Between the snow and Liz’s hair tinsel on
tonight’s Corrie, you’d be forgiven for thinking Christmas had returned. But
no, spring is here, the clocks have gone forward, and Faye is running out of time. Craig agrees to help her
have her baby in the flat above the corner shop if she consents to him doing a dry
run to the hospital, while Tim’s suspicions that the pair are up to something are
put to bed by a delightfully patronising Sally. I’m not sure why Craig’s hold
all being nearly robbed at the bus
stop put paid to his hospital run, and while I have enjoyed this story so far,
particularly the relationship between Craig and Faye, and the performances from
both actors, I would have expected mounting anxiety at this point considering
how upset she has been of late and the fact that the due date looms.
Fearing competition from a new shop, Tracy
Chaos continues at the Platt's where a belligerent
Balloons, butchered banners and non-streak tan are
the order of the day as Sean whips himself into a frenzy over his big gig. I
had hoped to enjoy this event, and while there were amusing moments courtesy
of usual suspects Sally and Tim and asides from others, there were sadly too many things which didn't work for me despite my willing it on. The Nazir’s duping Sharif into wearing a dinner suit felt mean spirited, Tyrone explaining that he had gravy all down his back
because he simply liked gravy left me puzzled, and Jenny Bradley getting drunk and coming across rather badly was disappointing.
Emily’s concern at the tone of the evening and request
to Liz to keep the bad language to a minimum on the basis that it was for the church, had me
wondering why they were having the event in a pub and not the underused community
centre. I also can't forget that this is a woman who not so long ago revealed that she was a fan of Breaking Bad. Her female church companions, to whom she continually apologised,
appeared appalled one minute and were declaring their love for Carry On movies
the next. Further, the snide manner in which they spoke about and reacted to Norris
was jarring; perhaps they worship at the Sophie Webster school of christianity.
A bidding war ensues between Mary and Emily for
Kal and Sharif, but in true Bargain Hunt style, there is also a phone bidder in
the form of Zeedan; a nice touch. Yasmeen has instructed him that they are not to be
auctioned to any woman under the age of 70, and apparently has a list of jobs for them. Sean
may think he looks like David Dickinson, but Zeedan could do with some lessons from
the bobby dazzler, as when Mary bids £40 for the pair, he jumps straight in at £100, securing
them for far more than he probably needed to.
The absence of Sophie Webster courtesy of a tummy bug sees
her mother conned into participating by a rather unpalatable Jenny; I know Sally has been less than welcoming to her, but Jenny's continued dignity in the face of adversity has been her trump card, and it's a shame to see her show a less than attractive side. In any case, as Sally’s name
is chanted from within, an approaching Steve asks “is it a charity auction or a
human sacrifice?” and again, I’m laughing. As Jenny, Norris and Gail vie for “her
ladyship,” Tim fails to come to the rescue by claiming to be skint before
ordering a massive round. Norris, or, “The confused man with the spectacles”, ends up
winning Sally’s services with a bid to the tune of £100, placed only to refute the
rumour cited by the church ladies about him being a penny pincher.
A throwaway comment from Michelle about being happy with a long engagement sends Steve into a spiral of doubt which culminates in him telling her he can’t marry her on the grounds that he’s doing her a favour.
It’s good to see Leanne, Lloyd and Andrea rally around to offer both Steve and Michelle some much needed support. Michelle decides to show him just how much she wants to marry him by setting up a candlelit meal for two in the back room, but when Steve returns he completely misunderstands the situation, and storms into the bar to accuse Tony of being insensitive by wining and dining Liz while himself and Michelle are suffering. Out of all the one liners that peppered tonight’s hour long episode, Steve’s accusation that Tony was hosting a “Barry White sex party” saw me burst out laughing despite my incredulity at the inexplicable conclusion Steve had jumped to. In any event, the result was a rather moving public proposal by Michelle to plenty of oohs and aahs from the bar.
Based on her deplorable track record when it comes to her treatment of Steve, I never thought I'd want to see him marry Michelle, but she has learned some hard lessons in recent times, and appears to have changed for the better. I hope her transformation lasts and I look forward to seeing them support one another in the times ahead.
By Emma Hynes
Twitter: @ELHynes
All original work on the Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License
6 comments:
"Three pints of lager, two white wines and a packet of pork scratchings please!"
I'm reminded of the writers' old adage "Tragedy is easy. Comedy is hard."
I thought that Sean was absolutely dire and even worse was him trying to act drunk and funny. It made me cringe and messed up what could have been entertaining. Sean is only best at supporting roles, factory and serving, anything else and the actor really isn't up to it.
He and Billy are so badly suited. Sean is like an overgrown child. Billy a responsible, sensible grown up. It's not credible them being together. I just don't buy it.
Hypocrisy, desperation, mean-spiritedness, ignorance and whoring. All fabulous things to sit down to at the end of the day. I've been feeling of late that this show has been portraying too many negative traits and not enough positive. It's true that some comedic relief helps the medicine go down, but it seems to me, Coronation Street could use a visit from Pollyanna.
..and by whoring, I meant Tracy Barlow, not the butler auction :D
Milly,I would like to add Katy and the soon to be returned Sarah[who gets involved with Callum]to your list of'whoring'.
Frankly,I thought Sharif's chickens and his friendship with Roy had more of the gentle humor of Corrie's past then the butler auction did which seemed overshadowed by the Platts yet again!
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