Coronation Street

[Red Ranger 1]

I was shocked to hear Betty Driver had died as well, I didn't know anything about it until the caption came up on Monday.I knew she was in her 90s and had been off screen for a while but she seemed like someone who'd always been there(certainly she'd been on the show since before I was born)and always would be.Given that they still talk as though she's around, it'll be interesting to see how they handle it.

I don't really blame Sally, Becky and Eileen for taking jobs with Frank, they've got bills to pay and families to feed.Sally trying to poach Carla's workforce is, perhaps, a bit harder to defend.I found the whole storyline with Eileen and Paul quite interesting, it's a difficult situation, and I'm surprised it seems to be over already.Whilst I'm not keen on Jeff, I have been a bit annoyed at Rosie and Sophie's attitude towards him lately.I was surprised Sally believed Rosie's trick so readily and also at how quick Jeff was to forgive her.Wonder if Rosie will still have a job.The scene of Eileen's front room descending into bedlam was funny and very well staged.

The friendship between Sophie and Amber is rather curious.I wasn't keen on Amber spiking her drink but, despite a lot of publicity claiming Amber's bisexual, I haven't really seen any sign of that and she just seemed to kiss Sophie for a laugh.Given that Sophie's seemed more into the relationship with Sian than vice versa, it's surprising that Sian seems to be the one being pushed out, at first it looked like it was gonna be the other way round.

Oh-and John Stape's back.Given his survival that seemed inevitable and hopefully it means the truth will come out.

[alexx]

Oh thats sad that the actress who played Betty has died. I was actually looking forward to seeing her in the show again and wondering when she would reappear. I remember that scene between her and Jack a few episodes before he died, when I was first introduced to the show - she impressed me as being very natural on screen and my attention was always drawn to her when she was in a scene, even if she was just in the background.

[Red Ranger 1]

Well, John's plan was as dumb as you'd expect, his grip on reality went flying out the window a long time ago.At least he had the sense to give a proper statement to the police when it was clear it wouldn't make a difference to him either way and we can be certain he's dead this time.Hopefully it will be believed.I was actually pretty impressed with Rosie in the aftermath, giving a balanced account of things and actually seeming worried about Fiz, in contrast with more aggression from Kevin and Sally insisting on thinking the worst.Sophie's "He doesn't mean it" when Jason mentioned carrying a weapon in front of the police made me smile.

And the court case:Jaye Griffiths as the defence barrister!There's always someone.As often, I felt some of the witnesses and lines of questioning would have been cut short a lot earlier;particularly the testimony from the solicitor, where the prosecutor seemed to be leading him and inviting him to speculate.Glad Rita had a go at Norris and Mary, shame Julie was cut off when having a go at Mary later on.The way it was set up, I had a feeling Fiz would be found guilty of one of the murders and cleared of the rest.Guess it makes sense it would be Colin, there was nothing to tie her to the others but she hid his body, her DNA was found near the wound and she claimed his inheritance.

Sophie basically proposing to Sian out of guilt isn't the best idea and I can understand Kevin and Sally thinking she's too young to get married.(Sally banning Kevin from the house didn't last long, he's there practically ever episode.)It seemed to be prompted by Sunita's advice, which probably wasn't her intention.

Really not liking the way the Chris storyline is going, Cheryl seems to be getting more and more taken in by him and even Lloyd seems not to realise how manipulative he's being.I think they're probably going to break up whatever happens.

[Slade]

I really liked the final moments of all the John Stape stuff and was glad that Fiz forgave him. I honestly don't believe he meant to kill or hurt anyone but unfortunately his selfishness ultimately led to his downfall.

I'm glad the pretence about Chris pretending to be terminally ill with cancer even though he was in remission came out. I felt really sorry for Lloyd. It must have been hard for him to not take Cheryl back considering that he was prepared to forgive her initially when he found out about her cheating on him. I have to admit if I was in his position I probably would have given her another chance but let's face it she was in love with Chris and the only reason she went back to Lloyd was because Chris wasn't the person who she thought he was and she wanted the stability again.

I'd completely forgotten about David and Kylie. I was kind of used to them not being in it and can't say that I'm particularly happy to see them. It's been a while since they've last been on screen so I can't remember what the relationship was like with Kylie and Gail but they seemed to be getting on quite well yesterday and Gail was genuinely over the moon at the prospect of Max coming to live with them.

I know Ciaran did the wrong thing gambling the money for his wedding on a game of poker but when he stayed up all night preparing food for that birthday do and roped Tina into helping him, I was really rooting for him to succeed and I found it most amusing, especially the way he was trying to hide from Audrey. Nick had every right to get annoyed with him as it was his business but I still found myself shaking my head. Let's not forget this is a man who was prepared to get a recovering alcoholic back on the wagon just so he could sleep with his wife. Nice bloke! Shame about Ciaran and Michelle now though.

[Red Ranger 1]

Glad Fiz was released, wasn't too happy about Sally's attitude towards her and I'm glad Rosie and Sophie told her she was out of line.I liked that Rita had a few quiet words with her and she realised she was wrong and helped Fiz get a job.

Glad Chris' lies were exposed and that Lloyd didn't take Cheryl back afterwards, even if it does mean, as Lloyd said, "Everybody loses."The multiple exits that resulted did seem a bit rushed, we only get about half a scene of Russ reacting to Chris' lies before he and Cheryl bundle into the back of a taxi then next episode Chris did the seem.I really wasn't happy with the way everyone treated Lloyd in the Rovers(especially Rita, who I thought was better than that)and I'm glad Leanne put them straight.Nice that they managed to have Lloyd and Becky consoling each other without the obvious happening.Loved Becky's rant at Steve when he tried to tell her how to spend the divorce settlement as well.

I'm not too happy to see David and Kylie at the forefront of the show again either.I was hoping they wouldn't get Max but I can't see them losing him now, even though both of them seem pretty rubbish at looking after him.And David's already started a feud with Owen, which does basically get filed under "Pray it goes the distance."My opinion on Nick and Eva's budgeoning romance veers between "Aww, that's quite sweet" and "God, those two deserve each other."Even though she seemed to be trying, Gail really does need to stop interfering in her children's relationships. Basically she disapproves of everyone.

I get that Matt was trying to change Tina and she was probably right to break up with him but I don't think he was really a bad person and I definitely don't think he deserved the pint in the face.It didn't help that Tommy, who I don't really like, was standing there looking smugly triumphant throughout.I guess he'll probably get together with Tina now, given that she seems to have forgotten about him two-timing her with Amber and being a jerk to her and Matt.Sigh.

I think Sally and Amber's assessment of Sophie and Sian's wedding plans are spot on:They are too young and Sophie is doing it to overcompensate for liking Amber.It's a shame that Sian got caught up in the romance of it all and ignored her initial thoughts about Sophie acting a bit like a crazy person.I can understand Sally backing down:If they're going to get married anyway, it's best they do it where she can keep an eye on them.

And oh my god, Jeffrey Holland as a tax inspector!I didn't know he was still working.

Edited December 3, 2011 by Red Ranger 1

[Slade]

This week was very Peter centric. I watched the omnibus so it was hard to determine where the breaks were but there were a lot of scenes that kept cutting from Peter in one place to him in another. Anyway I think the storyline was good but I was disappointed with him. On the anniversary of the tram crash and his wedding he not only fails to turn up for the speech but gets drunk then cheats on Leanne. I know he didn't sleep with Carla but that was only because she was still suffering from the trauma of the rape. I had reservations several months ago when Peter decided to give Leanne another chance even though I was rooting for them as I felt Peter still has residual feelings towards Carla. This is all going to end in tears. I can just see it. I'm actually glad Leanne can't have any more kids as had she gotten pregnant again this situation would have been even worse. I'm going to assume the stuff with Peter and Carla will develop into a full blown affair and eventually Peter and Leanne will go their separate ways which as much as I hate to say would actually be a good thing. The only thing I can say in Peter's defence was that the guy at the hospital who died hit him really hard and if it hadn't been for that he might not have gotten drunk. I can understand Dev refusing to sell Peter the alcohol and telling Ken but I'm not sure why he was threatening to call the police as Peter left him and £20 note - More than enough to pay for it.

I actually thought there was quite a bit of chemistry between Stella and Lloyd and so was not surprised when he kissed her. Too bad as I quite liked that friendship and now they are going to go out of their way to avoid each other. Carl's not going to be happy when he finds out but he is kind of preoccupied with this gambling problem of his which you could argue is just as Peter's alcoholism.

I was giving Kirsty the benefit of the doubt previously but I seriously think she's got a screw lose. I do think Tina's overly paranoid with her though but what's turned it for me was when Tina was prepared to let bygones be bygones and Kirsty laid into her. I knew Tyrone was going to let her move in so I would imagine Kirsty will try and make life difficult for Tina and force her out. Although Tina's been paranoid, Kirsty's arguably just as paranoid. She's also possessive and jealous.

Although I was kind of laughing when Kylie hid the model stork Owen put in the garden, I think she and David are both extremely immature and it's hard to imagine them brining up a kid but we'll see how it goes with Max. I do think she was right to ask Becky to stay away from him as he still sees her as his mother.

[Red Ranger 1]

I thought the Peter-centric episode last week was pretty good and demonstrated how much effort it takes every day for him not to drink.But I'm disappointed they've gone down the route of him cheating on Leanne.I really hope this is going to end with him realising Carla's just a fantasy and he's got something real with Leanne and Simon but the writers seem sold on the idea of the great forbidden love.And you'd have thought Carla would have learnt her lesson about fooling around with married men.I have a hard time picturing Carla playing mother to Simon but maybe she'll surprise me.(Incidentally, Michelle Collins was obviously well cast as Leanne's mother:I actually thought Leanne was Stella for a moment at one point this week.)

David and Kylie are so unappealing they're actually making me like Owen.Okay, he didn't do himself any favours badmouthing them to the social worker but why would anyone trust them with Max?Faye seems a bit too far on the wrong side of brattish at the moment as well.Rita and Emily's cooking contest was one of those nice little silly storylines which the show does well.

Surprised by Lloyd's departure, I didn't know he was going and it does make me wonder why they didn't have him leave with Cheryl.Loved all of his last scenes with Steve though, their banter is always a highlight."I'm lucky you didn't try to steal my girlfriend.""No-one would want to steal your girlfriend."Back to liking Becky at the moment as well, her and Steve's awkward hug after winning the deal was a nice moment.And Jeremy Sheffield as the hotel manager!Always nice to see actors I recognise.After a while of being the reasonable girlfriend, Tracy seems to be back to being a bit crazy.Wasn't expecting her to lose the twins but I can still see Steve sticking around for Amy's sake, I think the ship's well and truly sailed with Becky.

[Slade]

I agree about Lloyd it seemed pretty pointless him going so soon after Cheryl when they could have just left together. Shame he had to leave like that i.e. the person who was prepared to do the dirty on his mate.

I've actually really liked Becky as of late. I liked the way she's remained calm with Tracy under extreme provocation and am 100% on her side with regards to Tracy's accusation. I'm not surprised Tracy lied about Becky like that even though Becky was the one who called the ambulance when she fell down the stairs. I said this a while ago but she is a pathological liar. Tracy hadn't been that bad as of late up to that point but the only reason for that was because things were going her way. The ironic thing is if she had simply trusted Steve and not confronted Becky about the affair that wasn't happening she might not have fallen down the stairs. I think what's most frustrating about this storyline is not so much Tracy but other people who are blindly supporting her. Very disappointed with Deirdre. She's not only remained quiet but now is effectively covering for her. The fact that she went to the hospital to visit Becky clearly shows that she knows she should definitely have come clean or given Tracy an ultimatum to. This is the problem with Deirdre. For the most part not a bad person but does seem to suffer from naivety and tunnel vision as far as Tracy is concerned. Not sure what to make of Ken. I find it hard to believe he hasn't pressured Tracy into going to the police or called them himself if he believes her side of the story although he didn't report James for the money he conned out of Kevin via Sophie. So maybe he doesn't like going to the police any more. Again very frustrating with Steve. I thought he and Becky really made a connection when they had their business dinner and didn't like the way he suddenly turned on her after Tracy's unfounded allegation. He was married to her, he knew how desperate she was to have a baby and how good she was and how much she liked children so there is know way she would push a pregnant woman down a flight of stairs. Perhaps he thought she was drunk. Still I'm surprised he hasn't questioned why Tracy hasn't pressed charges given that he believes Becky's been responsible for the death of his twins. Part of me wants him to self the pub buy the house and the find out about Tracy just to teach him a lesson but on the other hand he's only doing what he thinks is right and doesn't deserve to spend a lot of money on a partner to have it fail - again.

I was also bit disappointed with Haley at first but I'm glad they're all good now.

In saying that at least there were a minority who believed Becky. For the most part David and Kylie act like cretins especially regarding the stuff with Owen but I did like the fact that both of them were on her side. I especially liked how worried Kylie was when Nick pulled her out of the burning flat, how they were at the hospital and all their scenes. A stark contrast to when they had a brawl at Gail's several months ago but at least it makes them believable as sisters. I also really liked the fact that Gail and Nick took Becky's word over Tracy's. Obviously Gail could empathise with her given what Tracy was prepared to do to get herself a better deal in prison. I don't like Nick but as I mentioned above fair play to him for going in and saving Becky like that.

I don't like Eva at all so I can't help but smile every time Gail tries to rub her up the wrong way. Long may it continue. What really made me laugh though was when Carl expressed his delight to Steve at the Rovers when he thought Eva was moving out which turned to total dejection when she burst into the Rovers crying that Nick didn't want to live with her.

Didn't really like the way Stella was going through the presents Peter's bought like that but now she's seen the necklace for Carla, even though Carl's temporarily put her off the scent the minute Stella sees Carla wearing it, there's going to be trouble.

A while back, I took Sunita's side over Amber's but Amber has been doing my head re her attitude with Sophie and I'm beginning to understand why Sunita is so hard on her. In saying that I do actually think she was trying to do Sophie a favour. It's a shame Kevin had to be the one to say something during the wedding rather than Sophie and yet again he'll probably be made out to be the villain but I think it's the best thing for everybody involved. No way should Sophie and Sian be getting married, especially considering that Sophie was prepared to cheat on her just a couple of weeks ago. As Kevin said forever is a very long time. Very bad timing right during the middle of the ceremony but it would have been even worse had they gotten married. Presumably the relationship will end when Sian find's out about Amber which is unfortunate.

As an aside Sian's mum's face seems familiar.

[Red Ranger 1]

Tracy has been pretty much devoid of redeeming features lately.I can't say I'm surprised at Deirdre covering for her despite her disapproval;she was willing to cover for Tracy murdering someone and this pales in comparison.If I'm truly honest, I could actually believe Becky might push Tracy down some stairs in anger and then lie about it but she would never be cold and calculating enough to deliberately cause her to miscarriage, as Tracy claims she did and as Steve seems to believe.I'm glad Roy was on her side, his speech to Hayley on the subject made me cheer, and while I don't like Kylie most of the time I do like the way she's supported Becky through all this.

I do kind of wonder whether the person who wrote Katy giving birth was awake at the time, given odd elements such as Chesney getting there before the ambulance even though he was further away and on a pushbike and Owen saying fathers weren't present at the birth in his day:Maybe if his children were born in the 1960s but when at least one was born in the 1990s and the other no earlier than the late '80s?!(Hell, I've got a decade or so on both his daughters and my dad was there...)Odd writing aside, despite my initial reservations about their plans, I do hope things go well for Ches and Katy.

It's a shame Kevin had to be the one to disrupt Sophie and Sian's wedding, it might have been well-intentioned but it was the wrong way to go about things and only seems to have made him look bad and leave Sophie upset.It was clever writing to have Sian begin to forgive Sophie only to get hit by the double whammy of her liking Amber because otherwise having her walk out seemed like an extreme reaction.I'm kind of heading in the opposite direction with regards Sunita and Amber:I started off thinking Sunita was giving Amber a chance and Amber was just taking advantage but now it seems like Amber really can do no right in Sunita's eyes and she's blaming her for what's happened even though Amber was quite right and Sophie wasn't ready to get married.

For a long time I wasn't really sure where they were going with Kirsty and I'm still not entirely sure. At first it seemed like this feud with Tina was just a rather strange introductory storyline and they were going to settle down and be friends.But she does seem to be moving into budding psycho territory.She seems irrationally jealous towards Tina, she's the same with Fiz and now it seems like she doesn't even want Tyrone to have any friends.Either she's got a limited shelf life or she's suddenly going to have a personality change.

Sally and Frank...Although Sally irritated me a bit in that last episode, especially with the way that yet again everything is Kevin's fault(I know he can be a berk, a jerk and a macho idiot at times but he doesn't deserve half the hatred he gets), I don't really dislike her for supporting Frank because it just seems to be basic naivety, whereas with Anne it often comes across as wilful blindness.(And that fake argument in the factory was mildly amusing.)

Surprised Beth's reappeared, seemingly as a permanent supporting character, she seemed like a one-off.Of course, having her say she went out with Steve in October 2000 is bound to have folks like me looking it up and going "So...a matter of weeks after Jez Quigley's boys beat him half to death and around the time his dad was up on a manslaughter charge?Guess he needed a distraction..."

[Dibble Investments Inc]

Mike Baldwin dying in Ken Barlow's arms - possibly one of the most touching Corrie scenes ever....

Edited January 11, 2012 by Dibble Investments Inc