The Unpopular Point of View

I've been reading the blogs and comments on current Corrie storylines. It's always interesting to see the varying points of view on the characters and the storylines. A lot of it is negative. For some reason, people seem more inclined to write to complain than to praise unless expressly asked "What do you love about Corrie lately?"

Most of my own views on characters, actors and storylines seem to be more tolerant of "down" periods or less than skilled performances, with exceptions, of course. Lately, I've noticed that a couple of the storylines I enjoy with a few quibbles are ones that a lot of other fans really hate and can't wait to see end. There's one in particular that I'm surprised I'm enjoying, considering that I really don't like two of the characters involved and don't particularly rate the actors' performances, either. That could be a case of them being better than I realize, but as I've never seen them in anything else, I have nothing else to compare to.

That storyline is the one involving Carla and Rob. The brother-sister dynamic really interests me. Each of them is throwing the bad old days at each other, and old resentments are getting aired along with that complex "I love you, you're my sibling, but I don't like you very much" dynamic. Throw in the characters' partners, Peter and Tracy into the mix. That's what's really throwing me off my game. I like to hate characters when the actor behind them is clearly doing a bang up job.

I've always liked Peter and Carla has most definitely grown on me. I hate Tracy. I don't like the character, nor are we supposed to, but I also don't like the actor's performance. I know that Kate Ford is apparently a very nice person so is it possible she's a better actor than I think? Maybe, because Tracy is such a one sided character, Kate just goes over the top on purpose. I don't like Rob either nor does the actor do anything for me. But you know what? I'm enjoying the Rob-Tracy partnership and I'm liking her involvement in this storyline, sniping from the back seats, winding Carla up and bullying Rob into some semblance of ambition. I like that Rob knows exactly what Tracy's about, how shallow and selfish she is and he sees that she's just like him in many respects. It's why they work well together and it will probably be what tears them apart in the end.

I've also enjoyed the surrogacy storyline from the start. I don't find Tina as grating as many seem to so she's not been bothering me. I could tell from the start that she'd end up wanting to keep the baby, that was a given. I wasn't sure how it was going to work with her having the baby in the same street as his biological parents. I've found it interesting watching the interaction between Gary, Izzy and Tina and then, once Tina decided to keep the baby, it all kicked off. The only part I didn't like was all the sniping and shouting every time they all  ran into each other, no matter where they happened to be. And I really didn't like Anna charging in to the pub and attacking Tina physically. I really didn't think that was called for.

Some may argue that Anna was provoked, with her heartbroken son to defend. I've also read comments that due to Tina having a habit of throwing drinks in people's faces, she was due a come-back. That may be true in some respects but I still think that shocking violent outburst, seemingly out of the blue, was a bit much. The time for that would have been in the hospital lounge when Tina first broke the news and not from Anna. Izzy could be said to have more justification for it than Anna.

I don't think Tina was right to keep the baby and it's been interesting to watch her growing doubts, day by day, as she sees even those closest to her think she's doing the wrong thing though they're supporting her. She found she had difficulty breastfeeding the very first time and that knocked her confidence back even though it's something that commonly happens. The final straw, and one I didn't expect, was the Solomon-like decision  where Izzy backed down and decided to let Tina keep the baby rather than subject the little one to a lifetime of conflict. Tina then did the right thing and gave the baby to Izzy and Gary, his biological parents. The true mother backs off for the sake of the child. She loves him enough to give him up. Tina recognized that and did the right thing in the end.

Will she regret it? Yes, but she will know she did the right thing.

These two storylines have been the ones that have garnered more of the negative feedback that  I've seen so I wanted to put forth my side of it.  There are always going to be characters I don't like and actors that I don't like but rarely would I say that ruins the show for me even if I wish that particular character or disliked storyline would go/end yesterday. And trust me, there is at least one storyline on the go now that I feel that way about and at least one more character that I feel just doesn't work and it's partly because of the way they're written and partly because I really don't like the actor. I gave it a fair chance but it's just not getting any better.

But that's a whole other blog post, maybe. For another day.

The Moral Choice

The surrogacy story has reached the twist that pretty much everyone knew was coming. Tina can't bring herself to give up the baby to Izzy and Gary. In a large part, she was overwhelmed with love for the baby and that's a natural reaction. In a small part, she sees Gary and Izzy fighting, Gary having made a pass at her. Now Izzy and Gary are at odds, perhaps with a cool truce for the baby's sake but Izzy not planning to forgive Gary any time soon. The baby would be brought up in a broken home full of tension.

While I can understand the pull of hormones, I think she's wrong to keep the baby. Legally, she's the mother and does not have to abide by her promise. I believe that even a written contract would not be legally enforceable and as far as Gary's paternal rights go, he only has them if she says he can. Legally she can give paternal rights to Tommy if she chooses. She and Gary were not married at the time of the birth. As for that broken home, she probably thought that a single parent would still be better for the baby than two parents split apart and at each others' throats while sharing custody. She's got Tommy on her side for the time being, but for how long?

Izzy and Gary may be at odds but they also have a family to support them and the child where Tina (and Tommy) have two old age pensioners. Tina does have a mother but she's never been in the picture and seems to have been totally forgotten altogether.

Biologically and genetically, that child is not hers, it's Izzy and Gary's. She promised. She took money (which is illegal aside from legitimate expenses). I don't recall if she signed a contract though there may have been some medical forms signed when she underwent the surrogacy treatments. Morally, I think she should give the baby to his rightful parents, as difficult as it would be for her.

It would have been too simple for the storyline to follow the planned route. Tina gives the baby over and looks sadly at the little family from across the cobbles when she sees them out and about. Having Tina keep the baby after all gives us far more drama and storyline into the near future at least. Everyone's upset, Tina stands alone. Even though Tommy and Rita have supported her, they don't really think she's doing the right thing, either.

There is supposed to be a court hearing now. Whether we'll get that far is another question. Will Tina give in? Will the judge say, Sorry, the law is clear. She can keep the baby. That will cause further ructions, hate and screaming in the middle of the street. I guess we'll find out soon enough. I can't help thinking that in the real world, if this were to happen, Tina might keep the baby and then leave town. (Well, yes, I know that spoiler too, but that's a ways off yet with lots of angst and storyline that can unfold in the meantime).

I know there's been a lot of criticism about the storyline but I have enjoyed it so far even when, at times, I've been annoyed. Overall, I think it's been interesting and good soap fodder. What have you thought?

Lovin the Devster

Here's a statement I never thought I'd make: I'm really enjoying Dev Alahan these days.

Dev has never been a character that I've enjoyed for the most part. He's too much into himself, mostly shallow, usually selfish and self absorbed. He's sexist and he also fawns over people. Some people find him funny to watch, some people don't find the character appealing but "love to hate" him. I never felt any of those things and more than part of the reason was the actor's performance.

I've always felt that Jimmi Harkishin's performance was very hammy, cheesy and over the top and aside from the occaisional decent scene, he always impressed me as not a very good actor. Maybe I was naive? Maybe he's a lot better than I always gave him credit for. Chances are pretty good that he's nothing like Dev which means his acting skill is better than you'd think.

That's often the case with most characters being very different from the actors that portray them. David Neilson comes immediately to mind. His transformation into Roy Cropper is astonishing. There are some actors, I've been told, whose personalities are not very far removed from their characters on the whole but most people are quite different from who they play. Most of the ones that play nasty pieces of work are really charming and lovely in person. I've heard that a lot about Kate Ford who plays Tracy Barlow (but I

still don't care for her acting efforts!). 

So is Jimmi Harkishin putting on a really good performance? I'm starting to rethink my former disdain. Since the death of Sunita on screen, Dev has been low key, more serious as you would expect from a man dealing with his own grief while trying to help his young children through it as well and not succeeding very well at the moment.

There are still selfish elements in Dev, like when he was surprised when Mary suggested that his children were feeling the same emptiness and confusion that he was. Good grief, man, your children have lost their mother. They're not sailing through these emotions and they're a lot less able to cope.

Still, that's typical Dev but he is trying very hard and his children's faith in their mother's innocence has spurred him into crusade mode to prove Sunita wasn't the arsonist that everyone thinks she was. That will put him in direct conflict with Karl, the real murderer.

My point is that Dev's storyline has been emotional, sent up a notch, and for once, Jimmi Harkishin's performance hasn't been putting me off. Often when he tries to portray high emotions, he looks very much like he's faking it and it just doesn't ring true. I do recognize that it's difficult for some actors to really convey that they're crying in an emotional scene, something he really doesn't do well. Still, I've been impressed with him in the last month or two as he portrays grief and anger and loss quite well.

I won't say he's been rivitting in his performance but I will say he's a lot more watchable than I've previously found him to be. Well done, Jimmi H. I shall watch the rest of this story unfold with interest.

State of the Street - May 2013

I'm afraid I've neglected this blog during the month of May. I've been on holiday part of it and getting things sorted and catching up on Corrie the other part so it's really left little time for blogging aside from making notes for the monthly State of the Street so here we go with that!

Karl wants to marry Stella. After all these years, they've never got round to it. She figures they're in no position to do it but he wants to cement his cause, soothe his guilt. "After everything I've done for you" and she doesn't know the half! She caves and accepts. More fool her. But Leanne is the only one that's strenuously objecting. The only one with serious suspicions but though she and Stella have made their peace, they also don't have the history that might make Stella think twice and trust Leanne's judgement.

The push was on to get the pub ready sooner than later so Karl pitched in and worked for free. He warned them that when he's "grafting" he drinks his weight in tea. I reckon that's because when he's "grafting" that's all he's doing, making tea. One extra body and forget doing the upstairs living quarters for now and they did it on time.

So the pub is open. Do you like it? I do, the bricky red textured wallpaper is much nicer than the old stuff and the paler upholstery is a nice contrast though it's going to get dirty fast. I hope they stain-treated it. Karl also managed to get a load of second hand pub furniture and bar presumably. That gave the Rovers a nice lived in feel. Sadly the stained glass in the booths is gone but the replacement is nice, if not as much character. There's not a lot of difference aside from new upholstery and wallpaper and there's a new photo of Betty, minus the appalling Landlady plaque thank God. Thank you, new producer, for that at least.

I am on the lookout for something orange in the decor of either the pub or the back room. The wallpaper sometimes looks orange but I think it's closer to a brick red. I think the tassle on the bell is orange, though. Why do I search?  Because during a studio tour earlier this year, I was told that when there's a fire, they always put something orange on the new set decoration. It seems to hold true at least with the businesses. Nicks and the bookies both have orange signs, Underworld has orange paint on the stair railings and the Kabin has orange and yellow wall tiling. The only places that have had fire that haven't got orange are number 13 (post-tram crash, now where the Prices are staying, owned by Kevin) and Sally's house (the fire was when Ashley and Claire had it).

Never let an event go by without something happening, though. Tina went into premature labour. All the stress, maybe? And after Katy hinted something to Izzy, she overheard Gary and Tina talk about the near miss kiss and she's pissed. I can understand it but I'm getting sick to the eye teeth of one kiss or not even that much wreaking havoc and relationship destruction. At least in this case, we didn't have to watch Gary freak out and stalk Tina and Katy for weeks on end, it came out fairly quickly. It was more obvious than an obvious thing, watching Gary freak out for a week  and though a few suspicions were raised, Izzy never found out until she over heard it.


Izzy wants nothing to do with Gary now, and won't even let him see the baby. She's gone way over the top. I can understand her feeling betrayed but legally, she has nothing to say about the baby anyway, not yet. Legally it's still Tina's and that could cause problems.  They showed a softer side of Owen through all this, with him being so worried about the whole sitution even if he's angry as hell at Gary but they ruined it by having him treat Katy like a 12 year old over the Ryan business.

Some people have been speculating that the baby might turn out to be Tommy's but I don't think so. The clinic would have done pregnancy tests even just before they implanted. By that one fertile week of the implantation, Tina and Tommy were broken up so it's not likely she'd got pregnant during the previous month and they missed it. No. I'm sure it's Gary and Izzy's biological child. But will Tina be able to give it up? She apparently does have a legal right to the child until she signs it over even if it's not biologically hers.

Peter and Rob started off the month in a pissing contest over the betting shop. Tracy actually showed signs of being human for 5 minutes but that didn't last. I don't like Rob nor do I find him particularly good looking but I don't mind the actor in general. I think he's doing his job making me dislike Rob though his acting style isn't great, or maybe it is!

I do like Peter and Carla is growing on me and I like their characters as well as Leanne's so I always liked that triangle storyline. This new one was one I thought I'd hate because of the injection of Rob and Tracy and I did start out liking it, while it was in the bookies. But once Rob went back to the factory moaning about entitlement and engineering rip offs, I went back to hating it. I hope when Carla gets back at him for what he and Tracy have done, we'll get rid of him once and for all but chances are he'll whine again and she'll not send him to jail like he deserves. It's interesting that some of their back history is being explored, though.

Could Chesney be any more miserable, sulky and whiney? Could Katy be any more immature? Could Ryan look any more like a deer caught in the headlights? That is all.

When I say it's nice to see Dev having a difficult time with his grief, I don't mean I'm enjoying it. I just mean that it's good to see them portray what it's really like and how it really affects people, both adults and children though with Dev, as usual, it was still all about  him. He even seemed surprised that Aadi might possibly be feeling as messed up inside as he himself is. Well DUH. Little boy has lost his mother and everyone thinks she started the fire. How do you think he feels? Children don't have the same coping mechanism.

I liked the injection of Mary into the mix, I think it's got potential and maybe can show her in a bit more sympathetic light. I don't like the injection of Stella who won't leave Dev alone. The reason for that is so that Karl can be under even more pressure, I know that, but I still hate it. She's got no business injecting herself into Dev's business but then injecting herself into anyone's business is nothing new to Stella. Dev accused Karl of causing Sunita's death due to his affair with her. He's right but he said he didn't mean to upset Karl. Stella probably hasn't thought of that either. I just hope that when Karl's misdeeds come out, we don't see a pairing between Dev and Stella. Bleurgh.

Roy has dealt with the rejection of his father from when he was a boy. He has managed to build himself a satisfactory life and put it where it belongs, in the past but the past came back to bite him with the delayed delivery of a letter from said father. But when he finally decided to find is dad, it turns out his dad has died and Roy is left with all those unanswered questions all over again. Roy doesn't deal with change at the best of times and he's really having a rough time with this one, much to his mother and wife's concern. This is the best storyline this month and has really given Roy and his mother some bonding from a new perspective. I love it! In fact it was probably the only thing I've been enjoying this month.

There's been little bits and pieces scattered through the month, most notably the return of David's epilepsy that nobody would speak of while worrying about him getting so tired and overworking himself . People wanted the writers to be politically correct and not have characters call the seizures "fits" but, folks, that's one reason Corrie feels so real. It isn't always PC. People really talk like that. Anyway. Now Nick also knows that Sally knows about he and Kylie and with the pregnancy advancing, it can't be long before the secret comes out. WWDD? (What Will David Do?) Being overworked and overtired made his seizures come back. What will the stress of finding out the baby may not be his do? Taking bets on complete epilepsy amnesia on the writers' part.

We've seen Faye living with her dad and finding out it's not quite all it's cracked up to be. He is not taking to the responsibilities of fatherhood like a dog to a bone, is he? Eileen and Paul stayed together but you know she's not going to rest easy any time he's at work. Sally's feeling lonely and looking to the internet. I hope they explore that a bit. I'd like to see Sally find a really nice bloke that way, not just end up dating nutters. Have you noticed, they've put Jenna and Sophie together and have basically abandoned them. Other than peripherally supporting Dev, there has been no sight of them, no loved up scenes, no storyline of how the vast age and educational difference affects them if at all. And no Mandy. Maybe now the pub is back open, we'll see her again.

State of the Street - April 2013

Tina is having yet another scan. Izzy and Gary watch with excitement but Tina doesn't want to look at the screen. The technician asks if they want to know the sex. Gary and Izzy look at each other and contemplate and then say they want to know, mainly because Gary's been nagging the life out of Izzy to let him find out. They are thrilled to find out it's a boy and so far, healthy. Tina looks like she's trying to keep her emotions in check.

By the time we get to pre-natal classes, Tina and Gary are laughing and good mates while Izzy is feeling more and more left out. Was this such a good idea? Is Gary starting to develop feelings for Tina who's carrying his baby? I think it's pretty obvious but it's more about the excitement over the baby, isn't it? Whether Gary can separate the feelings is the big question. He's making it more and more obvious and now Anna's radar is up and Tommy's most certainly is. That means more scenes of Tommy's sulky face and whinging but in this case, he's right.

How I'd like this to play out: I do NOT want Tina to fall for Gary. That's too cliche. I'd like if she rejected his affections and it causes awkwardness between she and Izzy and the rest of the Windass clan. I want her to give the baby over as planned and then pine away, realizing that she really did bond with the little one and has a hard time with watching it grow up with other parents.

Right. Let's do the math because I like to pick on these things like a scab:

Tina has the implantation on Monday, October 29. They said her 20 week scan was the one she had on Friday April 5. By my counting, the 20 weeks is the week of March 18. Tina should have been nearly 23 weeks pregnant at the time of that scan and is 26 weeks pregnant this last week of April. Tina's full term should be in early August.

Kylie got pregnant on Christmas day so she would be 18 weeks along this week. She'll be full term the end of September or early October. That's if the writers are going to stick to biological facts or not have one or the other give birth early. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen a soap pregnancy that's gone overdue, not by more than a couple of days past the date they were given. Most babies seem to come on time or early because early makes a preemie and a crisis. Also, most babies never seem to be born in the hospital and that's getting really old and boring now.

Meanwhile Faye is getting more and more out of control and pushing Anna further and further. She's intent on being with her father and you can understand it really. She's only supposed to be 11 and after the life she's had, is it any wonder she wants to feel that connection with her dad after losing her biological mother who'd neglected her. Thing is, though Tim does seem to want to get to know his daughter, I don't think he wants to be a full time dad. I think he'd like to have it both ways. Live the single life and be a dad part time with Anna doing all the hard work but it's hard to say no to Faye.

She used more and more devious tactics culminating in trying to lie that Anna abused her so the Social would take her away but she confessed quickly enough and now she's ensconced in her father's flat and already it's not all the fairy tale ending she thought it would be.  I think all involved in this story are doing a very good job and I always thought the actress playing Faye does a very good job.

I find this storyline frustrating and annoying on one hand but on the other, she *is* only eleven years old and if you think of it from her point of view, she's acting like a lot of kids would in her position and from her background and circumstance. Anna is frustrated and angry and scared that she'll lose Faye and Owen doesn't know which way to look.

Where's Gary in all this? He was the one person that Faye seemed to pay mind to. Surely we should get a nice little scene where he can sit her down and try to help her sort through her own feelings. She would take the advice from him where he's a bit more objective. She adored her big brother there for awhile and now when he's around she doesn't seem to glance his way at all nor he hers. And I'd like this to play out that she realizes that her place is with Anna but that Tim really bonds with her and decides to take responsibility. Maybe something will happen while she's alone and he's down the pub and he'll realize either A. He's not willing to change his lifestyle and she belongs with Anna or B. realizes how much she means to him and sues for custody.

I don't understand why Paul doesn't seem to *really* understand Eileen's fears. Surely Lesley must have been scared for him all the time they were married. They might have made up for now but the cracks are there and they're going to widen. I know that Eileen knew he had a dangerous job but it doesn't seem real until you witness it like she did. I know partners of fire fighters and police officers dread the moment they walk out the door.

On the other hand, Eileen cannot ask him to give up a job that he loves, a job that defines who he is, in his eyes. If he did it, he'd resent her for it eventually and she probably knows that too. It's a no-win situation. I know a lot of people don't like Paul and I'm of two minds. I didn't like how he handled the Lesley vs Eileen situation at all and I do find him a bit selfish but overall he's a good guy and I like Tony Hirst. Eileen needs to find a way to learn to live with his dangerous job and Paul needs to be a bit more understanding. If they can't, it won't last.

It's really painful watching Karl scratch at St. Ella's skirts, desperately and, later, smugly, getting back together with her, all the while looking over his shoulder in case he gets caught for the murderous scum he is. John Michie is an excellent actor, mind, but as a villain, Karl is a bit pathetic. He did leave Sunita to burn and later, allegedly, unhooked her breathing tubes, or if he didn't he took advantage of her pulling them out and smothered her somehow. She may have pulled them out to call for help, you know but she'd have been weak and he only had to put his hand over her mouth for a few minutes to do that damage.

It wouldn't have taken much, no matter how he did it. He was covering his tracks and does seem to feel a bit guilty but now that he thinks he's got his life back again, I think he'll get careless along with the guilt. It doesn't matter, he'll get his comeuppance, it's just a matter of time. And I'm not sure I can stand much more of it! You know, I have daydreams that this would have been a great storyline with, say, Liz McDonald as Karl's beloved. Or, oh I know, Natalie Horrocks. She was a good landlady too. Why didn't they make Natalie Leanne's mother?

It looks like Mary and Dev are going to be the next double act. This could work. I used to like Mary a lot but they turned her a bit nasty and spiteful. With Dev needing a nanny and Mary needing a purpose to her life, they could be a match made in heaven. But not, NOT a romantic one. It will work far better if Mary mothers all three of them and though irritates and annoys Dev at times, really is a lifesaver and a little gem. This could be the making of Mary.

One question though, we've had stories in the past where Sally couldn't mind children because she wasn't a registered child minder. Wouldn't Mary have to be registered somehow or would being hired as a private nanny be a different scenario?

We finally have a Peter and Carla story after months of them being back on the Street with very little to do. Carla buying out Leanne was a smart thing to do even if she did it the wrong way, behind Peter's back. I loved the scenes in the Bistro where Peter kept sniping at Carla and Tracy, going completely against the norm, was nice and defended her brother.

Now it doesn't quite make sense that you'd put your brother in the same workplace as your partner, knowing they dislike each other intensely and it will probably end up being one huge pissing contest between the two men but it would also be awesome if Rob did actually make the bookies a big success which could end up with he and Peter being grudging friends after all and secondly, wipe that smug smirk off the faces of Nick and Leanne!

Now, after another storyline has had a rest, I'm waiting to get back to Who's the Baby Daddy. I would imagine that will be drawn back to the front burner soon. If Tina's 20 or so weeks along, Kylie must be not far behind as well. If Tina is in ante natal classes, why can't we see David and Kylie there too?

I did enjoy the space cake storyline with Sylvia's drug pushing. Harmless and fun and it's always nice to see the "oldies" featured. As for any other storyline, if I haven't mentioned it, it's because i can't be arsed to care about it ;)))) Your mileage may vary.

Karl Munro - Evil Villain or Misunderstood Fool

"Evil personified", "evil scum", "super villain", those are some of the phrases I've seen describing Karl Munro in blog comments and various Corrie discussions and forums the last few days and weeks since both the fire and his alleged murder of Sunita. But is he truly evil?  In the tradition of most Corrie villains, he's desperate to hold on to the one he loves and has taken desperate measures to do it.

I'm not defending him, oh no. He left Sunita at the bottom of the cellar stairs at the start of the fire. And that was more calculating than an impulsive or panic move. It was still based on self-preservation. If he'd pulled her out, she'd have recovered and told that he started the fire. He didn't set the fire intending on killing anyone but alas, a fire fighter died and two little kids were deprived of their mother.


Most of the Corrie villains who murder people do so out of the aforementioned desperation. They may even plan to kill someone but usually feel pushed to the wall and can see no other way out lest their other nefarious deeds be uncovered or they are after revenge.

Alan Bradley pummeled Rita when she uncovered his fraud. He didn't intend on killing her in Blackpool, he wanted to take her back to Weatherfield to prove that he hadn't done her in!  John Stape wasn't evil. He was an idiot who kept getting into situations that he couldn't get himself out of.

Tony Gordon had more of an evil edge. He was a control freak and when he couldn't have Carla's heart, his jealousy prompted him to take Liam out of the picture permanently. But when he discovered that Maria was pregnant with Liam's baby, he showed a flash of remorse. Still, it didn't stop him trying to kill Jed Stone and later, Carla herself and, when Carla knocked out the hit man he'd sent, he let her think she'd killed him. More control, you see. She was going to expose him as Liam's murderer to Maria whom he'd fallen for, after a fashion. She was able to give him the family he craved and he was determined that Carla was not going to take it away from him. He nearly killed Roy Cropper who haunted him as his conscience but saved him and turned himself in only to break out of prison, kidnap Carla and Hayley and later blow up the factory and die in a blaze of "glory". Tony Gordon certainly was mad by that point.

We've had the mad nanny, Carmel, who became obsessed with the hapless Martin Platt. We had Don Brennan who set Mike Baldwin's factory on fire, kidnapped Alma and nearly bashed Mike's skull in before driving a car into the viaduct. But there again, Don's mind was overtaken by madness and revenge. I still don't consider these people "evil".  Kirsty Soames was not evil. She was controlling and troubled and had learned to survive the only way she had learned from her father, with aggression.

There was Richard Hillman as well. He tried to convince Audrey she was losing her mind and tried to kill her by fire.  He left Duggie Fergusson at the bottom of a stairwell when he'd fallen over the railings during a struggle. He went to his flat and robbed Duggie's safe but Duggie was dead when he returned. He killed his ex-wife because she was going to expose his double dealings. That was an impulse action. He nearly killed Emily Bishop twice so he could get her hands on her house. She'd entered into a scheme where he'd front her the cash value of the house and then inherit it after her death but he ran into serious financial difficulties and tried to hurry things along. Maxine Peacock's death was "collateral damage" as she'd walked into the house just as he had struck Emily so he had to bash her as well. Richard did feel guilt and remorse but was desperate to keep his new family and when the walls closed in on him and he couldn't see any other way out, he tried to take his family into the bottom of the canal.

Tracy Barlow could be considered Evil in many ways. She doesn't feel much remorse no matter who she hurts and is devious when she's attempting revenge. She's also shallow, selfish and not that bright. There are some redeeming features. She does love her daughter and her parents and loved Blanche as well even if she can be a bit mean and rude to them. She claimed to love Steve though I never believed it. She doesn't know how to truly love and be loved by a man. She'd be near the top of the Evil list in second place. 

To me, "evil" is someone that is cold, calculating and feels no remorse or guilt and usually on the edge of insanity. They have absolutely no redeeming qualities.  This is clearly not what we're seeing from Karl. The closest baddies  to that definition that we've seen on Coronation Street since I've been watching is not Alan Bradley, Richard Hillman and not even Tony Gordon though he's a pretty close second place. It's Maya Sharma  who certainly had that out-of-her-mind edge and Frank Foster who was as ruthless as a ruthless thing.

Mad Maya lived for risk and excitement. She attached herself to Dev and when she lost him, she took revenge on Sunita slowly. She pretended to be Sunita and married 7 men as an immigration fraud scheme as well as bigamy and managed to get Sunita arrested on her wedding day. She later kidnapped both Dev and Sunita, blew up all of Dev's shops (knowing there would be families living in the flats above) and then nearly succeeded in doing the same to Dev and Sunita and when that didn't work, tried to run them down in her car where she'd been sitting watching the shop burn with them inside. No remorse. No guilt. Just seething insanity. *That's* evil if you ask me!

Frank Foster would be up at the top of the list as well, sharing the honours with Maya. He was cold and calculating. He was ruthless. He was a rapist who knew it but had no remorse. He had no visible guilt. His mother thought him a monster though she didn't intend on killing him.  He was definitely Evil in my reckoning.

Karl? Evil? He's just a sad, pathetic fool who's lost everything due to his own stupidity. He can't take responsibility for that so he blames everyone else. He's jealous and smug. He does most definitely feel guilty about Toni's death and I think Sunita's as well though that was done as a desperate measure. The guilt is going to eat away at him over time. Will it end in another of those soap cliche moments where his crimes catch up with him? Will Stella threaten to shop him to the police so Karl feels he has no choice but to try to kill them both? "If I can't have you, nobody will".

The ominous words he uttered in the fire, "At least we'll die together", suddenly become a lot more foreboding.

Is Tim For Real?

I've been watching Tim and thinking about him. He lost his temper with Chesney this week after Chesney bumped into him. Chesney was a bit mardy but Tim seemed to over react, as well, calling Chesney and idiot. Where on earth did that come from? I wondered if that was a crack in the "good guy" facade or if he, like most people, even nice people, can be in bad moods and lose their tempers now and then.

Later, he's overwhelmed by having to cook for his daughter and her new parents. I felt like he probably felt like he was put under a bit of pressure to do it by Faye. He wants to get to know his daughter, but he doesn't know how to be a father. Is he just drifting,  a bit at sea, trying to figure it out and figure out how to fit fatherhood into the life he had as a single bloke?

He seems happy that Faye is back in his life and seems ok with her being adopted by someone else. He doesn't seem to have a hidden agenda. Not yet. He also does seem to be concerned about Faye's well-being, as he should but when faced with the idea that Faye wants to stay over at his house, he seems reluctant. Or is it just because he sees that Anna doesn't want it and is trying not to give Faye mixed signals.He does appear to be keeping it at arms' length and making every attempt not to contradict Anna's decisions where Faye is concerned, watching her for her reaction and then backing her up.

Maybe he really is a good guy. Good guys are allowed to have tempers and I am not sure the Powers That Be will have him be a secret psycho when we already have Bully Boy Owen on the other side of the situation. It would be better to have him be the real opposite to Owen rather than have Owen turn out to be the lesser of two evils. That little temper outbreak of Tim's did give me pause for thought, though.

Even though he left Faye's mother because she was a junkie, perhaps it will turn out that he's got a drink problem. You wouldn't get together with a junkie if you were free of all vice, would you? It doesn't seem likely that you would leave a child with a junkie just because it was the child's mother if you yourself didn't think the Social would have reason to think you wouldn't be allowed to keep a child. Or maybe he's just not quite ready to take on the responsibility of fatherhood. He wants to be a dad but he doesn't want the day to day hard stuff.

They are slowly drawing in the details and it's intriguing. Is he caught between a rock and a hard place, wanting to get to know his daughter and knowing her adoptive parents think he's trying to take her away when he isn't? Is he what he seems? Will he succumb to Faye's bratty manipulations and think she'd be better with him? Faye seems to go back and forth between wanting them all to be one big happy family and making her mother and Owen look bad so she can go live with Tim and spoilers say that's going to continue.

What do you think of Tim? How do you think this is going to pan out?

State of the Street - March 2013

Wow! What a month! Brimstone and fire! Lies and damned lies!

You could see Karl being set up to be the villain of the piece from a mile away. Some might have said it was too obvious and it would turn out to be loose cannon Kirsty or something like that, but no, we saw Karl light the fire. One person, the expendable crew member (Toni) is dead and Sunita's life hangs in the balance. Karl can now be arrested and sent down for murder, possibly two charges of it once it all comes out and it will, of course. These things don't tend to drag on too long. Karl will let something slip.

I wonder if he'll actually be "eaten alive by guilt" or if they've totally ruined the character and have him feel a little bad but think it was a means to an end. He got to be the hero and if he and Stella get back together as anticipated, he's got the result he wanted there, too. He's already causing a lot of trouble between she and Jason and he's got his feet under the table at home. But it's a house of cards and it will come down around his ears one way or another.

It was horrible how everyone ganged up on Jason without a thought. I suppose if they could do it to Tyrone, why not Jason and later, Sunita? He checked and checked and checked it again. It couldn't have been him started the fire! Well, we know that of course. Usually they can tell if a fire has been started by an accelerant and indeed they could. Karl is setting up Sunita by putting the spare keys in with her things and pressing her *burned* fingers on the keyring which would more logically have been in her pocket once she'd "let herself in" so how did burned fingerprints get on them? That's too CSI for Corrie though.

The one thing that annoys me though, is everything assuming Sunita had it in for Stella and was trying to burn her alive. But Sunita was ushered out of the Bistro after their argument and she didn't know that Stella returned to the pub shortly after. She wouldn't have had murder as a motive. Ok, on the surface, it's possible if she *had* been out for revenge, that she might have set the fire not intending anyone to be hurt but of course our Sunita would never have done that, either. 

I liked the little touch of having Rita be very upset during the fire, taken back to the tram crash. I'm surprised more of the residents like Peter or Nick didn't have similar moments. Poor Sunita probably thought "Oh crap", not again! It was the tram crash all over again, sort of! I also liked the little scene where Dev went to the cab office and confide in Lloyd. You forget that Lloyd was a really good friend to Dev after Sunita left and they got to be good mates.

I've had more blogging about the fire along with a quick history of the Rovers
The lead up
The first night
The second episode

And why did they introduce us to Toni, Paul's friend? To kill her off and that will cause trouble between Paul and Eileen who only barely got over her jealousy of Toni. Now she's got to compete with her memory (just like she did Lesley's at first). Is Paul's grief going to have him pushing Eileen away like he did when Lesley died?

Tyrone's trial began on the last week of the month. The month progressed nicely with Kirsty's mother finding out about what was going on via Tina and Fiz. Kirsty even admitted it to her mother, because you know, it's hard to lie to your mum and her mother *really* understands and has her own guilt to deal with. She backed down and stood behind her daughter when she found out that Fiz is actually the one that Tyrone was in love with. Down deep she still knows the truth about Kirsty and her lies but maybe she's self-justifying it by telling herself that Tyrone cheated on Kirsty and pushed her too far. It's not true but you can make yourself believe anything to defend your chick. Deirdre Barlow is proof of that!

But after that, the stress started to get to Kirsty. She started losing control and screaming at the baby which scared her. A lot. She foisted Ruby off on Julie more and more, locking herself alone in the house with her own fears and doubts, making sure Ruby would be safe from her, I think. It worked it's way through her and eventually she slipped in front of two friends and slapped the one that's been her strongest defender, Julie.

That did it. That opened the door for Tyrone to be freed. I didn't see that twist coming, I didn't expect Kirsty to blow the lid on the trial. I thought Julie's testimony would do that and Kirsty would later admit it but I'm glad she did it for Ruby's sake. She wouldn't want Ruby to go through what she did as a child and she could see it happening. The cycle has to be broken and she's done that.

Kylie and Gail are building bridges after Gail found out about Kylie's dual baby-daddies. She's horrified that Kylie has cheated on David and it's worse because it's Nick. She had all the ammunition she needed to get rid of both of the daughters-in-law she hates but could she do that to her sons? The children? It was quite a conundrum. I thoroughly enjoyed her sniping and snarling at Kylie. The thing is, now that Sally knows the truth, too, you just know the secret is going to come out. Well, it will anyway because secrets always do and the more people that know, the more likely it is.

I have a guess... I think Sophie will overhear the truth and take it upon herself to tell David because she believes he really needs to know. Is she a mini-Ivy in the making? Or just terribly immature and naive? I really love this storyline even if it is a classic soap cliche. I suppose there will be a little lull in this storyline while the pregnancy progresses with just scenes of Gail scowling behind David's back. I like all the actors involved and I look forward to more of it playing out.

And another horribly dull and pointless storyline, constructed to give a couple of actors something to do since they have them on the payroll. Can you guess? Katy and Ryan. You can't even made a decent "couple" name out of it, that's how unsuited they are. Kyan? Raty? Ryat? See? Can't do it. Chaty (or...Chesty? *snork*) at least has some sort of resonance. Chesney really did overreact. Ok, kissing Ryan was not really the smartest thing to do and admitting she wanted more? I can understand why Chesney was upset, especially when he had just proposed to her but throwing her out? A bit much. Now he's got to worry about the stall *and* look after the baby. I guess it was that ginger temper. Maybe they really do need to be apart. They were just too young, we all knew that.

What else was going on? Those were the main storylines, really. Faye continues to manipulate Anna and Owen so that she can spend more time with her biodaddy. Forgettable at this point. Eileen's jealousy over Toni seemed a bit out of character but she *does* have low self esteem so perhaps it's not so unlikely. I enjoyed the brief Full Monty.

I enjoyed Flashgate, always good to see Steve and Lloyd humour. Gloria being a grasping grieving almost widow was almost a bit too much even though I've liked Gloria. This was a bit much but she has redeemed herself with her bedside vigil by Stella. That's the kind of acting I was looking for with this actress. The end of the month also began SpacecakeGate with Sylvia getting dreamy over the soap bubbles and getting the munchies after "herbal" brownies. I am going to enjoy this! Anything that gives the older set something fun to do is great in my book.

Speculation gone wrong

I was wrong. I freely admit it. On the whole, I'm pretty good at predicting how soap stories will unwind. But of course, I don't always get it right and I didn't this time.

While I did know that Tyrone would not be convicted, (soap law and all that) I had thought that Kirsty's mother would be instrumental in her being found out. I had seen papparazzi pics of them outside the courtroom and later, we saw Kirsty admit the truth to her mother. AHA! But no. It didn't unfold quite that way.


While Alison did show up at the trial and her appearance did throw Kirsty off, she didn't turn Kirsty in and Kirsty kept up the pretense and committed perjury. That alone will get her banged up even without wrongful charges against Tyrone. Kirsty herself was the one that hoisted herself by her own petard when she lost her temper at Julie and Julie realized that Tyrone's defenders were right. It was a brilliant twist and it was the best way to show that everyone was backing the wrong horse. What I was further surprised at is that Julie's testimony was not considered admissable.

Luckily, Kirsty showed up and dramatically confessed. I thought that might happen but I thought Julie's testimony would be the turning point with that as a wrap up, on the stand perhaps. It was a great twist. Even though I persue spoilers rabidly, this was not leaked and I still appreciate surprises like this. I'm kind of glad I didn't know! Chaos ensues and everyone is screaming and hurling accusations.

I hope the apologies that come to Tyrone and Fiz for this are profuse and unending. Tyrone probably won't have to buy a pint for himself for a year at least. I was going to say "in the pub" but obviously, it'll have to be the Flying Horse of the Weathy Arms for the time being, the Bistro notwithstanding.

My next prediction? Well, we all know Karl started the fire in the pub and really, he's not evil, just obsessed with Stella and getting his old life back. All this guilt is going to eat at him and he'll break down eventually. There will be an act of desperation and he'll either get caught at it or he'll confess. Right now he's covering his tracks and everyone now believes Sunita started the fire. Even Dev is having doubts. I'm not surprised. We've already seen everyone on the Street believe the worst of Tyrone and pretty much anyone else that's ever been arrested. I'll give the Price clan a break because they haven't known Sunita for years.

He'll have to go to jail, of course, because I don't think he'll die and it'll leave the door open for his return. I do like actor John Michie. He was wasted in the Sunita affair storyline mainly because it totally trashed Sunita's character. No fault to either of the actors however. They do what they've been scripted to do. Now he's really playing it well. You can see all the emotions Karl is feeling all the while trying to desperately hang on to Stella's growing regard.

My last prediction is how the truth about Kylie's affair with Nick will come out. Sally knows the truth. I have a feeling that Sophie could overhear she and Gail discussing it and decides it's her Christian duty to tell David. Maybe she might not know about Nick specifically. Sally is often one to let her tongue get away with her too, though, in moments of stress.

I've been watching various soaps for so long that you can spot the signs and you know the drill. Bad guys pay. Happy couples aren't usually allowed to stay happy for long. Most weddings and funerals don't go smoothly. The wrong person is always arrested and jailed. The guilty or the ultimate victim is either an actor that's leaving or someone unimportant to the show. Or both. A one night stand with the wrong person will end in pregnancy. Most babies are born in unusual circumstances (storm, remote location, at home, in a taxi!). The list goes on. It's fun to predict, and speculate, isn't it?

Anyway, that aside, now Tyrone has to rebuild his life and it will be interesting to see where it goes from here. He'll have to go back to work at the garage now because Kevin will be off our screen for the foreseeable future. He and Tommy will be running things while Fiz and Tyrone settle into a new life together with the babies. Hope is in a day care/creche so probably Ruby will go there as well. Maybe they'll even get married. Fans have been clamouring for these two to get back together for years and it's finally happened!

Will it be happy ever after for them? Is it ever, on a soap?

There she blows!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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