November Fireworks

I really should post here more often because there's so much to comment on right now on this soap. Let's start with the bullying storyline which, out of nowhere, I'm suddenly enjoying! Friday's second episode was really gripping, focusing on the fallout of the bullying incident. And we got more of the same yesterday (Monday). What I love is that they're focusing on the perspective of both the victim and one of the bullies. Simon was always going to get his perspective but I kinda love that Faye - a regular character anyway - is shown to be feeling bad about this, and uncomfortable. It was clear that when Brian said the police would get involved, the implications for her really sunk in. I don't think Faye should be going to jail over this or anything (after all, she's, what, 11?) but it is a pretty good lesson for her. One minor nitpick - I was REALLY disappointed that we didn't get a scene with Anna and Grace's Mum. One of the things I want(and this possibly links in to being a writer myself)are multi-layered characters. So far Grace is the incarnation of pure evil. I want to know why. Is she being abused/neglected? Has she been bullied herself? I'm not asking for her to stay on the Street and become a regular character, I just want some backstory. If I hadn't seen the spoilers, I would have guessed that Peter and Tina were to embark on an affair. I mean, the writers are just being the opposite of subtle with this pairing. Every time P or T have a problem, they suddenly have to go running to each other. Look, I don't have an issue with Peter having another affair. I was never a fan of the Peter/Carla pairing in the first place (in fact I still think it was a mistake to break up Peter and Leanne), and affairs are just par for the course with this character. No, what I take issue with is that, um... TINA IS YOUNG ENOUGH TO BE HIS DAUGHTER!!! I mean this literally. Peter was born in 1965, making him 48. I don't think we've ever had confirmation of Tina's age but Michelle Keegan is 26, and I've always put Tina a couple of years younger than that (since she was brought in as David's girlfriend). But whatever way you cut it, Peter was already an adult when Tina was born. And it certainly doesn't help that I'm getting a father-daughter vibe from them rather than a lovers vibe. It actually kinda icks me out. This is why I'm not a fan of cougar relationships. I had other things to comment on but I'm cold and need warmth. Hopefully I'll start blogging again more regularly soon.

23/9/13

So today's episode focused on three key elements. First we had Eva/Jason. Something I'm not opposed to at all. We should have gone there in the first place, it was obvious, but because Collinson is stupid and likes cougar relationships, Jason shacked up with Stella instead. (And that was the BETTER of the two relationships last year. I'd mention the other one but I'm still suffering from PTSD.) However, while they look good on paper and it makes sense for the writers to pursue this road, I'm not feeling a whole lot of chemistry there. Maybe it's because they just haven't had a whole lot of fun yet - after all, we didn't see their dinner date - but at the moment, I'm not going for them. There's still time though. Second of all, Hayley making contact with Christian. And she's totally gonna keep quiet about the whole dying thing, isn't she? *groan* Hasn't she learnt nothing from a few years ago? Apart from that, Roy and Hayley scenes continue to be a joy to watch. Just the focus on Hayley laughing today while Roy not getting the joke. There will never be another relationship like this on any soap. What Roy & Hayley have is unique and it's sad that it's all coming to an end. But I'm sure we'll get plenty of Oscar NTA worthy performances (for what they're worth!) before she bows out for good. Finally... um... wait what was it again?... no I've completely forgotten... Oh yes, um NICK IS AWAKE!!!! EEEEEE!!!! And possibly brain-damaged! Something original (for Corrie) on my soap! And it's about bloody time! He's been out since early August. I mean, Ben Thompson must have had time to go on a world cruise or something. (Also I was looking at his Wiki profile and he 41!!! I mean, holy shit, he does not look that old!!!)

And then Dev blew everything to shit...

So... today was pretty awesome.

Don't you just hate it when the love of your life agrees to marry you, the registrar tells you that you're now husband and wife...

...and then the husband of the woman that died in the pub fire bursts in to your wedding, about to expose you as the town arsonist.

Kinda sucks, doesn't it Karl? Hope you like your new prison cell!

(Or alternatively you could become batshit crazy, hold Stella and Dev hostage at the Rovers, and die in a fire  while your victims escape with nary a scratch. But since I've seen no upcoming spoilers of any explosions, I think its safe to say you're going to prison)

I cannot WAIT for Friday's episode!!!

The Honeymoon Period is Over

Yes Stuart Blackburn. Your honeymoon period is over. Two months is more than enough time for you to get settled into the swing of things. And since we're now over that mark by a couple of weeks, it's time for this Corrie fan to pass judgement on the things that have happened under his tenure so far.

Lets start by looking at the cast changes that are going to happen in the next year or so.

According to the movers list, there appears to be more exits than arrivals with valuable characters like Tina McIntyre and Hayley Cropper among the leavers. But I've read that both Michelle Keegan and Julie Hesmondhalgh want to move on, and since this isn't a Blackburn-tailored decision, all I can do is hope those characters get a good exit story, and wish MK & JH all the best for the future.

The characters of Brian, Paul, and Karl make up the rest of the list. Karl's exit was inevitable ever since he set fire to the pub, and inadvertently killed Sunita. I'm not a fortune-teller but even I can tell death or prison will be in Karl's future. I don't want him killed off personally; there's still a lot of potential for a redemption story, and I love John Michie, but I'm not too bothered about that storyline.

Something else I'm not too bothered about: Paul. I don't hate him as much as most of the other Corrie fans but he's had a hand in softening Eileen and that's something I don't like. She raised two teenage boys, and lives with Sean without going mad! That's enough to toughen anybody up! So I don't buy this paranoia, especially three months after Toni's death.

Finally Brian. I was a fan of the burger-eating, softie headmaster but I feel there was a missed opportunity there. Many fans have described Brian & Julie as the Derek & Mavis of the 21st Century, and while I've never actually seen D&M in action, from what I've read, I'm inclined to agree. I would have thought now would be a perfect time to get rid of him though: he's not much of a character without Julie so it would have made more sense to have them both exit the Street, and then have Julie return with the news that Brian left her or something. Hey! He left his first wife! It's plausible!

One thing this tells me about Blackburn is that he's not afraid to get rid of some of the dead weight (although I'd wish he'd continue his mission and axe some more characters coughcoughRobDonovancough) and he's also not afraid to bring back characters. Liz McDonald is returning, and she is a character I love. Not being around during the Bet Lynch/Annie Walker glory days, for me, Liz IS the landlady of the Rover's Return. Here's hoping she kicks Stella's ass when she returns!

Unfortunately Todd Grimshaw is also returning, and I'll be honest: I don't like him. (It feels kinda blasphemous to not like Corrie's first gay character but hey - gotta feel what ya feel!). He seemed a little wet to me, not manning up even after the coming out story ended. Although it was because of him, we got the great Gail-Eileen catfight of 2004 so it's not all bad!


That's casting sorted. Let's move on to the plot.

The best plot in the last two months showed promise for Corrie as a whole as it happened to be the first new plot under the Blackburn tenure. Roy's journey to find his father only to discover that Sinjin had died was a raw emotional journey with great writing and even better acting! Roy's confusion as he tried to work out what do next, Hayley trying to help him along only to be blamed, and Sylvia's insistence that her son was nothing like his father brought some amazing performances from David Neilson, Julie Hesmondhalgh, and Stephanie Cole. And there's been some great character development for both Roy and Sylvia. This doesn't seem to be over though - Roy's obsessing about trivial things, obviously ignoring the big changes in his life - and I can only wonder what's next for him (well actually I know, I'm more wondering how we're going to go from this to the next big storyline concerning this trio).

However there have been some things Blackburn hasn't impressed me with. For a start, some of the plot movement in the early days were just boring such as... you know what? I can't even remember the boring stuff right now which proves how yawnworthy it was. And until the plot mentioned above got going, I was starting to get a little worried about the future. But all this could be a thing of the past, especially now that the surrogacy storyline's hotting up. I'm really enjoying the climax, and I don't think we're supposed to root for anyone in particular here which I love!

*ahem* Um let's go back to the critiqueing...

Another thing I'm not liking is the fact that we're not seeing characters for weeks. It took a month for Audrey  to resurface again, and I don't think we've even seen Mandy since the Rovers fire.


So to conclude: I'm hopeful. This show seems to be slowly improving again. It's not as sensationalised as it once was, and most of the plots are being character-driven again. Plus we're getting the little touches like Deirdre & Eileen getting drunk and putting the world to rights, or Steve talking rubbish at people like Owen. Whatever else he may bring to the job, it's obvious Stuart Blackburn has passion and I think we're finally seeing what this passion is doing. If this is it then I wish him the best of luck at it!

Not again!!!

I have been incredibly lax when it comes to this blog (I could make up excuses about exams and impending trips and stressy stress but I can't be bothered) but I came out of hiding just to share this with you all (and yes this is old news by now. Sue me!)

Tina's going to give birth in the Rovers

This is just getting stupid now. The Rovers is a pub, not a maternity ward! That's what Weatherfield General is for! And besides we've already had two babies born there recently. Dylan (OK not so recently but last 5 yearsish) and Ruby who coincidentally was the last baby born on this soap.

Is it really too much to have characters go to the hospital to give birth. I am sick and tired of sensationalised birthing scenes that are over in half an hour. And don't get me started on the Gary/Tina/Izzy triangle!

Oh one other thing of note. I saw the spoilers in this week's TV Times and literally one thing happens next week on Corrie. One thing! Oh yeah Paul 'leaves' but then he comes back so we can have a nice sensationalised wedding where he will jilt Eileen in three weeks (or vice versa actually. Probably now that I think about it).

This soap.... it's getting worse.

The Corrie Review: 5/4/13

Before we get started on Friday's review, here's something that came to mind. I'm a big Vicar of Dibley fan and I couldn't help thinking that Alice aka Emma Chambers looked like Corrie's very own Julie aka Katie Cavanagh. You see the resemblance, no?

 

It's totally just me, isn't it?

Let's just get on with the review, shall we?

Sunita's Croaked It!

Sunita breathed her last on Wednesday's episode and a good amount of yesterday's double episode focused on the after-effects, including Dev telling the children their mother has died. Jimmi Harkishin actually got me here, proving that he indeed can still act. (Side note: why doesn't he act well more often? The writing isn't *that* bad) I really felt his pain at losing the love of his life. And to be honest, he's taking it better than I thought he would. When he found out about Sunita's affair with Karl, he tried to kill himself but none of that this time! And kudos to Steve who decided to keep Dev company in the evenings when the kids were abed.

On the other side of the coin, we have the three witches Price family, all of whom I hate. I've given up on Gloria ever being likable, and I couldn't care less about Stella, but Eva had so much potential! I'd rather see her tackle a storyline of her own instead of being involved in this farce. They're doing it for Leanne! Why not Eva?

And of course Stella and Jason broke up because, as Stella put it, 'we barely know each other.' Um, if they barely knew each other, what the hell were they doing going out in the first place? I never liked the relationship but Stella's just being a fool now. I still can't believe she's falling for Karl all over again despite all he's done to her. Either she's idiot or a sucker for punishment. Or both, come to think of it.

Break-ins aren't good for the baby!

The writers seem to be setting up for yet another triangle. Now while I'm sick to death of most love triangles (Katy/Chesney Ryan anyone?), this... doesn't annoy me.

There does seem to be some chemistry between Gary and Tina. Now it's not as powerful as Tommy and Tina (whom I loved as you may have guessed) so I'm shipping them in the long run, but I wouldn't mind seeing a short affair develop between them. I'm getting way ahead of myself here though. The writers may not be going that direction at all. Yeah, feel free to laugh at me now!

I can't leave Chesneh!

                                                        

We continued this little story arc about Fiz not wanting to move in because Chesney would be lonely. Allow me to point out two flaws in that. 1.) She'd be moving two doors down. 2.) Ches has friends that he can spend time with, like Kirk and Tyrone. 3.) (yes I said two. I lied!) He's an adult now. He can look after himself.

I really do think Fiz has got nothing to worry about here but like the caring sister she is, she decided to stay at home, despite Hayley's best efforts. That's actually the opposite of what I thought the writers might do. I thought Fiz would move out, and Chesney would get a little lonely, but Beth's niece comes to town and moves in with him, paying him as a lodger. Kinda harder to do now with Fiz sticking her oar in.

Oh and Fiz & Ty continued to celebrate their happy ending. Just no more cheesy lines about this just being the beginning from Ty. I don't care what Kylie thinks, I cringed. And I do not like cringing at the cutest couple ever!

Old-Age Druggies

                                  

It looks like the drug story arc has ended now with first Rita then Roy discovering that Sylvia and Dennis has been taking drugs disguised as brownies for their various aches and pains. Despite this being a rehash (pun intended) of a previous storyline which I can only vaguely remember, it was much better this time around mainly because I love Dennis and especially Sylvia. Stephanie Cole is just making that role her own. It would take a brave fan now to compare her to Blanche. If only they'd met! *sigh*

Is it wrong that I kinda want Sylvia and Dennis to have a fling. I supposed they're too old for that sort of thing now but they just suit each other so well! And Sylvia needs a man to boss around in her life that isn't her son. Let's face it, it's Dennis or Norris. Easy choice now, isn't it?

I believe Stuart Blackburn's episodes begin on Monday and I cannot wait for what he has in store for us. (I say this having watched the ridiculously contrived Emmerdale live episode) Storylines do seem to be improving, with the exception of the Karl/Stella stupidity which is um... stupid.

To be honest, I google imaged most of the pictures but some at least are from ITV.com. In fact most of them with the exception of the first pic which I stole off the net. Yeah. Sue me. Actually don't because I'm broke! But if that is your pic, feel free to take the credit because I cannot find it again now.