Coronation Street Blog: october 1997

Showing posts with label october 1997. Show all posts

Sunday, 28 February 2021

The Week In Classic Corrie

MONDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 27th and 29th October 1997

Liz was feeling her age as her 40th birthday loomed. Jim suggested that she come round to for dinner with him and the twins and they started talking about the old times. Of course they ended up kissing. Mike told Angie they'd got the deal with the pervy buyer so there was no need for her to leave Underworld. She stuck to her guns - though she was pleased he wanted her around. Les won on the horses, but couldn't find the slip. He realised he must have left it at Emily's and let himself in through the attic to retrieve it. However, Emily came back with Ken, and he pursued Les into the roof, only to end up falling through the ceiling into number 5 - and right on top of a snogging Leanne and Nicky. Les accused Ken of being a peeping tom and soon spread it round the neighbours, though Ken retaliated by telling everyone about his habit of letting himself in through the loft. Janice, meanwhile, disgusted that he'd scared her with all the talk about a ghost, claimed the winnings to repair the roof. Perhaps the most significant part of all this was we got our first gratuitous shot of Adam Rickitt shirtless. He was brought in to attract teenage girls and soon he'd find it difficult to wear a shirt onscreen at all. I'm therefore introducing a new recurring feature: the Nicky Tilsley Shirtless Count, or NTSC. Let's count it together!

TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 31st October and 2nd November 1997

Deirdre and Jon planned their new life together. They'd been looking at huge detached houses and she worried about where the money was going to come from. He said that he would pay the mortgage and all the bills and she wouldn't have to worry about it at all. Oh dear. Deirdre got a shock when she saw Liz and Jim kissing on the doorstep, but Fiona, watching from across the road, was thrilled, because it meant Jim would get off her back. Chris and Sally went out for dinner together and he admitted he found her attractive. He thought he should tell Kevin but she urged him to keep it a secret. Meanwhile Kev and Natalie were having much less fun, with him going out on a breakdown to avoid going to dinner with her and her friends. Elsewhere, Gail was horrified to learn Nicky and Leanne were still seeing one another, Alec and Jack decided to let Betty go from the Rovers, and Angie adjusted Fiona's wedding dress to accomodate her growing pregnancy belly. When Alan came home unexpectedly, Maxine refused to let him into the hairdresser flat because it was bad luck - making him react angrily, convinced that Fi was actually with another man. His fury frightened Maxine.

WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 3rd and 5th November 1997

Betty didn't turn up for work so they couldn't sack her. Alec wrote her a letter and got the Duckworths to co-sign it then stuck it through her letterbox. However, Betty called in, upset; Billy had died of a heart attack. Fortunately Alec managed to retrieve the letter before she saw it. He said they'd give her time to get over her loss... and then they'd sack her. Heart of flint, that man, and we love him for it. At the funeral, though, Vera told Betty she had a job at the Rovers for life (which turned out to be true). Deirdre gave Jon some money for their house deposit, only for him to say they'd lost the house. He said he'd keep the money in his account while they carried on looking, but his wife saw the deposit, and he had to pretend it was a bonus. Liz turned 40 and the boys gave her some cash; Steve joked about getting her a facelift but she said that wasn't her kind of thing. Ahem. She threw herself into her new relationship with Jim but he seemed less keen. Natalie invited Chris round to meet her niece Lorraine, but he stayed aloof because he had Sally on the go. Lorraine chucked herself at him though because apparently all the Horrocks women have very loose knicker elastic. Fiona and Alan had their hen and stag dos, with his policeman mates making racist comments about her brother Lee. Steve and Jim were both upset about her wedding, and Jim confessed that he'd slept with her. Steve was understandably nauseated. But the best news was Alf was back. In real life Brian Moseley had suffered a heart attack so he'd been out of the show for months. He'd lost a lot of weight (which Gail obliquely referred to in the episode - he claimed to be dieting), and he would be sickly for the remainder of his time on the programme, but it was good to see him and his trilby again.

THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 7th and 9th November 1997

Steve stormed into Fiona's and demanded to know if what his dad said was true. He couldn't believe it any more than the rest of us. He turned up at the church, making her worry he was going to make a scene, but it turned out she was fretting about the wrong McDonald. As they said their vows Jim drunkenly stormed down the aisle and demanded she tell him the truth. In the vestry, Fiona confessed to Alan about their night together. Alan was disgusted and confused and he announced that they wouldn't be marrying. His dad said he was best off out of it, not least because Fiona was black, and Alan turned on him, reminding him of his abusive childhood. (Incidentally, it's great the way the show is actually dealing with the issues around race in this way - it feels like something Corrie wouldn't do today). Alan arrived at the hairdresser flat as Maxine was telling Fiona she was better off without him. He said that he still loved her and they could still get married... but first they'd have a blood test and make sure it was his baby. He said if it turned out to be Jim's they'd get an abortion. Fiona was disturbed that he was so casual about getting rid of the child and said it was her child and her decision. He became angry and went to punch her - proving that he was a horrible person. He left, saying his dad was right - no kid of hers could ever be a kid of his. It was all very well done and acted and brilliant to watch.

FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 10th and 12th November 1997

Fred was desperate to get his hands on the Corner Shop. He'd sent in a mate to put in a ridiculous offer so that his bid of eight grand under the asking price would seem attractive. Maud was still unconvinced. When the estate agents sent round another viewer Fred managed to get in there and put him off, so Maud decided to sell it to him. Fred should've been keeping an eye on the vacant number 4, because Leanne and Nicky realised it was unlocked and decided to use it for illicit rendezvous. Alan collected his stuff from the flat and handed over his keys. On his way out he bumped into Liz, who was frustrated that nobody would tell her why Jim interrupted the wedding, and he told her that Fiona was having Jim's baby. She went to Jim and he confessed that he loved Fiona; Liz was incredibly hurt, unsurprisingly. She announced what he'd done to everyone in the Rovers. Andy was embarrassed by her breakdown, and by his dad, and by generally everyone in his family. He apologised to Fiona on their behalf then packed his bags; he was off to Spain forever. And there went another couple of Brian Park's victims, part of his plan to cull the dead wood in the cast. Don't feel too sorry for them. Glenn Hugill (Alan) went on to be a producer and the voice of the Banker on Deal or No Deal, which made him a millionaire, while Nick Cochrane would continue to nip back whenever Steve or Liz got married again.

As I was writing this the news came through that Johnny Briggs, who played Mike Baldwin for thirty years, had passed away. Mike was a legend of the Street, a bastard and a rogue, but always full of sparkle and charm. He could be a villain and a hero and every degree inbetween. Luckily we've still got another decade of him on Classic Corrie to enjoy. Join me on Twitter @merseytart to raise a glass of single malt to his memory.

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

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

Sunday, 21 February 2021

The Week In Classic Corrie

MONDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 10th and 12th October 1997

Mike dealt with the ramifications of Don's death with customary cold-heartedness, complaining that he had to fill in the insurance forms for Alma's destroyed car ("Cause of accident - madman tried to murder me"). The Battersbys were curious about their former resident, and Janice was worried when she heard about the Ghost of Ivy Tilsley (a plotline from 1996 that I really, really didn't need to see revisited). Meanwhile other residents were experiencing strange goings-on - Percy found his medals pinned on his pyjamas, and Emily found a porn magazine in Ken's front room. It turned out Les was using the interconnecting attics to nip into everyone else's house and have a poke around. Ken told Deirdre about Jon working at the tie shop and went to the airport to see for herself. He said he actually was a pilot, but could no longer fly, and was embarrassed to tell anyone. Deirdre felt sorry for him, the fool, but he decided to "do the honourable thing" and leave her. Maureen decided to sell the shop and gave Fred first refusal, but he didn't see why he should give her anything. And Mavis waved goodbye to the Street, promising to keep in touch. She was an all time great character and it's a shame to see her go; it's even more of a shame they killed off Derek six months before for no reason whatsoever. The two of them going off to Cumbria together would've been a lovely way for it to end.

TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 13th and 15th October 1997

Janice was panicking about the Ghost of Ivy Tilsley and her charming family decided to wind her up. Les smashed a mirror and told her it was done by the evil presence, while Leanne and Toyah tried to contact the beyond with a ouija board. Should've broken out the feathers Lee, that's the easiest way to talk to the dead apparently. Roy ended up leading a group of the residents round to number 1 because he knew all about the paranormal and he investigated whether it was a poltergeist. Rita offered the assistant job in the Kabin to Judy Mallett, letting her stick Katie in the back while she served. Gary was less impressed to learn that people still thought he was a bit of a scumbag for getting Zoe pregnant. Deirdre turned up at the airport and agreed to give Jon a second chance. She suggested they tell the neighbours he'd only just failed his physical to spare her some of the humiliation. Oh, honestly Deirdre, you had a perfect get-out there. Maybe you deserved to go to prison. Don's funeral took place and Martin, Gail and Ashley were in attendance. There was a surprise mourner too - Nicky Tilsley. Except of course, this is the all new Nicky Tilsley, a foot taller, with dangly curtains that looked really annoying, because now he's played by Adam Rickitt. "Oh you've filled out," said Gail as she hugged him, no doubt realising that now Nicky's got bigger boobs than her. (No, really, check out his appalling music video for proof).

WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 17th and 19th October 1997

Ken told Jon that he thought he was a scumbag, but for Deirdre's sake he'd go along with the pretence that he was a recently-sacked pilot. He told Emily he must've been mistaken when he saw him in the tie shop. Roy set a trap to monitor for psychic activity; he set up sand trays in the houses so that intruders would leave footprints. Les avoided them easily and even blew circles in the traps with a hand fan to take the mickey. He turned off Emily's water, but the hassle proved to be the final straw for Percy. He announced at Emily's birthday party that her drinking and playing tricks on him was too much and he was going to move into Mayfield Court. In romantic news, Angie dumped Chris, because she realised they had nothing in common rather than pure sexual charisma, and Leanne and Nicky spotted one another for the first time and there were sparks. Gail was horrified when he took her out for the evening, a storyline that is destined to be repeated for the next twenty odd years.

THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 20th and 22nd October 1997

Percy took his leave from the Street, saying a polite goodbye to Emily. She found herself strangely sad to say goodbye. Personally I'm glad to see him go; since Phyllis left he'd been wandering around with nothing to do, and it's clear that Bill Waddington was finding the work difficult. Angie was having a tough time of it, with a lecherous client smarming all over her and Des and Samantha acting all loved-up around number 6. She got drunk at Curly's and suggested that she swapped houses with Sam. The next morning she was horrified to find herself back in the same situation she'd been in years before, and started looking for flats. Jon told Deirdre he had to go to Birmingham on business, but the truth was by "Birmingham" he meant "his house" and by "on business" he meant "going to stay with his real-life actual wife". Nicky started studying to be a PE teacher at the local college and Leanne joined up with him to study hairdressing. She immediately tried to get him to bunk off but he said he was serious about PE as a career, as you'll know from the fact that twenty years later he's organising the football teams at Wethy High. He did however nip over to Leanne's for a session of heavy petting and when Martin tried to fetch him back Nicky declared he was a grown man now and he could whistle.

FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 24th and 26th October 1997

Rita was not enjoying working with Judy - or rather, she wasn't enjoying working with a stinky screaming baby. When Gary told her she fancied working at the Kabin full time Rita took the opportunity to say it wasn't working out and sacked her. Angie met with George Dixon and he made it clear that if Underworld wanted the contract, she'd have to sleep with him. She rightly told him to get stuffed but Mike was furious. He said that business comes first, and she should've done whatever was necessary to get the deal. He demanded she apologised and Angie told him that she didn't get into the company to be molested by old perverts and she decided to end their partnership. Emily was still foxed by her mysterious intruder and thought it might be Curly using his old key. Les got caught in number three when she came home with Rita for tea and he had to hide under the table while they gossipped. Sally had to nip out briefly and left the door on the latch. However, Rosie locked the door behind her, and Chris was forced to knock the door down to get back in. She cried on his shoulder and obviously they ended up in bed together. The next day she told him it was a mistake and asked him to forget all about it - but there were still some lingering looks.

Bill Waddington reportedly left the show because he thought it was all getting too racy. I can't help but agree. Does this make me the new Percy? My curmudgeonly thoughts can be found on Twitter @merseytart.

Classic Corrie is on ITV3 weekdays afternoons and is also on the ITV Hub.

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

Sunday, 14 February 2021

The Week In Classic Corrie

MONDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 22nd and 24th September 1997

It was the social event of the year as Fred and Maureen were married at the registry office. He surprised her with a barbershop quartet playing If You Were The Only Girl In The World and a new home: 4 Coronation Street. She was thrilled until he started interfering in her life, telling her there was no room for Maud in their new house and she'd have to kick her ex Bill out of the shop flat. The reception was rather overshadowed by Natalie confronting Sally about flooding her house. Sal happily admitted to it, calling her a tart, and the two of them ended up brawling in the street like a couple of fishwives. Sadly Natalie didn't end up cracking her head open on the cobbles. She reported Sally to the police for the flood but they realised it was a domestic and did nothing. Steve took Alan's assault to heart and decided to leave Weatherfield. It prompted Jim to go to Fiona and tell her that his vasectomy had failed and so her baby could be his after all. She was nauseated, but after letting her stew for a bit, Jim admitted he'd lied. Fiona was rightly livid and told him she was leaving with Alan to get away from his awful family.

TUESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 26th and 28th September 1997

Martin had a chat with one of his fellow nurses - a young Beth Tinker - and she told him a patient had asked to see him specifically. He was surprised to discover it was Don Brennan, claiming to be on his deathbed and under police guard. Gail went to see him and he asked her to send Alma to the hospital so he could beg forgiveness. Bill was kicked out of the shop flat by Fred, much to Maureen's irritation. She tried to get him to change his mind but Bill was keen to get the hell away from Weatherfield, not least because Natalie was suing Sally for the damage to her home. He was disgusted with Kevin for letting her get away with it and told him so in the Rovers in front of the pub. Maud decided to move into Mayfield Court, saying that she knew when she wasn't wanted, and leaving Maureen wondering about her marriage to Fred. Mavis and Rita went to stay in their guest house in the lakes. Mavis was thrilled by all of it though Rita had her doubts. And Emily worried that Percy had dementia, because he seemed distracted and confused - though his confusion was mainly because his fairy cakes were vanishing.

WEDNESDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 29th September and 1st October 1997

Remember when Bet needed money to buy the Rovers, and Rita agreed to help her out, then changed her mind at the last minute and left her friend in the lurch? Or when Jack needed money to buy the Rovers, and Rita agreed to help him out, then changed her mind at the last minute and left her friend in the lurch? Well, Rita had enough of the country life and decided to pull out of buying the bed and breakfast with Mavis. It didn't help that the previous owner thought that they were a lesbian couple. Fortunately our Mave has a core of steel and she decided she'd move out there anyway and stuff her disloyal friend. Bill decided to leave for Germany, taking time to lay into Natalie for being a trollop on his way out the door. Maureen realised how much she cared for him and how little she cared for Fred. Bill's lecture did make Natalie reconsider her lawsuit and she went into the factory and told Sally she'd overreacted. (Incidentally it's weird seeing how good pals Sal is with Janice Battersby in this era of Corrie). Gail and Martin told Alma about Don and she agreed to visit him in hospital. He asked for her forgiveness and she gave it to him. It helped her feel better about her future. Unfortunately, things were about to take a nasty turn. Don's guard nipped out for a fag and he took the opportunity to do a runner. He was soon loitering in Firman's, taking a souvenir poster of Alma down off the wall and stroking it creepily...

THURSDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 3rd and 5th October 1997

Maureen moved Maud into Mayfield Court, sobbing both at losing her mother and her terrible marriage. Maud told her she needed to make herself happy for once and go to Germany with Bill. She was torn, then decided to take a chance and jumped into the taxi with Bill and disappeared. (Bill will return as a permanent character a decade later, with Maureen making a cameo to break up with him once she discovered he was sleeping with Audrey behind her back). Fred was left upset and alone. Percy began to suspect that Emily was the one who was senile, and when he discovered an empty vodka bottle, he worried she was an alcoholic as well. Don continued to be the least discreet escaped criminal on earth, taking Sarah-Lou out for chips and poking around in the back yard of number 5. He went to the butcher's and Ashley explained that his house had been repossessed and sold on. Don said he'd rather die than go back into prison. Mavis and Rita sniped at one another, with Reet implying that Mave would be a hopeless businesswoman and was buying the B&B just to prove her wrong. She asked Des to have a word with her, but Mavis soon saw through him and explained that she wanted a challenge and a new life. He ended up wishing her luck. And Ken went to the airport for another pick up and spotted Jon in the tie shop - serving customers. He got a whacking great dramatic close up as he realised that Jon was a massive liar.

FRIDAY - Episodes originally broadcast 6th and 8th October 1997

Emily went to the cemetery to visit Ernest's grave (which featured a surprisingly funky font) and when she looked to the side she spotted Don, visiting Ivy's grave. She tried to help him but he fled. Upset, she had a brandy with Ken to calm her nerves, and he told her that Jon wasn't a pilot after all. Emily urged him to tell Deirdre the truth. Meanwhile Don went on to Weatherfield Quays, and Alma spotted him out the window. She phoned the police but he'd already fled. Mike demanded round the clock protection for her, and when that wasn't forthcoming, he insisted she go somewhere public to stay safe. The Kabin continued to be a fractious atmosphere as Mavis worried about the arrangements for her farewell party. Rita became exasperated, and the bickering continued throughout the party, making the rest of the guests feel awkward. However, Betty produced her farewell gift - a framed picture of Mavis and Emily in the Kabin together in the Seventies - and the two old friends became emotional and made up. Mike stayed after work to receive a package, but it turned out there wasn't a delivery at all - it was Don Brennan.

Don smacked Mike round the head and held him captive, blaming him for ruining his life, and saying he was going to kill him as revenge. However, Angie interrupted before he could deliver the coup de grâce, smacking him about with her portfolio (she continues to be the absolute best at all times), and Don fled. He grabbed Alma's sports car and tried to run Mike over. Mike jumped to safety and the car smashed into the viaduct, exploding in a ball of flame and killing Don. (The smear of smoke from the devastation would remain on the set for over a decade, until the bistro was built). If you didn't know that Corrie had changed in 1997, there was your proof; from now on, vehicular violence, attempted murder and gratuitous explosions will be a lot more common.

The changes keep coming next week as we lose not one, but two of the all-time great Corrie characters, while another figure returns with a new head. And abs. Lots and lots of abs. Let me know what you think of the all-new Coronation Street on Twitter @merseytart.

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