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Saturday 25 July 2015

Coronation Street double episode review, Friday 24 July 2015

Well let's get straight to it; the highlight of Friday's double episode had to be Tim’s proposal and the aftermath. Joe Duttine brings so much to this character, and he’s a delight to watch. Disconcerted by suited Kevin’s success and Sally’s enthusiasm for it, he has an epiphany during a great conversation with Craig – he’ll ask her to marry him. 

He lays his heart bare outside Underworld with flowers worthy of Dev’s, and to the strains of Take That’s Greatest Day courtesy of a ghetto blaster precariously administered by Craig. It’s a pity nobody but us can hear his brilliant speech, but it’s all part of the humour, and at least Sally gets to hear her favourite song before it mutes at the point where Tim bellows the all important proposal, and she happily accepts. Trust Sean to look down his nose at her engagement ring, but at least a joyous atmosphere prevails at the Rovers as well wishers hearing the news drop in to congratulate them, and all agree it’s great that Kevin, Tim and Sally get on so well. I sincerely hope that the Kevin and Sally rumours we’ve been hearing aren’t true, and further, that we get the happy wedding they deserve, along the lines of Beth and Kirky's.

Speaking of which, Sinead’s plans to book a surprise camping trip for herself and Chesney go awry when Beth finds the flyer and thinks Kirk is whisking her away. On learning of the confusion, Kirk panics as only he can, and Tyrone, sadly well used to finding ways of keeping Fiz appeased, recommends he avoid trouble by booking a holiday to the same place. When the misunderstanding is revealed, all seven of them decide to go there together much to the clear frustration of Sinead.

Kirky isn’t the only man to panic over a surprise, as Tracy and Beth pitch up unexpectedly at Robert’s restaurant. Robert may have given the Barlows a reason to smile by staying the night, with Ken even remarking that Deirdre had a hand in bringing them back together, but it doesn’t last. Wife Joni returns to the restaurant in time to find him kissing Tracy goodbye and promptly slaps the “third wheel” across the face.

Tracy is furious and Ken is disappointed on hearing the news. While Robert calls over and appears to win Tracy over slightly with his apology, she still insists he leave. He departs with the hope that she meets someone who deserves her more than he does and thanks Ken for being so decent.

While Robert failed to take the myriad of opportunities to tell the truth, he did attempt to break up with Joni in this episode showing that it really is Tracy he wants, and his regret seems genuine. I like the chemistry between the pair and despite his infidelity, I think Robert could be a good influence in Tracy’s life. If I'm honest, I feel enough has already been written about Joni this week for me to contribute anything of added value to the conversation.

Bethany plays with fire – well, matches – when she is tricked into facilitating a drug deal for Callum in return for the trip to Paris that Sarah has already refused her. Unbeknownst to Bethany, he films the handover and later takes a photo of her posing with a joint. While Bethany might like to have everyone believe she’s savvy and mature, the child in her comes out when, despite clearly feeling uncomfortable, she allows herself to be goaded with remarks like “I thought you were adventurous” and “you’re not scared are you?” Gemma insists on knowing why Callum is taking images of Bethany, and he tells her they’re insurance for the future, leading them to dissolve into cartoon laughter.

I have to say, I love the character of Gemma, and if we accept that Callum will never be a Dan, or a Phelan – or even a Gavin Rodwell – it makes for a more enjoyable watch. I loved our editor Glenda's likening of the dastardly crew to Batman’s foes, and when I view them in this light, I get a kick out of the scenes. Callum’s rather stylish flat and eclectic taste in music, not to mention his short attention span for Bethany, did add a dimension to his character which we hadn’t seen before.

Elsewhere, Tony roams the streets and it remains anyone’s guess where he’s staying. Firstly, there’s a set to with Robert which I rather enjoyed, and clearly so did Tracy, in which he vows to keep his half of Barlow’s Buys. Then, after needlessly apologising to Liz on behalf of his Dad, Jason tells Tony to his face to stay away from both of them. Tony begs for another chance but it falls on deaf ears. Gail was just as happy to witness Michael emerging from Eileen’s first thing in the morning. Michael is a different man when he’s with Eileen and infinitely more interesting and endearing, so I hope they stay together. I think they have the potential to be a great Corrie couple.

By Emma Hynes
Twitter: @ELHynes

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12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Two good episodes.....totally ruined by Bethany, Callum, Eileen & Michael.

Humpty Dumpty said...

Not taken with Robert's attempts at playing the hard man, first seeing off thugs in Barlow's and then with Tony last night. I'm sure Tony could flatten him and walk away blowing on his fingernails. Tracy fell into a swoon both times, clearly impressed. There's a bit of Jason King about Robert so I'm afraid I can't take him seriously. Who's Jason King, I hear younger fans ask? Here's a link - if it works: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/JasonKing

Belle Fleur said...

I actually thought the rather ancient looking Robert was quite amusing trying to see off hard man Tony. Tony could have just flattened the berk.

I also thought Gail looked great in that dress yesterday but the two ladies squabbling over awful Michael is not something I want to watch, thanks.

Plus why did Sarah Harding slap Tracy anyway? It's hardly her fault her ex pursued her and forgot to mention there was a wife mark 2 was it? But at least we all got to see that there is actually another restaurant that exists apart from The Bistro!!!!

Tvor said...

Yeah, while i can accept Robert intimidating the thugs that were in the shop, I think Tony would wipe the floor with him. Tony still has his flat so he would be staying there.

It's not the first time Eileen has gone after and kept a married man, blatantly, too. this time, I don't think she'll move Gail in under her roof at least.

John McE said...

Since you've disabled the comments feature on the article below, I'll say it here. Sarah Harding isn't very good, is she?

Mr Sutton said...

I actually thought SH was dreadful! Her acting was am dram, wooden and stilted - why oh why when there would be many out of work actresses that would kill for a part in Corrie do they have this penchant for getting in singers that just cannot act! Seems they are obsessed with zelebrity rather than acting skills.

Anonymous said...

Robert hopes Tracy meets someone who deserves her? How about Fred West.

Anonymous said...

SH didn't bother me too much, mostly because she was hardly on screen. Also I've never heard of Girls Aloud, so I'm not pre-bothered as it seems other viewers are.

What I noticed about the episodes was the large proportion of bridging scenes, stuff that merely acts as filler and gets you from one plot point to another. These must be hard for actors to play. There was the awkward scene between Liz and Maria talking about Luke. Since when does Liz have an opinion about Luke? Since when do Liz and Maria share personal information? It would have made more sense for Maria to be talking to Audrey or Carla or Michelle, but those actors must be off at the moment, so it was down to Liz I guess. The whole 'don't take your man for granted' was a bit dissonant given the disillusioning trials Liz has faced lately. And then there's Ken who has become the butler at No 1, opening the door for Robert, closing the door behind him. It's beyond stilted, with visible efforts to make it somehow still about Deirdre, even though it's clearly not, but simply trying to get out of one storyline and into another, while leaving the emotions of the old storyline behind - much too soon imho.

SH was brought in to help with a transition and I'm not sure her performance was that much more unconvincing than others saddled with the same burden. As ever I'm afraid the problem seems down to the writers.

Otherwise, I agree with Emma - Tim's proposal was enormous fun to watch and Gemma gets better and better as a character.

Dolly Tubb said...

Love love love Tim, and his proposal was just wonderful! But it's not that long since he 'unproposed' to Sally, so what's changed? And what about Kev's lottery winnings that never really got spent apart from the new car lift which went back after it trapped Kev/Tyrone (?). Apart from that it was a great couple of episodes, i have to admit being underwhelmed by Sarah Harding but then she won't be around for too long.

vintgal003 said...

Gosh...I have never heard of this Sarah Harding person....must goggle her name and find out what her claim to fame is ??

Am loving that glorious Joe Duttine...why have I never seen him in anything before??? Another person I must goggle......

Thanks Emma for the great recap!

njblas said...

If only the actor who played Real Gavin had been cast in the part of Callum - the whole tedious saga would probably have been quite gripping! Callum would have seemed genuinely scary, rather than panto-scary:)

Louby said...

I like Gemma too. What happened to Macca? They were a good double act.

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