By Stephen Leach, who is in Twitter @SirTerenceBoot - read all of Stephen Leach's guest blogs here.
I love a good Corrie hold-up. Don’t you? There’s never long to wait until the next one; it seems like only yesterday that Pat Phelan was crashing Michelle and Robert’s wedding with a pistol, or when that bearded nonentity who owed Gary Windass money was drunkenly waving a shotgun around the Rovers.
But Monday’s effort was a farce worthy of Sheridan. I was particularly tickled by Scott wearing a mask but not even bothering to disguise his voice at all; it was almost as funny as the bust-up Johnny and Scott had in a corner of the set where they’d clearly turned off all the lights and thrown a tarpaulin across the windows to make it look all gloomy and grim.
As usual, Craig disregarded all his training and regulations to be the UK’s worst policeman and charged on his own into the Bistro so he could promptly get shot. Ah, well, he’ll live. You’d think a few residents would have at least come out to see the ambulance take him away – Sally and Tim, perhaps, or even Daniel – but nah. Someone getting shot in Weatherfield is such a regular and unexciting event of late that even his mother didn’t seem that surprised by the news. It’s just something you have to tick off your list eventually if you’re going to live on t’Street for more than five years, alongside having an affair, at least one unplanned pregnancy, finding out you’ve got a secret sibling/parent/child (delete as appropriate), and of course losing a baby. Which brings us neatly onto Leanne.
When will this storyline end. That’s all I want for Christmas now: for this sodding plot to just be over with. Think of all the stories that burned out in an instant – Jim returning with Hannah/Katie, Sean being homeless, that time Craig met his dad in prison and nothing really came of it. But still, on the Oliver storyline plods, without an iota of progress. The revelation that Nick had a secret son threatened to drive a wedge between them, but she’s so single-minded that it barely registered. “That doctor hates me!” complained Leanne for the fourth or fifth time, neglecting to consider that snarling in people’s faces might not be the optimal way to get people to feel positively about you. Can we please – please?! – be done with it already?
So what’s Arthur’s secret, then? We all know there’s one. My bet’s a secret wife who’s dying of cancer. That, or he’s having an affair with his dog. What? Corrie hasn’t tackled bestiality yet. Could be interesting. I quite like the actor, though – hope he sticks around. Though I can’t pretend I’m not looking forward to the inevitable tongue-lashing Evelyn will give him when we find out whatever it is he’s hiding.
At least it’s only a few weeks until Yasmeen’s trial happens. I’m looking forward to it, but only because I’m hoping it means Paula will show her face again (where’s she gotten to, exactly?). Though with the way this year’s been going so far, I wouldn’t be surprised to see her get sent down for life. Cross your fingers, Corrie viewers. It’s the 60th anniversary in December and they’ve got to give us something.
By Stephen Leach, who is in Twitter @SirTerenceBoot - read all of Stephen Leach's guest blogs here.
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I think Arthur's secret is that he has a daughter who lives in sheltered accommodation/care home, maybe with learning disabilities. Evelyn and Arthur are a good couple and I'd like them to stick together. Arthur might want to keep this secret because he'd worry that it would frighten Evelyn off. The opposite would probably happen with Evelyn being a fantastic support to him. The other storylines definitely have a feel of being the run-up to explosive endings. Will anyone cheer when Geoff gets his comeuppance which has been signalled for months now? More likely, people will say 'thank goodness that's over'. I'll be interested to see the fall-out on Tim and Faye because we don't read much about the impact on the unsuspecting relatives.
ReplyDeleteGood to see Beth back and quite in character for her to be sniffy about anyone Craig might be interested in. So boringly predictable that he would forget his police training and dive straight in to be a hero. Too many gangster villains in Corrie atm. I forget who's got it in for who.
The Johnny and Scott storyline went from intriguing, to boring, to just silly. Why would Scott ask Johnny to be a getaway driver when he has MS? Does he really not have any other options? I’m so done with shootings on the street- this isn’t Eastenders. Don’t care about Craig. If he dies, he dies, he definitely won’t be a big loss to the show. But did anyone really think he was going to die? It was so obvious that he wouldn’t and there was no tension in those scenes whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteLeanne has become so repetitive now. Shouting and crying, shouting and crying, shouting and crying. For a character who is the main focus on a tragic child illness storyline, she should be written and honestly acted with more depth. Now Jane Danson is giving a great performance, but she could be even better. There’s no nuance to Leanne which is making her chore to watch rather than a layered character you feel sorry for. Actually the actor who I think has stepped up the most is Ben Price. I didn’t like Nick last year when he stole Audrey’s money, but this year he is the one I feel the most sorry for. The acting is much more layered and you feel his torment with everything he says and with his facial expressions. So his scenes last night with Gail were superb and I genuinely felt sorry for him when he lost his temper.
Not sure what Arthur’s secret is but his relationship with Evelyn is very charming. I love seeing the softer side of Evelyn. It makes her a more rounded character rather than a stereotype battleaxe.
Looking forward for Yasmeen’s trial and honestly for this storyline to end. While it has been great, it’s going in circles with Geoff and Alya annoying each other. Wrap it up for the 60th and that should be fine.
I really hope that the Oliver storyline ends soon very soon as it's getting more and more tedious with Leanne's screeching in every scene.
ReplyDeleteMy fear is that Oliver will finally die on Christmas Day leading to another depressing Christmas episode.
Since Nick seems to be spending more time at the Platts'where is Simon?
I like Humpty's theory about Arthur. I really hope it's not a sick wife, it doesn't seem that long since we had a similar thing with Eileen and Paul.
ReplyDeleteMy first thought is that Arthur himself is dying.
ReplyDeleteThink you’re right,
ReplyDelete