The Week In Classic Corrie

MONDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 17th and 19th December 1990

The week before Christmas, and the writers were getting all their ducks in a row for the big festive bust ups.  Derek and Mavis started fretting after Victor said he wanted a word.  The company sales were down and so a company reorganisation was needed - one that would see the Weatherfield branch closing.  It looked like Derek was in danger of spending a second consecutive Christmas in the dole queue.  Martin went out for a pint with Kevin and forgot to pick up Gail.  She overreacted to a quite astonishing degree, accusing him of not caring about her and her kids and screaming at Sally in the shop for letting her husband lead him astray.  Their make-up drink in the Rovers somehow ended up with the women turning against the men.  Liz hinted that she might have to spend Christmas Day working in the pub so Jim told Alec to think again.  He was surprised to hear the staffing arrangements were public knowledge, and realised Jack had been gabbing away.  He told Jim that Liz would be able to have a family Christmas because Jack had "volunteered" to cover her shift.  Jackie and Mike were at each other's throats and when he tried to make it up with her, they ended up snogging in the car.  This may or may not have had something to do with her planning on buying him out of the factory.  They confessed their love for one another and Jackie promised to wait for him.  Meanwhile Alma blithely told Audrey it was going to be her "best Christmas ever".  Talk about cursing it.

TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 21st and 24th December 1990

It's interesting how attitudes have changed since 1990.  Back then the plotline of Curly pressuring Kimberley into a dirty Christmas in a hotel losing her virginity was entirely comical.  Now it's just... creepy.  Curly spent two episodes rubbing up against a clearly unenthusiastic Kimberley, heavy breathing and making innuendos, until her mother twigged what was happening and she burst into tears.  Curly was sent out of the house with a flea in his ear and a pain in his pants.  Alf was about to give a speech to Weatherfield's retailers when his car broke down.  Kevin went out to help which meant he missed Sally going into labour.  The baby didn't hang about and she dropped Rosie in Rosamund Street (see what they did there?)  in the back of Don's cab.  That's fifty quid she owes him to clean the gunge off the seats.  (Liz was there to help, which is weird for us in 2018 - you'd think Sally would be a lot closer to the woman who helped usher her first child into the world).  Marie went round to the Brennan's for Christmas, and immediately left the baby with Ivy so she could go out on the lash with her mates.  Ivy was as thrilled by this as you can imagine.  Mike confessed that he was in love with Jackie.  A heartbroken Alma moved her stuff out of the flat and back in above the cafe.

WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 25th and 26th December 1990

It's Christmas!  Again!  1990 has flown by.  Jack bought a dog off a bloke in the pub as a gift for Vera.  It turned out to be a devil dog, eating their turkey, chasing Alec down the road, and generally causing havoc, so he demanded that the bloke take it off his hands.  He didn't get his money though, and Jim told him selling the dog on then taking it back was a con he did every year.  In short, a hell hound arrived on the Street the exact same day Gail gave birth to David.  Coincidence?  I think not.  She was visited in hospital by Human Colonoscopy Ivy, who immediately kicked up a fuss that the baby's wristband said "Tilsley" and not Platt.  This was part of her scheme to ruin life for all the young mums in Weatherfield, as she also drove Marie out by criticising her parenting skills and trying to force turkey on baby Jamie.  She went back to her terrible flat and was never seen again so presumably Don's milk of human kindness has run dry.  Ken spent Christmas with Susan - completely failing to mention seeing his grandson Adam, for some weird reason - and came back with presents for Tracy and Deirdre and renewed confidence that his ex-wife would be his.  Deirdre decided not to open his gift and instead took Phil's present: a trip to Paris.

THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 28th and 31st December 1990

1990 came to an end with nobody in a very good mood.  Mavis was in a strop with Derek for getting a new contract with his ex-wife behind her back.  Alma cried on Audrey's shoulder about Mike's infidelity.  Ivy was sulking because Gail had given birth to David and everyone was telling her he was her "grandchild".  Curly was sad because the Taylors came round and insisted that he marry Kimberley right away so he could satisfy his filthy primal urges.  But saddest of all was Ken Barlow.  He invited Tracy round to his flat for New Year's not because he was a good dad, but because he wanted to use her as an excuse to see 1991 in with Deirdre.  Tracy told him she was away in Paris with Phil and he exploded, ranting about the humiliation of seeing her with other men, but Trace threw it right back in his face and told him that the whole thing was his fault for going off with Wendy Crozier.  She went off to her mate's and left Ken feeling sorry for himself in number one.  He helped himself to Deirdre's single malt and went though the photo albums, looking at pictures of all the dead Barlows (Val! David! Frank!) then even hearing their voices echoing in his head.  He found a bottle of pills and poured them out as the Rovers' patrons counted down to midnight...

FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 2nd and 4th January 1991

Bet realised there was someone in number 1 and let herself in.  She found Ken (he'd only managed three pills) and they had a heart to heart.  She convinced him that things get better and he needed to pull himself together.  Obviously, Julie Goodyear was absolutely magnificent in these scenes.  Deirdre returned from Paris and heard about Ken and Tracy's argument; when she spoke to him, he said he'd accepted she had moved on and he had too.  Ken commiserated with Alma in the cafe.  Was that a spark I saw?  Emily and Rita went to a tea dance and ran into - oh God, it's Reg Holdsworth.  He made a beeline for Reet and turned up in the shop to invite her out on the town.  She rejected him but he then appeared in the Rovers to buy her a drink.  Mavis promised not to fret about Angela any more, a promise that lasted about eight minutes when she discovered Derek was going to Darlington with his ex-wife.  She told him that she was coming along to keep an eye on them.

@merseytart is going to try and make the best of Ken's change of heart.

Classic Corrie is on ITV4 every weekday from 14:40.

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The Week In Classic Corrie

MONDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 31st October and 2nd November 1990

Derek and Mavis's Holiday From Hell continued, as they were trapped in the departure lounge with Jim Branning in a tam o'shanter.  Worse, one of the most famous Cockernee Geezer character actors was trying to do a Northern accent.  They finally got word that Rosamund Travel had gone bust and the owner had vanished with their money.  Mavis called Rita and and she stormed the Rovers, accusing Alec of being a conman.  He went to Manchester Airport to try convincing the Wiltons he hadn't sold them the holiday under false pretences but they flipped at him.  He drove them back from the airport but their constant yammering made him stop the car and leave them by the Princess Parkway.  The final blow came when they got home and discovered that number 4 had been burgled.  I blame Percy, who'd fed Harry the budgie earlier the day, and who was probably too busy patronising The Blessed Phyllis Pearce to lock the door.  Alma was also being deprived of a holiday, as Jackie Ingram begged Mike to stay with her to help run the factory and he put his Parisian weekend on ice.  Ken was still complaining about the PJ Leisure sports kits, entirely because he objected to the commercialisation of the education system and not, as the headmistress intimated, because he was angry about Phil's burgeoning friendship with Deirdre.  When Alec revealed he'd known Phil in his Graffiti Club days, but he'd had a different name, Ken was straight round number 1 to spread the joy.  She gave him short shrift, but still brought it up with Phil, who said he used to be called Smith until he changed it by deed poll to escape his criminal past.

TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 5th and 7th November 1990

The poor long-suffering Wiltons reacted to the burglary in different ways.  Mavis went to pieces at the violation of her sanctuary and stayed with Rita rather than returning home.  Derek got angry, shouting at Alec that he wouldn't be having all this trouble if he hadn't swindled him out of £800, and accusing Percy of enabling the burglary after a policeman played by a young Mark Jordon said there was no sign of a break-in.  Percy took umbrage at the accusation he'd left the door unlocked and resolved to find the burglar himself, though what he actually did was accuse the milkman of doing it and lost Emily's delivery of semi-skimmed.  Phil took Deirdre and Tracy to the fireworks (where, if you looked closely, you could see a tiny Andrew Whyment in the crowd) then shared a curry and a bottle of champers with them back at number 1.  Ken was outraged to see Phil's Merc parked outside next morning and barged his way into the house to confront him because he wanted to "protect his daughter".  There was no sign of Phil, for the very good reason that Don had taken him home the previous night so he didn't drink and drive, but Ken's invasion of Deirdre's home sent her to the solicitor's for a stern letter telling him to back off.  Meanwhile Mark was experiencing a certain amount of.... frustration, as Jenny refused to put out, and when things did start getting a bit intimate, Angie turned up in another of her incredible hats and poured cold water on things.

WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 9th and 12th November 1990.

In 2018, relentlessly pursuing your ex-wife against her will despite legal intervention would be called stalking.  In 1990 it's somehow seen as romantic.  Betty certainly seemed to think so, telling Deirdre that Ken constantly harassing her and turning up in the yard must be proof he loves her.  Phil took it upon himself to intervene and threatened Ken if he didn't leave her alone.  Ken reacted by... going round to see Deirdre and telling her what Jennings had done.  I mean honestly.  Mark tried to get Jenny to kick Angie out and let him move in instead, but she rightly pointed out that was insane.  Alec got his money back for the holiday from the credit card company so he considered giving the Wiltons their £800 back - swiftly knocking it down to £500 when he decided to add in "expenses".  Mavis continued to refuse to return home, and went so far as to claim that the only way she'd be happy would be if number 4 was sold.  Derek went to pieces in a distinctly camp and hammy manner.  He wailed at his wife and got smashed in the Rovers.  Percy's investigations continued: next on his list of suspects was the paperboy, who unsurprisingly didn't take kindly to an old man shouting at him in the street.

THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 14th and 16th November 1990

Alma was worried when Mike didn't call her as usual from his conference in Harrogate.  She tried phoning him, and was surprised when Jackie Ingram took the call.  Mike lied that she'd turned up out of the blue when he'd deliberately not told Alma she was with him.  She was reassured by his story until Ivy mentioned that Jackie hadn't returned the next day, as Mike said, but was still at the conference.  Deirdre asked Phil about Ken's story, and he told her a load of guff about it being a misunderstanding.  Mavis finally went back to number 4 and a hungover Derek.  Meanwhile Percy continued his investigation, fending off the furious dad of Nigel the paperboy and thoroughly irritating Emily.  It was a bit of a disappointment when his sleuthing came up trumps.  He spotted a Maurice Jones van parked outside what's now Gail's garage (incidentally, isn't it weird that Steph is Maurice's daughter but he stopped visiting the Street the day she moved in) and called the police because he suspected it was be the burglar.  It turned out one of the builders had copied the keys during construction and was in the process of letting himself into Steph and Des's house and robbing their stuff.  Derek accosted him and lost his filling in the process, but the police got him in the end, leaving Percy the hero of the Street.

FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 19th and 21st November 1990

Remember Eddie Ramsden, the wastrel who tried to marry Tina just so he could keep his baby?  It was a really boring storyline that went on forever so obviously it's time to revisit it.  Don picked up a woman and her baby and she turned out to be Marie, Eddie's wife.  Eddie had run off and left her, which seems incredibly out of character given how much he fought for custody of Jamie in the first place, but it was all a contrivance so they could deal with the SERIOUS ISHOO of single mothers living in dreadful council flats.  Tracy Barlow began her career as a sexual predator by ensnaring her first victim, I mean, boyfriend: a lad called Graham with bottle bottom specs and a desire to be an accountant.  When Trace brought him round for tea Deirdre was initially concerned they may get up to shenanigans, but after spending ten minutes with him boring the backside off her she packed them upstairs to listen to Bobby Brown.  Alma confronted Mike about his relationship with Jackie, but he denied there was anything going on.  She insisted that he give up his job then fretted about being so needy and tried to call him and get him to change his mind.  Of course, Baldwin had no intention of giving up his job, and the reason he couldn't be contacted on the phone was he was having a romantic dinner at the Widow Ingram's house.  They confessed their attraction to one another and took champagne up to the bedroom.  Poor Alma.

The only thing sustaining @merseytart through this awful Mike & Jackie storyline is the knowledge that she'll be pointing a shotgun at him in a few months time.  He deserves nothing less.

Classic Corrie is on ITV3 every weekday at 14:40.

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The Week In Classic Corrie

MONDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 8th and 10th October 1990

Mike turned up at Ingram's with a spring in his step.  He was confident that now he'd seen off Ralph the company would soon be his.  He was shocked to find Jackie there, planning on running the business herself, so he pretended to have another job offer to make her give him more money.  Sure enough, she asked him to run the company, while she assisted as an exec and learned the ropes.  Tracy was bunking off school to hang out in the arcades, which gave Ken an opportunity to slime up to Deirdre and pretend he wanted to discuss their daughter.  She refused to talk to him then, when the school got in touch, exploded at Ken's suggestion that Tracy's broken home was causing her to act up.  Jim took on new premises for his bike spares business: the railway arch on Viaduct Street (now the Bistro) which had been stopped up after thirty years of being a cut through to Jubilee Terrace.  Jenny was back from France, and not keen on going back to the Poly, but luckily she had a new friend to persuade her to return: Angie Freeman.  Flick had apparently fallen in love in France and decided not to return so Angie took her room.  She slotted in so well and so quickly it was hard not to suspect that the actress who played Flick decided not to return so they did a swift rewrite with the same lines for a new character.  Mind you, Deborah McAndrew as Angie displayed more character and charm in her first scene than Flick did in six months so it was no great loss.  The only tragedy was Angie's floppy velvet hat and scarf combination which made her look like a Blossom tribute act.

TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 12th and 15th October 1990

Excitement!  A new title sequence!  It's that one where a dog belts down the street and nearly knocks over an old lady.  Jackie Ingram's office is now a set, instead of a location shoot, as befits her decision not to sell the factory and put Mike in charge.  He celebrated by verbally abusing his secretary because just because he's working for a woman it doesn't stop him from being a big old sexist.  Tracy continued to bunk off from school to hang out at the arcade watching Andy play Streets of Rage.  Deirdre found her there and caused years of psychological harm by dragging her into Ken's classroom and demanding he sort her out.  Tracy did notice that at least her bad behaviour had got her parents talking again, the sneaky minx.  Deirdre went back to the arcade to speak to the manager, and found it to be such a den of iniquity (there was a young girl SMOKING!) she resolved to shut it down.  Jenny's debate over whether to return to Poly turned out to be academic as she was chucked off her course for slacking off.  She told everyone she'd decided to jack it in, but finally confessed to Rita that she was a failure.

WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 17th and 19th October 1990

Mark Casey turned 21 and his dad interrupted him dancing to absolute banger Naked In The Rain at his party to give him the garage.  Kev was naturally put out at being relegated to an employee after years of running the show and decided to jack in his job.  Mark's promotion also attracted Jenny's attention; she'd decided that now she wasn't an intellectual she could be a kept woman, and bought him a Walkman with money borrowed off Rita to snare his attention.  Of course the most interesting part of all this was that Angie chose to attend the party wearing a kind of hand embroidered hood/cape combo.  Deirdre continued her crusade against arcades, starting with telling Alma off for having a fruit machine in the cafe, then moving on to demanding the owner of the arcade bar under 18s.  However, the owner was Phil Jennings, and he charmed her into thinking he was a stand up guy and sent her some flowers.  At the factory, Mike continued to bully Sandra the secretary for no apparent reason, and fired her.  Jackie was going to reinstate her, but was persuaded by Mike not to undermine his authority and instead tried to move Sandra to a different job.  She threw it back in Jackie's face and told her she'd been having an affair with Peter before he died then stormed out.  Mrs Ingram was destroyed by the revelation and left the factory to Mike.  He took no time moving into the boss's office and invited Alma to celebrate with champagne.

THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 22nd and 24th October 1990

Phil Jennings continued his charm offensive against Deirdre, promising to keep the kids away from his arcade and offering to buy sports kits for Wethy High.  She told him she wouldn't be swayed by his honeyed words but still went out for dinner with him.  Bet and Alec's holiday plans were wrecked when he got an ear infection and couldn't fly.  She threatened to go with Rita instead but relented and they agreed to flog both tickets.  Jenny got a job alongside Steph at the perfume counter, and began to look at her as an inspiration.  She agreed to pal up with the Barneses for a Sunday lunch in Bakewell, which was unlucky because Mark had just made up with Kevin and they'd decided to do overtime that day.  When he told Jennie he couldn't make it she told him to make Kevin do it, as he was now the boss, which caused Sally to explode.  She pointed out that Jenny hadn't paid Mark the slightest bit of attention until he had a few bob.

FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 26th and 29th October 1990

The PJ Leisure sports kits arrived at the school and Phil made sure to let Deirdre know about his generous donation.  Ken was furious that the school was advertising a company that lured children into frittering away their pocket money.  The rest of the street had their mind on far-off climes.  Alma was disappointed that Mike's new position meant he had no time for her and tried to pressure him into having some time off.  He finally agreed to a long weekend in Paris.  Bet casually mentioned the cancelled holiday to Mavis, and she agreed to take it off her hands for half the price: £600.  Alec was horrified at having to swallow a six hundred quid loss so tried to upsell it to £700 with Derek, only for Des to swoop in and offer £750 for it.  Money talked for Alec of course so he agreed to sell it to the Barneses, forcing Derek to up his bid to £800 and outraging Steph who was left with two weeks off and nowhere to go.  It was a poisoned chalice though as not only did Mavis have to allow Percy into her home to feed that damn budgie, but they also arrived at the airport to pick up the tickets and found there'd been some kind of mix up.  They were forced to pal up with Jim Branning from EastEnders who'd also paid Rosamund Travel for a flight to Madeira and had no tickets.  The programme ended with their flight zooming off to exotic parts without them...

If you can offer the author two weeks in a four star Madeiran resort for £800, please contact him via Twitter @merseytart.  No timewasters, hawkers or Derek Wiltons, thanks.

Classic Corrie is on ITV3 every weekday at 14:40.

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All original work on Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License

The Week In Classic Corrie

MONDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 14th and 17th September 1990

The saga of Mavis's budgie entered what felt like its eighth millennium as Mrs Wilton fretted about depriving Mrs Featherstone of a bird that was rightly hers.  Derek confessed to his dual bird subterfuge and she finally accepted that Boris slash Harry was hers.  I really, really don't care.  In other plots that never seem to end Alf went to the TV shop to collect a new portable.  He demanded an apology from Jim, and once again Jim told him to stuff it; when his boss insisted, Jim broke another telly and resigned.  This forced Liz to go out in search of work, and she wangled a job as a barmaid at the Rovers, despite having no experience.  It was a momentous moment in the history of the show as she pulled her first pint, though it was laced with unintentional comedy for those of us watching in 2018 as Alec asked her to wear lower-cut tops behind the bar and she said no.  Yes, Liz McDonald insisted on wearing more clothing!  Deirdre and Dave finally broke up as she refused to move in with him ("I'll never get married again," she proclaimed, once more giving the 21st century viewer a giggle), while Mike was throwing his weight around at Ingram's and drawing Jackie under his spell.

TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 19th and 21st September 1990

Ding-ding, seconds out!  It was Alf v Jim in a full on scrap in the back yard.  The only damage ended up being to the motorbike, but Liz decided enough was enough, and lied to both men that the other had apologised.  Ivy went to the medium, but wasn't picked for exploitation a reading, so she tried to arrange a private session.  Don lost his temper when he found out and reminded her that this was all contrary to Catholic teachings.  She ended up apologising to the crucifix on the wall because she had too many questions.  Deirdre was living the high life.  She attended a party of movers and shakers at Mike Baldwin's (arranged so he could schmooze with Jackie Ingram) and met Phil Jennnings, one of his business contacts.  She'd also arranged that divorce, at last, and Ken came round to beg her to reconsider.  Take a damn hint, Barlow.

WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 24th and 26th September 1990

A theme of today's show was "men can't take no for an answer".  Jackie had decided to sell the factory, so Mike smarmed around her to convince her that was a bad idea, having a meal at her house and playing the confidante.  Ken on the other hand took Deirdre's divorce proceedings as a sign that what she really needed was marriage guidance.  He turned up at number 1 with a load of pamphlets and left with a flea in his ear.  She offered to drop the divorce proceedings if Ken would move out of the Street.  Jim was ignoring Liz, buying up a dodgy old bike to fix it up and make a bomb selling it on even though she wanted him to get a proper job.  In news from the realm of the dead, Ivy got a warning that a "Martin" was going to be in a car crash; she fled the meeting, full of worry, and rushed off to tell Gail.  "I'm not one for causing trouble," said the Human Stomach Ulcer as she dropped the news that a psychic predicted the father of Gail's child was probably going to die.  Don and Martin were both predictably furious.  He went in the Rovers and had a go at her, but Bet became upset when she heard the full message involved a "Martin" and a "hospital" and an "Elizabeth"...

THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 28th and 1st October 1990

Prompted by the psychic message, Bet confessed to Alec about Martin: the son she put up for adoption when she was 16, who then died in a car crash.  He was of course sympathetic but had a quiet word with Don about Ivy spreading her nonsense and getting Bet upset.  She decided that this proved the message from the dead was real and tried to persuade Bet to come to a spiritualist meeting with her.  She politely declined, so Ivy laid a load of guilt on her about Martin wanting to send a message through and Bet ignoring it, because she's a horrible person.  She then finished the episode by saying she could hear the spirits herself.  Ken tried to chat to Deirdre, thinking they were back on track, but she told him she was only dropping the divorce while it could be difficult; after two years of separation she was going to get a quickie.  Ken actually decided to keep his word and gave his notice at the flat and applied for a job in Kent.  Jim's bike spare business seemed to be taking off, with a young John Thomson dressed as an X-Wing pilot turning up in search of spares, so he supplemented his stock with a rusty truck and some mopeds. Mike and Jackie spent more time together, and he subtly hinted that his relationship with Alma wasn't that permanent, just in case that was of interest to her (FYI, in the show's timeline, Peter Ingram died literally six weeks ago).  He also arranged for a mate of his to pose as a buyer to convince Jackie the factory wasn't worth as much as she thought.

FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 3rd and 5th October 1990

Mike and Ralph, Jackie's right hand man, had a council of war to discuss her plans for the factory.  They agreed she'd be terrible, but when she announced that she wanted to run the business herself, Mike stabbed Ralph in the back and took her side.  Ralph left the sinking ship, telling Jackie that if she was really wise she'd dump Baldwin because he was poison.  Percy Sugden ran round the street, getting people to agree with him that Jim's motorbike scheme was going to ruin the neighbourhood, then grassed them all up.  Jim ended up rowing with Mavis in the Kabin and had to buy them drinks to apologise.  Psychic Ivy upset Emily by telling her she had a message from Ernie for her in the middle of the Rovers.  Emily told her to get lost - in a very polite Emily Bishop way of course - but it still meant Mrs Brennan had made a holy show of herself in public.  Audrey and Alma had a giggle about it in the shop, and Don overheard, but when he tried to tell Ivy she was a laughing stock she said she was giving up the spiritualism anyway.  Not because she'd seen sense, but because Bert Tilsley had come to her from beyond the veil and told her him and Brian were doing fine in the afterlife.  Weirdly, it'll be another four years before she has a breakdown and runs off to a religious retreat.  It's hard to imagine she can get any nuttier.

The author is also blessed with second sight and can see into the future.  That Don Brennan's going to come to a nasty end in a car crash, Alma's going to get cancer, and Jim McDonald's going to pretend his girlfriend is his dead daughter.  If you want any further info contact me on Twitter @merseytart with your credit card number.

Classic Corrie is on ITV3 every weekday from 14:40.

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