Cross dressing Dennis?

There was a blog post on Coronation Street Blog about whether Marc/Marcia was a good storyline or not. That's not under debate here, but a comment by "ChiaGwen" mentioned Audrey and Dennis as a better pairing and my imagination went wild. Everyone seemed to agree that Andrew Hall was sadly miscast and has been very unconvincing as Marcia. Wouldn't it have been fun if Dennis Tanner had turned out to be a cross dresser?

Oh come on.... Why not? It's not really a retcon. We have no idea what Dennis' life has been like since he left the Street in 1968. Maybe he discovered that dressing in women's clothing was relaxing. I think that Dennis would have made a far more convincing cross dresser and he's got the cheek and charm to pull it off. Probably has better dress sense, too, considering how well turned out his mum Elsie Tanner always was!

He'd have picked a far better wig, too. Here's a rough Photoshop mock up of Dennis in an Audrey 'do just for a laugh.

Thoughts on Becky and Nick

I'm still a Becky fan no matter that a lot of people are getting sick of her. This week was a great Becky week for me. I really thought the whole scenario and storyline of her working at the Bistro, having a fling with Nick and winding up Steve and Kylie and David was great! It didn't last an eternity or get dragged out farther than it should have been. It was just right.

The Bistro seemed like an odd fit and as we know and as Becky finally admitted, she's not a cocktails and tapas kind of girl. She also had to face demons in the personae of Kylie, David and Steve through the week, all of which tested her and found her failing her patience exam. Kylie and David in particular made a point of rubbing Becky's face in it letting her know that they were going to get Max back. There are so many great restaurants in the Greater Manchester area they could have gone to to celebrate but no.... they went to the Bistro. Of course that's because there has to be more conflict in the storyline. It would have been pretty dull had they just gone out to the Chinese at the precinct or something.

I felt bad for Becky. Yes, she's somewhat the author of her own misfortune. Steve might have called Social Services on her but she was out of control.

Then there was Nick. They almost made a good couple. Odd but oddly not so bad but her volatility would soon have him running for the hills had they managed to stick together. He's right, with all her baggage along with her rocky relationship with his sister-in-law, and the fact that she's on a massive rebound, it just isn't working. I have to say, though, I thoroughly enjoyed Gail's and then Kylie's reactions seeing Becky there in the morning. Gail was horrified! I'm glad she brought up his tryst with Tracy. So often they forget these things happened. And Nick might accuse David of being the family weasel but he's just as capable of using people to wind up others as well. He certainly enjoyed his mother's discomfort every bit as much. Odd to see Gai defend Kylie after all this time, though.

There were some nice scenes on the last of the episodes with the two of them talking. I can't stand Nick, he's just as weaselly as David and he can manipulate and lie with the best of them. He's arrogant much of the time, too, but this week he was almost sympathetic. I think Nick could be a good friend to Becky. She needs friends besides Roy and Hayley.

And of course Steve's date from hell was hysterical. You know without asking that this gorgeous woman was going to turn out to be the lowest form of tacky they could dredge up. Brilliant stuff! And that moon-faced ginger kid! First of all, he really looked like he could have been her son. Second of all, Steve said he dated her once 10 years ago, that kid had to have been 10 or 12. But aside from that, what a perfect casting choice and he was scarily and hysterically perfect, staring at Steve, slurping his drink and not saying a word. He had me creeped out and laughing all at the same time, watching him! 

State of the Street - July 2011

July was full of Barlows which is never a bad thing. James proved to be quite the opposite of his upstanding father and pillar of community grandfather and gave charities a bad name. He dragged Sophie down with him too. Everyone is shocked that Christian Sophie could possibly steal from her father but she did have every expectation of returning the money. Remember, it was only meant to be a short term loan to help get the new house for the shelter, so she thought. It also shows up how young and naive she still is. It also showed up Kevin as the obnoxious bully that he his. Ok, he's allowed to be pissed that he lost that much money, who wouldn't be? But he could be a little more understanding of his daughter after the initial shock wore off. He treated her like she was a habitual criminal and he also took it out on Ken and Deirdre and Peter which wasn't called for.

As for James, he's a sneaky so and so isn't he? corrupting young teenage girls, scamming his grandfather, threatening children, lurking on the doorstep with shifty eyes waiting for the postman and being completely unrepentant. Tracy's suspicions twigged though, and as awful as Tracy can be to her parents, if she catches someone doing the dirty on them or on her kid, they won't know what hit them! James had better hide the statues and other heavy objects.

And Tracy is after Steve as well. As always. But this time she made serious inroads. What is it about Steve always turning to a woman to make himself feel better after losing the one he really wants? And with Tracy of all people? You might know. And knowing how Tracy feels about him, you would think he'd know better if he has no intentions of being with her properly. It's no wonder she continues to have feelings for him if he's giving her signals like that. Scarpering off to London with Amy is not that nice but it's certainly understandable after him using her like he did and then dumping all over her when he thought she told Becky about their one night stand. Her reputation preceded her and she probably would have in yet another confrontation with Becky eventually.  I'm not saying I'm warming to her at all because I'm not. But even so, to be fair, she didn't deserve this.

The month was full of Stella too, interacting with the junior Barlows. Yes, she is indeed Leanne's birth mother and said she'd had a baby too young, had to get away from Les (that, I *do* believe), with him and his family keeping her away (that, I don't). A bit of a retcon there, methinks but all in all, ok, we'll just tuck that to one side. It seems like Stella has a lot of regrets and Leanne isn't so quickly inclined to accept her mother back into her life so easily. Those cracks in her and Peter's relationship that they patched over are showing the strain, too. It takes a miscarraige for Leanne to crack and accept her mother's comfort. I saw that coming but it was touching just the same. It doesn't mean it's going to stick, though. They may get to a good place eventually but it won't be for awhile.  As always, Jane Danson never ceases to amaze me. She and Chris Gascoyne were the powerhouse stars of the month.

There's been a lot of stick about Michelle Collins' accent but I don't find it all that awful, not to my Canadian ear. I can't say I think highly of her acting though. She feels a bit stiff and any attempt at emotion is just painful, for me! I just don't understand why actresses (mainly) feel the need to get face lifts and Botox. I suppose the pressure is great on them and the competition fierce but I would much prefer looking at a normal aging face like Sally Dynevor or Helen Worth or Anne Kirkbride than one that's barely able to crack.

But I digress...


I just wish this all wasn't going to lead to another round of Peter and Carla but I suppose, there really is unresolved stuff there and it isn't going to make Frank very happy either. More conflict. I hope Peter doesn't start drinking again but it would be realistic if he slips. It happens more often than you think in real life.   

Carla has already made her play for Peter, taking advantage of his vulnerability. Leanne had thrown him out of the hospital room, he had serious doubts about the baby anyway and he wanted a drink badly. He was tempted, that was quite the snog they shared, but he really does love Leanne. Unfortunately he's also got Ken's genes. This could be bad. Looks like he's going to be struggling with his demons for awhile, especially if Leanne can't stop pushing him away and now he's given Carla a bit of a ray of hope no matter what he says to the contrary.



Right. So Jerry's selling his house, the one that Anna lives in and rents, and she told Owen. Who couldn't see this one coming? Owen buys the house and next thing you know, he's sniffing around Anna and the month nearly ended with a snog! I bet Faye isn't going to like that. Frankly, though, I think Owen and Anna make a better looking couple than she and feckless Eddie. At least Owen is a bit more stable and successful. Drawback is his temper. But maybe Anna would soften him a bit. Mind you, that temper was of good use when he had to kick down Izzy's door when Gary freaked out. What amazing stuff it was watching Gary break down, heartbreakingly sad, too. 

Fiz is in the nick. She's at the end of her rope and all the circumstances are loading up. Sally is having a field day but everyone else is supportive. The police say that Colin had a fractured skull, I can't remember... did Chesney witness when that guy came to the house in a rage looking for Colin? That would lend credence to Fiz's story. Some people are sick and tired of Fiz and her moaning but I continue to enjoy the storyline. Of course Fiz is always upset and crying, wouldn't you be? Is it a predictable story? Of course it is, it's a soap standard, whoever gets arrested is very rarely the actual guilty party and is either cleared in the trial or set free by some other circumstance. Guilty people always pay. Everyone out there is now shouting Tracy Barlow's name. But she did go to jail for several years so she didn't get off completely even if the verdict was turned over on a technicality. Since Jennie McAlpine isn't leave the show, we'll be in for the summer of Fiz and into the fall as we start to see what life in the Big House (copyright J. McDonald) is like for her.

There's Gail and Kylie wars brewing and it's dead funny. I knew I was going to enjoy seeing Kylie wind up Gail. I really think David and Kylie should move in somewhere on their own, they must both get a salary from the salon, enough to pay rent. If Tina the barmaid and Graeme the window cleaner could afford the shop flat, surely David and Kylie could. 

So Audrey has a new fella. But she's still got better dress sense than he does. I like that she's got her own storyline and I even think the storyline is a good one for her to have. I just think it would have worked better if Marc didn't have such a very deep voice! I do wonder why so many  tv shows have cross dressers with such awful sense of style and terrible wigs. There's no excuse, you know. There are shops that sell women's clothes in larger or taller sizes and they're very nice and very stylish. Audrey could at least take Marc in hand there. They got together properly on her birthday. Makes a change from last year's when Gail found out Lewis was a male escort!

Gary Windass breaks apart

Last year, we saw Gary Windass go off to Afghanistan and return, having lost his best friend, with a bad case of Post Traumatic Stress. He was edgy, he lost his temper easily, and was volatile. He freaked out in small, confined spaces. But eventually he settled down. Or did he?

But did he? He found love with gently Izzy but more and more, he feels the need to protect her, especially as he sees her as more vulnerable in a wheelchair. There are bad things and bad people out there and he wants to keep Izzy safe. But Gary has gone from over protective to manic about it and this week we saw him over-react to her mugging by keeping her helpless in the flat. He figured that if he just kept her inside, nothing bad could happen to her.

Poor Gary, but I'm glad they haven't completely forgotten the Traumatic stuff from his stint in the war. You could see him breaking apart little by little. He'd get all emotional then shut down completely and act like nothing's wrong. Then he'd lose his rag again and it wasn't even a matter of being controlling, it was trying to keep her safe after his whole world had blown apart. Heartbreaking to watch him even go so far as to close the blinds to keep out the light and the rest of the world, watching through the slats for the enemy. then his eyes are glazed over and he's confident she'll marry him and everything will be ok. He was completely gone by that time. Brilliant camera work, shaky, hand held, giving you that unstable feeling, just like Gary's tenuous hold on reality. Then swift cutting back and forth, like an action film, or shattered pieces flinging around the room.

In the end, Izzy's dad, Owen, broke down the door and Gary, too, broke down. For once, Owen actually realized straight away that Gary was in trouble, not a danger. I don't mind admitting I was in tears by the end when Gary begged for help.

We've blogged before about how amazing actor Mikey North is and he just continues to amaze me more and more. He did a lot of research into this type of situation, meeting with soldiers who've been through it, and it shows. Kudos also to the writers and storyliners who didn't let this drop and fade away. If he doesn't get any awards for his performances, there is no justice.

Defending Corrie

There's been so much garbage in the media lately about Coronation Street - low ratings, bad accents, too many gay characters, and all of it's pure rubbish. As reported on t'other blog, ITV has stoutly defended it's flagship soap. Some question why they even need to. I reckon it's because the media, once they've got something in their grip, don't want to let it go and they all pick it up and run with it. Nothing better to do, I guess.

I've been enjoying the show of late.

Do I like all the characters? No, but then I never do. I've never liked Norris Cole. I've never warmed up to Michelle Connor. I don't like Eva Price so far but it's early days yet. I've not always been too fond of Kevin Webster. There's some characters that have always been kind of pointless for me, but partly, that's because the writers never really did much with them so they never really gelled.   (Chris, Cheryl, Russ for a start but they're clearing out soon anyway, and Tommy has never made much of an impact either.)  Since the Graeme/Xin debacle, Tina is getting on my nerves. I can't stand Tracy Barlow and I hate that they've brought her back. Mary seems to have lost her quirkiness of late. I don't like Owen but I'm hoping that Anna will soften him up a bit.

Do I like all the storylines? No, but then that's also normal. I never enjoyed the immigration story and am very glad that's over. I'm not too happy about the return of Dennis Tanner only because they've really not done much with him and I'm afraid he'll get fed up and leave. I've never been all that keen on Chesney and Katy's romance and the direction it's taken. (Oh, and now Fiz is in the nick, have they moved into the house? If so, have they given up the flat? There were murmurings but it's all confusing me.) So far, Sean has had minimal struggle dealing with a little boy, even with Marcus' help. Chris and Maria have not clicked, either but that's nearly over.

As always, most of the actors do an excellent job, whether I'm enjoying the storyline or not, whether I like the character or not. There are always weak links, but everyone has different opinions on what they are. I have never felt that Kate Ford is a strong actor but she's apparently a very nice person so perhaps she is better than I think?

Michelle Collins seems to be a bit weak on the emotional scenes but perhaps that's to do with the chemically frozen features that seem to be increasingly common in women of a certain age although, thankfully, Corrie doesn't seem to have many. I don't mind her Northern accent at all, and since I was only ever an occasional EE watcher, I don't see her as Cindy Beale. And anyway, wasn't that a lot of years ago? Surely she's got past that typecasting now? I'm looking forward to seeing how she and Leanne get on. I think it was a great move to make her Leanne's mother and there's lots of emotional potential there. I really like Leanne and Peter and I feel emotionally invested in them as a family. I'll not like that they seem to be throwing Carla into the mix again but conflict is what soaps are all about. I just cross my fingers that the younger Barlow family will manage to stick together.

I've been enjoying the Stape, and now, Fiz storyline. Some people hate that she's moaning and crying all the time, but wouldn't you if you were in her shoes? Her life has completely crashed around her. She married an asshole and he's done nothing good for her and left her holdling both the baby and the blame. We all know she won't be convicted because it's soap law and as soon as John walked away from the 6 storey fall (oh, come on, it's a soap, you really do have to expect these things!) I knew he'd eventually come back to confess and keep her from jail. That's predictable as well but I'd have been disappointed otherwise. My only fear is that when he does that, Fiz will soften and bleat "See? He does love me!" and forgive him because he's the father of her baybeh! Stupid woman. I hope she gets angry. Really angry, and gives him the telling off of his life. I'll help.

I'm enjoying Sophie's misadventures with the homeless shelter. It seemed harmless enough but then it took a twist and turned out to be a scam. Angry  young man James is about to be revealed as a scam artist. Maybe his father Lawrence was right about him all along! He certainly won't be surprised to hear his son is about to try to rip off his newly found grandfather. I don't think he'll get away with it, though.

I'm eagerly waiting for Brian the teacher to come back into Julie's life. I think he's one of the best new characters. He's feckless and silly and a real classic Corrie bloke and I think he and Julie are absolutely made for each other. I really like her and this will give them more airtime. I love how she's forging ahead and has determined that Dennis Tanner is indeed a relative while Dennis is quite clearly not quite enthralled with her and her antics but is bemused and slightly exasperated in conjunction with much eye rolling. I think the two of them could become quite good mates in the end, though, don't you?

I'm loving the arrival of Roy's mother to put the cat in amongst the pigeons. We've needed the gruff older battleaxe as Greek Chorus, acidly observing the comings and goings from one of the key neighbourhood meeting points. She will be developed and has already shown that there's a bit of a kinder underside to her. She's no Blanche. But then, Blanche was no Ena. I think, in fact, Sylvia is probably closer to Ena's character than Blanche was in some ways. Little by little, they're having her make "friends" with a few of the older characters who are including her in their circle at the Rovers. There were rumours of a romantic triangle between Dennis, Rita and Emily but I rather think Sylvia may replace Emily in that, if it happens, though I still have a hard time wrapping my head around Dennis being old enough to date women in their 70s as his peers!

The breakdown of Steve and Becky, while it saddens me, was probably inevitable. He is attracted to women like her but they are loose cannons and very self destructive. Has he not made a connection to the fact that Tracy has been instrumental in both of his most recent marraige blow outs? Steve is weak and spineless, he always was. It's frustrating seeing him buckle under the least little bit of pressure from any of the women in his life but that's who he is. I never used to like his character but the actor has come along so well and about the time he and Jim started the building business, about 10 years ago or a bit more, I started to come around. As Steve matured (and I use that term loosely!), the actor has really settled in and Steve is now one of my favourites in spit of, or probably because of his flaws.

I miss Liz but since she's barely been on screen for over a year, her parting was less of a wrench that it would have been. I wish she'd have been able to go off happy with Jim, though. That made me a little sad.

Although I hated the Molly-Kevin affair, as did we all, you have to admit it had a lot of far reaching consequences. I'm very afraid that Sally will soften towards Kevin and take him back. After what he's done, she really shouldn't and I don't care how much history they have. She may be a shrew, a snob and a pain in the arse, but Kevin doesn't deserve her and he doesn't deserve to get his whole family back after his betrayal. I shall be very disappointed if this happens. I love Sally always sniping at him and cheer every one of her backhanded remarks at his expense. I do find it hard to believe that he and Tyrone could possibly continue to work together.

In a real world, Tyrone would have sold his share back to Kevin and left. It would have been too difficult working with the man and too hard to see that hated man bring up the baby he thought was his. It's not the real world, though, so sometimes things just have to be accepted. I'm glad they're going to give him a new love but i don't think it will be smooth sailing and so it shouldn't at first.

One last thing I'm really loving (yes, I know this is rambling on!) is Kylie and David. I always enjoyed Paula Lane, I think she's a fabulous actress and the character of Kylie is great! One of those you like to hate because she's so gobby and full of attitude. Perfect for David who really gets her. And I love her battles with Gail, the mother in law that is a carbon copy nearly, of her own ex mother-in-law, Ivy, the woman that couldn't let go of her children because her own life was empty. I've always liked Gail and I'm just chuffed that she's still getting great storylines. It looks like Helen Worth is having a lot of fun with this one!

There's a lot more that I like about the show, lots of characters, and other storylines but I've run on long enough for today. Watch this space!

Praising Dennis Tanner

ITV, Thanks for bringing back Philip Lowrie as Dennis Tanner. Now for heavens' sake, DO SOMETHING WITH HIM or you're going to lose him!

While I only "know" Dennis via videos of old episodes, I'm absolutely tickled to bits that they've brought back this classic character. I think it's amazing that we've now got two on screen characters from Episode 1.

Dennis Tanner was always a "Jack the lad", a cheeky charmer and he's lost none of that. Though we don't see too much of him, what we do see is absolutely magic. Philip Lowrie is such a natural, and he's slipped right back into character as if he's never left it. That's a gift and the RADA trained actor certainly has it in spades. The episode where Dennis and Rita discussed his mother, Elsie Tanner, and her final days was magic. It was only a little scene but Lowrie put so much into it that I really believed Dennis was going to cry at one point. Grief over a lost parent doesn't leave you, even over time and that was more than evident.

We're supposed to see some sort of triangle between he, Rita and Emily according to spoilers and I hope they follow through on that. I always thought that Emily had a bit of a crush on Dennis back in the day though he was a good 10 years younger. He's younger than Rita as well but by the time you are all pensioners, it doesn't really matter.

Dennis was homeless and Rita's giving him a place to get back on his feet. I'm sure he must get a pension but knowing Dennis' propensity for schemes, he probably got way over his head in debt, leading to his bout of living on the street. I'm a bit baffled as to where Rita found all the clothes he's been wearing but perhaps he's had them stored somewhere or been carrying them all about with him in bin bags. He was only homeless for about 6 months apparently so likely was able to stash his belongings somewhere or other.

I'd like to see him rent one of the older flats that are still empty such as Janice's or the soon to be empty Tina's over the shop. I'd like to see a bit more interaction between he and Ken. They were polar opposites in the day and didn't have a lot in common but surely they could find common ground now. They would have a shared childhood, after all, though Dennis would have been the younger of the two. (Linda, his sister, was Ken's age, and Elsie's oldest)

I'd not like to see the character wasted. Do something with him. Give him a storyline other than winding up Norris. You can't keep a man like Dennis down for long, give him a new scheme to get involved in. Having him be a relative of Eileen and Julie is great so I hope they do establish that. It gives him more of a connection and more characters to play off. Dennis hasn't mentioned that he ever had any children so this would give him a proper family even if they are not closely related. He could make friends with Jason. The lad could use a father figure, someone to confide in. Let's have some of the other neighbours reminisce about Elsie with him. Gail lived with Elsie, after all and Deirdre knew her as well.

Come on, ITV, give us more Dennis please!!

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?