Bury Your Gays

I've wandered off from Corrie again - seemingly the brief period of good writing has now come to an end - but even though I haven't been watching, the factory collapse has my attention. I'm not so much interested in whodunit (I'm hoping for Nick because I can't take either Gary or Seb seriously as villains - and I actually identify quite a lot with Seb so making him a villain would be a little offensive) but in who died.

We now know the unfortunate character was Rana which isn't as much of a shock - we knew Bhavna Limbachia was leaving anyway - but the controversy stems from the fact that Rana is one half of beloved soap supercouple 'Kana' and killing the character off is another example of the Bury Your Gays trope in which there is the idea that queer characters are more likely to be killed off - sometimes in a brutal fashion - than their straight counterparts. Generally, I'm sure there's something to it but I'm more interested in the trope as it relates to Corrie, who now has a history of killing off their queer characters. This seems to be a good opportunity to re-visit the LGBT characters of Corrie past and present, and their roles on the canvas as well as exploring the possible reasons why some of these characters were killed off, and whether that was a good idea.

Todd Grimshaw

In the beginning, there was Todd. He was originally with Sarah Platt back in the early noughties but then found himself kissing her brother Nick on the lips. Things started spiralling after that when he had an affair with nurse Karl before he was exposed, leading to that famous catfight scene between his mother Eileen and Sarah's mother Gail, and the start of a rivalry that still exists to this day.

In 2013, Todd returned permanently with a personality transplant, leading viewers such as myself to refer to him as Rodd. Despite the bad writing, Bruno Langley rose above it and his relationship with vicar Billy Mayhew remains one of my favourite to this day, before unfortunately Bruno ruined it all with a sex scandal and Todd was written out, last seen fleeing from the police.

I get that Corrie can't hire the actor back but it would be a shame to lose Corrie's first gay character altogether, and I hope one day they re-cast. Todd has some unfinished business with Billy and once that's resolved, maybe we can finally have a same-sex wedding that doesn't go belly-up.

Kate Connor

Originally introduced as a minor Connor, Kate was engaged to soldier and resident nutjob Caz. They broke up for... reasons and Kate was involved in Caz's (awfully-written) downfall. She moved on to Rana, then married to my favourite grump Zeedan, and these two fell into an affair that bored me but managed to set Twitter alight, giving birth to 'Kana'. I'm sure Faye Brookes is a nice person, and I admire her for putting up with Gareth Gates, but for me, her acting leaves a lot to be desired and I don't have time for her character. Which is a pity because I'm sure in the hands of a better actor, losing her brother and the love of her life in the same year would make for a compelling story.

Rana Nazir

The other half of 'Kana', Rana was introduced as a partner for Zeedan. The two got hitched and, as mentioned above, she fell into bed with Kate. I actually think Rana had potential - Bhavna Limbachia can act and we know she can do comedy from her turn on Citizen Khan. I also enjoyed her familial relationships with Imran and her mother but alas it wasn't meant to be. I can't say I'll miss the tears though. Bhavna can cry but honestly it was getting a bit much!

Hayley Cropper

Oh Hayley, how I miss you! She was introduced as Corrie's first LGBT character, way back in 1998, originally as a joke! She was always intended for Roy but it was soon revealed that she previously lived life as a man called Harold. While the writers wouldn't be able to get away with that sort of writing today, it led to a beautifully formed partnership between Hayley and Roy, and a fully-fleshed character for who being transgender wasn't the most interesting thing about her. The only complaint I have was the way she was written out - a tired euthanasia story that, in this instance, was out-of-character. Hayley would never have left Roy voluntarily! She's still mentioned even five years after her death (I believe on tonight's episode, one of their former foster children appears and learns of her passing) and Julie Hesmondhalgh has moved on to star in some of the biggest television shows in Britain, namely Broadchurch and Doctor Who. A part of me though still hopes she'll agree to come back as a ghost if David Neilson ever decides to leave and the writers decide they want to break me and kill off Roy.

Sean Tully

A raging gay stereotype who likes to flounce around in the pub and the factory, played fully to the hilt by Antony Cotton (who I believe most of the time is content to play himself). I had no time for this character until last year's homelessness story where Cotton, for once, toned down his acting and sold the story of a man thrown at the wrong end of a difficult situation. Before, I'd be clamoring for him to be killed off immediately. Now? I'll keep silent if we can have more of THIS Sean, the toned-down more serious guy, affected by his past experiences.

Billy Mayhew

Introduced as a partner for Sean, Billy is a vicar who happens to be gay and very comfortably so. With the odds stacked against him, I should be given to like him but to me, he comes across as a bit... wet. The only time I've ever really liked him was when he was with Todd and I suppose he works as a foil for some of the more darker characters... but I'm not sure I'd miss him if he left the Street. Just sayin'.

Sophie Webster

As the Americans would say, a legacy character, the daughter of Sally Metcalfe and Kevin Webster. While I thought it was a good decision for Sophie to come out as gay, it seems to limit her options somewhat when it comes to story. Now when a lesbian character is introduced, our first question is 'how long until she hooks up with Sophie?' However, I've seen an improvement in Brooke Vincent's acting recently and I think the character has potential. Sophie's quite ambitious like her mother. Why don't we see her start her own business? Meet a partner through that? Let's get her out of this rut the writers seem to want to stick her in and explore her options.

Sian Powers

Can't say I miss this character. She was introduced as a friend of Sophie's before of course, the friendship turned into something more. I can't remember the story, mainly because at the time both actors put on impossible-to-understand accents but as I remember, they were due to get married but it was called off on the day. I think Sophie had slept with Amber but I can't remember!

Maddie Heath

Despite the best efforts of Amy-James Kelly (another actress who's gone on to find success outside the soap world), this character never worked. She was originally intended to be 'the new Becky McDonald', a massive mistake when introducing a character! Don't write her to be the new anything! Let the character find their own voice! Unfortunately it wasn't meant to be and after a tepid romance with Sophie, Maddie was killed in an explosion. She's the third gay character to have died on this show if you're keeping count.

Ted Page

I googled LGBT characters of Corrie as I was writing this article and forgot this character existed. He's Gail's father but was revealed to be gay. He started a friendship with Ken Barlow, leading to a hilarious storyline in which Blanche believed Ken to be gay himself. The character disappeared which seems a shame. Bring Ted back and let's have an older LGBT character on the street for once!

Marcus Dent

Oh Marcus! Another character that I liked. He was a refreshingly normal and grounded character who had relationships with Sean Tully and um... Maria Connor! Yes the otherwise gay man was with a woman for a couple of years before he screwed it all up by sleeping with Todd in one of many stupid storylines from 2014. Not much to say about this character otherwise but I wouldn't be against him returning one day.

Caz Hammond

She was introduced as Kate's fiancee before someone in the writer's team decided to make her bonkers. She became fixated on Maria (what is it with Maria? She was also married to another gay man briefly! It's like that's a turn-on for her!) until Maria rejected her. Then I think Caz made out that Maria killed her or something but she didn't and basically it was all stupid and illogical. I can't remember how they wrote Caz out.

Paula Martin

The much older and most recent girlfriend of Sophie, she was a high-powered lawyer and old school friend of Sally who was called to help out when Sally was accused of fraud in a Purely Original, Never Been Done Before, Honest story twist *coughcoughDeirdrecough*. I didn't hate this relationship actually, it seemed to force Sophie to grow up a little although she was quite mean to Paula later on. I've heard rumours that Paula is returning so let's see what the writers do with her. As a character who's bisexual rather than fully gay, there's a lot of potential there.

So by my reckoning, three gay characters died and one faked her death to get back at someone who didn't love her in the first place (soaps!). As for all three genuine deaths, I don't believe they are indicative of a homophobic trope. Two characters were written out because the actors chose to leave, and since they were both part of a supercouple, the fans wouldn't have been expected to believe that the characters could up and leave. And as for the third, as I said, it was clear that Maddie never worked as a character in the first place. So I'm afraid I just don't see the criticism of Coronation Street at the moment to be valid. Your opinions may differ.

It's Been Five Years

Five years since I posted here! Unbelievable!

Why the break, you ask? Well, I stopped watching Corrie. Once Hayley died in 2014, there wasn't any reason for me to keep watching. The godawful Peter/Tina story, still one of the worst stories of the decade, dragged on and... you know what? I can't even remember anything else that happened during that period. I attempted to google it and my eyes just glazed over. Basically stuff happened, all of it forgettable.

But now! I started watching again a few months ago. Aidan's suicide story drew me back in which is surprising really since I never had much use for the character in life. But with his death came a whole host of character-driven stories and messes that I really loved. Toyah and Eva's baby deception was exposed! Johnny freaked out and kidnapped baby Susie! Carla and Alya fought over the factory! It seemed every house on the cobbles was affected in some way and I loved it!

In one of the most recent episodes I watched, Sinead had just been diagnosed with cancer and it was heart-breaking to see. Sinead ran out of the doctor's room in tears, bumping into Ken in the process (was it ever explained why he was at the hospital by the way?). Now she faces the prospect of terminating her pregnancy in order to have a better chance at fighting this thing. And honestly, I get why she doesn't want to do that. Especially as someone who had an abortion and ended up regretting it. She's putting her baby's life ahead of her own, and honestly I can't say I wouldn't do exactly the same thing. I would have liked her to have told Daniel straight away but Corrie wouldn't have been able to do the four-hander (which I still haven't seen!) otherwise so I get that particular choice.

Strangely I've also enjoyed the fake daughter story. Obviously the premise is ridiculous but if it has proved one thing, it's that Charles Lawson and Beverley Callard can sell anything. It was a treat to see them so conflicted, being drawn back together because of their history and their chemistry. But Jim of course messes it all up. I guess he's done for now but I hope he's back soon. With the myotonic dystrophy, I can see his story coming to an end in the next couple of years but whether he's murdered or gets the deathbed treatment, I honestly can't say!

My one criticism of the writing at the moment is that there's no depth, no subtlety. Let's take Jim as an example. He's been in on the con from the beginning but how much more interesting would it have been to have him discover Hannah isn't his daughter halfway through the story? He's about to tell Liz and Steve but Hannah manipulates him, gets inside his mind, tells him his family abandoned him. Tracy picks up on his affected state and is party to the secret. Everything's exposed at the wedding (instead of Steve sleeping with Leanne again which was just predictable).

Or how about Doctor Ali? (I have to call him Doctor Ali because if I just call him Ali, the song from Aladdin comes into my head). Doctor Ali is grappling with the fact that he's murdered a man, a gangster who was after his family for... reasons (I may have tuned out because Ryan's drug mishaps don't interest me). There's a car accident, Michelle is acting like a screeching harpy which is pretty normal for her to be fair, Ryan is in a coma and showing more brain activity than he was beforehand, and Ali finds Ronan the gangster impaled on a fence post and decides to pull the fence post out of Ronan, killing him.

But how much more interesting would it have been if Doctor Ali had come across Ronan, realises he could treat him (as much as you can treat a guy IMPALED ON A FENCE POST, jesus Corrie) and then doesn't. Ronan goads him and Ali can't bring himself to save his life because if he does, he knows Michelle and Ryan are in danger, and for some reason, he LIKES Michelle and Ryan. Yes it's murder but the situation is greyer. And we get a doctor who has a tragic and dark backstory instead of the psycho killer route Corrie are predictably going to go down because it's been six months since the last one.

Overall though, I'm enjoying Coronation Street again. Despite my little five-year break, I've always considered it to be my soap and it's such a kick to see Ken involved in major story, Rita propping up the bar of the Rovers, Roy serving sandwiches in the caff. Some things haven't changed and I love that. It's comforting and safe. I've missed Corrie and I hope to continue watching it regularly for many years to come.

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.