reasons. He's not vindictive, he's not dishonest for the sake of being hurtful, he's just a weak person and doesn't want to upset the applecart. Yet his lies always, *always* make things worse when they're found out. He didn't tell Michelle about the one night stand and therefore, when Leanne found herself pregnant, he was in an impossible situation once Michelle got pregnant as well. He really did think he could keep away from the baby, and had their Ruairi lived, he probably could have managed it. But he held that child and he knew it was his and his heart melted. He did the right thing but it was far too late.

From spoilers, but without giving anything away, Michelle is going to wreak havoc on Steve's life, I think, far more than is necessary but she doens't do things by halves. I have a feeling I'm going to be doing a lot of shouting at my screen for the next while.



Tvor (Twitter @tvordlj)

Plot Hole Hell

I initially thought this storyline with Caz and Maria was good. It kept my interest as Caz became more obsessed with Maria, manipulating and lying. But in the past few weeks it's getting rather bizarre. Now Maria is being suspected of Murder with no body (because we know Caz isn't dead) and plenty of evidence that isn't even strong enough to be considered circumstantial. I can usually suspend disbelief for the most part but this storyline is starting to get out of control. I hope when Caz is discovered alive, Maria gets an apology from the police and from that self righteous Kate but I doubt it will happen.

Caz was only gone a few hours and everyone was hopping up and down saying she'd disappeared mysteriously. Then, after the bloody handprint and blood on the wall (surely a blood splatter expert could tell something from that), Fiz finds a bloody rug in their wheely bin. I don't understand it, though. If it was Maria that had really killed Caz, she wouldn't hide the bloody rug in Tyrone and Fiz's bin. I guess where it's a set up by Caz, I can see her doing it to bring more attention to doubt Maria's state of mind. It's not as if that bin was near either end of the ginnel, it's in the middle! Wouldn't any old bin do?

Caz must have an Invisibility Cloak. She's been hanging out and lurking in the ginnel.

She must have slipped into Maria's just after she left for work. Nobody saw her. Maria was at work, left again, went to the pub, left again so she wasn't gone all that long and there was Caz about to make her escape from the flat in broad daylight. Yet, Maria got pulled away for a cuppa by Eva so Caz didn't leave after all, she went back upstairs. Why?

She ended up using Maria's scissors to open up a cut that was already on her hand and then replaced the scissors in Maria's case with a half-hazard swipe at the handle of the scissors and later, another swipe at the top of the case, presumably to wipe fingerprints off.

In this day and age of technology and DNA, it would be pretty obvious that wouldn't get rid of any evidence that Caz had touched the case. You just know that the police will not find a thing, though, right?

And another thing. How long was Caz in that flat? Must have been hours, yet we saw her put the scissors in the case and later, much later it must have been, after we saw Maria finish her police interview, Caz was only folding up the case just then. I do wonder why Maria never had the locks changed in the flat once she got home and all this started up.

Oh yes, the case. It's a bit odd that someone that has a permanent job in a salon would carry their work gear back and forth each day, especially when she only lives over the shop anyway. We've never seen Audrey carry hers in of a morning nor David nor anyone else in the history of the salon.

We also found out that Caz has installed a remote webcam and is monitoring it on a tablet from a room somewhere. At the very least it might be a shelter or hostel though it looks much nicer than that. Caz is broke, no job, no mates. The stolen credit card explains the table and webcam but Maria was in London a few weeks ago now, was she planning on video spying on her even then? Caz doesn't seem like a planner, more of an off the cuff kind of woman. And did it take Maria that long to cancel the credit card? If Caz's paying any sort of rent, I'd like to know how. Was she on benefits? I doubt the army would have given her a severance if they dishonourably discharged her. Perhaps she had pension money due.

The police turned up to search the flat and the salon. They claimed it was a tip off. Doesn't that raise alarm bells? And Aidan managed to get the bloody scissors out the door and into the nearest bin, the one outside the factory. Yet the police didn't find the scissors case which still had blood in it, in the flat where it wasn't really well hidden.

It's all confusing and though I did like the storyline, it's getting more and more difficult to ignore the plot holes, as deep as the Mariana trench.



Tvor (Twitter @tvordlj)

You can't please everyone

Last week, Coronation Street yet again pulled out all the stops for a big, fiery stunt along with high drama and emotion. They've been doing this regularly, often a couple of times a year, for most of the last decade. For the 40th anniversary in 2000, Corrie featured a protest to save the cobbles. Literally. The actual cobblestones themselves. For the 50th anniversary, they brought the tram down off the viaduct after an explosion, sideswiping the Kabin and chasing poor Molly right through the corner shop. People died. Secrets were exposed. It was all very frought with edge of your seat stuff. What a difference a decade makes.

It's all about ratings these days, more than it used to be. There's more competition for viewers and all the main networks try to pull out all the stops to lure new punters. They figure exciting stunts will have people tuning in, and for the regulars, they add extra drama to bring an ongoing storyline or two along to a head. If you're a regular viewer, you will enjoy the twists, turns, closure and perhaps opening to new storylines.

If you aren't a fan of a particular soap, you are not very likely to tune in to watch the spectacle like the Powers That Be are hoping. Why would you, if you have absolutely no idea who the characters are and what the storylines have been?  I have rarely ever watched a soap that I don't follow just because they're having a "Big Week" though I do admit to having done so now and then. I did watch the Eastenders live episode for their anniversary a couple of years ago but I used to watch EE in phases in the past so I knew who a few of the longer standing characters were. I watched Emmerdale pull off a wedding disaster involving a helicopter as well but the storylines and character dynamics went right over my head. I didn't start watching either one regularly aftwards. I've tried watching Emmerdale in the past and couldn't get into it. To each his or her own.

Every time Coronation Street pulls off a week of major stunts and drama, the comments pour in. People love it. People hate it. People like some aspects but not others. Par for the course. Some viewers seem to be so critical of what they watch that you wonder why they do. Yet, I do understand. I've been watching Corrie for the better part of 30 years and that's a lot of time invested. It's as much of a habit as it is love for the show but for me, there is a lot of love there and I lean to the forgiving side.

There have been storylines I found boring or ludicrous, or just plain unrealistic. I can be a gold medal nit picker and whinge at the inconsistencies that jump out at me. I *am* willing to suspend disbelief and forgive little glitches and minor "offenses" but only up to a point. I don't want my intelligence insulted. Otherwise, I can enjoy the majority of material that I watch. Coronation Street still does it better than anyone else, in my opinion.

A quick review: This most recent ratings grabber on The Street revolved around the culmination of the storyline that began nearly 2 years ago when Kylie went looking for her son Max's biological father to trace where her son might have inherited ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder). That brought Callum Logan into the Platt-iverse, leading to Kylie's addiction and subsequent absence while the actor was on maternity leave. We suffered through Callum bullying David and the Platts which worked on my last nerve but when Kylie returned, fighting fit, the drama jumped up a notch and about this time last year, Kylie killed Callum defending her sister-in-law Sarah from certain injury and possible death at Callum's hands. The body was buried under the annex, Sarah became emotionally unstable while Kylie and David struggled to keep things together.

The body resurfaced after a carefully constructed car crash stunt and the family managed to weather the suspicions of the police, misdirecting them elsewhere (Tony Stewart) thanks to Todd Grimshaw. Finally, David and Kylie decided to make a fresh start in sunny Barbados but tragically, Kylie was stabbed to death while trying to defend her old mate, Gemma.

David has been plotting revenge on the murderer, a 15 year old lad from Kylie's rough old neighbourhood. He's been obsessed and single minded, with his grief and rage tormenting him. He was going to kill the murderer and himself by blowing them both up. Nothing anyone said to him could connect, not even his mother pointing out that he would kill other people as well and ruin their families' lives like his had been ruined. That didn't seem to have any impact on David, either. But on the day of the trial, things went wrong. He got nowhere near the murderer but nearly killed his own daughter and a neighbour trying to pull her from the path of his car which had flipped over and was bouncing down the road. Another neighbour now has devastating burns on her legs and the reality has finally hit David like a ton of bricks. He's got to find a way to rebuild his life and atone for what his grief and rage drove him to.

Some people thought that the horrific scenes of Anna caught on fire were far too much for early evening viewing. They were more interested in the quieter alternate storyline of Ken Barlow having a stroke after a row with newly returned son Peter. There are always detractors no matter what the story is. I found both main stories to be very well done and the whole week kept me on the edge of my seat. While the Barlow storyline came out of nowhere, David has been breaking apart more and more each week and it's been heartbreaking to watch him. I will look forward to seeing both storylines proceed and can't wait to see where both Ken and David end up.

I have found some of these stunts that end in huge balls of flame to be a bit tedious at times. Not again! you may hear me and a lot of fans cry out. I think that they lose their impact if they're done so often like they have been. It really begins to stretch credibility and even though I did enjoy this week enormously, I hope they back off a little and give us the drama without the fireworks for a change. The tram crash was pretty spectacular but while the special effects were dazzling and the drama was well acted, many of the accidents and fires since then were starting to become kind of run of the mill.

This week's car crash and explosion were done well, technically, and yes, I really was on the edge of my seat but I'd like to see more story, less pyrotechnics, please, in the future.



Tvor (Twitter @tvordlj)

David Platt is breaking my heart

Say what you will about David Platt, from cheeky lad to tearaway troubled teen to family man and back to psycho Dave, he's never boring. I've been amazed to see how he's evolved and pulled himself through his troubled years to become a husband and father. He's even managed to have decent relationships with his brother and sister and his mother when you never thought you'd see the day. The only one of his relatives he seemed to pay any notice of was his grandmother Audrey and even then, it was (pardon the expression) hit and miss.

Now, after the death of his beloved Kylie, he can't cope. He's so filled with anger that he's retreating into himself and pushing everyone away including his children who need him so much. He nearly killed the brother of the young man that killed Kylie and would have if he'd not been interrupted by a nurse. That shocked me, that David could have gone to those lengths, because I don't want his character to leave the show and murderers always have to pay one way or another. Kylie is a case in point, even if she only killed Callum to save Sarah.
 

This storyline has also brought the rest of the Platts in to try to help David. Even Sarah, David's former nemesis, has shown that down deep, she does love her brother. The scenes between Nick and David have been wonderful. I never thought I'd see those two develop a real brotherly relationship and even his spiky relationship with his mother has softened. It's shown that David does love his mother even though they've had a very rocky relationship, but even his mother hasn't been able to help in spite of knowing what he feels like, she having a spouse murdered, too. 

As I write this, we're about to head into a week where all will be revealed. It appears David is going to try to kill Clayton and expects he will die as well. The video he recorded was one of the best scenes ever on Corrie, loaded with despair and sadness and resignation from a character that spent most of his life as a cocky, cheeky git. He feels his life is over and even the prospect of being there for his children isn't enough to pull him back from the edge.

I have no idea what's going to happen. I'm pretty sure Jack P. Shepherd isn't leaving the show so somehow David will be prevented from executing his plan, no pun intended. Apparently, Gail and Nick are going to take action to keep David safe. Locking him in the basement of the Bistro could work but David is slippery and he'll probably find a way out. Short of parading his children in front of his car or a traffic jam keeping him from his goal, how's this going to come out?

We'll know by the end of the week. Top stuff, Coronation Street, keep it coming!



Tvor (Twitter @tvordlj)

Who's Conning' Who?

Vinny came to Phelan with a scam, pretend to sell luxury flats to naive punters, run off with the deposit money and they're quids in. Phelan snapped his hand off at the chance. But things are not going according to plan. Todd has been keeping a close eye on Phelan, not trusting him an inch and is now on the sales team. He's supposed to be on board and willing to go along with the scam but I'm not buying it. I think Todd is planning to find a way to bring Phelan down from the inside and thus remove him from his mother's and brother's lives. Todd isn't exactly twirling his moustache and looking shifty but he has been caught looking thoughtful after various encounters.

Eileen has gotten involved on behalf of Jason, eager to be part of the exciting project that she believes is real but she's been inadvertently putting expensive roadblocks in the way and Vinny's not happy about it, not one little bit. Phelan has impressed on Todd that you do not want to piss Vinny off, he's connected to some dangerous people. I think Phelan discovered just how real Vinny's connections might be and it has given him pause for thought.

I think Phelan is happy to rip off his neighbours and any other person quick to fall for the ruse but while he's a bully, and he's manipulative and he likes to threaten people, I don't think he's got the stomach for *real* violence unless he was defending himself.

Think back. Gary beat the living crap out of him. Did he jump Gary and catch him unawares, with revenge in kind? No he did not. He got back at Gary by using his mother, blackmailing her into sleeping with him so he'd let Gary off the hook. He used the people he knew he could rather than go physically up against a younger man who already proved he could fight back hard. He also hesitated when Kevin gave him a blunt warning not to mess with Anna when he tried to intimidate her and I think he knows Kevin isn't afraid of a fight, either. Again, he tried to blackmail Anna to back away from slagging him off to everyone or he'd tell Kevin about their previous encounter. Bully tactics, right?

He's sly and so is Todd though Todd may be in a bit over his head. Phelan is clearly a master at the manipulation trade. He's got no scruples, even willing to go so far as to pull Alex into his scam though he did seem to be slightly reluctant until Alex insisted.

So how is this all going to end? As far as I know, Connor McIntyre is staying on the show so when this scam all blows up, and it will because that's how things work on a soap, I figure Vinny will be the one taking the fall. I have a feeling that Vinny will double cross Phelan and disappear with the money, leaving him behind to take the heat.  Maybe Phelan will turn Vinny in to save his own skin and will pretend that he knew nothing about it being a scam or that Vinny had a hold on him somehow and forced him into it. He could say that he invested a bit of cash, too, and lost it. Maybe he'll cut a deal with Todd to go along with it since Todd was in on the scam and is as guilty of suckering folk as Phelan.

The part that I found hard to get was the money they're spending just to fool people. They have glossy brochures and a model flat they're building to show people, in a building that... who owns? They have a temporary project office set up outside that old building, too. That's a lot of money spent to rake some deposits in though I suppose it's still going to net them quite a lot, depending on how many they're pretending to sell and if they're reselling the same flats to people.

I'm very interested in this storyline and am enjoying watching it unfold. Pat Phelan is one of the best villains Corrie's ever had and seems to be multi-faceted. He's not really very sympathetic and you don't believe a word he says even if he's telling Eileen he loves her. He's very good at saying what someone wants to hear at the right time. He's expert at timing what he tells to whom, whether it be a "confession" or admission or just bullshit to smooth things over. I love to hate him and that's a testament not just to the writers but to McIntyre himself who can convey 1000 words and the image of the wheels furiously turning in his head with one glance while his back is turned to his prey.

I like that they've paired him with Eileen who is always falling for the wrong fella, this being one of the worst. Yes, she's being played for a massive fool and she's going to pay for it. It was even better having Todd involved in the storyline Fantastic!


I can't wait to see what happens next.


Tvor (Twitter @tvordlj)

RIP Kylie Platt

I've just finished watching two very emotional episodes of Coronation Street. I don't think I've seen better performances all year.

As I speculated yesterday, Kylie got stabbed while defending Gemma from Clayton. I was leaning towards David being threatened but it was Gemma after all and the yobbo tried to rob the shop after Gemma gave him short shrift earlier on, full of the confidence that Kylie'd given her. He returned, tried to rob the shop and Gemma wrestled him out the door, getting knocked unconscious for her trouble but Kylie came charging around the corner to help her old mate and got it in the chest. No surprise that Clayton was carrying a deadly looking knife. His sort usually do.

I thought, Oh heck, that stab wound is right at the area of the heart, she won't last long. Surprisingly, it wasn't instantaneous and she had enough time to tell David everything she wanted to tell him, pouring her heart out with his tears washing her face. That sounds so dreadfully theatrical, doesn't it? My tears were flowing, too, I am not afraid to admit.

It seemed to take forever for the ambulance to come. But wait, she fell about 30 feet from the medical centre. Surely they have doctors in there? I don't think they could have done much either, but perhaps they could have eased the pain a little if nothing else.

When she died and David howled, I gasped and was in floods. I've seen the best performance from Jack P. Shepherd in particular tonight and I've seen Jack P. Shepherd put in some mighty ones over the years.

All around, everyone was amazing. Between Gail's heart breaking for her son and the daughter in law she grew to love to the neighbours being profoundly shocked. Roy attempting to help but seeing there wasn't a thing he could do. Craig feeling horribly guilty that he didn't do more when it kicked off. We all know he's just a kid himself and I bet Beth is thanking all the Gods and Goddesses her son didn't try to be a hero. I hope he can help and be a credible witness but Gemma survived so she will be able to tell the police Clayton's name.

I'm also very glad that Gail brought up the similarity to Brian Tilsley's death and how she made a mess of telling Nick about his father. Nick was about the same age as Max and Sarah Lou was probably close to Lily's age. Gail is going to have flashbacks about that one for some time to come. She admitted she didn't handle telling Nick the right way and urged David to be very clear about Kylie's being dead, not just gone away. I think he did a pretty good job. He did tell the children she was dead though in heaven waiting for them. There may or may not be a Heaven but children don't have to think about that aspect.

This is the kind of Coronation Street that we fans want. I know they can't do high emotion like this all the time, but it's what they do so well. When we see the mundane and the rushed, the over-sensational and the underwhelming, we get frustrated because we know it can hit these stupendous heights of greatness. And it was great. Top stuff.

David has to find a way to carry on. He's got kids to keep him going, often that's the only thing that gets a person through something like this. I expect he'll go off the rails at some point, raging against the night in his grief.

Well done to all involved. Rest in Peace, Kylie.


Tvor (Twitter @tvordlj)

The good, the not-too-bad and the ugly on Corrie

 This week was quite a good week overall on Coronation Street. We started off with an hour on a Sunday, then had to wait for another hour on Thursday with the usual double episode on Friday. Didn't it feel like a long time between Sunday and Thursday?

The main focus of the week was Sarah's breakdown and wasn't it excellent stuff? Really heart-catching performances by both Tina O'Brien and Daniel Brocklebank in particular but from several others as well. Watching Sarah descend into paranioa and madness was difficult to watch and heart breaking but the performances and the writing were superb! On top of that, Billy's clash with his brother and his own faith being shaken up were interesting to watch, too.

We've seen Sarah teetering on the edge ever since last fall when Callum attacked her and was killed by Kylie. She went through with the pregnancy and had Callum's baby, experiencing some severe post natal wobbles over the baby, and whether Callum's evil spirit could inhabit the innocent child. She finally settled down on that point when Callum's body was discovered and it all started up again only fourfold.

Down and down she went. She was barely holding it together, confiding in Todd that she was responsible for Callum's death. Todd read that as a confession of guilt. It was, but only because Sarah felt responsible. If she hadn't lured Callum to the house, he wouldn't have died. Todd in turn confided in Billy and Billy was torn between doing the right thing and protecting a woman he believed was abused by Callum. He couldn't tell Sarah he knew what she'd told Todd since it was in confidence. Add on a healthy dose of guilt with his brother Lee lurking about and pushing all his buttons to get money for drugs and you've got a vicar in crisis.

It all kicked off for Billy at the funeral and he fell apart, to be put back together by Todd and then it was Sarah's turn. Lee clocked Billy being good to her and decided she might be useful to get to Billy. He lured her to his flat to use her to get Billy to bring money but he didn't realize just how big a piece he bit off, far more than he could chew when he picked up on Sarah's fears and pretended that Callum was alive and coming for her. When he grabbed her around the waist from behind, she freaked out. I can't blame her. It was a rerun of the night Callum did the same thing. Even in a stronger state of mind, it would have been a major traumatic thing to have happen.

So there's Lee with a hysterical woman on the floor and the rescue posse beating down the door. He and Billy had a major falling out, both of them deciding the other was out of their life for good. I felt so bad for Billy, it was one of the moments that brought tears to my eyes this week. As hard as it must be, he should have used "tough love" on Lee weeks ago and not given in time and again. He also should have told Sean weeks ago about his brother. It would have saved a lot of problems there too but in soaps, people keep secrets al the time. It's one of the more frustrating aspects.

Sarah was sliding over the edge and now Kylie and David can see that she really is ill. David is still in self preservation mode, trying to keep his family safe but when Sarah barricaded herself in the house and was in a complete state of mania, he finally realized he had to get her help. I liked that it was him that called the ambulance. It took Sarah to get to this point before her mother and daughter could really see that there was a major problem. It always surprised me when Gail never detected that any of her children were off the rails. Sarah hid it a bit but it was still easy to tell she wasn't herself. Gail barely questioned it but she was too preoccupied with Nick's wedding and then the post-wedding disaster to really pay that close attention.

With the police still sniffing around and the possibility that Todd's lie about Tony confessing possibly giving them all an "out", David and Kylie might yet get away with things. If they can keep it together, Tony being dead would be the best solution to the problem. We know it was self defence and the major crime committed was interfering with the body and not reporting it. Jason has finally accepted it could be his dad's fault and brought the tool bag to the police. Thing is, if Kylie washed the wrench as well as she says, there will be no evidence to convict or condemn Tony so we're no further ahead.

And what's with that creepy male inspector, by the way? The woman does all the talking, questioning etc. while he just sits there staring out from under those Thunderbird-like eyebrows, blinking a bit. If he ever speaks, I'm expecting his jaw to drop and his arms to wave around on strings.

Whew, all that, all week. It makes the other storylines pale in comparison. The Not-so-bad storyline that was watchable was Kirk and Beth's (hopefully temporary) split after she first lied about their posh lifestyle and then admitted to the bitch that her Kirky wasn't too bright. He didn't hear her continue to praise him as a good hearted man that she loved. Now he's rooming with Norris which could be quite amusing. I love Kirk and it's been too long since he's had his own storyline. He might be a bit goofy, but Kirk is a good and honest bloke wtih a big, big heart.

Also no-so-bad in some ways, though leaning towards ugly is Roy and Cathy's upset over Alex taking Roy's car without permission and getting a speeding ticket. Cathy saw the black and white side of Roy for the first time, and we all know that Roy can be rather rigid in his "do the right thing" way. All of this upset over a 2 mile an hour over the limit, you say? But remember, Alex doesn't have a license, won't be insured and could have really hurt someone. Roy, as the owner of the car, would be liable. Yet Cathy came down hard on him, and only gave Alex a stern scolding. The near-ugly was that Roy should have known that Alex would have only received a caution and could have added that to his explanation of his intentions. That is, in fact, what happened when Alex turned himself in and then, Roy completely turned a 180 and offered Alex lessons if he got his learner's permit. Eh? I shook my poor, confused head over that one.

The ugly was the ongoing split between Steve and Michelle, both of them too stubborn to talk to the other to work things out and when one or the other tried, there would be some other obstacle thrown in the way. I did enjoy Tim pretending to be traumatized by a flashback of Kevin and Sally kissing to make Steve realize that his situation was no different. But Tim had also signed Steve up for multiple dating services and when Michelle tried to approach him, the text notifications put her off and out the door yet again. Now she's taken a job on a cruise ship and I can't wait to see the back of her. That probably means that she won't go after all but I'm well and truly sick of it. I never bought into them as a couple and I still don't. She always has dragged him down, in my opinion.

Other storylines were under the radar for me. Leanne stuck in between Nick and a bank account that's slowly draining. Simon, who's had a personality transplant back to a cheerful teen again. Phelan is continuing to manipulate, bide his time and keep all his ducks in a row. Sally parading around, bullying Tim and getting herself shown up in front of the council coworkers. Ok, that *was* quite funny when she brought the coworkers round to the house and found Tim and his mates having a beer bash in the garden. Then the council couple thought the beer was great and Sally had to wear egg on her face.

The last observation is that I've noticed that Todd is giving Billy and Sean a strange look when they're cuddling together. After he expressed anger over Billy's confession of growing feelings for him last week, is he now starting to return the sentiment? I think so. That brings us to perennial loser in love Sean. Everyone will see Todd as doing this on purpose, you know that, stealing Sean's boyfriend and we'll go through yet another round of family angst.



Tvor (Twitter @tvordlj)