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Monday 24 July 2017

Coronation Street Friday 21st July episode review


Hiya! It’s just Jordan and I’m back on the blog this week to give you my ever-flippant thoughts on Friday’s trip to Weatherfield.
 
It’s the day of all change over at the Rovers. Liz is packing up the last of her belongings acquired through several years as landlady as Toyah skips down the cobbles, ready to take over the running of the backstreet boozer. A fresh start which she’d rather not have, Liz later tries her best to slap on a happy face and while on shift at her new job at the medical centre, she nips out for a vape. Let’s just ignore the fact that a mutton-dressed-as-mutton-dressed-as-lamb barmaid would not get a job as a medical receptionist for now.  Every time poor Liz turns around, she finds her boss Mardy Moira breathing down her neck. The teetotal, probably feminist vegan, medical centre manageress berates Liz for vaping in front of the centre, demanding she stand by the bins. Later, during Liz and Steve’s leaving do in the Rovers, she turns up again, carrying a make-up bag Liz left behind at arm’s length and snipes vicious remarks about the most iconic pub in Britain. I’m not really sure what she’s doing in Corrie really. She seems to do little more than support my argument that Corrie is trying far too hard to be funny at the moment, and as a result, isn’t funny at all.  Anyway, once she gets on her broomstick and leaves the pub, Toyah makes a heartfelt speech in which she mentions Rovers stalwarts of decades gone by such as Annie and Vera, then cites Liz as the woman she aspires to be. It was this speech that altered my opinion on Toyah Battersby running the Rovers. I’m sure it’ll be in safe hands, but ‘m still not entirely happy. Toyah has barely been around for the past decade; she hasn’t earned the title of Rovers landlady.  
 
 
Bethany seems to have finally turned a corner. She’s found a forum dedicated to helping victims such as herself and it is helping immensely, but the raw truth that Nathan is still out there is difficult to swallow. Her new best friend Craig cannot stand to see her like this so the trainee police officer decides to take matters into his own hands – again. As we saw earlier in the week, Bethany confided in Craig that his superior at the police force was also one of her abusers and when Craig confronted Neil about this, her claims were unsurprisingly blown right out of the water. Deciding to have one last stab at getting justice for his friend, Craig approaches Neil again and the dodgy copper insists they go for a drive. It will come as no shock to learn that the whole Bethany storyline with the daft twist about the naughty copper has come to a head with one hell of a  deus ex machina. Neil “freatens” Craig in the car, he records it on his phone and is later labelled a hero that same day after presenting the evidence to the law-abiding police. The CPS seize Neil’s laptop and now have enough evidence to prosecute Nathan. All in a day’s drama.  Unfortunately for Craig, his actions crash-landed his rising career in the police force due to some daft rule about how he obtained the evidence.  Instead of taking the risk of being sacked, Craig quits before admitting to his mother that he is in love with Bethany. Why does Corrie always do this? If anyone is just edging towards a decent career on the Street, it is written out from under them for the sake of a relationship which does not need to happen. I really do not see any need for Bethany and Craig to be together as a couple. It’s typical soap behaviour of pairing any boy up with any girl as soon as there is a slight spark of friendship.  
 

 
Elsewhere, Eva digs herself into an even deeper hole with her whole crazy fake pregnancy plot. Now that she and Adam are planning to con Aidan out of his business, Eva has gone and bagged herself a job in the office after telling Aidan that the doctors have recommended she doesn’t work on the machines for the health of the (non-existent) baby. Unfortunately, however, the factory lot have picked up on the boss giving his fiancĂ©e a job in the office and confront the pair in front of everyone at Liz’s leaving do. That’s when Aidan blurts out she’s pregnant and Eva finds herself even further into this ill thought out charade. Still, she seems rather calm about it all. I’ve no idea what Eva’s next move is and I don’t think she does either. Hopefully she is beginning to realise she has taken this too far. An affair can be forgiven, probably easier than faking a pregnancy! As well as all that, Nicola starts to make amends with Pat Phelan (it really bothers me that his name sounds far too much like Pat Phoenix) with a little help from Seb, in which he tells Nicola that Phelan is dying. It obviously transpires that he is not, and Nicola makes her 500th dramatic exist from the builder’s yard before returning later that day with a DNA test.
 
"Does anyone round here get a job on merit?!"
 
I don’t know how to summarise those two episodes. A little bland, I guess. I enjoyed the speech in the Rovers but everything else was a little monotonous to watch. Oh – and I’m getting a little bored of Michelle’s childish behaviour towards Leanne. It’s not like Leanne really did anything wrong, and watching Michelle snap at her like a schoolkid is just cringeworthy. Am I ever happy?! Ha! Maybe next week!
 
 
As always,
 
 
Thanks for reading!
 
Jordan
 
Twitter -  @JordanLloyd39
 
 



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9 comments:

Maricha said...

Great summary, Jordan!
I hope Craig goes back to his idea about art school. I don't know why they dropped that. It would be easuer to explain why an artist stays in the same neighborhood than why a cop would be assigned to a station right where he lives.

Anonymous said...

Did Craig actually resign though? The police officer who informed the Platt's that they have the evidence to prosecute actually said that as Craig actually got the evidence illicitly, it could hinder his chances to become a full PC, as he broke the rules.

Humpty Dumpty said...

I keep banging on about this but comedy for grown-ups has to have some truth in it. Is it likely that Moira would stand in a pub recently owned by her employee and make catty remarks about the paintwork? She might sniff contemptuously or sneer behind her handbag - you know, be subtle ... As such, that scene wasn't a bit funny. Shame there isn't a bookies in the Street anymore. Residents could bet on how quickly Toyah decides pub life isn't for her and Liz returns. Peter and Liz behind the bar could be excellent.

Anonymous said...

Unbelievable how quickly Liz got a job that she isn't remotely qualified for! Did no one else apply? It angers me at times when the writers insult our intelligence that way!

C in Canada said...

I'm in Canada so a wee bit behind the story - it's a shame that Craig scuttles his own copper career just because he 'might' be sacked for obtaining evidence the wrong way. Also not really happy about him being pushed with Bethany. I thought Craig was closer to Faye's age, so I don't really 'see' it.

Anonymous said...

After the way Sarah referred to Craig as being 'dosy' showing little appreciation for his efforts,it would be a shame for Craig to lose his copper career for Bethany.
I also do not want to see them as a couple either as Bethany like her mother with men would probably be manipulative and pregnant with Craig's baby thus endangering his aspirations.

Tilly Flop said...

Craig is 18, Bethany 17 and Faye is still at school, therefore less of an age gap between Craig and Bethany

Zagg said...

Ugh, there is nothing Toyah could say that would make me want to see her behind the bar at the Rovers. This character is so bland and boring, she could make St. Stella look downright vibrant and useful.And once again, the Corrie people have to ruin a possible career for a character. Now it's Craig, full of potential who will end up with the snarky unsuitable Bethany and probably end up working in the pub shifting kegs or in the taxi office. My bet is on she ends up preggers by next year.

Where's Emily?? said...



Ah, the fake pregnancy. Totally out of character for our Eva and is ridiculous at best. I could see her actually trying to get pregnant to keep Aiden, or calling him out at the pub, but this storyline is truly awful.
Craig and Bethany? Nah, let them be best friends until they're forty and then they can discover that they loved each other all along!
Moira and comedy? I didn't think they were trying to be funny at all with her character, because I could see no comedy other than she could have been cast as a Basil Fawlty character-that would be comedy. No...don't think Corrie really tried there.
Not too fond of Nicola, but strangely warming up to the relationship between Seb and Phelan. I was really hoping that he had an incurable disease, it's not like they couldn't have written that into the plot somehow.
Toyah, mmmmm.NO not as landlady, it's always been Elizabeth Jaynes dream so it has. Toyah's a bit of a pip now, she used to be fun.

Great review by the way, love your way with words!

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