Sarah went to see Rita about Ted's will. She asked if they could come to some arrangement because his house held a lot of memories for her. Not enough memories that she didn't want to flog it and live off the profits, but ANYWAY. Gail and Martin went off on their dirty weekend, leaving Carmel looking after the kids and Ivy feeling humiliated. She threw Gail's attempt at reconciliation - and also the tacky bit of pottery she'd bought her from Abersoch - back in her face. Jack finally bit the bullet and opened a bank account so he could pay his paycheque in. He was less than thrilled when he discovered it'd take five days to clear so he was still brassic. Lisa continued to use the garden at number six with Tommy, even though the baby disturbed the Wiltons trying to have an al fresco meal next door (why is everyone eating outside in autumn?), and she shared a takeaway with Des. Incidentally Des's garden is an absolute state. In less exciting news, Andy went to Sheffield Uni, Jim tried to persuade Steve to get a job, and Kimberley and Curly made it up.
TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 5th and 7th October 1992
Kevin had been complaining to Baldwin that he was doing the work of two men as a way of hinting he should get a rise. Mike misinterpreted him - perhaps deliberately - and took on Steve McDonald as a grease monkey for a tenner a day. He rowed with Kev when he admitted he was signing on at the same time. Vera felt sorry for an increasingly wayward Ivy and persuaded Jack to give her Don's address. She went round to see him, but was upset to see how well he was doing. Rita continued to be under pressure from Ted's relatives for cash, with them insisting she sell his house for twenty grand less than it was worth so they could get their hands on the money fast. The big story though was Raquel's naughty knicker party at the Rovers, where the women of the Street got tipsy on white wine and fondled the gussets of various lacy scanties. Mavis got the wrong end of the stick and thought it was a Tupperware party - she spent the rest of the evening sinking uncomfortably into the back of the sofa. As the women got more lairy, Jack sent Steve into the back, and they tried to persuade him to model a jock strap. But Ivy ignored the undies and headed straight for the vodka, losing her temper with Gail and Vera when they tried to persuade her to stop, then barging across to tell her grandkids what was wrong with their parents. Carmel tried to stop her and she ended up shouting so loudly she woke up Nicky, who got unconvincingly upset. Ivy finally collapsed on Gail, sobbing about her mess of a life.
WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 9th and 12th October 1992
Afraid that Rita would make a comeback at the Kabin now she had nothing else to do, Derek went to the Job Centre in search of alternative employment. The only thing on offer was assistant caretaker at the high school, but he considered this beneath him - until Jim suggested he wasn't qualified. Derek immediately applied to prove him wrong. Vera went to see Don to try and get him to help Ivy. He said it wasn't his problem, but then arrived in the Rovers just as a drunk Ivy was insulting the clientele. He took her home, and when she left her key in the door, he let himself in after, with the air of a man walking to the gallows. Steve was proving useful at the garage, though he and Kevin were having generational differences as Kev talked about his responsibilities. Steve scoffed and said he couldn't understand why Kevin had a wife and kid when he was only 27. "I won't be falling for that trap." (Note from 2019: by the time Steve McDonald was 27 he was on his second marriage).
THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 14th and 16th October 1992
Percy Sugden was furious. There was a commemoration for the Battle of El-Alamein and the Legion had invited representatives from Weatherfield's German twin town to attend. Liz suggested he might be happier forgiving and forgetting but because he's a sad little man he absolutely refused. Ivy claimed she wasn't an alcoholic and she could stop whenever she wanted. At the same time, she told Don that she drank because of him, because he admitted he couldn't stand her. She suggested he become her lodger, staying in Brian's room, emotionally blackmailing him by saying she'd give up the booze if she thought she'd see Don coming through the door every evening. He agreed to give it a try. The good news was temporary though, as Reg sacked Ivy for not turning up to work for days, but Curly persuaded him to keep her on. Rita met with the Brooks family and offered them a third of Ted's money as a sop. Jonny Briggs' Dad took this as a sign that she knew she was in the wrong and demanded two-thirds. Rita rightly told him he was a greedy nasty little man and said he could have nothing. She also returned to work at the Kabin, leaving Mavis on the same salary and telling her they'd run it together. Mike moved Steve into the factory for his new business: printing t-shirts. And Ken met the mother of one of his pupils: a certain Maggie Redman...
FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 19th and 21st October 1992
Mavis casually mentioned to Vera how nice it was to see Lisa having fun in the pub and she immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion. She told her to step away from Des Barnes, but Lisa reminded her mother-in-law it was Terry who was locked up, not her. Derek got the job as caretaker after effectively begging for the position; he tried to get Ken to agree to having lunch with him during the day as they were colleagues and Ken pulled a pained face at the idea of being seen with the janitorial staff. Besides, he was too busy taking Maggie out for a drink, unaware that she was the mother of Mike Baldwin's love child. A German man named Klaus turned up in the pub looking for Percy. He revealed he was a POW who had fond memories of being held by Sugden in the war and wanted to thank him for his compassion and decency. Percy wasn't keen to talk to him - because German - but they finally bonded over a load of schnapps. Perhaps we should get Klaus to lead the Brexit negotiations.
There was also a terrible subplot about Reg thinking Kimberley was a spy for a rival supermarket chain but I refuse to give it the oxygen of attention. Send any complaints via Twitter @merseytart.
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It was a bit dull this week, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteGreat pic of Bet above, I was quite pleased to see her return to her pre Alec hair do, even though I'm sad he's gone.
Great acting from Lynne Perrie this week.
ReplyDelete