Cosy crimes and gritty sagas by Corrie Blog editor Glenda, published by Headline. Click pic below!

Thursday 16 October 2014

A crossroads for Corrie characters

Okay, when I say 'crossroads', I am in no way referring to the creaking old behemoth that dominated ITV schedules for decades. Although a few characters could easily be consigned to that rickety motel in Birmingham. Forever. No. I'm referring to the personal crossroads that a few Corrie faces will arrive at this autumn. For us, the viewer, the interest comes in pondering which direction the writers take them.

Tracy Barlow - you either loathe her or, well . . . loathe her a little bit more. Enshrouded in yet another red creation and tongue poised to deliver yet another lashing, Trace has hardly endeared herself to family and friends. Not that she has any friends. In the next few weeks, Ms Barlow's world is going to crash around her like a tumbling bowl of Deirdre's trifle. As we know, there are no grey areas with Trace. She will either crumble and fall like never before or we are in for a winter of discontent. Cue the incredulous faces and spiteful put downs. That route would seem like a cop out. It's time to reboot Tracy and the real drama would come in seeing her piece together her shattered life. Stomping around like a ketchup coloured fishwife is not a joyous prospect.

The chill wind of reality seems to be whirling around the spectacularly unlovely Todd at the moment too. Bless him. He's been left with nothing except a truly horrific sweater, that nasty belted mac and a job in Britain's most cheerless shop. Time for a little introspection or time to batter the life out of a drum kit? Surely Todd, who is not exactly daft, can examine the rubble of his life and start again. Again for the viewer, surely the best outcome is to observe Todd slowly rebuilding relationships and trust. He was a decent character a decade ago and seeing him in 'bitter old queen' mode doesn't make for happy viewing. It's telly drama for heavens sake! After the lows, we need some highs. Otherwise we might as well all do a conga down to Albert Square and hurl ourselves from the roof of the Queen Vic with the rest of the 'Enders.

Hopefully one Street resident we will see rise like a phoenix (there's a thought: maybe Conchita Wurst could be hired as a new Rovers barmaid?) is the wonderful Julie. Her nascent relationship with comedy Dev could be Corrie gold and may also offer the ultimate accolade in getting Jules behind the counter of the Corner Shop. The place needs a little bit of Carp magic. Corrie writers - hear my plea!

The fate of Steve Mac is going to be the biggest draw of the winter months though. In Simon Gregson's hands we will have a storyline that will be much more than a 'tears of a clown' tale. Will his bellowing mother and shrewish girlfriend offer comfort? Maybe but this is Steve's story and how he recovers from something as debilitating as depression will have to be handled carefully.

Add to this the rise of the 'Great Brittons' (loving Steph and Luke - breath of fresh air), Carla's new-found confidence and the return of Mother of the Year Cilla, it's suddenly looking like a decent run up to Christmas. Time to get the sprouts on a low boil . . .




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8 comments:

Tvor said...

Excellent analysis! I'm loving Steph and Luke too. They've brought them in slowly, low key, instead of shoving them in our faces (like some other new characters I could mention). Time for them to shine! I can't wait to see Tracy's life come crashing down after the trouble and hurt she's caused so many. Karma, baby. Also looking forward to Steve's storyline as i know Simon G. will hit it out of the park!

Humpty Dumpty said...

I know it's received wisdom on this site that everyone loves to hate Tracy and we can't wait to see her come-uppance. I beg to differ. Tracy's character hasn't developed in ten years and I find her boring. Sneer, sneer, smirk, smirk. I can only groan, groan. If the writers had shown us the other side to Tracy that Rob and Carla have referred to, she might be worth keeping. I really think she should leave W'field with or without Amy when Rob is exposed, otherwise history will tediously repeat itself with another' who can Tracy hate now?' storyline.

At least, we haven't had to endure Todd for as long as Tracy, but his character's got nowhere to go - except London.

If Dev and Julie get together, Mary will need to find romance elsewhere. I hope they don't give her an idiotic beau. She needs to get out of the caravan into a proper home. How about Clelland, Jim's cell-mate turns up on the Street and they become lovers? Why not, she seems to go for older guys.

Anonymous said...

Humpty, I agree completely with your comments regarding Tracy. There is absolutely nowhere for her character to go, time to say goodbye forever. Unless Todd has a personality transplant it is also time for him to go. He has a brain in his head why for God's sake doesn't he use it! Surely he can get some sort of decent job. I absolutely hate that characters on Corrie who have a decent education or some sort of training hang around with their parents working at dead end jobs. For example Jenna, Lloyd's daughter who was a physiotherapist who lost her job because she was lusting after Sophie and ended up at Roy's Rolls. Surely she could have found something closer to her field. Kal's daughter who is a university graduate working at the same job as dullard Katie who didn't even finish highschool. I also quite like Clelland and would love to see him become a regular on the street!

Anonymous said...

I like Clelland too!

Anonymous said...

Very interesting blog. It's funny though that I am actually watching Tracy without screaming obscenities at the TV and it seems to me that Michelle and Liz are acting like they should towards Steve instead of putting him down every time they open their mouths. Maybe the writers took notice of the complaints that have been made. I love Mary, just wish she could find "love". I would love to see Dev and Julie get together. I find that there is a spark between them and Julie is such a harmless sweetie. Todd can leave CS this very minute and I won't miss him at all. One thing I do not understand is why the writers bring in really great actresses and then give them roles that are truly rotten. Like Sue Johnson for instance. And Yasmeen Nazir What's with the books in Roys Rolls? If I were Roy I would kick this lady and her books out immediately. This is just a stupid storyline. However after all I have said, I love watching Coronation Street.

Nikki NZ said...

I've found Traceyluv much more tolerable since she's been with Rob. It's a shame the writers didn't deliberately help to soften her as she became increasingly happier and more secure in her relationship. It would have added some pathos to the upcoming unravelling and left her character space to evolve.

canadian bacon sarnie said...

Corrie writers, HEAR OUR PLEA.

Bring Julie Carp to the corner shop.

canadian bacon sarnie said...

Just for the record,Clelland / Peter's Cell mate, would make a nice addition to corrie. But we know he's got a loving wife and family, so the poor single desperate women of corrie will have to keep holding their breath. And we also know, we don't need another 'family'.
Also, Tracy love is about to receive her "Karma, baby". She's in for a rough ride ahead, so let's imagine that her character has a personality transplant- like very many others have had. There could be a lot of life in that gal. Just because they write her stinky, doesn't mean they can't let us finally forgive and love her. I think that Kate Ford is a fun actor. She's capable of handling a transplant nicely. That's my vote.

GRITTY SAGAS BY CORRIE BLOG EDITOR GLENDA YOUNG, PUBLISHED BY HEADLINE. CLICK PIC BELOW!

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