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The Rovers Return V The Flying Horse is steeped in Corrie folklore, dating back to the early days of the shows airing, and aside from a cricket match ( I think), in this past decade, it's been a while since these rival pubs have met. Whether cricket matches, tugs-of-war, Pram races, to pub Olympics: these two Weatherfield watering holes have a history rich in competition, and tonight football is the chosen sport for the rivals to compete in! The episodes are often teemed in classic corrie comedy and are revered by the Corrie fanbase!
Tonight's pre-match build-up saw the rovers team doing a warm-up on the cobbles with Jenny rallying the players together. Chesney became a sub for an injured Brian, and Tim was super-subbed for footballer James. Tim was unimpressed with Peter’s 'stiff opposition' gag and cried off playing, moaning to Aggie and sharing lunch with her instead of them both going to the game. These two seem to share a friendship, but can a soap keep a relationship like this platonic? On the indoor football pitch (I'd rather not have seen the match itself), the female referee (obviously) blew the whistle for the game to begin. Dev’s high-jinx was funny, Amy and Ches scored - and Shona was fierce in goal. A level playing field until James Bailey collapsed, resulting in Micheal giving his brother CPR whilst Ed rang for an ambulance.
It's all very issue-based, but I can't knock Corrie here. My Dad had an unexpected heart attack a few years back - awareness is vital. Later, and at the hospital, James is stable but moved to a coronary ward - his heart stopped for a few minutes. Ed is mad at Aggie for missing the match and goes home. Tim then turns up offering her advice and support. The doctor then tells James that he requires further heart tests: his football career looks to be ending. On the less serious side, Sam gets together with Jack, Liam, and Hope to play some online footy (good idea, less running about) which is a distraction for the little fella - he’d rather pen letters to his chess-based girlfriend. You can't blame Sam. I’m a big Weathy County fan, but I can't abide football either. Having seen Sam’s letters, Nick is encouraging of his son’s romantic endeavours.
With Griff being let off for the protest, Toyah’s loyalties shifted tonight, and she wasn't interested in any apology from married-man Spider. The local media weren't that interested in following it up either, which seemed to prick the interests of Nina and Asha, who then went into a rather interesting discussion on conspiracy theories. Toyah discusses her position with Peter, who explains that Carla isn't as capitalist as we were led to believe.
Griff seems to have brought a lot of sociopolitics into the Corrie scripts, and I did enjoy tonight's pub booth discussion, although Carla wasn't pleased with Peter keeping such company. Faced with the option of a meal with Carla or Question Time with Griff and Toyah, Peter left the pub. He then headed off to the taxi office and made amends with Tim. Carla talks to Leanne and tells her to keep an eye on Griff and Toyah. Leanne then tells Toyah to keep away from Griff, with Toyah telling her sister that Spider is married.
Stephen Reid continues to worm and squirm away around his family's businesses tonight, with his eyes clearly on Audrey’s money, and maybe even Underworld. Sweet-talking Sarah is one thing, but when Audrey catches him at the salon, and on the phone with Gabrielle, he continues his succession of lies to cover up his £200,000 embezzlement, Seeing Audrey’s signature, Stephen spots a chance for fraud. It’s very suggestive. Later, Stephen has a secret rendezvous with Gabrielle and tells her he can get cash - it's just an issue of paperwork.
Elsewhere, Coronation Street’s am-dram play is now well underway. With ‘'Roxanna'’ parts being decided for Mary, Wendy and Brian, it seems Ken and Evelyn are not in the cast. Mary’s theatrical flare ( we never did see that one-woman show) is longheld, and tonight even saw the return of her old friend, welsh-man Nigel as playwright and director of ''Roxanna'' It was good to see the same actor back! Later, Nigel visits Ken and asks him to be his script editor, which causes Wendy to think.
A mixed-bag episode. Very fast-paced but still very enjoyable.
Let us what you think in the comments section!
I am @rybazoxo self-styled cobbles connoisseur & Coronation Street superfan
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2 comments:
'Give the script a pass' meaning editing the script - never heard the expression in my hundred years of doing am-dram. I looked it up. When a screenwriter's script receives a pass, it means the reader found a lot that needs work and offers suggestions. So, there you are, the writer for last night's episode was using their own terminology, or I misunderstood and the play is being filmed.
I liked the conversation between Nina and Asha where Nina remarks that conspiracy theories can embrace anti-semitism. The perfect character to point it out in a non-preachy way.
I’m glad someone finds Dev’s ‘high-jinx’ funny, rather than deeply cringeworthy. As he seems to be portrayed in exactly the same way whenever a situation is vaguely competitive, it must go down well with sections of the audience.
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