Coronation Street Blog: february 1998

Showing posts with label february 1998. Show all posts

Sunday, 18 April 2021

The Week In Classic Corrie

MONDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 25th and 27th February 1998

Curly had been pressganged into giving a speech to the Weatherfield Area Retail Traders (WARTs) on the theme of retail and the environment. He obviously knew nothing about this topic, complaining in a very 2021 fashion that people wanted shops to use less plastic, so he got Spider to write the speech for him. He wrote a tirade against consumerism raping the planet, and when Fred interrupted in disgust, Curly turned it around to pretend that he was giving a salutary lesson in what retailers were up against. As revenge, Spider launched a protest against Norwegian prawns because of fishing's impact on the whales. Samantha packed Des off to London for a business trip, secretly pleased to get some time to herself. Chris dropped by and they shared a drink and... well, you know what happened next. Fiona's mum went to see Alan to tell him about the baby, but he wanted nothing to do with it, and Fiona was left furious at her interference. Worse, she seemed to think Fiona sort of deserved to be treated badly by Alan so she asked her to leave. She cried on Steve's shoulder and he was supportive. And Roy had a romantic meal with Hayley at the cafe, culminating in a kiss. However, Hayley stopped things from going any further and told Roy that she was trans. I feel it should be noted for the record that Roy was wearing a cravat throughout.

TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 1st and 2nd March 1998

In 2021, Corrie can pat itself on the back for introducing the first trans soap character. Watching the episodes as they played out though, it's hard not to feel that Hayley was introduced as a gag - "Roy finally gets a girlfriend, and she's a bloke!" It's the tender performances of Julie Hesmondhalgh and David Neilson that strip it of any nasty overtones. Poor Roy was confused by Hayley's revelations and asked her to leave him alone. Samantha told Chris that their one night stand was just a casual fling, but she still wanted to have her cake and eat it, dropping by in the hope of some how's your father and being disappointed when he didn't put out. Spider continued his protest at Firman's, playing whale song in an attempt to get them to stop selling Norwegian prawns. Toyah and Emily joined in, though when Toyah suggested more aggressive protesting, he suggested she was immature. Deirdre returned from Blanche's ahead of her trial and Mike invited her to stay at the Baldwin's. She tried to earn her keep by tidying up and cooking tea but Alma felt put out. Ken tried to get her to move back to number 1 but she was still angry he didn't believe her story.

WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 4th and 6th March 1998

Curly decided to remove the prawns from sale and Spider celebrated his victory. However Eric Firman insisted they were put back. Spider felt betrayed and resumed his protest, with Toyah taking it too far and spraying the prawns with antifreeze. Deirdre went to see her barrister but he wasn't positive, and with Jon still missing, she couldn't see much hope. She took out some pills and thought about ending it all but Mike interrupted. She decided to push on but then received a surprise visitor: Jon. Steve dumped Rachel because he realised he was still in love with Fiona. He told her but she was afraid he'd ruin her life again. However, she confessed to her mum Pam that there was a part of her that wanted him back. Elsewhere Hayley told Alma about her past, and Alma was lovely about it because she's great, and Chris and Samantha continued their dirty affair.

THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 8th and 9th March 1998

Jon tried to persuade Deirdre to run away with him to Venezuela. He said he'd only committed the crimes because he loved her and wanted to treat her. She managed to call the police and stalled him long enough for them to arrive. She thought that would be the end of it, but Jon told the authorities that the whole scheme was her idea, and that she'd forced him to pretend to be a pilot to impress her mates. Chris babysat the girls while Kevin and Sally went out with Des and Samantha. However, Kevin was still simmering with jealousy over Sally's past with Chris, and refused to let them be alone together. He realised that Chris was actually having an affair with Samantha and told a shocked Sally. Curly discovered the ruined prawns and called in the police. Curly questioned Toyah, but Emily provided an alibi for her - not realising she was guilty as sin. Pam went to Steve and told him about Fiona's real feelings. They decided to give their relationship another try.

FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 11th and 13th March 1998

Ken was called to the police station. Jon had told them that he'd lied for Deirdre, and he had to confess it was true. The police told Ken they'd need him to be a prosecution witness, which left Deirdre distraught. Mike gave her Alma's passport and some money and suggested she flee the country and she actually started to consider it. Mike also had one of his trademark fights with Ken in the Rovers. Sally told Chris she was disappointed in him for having his mucky affair, which upset Kevin; he didn't know why she cared. He told Des what was going on behind his back but Des thought he was lying to punish Chris. Toyah tried to organise a romantic night in at number 3 but it was interrupted by another of Spider's eco friends - Log. Both Toyah and Emily were shocked when they started snogging. And Roy realised he needed Hayley back in his life, even if it was just as a friend, so he wrote down his feelings for her and read them out in the car park by Freshco's. Bless.

Never mind Nuremberg or OJ Simpson; next week we'll get the greatest trial of the 21st Century when Deirdre is put in the dock. Join me on Twitter @merseytart with some popcorn.

Classic Corrie is on ITV3 every weekday afternoon and is also on the ITV Hub.

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

Monday, 12 April 2021

The Week In Classic Corrie

MONDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 4th and 6th February 1998

Leanne started work at the Kabin, with Rita laying down the law. She was sweetly nervous at dealing with the mighty Mrs Fairclough, even offering to pay for her morning cup of tea, and Rita seemed charmed. At the Red Rec, Les tripped over one of the concrete bases for the fences and let out a dramatic scream. He insisted on going to hospital where Martin caught him kicking the vending machine. He told Les he was a scrounger so when he returned home he told Leanne she couldn't have anything more to do with the Platts. Les then walked round with a cane and used it to smack Martin in the Rovers. Gail and Martin returned home and found Leanne and Nicky in flagrante. (They passed up the opportunity to have him shirtless, for the first and last time in the show's history). In the subsequent row, Nicky admitted that they were married. Samantha was still finding Des's undying love incredibly annoying and admitted to Natalie that she didn't want to marry him. She didn't want to hurt him by ending it though so she went to see Ritchie to ask him to cancel the divorce. Coward.

TUESDAY MORNING - Episodes originally broadcast 8th and 9th February 1998

The Platts were horrified to discover they had a new daughter-in-law. Martin told Nicky he was throwing his life away while Gail thought he did it purely out of spite. They went over the road and shared the news with the Battersbys, upsetting Janice but amusing Les, who was glad it would wind up the Platts. With nowhere else to go, they ended up at Ashley's - number 4 is now basically a halfway house. Mavis would be so upset. Steve talked to Fiona and she told him she no longer cared about Jim ruining her life, and maybe he should forgive him too. He went to the Rovers and shared a pint with his Dad. However, Maxine was about the throw a spanner in the works. She went out clubbing and to impress a bloke she told him Hair by Fiona Middleton belonged to her. Unfortunately the bloke's name was also Jim, so when he did a dedication on the radio to "Fiona Middleton," Steve assumed it was his father and was angry. Samantha went down to London and explained to Ritchie that she wanted him to cancel the divorce. He found her duplicity amusing, and suggested they try again, but refused to promise to do what she wanted. Later that day though he called Des and told him the divorce was off. Alma decided to set up Hayley with Curly as a way of getting her off her back. She organised a dinner party (which Mike refused to attend because he's a twat; this is not a criticism) but when a drunken Audrey told him the real purpose of the evening he fled - leaving Hayley to chat to one of the other guests: Mr Royston Cropper. They ended up sharing a taxi and went for a drink in the Rovers together, both wearing their iconic raincoats, and unsurprisingly they got on like a house on fire.

(Incidentally, not only did ITV3 muck up the scheduling over Easter by sticking episodes on at 6am when nobody was watching, they even left the old Cadbury's sponsorship stings on the end of one of the episodes!).

TUESDAY AFTERNOON - Episodes originally broadcast 11th and 13th February 1998

Steve angrily confronted Jim about the radio message, but he naturally had no idea what he was talking about. Jim went to the hairdresser's to find out what was going on but Steve followed and the two of them ended up brawling. Fiona had to explain the truth. Gail was still distraught about Nicky and Leanne getting married and took out her anger on Roy when he admitted he'd heard them discussing the idea. (According to Corriepedia Gail called him retarded, but happily this was cut). Les and Janice were far happier and organised a party for the newlyweds. Naturally Les got blind drunk and embarrassed everyone with a terrible speech. Roy and Hayley went out for dinner together, bonding over their lack of romantic experience, then took refreshments to the protesters at the Red Rec. Unfortunately one of the tunnels collapsed underneath them, ruining Spider's protest. Des went to London to talk to Ritchie, and Samantha phoned ahead and left a message on his answering machine asking him not to reveal the truth. Des went in with all guns blazing and Ritchie found it amusing. He played the answerphone message to Des and he barrelled back to Manchester to confront her with the truth.

WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 15th and 16th February 1998

Zoe was hungover after the Battersby's party and Ashley laid into her for being irresponsible. It got worse when he realised she'd applied for Housing Benefit, claiming she was his tenant. Des told Samantha he couldn't trust her any more, what with her being a lying liar who lies, so she moved in with Natalie. She begged him to take her back but he refused. At the Red Rec, Roy was delighted to discover a mosaic floor in one of the tunnels. It seemed there were Roman relics under the park - perhaps a bathhouse - but the council ordered the bulldozers in anyway. Emily jumped in front of them while Roy got a historian to confirm the relics were genuine. Alf called off the development. Steve went to see Fiona in the salon to apologise and she began to get twinges. Maud told her it was nothing to worry about, but she panicked, and Steve drove her to the hospital. She was giving birth five weeks early and, terrified, she asked Steve to stay with her.

THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 18th and 20th February 1998

Fred was shocked to see Leanne in nothing but a t-shirt on the doorstep of number for and Toyah (or "Toyota", as Fred called her) confirmed that she'd moved in. Zoe was thrilled because it meant more money coming in and it'd also liven things up, because she was finding sensible Ashley really dull. Fred became convinced Ashley was running two women at once but was relieved to hear the Tilsleys were just tenants. He presented Leanne with a rent book. Des went to Natalie's to see Samantha but she was out. He talked it over with Natalie, and there was a frisson of electricity between them, but she pushed him away. Samantha met up with Ritchie in the back room of the Rovers, and Des caught them together. She told him there was nothing between them but Des still told her to get lost. Fiona gave birth to Emma's big brother Morgan with Steve in attendance. (Maxine was not impressed with that name, which is a bit rich from someone called Maxine). He enjoyed seeing her but her mum - CITV's T-Bag - told Fiona not to let him take advantage of her emotional state. With the Red Rec safe Spider announced he was off to Kent to protest a road building scheme in Kent. Toyah and Emily were both sad to see him go, but then he got a job helping with the dig so decided to stick around. I was mainly concerned about poor Em who'd clearly picked up a rotten cold in the protest and had a terribly croaky voice.

FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 22nd and 23rd February 1998

Gail nipped round to number 4 and found Nicky left stranded with baby Shannon. He was absolutely useless with her - despite his two younger siblings - but Gail helped him out and then asked him round to a special tea. Leanne gatecrashed the meal, which put her nose out of joint, but she did her best to be polite. (At dinner, Sarah-Lou asked Leanne if she was going to have a baby; according to Martin she was "baby crazy", which certainly explains what's going to happen in a couple of years time). Steve continued to visit Fiona at the hospital but she was a wreck of hormones and she confessed she was scared of her future as a single mother. Fiona's mum, however, was unimpressed, and warned him off. Steve had already come to the conclusion that he wasn't mature enough to be stepdad to Morgan and she should find a proper bloke. He decided to scatter illegitimate children all over Weatherfield instead. Samantha decided to move to London and start again. Natalie told Des what was happening and he rushed to Piccadilly to stop her - but there was no sign. It turned out she'd changed her mind and met him on the Street, and he asked her to move back in with him. She's a very attractive girl but I really do think she's more trouble than she's worth.

I miss the chocolate people. Tell me they're not better than the Argos rubbish on Twitter @merseytart.

Classic Corrie is on ITV3 every weekday afternoon and is also on the ITV Hub.

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

Monday, 5 April 2021

The Week In Classic Corrie

MONDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 21st and 23rd January 1998

Deirdre attended court for her bail hearing. She was forced to hand over her passport, because the prosecution thought she might try to flee the country, and Mike put up the bail, but she was still traumatised by the whole experience. Her boss at Sunliners suggested she stop working until her trial went through and she realised she was a liability. The protest continued at the Red Rec with Les increasingly frustrated that he was expected to stay all night. He took matters into his own hands and tried to chop down one of the trees himself but the protesters took to the branches - with even Emily nipping up there. She ended up as the poster girl for the protests, even appearing on Granada Reports. The staircase at the Rovers was rotten so Gary and Jim took it out to replace it. They put in a ladder to get upstairs but Vera was scared of heights and had to sleep on the couch - much to Jack's delight. Zoe realised that as Ashley was Fred's tenant, they had rights, and he couldn't kick them out. He reluctantly agreed to continue renting number 4 to them. Des went to That London without telling Samantha. He asked Ritchie to give her a divorce so they could get married. Ritchie agreed, but told Des that he'd be better off getting away from Samantha - she was self-centred and cold.

TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 25th and 26th January 1998

Alec returned from visiting Vicky in Switzerland to discover the wreck of a staircase in the Rovers. He was horrified that they were doing building work without his permission, and refused to contribute towards the costs, pointing out that the stairs went upstairs to the pub flat which the Duckworths lived in and which had nothing to do with the business. It meant that Jack and Vera didn't have the cash to pay Jim in full. In romance news, Nicky and Leanne got a letter confirming their wedding in Scotland, while Des presented Sam with an engagement ring in the pub. She was underwhelmed and asked Des to slow things down. Gary went and saw Judy's boss at the arcade and got her job back. She was scared because of course she'd slept with him for money, but when he agreed to never mention it again, Judy returned to work. Frankie the solicitor interrogated Deirdre about her story and her relationship with Jon and, when it was all laid out in front of her, Deirdre saw how preposterous it sounded. She realised a jury would think she was either incredibly thick or in on the deception from the start. Ken, meanwhile, confessed to Alma that he didn't think she was as innocent as she made out. Alma had other things on her mind though as she made her mind up to befriend Curly's wet and unpopular secretary - Miss Hayley Patterson.

WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 28th and 30th January 1998

With no payment forthcoming for the Rovers job, Gary and Jim took action: they repossessed the staircase. Unfortunately Jack and Vera were upstairs at the time and were left stranded. Jack managed to get down, but Vera was scared of heights and stayed up there. He was soon enjoying himself downstairs without her and made no rush to rescue her. Vera ended up calling the Fire Brigade to get them to rescue her. She gave Jim a cheque and the stairs were restored. Nicky and Leanne told Gail they were off to Leeds for a basketball tournament (Gail was horrified at him crossing the Pennines, incidentally, and fussed over him travelling so far - this is a boy who lived in Canada for a year) but they were actually headed for Scotland to get married. Leanne wore a stolen wedding dress and they dragged in some strangers as witnesses and that was the first time she became Mrs Tilsley. "May you have a long and happy life together," said the Registrar, not knowing the half of it. (Nicky Tilsley Shirtless Count: 4). They agreed not to say anything to anyone when they got back to Weatherfield. Alma was finding Hayley's attentions a bit tiresome, as she bought her a tacky ornament and turned up in the Rovers, but she realised Hayley had no other friends. When she turned up in the cafe at lunchtime Audrey bluntly told her they wanted a private chat and she scurried away. Alma felt so guilty she invited Hayley over to her flat for drinks. Ken admitted to Deirdre that he couldn't believe she'd not known anything about Jon's antics. She told him she couldn't stay under his roof if he didn't believe her and went to stay with Blanche. Pretty sure that violated her bail conditions but there you go.

THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 1st and 2nd February 1998

Much like her one true love Roy, early Hayley is, well, creepy. She went round for a drink with the Baldwins and presented her with a drawing she'd done of Alma. It caused Alma to rethink getting close to her, but then Curly asked her to help break the news that Hayley's dad had died, so she stayed caught up in it. Gloriously, Mike made no secret of how much he hated her throughout, because he's a brilliant bastard. Nicky and Leanne kept their marriage under wraps though Leanne was chomping at the bit to tell everyone. Nicky chickened out when he realised how much Gail hated her and suggested that they get a place together - so she'd have to find a job. Leanne went for Mavis's old job at the Kabin but Rita flat out refused to employ a Battersby, but their story of star cross'd lovers melted her heart a bit and she agreed to take her on. Jim and Gary went for a job at a building site but the foreman was Steve and he wanted nothing to do with them. Gary urged Jim to make things up with his son. And there was a load of interminable nonsense about Samantha getting cold feet and trying to leave Des only for him to persuade her to stay. She's a very odd character who's almost wilfully inconsistent so I kind of wish she had gone.

There wasn't any Classic Corrie on Friday, because it was Good Friday. However, there were two new more episodes on Easter Monday, only they were on at 6am and not repeated in the afternoon. And weirdly, the next two episodes will be Tuesday from 6am and then two more in the afternoon - meaning there are four episodes on Tuesday! You might want to go to the ITV Hub unless you're dedicated enough to get up first thing in the morning. The author is writing to Ofcom to complain about this terrible scheduling; join his petition on Twitter @merseytart.