It's wedding time in Coronation Street again. This time it's everyone's idea of a match made in hell. As Kevin so rightly said "Anyone saying I Do to Tracy Barlow is like a turkey voting for Christmas".
Anyone marrying Tracy Barlow has to be out of their minds, right?
Well, not necessarily. We have seen how Rob and Tracy really seem to be suited to each other, more than Tracy even realised as it turns out. I don't think Rob's conviction for murder, if there is one, will get overturned.
Personally, I enjoyed the wedding episodes. It was another tram crash waiting to happen once Rob confessed to Carla. I did wonder why Carla gave Rob the tip off which led him out the door and over the fence but I suppose she just felt too torn with her loyalties.
It’s a shame about Rob but it’s time for him to face the music.
With the threat of “best bird” Carla pulling the plug on his
big day, Wednesday night’s episode saw Rob iron his shirt and make his way to
the wedding with a happily-ever-after ending looking increasingly unlikely.
Beautiful grounds, a horse and carriage, elegant bridal wear
- this wedding can’t have come cheap. Wedding Planner Extraordinaire, Michelle
Connor is either the best negotiator in Manchester or the profit margin on hooky
hairdryers at Barlow's Buys is higher than Kylie Platt after a visit to The Dog
and Gun.
Tracy has been going for a “classy with a contemporary
twist” vibe and I was looking forward to seeing the blushing bride walk down
the aisle to a string-laden “Firestarter” or “Wonderwall”. But having sacked
the harpist the day before the wedding, this now looks improbable.
However, while the congregation waited for Tracy’s arrival,
they were treated to a lovely instrumental version of The Stone Roses’
“Waterfall” by an acoustic guitarist drafted in by Michelle.
Stone Roses' singer Ian Brown enjoys an OJ in The Rovers
I love it when Corrie writers acknowledge Manchester’s
musical heritage. Music is in the city’s DNA and I was sure that Rob’s Britpop-era
musical tastes would be reflected in the ceremony somehow.
I enjoyed the spoken word recital of “Cast No Shadow” (Oasis)
in Corrie’s October trailer, which did a powerful job of foreshadowing what was about to unfold on screen:
Rob is clearly into his classic indie but you never know,
there could also be a bit of drum and bass in his iTunes library if this video is
anything to go by:
That’s right, back in 2008 Marc Baylis appeared in the video
for the song “Propane Nightmares” by Pendulum. Amazing!
But back to Weatherfield and back to the wedding. The chorus
to “Waterfall” (not that we heard the lyrics, of course), goes “She'll carry on through it all/She's a
waterfall”.
Tracy Barlow is certainly hard-nosed but she adores Rob and I’m
not so sure she will be able to simply carry on through it all. In the short
term, at least, she’ll be crying a waterfall of tears on Ken’s shoulder before
the day is through and soaking his pristine white tux in the process.
All this talk of Rob’s record collection has got me thinking
about the wedding playlist. I have no idea whether Rob
and Tracy will get married or not. But what I do know is this – when the
Titanic began to sink, the band played on.
With that spirit in mind, if I was DJing – here are the ten
Manchester tunes that I feel would be most fitting to carry on spinning while Rob’s
world caves in on him and his fairy-tale wedding to Tracy crashes and burns:
1. Donovan (Happy Mondays)
2. Used To Be A Sweet Boy (Morrissey)
3. Lose Control (James)
4. Beast Inside (Inspiral Carpets)
5. The Kill (Joy Division)
6. Where Did It All Go Wrong? (Oasis)
7. Regret (New Order)
9. Nothing Left (Buzzcocks)
8. Going Down (Stone Roses)
10. Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now (The Smiths)
And then I’d play The Smith’s “Strangeways, Here We Come”
album out in full because that’s exactly where Rob will be headed (again) if
the law does finally catch up with him.
Are there any other songs that should be played at Donovan’s
Disco? Unlike some DJs, I do take requests so please get them in on the
comments board.
I look forward to seeing how the wedding plays out tonight as we get
nearer and nearer to Rob Donovan’s Coronation Street swan song.
With thanks to @Soap_Watcher_ and @TomBryant77 on twitter for sending in yet another great Coronation Street picture game for us this week. Let's call it PiCorrie!
In response to last week's PicCorrie, this week is a bit harder. There
are no clues either. This week the pictures are those of past, present
or future Corrie characters or places. Have fun!
It's Friday again so it's time for this week's fab Coronation Street
photo. I quite like the idea of Jenny Bradley coming back, not only are there issues with Rita to examine but it should be interesting seeing her teaming up with Kevin. How will Sally feel? Is she really over him? Here's a picture of her father having a bit of a lie down during a hectic filming schedule in Blackpool.
As expected last week's prop poser proved to be pretty straightforward with lots of correct answers. The first to post that the maple syrup can be found in the Barlow's was Vicky who wins nothing at all but our hearty congratulations.
This week we look to the humble toaster again and as whereabouts on the Coronation Street set you would find this fine example.
It's Hallowe'en, and time to give these fabulous archive pictures another airing for our Coronation Street horrible Hallowe'en blog post. All the pictures below are from the Hallowe'en episode in 2003 when Fred Elliot threw a Hallowe'en party in the Rovers Return.
The episode aired on Friday 31st October 2003 and was written by Daran Little.
One of the great lines in the episode came from Jack Duckworth: "You've heard of the Bride of Frankenstein? Well I'm the husband of Vera Duckworth."
Friday October 31st 2014
WILL ROB & TRACY GET THEIR HAPPILY EVER AFTER? As Tracy and Amy pose for photos outside the wedding venue, Rob tries to read Carla. Will Carla stand by her brother and watch the wedding go ahead or is Rob and Tracy’s perfect day about to be blown apart?
MICHAEL BURIES HIS AWFUL NEWS. As Michael and Gail enjoy their sushi, they’re interrupted by David and Kylie who insist on joining them. When David accuses Michael of having an affair with Eileen, Michael is forced to tell Gail how Eileen accompanied him to his hospital appointment. Gail’s furious that he chose to take Eileen rather than her. But when Michael reveals his results Gail is silenced.
SINEAD SETS THE RECORD STRAIGHT ABOUT CILLA. As Fiz and Chesney celebrate the fact Cilla’s gone, Sinead can’t bare it any longer and reveals that Cilla is in fact seriously ill. Fiz and Chesney are stunned.
In a recent interview, Stuart Blackburn hinted that there will be an upcoming tragedy. He said:
"Yes, coming up in the New Year, there is a real tragedy that's going to
affect a dozen or so of our characters. Last year we had David and the
car crash and of course that was a stunt, but it genuinely felt like it
had come from story. It wasn't us suddenly deciding that we needed to do
something spectacular to get the viewers.
"It's the same with
what we're planning, because it'll come from a relatively long-running
story. It is going to be spectacular and a little bit heartbreaking!"
Now, ITV has released a few details. There will be an Underworld Works outing in the New Year. They all head out in a mini-van driven by Steve McDonald but there's a crash and some of the factory workers will end up in hospital with one person in critical condition. They'll film it before Christmas to air in the New Year.
As for Mr. Blackburn's remark about it coming from a long running story, I reckon if Steve is driving, it's only going to add to his current problems. In the state he's in, and he's only going to get worse before he gets better, I speculate that his attention gets distracted and a mistake ends up in this tragedy. Maybe that will be the catalyst that finally pushes him to get help. What do you reckon?
With the news that the Coronation Street set is going to be open for a lot longer than planned, they're recruiting more Corrie tour guides. Fancy a job? You’ll perform and create a memorable tour for every guest by
employing a skilful mix of theatricality, humour and expert knowledge.
With experience of performing to and engaging with an audience and
working with the public, you will be an excellent communicator with the
ability to promote the attraction. Sound knowledge and interest in
Coronation Street is essential.
Ideally candidates will be available for training week commencing 17 November 2014.
ITV have released video with spoilers and previews of upcoming storylines over the next month or so. We start off with Rob and Tracy's wedding falling apart, Rob doing a runner quite literally. We get hints of the fallout but it doesn't give away if Rob is caught or not or how.
We meet Michael's son Gavin and from the little we see here, it seems like he might be a bit grasping. I get a bad feeling about this! Kylie's involvement with Callum continues, as well. It all looks quite exciting!
Corrie
characters from soapland past have been carved in to pumpkins by
artist, Stephen Giles, and will be on display at Coronation Street The
Tour up until October 31st as part of the attraction's Halloween
celebrations.
Coronation Street The Tour has recent been granted planning permission
to carrying on welcoming visitors into 2015. Tickets to the tour can be
booked at www.ticketmaster.co.uk/coronationstreet.
If you're an artist or designer, a maker or a crafter and you create Coronation Street goodies that fans would like to buy, do please get in touch.
I'd like to feature you all in the run up to Christmas and offer your goodies for sale to Coronation Street fans.
All you have to do is email me with some photos of your work, website links, brief description of what you do, who you are, all that kind of thing, and we'll blog each one as they come in to us and let fans know about the work that you do.
Wednesday 29 Oct
ROB’S FATE LIES IN CARLA’S HANDS. His nerves in shreds, Rob irons his wedding shirt, wondering what Carla will do. Still conflicted, Carla tells Rob she needs to get ready for the wedding. Rob’s relieved that she’s chosen to keep quiet and as they set off Rob thanks her for standing by him. Tracy’s brimming with happiness as she, Amy and Ken leave for the wedding in a horse drawn carriage. Michelle ushers the guests into the venue, desperate for everything to be perfect after all her hard work. With the guests assembled, Rob waits nervously for Carla. Will she take her seat?
MICHAEL RECEIVES EARTH-SHATTERING NEWS. Unable to confide in Gail, it’s left to Eileen to accompany a jittery Michael to his hospital appointment. Back at home, Gail plans a Japanese evening to cheer Michael up but when David and Kylie clock Eileen and Michael arriving home in a taxi they wonder what’s going on?
FIZ IS RELIEVED WHEN CILLA FINALLY BIDS GOODBYE. Cilla packs her bags and tells Fiz and Tyrone she knows she’s outstayed her welcome. As Tyrone, Fiz, Chesney and Sinead see Cilla off on the bus, Sinead can see she’s in a lot of pain but will her family see her distress?
Elsewhere Michelle confides in Liz that things are really bad between she and Steve.
Without any piffle, here's the storyline for the week ahead on Coronation Street, all wrapped up nicely in 50 words or less. Week of Monday 3 to Friday 7 November.
Todd gets beaten up, Michael looks for his son, will Tracy forgive Rob?, Michelle tries to understand Steve.
The full weekly preview, with pictures is right here on Corrie.net
Missed last week's Corrie?
Health concerns for both Cilla and Michael remind us that we cannot take our health for granted. For Cilla it is osteoporosis, which affects women mainly and for Michael it is his heart, which affects all of us and is just about as serious as it can be.
Judging from previous comments, viewers are pleased to see Cilla back and those who were not too sold on Les Dennis as Michael Rodwell, initially, have warmed to him and to his relationship with Gail. Michael receives a letter asking him to an appointment with a heart specialist, which he shows to Eileen.
Alya and Gary go well together. Gary says he has been thinking of religion and family, reasons that Alya has put forward as a reason for the two of them not to be together. Gary can see why she would not want to be with him as she is a graduate, she is beautiful and she has a bright future, whereas he is just a labourer. Alya makes an excellent reply in that she says she is educated so that she can think for herself. Gary reaches for her hand, but Alya pulls it away. 'Slowly,' she reminds him.
What an acting tour de force by Alison King and Marc Baylis, as Carla and Rob in their one on one scenes. The tension and high emotional content is all the more poignant as they only have each other to call family and have endured together the difficulties of their upbringing.
Carla appears distracted and preoccupied. As Tracy's hen party gets underway, with a reminder from Auntie Emily's card, which Tracy reads, about what love is, from Corinthians 13, after which Tracy so rudely says,' Yadda, yadda, yadda. The bride to be cannot even be kind to an elderly woman who has always had Tracy's best interests at heart.
The stag night which involves just Carla and Rob, does not get off to too good a start. Carla has been speaking to Liz and to Tracy, soon to be her sister-in-law. Tracy talks of the night of her engagement party when she and Rob went absent. Tracy claims that she and Rob were so keen to make love that they ran upstairs together responding to their overwhelming urgency. We know that that is not true and Carla now knows that Rob was not telling the truth, because he told Carla that he and Tracy were on a sofa. Carla confronts Rob. She tells him she knows that he is lying. 'It so suited you to see Peter get the blame.' She says that now she can prove that Peter is not guilty. Carla now believes that Tracy is the guilty one and that Rob is covering for her. Rob is adamant that it was not Tracy. Carla threatens to ring the police. Rob admits he lied and that Tracy was actually driving knock-off gear around. Rob insists that Peter is the guilty one. 'Peter is where he belongs - my Tracy is innocent.'
We switch to Beth singing(!) I will Survive but Sinead shows her youth by asking, 'Who's Gloria Gaynor?' Still, there is no way that Beth should give up the day job...
Rob and Carla chat on her balcony and can hear the hens. Carla says that she, 'could riff on about your bad behaviour for hours.' The mood lightens and Carla mentions Rob's goldfish named MC, not after MC Hammer, but after Michelle Connor on whom he had a crush. Carla tells Rob that she couldn't have coped without him during the terrible time she has had.
Carla's thoughts return to Tina and Rob reacts very badly. He feels he is being accused, but Carla tells him she didn't accuse him. Rob heads out and bumps into Tracy. He tells her he loves her but not in his usual way. When he returns Michelle is there talking to Carla about her concerns regarding Steve but the idea that he is having an affair is given short shrift. Michelle tells Rob that he must turn up to marry Tracy tomorrow or there will be murder. What a word to choose in the circumstances. Michelle leaves and Carla starts up again. She asks him directly, 'Where were you on the night of Tina's murder? 'I'm innocent,' he says. Carla keeps remembering the details of Tina on that dirty street, near a dirty builder's yard, near a skip full of people's rubbish.
She turns to her brother and says, 'I'm looking at you and all I see is haunted, tortured and scared. You killed her didn't you?' Rob talks of how Tina had ruined Carla's life and that he swears the fall was an accident. Carla describes Tina as a '23 year old narky cow who fell for a pathetic weak car crash of a man and thought she could fix him.' Carla decides that she needs to see Michelle and tries to head off. But Rob becomes rough with her and pushes her around. He is not going to allow this and takes her phone and keys. He is very quickly remorseful and returns her phone and keys telling her that he would never hurt her.
Tracy is deeply involved in her wedding preparations and tells her dad that she is very lucky to have Rob. Ken reminds her that something may go wrong, it may rain but that in his opinion, Rob is the lucky one. We switch back to Carla and Rob, both distraught and Rob says to the sister he loves, 'Some nights I lie in bed and I daren't turn round. In the dark, in my bones, I know it won't be Tracy's face I see, it'll be hers - eyes open - blood. All I'm asking you is to do nothing.'
