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?

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?