Sunday, 9 January 2011

Not So Alone: Thu Jan 6, 2010 Corrie Episode Review

January-6-2011

Written by David Lane, directed by Griff Rowland

It’s an awkward moment Chez newly-single-mom Sally Webster’s when Tyrone comes bumbling down the stairs after a night of…well, a night of what?  *shudder*  What is withJanuary-6-2011-Sallytyrone Corrie and these May-December romances?  He leaves before Sophie and “thingy” (Sian) might come back, but not before thanking her for last night after making her feel “not so alone.”  After he leaves, Sally looks guilty as all ‘eck.  What on earth happened?!  Well, matters not, since Kev saw Tyrone leaving HIS home and we all know what he’s thinking.  I shuddered earlier, but now seeing Kevin’s stupid face I hope that Tyrone and Sally got it on. 

Eileen is remarkably good spirits (until she freaked out about the bathroom use) since her home is now a Webster sister love nest.  Does she have a man we don’t know about?!  Even if that man IS Jose Cuervo? 

January-6-2011-Sophie-Rosie Tyrone heads over to work and there’s the obvious tension between Kev and he.  Only now Kev asks if there’s something he should know about.  They’re interrupted by Sophie who brings her dad over to the house while Sally’s at work so he can pick up some of his things.  Kev’s collecting his things at the house and asks Sophie and Sian if there’s anything he should know about – anything concerning Tyrone.  Later, Sophie tells Rosie how their dad is moving out for good.  Rosie tries to tell her that at least their dad is going to still be in the area.  Sophie doesn’t see this is as much comfort.  Rosie tells her that she’ll make up with mum and she’s always been dad’s favourite so she’ll see just as much of them so now she has three homes.  Sophie thanks Rosie for being her sister and the girls leave. 

Tyrone tells Sally that Kevin is back and she seems shocked.  Tyrone wants to talk about last night later.  From afar, Kev can see Sally knock on Tyrone’s door and go in.  Sally says that they’ve done nothing wrong so he shouldn’t worry about Kevin.  Sally reminds him that Kevin has done his worst to ruin bothJanuary-6-2011-Kev-Tyrone their lives and they’re both so much better than that – he especially.  Sally tells him that he is a lovely decent man and not to get dragged down to Kevin’s level.  All while delicately fixing the top of his sweater.  Whoa, Sally.  Kevin sees Sally leave Tyrone’s and calls them a pair of flaming hypocrites.  Kevin accuses Sally of sleeping with Tyrone to get back at him.  Kevin bangs on Tyrone’s door in a rage and gets everyone out on the street to watch his foolishness.  Kevin throws Tyrone around and tells him that it’s not over.  Sally puts Kevin straight and says that whatever she does and who she does it with has nothing to do with him. 

The Windasses are nervous that Gary might have a hard time working on the tram crash building site, now that he’s working for Owen January-6-2011-crazy-gary thanks to Izzy.  Owen wants Gary to work inside but Gary wants to work outside to which Owen scoffs, “you don’t get to pick and choose.”  Oh, poor Gary.  Does anyone respect soldiers anymore?!  Izzy comes by to see how Gary’s doing and Owen gets suspicious.  Owen asks Jason for the low-down on Gary and Jason thinks he’s “okay.”  Since when does Jason have much an opinion on anything?  Jason fills Owen in on how Gary was in prison before and Owen wonders if Izzy knows.  On the job, Owen instructs Gary to go look for screws in the back of the van, then Jason accidentally locks him in the van thinking no one was in there.  This sets Gary off into a panic attack trying to get out of the van.  Gary gets let out of the van and takes his rage with him shoving OweJanuary-6-2011-Izzy n to the ground accusing him of locking him in there.  Jason has to hold Gary back as he tries to attack Owen with a piece of wood.  Gary figures that Owen put Jason up to locking him in the van when it was an accident.  Owen tells him to get off his building site and if he catches him near Izzy he’ll think being locked in a van was a picnic.  Eddie steps in and takes Gary away.  Later Izzy finds from her dad and Jason about Gary’s violent behaviour at work.  Izzy is in disbelief as she hears what Gary did earlier.  Izzy apologizes to her dad but Owen says he’s just glad it was him and not her that Gary went off on.  No Izzy looks concerned. 

John goes to see Doctor Carter about getting more medication for his “anxiety.”  The reason I am downplaying his anxiety is not because I’m insensitive or ignorant but because there is a very straightforward reason for this anxiety: murder.  Doctor Carter looks concerned, but not nearly concerned as he should January-6-2011-Joy-Colin be if he really knew.  John pretends it’s his daughter’s health that’s keeping him awake at night.  He refuses counselling of course, since that’s not the ONLY issue is it?  John confides in Doctor Carter that he’s done things he can’t tell anyone about and he’s carrying around so much guilt.  At which point, Doctor Carter looks as though he’s going to press “seat eject” and get the H-E-C-K out of there.  Doctor Carter gives him tablets but tells him that he’s got to let out whatever’s bothering him. 

John can’t leave well enough alone and decides to go pay a visit to Joy Fishwick.  John offers to make Joy some tea then asks if he’s heard something from Colin.  Joy complains that her boiler is broken so John says he’ll go take a look at it when she sticks the kettle on.  John offers to do more chores for her, and he just set up a supermarket date.  She tells John that he’s everything she wished Colin was.  John only answers with “hardly.”  Guilt, much?  Later, John tells Fiz how he went to see Joy Fishwick and Fiz reminds her that Joy’s not his problem.  She makes a villain of Colin, but John says he feels it’s his due after using Colin’s name. Fiz just doesn’t want Joy interfering with John’s work or the baby.  January-6-2011-becky

The police are around Coronation Street more than the bin men, as usual.  They come and question Mary and Norris in regards to Tracy Barlow’s injuries.  Mary has to hold her tongue from not saying something nasty about Tracy and she just looks rather constipated.  You know, with thought.  Norris tells the police about Becky McDonald, since that’s his biggest bet on who gave Tracy the blow. 

The police stop by the Rovers to speak with Becky next.  They ask about the row that Becky had with Tracy before she was up on life support.  The police want to know what the argument was about but Becky says she didn’t remember.  Becky gets cocky and asks them where their evidence is.  Becky says they were arguing over Amy since when Tracy came back she wanted to take Amy back to reminding her.  They ask who Max is, and Becky says he’s her nephew and he’s staying with them while his mum’s in Cyprus on holiday.  She avoids Max conversation and goes back to work when the police tell her they haven’t seen the last of her. 

HIGHLIGHTS

- Tyrone referring to Sian as “thingy.”  She really is just useless besides Sophie’s lesbian storyline here.  I’m not shocked people on the street don’t really know who she is. 

- Gary’s first day of work.  Anna to Owen: “Here, he’s all ready.”  Gary to  Anna: “Mum, it’s not me first day at school.”  Ha-ha.

- How terrified and slightly repulsed Doctor Carter looked when John told him that he’d done things – that he cannot tell anyone about.  As though John had just told Doctor Carter that he was strapped with dynamite and was going to blow the place to bits if he didn’t get more tablets. Like any good doctor, he doles out the pills. 

- DC Moore to Norris Cole: “Perhaps you could give us a few names of people who clashed with Tracy Barlow.”  Norris: “You might as well have asked the same question of Hitler!” 

- DC Redfern when recognizing Mary, Mary disclaims: “It was a very long time ago, and I haven’t touched a chainsaw since!”  To an open-mouthed Norris. 

LOWLIGHTS

- Rosie.  Really.  Really.  Irritates me.  Sometimes it’s funny.  Most of the time, it’s not. 

- I really feel for Gary.  It seems that no one on the street (aside from his parents, well mum mainly) have an respect for him after he served in the military for THEM.  Ugh. 

- John and his going to the doctor about his “problems.”  I can solve his problems: he’s a psycho that murdered one person and covered up the murder of another and somehow managed to sneakily bury both so no one would know.  Can he be STOPPED?! 

- What on EARTH did Mary have atop her head?  Was that what I think it was?  A fur/leather fisherman’s hat?  I’m astonished at the items in which the Corrie costume department manages to unearth.  And I mean, unearth. 

11 comments:

  1. I don't get why you say Sian is "just useless besides Sophie’s lesbian storyline here. I’m not shocked people on the street don’t really know who she is."

    The storyline is probably one of the largest of the past year.

    In fact I kinda don't get why you watch it at all when you don't seem to like anyone. Doesn't that defeat the purpose?

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  2. I love it when Corrie inserts these little 'noodle incidents' into the show, like Mary's chainsaw speech. It's always a nice bit of humour, and adds a bit of depth.

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  3. Frosty the Snowman10 January 2011 at 07:52

    I rather liked Mary's hat, very jaunty and you will wear anything in the very cold weather you know! Totally agree about Sian, a really insipid "nothng" character, just sits around either on the worktops or the sofa looking vacant and freeloading off the Websters and has the cheek to tell Kevin off when he is speaking to his daughter in a FAMILY row. Hangs around like a limpet and is dragging Sophie down. The most pointless character in Corrie at the moment.

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  4. Two pedantic points:
    1. I don't think the police would interview Becky based on asking a local busybody what he thought. It would have been more realistic for Norris to drop some hints to them.
    2. Dr C doling out the pills - wouldn't he have given John some anti-depressants rather than more sleeping pills (with which, in theory, he could kill himself)?

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  5. Nicole,

    I rather think the tram storyline was the "largest of the past year" by a country mile.

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  6. You'll find Nicole said "one of the largest", not "the largest".

    Anyway, i think people seem to forget Sian has been on the show a full year before getting together with Sophie. Ryan, anyone?

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  7. I liked Mary's hat! I want one. re. Stape - I think he's "goin' down..."

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  8. Anon above, I think Sian is very easy to forget and a very forgettable character.

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  9. "and has the cheek to tell Kevin off when he is speaking to his daughter in a FAMILY row."

    "The cheek"? He called them mad for sleeping together, all Sian did was stand up to him. Then there was that time she was nice enough to watch Jack (which is more than the other Websters would do for him at that point) while Kevin went out, only to have him threaten to throw her out the next day because she didn't pay rent. Talk about ungrateful.

    Since getting together with Sophie, Sian has had fewer scenes with other characters. Once she starts branching out more (or, more appropriately, again) i think some of the people who have a problem with her will start to like her a bit more.

    And as for Tyrone calling her "thingy", i think that was just a joke. She is pretty well known on the street.

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  10. My take on Sian, for what it's worth: she's a perfectly fine supporting character, and the actress is believable (ie, not another Tracyluv). Without Sian, where would Sophie be? Just a kid with no one to relate to. Another lost character with talent to burn and no where to go. Sian is a foil who gives Sophie purpose. Sure, in the real world, it would be better if they each had something like a sport or hobby independent of each other; it would give them more dimension. But this isn't real life, it's a drama, and I'll allow for dramatic license. Maybe a part time job, when the shops reopen, would do the trick.

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  11. My thoughts on Sian. She would find it really difficult to act were she not hugging a cushion. And somebody needs to tell her to speak properly, it's pathetic.
    I think that Sophie would be stronger without Sian. I know that their story has been a turning point in Corrie, but there is no need to keep Sian to highlight the subject anymore. People break up all the time including lesbians. She's long overdue to leave..... Oh please Producers?!

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