'At Christmas time there's no need to be afraid'
Ah yes, Christmas Day, a day of the year that's as cliched as imaginably possible. Mince pies, daft hats, drunk uncles, charades, awful music... and a drunk disgruntled madman with a stolen shotgun! Hardly, but in this Netflix/ on-demand era of television, we cant surely expect Hilda Ogden singing around the piano to reach a 27 million viewing audience in 2019. Can we?
Robert and Michelle are courteous to each other (for the sake of Christmas I assume) and the ice queen seems to have cooled, now that she's selling the bistro, right from under his nose. Even hosting a Christmas lunch and not inviting him - isn't she lovely! Although Michelle appears to have thawed, Vicky is less than forgiving but accepts that Robert needs to see his child before she heads back home to Ireland.
Further down the street, it's David Platt's birthday so Shona has the key to the winter wonderland to surprise her hubby, hiding in an oversized Christmas present box. Recovering sufficiently from her near-death by Christmas tree debacle, Rita arrives back to the Rovers, and Jenny is organising a welcome home party.
Talking of gingers, Gary goes to see Fizz after he opens the shop and realises that the gun is gone. Fizz thinks Hope has pinched the keys, but Gary seems to think its Dr Ali. It's neither as we know. Drunken Derek the disgruntled businessman is ready to shoot Gary and aims the gun at the Rovers Return. With all residents assembled, Derek enters the theatre of conflict and confronts Gary. Feigning that the gun is decommissioned, Derek decides to test Gary's theory; pointing the gun in the other direction, shooting Robert Preston who was stood outside the Rovers Return front door!! Hardly surprising as we've known for a while that the character is leaving the show. Is it a rating's winner though?
Gary's goading manages to get Derek out of the pub, but the whiskey swigging shooter sees Robert on the floor and carries on chasing his target. Aggie swings into action. I hope her nursing is better than her cooking!
With the residents realising what's happening, the Platt's (and Gary) begin hiding in the winter wonderland, to the strains of classic Christmas pop ( of course) and Derek's shotgun stalks the festive scenery. Getting shot in the arm, former soldier Gary doesn't take that lying down, and Adam decides to propose to Sarah. It's random and hardly romantic, but still, it is Christmas. Also in the theme of romance, Daniel is relieved that Bethany has survived unscathed, and Emma and Seb are reconciled.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, Michelle' at Robert's bedside -he's injured but conscious. He manages to tell Michelle he loves her, and then (predictably) dies. Shona appears to have survived yet faces an operation. Gary seems to have survived being shot and has resurfaced as the resident's hero but of course, it was his gun that caused the killings. Who did steal that gun? I HOPE we find out soon enough!
A few weeks ago, I mentioned in this blog that the winter wonderland could be a good setting for Christmas day action. I wasn't wrong but was this what I imagined? No, but then like I say, it isn't 1987 anymore and with fierce on-demand / Netflix/ Amazon Prime competition, the days of Hilda Ogden singing at the piano and Blanche's drunken Christmas dinner acerbic put-downs are long gone...
Merry Christmas!
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