My Boy: Thu May 12, 2011 Corrie Episode Review

Written by Jayne Hollinson, directed by Duncan Foster

It’s the next morning at the Platt’s and Max is having fun with a tickle fight involving Kylie and David.  I have to say this is really the first time we’ve seen Max happy.  Becky storms in and immediately scoops Max up saying they’re going home.  She looks defeated when Max asks if he can stay longer.  Becky says he’s got to go to nursery and when David says he’ll take him Becky tells him to butt out. 

Later, at the Rovers, Becky apologizes to Steve for her behaviour last night and tells him about how it was all “happy families” over at the Platt’s this morning and she basically had to drag Max away.  Well, she didn’t HAVE to.  Of course, Steve accepts her apology and suggests a night out together.  They need a babysitter and Rita offers right away, and it’s accepted. 

At the doctor’s, Steve is sick in the face while holding a sick tray under his mouth while Amy gets some blood taken.  Amy assures him it’s alright when she’s finished as mummy rolls her eyes.  The doctor says she’ll give a ring when the results of the test comes in but in the meantime no milk or other dairy products.  Amy wants daddy to come by later, but he tells her it’ll have to be the next night since he and Becky are going out. 

Steve and Becky go to Nick’s Bistro – because where else can you go out now that it’s opened?  Cheryl announces to Becky and Steve that it’s official – she and Lloyd have purchased No.13 Coronation Street outright.  Gail tries to reprimand her for making personal calls on business time.  Becky says the only downside to No.13 is the neighbours opposite as Gail gives her the evil eye.  Back at No.1 Amy tells Tracey that her tummy hurts again.  Amy says she wants her daddy.  Tracey calls Steve who is at his night out with Becky and tells  Becky that Amy’s asking for him.  Becky says he should go then if Amy needs him.  Back at the Rovers, Becky tells Rita that Tracey feels like the unseen guest always at the dinner table.  She feels like she can always feel Tracey laughing even when she isn’t even there.  She can probably hear it through the wall.  Later on in the middle of the night while all are sleeping, a curious critter (Amy) saunters downstairs and helps herself to some milk in the fridge knowing it will make her sick and that daddy will come to the rescue.  

It’s John’s first day of being a stay-at-home-daddy and Fiz worries about him getting stressed.   Schmeichel looks like he’s going out on a date with the jazzy new sequin bow-tie collar that Chesney is now selling.  Ches tells Katy that he doesn’t trust John watching Hope and that he’s still not right.  Katy’s just worried about passing her exams. Baby Hope looks bored already with daddies droning on about existentialism as she tries to wiggle on her blankie.  Fiz stops in at lunch and asks him if he’d like a cake while she’s on the cake run but John knows she’s checking in on him. 

Fiz isn’t the only one to check in.  Chesney visits John to see how baby Hope is.  John looks deflated after Chesney goes upstairs to check on Hope even though John said it wasn’t necessary.  Ches figures that John can’t blame them for being worried about after everything’s happened.  Chesney says he doesn’t buy the story about Charlotte that John gave Fiz.  Chesney wants to know how John even knew where Charlotte’s parents lived.  John hasn’t answered Chesney’s question and gets very angry and tells him to get out.  I can just see John tipping over the edge now.  Fiz comes home and has been dying to hold Hope but John’s on edge from earlier.  He doesn’t mention Chesney’s visit to Fiz.  John figures his true vocation was being a daddy. 

Claudia goes to see Audrey in the salon and accuses her of being a poor friend since she knew about Marc’s cross-dressing and didn’t tell her.  Marc walks in and Claudia wants to know if he’s there for a free lip wax.  Marc says that he likes her a lot which is why it was so hard for him to tell her about Marcia.  Who can see why he likes her so much at this point.  Claudia is sarcastically delighted at the fact that he’s got a name for his alter-ego – Marcia and figured he could have been a little more original.  This storyline could have been a little more original.  Claudia doesn’t want anything to do with either of them, and Audrey shows her the door then apologizes to Marc. 

Sian and Sophie are looking for Kevin at the garage since they need a lift to the soup kitchen.  Tommy says he’s not there and he doesn’t have a car else he’d drive them.  Sian says she’s old enough to drive but she just can’t afford lessons.  Tommy tells her that if she can get her hands on a car, he’ll teach her for free.  Oh, what a deal.  Sophie tells him that she bets he will and there’s no point in discussing it.  At the soup kitchen, James tells the girls that the soup kitchen works on a rotational basis.  James tells them that they rent this place but they want to raise money to buy their own location and possibly one with beds to create a shelter as well.  The girls tells tell James they’re ready to help, and he says there’s an initiation process to which they look scared.  Only, he passes them a couple of red t-shirts to put on.  A rough looking older homeless man named Dennis comes into the kitchen but he’s too late for dinner, so James spares him a mug of tea and a biscuit.  Dennis goes on about how he used to be a big agent as Sophie and Sian find it funny.  Sian and Sophie tell Dennis they’re going to get something to eat if he’d like to join them and that it’s their treat. 

The girls bring Dennis to Roy’s cafe and Dennis says he didn’t know that they lived in Weatherfield and suddenly looks uncomfortable.  Where was the soup kitchen then?  They customers are told by Sylvie that the cafe is closed.  Roy argues that they haven’t put the closed sign up yet, so Sylvie goes and fixes that.  The girls say that Dennis is hungry and homeless, so Roy puts some chairs down and tells them he’ll rustle them up a full English.  The girls try to wonder if there isn’t a better place he can sleep but in his cardboard box house but he says it’s like camping.  Later, Dennis is found stalking around Coronation Street and Rita sees him and says “don’t I know you?” but he says no and runs away leaving Rita to see that he was looking at his name “Dennis Tanner 1951” inscribed in the cement below a window in the terrace houses. 

HIGHLIGHTS

- Schmeichel in his jazzy new collar that looks like something Sean sewed up out of remnants at Underworld!

- Steve looking nauseas with a sick tray under his mouth as Amy gets her blood taken!  It’s too much!

- Seeing young folk on Corrie doing some community charity work.  And not just down on canal street – as Tracey thinks they should be. 

- Did we see a somewhat *gasp* reasonable Becky near the end of this episode?  What next?

- Atta boy Roy, putting your foot down and right on your mother!

LOWLIGHTS

- Becky barging into Gail’s while Max is in the middle of playing on the carpet with David and Kylie and immediately scooping him up saying “my boy.”  Seriously?!  She’s so ridiculous. 

- Claudia accusing Audrey of being a “bad friend” when she didn’t say anything about Marc’s cross-dressing.  Because Claudia was such a great mate when she laughed at Audrey over Lewis.

- Cheryl’s squeal over the phone ringing into Gail’s ears! I don’t blame Gail for that sourpuss look on her face for once. 

- Does Becky always have to look as though she’s auditioning for a part in the TV movie sequel of “Pretty Woman?”  Just because Liz left doesn’t mean she needs to take up that slack.  Or lack of slack. 

- Unless it’s a restaurant of the McDonalds variety, when would you ever have a cleaning lady working around when the customers are enjoying fine dining?  Why are they trying so hard to inject Gail into this place?

- A child actually making herself sick just so she can get more attention from her father.  How awful.