One of the comments that came through was: Lots of hospital scenes. Well, we've certainly had those already with Anna and Ken over the last couple of weeks.
What I haven't been expecting and I'm not entirely happy with are some of the harpies we're now being exposed to.
For instance - Crazy Caz. Are we really to believe that ex-army and hard-as-nails Caz who helped lift the car off Anna Windass last week on the cobbles, is pretending to be in tears over receiving texts from Maria? It doesn't cut it with me, I'm afraid. And while we're on the subject of Caz, why can't there ever be a positive depiction of a lesbian on the show? (And I don't mean Sophie Webster).
Moving on - we've now got Mardy Michelle. Her unborn baby might have a life-threatening disease but then again, it might not. However, while waiting for the test results from Steve, she considers having an abortion. I found this hard to believe and therefore every time Michelle came on screen in tears I wanted to chuck a cushion at my telly box.
And what's going on between Michelle and Robert? Since when did the two of them share a conversation before, never mind a confession, or even a scene lasting longer than two shots? When? In the kitchen at the Bistro last night, Michelle stormed in to berate Robert for sharing her pregnancy news around the street. She ranted and raved at him about betraying her THEN she went on to confide in him even more, about Steve and his illness that he might, or might not have.
Don't get me wrong. I'm loving the fresh, new world of Kate Oates at Coronation Street. I loved the shock of the explosions last week - of which I had NO idea. I didn't know Anna was going to end up burned either. I screamed in shock and horror as I was watching the show. And I loved that, I really loved not knowing what was going to happen. In nine years since starting this Coronation Street Blog I can honestly say it was one of maybe half a dozen times that I didn't know - I hadn't been told - what was going to happen. More please.
And on that note, paparazzi pictures this week revealed all kinds of things about Michelle Connor. I deliberately haven't put them onto the blog but in my search for Corrie stories to blog about, I've seen them and it's spoiled the storyline for me, as a fan. What's the point in watching, of investing, if we know months in advance what's going on?
If Coronation Street can shake off those paparazzi photographers, maybe keep their on-location filming indoors, just think of the fun and surprise we could have as fans in the future. Just think.
The future of Coronation Street under Kate Oates is looking good, it really is. There's a lot to look forward to. But keeping it tight, keeping it focussed and keeping it secret is the key to keeping fans hooked.
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10 comments:
I'm watching in Canada and must say I absolutely hate the locking of David in the cellar story line it is beyond ridiculous! Those idiots lock a very distraught suicidal young man in a cellar full of all kinds of things he could harm himself with never mind all the booze. Gail knows full well what David is capable of and she should have gotten him some kind of professional help. He needs to get off this stupid vendetta kick and start thinking about his children. I will be very glad to see the back of the Platts - they have been center stage for far, far too long. Frankly I wouldn't miss David at all if he left the show, taking his incredibly annoying family with him.
I am really hoping the show will start focusing on the many underused characters.
I do agree with Anon about the Platt family, except for David, yes he is annoying at this point, but his acting is superb compared to the rest of the family, or maybe it's a question of writing that has reduced the rest of the clan to be annoying. Whichever, it just doesn't work for me. What I don't understand about the new producer is that most of the women on the show now are really harsh, nasty people. Before the only really nasty piece of work was Tracy, now it seems the only sane likeable character is Mary. The men of the street are now the best neighbours except for Nick & Sharif of course.
On a side note if there is a techy out there could you please explain while I am in the US, I am leaving a comment on a UK blogpage, but it doesn't like the way I spell neighbours with a U only if I leave the U out which is American? Any logical explanation that I would understand?
Anonymous, I expect that even though the blog page is out of the UK, blogger.com is an American company and thus their spell checker is based on American spelling.
I get what you're saying about Michelle and Robert. I always found it rather amusing that Michelle has been blaming Robert for ruining her best friend's life when her best friend had every bit as much to do with it for sleeping with him in the first place and lying to Nick about it. Robert had no idea Tracy was blackmailing Carla to get her hands on the Bistro for Robert, either. He was an innocent party in it all but Michelle has been using him as the whipping boy.
Having said that, She tore over to the bistro to shout at Robert and then ended up confiding in him and, watching the scene, I totally got it. She's in a state and it all came gushing out of her, her fears about the baby,Steve and fears and guilt that she would never cope with the illness of her husband and child. I don't think she was planning to unload on robert, he was just the first one in the firing line when it all came out. It could just as easily have been a stranger across the bar who was in the wrong place at the right time. Often it's easier to pour out your deepest fears to someone completely uninvolved, right? Unfortunately, it's probably a soap set-up so that Michelle ends up with Robert when she finds out about Steve and Leanne as she's bound to do.
Thanks for this post Flaming Nora. I do think the new producer will inject some new life into the show, I just hope she doesn't go overboard with stunts. Most of the actors are excellent and don't need that to tell a captivating story.
It doesn't surprise me that Michelle might confide in Robert, any port in a storm as they say, but I don't pity him much in the Carla blackmail situation. If you're fine with benefitting from blackmail once you discover that's how you got what you want, you're even worse than the blackmailer. Robert didn't know what Tracy was up to but he didn't do the right thing and give back the bistro when the truth came out either. He's got a nerve acting like he was the injured party with Tracy.
The Caz business is awful, it was bad enough seeing people think that Tyrone, of all people, could be abusing his wife but now, as you say, thinking Maria can reduce a tough veteran to public tears with her texts? How gullible are people on that street?
Anon 14:25, check the settings on the device on which you are posting. IOS devices, in Settings/General/Languages, have 9 versions of English, including US, Canada, Ireland and, yes, UK. Changing that should control the spelling mishaps but will do so over all apps on your device. Mine is set for US but I can force a U (ex, colour) if needed.
I'm in complete agreement about fewer spoilers. The surprises made the watching the story unfold more compelling. I don't understand Caz at all. She can be decent and horrible in the same breath. I wish either they'd find a job for her so she could get a life or, preferably, get rid. She has no ties and other than occasional dog walking and car lifting, serves no current purpose. Maria's back on Monday, wonder if that will be 'explosive'.
Very interesting observations, Flaming Nora. I think there is consensus that K.O. has brought something original & new to Corrie, and most like less spoilers (a few are OK, and fun). I've watched Corrie for about 18 years, and E-dale, with much less emotional involvement, for about five. Even over the few years I've watched E-dale, it has become more daft, with people generally being more mean and less helpful & neighbourly. Adds excitement, which grabs eyeballs like click-bait.
Caz could have become even mildly interesting if writers let her. Instead, all we see if the worst of her acting, which I'm sure must have more to it, if given half a chance. As it stands, I can barely watch her it's so embarrassing. If the issue here is mental illness, then how about it gets addressed as such, instead of just portraying another woman as a monster? And a lesbian at that.
Dear Kate Oates: we, the biggest fans of the show (that I know of) don't need you to pull us in with an abundance of larger than life events or behaviour from characters, old or new. You're doing fine in freshening up the show in other ways, like attention to camera technique, good use of the brand new set locations, respecting the history of people and events, and bringing back some favourite characters. The show actually looks different, in a very good way. Serious issues are great, but not constantly!
As for Michelle & Robert - I don't mind 2 characters who have never spoken for more than 2 minutes, starting to get close. Just give us some better hints as to why. I spent too much time going over in my mind why they suddenly spent more than 2 scenes together, discussing a major event in Michelle's life. We view the Street as a close community, though not everyone talks to everyone. It's just a small continuity issue, where after the Rovers windows blew in, that could have been mentioned later on when they were talking.
Real life is harsh enough, can we keep more of Corrie's natural sweetness please?
Caz has been the worst character on the Street since Xin (or whatever she was called - her that went off with Graham). Her acting always looks fake, but that could be because the writers give her such improbable scenes to act. Whichever, I will be delighted when this character leaves the Street (and could it be soon, please!)
Thanks for the answers re:my U comment - it's not a big deal I just ignore the red squiggly underline - I was just curious that's all. UK blog page, American typing & the captcha pages look European - my we certainly are international, eh?
I don't think Caz is that bad a character at all and the actor is quite competent in my opinion. I do think the writing for her is all over the place, though.
"The shock of the explosions." Something blowing up is hardly shocking. I imagine there's a whiteboard in the Corrie production office where the hacks decide what they'll be blowing up next. Because, ratings, clickbait, blah blah blah.
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