Corrie Comicals week ending 11 January 2018

Woefully under-represented in recent weeks Kirk often has some wonderful bon mots and here he is telling Gina how they should prepare for a stake out - but she is only waiting for Duncan to materialise for his visit to see Imran so she that can break into his poky flat.

Great scenes between these two on Monday evening.  Liz has returned from hospital and almost immediately gave Johnny a flea in his ear.  Jenny does not want Johnny being nailed for a hit and run on Liz (although I thought Liz had nailed him some months ago) and would like Liz to drop the charges; after all Jenny knows it was not Johnny and before long Liz knows it was Jenny who did the deed.  Liz retires from the fray and Jenny waits to see if Liz is alright this time - hence Liz dying of irony above!

On first watching this little line passed me by.  Sarah-Lou and Gary are homeless and Gail has welcomed them back to David's house.  Bethany is not impressed and decides to flat share (after all she has two jobs now) and it turns out that Maria is willing to welcome her - although Bethany does not have a great view of her new landlord!

A note of accuracy on Monday evening as well.  Duncan dialled 00506 - which is the code for Costa Rica.  Later in the week it was confirmed there is no formal extradition agreement between the UK and the Republic of Costa Rica which enables potential fugitives to go into hiding in that country.

A quick interchange between Audrey who was almost run down by a mad BMW driver whom she accuses of being one of them there "millienials".  Rita is unsure what they are but asks Audrey if it is like "snowflakes".  In fact the mad driver is one Claudia Colby so although she might be getting on she is far from being a million years old (that is the meaning of millenial isn't it?).

One of the stranger lines from Wednesday as Gail seeks to convince David that she really is not a spy!  I don't think he ever believed it!  After all just because she has all the terms down pat and knows a firelighter from a lamplighter!

Moira has returned and we find she is addicted to Cola Chews - which the new Kabin recruit Brian is passing to Rita who is stunned to find the bottle is way down.  Apparently Brian also rather likes cola chews and has been helping himself.

Carla nails it - and she has not even discovered that he stole the money from Audrey.  And we know Nick's lying because no-one in the UK can walk into a bank and pay in £30,000.  The bank have to ask everyone paying in over £10k (and often less) in cash to provide a full and detailed explanation of the source or they will refuse it as the proceeds of money laundering in some form.  So when and how did Nick turn to the Dark Side and will we ever be told?  And who is the mystery woman?  Should Leanne be worried?

Which wraps the sunnier side of the Street for last week.

I have to go into hospital again this week over night for an operation on my right hand.  I very much doubt I will be able to work keyboard and mouse following the treatment so probably will not be here for the next two weeks.  I will return as soon as I can.

Writers: Jan McVerry & Carmel Morgan (Monday); Jonathan Harvey (Wednesday): Ian Kershaw & Cameron McAllister (Friday)
Directors: Alan Grint (Monday); Brett Fallis (Wednesday & Friday)

Kosmo
@Kosmo100

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Gail's husbands - dead or alive - in Coronation Street

With Gail's ex-husbands given a mention in last night's Coronation Street, it's time to rake in the history cupboard again and have a look at those who have loved and lost - and even lost their lives - being married to Gail Potter, Tilsley, Tilsley, Platt, Hillman, McIntyre, Rodwell.

Wedding number 1. From Gail Potter to Gail Tilsley. Gail married Brian Tilsley for the first time on 28 November 1979. Brian divorced Gail after her affair with Ian Latimer as he wasn't sure whether he was really Sarah-Lou's real dad.

Wedding number 2: Gail Tilsley to Gail Tilsley. She married Brian for the second time on 24 February 1988 for the sake of the kids. Brian died after being stabbed in an alley after a night out in a club.

Wedding number 3. From Gail Tilsley to Gail Platt when she married toy-boy Martin much to her mother-in-law Ivy's chagrin. Gail and Martin's wedding took place on 27 September 1991.  

Martin will be returning to Coronation Street. Read our interview with Sean Wilson here.

Wedding number 4: From Gail Platt to Gail Hillman. Richard drove Gail round the bend and her family into the canal. It was probably never a good choice to marry the man they called 'Norman Bates with a briefcase'.

Wedding number 5: From Gail Platt to Gail McIntyre. Joe died in a watery grave after he tried to fake his own death for an insurance scam and ended up drowned in the Lake District.    Filmed at Ryecroft Hall in Audenshaw.

Wedding number 6: From Gail McIntyre to Gail Rodwell. He died from a heart attack and was left for dead by Pat Phelan.

See also: The many wives of Steve McDonald

Sadly, Brian Capron will not be returning as Richard but you can read all about the killer reign of Richard Hillman on Coronation Street. Or as we all like to call him, Norman Bates with a Briefcase.  You can buy the book here.

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Coronation Street: a bunch of Muppets

I missed Flaming Nora’s blog post last week about the Warburton’s Christmas advert, and I saw the ad for the first time last night. I’m trying to cut down on bread so I hope it’s the first and last time I see it, but it was great to know some of Hollywood’s biggest stuffed stars are Corrie fans.

It also got me wondering what Corrie would look like if the characters were replaced with muppets. In some cases, I’m sure you’ll agree, we wouldn’t know the difference...                                                                                                                         

Beth Tinker                                                                  Miss Piggy

                         

               

                              Ken Barlow                                                        Sam the Eagle

                          

 

                                         Norris Cole                                   Dr Bunsen Honeydew

                 

 

                               Roy Cropper                                                        Guy Smiley

                   

 

                                Rowlf the Dog                                                       Fiz

                  

 

                                   Janice                                                                   Erica

                               

 

                                          Kermit the Frog                                     Gail McIntyre

And my favourite...

Rita & Mavis

                                          

      Zobi & Kami

Can you think of any other Muppet / Corrie likenesses?

@StevieDawson

Deirdre: A Life on Coronation Street - official ITV tribute to a soap icon. Available here.

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Midweek Musings

Last night I caught up with Monday evening's Coronation Street which focused on Dan Dan the Brewery Man's drunken revenge on Leanne and Liz. Apart from the fact I love Liz, I think Leanne is a great character and Dan was in Bugsy Malone as a child actor, the whole thing bored me rigid. 

I thought the whole denouement was very tired and it felt like we'd been there many times before. I also thought it was a deeply unpleasant, nasty element to reveal to Simon about Leanne's past. It wasn't an easy watch. As with many aspects of Corrie these days, we also knew in advance what the outcome would be. I do think the decision to explore a domestic violence storyline between Leanne and Simon is an interesting direction to go in however how much more pain and suffering can they inflict on either character? As an aside I thought the scene in the kebab shop with Chesney, Lloyd and Andrea was woeful and wooden. 

Anyway, my main point regarding this latest explosive storyline is the pacing. In my mind Coronation Street has two major issues at the moment with the way storylines are paced out across episodes. As with Jenny's balcony breakdown several weeks before, Dan's siege in the kebab shop flat dragged on across too many scenes and episodes. I don't understand why it is planned that way as the pacing was like swimming through concrete. All dramatic tension was lost as we broke away from scenes of Dan stomping on Leanne's phone to Ken enjoying a bit of stuffed marrow chez Barlow. 

By cutting away so many times it prolongs everything but not for the better. It ends up feeling all bloated and sluggish. At the same time, some stories appear and disappear almost within the same episode - Luke's t-shirt fiasco springs to mind. However, in that case I'm quite glad that one did vanish without a trace.

As with many Corrie storylines these days, the after effects of the supposedly ratings grabbing scenes are far more enjoyable. Tonight's Corrie showed that again, with both Beverley Callard and Jane Danson on top form.

Before people start saying I'm nitpicking and I'm never happy, there are some aspects of Corrie I'm loving at the moment. I think Tristan Gemmill is a great addition as Robert Preston Mark II. I know there is a secret wife lurking and it's a given he'll end up as Bistro chef, but I think it is bringing out a different dimension in Tracy and I'm all for that. I also love the friendship between Tracy and Beth. Beth brings another side to Tracy and it rights a very common wrong in Corrie - nobody has any friends!

It was also lovely to see scenes between Ken and Emily the other week. Emily is normally only seen with Rita and/or Norris so it was a treat to see Corrie's two longest serving actors together. Also, although I have found Carla's descent into yet another addiction deeply tiresome and unbelievable, it did give us several cracking scenes between Alison King and David Neilson. Two of my favourite Corrie actors who have developed a wonderful odd couple friendship on screen. It was so touching to see Roy demonstrate how much he cares about Carla.

On a final, less positive note can the writers please stop making Gail a comedy drip of a character? I find it loathsome and cringemaking to watch. Gail, although always being flawed, used to have a spine, run her own business and Helen Worth used to portray her as a character the viewing audience could root for, whether it be her battles with Ivy, her troubles with Brian, Martin or Richard or her dreadful children. 

These days she's restricted to a twittery damp squib. It is so important for Corrie to depict strong, mature women and Gail is one of the few middle aged women in the programme with proper history, so please ITV, don't waste it.

Follow me on Twitter @GraemeN82 

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