Coronation Street Episode Review; Weds 17th Feb 7.30 & 8.30 pm

I was reminded this morning that today is the start of Lent. It may have not been 40 days since Oliver’s death but with a constant stream of reminders, its no wonder Leanne’s still struggling - seeking solace in dodgy telly evangelists, and white feathers. Tonight, she gets another reminder of Oliver’s passing with a phone call from the leisure centre about swimming lessons, so I’d guess Simon is going to have to deliver more chips to pay off another phone/credit card bill! Leanne may be mithered in misery but you cannot fault the incredible performances from Jane Danson. 

Left in the lurch with no shift at the chippy, Simon’s offered some work from Jacob but turns it down as he feels guilty for Leanne's suffering. Jacob’s phone chat with his boss suggests that this story is only just beginning. I did enjoy Nick trying to level with Leanne over the feathers farce. 

At the start of tonight’s episode, Abi is clutching at straws, rummaging through Debbie’s business papers, and berating the police, but she does finally get back into the Bistro. Lucky really that Faye got out on bail and broke into the company laptop! I seriously did wonder if Kevin and Debbie were going to do an Anne Malone and freeze to death. The drama may move fast these days, but those two seemed stuck in there for about a week! Credit must go to Corrie director, Matt Hilton, for that blue visual effect and claustrophobic industrial fridge set design. All very different from that time Robert and Michelle got stuck in there, and in my opinion, it worked a lot better this time, too! 

Also lucky that Faye noticed something as minute as a handle breaking off a fridge, but notices no difference between Ray and Adam! I am joking, and just glad that Kev and Debbie made it out okay. The sibling’s frosty relationship is sure to have thawed now and after Abi’s heroic rescue, our cobbles heroine proposes marriage and which Kev accepts!

Aw, I think we are long overdue for a Corrie wedding! 

This also wrapped up Ray's comeuppance with Craig arresting the crook as he was about to depart from the airport. P.C Tinker turned out okay too, he's gained a nickname from his force pals and Faye decided to get back together with him. Is this the final scene for Ray Crosby? I would like to see him return one-day, a great character with staunch conviction and some three-dimensional depth.

The vicar's bad boy love triangle causes Paul to become warier of Todd and he resigns from Underworld. As luck would have it, Ed Bailey has landed a new contract and offers him a job for next week! Unfortunately, its a job on the youth hostel, which Billy is overseeing, but he takes it anyway. Later on, Todd gifts Billy and Summer another treat and Billy makes a subtle play for Todd which is rejected.

Tyrone’s health scare seems to have reignited life round at number 9. Evelyn’s jibes are hilarious and I think the comedy is reminding me of Jack and Vera's legendary strifes! Also good to see Fiz get her spark back and join in with the ribbing. 

Elsewhere tonight, Micheal gets excited at Grace’s growing pregnancy bump, whilst she feels guilt at her previous behaviour. Aggie seems to forgive her for now, and Ed seems happy that his brother Ronnie is paying a visit!

@rybazoxo your cobbles connoisseur

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Corrie Comicals week ending 22 January 2021

Are two of the Street villains heading for a fall or will one deal with the other?  Ray has been missing since Friday, locked in the back of the White Van of the Men in Black who it turns out are Mick  Chaney (He whom Todd unwisely ripped off before returning to the Street - what an amazing co-incidence!) and Co.  He is deposited back on the cobbles and advised in as menacing a tone as Mick can manage that failure to deliver the funds owed within 24 hours may lead to Ray facing a much longer descent needing a parachute, although being thrown from Barton Bridge (over the Ship Canal I doubt it would have time to deploy!) is more likely.  Can Ray's downfall be long delayed?

David wants to take the old push mower even though there is no grass to mow on the Paul Robeson estate.  And he "mows" Gail's slippers as they continue to argue.  Luckily everyone makes up on Wednesday with a copious supply of soft boiled eggs and butter covered soldiers for dipping.  Important point for soldiers - the strips must be cut thin enough to dip in the yolks or they are not up to the job!

Adam has been denying that he ever accused Gary Windass of anything - he might have hinted at a motive but not delivery of the blow.  He then tells DS Willets that extracting a statement from a nitpicking solicitor must be a nightmare to which Keith Willets responds that he is sure his wife will need God's help in a discussion over the TV remote (above).  Adam becomes an American lawyer as he wants to take the Fifth (Amendment) on that.

Debbie accuses Ray of playing "Whack-a-mole" - Ray responds "Underage girl I tried to rape?" Whack.  Debbie adds "A corrupt official who's bleeding me dry?"  Whack.  Ray responds "A business partner who's boring me to tears?"  Whack.  

Ellen Taylor - you are very naughty - or is there a competition for the cheekiest line each week?  Roy has just told Sean that there is still an ongoing cream horn shortage - allowing Sean to make the observation above.

And whilst I do not have room for Evelyn this week apologising to Elaine over her rescue dog (whom I hope we can find space for soon - well Evelyn, Elaine and their dogs) I could not go without Emma and her dizzy barmaid act talking to Michael Edison over the names of her children.  Eclair for a girl - apparently a posh version of Claire; Michael suggests that a boy will be called Doughnut but no it will be Lemmy after the lead singer of Motorhead her father's second favourite band - Iron Maiden his favourite group have had too many lead singers!

Blink and you would have missed it on Monday - Underworld staffing seemed to be Sean asking for some time off and in the background a be-masked Dirk!

Monday got the week off to a great start - relatively new writer in Emily Gascoyne and Leon Lopez certainly got us off to a great start.  And it continued all week - empty rooms as the Platts move; cardboard and plastic boxes as other pack to leave, Yasmeen's near breakdown had the benefit of getting Elaine a job on the Street; the Platt meltdown; house deals almost falling through and Abi filming Ray and Blondie from planning.  Good week.  Loved it.

Written By: Emily Gascoyne & Cameron McAllister (Monday); Alasdair Morrison (Wednesday); Ellen Taylor (Friday)
Directed By: Leon Lopez (Monday & Wednesday); Brett Fallis (Friday)

Kosmo

@Kosmo100

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

Coronation Street Episode Review Friday 15 January 2021

Good evening.  Thank you Ms Kelstar for last week and here are the latest meanderings from Weatherfield.  Faye is sick with worry, every morning.  And as she admits to Maria (eventually) she has other reasons for believing that she is making her second visit to the baby production rodeo.  After a lot of to-ing and fro-ing she admits all to Tim (I'm worried about Tim - see later) and whilst she and Maria take a pregnancy kit off screen Tim rampages from the flats to the Bistro demanding to see Ray who is not there.  The test has proven that she is not in the baby way and whilst Tim remains angry they manage to get him under control before any harm is done.  By the end of the programme Faye is still in a state and feels teh truth should be told whilst Tim has determined that Hale Barns is not far enough away - they are moving to Spain (above) [which post-Brexit and the PM statement on Friday evening might be a challenge that Mrs Metcalfe cannot quite face; indeed getting R'Sally to leave the Street would terminate all of her social climbing antics as she would have climbed the impossible climb!].

In a side story Steve is off on holiday to the hills to get himself fit for his three peak challenge and as luck would have it there is a nice pub next door to the cottage!  Tracy considers it a good idea as it will get him away from the Street and the kerfuffle over Peter.

Talking of Ray, he has gone into that super-villain mode that we see from Lex Luthor just before Superman saves the world.  He admits to Debbie that he has not bribed the planning committee - only the chair woman!  Imran has cooked up a pre-judicial review notice which has sent the council into a tizz and they will be reviewing all the paperwork to make sure it is tickety boo.  Now we know the planning officer (whom Ray attempted to bribe in front of witnesses) was against the scheme, so that will be documented and council members have to have excellent reasons to go against the advice of a planning officer.  The threat of a court case costing £100k will be as welcome in the council offices as it might to Roy Cropper (hiding his Superman suit under his apron); the latter however has strong feelings for the community as it is and vice versa.  Tim pops into the prison to see Gary the same day as applying for a visiting order (magic) and tells him that Faye is finding it tough.  Tim alludes to Ray's involvement in Faye's discomfort and Gary observes that he is pretty sure that at some point Ray will see justice for his wrong-doing.  Ray might not have to wait until Gary is released as a white van pulls up alongside Ray and the side of the Rovers and two masked men leap out to make Ray's day (above).

Pretty pickled Peter picked a pitcher to drown his sorrows and stayed out all night.  Steve's superpower is his hearing as he can clearly hear a ringtone through the closed back door of Number One, across the yard, across the ginnel, through a back gate, in pickled Pete's pocket lying (above) on about six black bags of rubbish (I thought all Weatherfield rubbish [except Peter] had to go in bins?).  Apparently having been out all night at this time of year Peter only has mild hypothermia and Dr Gaddas soon has him up and about again.  Steve over-rules Ken and says he can stay - but no Peter needs some fresh air and cannot stand being cooped up in Number One, heavy coat on he heads out into the night. 

Most of the Street is looking to be rehoused.  Seb is joining Kev and Abi whilst Alina is moving in with Ty and Fiz and Evelyn and Cerberus and Hope and Faith Ruby; no I don't know where she will be sleeping either.  Fiz is not keen on the idea but Alina is not silly and prepares pamper packs for Fiz and the girls whilst there is an added ingredient in Evelyn's pack - alcohol.  Fiz has too big a heart to say no and Alina moves in.  No doubt much hilarity will ensue!  And Alina delivers Ty's lasagne from oven to table.

Meanwhile the Alahan family co-operative provided the light relief this evening.  Early on Asha admitted that creepy Corey was in the dumpster and Aadi applauded the decision whilst in front of Asha Dev was full of listening concern.  As soon as her back was turned to them, both Dev and Aadi stood and did a dance of joy; Dev was clearly not taken in by Corey's golfing abilities!  Aadi is relishing his new position as Deputy Dawg, sorry potential very junior assistant under-manager trainee in the Alahan empire where he is to undertake PDRs with Bernie and Cathy.  For our overseas readers PDR is not a Public Display of Relationship but is in fact a Personal Development Review where in the UK your manager explains how you could do your job better and which you then ignore because he or she does not have the first iota of a clue of what you do.  Dev later gets a message saying that it is all kicking off at the kebab shop (where I thought Chesney was actually the manager) so rushes there to find that Aadi has tomato ketchup, not blood, down his shirt and is being chased by Bernie the Broom out of the shop (above).  Apparently Aadi had found that they both knew the job better than he did and he was using their knowledge to train him in how to handle the late night drunks needing a kebab fix.  All enjoyed it, no harm done and Aadi even impressed Dev.  And a word from me - I was a little harsh on Adam Hussain when he took on the role.  Tonight the way that he, Jimmi Harkishin and Tanisha Gorey interacted and delivered was supreme.  Adam certainly made me feel that he was Dev's son and can learn his way into running the Alahan empire.  Tanisha Gorey has been given some meaty stories recently and I hope these two will be around and coming and going for some years.

And in an item which should really have been in Corrie Comicals - Tim.  That lump above his right eye looks pretty nasty to me and someone should send for Dr Gadass as she is the only doctor in the country who appears to be doing house calls at the moment (two this week alone).

PS Why did anyone think having Chris Whitty in an advertisement was actually a good idea?

Written by David Isaac and directed by Leon Lopez

If it is the same Leon Lopez then we welcome him as a former actor from both Brookside and EastEnders.  If not then he certainly got off to a great start tonight.

Kosmo

@Kosmo100

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

Coronation Street Episode Review Friday 1 January 2021

Welcome to 2021.  Happy New Year.  Much of tonight was the continuation of the Fay story after the closure on Thursday night where she admitted coshing Adam over the head in the Bistro because he looked like Ray.  I just don't buy it.  One is a slim, smug, Scottish guy with thick BLACK hair and the other isn't any of those.  Even in the power cut darkness telling them apart should not have been impossible - although Fay had had a drink - a smell Adam remembers and associated with Peter.  Never mind.  Much of the episode is taken up with Fay telling Gary and Maria about events including Ray seducing raping her at a hotel a couple of weeks ago (above).  It is then revealed that she hit him with an industry award which is now in her room at the Metcalfe's.  Gary tells her he will put everything right.

He collects the weapon and some clothes but his dodgy van fails to start and the ever present Craig suspects Gary is up to no good which gives him the power to stop him and search the rucksack.  Fay reckons she has made things worse but Maria advises her that Gary has been in far worse situations in the past and talked his way out of them and will do so again.  Craig identifies the "missing" award (above) and invites Gary to the police station to aid their enquiries.  Gary finds great solace in answering "no comment" to all questions even when forensics confirms that the blood on the award is indeed Adam's.  Gary is requested to explain but sticks with no comment - his alibi was moving Rick's body and I bet that somewhere he was on CCTV as he drove around that night!  The episode opened with the radio playing "I fought the law" and by the end of the episode the law was winning as Gary was formally arrested.

Roy is collecting signatures for his petition against the development.  He gets little help from Dev (or from Jenny who alleges that Johnny was doing it).  Dev however has been studying his bank account and has determined that with lots of new residents around the Street he will have more customers and therefore be able to improve his moolah position.  Surreally when Ray visits Dev to get him to help talk to the planning officer Asha announces him as "Donald Trump" - at least Ray has his own non-BLACK hair!  Tyrone overheard Dev talking up the development in the Bistro (although why he would have been there was never explained - I said it was surreal) and has Abi and Asha join him in a protest  boycott outside the corner shop (above).

At the start of the episode Sarah left Daniel's flat having spent the night and later on Adam and Sarah are happy that Gary has been arrested - so much so that like last night Adam is getting in two more bottles of red wine and invites Sarah to assist in the consumption thereof, together with other possibilities which will exist in greater frequency once he moves back into Redbank.

If only Fay and Ray had got together permanently - King Kong would forever have been in our thoughts.  Never mind we always have Debbie who has more sense in her little finger than Ray has been between both ears.  Dev and Ray do a wonderful job telling the planning officer that the entire area is screaming out for a complete redevelopment and rebuild to bring some proper prosperity to Weatherfield so that it is no longer the weak sister in the Manchestford (sorry gone a bit Acorn Antiques there - did you see the Victoria Wood programmes over the Christmas break - especially the skit on Corrie!) with shining skyscrapers everywhere you look.  Then he suggests to the planner that lunch is on him and perhaps he and his good lady wife might appreciate a little treat and a night using the spa and a room in one of his hotels.  Look at Debbie's face above and we can all see that she knows he has blown all the good work in seconds!

Steve (one son down but Oliver mentioned in every other word) and Tim (one father down - locked in a box he cannot escape) come together to deal with their losses.  Steve is going to carry on fund raising and thinks of doing a marathon but Amy talks him into doing the Three Peaks and together he and Tim end up starting to get fit in dinosaur outfits.  Is it me or didn't Steve and Lloyd do something similar a few years ago.  And Kev and Molly - and look what happened to them!

Carla fell into bed with another man, Peter fell off the wagon.  Is this deja vu all over again - more or less except this time Peter is probably not going to emerge the other end and has no reason to accept Carla's apologies.  Given that this must be about the tenth time this story has stalked the Street it is hard to actually want it played out all over again and indeed I thought that Chris Gascoigne had more or less stipulated that his character's story would not go down this road.  Needless to say Peter does not actually want in Carla in his life and nor does he want her to go - really.  He keeps telling her - but instead she makes a sandwich.  She retreats to Roy's Rolls and gives Roy an update - which includes Carla saying that she was fed up of the endless circles (above) [to which I can only add is that so do the viewers].  Carla knows that if Peter carks it then it her responsibility.

Roy has heard from the planning officer - he is not recommending approval and the protesters celebrate.  Ray - who claimed he was doing it for the community and not for the money is fuming - the committee can always over-rule the advice of the planning officer - and Ray makes it clear to Debbie that this is far from over if he can get the committee onside [bribes work wonders].

There was something about tonight that felt "Corrie".  I know the stories concerning Oliver and Geoff got stretched because of the virus and programming changes but apart from some undue haste it felt normal (well normal for 6 episodes a week) as if the time and space dimensional shift had gone, the stories were where they were planned to be and we were where TPTB wanted to be for the New Year.  There is still a sink hole hanging over the Street which I suspect was intended to have a larger role and I was rather glad that the Billy / Todd / Paul story was missing in action tonight.  I am worried about Leanne and hope someone will pop in and see her before too long.

Writer - Steven Fay.  Director - Duncan Foster

Kosmo

@Kosmo100

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