State of the Street - June 2011

This one's got spoilers....Just so you know.

June started off with a bang, didn't it? Becky smashing up the Barlow house when she thought Tracy was the one that was responsible for Max being taken away and John going boom off the roof of the hospital. I really didn't want to see him being carted off in a straight jacket and having him survive means they're going to pull out an old standard soap plot. Fiz is going to trial for being an accessory for the three deaths so having John alive means he'll come back to save her from going to jail and turn himself in. I guessed that and apparently it's going to happen.  Damn, I'm good!

Poor Fiz got arrested for the fraud she did admit to committing. But oh wow, look who showed up! Brian, Stapewick's former coworker, the married one that Julie fancied and I forgot how much fun  he is! What a great Corrie character! He came and went but I hope he comes back. He and Julie are a laugh together. He's almost like a male version of her!

Becky walked out on Steve and I can understand why. Whatever his reasons were, it was quite a betrayal, anonymously tipping off Children's Services. How come buying a child is illegal yet paying someone to be a surrogate parent or paying for a private adoption is not? Yes, i know, they didn't go that route which is deemed legal and Kylie *was* blackmailing them for it. It's a soap, we aren't meant to take it too seriously and it doesn't have to strictly adhere to reality, either. It is what it is. And with Steve finally having enough of her, she spent most of the month lashing out and acting up.  Now it seems as though they're going to share the same living space but apart. Yeah, that's going to work. Poor Stella must be regretting taking the job as manager already!

It's all a Typical Becky Reaction. I know a lot of people are very tired of her and her tantrums but for me, I still like the character and it seems pretty in keeping with the character for her to lose her rag so completely after being so hurt and so let down.

The other thing I do hate about this storyline is how spineless Steve had been with Tracy. It's nothing new, of course he can't stand up to her. He doesn't stand up to anyone but it's annoying that he allowed Tracy to blackmail him and lead him around by the nose because of Amy for all this time. There's a lot of rumours and spoilers around, and I hope they don't come true but i fear they will and it'll be a rerun all over again. For a minute, he managed to stand up to her and what's he going to do? Becky's gone, he gets drunk and sleeps with Tracy one night. Just like what happened when he and Karen had a split. And as much as i dislike Tracy, she apparently loves him or at least is obsessed with him and this is really unfair to her and it's only going to give her more ammunition for revenge.

Kate Ford was only meant to stay six months but they've talked her into a bit longer. Steve needs to get Tracy out of his life and keep Amy. He also needs to start getting connected with a woman that's not going to be so volatile but that seems to be his type. I think he gets it from his mother who likes dangerous men!

Now Steve, finally, has someone new to manage the bar. Probably something he should have done ages ago since Liz had left and I don't think he's really supposed to have a legal licensee who's A. not living there and B. not planning on coming back. Bringing in fresh blood is probably the best thing with his marraige in tatters and you don't want to give Tracy any more room to get her feet under his table.

So what's my first impression? I think Stella is ok. There's been a lot of guff about her accent which doesn't come naturally to her but i don't really find it too jarring. Perhaps that's because i'm not a native of the U.K. and my ear is a bit more forgiving. She's a good actress and she's jumped right in with a local family connection. Yes, she's Leanne's mother and i think that has a lot of potential. In fact i think she's a better actress than we're getting out of her so far, probably because she's concentrating so hard on the accent. Sometimes she seems a bit stiff and I think that might be why. I think she'll settle in once her storyline gets well into gear and it will do in July. She was great standing up to Becky when she jumped into the fray with both feet when Steve was away. She was in a hard spot and knew there wasn't a lot she could do until Steve got back to deal with Becks. I think i might like her boyfriend, Karl, too. He's not bad looking and he's a bit feckless but then again, aren't most Corrie men?

Can't stand the daughter, Eva. I am not sure why she's there. Do we really need another mouthy cow stirring it with the locals and throwing herself (no doubt) at all the available men? We've got Tracy Barlow for that and Kylie if she puts her mind to it. And Becky. Oh, and Tina. Sheesh. I suppose she's there because she's going to be Leanne's half sister and they've already established an enmity between the two women. Down the road, as is again, a standard soap plot, the sisters will probably make it up but not for awhile if the spoilers have any say in the matter. If Eve does indeed go after Nick, that's going to rub Leanne the wrong way and drive another wedge between Leanne and Peter who will probably take refuge in Carla. And so it goes around and around. 

Graeme and Xin *finally* left. It's unfortunate that they had to lay this dreck on us for Craig Gazey's leaving story. He's worth so much more than this. It would have been more believable if they had introduced Xin a lot earlier and we'd seen the friendship between the three of them grow and develop. Then it would have been more of an emotional wrench for both Tina and Graeme to realize Xin would have to leave the country and give them a lot more motivation to enter into the fake marraige. But no, they dropped us into it and though the actors did the best they could, the vast majority of fans have really disliked the storyline. I'll miss Craig Gazey and Graeme and wish him the best but I'm glad to see the back of that storyline. Seeing the back of that story seemed to give Corrie a bit of new life, brightening it up.

John Stape: It wasn't the end

It ain't over til it's over and the saga of John Stape ain't over yet. Why? Because John Stape miraculously survived a fall six storeys from the roof of the hospital and was last seen staggering towards the ferry to Ireland. I wanted him to die, but that wasn't in the cards.

The saga continues back in Weatherfield, because his long suffering wife, Fiz, is suspected of being an accessory in the deaths of three people for which John is responsible. All she's really guilty of is fraud, no matter what her excuses were for claiming Joy Fishwick's money. That probably wouldn't send her to prison on it's own but murder? Off with her head!

Well, no, not really. But she is going to have a difficult time proving her innocence because there are no witnesses. We know that John accidentally killed Joy Fishwick, trying to keep her from calling out to a neighbour at the door. The police will be thinking that Fiz encouraged John to kill her so they could get their hands on the money.


We know that Colin Fishwick died of a heart attack at John's feet. He hid the body but didn't kill the man. You could make a case for it though. If John hadn't stolen Colin's identity, Colin wouldn't have been there and been upset and furious. The police reckon Fiz helped John hide the body in the first place. I'm not sure a post mortem at this late date would show that Colin had a heart attack but it might.

I'm not quite sure how they reckon she was an accessory to Charlotte's death, though. Admittedly, Charlotte was hammered by Stape before the tram crash but Fiz was attending a hen do at the time in front of many witnesses. After the crash, she went looking for John and then went into labour.

Because John didn't die, I'm going to speculate that he's going to find out about Fiz's trial and come forward and turn himself in. I'm sure John, no matter how far into insanity he's twirled, would not let Fiz go to jail for crimes he committed.

We all rue the day poor Fiz re-involved herself with that man. She gave him chance after chance and nobody could understand why. Love Schmove! He continually lied to her and badgered her into letting him do whatever he decided he wanted to do, illegal or not. I won't go into all that again. I've been pretty up front about that.

But I've enjoyed the ride. I don't know how it will all come out but it's soap standard issue stuff that Fiz won't be convicted for a crime she didn't commit. Somehow she'll get off, whether they capture John, whether he turns himself in or there just won't be enough evidence. It'll be a bumpy right in the meantime until we get final closure on Stapegate.

Edited to add.... DAMN I'm good! Seriously, I did NOT have any advance notice, I'm just a really good guesser!

Corrie Originals

I was looking up the character name of the recurring character of the detective who's been on Corrie recently in conjunction with the Stapewich mess that Fiz is in.  That's D.C. Redfern, if you're interested. Anyway, I was scrolling down the cast list on Imdb.com and the name of Dennis Tanner slid past my view.

Philip Lowrie plays Dennis and he is also the same actor that played Dennis when Corrie first started in 1960. In fact, he was in the very first episode along with current long standing record-breaking William Roache. Now, I know Mr. Lowrie isn't going to break any records as far as that goes, but isn't it cool that there are now two actors who originated their roles over 50 years ago who are on the current cast list playing the same characters?

There's a third actor, Eileen Derbyshire who has been playing her role for over 50 years as well. She first appeared as Miss Nugent on our screens in January, 1961. That's quite an achievement! In fact, if you watch episode 4 of Coronation Street, you will also spot a woman with Leonard Swindley (see photo right) and he distinctly refers to her as Miss Nugent though it's not the same actor, just a non-speaking extra. So you could argue the case of Miss Nugent being a character in the show even before Eileen Derbyshire played her as a speaking part.

I think that it's wonderful that the original actors have been available to revive old characters such as Dennis Tanner and, a year or so ago, Jed Stone. There aren't too many of them left alive from those early years or who are able to revive the part.

Corrie's "big" week - Yay or Nay?

There's been a lot of negative comments about the Street lately but for the most part, I don't agree with them. This week has seen the culmination of two major storylines with the inevitable slide down the slope to the end of another one. In all cases, the acting has been excellent and I have nothing but praise for the performers. In most cases, the writing has been good, too, even with a few plot holes but nothing really that I can't overlook.

Let's get the one negative out of the way first. Graeme and Xin have been limping along this week. They've been filler in between the other two major storylines and it's been dull, dull, dull. Torn between two lovers has been Graeme's theme this week and I just don't care. No criticisms to the actors but they're so much better than this drivel but the whole storyline has been an epic fail all along, all in the name of an exit storyine for the wonderful Craig Gazey who was wonderful as the quirky Graeme, double act to first, David and then, Ashley.

There. That's that done and dusted.

On to Fiz and John. I've enjoyed this storyline and all it's twists and turns from the start even if I've loathed and detested the character of John and hated what he's done to Fiz. All the emotional blackmail, the manipulating, the selfish obsessive single mindedness he laid on her infuriated me, as it was supposed to. The story and the actors kept me rivetted to the screen. This week has been a fantastic denouement. The digging up of the body was horrific. The van accident looked a bit lame but didn't you think John reading Paradise Lost in the loft was a touch of genius?

Stape babbling on about them being able to run away, insisting he had a plan but never really explaining it because, of course, he didn't really have one. He was just in the throes of madness and desperation, completely out of control. Oh, Sally Webster is never going to let anyone forget she was right about him all along! I hope she's a bit more sensitive to Fiz, though.

The kidnapping of the Hoyles and Chesney might have seemed hokey and people have pointed out that though he did seem to manage to visit once a day to feed them and let them have "comfort breaks" that wouldn't be nearly enough. Point taken but I'm willing to overlook that. You would have thought that Chesney would have been able to break through the door eventually or, even though the room was soundproofed, one of the neighbours would have heard the banging on the basement door at least. Surely it wouldn't have been a steel door?

That aside, of course we knew Chesney would get out in time to stop Katy from terminating the pregnancy, that's just a soap standard plot. Having that bubbling in the background the first few days added to the urgency. I can understand Owen's horror finding out his 16 year old daughter was pregnant and, Owen being Owen, isn't going to be the most sensitive Dad about it all. Emotional and sick, Katy would be likely to lose a bit of faith in Chesney with her father insisting that Ches ran off on her. Young love won out in the end. Is that a good thing? Time will tell.

Then we come to the final confrontation at the hospital. I wondered why Fiz took so long to ring the nurse's buzzer! But then Fiz wouldn't have heard the full confession. She did ring it, finally, but it took her long enough! The stupid thing was there should have been police all over that hospital and some stationed out front of her door. John never should have got in the room much less get out of it!

That aside, didn't Graeme Hawley play a blinder! That last scene on the roof was spellbinding! It was already obvious that he wouldn't die. There was a point to mentioning earlier in the week that he had his passport with him but the thing is, there would be no use. If he tried to run and leave the country, the minute he tried to use it, he'd be caught. I still wish John had died. It feels like unfinished business that he is out there somewhere. Fiz can never really move on with her life and she'll be looking over her shoulder always.

Lastly, we've got the crisis in McDonald Mansions. The truth burst out of the closet about Kylie selling Max to Steve and Becky and the Social Services investigation was put into motion by Steve himself, not the usual suspects, David or Tracy though Becky doesn't know that. Steve had had enough of it all, he'd reached the end of his rope, financially and emotionally and called up the Social after night of drinking. David has been obsessed with getting Max back for Kylie for weeks and she's been trying to cover the fact that A. she isn't being bullied by Steve and Becky B. she blackmailed them for the money and C. She doesn't really want Max back. She says he's better where he is and though she says she wants him back, it feels more like she's saying it because that's what David wants to hear. It doesn't seem to me that her heart's really in it.

I don't think Kylie ever really bonded with Max. The circumstances of her childhood, with abuse and neglect, didn't really give her any idea of what a parent should be like and though it didn't sound like she was pregnant from her abuser, she certainly was a wild child and probably got pregnant after a drunken night out with someone she probably barely knew. It doesn't seem to make a lot of sense why David is suddenly all fired up about being a step-dad but you may remember how gutted he was when Tina aborted his baby. Maybe it goes back to that, and maybe David really does want to be a dad.

He didn't even blink, hardly, when he found out Kylie got money for Max but he still doesn't *really* know the truth about his grasping wife. Will he? Will it bother him? Maybe not, considering what he's been like in the past. He would probably understand where she was coming from and she could probably convince him well enough that she was in no fit state to be logical anyway.

Now Max has been taken away while they investigate the problem. That's another apparent plot hole. It doesn't seem like they would do that normally if Max is in no danger but Becky trying to take Max back from the foster family certainly didn't help matters. Katherine Kelly has been playing a blinder this week. Up to tonight, she's been quiet, tense, anxious but has held it in. Finding out someone turned them in, with all the jealousy she's had over Tracy, flipped the switch. And let's face it, Tracy could easily have been the one that anonymously tipped off the Social even if, this time, she didn't do it. Becky thought she did, though, and that was all it took.

When Karen snapped over Tracy, she burned a car and Tracy thought she'd killed Amy. Becky took a sledgehammer to the Barlow house though not to Tracy herself. Are we spotting a pattern? Tracy likes to wind up her so-called rivals for Steve and it always lands her with a backlash far worse than she expected. Tracy didn't cause this outburst, mind you, but because she'd spent so much time blackmailing and emotionally throwing the red rag in front of the Becky Bull, it was Becky's natural conclusion and after a slow burn and a confrontation with Kylie, who rightly pointed out she would never have deliberately caused Max to go into care, she was off with a sledgehammer.

Ken should have called the police the minute that glass broke. David had a great time recording it for evidence. oh heck, Becky, don't break the Barlow table! That's original props, that is! But Steve was too late confessing to save the table.

I can understand Becky leaving him no matter what Steve tried to say to justify it.  I can  understand why he got to the end of his rope and really, it's better that it's all out in the open. Tracy can't hold it over their heads anymore which can't be a bad thing. But why did the Barlows NOT have Becky charged for the damage? (or maybe they will next week and if not, they better take it out of Steve's hide!)

Aside from the Graeme and Xin filler, and a few plot holes, It's a big Yay from me. I'm used to soaps and plot holes and you need to suspend disbelief to some extent for storylines like this. They kept me interested, they kept me coming back every night to see how it would all come out. I was most interested in the Stapegate story, with the McDonald's coming in as runner up.

Judging from a lot of comments this week that I've read on t'other blog, there will be a lot of negativity but surely there are a lot of kudos out there too?

State of the Street: May 2011

I was on holidays for a few weeks but luckily was in the UK so i could see Corrie. The only drawback is that I didn't get to make notes as I watched episodes so, using the lovely weekly updates that Glenda Young writes, I can refresh my memory and pick up where I left off.

The Graeme/Xin/Tina triangle is limping along quite painfully. Oh God is this ever going to end? Well yes, it's ending in June with the exit of two of the three. The inevitable is  happening, you could clearly see Xin had a thing for Graeme and he's becoming quite fond of her, torn between the two women at the moment but the more day to day living he and Xin spend, the more they get to know each other and the more he likes her. Makes a change from pouty, stroppy Tina who's really ruined, I think. She was great when she started but she's swanning around with her nose in the air and a God Given Right to be everyman's fantasy, it seems like.

The return of Dennis Tanner was lovely, especially to get the end story of his mother, the legendary Elsie Tanner who had a fabulous death, dying in a red convertable, fag in one hand, her fella's hand in the other, after speeding through the mountain roads of south Portugal. We haven't seen much more of Dennis yet but I suppose they're easing him into it. Norris is already apprehensive and I suppose we're going to get more of Mary's hissy fits as his attention can't be made to focus on her. She needs more story. She's getting to be a one-dimensional character and that's a shame.

Anyway, Dennis. He's apparently going to be featured with a relationship triangle between Rita and Emily, both of which are too old for him, by the way but at that age, it probably doesn't matter. He's still got that old Dennis Tanner spark, too. Cheeky and charming. He even flirts with Roy's mother! She won't have it, (though I bet she secretly loved it) but it would make for some funny stuff! Ken's grandson, James, was brought back to facilitate Dennis' arrival. I don't expect he'll be in the show long unless they're thinking of creating a triangle with Sean and Marcus. Have they met James yet? I can see either of them fancying James as he's a nice looking man.

Gail is taking apron strings to new heights, isn't she? That woman really needs a life! Poor Nicky is going to be burdened with his mother for life at this rate. David is making inroads and seems to be wanting his wife to have her son back. Kylie sure isn't comfortable with it, in fact, she's panicking. She probably figures if he finds out she sold him to Becky, he'd dump her but when he found out, he had no thoughts of it, just figured on using it for their own advantage. Classic David.  I didn't think he would because as bad as he has and can be, he was horrified that Tina aborted his baby and I think he'd love to be a dad, even a step-dad (He was always fond of little Bethany, remember) and he's figuring they can now make it happen.Watch Becky melt down again and David and Kylie picking up the pieces. Granny Gail gets another grandbaby!

I can never figure Kylie out. I'm sure she loves her son, but she was way too young and just couldn't handle it. In an ideal world, would she want Max back? She might now that she has David and a chance at a stable life. She doesn't seem to yearn to be with him or cast longing glances across the cobbles, much. She doesn't seem to snatch the opportunity to give him a hug when he runs to her on the street. But yet, somewhere down deep, I think she's just afraid to show her feelings.

Steve-Tracy-Becky... it's actually a bit boring, isn't it? I do sometimes get so tired of Steve's spineless act. He won't stand up to Tracy for fear of losing Amy and it's causing just as much trouble in his marraige as Becky's insecurity and hate for Tracy but he doesn't see that. He thinks Becky should just sit back and accept what he has to do to keep Amy living next door. Personally, I think he needs to take a good part of the blame for Becky's jealousy and acting up. That whole Blackpool business was stupid. They didn't have to stay over, he could have sent Tracy and Amy back on the train.

And now, after 8 years or so, Amy has developed an allergy to milk products. Where did that come from? The kid seems to have some of her mother's manipulative genes, too, because she's deliberately making herself ill by drinking milk so that her daddy can come round more. Will Tracy stop and realize what she's doing to the child? No. Of course not. She want to take the child away from her father and her family. Yes, that's going to help. It won't happen, of course, because Steve can find a way legally and Tracy, as he pointed out to Becky, really doesn't want to raise Amy all alone without the safety net her parents provide.

And that brings us to the final countdown for John Stape which is peaking as we speak. This last week of May into the beginning of June sees the end of his character's run on Coronation Street. I really didn't like him at first. He was dull and he ruined Fiz. He was a liar and a manipulator and narcissistic. The Rosie kidnapping thing was all part of that. But then.... along came Colin Fishwick and things started to turn around. There were more twists and turns than a twisty and turny thing and the farce and black humour were rampant. John got himself in deeper and deeper, all because he just wanted to teach! He nearly lost Fiz but then she got pregnant and decided to give him another chance.

People keep dying around him and he is always in the wrong place at the wrong time but he did actually kill Charlotte and probably contributed to Joy's death though it did seem an accident as he tried to stop her from calling out. Because he's not really criminally minded, the guilt did him in. He does desperate things like kidnapping folks and now he's about to go completely over the edge, quite literally as well as emotionally. I don't know if he's actually going to die but we'll find out in a few days. I don't like him any more than I used to but the story has held my attention.

The vision of John frantically digging and uncovering Colin's body in that dusty old carpet, the look of horror on Fiz's face as she's discovered it. John musing over the moonlight while Fiz is shaking beside him, a dead body in the trunk... Everything hitting the fan at once. Graeme Hawley has been amazing in this whole storyline and will be missed, but Stape can't get away with the things he's done, it's soap law. He must die or be put away and pay for his crimes.

Wedged into this is Katy and Chesney, barely able to afford to eat, yet planning a baby. Silly children. Owen is trying to bully her into a termination and since she thought Chesney has run off, she nearly did it. I can understand Owen being horrified at a teenage pregnancy and given his history, not surprising that he was aggressively pushing her to get rid. He's another control freak and I don't like him very much. I think Eileen had a lucky escape there, as did Liz though she does like men with an edge. It's possible they're going to thrown him at Anna going by the few scenes we've seen of them already and that might be good for him, perhaps, if she can find a softer side to him. Maybe that's all he needs is the love of a good woman? They appear to have reformed Chris though that still might rear its ugly head but as it stands now, if they don't soften him, I think Owen has far more chance of being violent towards a wife/girlfriend.

Maria is back in the salon, and that whole factory debacle is done. Mostly. Frank is still around, has dumped Tracy, so who's next? I don't like him, not that we're supposed to, but he doesn't seem to be a fit, does he? I've enjoyed the Audrey/Claudia/Marc stuff, too. Some people haven't but I always like the older cast members to have a storyline of their own. I still say Marc and Claudia look like twins, especially with her deep voice! I doubt either of them are going to be around long.

Tommy Duckworth. Dull. Kevin and Tyrone's feud. Dull. Totally unrealistic that they'd keep on working together. Unfortunately, it makes Tyrone into a spare part. Anna is now a spare part. As is Owen. It's inevitable and it remains to be seen whether it will work. Jeff and Sally are getting dull too. She needs to dump him. Maybe now she's turned down his proposal we won't see much more of him. She can't get back with Kevin though. So totally wrong after all he's done.

Die, John, Die

I want John Stape to die.

That sounds harsh, I know. But he has crimes to atone for. He has to pay one way or another. He didn't kill Colin Fishwick but he did steal his identity and hide the body when Colin dropped dead. He did kill Charlotte and he most certainly killed Joy even if that was an accident. She was having a heart attack or something similar and he held his hand over her mouth so she wouldn't call out to the neighbour at the door. I don't think he intended to kill her but it happened.

Now he's kidnapped the Hoyles and Chesney and has them tied in the cellar and the circle is complete. It started with a kidnapping and has ended with one. The body is going to be dug up from under the floor at the factory and John's going to lose the plot completely. All his misdeeds will come out because he won't be able to keep his mouth shut. And the rug that Colin is wrapped will probably be full of John's DNA as well so he'd get found out anyway.

The spoilers tell us he's going to take off with baby Hope. Fiz, chasing him will get hit by a car and end up in hospital where John and Fiz and the baby will be on the roof. Apparently he is going over the edge but some spoilers say he will survive and escape and go on the run.

NO! I really hope this isn't going to happen. He won't have paid for his crimes and that's just wrong in the world of soaps and is too much like a plot from the American soaps. Fiz will never be able to move on with her life if she knows he's out there somewhere. If he does survive, he has to be taken into custody and either jailed or locked in a hospital for the criminally insane. Unfortunately, with the kinds of things Phil Collinson is throwing at us these days, we could be in for just what I fear.

We're going to find out next week as the storyline plays out. The spoilers I've read are still circumspect, not letting out the secret which is a good thing. I like to be surprised now and then!

You find Coronation Street in the most unexpected places

 Don't you just love seeing Corrie references when you least expect it?

On my recent holiday to the U.K., I stayed in Manchester for a week and also visited London for a weekend. You would probably expect to see Coronation Street references around Manchester but it's still pretty cool when you come across one.

This photo is in the upper level of a pub on the main city centre street, Deansgate. The pub is called Moon Under Water and the building used to be a cinema which first opened in 1914. You can find it when you go up the stairs to the toilets, it's on the wall there along with some other photos, one of which is Emmeline Pankhurst, one of the early Suffragettes who was from Manchester. I assume the photos are homages to famous Mancunians or Manchester culture.

The next Coronation Street reference may not really be a Corrie reference in fact but whenever there are three flying ducks, what Corrie fan doesn't think about Hilda Ogden?

We went to London to see a Doctor Who exhibition in the Olympia Two exhibition centre on Hammersmith Road. One of the costumes displayed was the one that Tom Baker's Doctor wore in the 1970s and looky what I saw on the lapel of the coat!

Finding little touches like that always makes me smile. Have you come across anything similar?

State of the Street - April 2011

The double wedding? Well I've already gone over that. No point in rehashing it. I'm going to thoroughly enjoy Kylie winding up Gail, though!

Then there's a lot of angst and handwringing that Maria's doing about Frank.

The War of the Websters continues with the recent windfall of Kevin's thanks to a lottery scratch ticket. He has been scurrying to win back Sally's favour and not doing well at all. Flowers. A car that she sold back for cash. But she still insists on half of the money he won. Well, he gave it all to her and she gave half back but I hope she took the cost of the car and the money she got for it in mind when she wrote that cheque. It didn't make Kevin very happy, though, it loosens his hold over her. I think it really is over between them and rightly so. Just too much water under the bridge.

Nobody really thought that Steve and Becky would end up leaving because we already knew Liz was going. It's too bad they had to have Jim try armed robbery to try to get the money to buy the pub. It was probably the worst thought out plan he could have devised. No mask, for one thing. Even if he'd managed to get out of the bank, there would have been CCTV footage of his face. All for the love of Liz, really, and now he's well and truly lost her because he's going to be behind bars for the rest of his life and though she said she'd be waiting for him, she's high-tailed it to Spain. She may come back for the trial and she seems to have given him some hope in a letter but really, I think they both know down deep it ain't gonna happen. Goodbye Liz! Off in a traditional black cab.

Steve really needs to get a solicitor and get access to Amy down in writing, especially now that Tracy has all that ammunition against him, not that Tracy would pay any mind to legal papers, I suppose. Tracy threatens to take Amy away and she could but down deep she still hopes that she'll get Steve back in her bed. He's such a lily livered weakling that he could succumb to temptation as far as sex goes but I'd be very disappointed if he ever got together with her properly, citing a long time "I just can't fight it anymore" feeling. For one thing, it was never like that, it was only ever about sex between them and for another, what makes her any different from Karen and Becky, really? Another "mad, bad and dangerous to know" woman, obviously the type he likes. Somehow I doubt even a solicitor is going to be much help now. He's mired in debt, made some impulsive choices. How is he going to get out from under? We hear he's hiring a new manager but he still has to be able to pay her.


The Yummy Mummy competition seemed to be a non-starter. Cheryl and Leanne at odds over their boys. As far as the school play goes, I would think Simon would be far better at getting into character than the morose and silent Russ. I don't know why some people are thinking this is a terrible storyline. Many of those are the same ones that moan because Corrie is one sensational ratings grabber after another. This type of storyline is the kind we always used to see on Corrie. No murders, no hostages, two women in an argy bargy over their kids. I don't think we'll see them rolling about on the cobbles but I for one am just itching to see Leanne grab a hunk of smug Cheryl's hair and give it a good yank! However, after all that, it seemed to fizzle out unless we're going to get more when the play actually happens.

 

Eddie seemed keen enough on adopting and then when Faye finally came to stay, he seemed like he was tired of the whole thing already. I suppose he was just going through it for Anna's sake and never thought it would actually happen but he seemed like he liked the little girl until she caused a bit of trouble stealing. Now he feels overwhelmed with it all. You'd think he would be used to that sort of behaviour. I'm quite sure Gary was not an easy child to raise, and he certainly got into trouble. So in the end, Eddie and Anna just had too many differences though they still love each other, I'm sure. It was so sad seeing them part and again, a few episodes later when she put the last of Eddie's cakes in the bin, closing the lid on their life together.

When you're dropped into a trouble child's life, it's not going to be easy and I think Eddie didn't really realize what it was going to be like. He now does in spades and is probably thinking he's too old to go through parenting a difficult child again.

Unfortunately, he's off to Germany, leaving Anna to hold the baby, so to speak. Will Social services let her keep Faye now that Eddie has gone, though? And if they take her, I'm hard pressed to see how Anna fits in to the community on her own, with Gary all grown. She'll have lost Eddie because of Faye and lost Faye anyway. She might as well go to Germany after all if that happens. I really like her though, and I hope they find reasons to keep her. They'll probably throw her at the first single bloke that happens by, probably Owen. Then she'd have Katy to fuss over. Good bye Eddie. I think it's a huge mistake to let Steve Huison go.

Roy's mum, Sylvia has arrived and I love, love, love her already! She's just the thing to put the cat among the pigeons. I hope we get to see her reaction when she finds out that Hayley used to be a fella. She's not a replacment for Blanche but I do think the show needs a cantankerous old biddy like her to keep people on their toes in the tradition of Blanche and Ena Sharples.

John is in a very bad way. It's the beginning of the end, we all know that from the spoilers and because it's Soap Law. The truth about Colin under the factory floor *has* to come out. John spent quite some time in hospital and he certainly didn't take things easy when he got out, dumping his pills in the bin as soon as he was away from the doctors and nurses' watchful eyes. It's that selfishness again. He knows what's best. Except he doesn't and he flipped out again when he found out about the money from Joy's estate. Poor Fiz is at the end of her rope and Chesney is upset, too, for her and there's nothing he can do, especially now he and Katy are pregnant. Doesn't that just make you shudder? 16, on their own, not making ends meet and now a baby? She'll be quitting school and living off the Social in no time if this keeps up. And Owen will be inside for murder because he will do one on Chesney! It'll peak in May and we'll see it all come out.

Easter in London... I liked it! But then I love London and it's very neat to see all the places I've been. I did wonder about Violet and Jamie though. Awhile back when Sean was first back in touch with her and got to see the little one, he said she and Jamie had broken up. I guess they got back together and it's obviously not been a smooth road. Sooooo nice to see Marcus again, too. He was a lovely character and he and Sean really worked as a couple. Toddley and Jools weren't all that much to write home about, I was hoping Jason would hit Todd just a little harder but he did manage to knock some sense into him verbally. That part of the Easter Sunday show all seemed kind of flat, really.

We've ended April with an immigration inspection to check whether Graeme and Xin are really married or not. They reckon someone told on them and that's what happened but even so, you would think there might have to be an interview anyway. Maybe not but leave it to Mary to stick her beak in. Tina and Graeme are falling apart, with suspicions telling them what they already know down deep. There's no going back. It's clear Xin is falling for Graeme and if he's continuing to have arguments with Tina, it's inevitable he'll fall for Xin too. She didn't get a job that she'd interviewed for but, with the near departure of Craig Gazey, I recon she'll get one that will take them somewhere else, London perhaps, or Wales. I can picture Graeme in Wales, can't you? It'll facilitate them moving away together and he'll have discovered he's got feelings for her after all, which most of us already suspect.

How do you solve a problem like Maria's

It's all been he-said-she-said at the factory. Maria has been moaning and bitching about Frank for weeks and Carla has been pandering to him, keeping him sweet to keep the work on. Carla is in a tough spot, do you side with your staff and let the factory go under? Hard call. She's now believing that Maria overreacted and Maria blames Carla for making her go to Frank's that night, all dressed up. I'm kind of with Maria there. Work on his crush, get the order, not really the way to do business.

She certainly didn't ask for his attentions but he also picked up what he thought were signals. You fancy someone, they come to your house dressed in a sexy little number and share a few drinks. You might think you have a chance and move in. But no means no and he shouldn't have tried again. Frank just thinks he tried it on and got knocked back. Would he have raped her? I don't think so but obviously Maria didn't know that.

What Would Carla Do? If Carla had been in the same position, I think she'd have snogged him but manage to extricate herself before going further, leading Frank along and charming him until he thought that it was his idea to "wait". I don't really think Carla is all that savvy a business woman, like she thinks she is anyway. She never thought much of Maria in the past, why would she hire her? Maria might have been ok as a regular Assistant, much like Rosie was. Handle the phones, do some computer work, answer the mail, send out the bills. But handling a client? On her first day? Carla is as much to blame for the situation as Frank is!

Did Maria overreact? If you put yourself in her shoes, no she didn't. I think she's right in going to the police based on how she saw the situation but she should have gone straight away, not weeks later. Now the police dodn't see it her way and unfortunately, that's probably right. Frank certainly  wouldn't get convicted for attempted rape though possibly sexual assault.

These things can be very hard to prove in a court when you're a woman if there's no actual evidence...torn clothing or bruises and the like. The fact that she's kept it secret from most people rather than going straight to the police that same night would go against her too. Maria's not wrong for feeling the way she did. Frank should have taken the first No for an answer. No excuses. But I also think Maria overreacted a bit after all was said, done and apologized for. I do think Frank was genuine in his apology, realized he'd crossed the line and regretted it.

Where should Maria go now? Well, not back to the factory, that's for sure. Maybe Audrey (and David) will take her back at the salon. Maybe she can work with Peter now that John's freaked out and ran for the hills. Maybe something new? What do you think?

Nodding to Coronation Street history

We are being treated with another nod to the great history of this great show that we all love. Another character from the distant past is returning, played by the same actor and it's a wonderful thing! Everyone knows the name of Elsie Tanner and everyone remembers or remembers hearing about her wild child, Dennis.

Dennis Tanner, when we met him in episode one, was only a few weeks out of Borstal, a juvenile prison. He was a young man that had got into trouble. He wore his hair a little long, liked a leather jacket and had a slight air of danger about him but he was a pussycat really. He had big dreams and not always the means to make them happen successfully. He was the often the bane of his mother's life but everyone seemed to like the scallywag anyway.

There was always a rivalry between Dennis and neighbour Ken Barlow. The boys would have grown up together though Dennis was a couple of years younger, more the age of David Barlow. Ken was studious and smart, and he went to university. No doubt Dennis felt that his mother compared him unfavourably to Kenneth and Dennis did seem to have a chip on his shoulder about it all. I think Ken pretty much ignored Dennis as much as possible and did seem to look down on him. But then, Ken looked down on pretty much everyone in his working class world, somewhere he never thought he really belonged but couldn't quite seem to leave.

Emily Bishop knew Dennis. She was older than him by 13 years and an "old maid" or spinster. Women were supposed to be married and raising a family by the time they were Emily's age but Emily was not fortunate enough to find that life for herself. These days, most young women are discouraged from marrying too young and encouraged to establish some sort of career for themselves first. Indeed, women can decide not to marry and are not thought to be strange. But those were different times.

Although Emily seemed to have a crush on Leonard Swindly and even proposed to him in the leap year of 1964, she realized neither of them truly loved each other and backed out. She seemed to regard Dennis as a naughty schoolboy but I also think she might have harboured a little crush on the "mad, bad, and dangerous to know" Dennis, the type of feeling where you look at a younger man, sigh and wish you were 10 years younger that maybe, just maybe, they might notice you.

Dennis knew Rita Littlewood, too. She was a club singer and exotic dancer and he was into managing entertainers though wasn't her manager. She, too, was about 10 years older than him but in her initial appearance, seen above from 1964, was said to be just a friend. She returned in 1972 as a regular character, several years after Dennis left in 1968. We never really knew how well she knew him but they were comfortable with each other so likely were "mates".

Jump forward, now, to 2011. We're about to encounter Dennis Tanner again, still played by the original actor, Philip Lowrie. Over the years, we would hear the occaisional remark from his mother, Elsie. We know he was in jail at one point for scamming senior citizens. He left the show with a new bride, Jenny, but very likely that didn't last. Rita is set to encounter him and will remember him and apparently Norris is not going to like this intrusion into his safe little life one little bit.

That brings me to my next point.

It seems to me that Norris has turned into Percy Sugden. Norris has very high regard for his landlady and good friend, Emily and we know he's harboured romantic unrequited feelings for his coworker Rita. She gently turned down his marraige proposal several years ago. Any time either of them makes friends or becomes close to another man, Norris feels threatened just as Percy did with his place in Emily's life. He seems to think his place in their lives is about to be usurped and decides that the offending man is only trying to scam one of his friends and is not genuine. Emily's friendship with Ed Jackson from her church did turn out badly when he revealed he was the one that killed her beloved Ernest though was trying to repent for his sin. I wouldn't say Norris had anything to crow about though he did anyway but Emily was barely able to forgive Ed.

Norris' half brother, Ramsey was the biggest threat. Emily fell in love with him and this, on top of the resentment Norris already felt towards the man he felt contributed to their mother's death, had him apopletic with insecurity and rage. Ramsay was genuine in his feelings for Emily and that probably scared Norris even more.

Jed Stone, another long time ago character, landed a temporary bed with Emily, too and Norris was highly suspicious. It wasn't really a problem with Jed, though, it was his contact with Tony Gordon that caused the problems and brought trouble to the house of Bishop. Ray Langton took advantage of Mrs. Bishop's good nature (in Norris' opinion)

He was right about Richard Hillman, however. Richard's financial scheme to fund Emily money and gain control of her house after her death is not an uncommon or illegal practice but when he tried to kill her to get his hands on it, well that most certainly is!  He's even felt that way about Spider Nugent, Emily's nephew and wasn't too happy when young Graeme was offered lodgings with Emily nor did he wholly approve of Tina staying with Rita and was proved right the second time when it was revealed that Tina and Graeme had staged their breakup to engineer an immigration scam.

I hate it when Norris is proven right! ;)

Now, Dennis is returning. An old friend of both Rita and Emily. Are we taking bets that perennial landlady Emily will offer Dennis the spare room much as she did Jed Stone? Are we wondering if Charmer Dennis might turn his affections to flame haired Rita? Norris is sure to get a case of the wobblies and go around moaning portents of doom, like he does. I dislike Norris, who's a jumped up, nosy, annoying  little berk, but this storyline will bring the veteran actors into the forefront and that's never a bad thing. I'll be interested to see Ken lording it over Dennis or Dennis snarking at Ken for his perfect life and the fact that he's still living one door down from the house where he was born. Dennis might have fallen on rough times but he'll have put in a lot more adventure into his life, no doubt. I'm looking forward to hearing the fate of Elsie, long dead, I'm guessing, but having lived the rest of her life, happy in the Portuguese sun with Bill Gregory.

With 50 years of history to draw in, it's wonderful when they remark on a character long gone or an incident that happened in the past. I've really enjoyed the short lived returns of past characters like these and it's especially nice when they're played by the original actors (there's a great blog post here about recasting characters). The more this happens and is well received, maybe the more we'll see pop up on our screens. Corrie uses the sensational storylines and the younger set to try to attract new viewers, but they need to show the long time fans appreciation too, and this is just the ticket! Balance the high drama by featuring the veteran actors who can be just as popular with the younger set as the teens. It makes everyone happy!