By Stephen Leach, who is in Twitter @SirTerenceBoot - read all of Stephen Leach's guest blogs here.
Alas, poor Oliver. We scarcely knew him – literally. Even for a child character who never speaks, he has an astonishing lack of personality: I feel like I could tell you more about Jake Windass, and he hasn’t even appeared onscreen for about three decades. It doesn’t help that in the most recent hospital scene they used what appeared to be a bowling ball wearing a wig as a stand-in. But it’s all dreadfully sad, either way, and it does seem incredibly cruel to give Steve yet another lost child (first Karen’s miscarriage, then Tracy’s twins, then Michelle’s stillborn son).
It’s hard to feel too much sympathy for Leanne, though, when a single wrong word can cause her to erupt with rage and roar obscenities at everyone present like some sort of elegantly-coiffed primitive beast. No wonder Nick’s afraid to tell her he’s got a secret son; I’d be afraid to tell her I forgot to empty the dishwasher. I don’t much fancy Liz’s chances when she returns and Leanne furiously castigates her for holidaying in Spain the whole time Oliver was at death’s door – ah, real life really does write the plot sometimes, doesn’t it?
Speaking of which, I’m enjoying all the tricks the production team are throwing at us in a vain effort to try and make us forget that Weatherfield isn’t under social distancing regulations – creative camera angles, outdoor scenes where characters converse from opposite sides of the road, and ever more ridiculous excuses for why certain characters aren’t in the room. Initially I’d hoped that Corrie would just pretend that coronavirus wasn’t a thing at all, but I think they’ve coped surprisingly well, and it’s weirdly given some parts of the street – the Rovers, for instance – a new energy.
But here’s the thing. I was actually really enjoying there only being three episodes a week. The pacing felt tighter, the cliffhanger endings had more impact, and having less content overall to digest made the show feel more like a treat. Now there’s five or six episodes a week again I feel like I’ve come off a diet and gone straight back to bingeing. Could we not perhaps meet in the middle, ITV?
So it’s going to cost Steve and Leanne half a million quid for an experimental treatment. Sounds like a lot, but when you think about it, it shouldn’t be too tricky. Maybe they should ask Tyrone for advice; he got himself about 10k in debt creating a winter wonderland for Herp when she was deathly ill, and then promptly did a few evening shifts at Streetcars and paid it all off with ease. Alternatively, a few fundraising events in the deserted Rovers will probably be sufficient – I know I’m not the only one who’d pay through the nose for a few of the more annoying characters to participate in a sponsored silence.
You know who’s unexpectedly become my favourite character of late? Dev. He used to be such a sleazy creep, so it’s funny seeing him take issue with his daughter’s equally sleazy creep of a boyfriend. In stark contrast to Daniel, facial hair really works on him, and he also works far better as a character when he’s not constantly chasing women.
So how long will it be before Daniel convinces Nicky to give up her lucrative job as a hooker and to come and live in virtuous poverty with him on t’Street? It can’t be long now, surely. He impressed us all very briefly with his liberal outlook and socially conscious terminology (“Prostitute? Adam, please modify your language. The politically correct term is sex worker”) but constantly begging her to ditch her clients and spend the afternoon goofing around with him? Not a great look, Daniel. And neither is that gross depression beard.
But I might be underestimating him; maybe he’ll allow her to keep her job and have her conduct her appointments from his flat. “Just think about it – it’s safer! And Bertie needs a female role model! Who looks, dresses, and smells kind of like his mum!” Bleurgh. So creepy. Take it from one who knows, kid – therapy is much cheaper.
By Stephen Leach, who is in Twitter @SirTerenceBoot - read all of Stephen Leach's guest blogs here.
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8 comments:
I sympatheise with Leanne's feelings as she is going through with every parent's worst nightmare,the death of her child so it's underatandable she's not always rationaland Nick telling her about his son Sam will send Leanne over the edge.
Even then Nick is a coward and I bet it will probably be Sarah or Gail who'll tell Leanne about his son.
I have no respect for Liz who took off when Steve needs his mum the most as he deals with the impending death of another child.
Well that’s very harsh to call Nick a coward. His step son is dying, he has been very supportive towards Leanne, putting his feelings aside for her and he looks like he’s heading for a breakdown.
As you said, telling Leanne about Sam would tip her over the edge, so how can you have the nerve to call him a coward!?
Anonymous[16;16]You're right I was harsh saying that Nick is a coward but
considering that he dumped Natasha years ago when she was pregnant because he couldn't deal with it only to get back with her after being rejected by Leanne,I don't have too much sympathy for Nick either.
I also have a bad feeling that when the truth comes out about his son,it won't be from Nick that Leanne will hear it from but from Sarah [who does have a big mouth when it comes to family secrets ]or Gail.
I also fear that Leanne will be portrayed as the 'villian'for being hurt finding out about Nick and Nastasha's son just as her son passes away,
Liz deserves a decent story to explain her sudden departure. The real reason was Bev Callard's own medical emergency so the scriptwriters should have come up with something better. Maybe Andy could have had an Accident?
Does Liz need an exit storyline? Bev's gone now, through know fault of her own, Covid-19 and operations . Steve mentioned she's in Spain with Andy so that's boxed off for me. Steve now has more of an excuse now if he needs to get away any time. I think viewers should cut Corrie a bit of slack, I think they're doing a great job through all this, but I don't think people have grasped that
Anonymous[18;18]I think it was how abrupt Liz's exit was that bothers viewers[me anyway]abandoning her terminally ill grandson and Steve who due to his depression needs all the family support he can get.
Perhaps if the writers had referenced Covid -19 by having Liz got to Spain to check on Andy who has the illness and is in the hospital that could have softened the blow of Liz's exit and not make her seem selfish.
The Oliver’s storyline is a depressing watch, but the acting has brilliant, particularly from Jane Danson, Simon Gregson and Ben Price. Jane is acting as Leanne very well and while she is frustrating to watch at times, I do feel awful for her. It’s good that Simon is playing Steve seriously but less said about sausage gate the better. Ben has impressed me the most. His acting is fantastic. He has such an expressive face and he is the one I feel most sorry for. Anonymous 16:16 is right, calling Nick a coward in this situation is very harsh. He is actually being selfless as he is putting his own feelings for Oliver and his son aside for Leanne
Why not base the reason for Liz's absence on Bev Callard's real health problems? It would make sense that she went to visit her other son for a short time but needed emergency surgery in Spain. If it went wrong and needed redoing(as BV's did) it would explain her staying where she is and supporting Steve remotely via the phone and Skype.
If the actress does return at some point-if only to wrap up her character's storyline- from reading about what she's been through, she'll likely need a cane so why not have Liz dealing with the same problem?
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