Sunday Comments, December 30

Lines of the week:

• Tracy to Deirdre about Charlie "It's dead simple. I lose. He wins."
  
• Jane the solicitor to Tracy "You disgust me"
  
• Tracy "Live in the moment, I say"
  
• Dev (about his new shoes) "I can play around all i like and never get in trouble!"
  
• Norris on the practicality of rubber gloves "I think most homicidal maniacs would find bright yellow a bit garish"
  
• Betty "Oh i say. Who'd be a mother!" (don't you just adore Betty!?)
  
• Liz about David "She's got that little swine figured out whether he was lying or not"
  
• Leanne to Liam "What sort of a girl do you think I am?" Um....
  

The main focus this week is of course Tracy's trial. Seems awfully soon that Tracy was on the stand. The prosecution case was over quite quickly. Is it odd that Tracy would be one of the first witnesses for the defence? Isn't it more usual for them to be the last? I suppose it's always different from one case to the next. There's no way if Tracy told the truth on the stand that she'd get off easy. She even started off as if she was going to "tell the truth" but it was the lead in to the abused partner case, wasn't it. I think she poured it on a bit too thick though. She seemed to fail the statue test but adrenaline could account for one-handed strength. The thing is, though, aside from her blood not being on the statue, could they tell from fingerprints which hand was used? Making Claire out to be less than mentally competent was mean but typical of prosecution wrecking character witnesses, i guess. Other than the fact that she didn't witness anything specific, I thought she came across fairly well. But that fact is a big one. It could still cast reasonable doubt.

Deirdre nearly didn't make it and she was close to saying the wrong things a few times. Calling her a good mother and questioning her on one short contradiction. I'm surprised she got through as much as she did and then spilled her guts to the solicitor. Too late, she got back on the stand and the prosecution made mince meat of her, pressing all the right buttons. And David! He was cocky and full of bravado. The prosecution made "dead meat" out of him. Cocked up which hand Charlie was supposedly holding the knife, and the bit about her turning the music down. Tracy shouldn't have forced her mother to testify and Deirdre just couldn't handle the guilt. Now i expect we're in for weeks of Deirdre's scenery chewing guilt and if Tracy gets convicted, we might as well all buy earplugs and oil up the Fast Forward button on the vcr. At least Tracy came clean and told David she was only using him. I don't suppose he'll take that well but it's too late for him to get any sort of revenge.

The only person Tracy'll listen to now and then is Steve and even then she keeps trying to push herself back into his life. I think after being married to Karen who was a bit of a psycho herself, maybe Steve is one of the few people who understand Tracy a bit. She certainly seems to be more herself with him than with anyone else. Tracy sure has a lot of nerve making cracks to her mother about telling the truth. I've never seen a pot more kettle looking in my life! She's holding her mother responsible no matter what happens and leaving with Amy. The thing is, people like Tracy, no matter how much they say they've cut off their family, will have it hanging over them the rest of their lives. Why shouldn't David to to see the end of the trial? It's not that odd since he had an integral part in it and as far as anyone else knows, he was supportive of Tracy, not a blackmailing little git. So we hear the closing arguments and we wait. Put yourself in the jury's box. Judging from *just* the evidence and the barristers' speeches, if you didn't already know what happened, would you have said Tracy was guilty or not? Is there reasonable doubt that she was abused and lashed out in self defence? Well, you'll have to wait until Tuesday night to find out what happens.

Janice seems intent on sabotaging Leanne's jobs. Good for her! More foreign speaking workers for Underworld. As long as they're getting equal pay, what difference does it make? Well i don't suppose any of us should be surprised at Janice's attitude. She's like that with almost every new stitcher, regardless of whether they're foreign or not. The Polish workers... They're working both night *and* day shifts? Is that legal? Looks like Leanne has Liam well and truly wound up about the house inspection. Probably nothing wrong at all.

Jerry's ex-wife seems a bit of a prize cow, doesn't she? I don't see why Molly should make fun of Dev's excitement over shoes? Women sure go into ecstatics over footwear, after all. And he sure is getting obsessed with golf, between the shoes and practicing on the computer game. I think Amber might have hit the nail with the club so to speak, substitute for no sex? Again, a car mysteriously appears in front of the house when it's needed but you never see them parked on the road any other time, do you? Ashley won't like that Claire left Freddie with a woman she hardly knows. She gave Claire a bit of a start too, disappearing with Freddie like that. Hasn't she ever heard of leaving a note? It might have hurt Casey's feelings that Claire jumped to conclusions but it should have been understandable.

Tracy in the dock

This photo is misleading. It is from the brief alternate ending to Tracy's trial. There used to be a Youtube of it but it looks like most of the Corrie clips have been removed for copyright issues. I wrote awhile back about how alternate endings are rarely written and how i believe, as most veteran soap watchers to, that Tracy would be convicted of Charlie's murder regardless of whether i already knew the outcome or not. Which i did anyway. Canada will find out this week but as i said before, you would have to be a complete newcomer to soaps to believe she might get off.

What did you think of the trial? I tried watching it as if i was one of the jury, with no prior knowledge of the storyline at all. Mind you, that's not easy because we didn't see all the evidence, only as it pertained to the testimonies of our characters. But going from that, and a bit that Peter and Blanche might talk about back at the house after, would you have convicted her or was there reasonable doubt? Would you have believed her story about being abused? Or would you see a manipulating, bad tempered woman scorned who could very well have planned the murder?

The evidence about her cut hand came out. No blood on the statue but could she have picked it up one-handed and clubbed him hard enough to kill him if she were pumped up on adrenaline? She couldn't do it in court but could she have done it that night, with a man allegedly coming at her with a knife? Not so sure. Reasonable Doubt #1.

David got the hands mixed up as to which one he saw her use. That alone was enough to discredit his testimony but his smirking smug attitude on the stand more than helped, too. David also insisted that Tracy stopped in the middle of it all to turn down the music. Tracy coached David but i don't think she told him to say that. It would have been smarter to say that she turned down the music before he came at her, not in the middle. It just wouldn't happen that way. She did coach him about the left hand but he messed that up in his cockiness. Reasonable doubt #2.

Peter mentioned about an expert witness that said he thought Charlie was sitting down when he was hit but, when badgered, allowed that he *could* **possibly** have been standing up for the first blow and then fell back onto the settee. But look at her height and Charlie's. The angle of impact just wouldn't be there if he'd been standing up. If the second blow had obscured the angle of the first one, then the expert wouldn't have been able to say what he felt about charlie being sat down. Charlie could hardly have been running at her with a knife if he was sitting on the settee, could he? Reasonable Doubt #3.

Deirdre's testimony was all over the map, poor woman. She wasn't handling the stress at all. She contradicted herself a few times and made a few passing remarks that weren't followed up that made it clear she was hiding something. Reasonable Doubt #4.

Then there was all the various statements by people like Maria who claimed Tracy was having a go at her when she found out about the affair. Jason said Charlie was going to finish with Tracy which contradicts Tracy's statement that she was trying to leave and he wouldn't let her. (Even Steve said that though he wasn't asked to testify). Why didn't Jason say he saw her and David practically canoodling on the cctv? Maybe that's hearsay since he didn't have the tape to back it up but they could then have questioned Deirdre about what she did with the tape if Jason had said he gave it to her.

I don't know that, in real life, her past deeds could have been brought out. Sometimes in trials they aren't allowed as evidence if they aren't directly related but it's too bad. It sure would have shown what Tracy's really like if the jury could have heard about how Tracy tried to cancel Steve and Karen's wedding and all the confrontations subsequent to that. Then there was the whole baby selling incident where she bedded Roy on a bet and used it to cover up her pregnancy by Steve. Scheming cow! Any jury would have decided it was an open and shut case after hearing that. Guilty, Yer Honour, lock her up!

All that aside, yes, if i was on the jury, i think i would have had enough reasonable doubt to find her guilty. As i said before, it's a soap, and someone that cold bloodedly plan a murder *always* get found guilty in the end.

Corrie Sunday Comments, December 23

Lines of the week:

• Fiz "Les likes his food like his women, fast and cheap"
  
• Janice to Leanne "You are the nearest thing to a daughter that i've got" (you mean, besides your biolgical daughter Toyah?)
  
• Deirdre "There are too many questions"
  
• Deirdre to Tracy "I know you better than anyone in the whole world"
  

Tempers are wearing thin at the Barlows' house. No wonder. With Tracy's temper and the stress levels rising, and her guilt trips aimed at Deirdre, number 1 is going to bust wide open, starting with Deirdre's panic/anxiety attack. Peter shows as much sense as he always had presented with a pretty skirt. Of all the women, wouldn't he know better than to stick his tongue down his sister's most recent rival? Course he wouldn't. Bloody right, Tracy, it's all your fault, more than everyone knows yet but Deirdre is going to get it out of her if it's the last thing she does. If Deirdre was called for evidence, why wasn't Ken? Tracy expects her mother to "pull a panic attack" in front of the whole court? She thinks testifying is a positive way to tackle the panic attack. Just when you thought she couldn't sink any lower!!

In a rare two-handed episode, we see Deirdre and Tracy lay it all out on the table. Deirdre wanted Tracy to be honest with her. But it took a half an hour to drag it all out of her. Deirdre reckons she knew Tracy was lying all along. Horse hockey! She was naive and believed everything Tracy told her up until the stories started not adding up. Even after all the truth was bared, Deirdre still wanted to believe that Tracy was making it up, ashamed at being battered. I'm glad Deirdre threw it all back in Tracy's face. All that history, even Samir! A few more truths came out than expected on both sides. They really tore each other up. Now Deirdre knows the truth, all the ugly details of it. Shouldn't have been surprised at the lengths to which Tracy went to exact her revenge. I am surprised Deirdre didn't have another panic attack though, the way she was sucking on the ciggie and the wine glass. Even at the end of it, Tracy sat on the stairs and cried. Guaranteed that her mother would hear, one last little guilt trip. And still she thinks Tracy isn't a bad girl. Some excellent performances, though. All three of them, Ken included. I don't normally rank William Roache in the list of great actors but now and then he can really pull out a blinder.

So the trial begins. Jason's testimony was iffy but Maria's managed to paint Tracy with a bad temper though also painted Charlie the same. I'm surprised the defence didn't ask Peter *why* Charlie beat the crap out of him. It would have shown Charlie as being really jealous, good for Tracy's case. Ahh good they pointed out that there should have been blood on the statue. They should be able to tell which hand she hit him with from the angle of the injury. Mind you she did pick it up with both hands but even then it would have come from one side or the other. that would determine which hand was holding it. If she only used her right unbloodied hand, she could only really have hit him effectively on one side of his head. Was that the side that was injured? Still, it came out. Now they have to see if she can lift that statue with one hand even without adrenaline. And the expert says he had to be sitting down. Well he was in spite of the "possibility" that he could have been hit standing up then fell back. Will Deirdre be able to lie on the stand or won't she? Stay tuned!

Derek the drayman seems to have an odd looking upper lip, kind of like there's a moustache missing. Love Molly and Amber winding up Dev! I think i like Doreen but she certainly brings out the worst in Norris. Mind you most people do that anyway. The Actress that is playing the judge is the real life wife of William Roache. So Claire has made a new friend in this Casey.

So Leanne just got into hooking by accident? She was going to shag some guy who gave her money so she thought oh why not? Now Janice is going to have to carry on the lie as well. You wouldn't think Janice would have jewelry good enough to sell for 400 quid. Janice is in a hard place, really. What can she do about Leanne? Not a lot. Leanne lost her bid to buy number 7... to Liam! Obviously these Mortons are a cheeky, shifty lot and that grandfather? No taste in clothes. His shirts and ties clash horribly! He gives me the creeps, i'm telling you. Good god there's another Morton, 6 year old Finlay! Dear me, they're like rabbits!

Boy, Anne Kirkbride's mouth area is really showing the effects of all those years of smoking, isn't it? Well one thing about Rita having Doreen under her roof, at least we get to see a bit more of Rita and her having a good time. Candice is getting married in Greece! Aww!

Notice that Corrie is only on four times Christmas week, with two on Wednesday (Boxing Day) and two on Friday!

Corrie Sunday Comments, December 16

Lines of the week:

• Deirdre to Ken about Tracy's case "Isn't it about the truth?" (well you might say that. I couldn't possibly comment)
  
• Janice "They (blokes) aren't all like Danny Baldwin" Leanne "Yeah they are"
  
• Maria to Peter "Like you were too much a gentleman to explain to one wife that you had another?"
  
• Sarah "You know i don't know why people bother with reading, not when you can watch it on the telly" (that explains so much!)
  
• Liam "I know i'm dead 'andsome" (uh yeah, you are!!)
  
• Janice to Leanne before she knew about Leanne's real job "Sex sells!" "It's all about looking professional" (well they do call them girls 'pro' don't they?)
  
• Leon "what am i going to do with a big ping Jerry?" (the mind boggles)
  
• Steve "How long does a game of golf take" Dev "depends on how good you are" Steve "Maybe we should borrow some torches"
  

Liam didn't seem to waste any time telling Carla the secret about Dean. He says it's because Paul took himself out of the picture but he was only been gone five minutes. More like a tempest in a teapot. It's a sure bet that Michelle is going to find out about what Paul and Liam did on the night Dean died. Didn't take Liz long to start running after the new brewery guy, Derek. I think she's getting bored with Vernon. I knew that would happen. Then Vernon squashed her plans with a potential fancy man.

Tracy sounds like she's starting to fall apart. She wasn't very convincing with the barrister and even her solicitor is now having doubts i think. All those clever questions are there for a reason and they're working. And i don't think i'd be telling that Charlie had affairs. Isn't that a good motive for murder? Tracy doesn't "get" that she can't put on a performance in court. Of course she doesn't get it, her whole premise in this situation is a performance. Peter thinks Maria is smart even though she just admitted not being able to see through Charlie's games. Deirdre decided to take the matter to Gail, and Gail's reaction to David's supposed "nightmares", and then Steve's comment about Charlie supposedly leaving Tracy not the other way around has raised her suspicions even more. So what does Tracy do? Go on the offence. Works every time with Deirdre but it won't be so easy to squash those doubts now that they're seeded. Tracy going on about how she's only playing the game pretending to be best friends with Claire because she needs her testimony isn't helping. Deirdre has to testify and so does Claire and it looks like Tracy realizes that her mother is entertaining doubts. I think Tracy is starting to feel things closing in on her.

So this is Casey, the woman that Claire has been telephone councilling. She lost her baby, right? New neighbours too, and they are related to the one that was in charge of the building project. Jerry Morton et. al. They've bought Charlie's house. From whom? That's what i want to know. They've bought the house Charlie owned yet Jason is continuing to run the business. Why wasn't that sold as well? I think they're going to have to fit all the family in with a shoehorn. They didn't waste any time ticking off the neighbours with loud music. And he seems pretty good at scamming the sign people to get a few bob off. I expect the junk food joint will do better than the bakery though. Mind you, Jerry has a bit more cheeky charm and charisma than obnoxious Diggory did. Now let's see, the twins are a little older than David and Rosie but i can't see Rosie fancying that scruffy Darrel though David could crush on Mel. The younger girl Kayleigh looks like she's about Sophie's age or a shade older. Could be a romance for Ryan there. I'm surprised Sophie didn't develop cow eyes for Ryan, too.

And why is Joanne so vicious about Vicky and her gift of cakes? I just don't buy Leanne as a real estate investor/seller. There's something fishy there. Violet can still have a baby, with possibly a bit of difficulty. Well that's good news, isn't it? Janice managed to get her job back again, only because they needed a good machinist and he didn't tell Leanne and Liam seemed to enjoy her flirting with him to get Jan's job back for her. (Aw but isn't he cute?) Now we just have to get our heads round Leanne the prostitute who's using the name Rachel. I'm surprised the concierge was so welcoming to Leanne. Is he getting a cut? Leanne reckons being an "escort" is honest but as Janice pointed out, she's lying about what she's doing and using an assumed name. I agree with Janice. Leanne is deluded. She's go nowhere to go but down if she keeps on.

Dev and Steve must go play golf with Paul sometime? Golf? Steve? Not sure Steve would know which is the business end of a golf club. Paul might have come across like a pro but his first shot went into the trees. Something tells me he's a bit more of a plonker than he wants people to think or is he just suckering them for that bet he made? Seems he's blaming his new clubs. lol Sign guy at the new fast food place.. "Leon's Neons" ? lol! Laughed at Norris finding all the rubbish in Chesney's paper bag. After years of working with lads you'd think he wouldn't be surprised at all. And Norris was nasty to Ryan and ended up making a prat of himself as usual. You know, for the amount of lovely looking lingerie they sew in Underworld in the usual colours (white, red, pink, black, purple) they sure had a lot of rolls of ugly print material in the stock area of the factory!

Christmas in Corrieland

Y'allright? Nearly Santa time but sadly, here in Canada, we're only up to about early March. Hard to feel Christmassy watching the show when we're not even seeing Easter decos in the Kabin! I won't grumble on about CBC now though. Been there, done that and it does no flaming good. The only thing that strike did for us a couple of years back was catch us up a bit. I'd love to see them show an hour a night over the summer every year, wouldn't you?

Anyway.

I've got a dvd that i obtained in a Corrie Christmas magazine that was released in the UK a few years back now. It's Region 2 so won't play on just any North American dvd player/computer because ours are coded Region 1. You can, of course, change the region in your computer software but that only lets you change 5 times and it'll stick on the last one it's been changed to. I have two dvd thingys in my computer, one that just reads and one that reads and writes. The one that just reads is set to Region 2 all the time so i can play my UK stuff. My home dvd player is also "hacked" so it will play all regions dvds.

I'm digressing again, aren't i?

Corrie Christmas dvd...yes... it's got clips from Corrie Xmases past with some very good scenes. Babies born, weddings, disasters, it's got them all. It's got Hilda's goodbye in the pub, it's got scenes of Ena Sharples playing carols on the piano with everyone stood around singing along.

One of my favourite scenes took place in 1992. All the single women had Christmas together in the pub... Bet, Rita, Denise Osborne, Raquel and Phyllis and the scene showed Raquel charading the movie title "Desperately Seeking Susan" to the hilarity of the others. Good fun! Another great scene had Jack and Vera returning to the house to find that the dog Jack had bought Vera had eaten the turkey and then chased them up the stairs! Then there was Sally giving birth in Don's cab with Liz there to catch the baby (Rosie born on Rosamund street.... they sure didn't get very far, did they!) Other Christmas babies included the Mallett twins and Ben Watts.

Another good Christmas, though it wasn't on that dvd, was a couple of years ago when Karen took off in the car that she and the Barlows were sharing only she didn't realize that baby Amy was in the back in her carseat. Tracy thought Karen took the baby on purpose and went spare. About the only time she ever showed any maternal instinct, if you ask me. Karen ended up burning the car on the red rec and Tracy thought the baby went with it and tried to run over Karen with a cab. Of course the baby was ok, Karen took her to Roy and Hayley. After it was all over, the next day (Christmas Day) Steve saw Vera hollering at Jack and asked Vera if she ever got tired of rowing with Jack. I can't remember what she said but she sees that Steve is upset and when he says that karen miscarried, Vera hugs him right there on the street. It seemed to fix his decision in his head and that's when he goes back to the flat and tells Karen they're finished. Great stuff. The actors were dynamic right to the moment when Karen stalked off down the street in the snow, head held high.

What's going to happen this year? We in Canada will have to wait until early next Fall to find out unfortunately. I already know and there will be a few surprises, emotional and physical bruises and one or two happy families.

Sunday Comments, December 9

I'm back! And on a fortuitous day, too! Happy 47th Birthday Coronation Street! Over at Corrieblog, i've posted the episode summary with a few pics of the very first episode that appeared 47 years ago on this date. I'm back from my hols and had a lovely time with my fella, walking the streets of Paris, London and Manchester.

Lines of the week:

• David to Tracy "Have i got 'muppet' across me forehead?"
  
• Tracy to David "So... how's school?"
  
• Dev "I'm the boss!" (I'm sure Amber lets him think that!)
  
• Liam to Leanne "I'll take you anywhere you want" (yes please!)
  
• Steve to Vernon "You should be on a stage... in a cage"
  
• Liam "Tribunal and homophobia." Carla "Majority and shareholder!" Liam "Nut and case."
  

Leanne is sure spouting a lot of jargon about property development and profits and losses. Who on earth owns Number 7? Blanche did and Danny wanted to buy it but she didn't sell it to him as i recall. Something is telling me she did sell it to someone to raise the money for her Polish hip. Now Leanne wants to buy it and rent it to Jamie. Talk about conflict of interest! She also seems interested in Liam, too. Somehow i don't really buy her tales of making a mint in property sales.

Vicky already seems to have got the measure of those cows that are treating her like dirt. Seems like the wages she's getting are dirt too. *tsk* Oh Peter's back for a bit and Janice is back too! Did you find it strange that the television seemed to be behind the dining room table at the Barlow's? Surely it used to be out in the main room anytime we actually saw it. Maybe it was just the angle.

Tracy is still stringing David along. She managed to get the keys to Charlie's flat to take David there but hey, there's stil a security camera watching the door and she doesn't know about it! I bet that comes back to bite her on the backside since she's not supposed to be consorting with witnesses. She nearly had to follow through on her empty promise. God, i don't kno whow she could stand it, being there with a smirking smug teenage boy. Desperate times. (and where's his tan coming from?) David actually looked scared to death and even Jason could tell something was up and now Deirdre has her suspicions too. Tracy always seems to put that little extra detail too much into her stories, doesn't she? Saying that David is traumatized is one thing but wetting the bed?

Deirdre is starting to see behind Tracy's lies i think though she isn't quite ready to admit it. Destroying that tape which is evidence, could get Deirdre banged up again too. I don't see why it's so unbelievable that Tracy might actually "interfere" with a spotty 16 year old when she was perfectly willing to interfere with her grandmother's boyfriend who was close to 80! Tracy's pleading not guilty. Of course!

Can't blame Michelle for being upset with Sean. It's causing so much trouble in the pub between Michelle and Sean that poor Jack had to change the barrel in order to get his pint. Sonny didn't waste any time either did he? Michelle dumps him so he might as well go back to Sean? "We could be good together" What??? two days before that he was proposing to Michelle (obviously to cover up his fling with Sean) Selfish scum, that's what i think and that's what Sean told him too. Poor Michelle. Seems she gets all spikey when she gets dumped instead of mooning and crying. Makes a change at least. Poor Ryan thinks it's his fault but he found out the hard way.

I still don't understand why Sean when knocking on Sonny's door after he tossed Sonny out the day before and that's bollocks that "Sonny" was playing games with him. Michelle, yes a lot more so. And i really didn't buy that the kid would jump into a powerful Porche to get his own back. Obviously it's brought back pretty bad memories for Michelle who lost her partner to a car crash and it's *really* touched a nerve with Paul because Paul and Liam are keeping a secret about when Michelle's husband died. Paul was the one driving, not Dean! and Holy Crap, did Paul overreact to Sean or was he justified? I know he's got a right to be angry with Sean for Michelle's sake but attacking him and firing him like that was a bit much. Still, the strike was effective.

I still fail to see what Liz sees in Vernon. He's really a waste of space. He's going to offer drum lessons in the upstairs of the pub??? Where? In a bedroom? It didn't take her long to start making eyes at that new drayman, did it? both of them complaining to the other about their respective partners. There lie dragons, i tell yer! Dev is trying to get himself back out in the dating scene again. But somehow i think his charm is falling a bit flat. Is he getting fat? Maybe a little but he looks fine to me. Dev the charmer though, probably could use new duds for confidence. I laughed at him and Peter both wearing the same shirt and getting all fussy about it like two women at a ball. Sean said they should get a peephole but it looked like there was one in the door when he opened it to Joanne.

Off to Corrie-land

I'm off on my holidays this week (Corrie-land = Manchester area for part of my trip). I won't be back until early December so no Sunday comments until then. Not sure if i'll do them for December 2 or if i'll wait until the next week. Depends on the jet lag i guess. I've got used to watching the nightly half hour episodes and making notes all week rather than having to watch and make notes for the entire 2 and a half hour omni in one sitting. Don't know if i want to do that so i may just watch and start up the notes and comments for the next week. See how i feel, i guess.

I think the next few weeks are going to be a bit dire anyway.

In a nutshell, highlights/lowlights of the next few weeks will be

Lots of Tracy/David stuff that is a bit stomach turning, if you want to know the truth.

Norris, who was the one that urged Rita to find old friends via the internet in the first place, is now all nose out of joint because she's found one and isn't paying any attention to him anymore. Prat.

The Sean and Sonny stuff will heat up and all that will come out sooner or later because it's a soap. Nobody keeps secrets like that for long. Not sure if it will before i get back or soon after. But it won't last until our Christmas.

And here's a few general SPOILERS so look away now if you don't want to know:

Molly's going to start work in the corner shop and we'll enjoy watching her and Amber team together to wind up Dev. Well, he's got to have *some* sort of storyline doesn't he? He's had pretty much zilch to do for ages.

Watch out for Claire's new storyline. It's going to develop and sink into obsession and general pig headedness and become a bit stupid in the end.

A shallowly buried WWII bomb in the Peacock's back garden will be uncovered in the most stupid storyline ever. Do they really think we're that dumb? Anyone that's watched Corrie for any length of time knows that side of the street was built after a factory was torn down and that factory was built in the 1970s after the maisonette flats were built after another factory was torn down. How on earth could a WWII bomb be hiding on that site for 60 years with all that building going on? When you build, you dig *down* for the foundations, for heavens sake!

Don't worry, Becky will be back and I for one am glad. She's really growing on me. I like that she's a bit rough around the edges and speaks her mind. I love that she's finding her feet and growing confidence after Roy and Hayley showed some confidence in her, probably for the first time in her life anyone bothered to care. This knockback from the car being stolen and the cafe fire was a blow but temporary. Katherine Kelly who plays her is a real find.

Sunday Comments, November 11

Lines of the week:

• Joanne to Kelly "You don't need any encouragement"
  
• Paul to Liam "I thought you were on top of things" Carla "He's certainly on top of *something*"
  
• Tracy "I've never asked a man for anything and i'm not about to start now" (no she doesn't ask. She just expects them to give)
  
• Norris "Our wit is organic, Emily"
  
• Michelle about Sonny "He's dead respectful" (and we already know that's the phrase of doom!)
  
• Tracy "Steve is a decent bloke...he's..." Blanche "Not answering your texts, is he!"
  
• Blanche to Steve "Good thing about shoes is their tongues don't wag"
  

Blanche seems to be on a crusade to make Tracy behave with more decorum whether she wants to or not. All Tracy has to do is pick up the next bloke down the bar. Wonder why she didn't. I wonder if Blanche realized it was going to backfire and send Tracy to Steve. and why? I really don't think she ever actually loved Steve, i think he was more of an obsession or an infatuation. Now earlier on, she accused Steve of stinking of booze yet when he arrives to pick her up in the cab, she offers him a drink. Yeah that's safe.

Well, now that we know Sonny and Sean were up a tree K I S S I N G, it's only a matter of time before Michelle finds out one way or another and Steve will be there to pick up the pieces. In the meantime it looks very much like Steve is using Tracy to make Michelle jealous. I fail to see why Steve is even tempted to kiss Tracy. He really doesn't like her much or trust her and he's got no reason to either. In some ways, he's a decent bloke but in other ways he's a feckless prat sometimes. Now he's gone and got drunk and spent the night with Tracy yet again, mainly because it was on offer which is what got him into the tangle with Tracy in the first place. He'll never learn.

I chuckled at Steve contemplating that ceramic skull. I thought for a minute he was going to burst out in Shakespeare. Liam has said straight out. His fling with Joanne is nothing serious and quite secret. (until Kelly finds out). I wonder if Joanne wants it to be more serious and not quite secret. It's going to end in tears, either Joanne's because Liam dumps her for telling her mates she's had the boss or ... er... Joanne's because Kelly's smacked her for it. Or both. And we all know if Kelly had the chance of a not serious and secret romp in the hay with Liam, she'd have taken it too. I bet Kelly regretted falling out with Joanne and getting her sacked when she saw she had to work with Becky. And after it was all over, Kelly said *she* had gone off Liam!

Jason's client? Oh her name seems to be Jodie. I think if i'd have been her, i'd have pulled that job from Jason the minute i found out Charlie had died. Now who do you think is going to end up helping Jason? Who's a builder with a loose end? Bill Webster of course and now Sarah has suggested it and stuck her nose in, no question about where the help is going to come from. And no question about who's going to end up owning the builder's yard. Estates in Weatherfield get settled in weeks not months. So Adam has been spending his inheritance in the casino and Blanche knows? Does Blanche go to the casino too? Poor Jason. Eileen is trying to get Jason to bond with the baby but he's got more than he can handle trying to keep the business going. It's not really very fair is it? He did panic when he thought the baby had disappeared but all in all, he didn't know the baby existed and doesn't want it and he can't be forced into it. I understand Eileen's reasoning but it also wasn't very fair to Jason, thrusting a baby on him when he's trying to hold a job down and no time or means to find a child minder.

Rita's having fun with her old mate. Don't know why Norris is crabby about it. He's the one that persuaded her to let *him* look up her old friends. I think it's great to see Rita in a storyline! I would have thought that the paper delivery would just leave the stack of papers on the step of the Kabin. That's what they do here. Chesney might not be a bad lad but he's still his mother's son. You know he's scamming Maria for extra lunch money! Good God i hope Cilla is teasing about having a sprog! The walls in Number 5 are finally getting fresh new paper and it looks decent. Little by little, chesney is being wooed back. He probably does miss his mom and Les as much as they're about as useless at being parents as a soap dish.

I just don't understand

Someone s'plain to me. Tell me i'm not losing my mind. Steve. Tracy. Several times people, including Tracy, keep referring to them as getting *back* together. Trying again. Again??? They had a one night stand that produced Amy. They had another one night stand the night she buried Ray Langton. He pretended to want to make a go of things with her purely to get custody of Amy. Now this. What, in all of that, is getting *back* together???? THEY WERE NEVER TOGETHER!!! there's nothing to get *back* to!

Did I miss something or are the writers inventing something that never was. Yes, true, Tracy was infatuated. I won't call it love because i don't think it was. Possibly what she had for Charlie was love. Sort of. Tracy-style. But what she had with Steve was more like a childhood crush all grown up and turned into a bunny boiling stalker obsession. Now it looks like Steve is going to lead Tracy down the garden path again, because it's making Michelle jealous. That's who he really wants and if Tracy finds out he's using her *again*, Charlie isn't going to be the only one six feet under or, i guess, dust in the wind. Steve better hope Tracy gets banged up for murder otherwise he's toast.

---------------------

Oh yeah. speaking of which. Back when this aired in the UK, they made a big deal of putting out the story that they filmed two endings. They may even have filmed one short scene of Tracy raising her hands in triumph to fool everyone. Hands raised, how many of you are veteran soap opera watchers? Thought so. You *know* Tracy is going to go down for this. Long time soap watchers know that soaps are basically moral. You might get off of a murder charge if it was truly self defence, or an accident like Katie Harris' wrench to her father's head. Crime of passion. Temporary insanity. But anyone that sets up, plots and plans the "perfect" murder to make it look like self defence but has killed in cold cold blood is going to go down hard I know it. You know it. There is no doubt. Yes this is a spoiler but really, how could you even wonder if she'll get off? The only thing we don't know is how the trial goes and what happens there.

I don't remember the ins and outs and what happens at the trial, nothing particular at least. I'm guessing her big mistake better come out. The one i mentioned a few weeks back about her cutting her own hand *after* hitting Charlie but there isn't any blood on the statue. *That* is going to slam the doors shut. I don't think any stick handling is going to wheedle her out of that, not without reasonable doubt. And David? His story won't hold water in the long run, i'm sure of it. He'll be discredited somehow.

Sunday Comments, November 4

Lines of the week:

• Hayley to Roy "Fancy a spin in the Woody?" (it doesn't bear thinking about, does it!)
  
• Tracy "I could be a nun doing missionary work in Africa and people round here would still slag me off"
  
• Steve "When some women fall in love they hear wedding bells. You hear the cash till"
  
• Tracy to Blanche "I used to wonder where i got it from" Blanche "You did not get this from me"
  
• Liam "I know the sort of women that wear dungarees. They don't shave and they live in tents"
  
• Carla about Liam "I never trust a man without personal hygiene issues"
  
• Steve "Am I fat?"
  

And you thought Charlie and Tracy were a match made in hell?! David and Tracy are a car wreck. Steve sure put his foot firmly in it, but that's typical Steve. Nothing he says when he's trying to be nice or sensitive comes out right and he always looks a right pratt. Somehow i don't think a car stereo was the "nice" that David had in mind. (I think my brain needs a shower now). Tracy is out and seems to have dropped the "poor me" act. Out drinking, shagging, making deals with demon David and sucking up to Steve. What is this, again, Tracy saying she and Steve could *still* be together if things had been different. I'll say it again. They never were other than about 5 minutes when Steve was keeping her sweet when he was trying to get custody.

I wonder if, wayyyy down deep inside, Chesney really is the apple of Cilla's eye. No wonder Chesney is having trouble at school. No wonder the whole situation has hit him so hard. The teacher only knows the half of it! And it actually upset Cilla. I think she really does care but i wouldn't say that her crying means she is a good mother, more like a guilty one. But not that guilty. Buys Chesney a movie but it's dubbed into Chinese and English subtitled back again. Cheap off the market or off the back of a lorry? It's about time the Battersbys did something about that awful moldy waterstained wallpaper!

Ooh Roy and Hayley are buying a classic car, a woody! I don't think they could have found something more suited to them! Becky sure gave Jason the glad eye but as for that odious Slug, it's no wonder she doesn't seem to want anything to do with him. He thinks she's changed. I think she's finally got some kindness and respect in her life and it's helping her gain self confidence and she is trying really hard to make herself a better life. He'll only drag her down if she gets mixed up with him again. Look at what he did! Got her drunk and picked on Roy and Hayley's new car to steal. I wonder if she went with him to make sure nothing happened to it or did she just throw caution to the wind because she was drunk? Well she learned the hard way. He abandoned her out on the moors with no way to get home. What did you expect from a man named Slug anyway? It got her sacked and rightly so but Roy seemed to want to give her another chance. Hayley was really adamant. Becky kept on lurking around though, trying to apologize. Oh i hope Hayley does forgive her. I think Becky is a fabulous character.

Adam's definitely on the way out. He didn't even kiss Joanne on the lips to say goodbye but Liam isn't serious about her either. No strings, no fuss. That kind of relationship with an employee is definitely asking for trouble. Then Adam announces to Steve and Jamie that she dumped him by text. Sign of the times, that. Adam's barely been around at all. Mind you, the fewer scenes with him that i have to try to understand, the better.

Sounds like Jamie is still in touch with Frankie and why is he out of work? When did he lose his job with Penny King's outfit? Jamie is still moaning and moping around and being boring so Steve took pity on him and hired him at the cab firm. We have met Rita's old friend Doreen. Certainly got off on the wrong foot with Norris and wasn't he the one that got Rita in touch with her in the first place? Why was Doreen surprised that Norris was "with" Rita when they both came out of the Kabin? She knew to find Rita there though Rita wasn't in when she arrived to find her, and Norris was working there so I don't understand why Doreen was surprised to see them come out of the Kabin together when it closed.

Aw you gotta feel a little bit sorry for Steve with Michelle really flashing Sonny and his gifts around under Steve's nose. Who wears a diamond watch to work in a backstreet pub? Sonny is a bit too smooth, though, don't you think? "Come by and make sure you were real" He's *got* to be kidding. I tell you though. She says she doesn't care about Sonny's money but Steve is right. She's certainly bigging up Sonny's affluence. What does Sonny have that Steve doesn't? Arrogance. And a secret past from the look of it. Sean knows Sonny intimately and it clearly didn't end well! Basically, Sonny is mostly straight but liked a little walk on the wild side. Sean took the relationship far more seriously than Sonny did, so it seems. I've a feeling Michelle isn't going to be too comfortable with that part of Sonny's past. Ohmygod did you see that scene with Steve all drunk in the pub and talking to Sean about Michelle? Classic stuff. I think Sean is right. Steve just needs to wait it out.

Sunday Comments, October 28

Lines of the week:

• Maria "You didn't know him like i did" Norris "No, but quite a few did apparently"
  
• Jane Simon "It's very rare to get as much evidence as this" (almost as if it was handed to them, wasn't it!)
  
• Cilla "Fiz has no idea how to bring up a kid" (neither does Cilla)
  
• Liam "Good looks can be a curse sometimes"
  
• Steve to Carla "If i'm honest, you absolutely terrify me" (me and all)
  
• Sean about Kelly "Is it still sexual harassment if you're obviously up for it?"
  
• Roy "50 years old and still in perfect working order" Girl in cafe thinking he means Dev "Is that a character reference?"
  
• Roy about Becky "I'll bet she's not going to a car boot sale. She's not even got a car boot!"
  
• Roy to Chesney "Even loneliness feeds the soul" (Whap! upside the head with a football *snork*)
  

Happy 30th birthday, Tracy. I'm really surprised there hasn't been any press thronging the street like there was after Richard's escapades. Tracy even managed to get to Charlie's funeral so that it will look good for her not because she wanted to go. David has decided to use Charlie's funeral to sidle up to Maria but she put him in his place pretty quick although she could have been a bit more sensitive about it. If he'd been smarter (or more mature) he wouldn't keep slagging Charlie off to Maria and if he keeps doing it in the salon he's going to get sacked. Ken's right, he and Deirdre have to go to the funeral for Tracy's sake, or at least it would be the thing to do if Tracy really were upset like they think she is. Tracy can hardly keep the smirk off her face. Or is that just Kate F's acting again ;) Jason and Maria are the only two who really were upset. Tracy's not really hiding much from her cellmate. You know, the cellmate *could* be called to testify against her. I guess the next few months are going to be all about Tracy putting on a performance as the grieving abused girlfriend.

So now that the secret about Charlie trying to drown David is out, he's going to be a witness. He loves the attention so what does he do? ramp it up! Oh yes, "I saw her do it"! Weaving a tangled web, there, David. If Tracy thinks he really did see what happened, could David be the next victim? Tracy is not allowed to influence anyone's opinion so you know that's just like a red rag to a bull, especially with David. I thought Tracy was going to swallow her own tongue when Ken told her David saw *everything*! Of course she's nervous not knowing what David's saying. If he really did see anything, she will know he saw that it wasn't the way she said it was. And if he is lying, her story and his have to match. So she's making sure it does.

Aw. Norris was actually nice to Chesney. and then a total Pratt to Claire over the petition (or birthday card). And he's given up on internet dating and found the world of classmates.com. There couldn't have been too many of his own ex-school mates because he's starting in on Rita's past and she's actually letting him find some of those exotic dancers in the troupe she was in years ago. She's tempted to meet up with her old mate Doreen.

Wonder why Cilla is so concerned about luring Chesney back home? Just for how it looks? She couldn't actually feel guilty could she? And she made up with Yana a damn sight quicker than with Les. Poor Ches, first he stumbles in on Sally Webster in the shower and now it's Maria. Or maybe it's Lucky Ches! Chesney really does know his mother. Lovely little scene with Chesney and Roy on the street (where Les and Kirk were kicking the football). Just a few lines that ended up with Roy looking flummoxed that his attempt at philosophy was rewarded with a football upside the head.

Looks like Joanne fancies Liam too (who wouldn't!) and Adam seems to be uncaring. There's going to be trouble between Kelly and Jo though. Kelly doesn't take rivalries in good humour. I dunno. Joanne seems so young. Doesn't she look about 18 to you? But there does seem to be a lot of chemistry there. Roy and Hayley were really nice to Becky too, selling stuff in a car boot sale and giving her the money and a coat. Poor Roy, all aflutter because Becky got hold of some rare comics in with the car boot stuff but what a star, she brought them back because she didn't want to take a cheque *and* he ended up getting 1500 pounds for the collection! Paul didn't like it when he found out Carla goes through his pockets before the laundry. Does he have something to hide? Looks like he and Carla might not make their ninth anniversary if their eighth was anything to judge.

David's hair looks really daft! Sean's back. I didn't know he was gone! Ohh, what's Roy going to buy with his money? What would Hayley like, he askes! Aw what a sweetie! The girl in the cafe that had business with Charlie sure handled Dev pretty smoothly. I think he's slipping! So she's renovating the old Bakery! Heavens, that salon is like a DMZ this week, with everyone hollering at everyone else and talk of murders and stuff. Dev's charm doesn't seem to have the effect it used to on the ladies. He sure struck out, twice, with the woman wanting to do business with the builders. Notice how he puts on the smoooooooooth seductive voice even when he's just talking about Welsh rarebit but as soon as things get difficult, when she asks about Charlie Stubbs, he runs for the hills. Or the Rovers as it happened. Now who wants a man that only wants to be a Good Time Charlie? (er, no pun intended)

Sunday Comments, October 21

Lines of the week:

• Blanche to Peter "Say your own prayers you lazy ha'p'orth"
  
• Deirdre "'I just keep imagining her locked up in there surrounded by weirdos" Blanche "Sounds like home from home!"
  
• Tracy "There are some complete loons in here" (Pot... kettle?)
  
• Peter "I can't keep up with this family's enemies"
  
• Cilla "Do you want to see my scars?" Tyrone "That's enough of an apology for me" (me and all!)
  
• Audrey to Blanche "You know, jealousy is very unattractive. Especially in you"j
  
• Blanche to Rita after receiving her birthday card "Maybe next year you could run to a stamp" (I actually think she was making a joke, not being mardy!)
  
• Deirdre "The only reason we would claim his body is so we could spit on it!"
  
• Chesney to Les "You're not my dad" (ouch)
  
• Deirdre "The truth always comes out in the end" (which is what Tracy *doesn't* want)
  

Deirdre sure has a skewered view of Tracy doesn't she? Scared little girl? Tracy is more likely to be the bully of Cell Block B. Deirdre certainly seems to be going over the top with the teeth gnashing, grimacing and squawking. Jason finally got to tell his side of things. LOl Blanche knows all the regular solicitors and officials from her habit of keeping herself entertained watching a live version of Court TV. You know that Ken would not advocate spending loads of money on an overpriced solicitor even if the free ones are crap. But it's not fair for Deirdre to be angry at Ken for being rational and "wait and see". In the state Deirdre is already, Tracy will be able to lead her mother around by the nose easily. I can see that Deirdre is going to get on every last one of my nerves really, really quickly. Tracy wants a new female lawyer, that specializes in domestic abuse cases. Every little bit helps. i suppose Tracy'll pull the flannel over her eyes too only her story has a few holes in it the size of a lorry. Well it isn't that easy so Tracy is just going to have to convince her parents to find the money to go private, against Ken's every principle. but he's not going to be able to stand up against the twin Niagara Falls of Guilt that Tracy and Deirdre are going to lay on him non-stop.

And Ken with all his principles, won't accept any money from Blanche or Adam. He's only fueling Deirdre's firey resentment towards him. So he's going to put the house up as collateral instead of using anyone else's money. ok, i officially can't stand Deirdre now. She's either A. putting words in everyone else's mouth, B. accusing Ken of everything including the sun going down at night and C. being completely unreasonable and nasty. What she said to Jason about spitting on Charlie's body was really uncalled for though i do understand she hates what she thinks Charlie did to her daughter. But her hysterics are just completely tedious and OTT. 100,000 pounds to defend Tracy on a murder trial? Boy have legal fees gone up since Deirdre was banged up. Mike Baldwin only spent 10 grand on her legal fees, including a trial though it wasn't murder.

Poor Chesney is reduced to doing the housework and laundry. All Kirk can do is say how nice it is things are looking tidier. Lazy git! I guess it's better that Fiz take over for the time being. I fail to see how they thought that dog would ever fit in the flat. Did you see the look on his doggy face when Chesney was told the dog couldn't come? I swear the dog had a sad look on his face too! Chez can always go and see the dog anytime he wants. It's only over the road. I've not no sympathy for Les. He's a lazy selfish lout. He's not looking after Chesney and it took Chesney moving out and scolding him to snap him out of it. Poor little boy though, must feel like he doesn't belong anywhere. Cilla gets back and is completely unrepentant that everyone was so upset at what she'd done as long as Les suffered. Cow! She wants to make Les's life a misery whenever she wants. So what's different now than before? And then she decided to take Les back and be all smiley in the pub and didn't even seem to care that Chesney went missing. She decided to sit on her backside at home "waiting". Do long distance bus companies still stop at roadside stops and sell tickets to walk on customers?

Looks like Carla is slowly taking over the factory with her own work, probably at the detriment of the regular knicker orders. That's not going to go over well. So what does Carla do? hire a night workforce! Hmm looks like Kelly fancies Liam and Liam fancies Joanne.

Back to Eileen and the baby. Well Charlie's gone, Jason can always mind the baby can't he! Jason might be able to do some smaller jobs, but he probably doesn't have access to the bank accounts so what happens when he gets paid for jobs! i'm curious to know what's going to happen to the business and the house. There are no known relatives and the only one we know of is Shelley's baby. She could get a nice little packet if she would only stand up and be counted. I'm quite surprised that this sort of thing hasn't hit the front page of the newspapers yet.

Looks like Bill is back for good and his marraige is over. He's going to look for a flat but you just know where he's actually going to end up. And it took all of...oh...5 minutes. At least this time around Bill is officially separated and is free to be with whomever he wants and Audrey is no longer a scarlet woman.

I see Ken's car mysteriously appears from the invisible car park that everyone's car lives in when it's not needed. I think they should have tried to get a more accurate postal code for Number 6 Coronation Street. M10 is what they used and that's down by Luton airport in London! Good God, Claire made Tracy a friendship bracelet? How old is she? 12?? And where does she get off getting all stroppy just because Ken is a bit busy to talk to her about her petition? How would Maria not know who Peter was? And vice versa? She was definitely living round there when he was. You gotta love Blanche, making sure everyone knows/remembers it's her birthday. And Norris is lost in cyberspace again. I wonder what he's after now? Old school friends? I wouldn't have thought he'd have had any friends in school. I couldn't tell who's singing voice was lower... Ken, Adam, or Deirdre! There have been some awfully old songs playing in the Rovers lately. Careless Whisper on evening and a cover of Ruby Tuesday another night. Chesney's voice is dropping.

Sunday Comments, October 14

Lines of the week:

• Amber about Dev "He always gets a bit touchy when an ex-girlfriend turns out to be a murderer"
  
• Blanche "The one thing a trial has over a funeral. The element of doubt"
  
• Blanche "Did i miss something? I fell asleep in the bath!"
  
• Rita "How many weeks do they owe?" Norris "Five!"
  
• Tracy to Charlie "Do everyone a favour. Hurry up and die!"
  
• Chesney about Becky "She's scary!"
  
• Ken "She has a lawyer" (I thought they were called solicitors?) Deidre "Not anyone she knows" (she doesn't *know* any lawywers!)
  

wow! what a week! After Charlie taunting Tracy last week, that seems to have steeled her resolve. Tracy was right, Charlie is all about mind control, not violence as such. His games had very different effects on Shelley and Tracy, didn't they? Tracy wouldn't be controlled and gave as good as she got most of the time. She really expected him to be sent down. Poor Claire! Claire really hasn't a clue and she didn't realize that what she was urging Tracy to do today that she couldn't do yesterday was kill Charlie, not leave him and that plus Tracy's anger at his release fueled her resolve and boy did she whack him upside the head! Funny, though, i never noticed that statue in the house before! She was worried when he didn't die straight away but he did and she knows she'll be arrested. She just thinks she will get off because of how she's set it all up. The character of Tracy has hit the wall now, though. Moral statutes dictate that she must be punished. The only deaths where the killer gets off are accidental ones and *real* self defence ones.

I think Tracy's reaction was really good too. First the hissing and venom and then one more whack. She shuddered and was dazed a bit and then when Amy cried out for her, she seemed to come out of it again and started thinking on her feet. Tracy put the knife in Charlie's left hand. Is he left handed? or her cutting her own hand, it might have been the one she would have hit him with yet there won't be any blood on the statue. One of those will be the mistake that's going to do her in. It would have been difficult for her to reach and hit him hard enough if he was coming at her with a knife. His reach is longer than hers.

A bit ironic that Steve was the one that drives Charlie to the court. Jason and Maria were probably the only ones that genuinely cared that Charlie was dead. I wonder if anyone called Bev and Shelley to let them know? Shelley at least will rest easier knowing the father of her baby is not around. The scene with Tracy and Claire was really good, wasn't it! I think Tracy was actually sincere and not putting on a big story for Claire's benefit either. only Claire was at cross purposes and didn't know it. She seemed to spend all day there though unless Charlie's court appearance was later in the afternoon anyway. Apparently Amy was actually in the house yet up to that night, we hadn't seen hide nor hair of her for days although Ken and Deirdre had her at one point. She's awfully small for Tracy to be leaving her unsupervised in her room so much but then, nobody was going to give Tracy a Mother of the Year award.

Norris was being pulled to that door like a magnet, he was nearly weeing himself to get in and have a nose around! Badgering Claire and the police. Poor Claire was beside herself. And Deirdre is so beside herself she's blaming everyone for her not following her instincts. So is Steve. Haven't i been banging on about him not seeming to be bothered even though it seemed Tracy was being abused? Tracy really gave the police the answers she thought they wanted to hear and probably rehearsed it all night in her cell. She's out on bail and they say she can't go see Charlie so i guess that means she can't go unplug him either lol! Jason is gutted, and even Maria is pretty shakey. At least he'll have two people that will mourn him. I say that and it sounds sympathetic, but really, as bad as he was, he didn't deserve this and everyone should have someone that cares enough to mourn their death.

I don't know why Tracy was so worried about if Charlie was dead or not, if he had died, they would have changed the charges to murder or manslaughter which they did. Tracy got her way, though, and sneaked into the hospital to put on a performance in front of her mother. Everyone is giving the police the story she wants them too but they haven't talked to Jason yet. Well at least Tracy doesn't have to worry about Charlie waking up and telling the truth but it looks like it's going to be a very tangled web indeed. I wonder if Tracy is going to use Steve's sympathy as a fall-back fella. She didn't seem to mind cozying up to him when he went to see her. But her performance in reaction to their revealing that they knew about Maria and suggesting that she was angry enough to kill him rang false to me and probably to the cops. It took her by surprise, too. I don't think she expected that she'd actually be charged with his murder in the end.

Hmmm. Not much else going on but it looks like Kelly put the fork in Becky's new relationship. Or at least she tried. Too bad Becky was so defensive about it. She was the one that pushed him away in the end. He looked a nice fella too. Looks like Les is about as useless as a chocolate teapot, at least when he's supposed to be minding Chesney anyway. Wonder how long Cilla will be gone? She's got a good long holiday on that bit of money he raised. I guess he's working all the hours to pay everyone back. Ever get the feeling that Michelle's Sonny is a bit too good to be true? Steve managed yet again to put the brakes on a romantic evening for Sonny and Michelle by encouraging Carla's curiosity.

Yay! Amber's back on screen and delivering one of the best lines of the week! And she's nearly as nosy as Norris! Bill's back again. I didn't know he'd left! Amber asked Dev was Tracy violent? She slashed all his clothes! A fact that Amber didn't waste any time telling the police. Wait a minute. Amy was playing with Adam? We haven't seen hide nor fuzzy eyebrows of him in months until today!!

Tracy hits the wall

I've written before about spoilers, whether you read them or not and if it spoils it for you if you know ahead of time what's going to happen. This post will mention plot spoilers for what's happening in Canada here this week and in the near future for the character of Tracy Barlow so if you're in a part of the world that's behind Canada in the story or if you don't watch until Sundays, look away now.

Today the character of Tracy "hits the wall" so to speak. She's gone as far as she can go. When you've killed someone in cold blood, you will not get away with it and the character has to go. Soaps are usually moral and dirty deeds do not go unpunished. Even if it takes awhile for the doer to get their punishment, they will in the end, or they'll be redeemed somehow. Murderers are rarely redeemed without serving their time first. Accidental or self defence murders are not the same thing. If you've plotted and killed, you are off the canvas. You either die or get sent down. Richard Hillman is a case in point.

So today, Tracy whacked Charlie Stubbs with a statue and he'll be dead by the end of the week. She's spent a lot of time making it look like he's abusive and the more vulnerable have swallowed it, hook line and sinker. Having him beat the crap out of her brother Peter was unfortunate but it also didn't go amiss in her plan though i do think she hadn't expected quite the violent reaction she got when she taunted Charlie for a second about the man she brought home. I do think she felt bad about that but smirked to herself when Charlie was arrested.

Charlie then decided he'd had enough and said she had to leave and even called her bluff, gave her a knife and urged her to plunge it in. She couldn't do it. but i think he caught her off guard and that was why. When she actually did do it with the statue, she was on an adrenaline high and oddly enough, it was Claire that gave her that little push she needed to follow through to the end game. Claire urged her to do it, meaning leave Charlie but of course Tracy was talking about not having the nerve to (kill him) and Claire seemed to bolster her confidence to go through with it. It was a really great scene, Tracy not putting on a front for Claire for once even though she knew Claire wasn't talking about the same thing she herself was.

Knowing what was going to happen, seeing the visual screen caps, it didn't have the same effect as actually watching it today. Wow! Charlie didn't know what hit him. Literally. Odd though, we've never seen that statue in the house before now! Seeing it live was worth the wait and as usual, the spoilers don't convey the impact that seeing it first hand has. You really do get caught up in the moment even though you know what's going to happen. In the next episode where she was snarling at his nearly lifeless body, before he passed out, she was show stopping.

Still, the deed is done and though she will be worried when he doesn't die immediately, she figures all her birthdays have come at once when he does. Oh, she will get arrested, she's aware of that, but figures the abused woman self defence excuse will get her off. There's always a fly in the ointment though, a mistake or a glitch she didn't think of. I won't go into that right now. It doesn't really matter, anyway. She did it, it was plotted and you know she's got to go down for it. They made a big deal about "filming two endings" where she gets off in one and gets convicted in the other but there was never any doubt. You do the crime, you do the time.

On a lighter note, the former editor of Corrieblog wrote this, lyrics that fit to the song Copacabana but which tell the tale of Tracy Barlow. It's bloody brilliant!

Sunday Comments, October 7

Lines of the week:

• Deirdre "Is it any wonder i smoke?" Ken "Once Peter's on the scene, i have a feeling things are going to be very different" (be careful what you wish for)
  
• Liz re the owner of the pub "Well, Steve, really. But I own Steve so..."
  
• Roy about Norris "His competitiveness will be his downfall"
  
• Tracy to Charlie as he's being led away by the police "I'm sorry" (and then she smirks)
  
• Tracy to her parents "It's my fault as much as it is his" (and that's the first true thing she's said)
  

Well we all knew Janice was a shadow of her former self and it was written into the show, her recent weight loss. Oh heck. Just like that Janice is going to take a chance and skip off to France with someone she's known 5 minutes? do i smell potential heartbreak? She's had a few times where she's left work and managed to get her job and flat back when she returned. Wanna bet it happens again? Because she will be back, mark my words.

I think Carla is the one that wears the pants in the Connor family. She's all sharp edges and hard faced... or is that the botox? Sorry, but she really does seem to have a plastic Barbie doll face ;) And Carla is going to get her manicured fingernails stuck in behind the scenes too, nicking staff to sew her designs too. It's all going to make for some fun in the factory though. Doesn't seem to be a lot of love lost between Carla and Michelle.

What did Tracy tell Deirdre happened to her? Ooh Peter is coming to visit. Tracy said she thought Amy should have a more normal looking Mom and then, in front of Amy, stripped off the dowdy clothes and into her tart gear. Yeah, that's going to send a good message. so Peter's back. And he's still chewing gum. After all Tracy's winding Charlie up about her sleeping with someone else, he finds Peter in the shower and beats the crap out of him. I checked, Peter had been gone a month or two before Charlie showed up so Charlie won't have recognized him but i'm surprised Tracy never showed him a picture of this brother she's gone to visit a couple of times. Jason of course, managed to cause a catastrophe by leaping to conclusions and winding up Charlie because he didn't see Peter's face. He'd have known him otherwise. Mind you, she helped wind up Charlie too, but i don't think she expected the violent reaction and man, it was *very* violent, wasn't it! I was quite surprised. Peter would have put up a good fight if he hadn't been caught off guard. Becky seemed very circumspect, watching from the back while everyone else was gawping and Ken was hollering at Tracy and what does she do? skip back into the house behind Charlie.

I think it's the beginning of the end. Tracy won't stand for her brother being savaged, it's just one more nail in Charlie's coffin and one more reason for revenge. How did they get Amy out of the house or was she over at the Barlows already? Tracy might not have wanted to take the complaint further but obviously Peter did. Deirdre certainly was scenery chewing wasn't she? Charlie knows now what Tracy was up to, making him look bad and then planning to kill him, making it look like self defence. He made her wait all day to find out he was out on bail and he's had enough and is chucking her out and even gave her the knife to do him in, calling her bluff. But i think his taunting her might just tip her over the edge. Tracy needs the adrenaline rush to do it, and he caught her off guard.... this time. Will she or won't she? watch next week!

Why didn't Eileen show Jason how to wind a baby? Did i miss something? When did they find out the name of the baby's mother, Emma? that cute little baby is working her charms on Sarah too. She figures they can be a family and Jason is delighted, not only does he get a bit of totty back in his bed, he's got a babysitter! How thick is Jason though, getting Violet to babysit one night when she's only just lost a baby! Shouldn't be surprised really. He puts the Gorm in Gormless. Becky has an admirer! He seems a git gormless too. She'll probably eat him alive but better that than Kelly sticking the knife in.

Steve isn't above bribing Ryan with chips for info on Michelle's new fella. You wouldn't think there would be enough to know about butterflies to last all day! Hmm Michelle hasn't started off on the right foot with Sonny if she's not told him about her son. In the end, Sonny was just fine with it and Steve wasn't too happy about that. Pub quiz night! Vernon looked and acted like an ass. No change there, then. Steve should have known at least one shoe designer. Won't he remember calling karen on that tv quiz show with a shoe question? Norris and Roy certainly took it far too seriously with the sneaky Norris cheating off Roy's paper. Becky was all ready for the Hip Hop question! What a star! She is quickly becoming a favourite with me. And Charlie certainly caused the pub to go silent when he walked in for a pint after the fight.

Sunday Comments, September 30

Lines of the week:

• cilla "I've always had a smile on me face" (you would too if you had a free holiday)
  
• Yana to Cilla "I'm sorry. I don't even like him! (Les)"
  
• Frankie "I wanted what i had 20 years ago. Someone who loved me"
  
• Chesney "You're the worst mother in the world. I wish you were dead"
  
• Vernon "Oh look who it is. Oedipus" (you wouldn't have thought Vernon would have known about Greek mythology would you?)
  
• Jamie "It's not incest!" Frankie "Why does it feel like it is!" (Yay, she's come to her senses!)
  
• Jason "What if i'm not ready to grow up" Sarah "They (babies) don't give you a choice"
  

Thanks be to anything and everything!!! This God-awful story with Frankie and Jamie is O.V.E.R!!!!! Woot! At least Sean won't lose his bezzy mate. I think Violet is better off not wanting anything from Jamie. He might want to help out financially but that's not the kind of support she needs anyway. Vernon was a prat but he didn't deserve a smack from Jamie and between his attitude towards Vi and the baby and his quick tempered reaction to Vernon, you could see that Frankie was quickly getting disillusioned and how! Jamie was familiar. Jamie loved her. She didn't want revenge, she wanted Danny the way he used to be and she's realized she can't get that from Jamie so she's off in the traditional black cab and that's the last we see of Frankie. Paul saw her go and must have already been speaking to Danny in order to have his phone number already. Danny's ok too, with a beautiful bird on his arm. He's sold the flat and the factory. So much for signing it over to Jamie, then. Wanna bet he's sold it to Paul? Yep. he has. It's the last we'll see of Danny too. I hope he comes back some day.

So now we get to see a drunken Jamie mooning and whinging for Frankie but at least he knows she's not with Danny like he thought and after every shoulder Sean has offered, Jamie throws it back in his face and I'm glad Vi ripped him a new one for it. I'm surprised that Frankie even took his call after she left. I still say that Carla speaks far too softly.

Cilla gets to go on her holiday all by herself. But she "accidentally" left her money home so Yana would pay for the whole beauty makeover and drinks. Les got a bit of a shock, though, when Cilla revealed she knew about him and Yana. At least Yana had the grace to look ashamed. Les just had that "how did she find out" look as if he thought he was so clever. Then she lowers the boom and tells them all she was only pretending and really was ok. Fiz gave her hell and even Chesney was gutted that she lied to him. It really is a dispicable thing she did to them though, no matter how much Les tries to palm off his own indiscretions by saying he always forgave her hers. It seems like he thinks she should forgive him and i think he'd even take her back now if she apologized and wanted him back. But i wouldn't forgive her for letting me think she was dying if i was her husband. At least she actually seemed like she felt some remorse when Chesney wouldn't forgive her. That's a first.

Jason says he did pull a girl. But I fail to understand how he could accept that the baby is his without a blood test of a dna test. His attitude isn't helping his case with Sarah either. Aw how could Jason not smile at that sweet little baby's face! But no, he's still not wanting anything to do with her. Wait, we saw him and Eileen together in the pub. Who's minding the baby? Janice seems to have taken quite a fancy to the plumber. I bet they have great craic together (har har har) I'm quite surprised that Janice, who's worked in a knicker factory for years, seems to have very plain "granny panties" judgeing from what was drying on the rack in the flat.

Yay Betty scenes! I love her! and she put Steve firmly in her place. Imagine wanting to work New Year's Eve until 3 a.m. at her age! That woman has ale for blood! Why does Steve not want Betty to work, though? Ahhh because he doesn't want Michelle to go out with Sonny. Well it worked but she got to kiss Sonny at midnight anyway and Vernon hijacked Steve's romantic midnight dinner and wine. I think he thought she had set it up for him.

New Year's Eve fancy dress! Liz done up like the chick from Cabaret complete with short shorts and legs cased in fishnets? The mind boggles. Violet looks fab as Marilyn Monroe and whatever movie Kirstin Dunst was it that Michelle was imiating? She looked pretty spiffy too! Sean in his Brokeback Mountain cowboy outfit looked more like something out of a Saturday morning kiddy show but at least he dressed to impress! Steve didn't bother.

I guess Vera doesn't want a reformed Jack after all. She was much happier when she was arguing with him. Michelle is moving into Steve's old flat. Too close for Norris's comfort.

Oh oh! Something's wrong with Violet and she's lost the baby! Poor little thing! Doesn't look like she might be able to have any more either. looked like she wanted nothing to do with Jamie either but at least it gave us a break from his moaning about Frankie. I don't know why he was looking so sad really, he wasn't all that bothered about the baby. My God. That was ghastly wallpaper that was up at Paul and Carla's. In fact the whole decor was ghastly for someone that puts on the appearance of being so stylish. Liam's a bit of a stirrer isn't he? He's got "little brother" down to a science. Sounds like Carla and Paul's marraige has had more than it's share of bumps and rough road.

It's Over, It's Over !!!!

That's me doing the jiggy happy dance!! What's over, you ask? The Frankie and Jamie show, that's what. I don't think i've ever been so glad to see a storyline end in all the years i've been watching Corrie! This storyline promoting the affair between Jamie and his step mother was, in my opinion, completely ill-conceived from the get go. I've mentioned before, i think if Jamie had not met Frankie until he was a teenager, then his newly discovered crush/infatuation might have been understandable but he was a child and Frankie babysat him and then mothered him for years. It just didn't wash and now Frankie realizes it too.

She said last night that she went back to Danny because she hoped she could get back the Danny of 20 years ago. (Why? He wasn't any different then! He cheated on Carol with Frankie after all. Start as you mean to go on!) She as much as admitted Jamie was like Danny, all the good bits and none of the bad but then she started to see the bad bits too. His attitude towards Violet and her pregnancy turned Frankie off for starters. He pretty much just paid lip service to saying he'd support Vi and the baby. All he would do is throw money at her and then take off for parts unknown. If he wasn't going to have any involvement in the baby's life, and didn't want any either, why bother with the cash? Anyway, that's a hot topic and not up for discussion at the moment. But Jamie really showed an uncaring and almost callous attitude. All he could focus on was Frankie and his feelings.

He didn't care who knew, he didn't care how or where he told people no matter what Frankie wanted. He didn't care who was upset but it. Even when they thought Danny might be dead in the morgue, he really didn't seem all that bothered for more than five minutes. He hates Danny for taking Leanne off him and this has all been to get back at Danny. Frankie was still reeling from Danny's final betrayal even though she says she's over him. She said that before she went back to Danny too, but as she also said, she was trying to "go home again" and everyone knows you can't do that. She finally realized that her relationship with Jamie is wrong and left. It also means, at least for now, that she has lost a son.

If they *had* to do it, it would have worked so much better if they'd had Jamie develop feelings and Frankie leaving to get away from him. Or even if they had to have her return the feelings, know all along it was wrong and leave to make sure nothing happened. We knew she was leaving the show (that pregnancy bump was getting pretty obvious).

And what about Danny? Wow, Bradley Walsh had put in some powerful performances his last week and yesterday we see him with a lovely woman on his arm celebrating the new year and a new start, hopefully. I'd love to see him come back again. He and Jamie really do need to patch things up. Danny was a serial cheater all his married life and after taking his son's fiance, having his son end up with his beloved but long suffering Frankie was a bit of karma biting him in the ass. What goes around comes around and boy it came around in the worst possible way, too. As much as i feel he had it all coming to him, i still felt a little sorry for him, too. But only a little. Something tells me he hasn't really learned his fidelity lesson either. Leopards and spots and all that.

We'll probably have Jamie sloping around and whinging about Frankie. Lord knows why Sean puts up with it. Well. Ok. Sean fancies Jamie as well so i suppose that's why. He can't have what he really wants so he'll be Jamie's best friend. Too bad Jamie doesn't really appreciate it. Sean is the best kind of friend. He told Jamie and Frankie both off, told them how he felt about what they were doing but he was still there for Jamie anyway.

Sunday Comments, Sept. 23

Happy/Merry Christmas!
Lines of the week:

• Bev "Just this once i'd like to do something my way" (she's like a mack truck! what's she talking about?)
  
• Betty on Steve's off to shower with him "I've half a mind to. That'd teach him!"
  
• Michelle to Sonny "Yeah, i'll come" Sonny pointing to Vernon "D'you have to ask your dad?"
  
• Sophie to David "Your gran was bitter and twisted. Now i know where you get it from" (yes, well there is that!)
  
• Gail "I don't want Sally Webster casting aspersions on my napkins!"
  
• Vera "I can't believe it! I'm actually having a nice day!"
  
• David "More sprouts anyone?"
  
• Audrey "We didn't plan any of this" (that's what they ALL say)
  
• David "I thought I was going to be the main event but you totally eclipsed me"
  
• Blanche "What's that" Eileen "The rest of the turkey... It's a *baby*!"
  

Steve's having a hard time connecting with Michelle. Can't get anyone to work for him or babysit for him and by the time he got there, she'd copped off with someone else. Why didn't he call her? He's so useless when it comes to women no matter how suave he thinks he is. So now Michelle has a hunky new fella and Steve misses the boat again.

Now why didn't we see or hear Tracy fling a plate against the wall to back up her story to Claire? Tracy managed to get rid of Amy for Christmas but oddly, i think she rather regretted it in a way. So now she's threatening to sleep with someone else, and letting Charlie know that she might do it. It's all for appearances though, right? And it's Christmas Day and David's Birthday and Claire and Ashley's anniversary! He shot down Sarah's pressie before she'd even given it to him. Sally's supposed to be Gail's friend. Yet she still can't help herself sticking her nose in the air over the dinner. There's an awful lot of tinsel and tat decorations aren't there? they just seemed to appear overnight! The Duckies seem to have had a successful holiday for once. Laughed at Molly training Jack like a dog. It's working, too!

At least Bev and Ashley made peace before she left and Fred's ashes were scattered altogether. And Audrey and Bev made their peace too. Happy Sweet 16, Rosie! I see she's still gaga over Craig who hasn't forgotten her yet. The pub doesn't have any liqueurs out front? Oh well. maybe i guess. I still don't believe that Liz, who's worked in wine bars and pubs for years has never heard of Kahlua. Sean has worked in fancier bars and should know how to make em, as well as what's in em, but it looked like they were very strong! Talk about odd drinking partners, Janice and Norris!

So the secret is out. Sophie found Ivy Tilsley's diary in the attic of Number 5. And did you notice the bits Rosie and Maria read were at the very start of the book? Yet it was about Curly and Kimberly/Gail's near-abortion which was in the early 1990s. Did Ivy write the diary back to front? Other stuff Sophie came up with was a good 10 years before that or more (Susie Birchall flirting with Brian? Vince St. Claire? both in the early to mid 80s) And don't you think it's an awfully small book to carry 10 years worth of secrets? I really don't understand why Sophie has never heard of Ivy Tilsley. She would have heard that Tilsley name for years around the Street, Rosie should have known for sure. She and Rosie grew up as playmates with David and surely Granny Ivy's name would have come up a few times over the years. David sure got a shock, finding out about Gail's near abortion. One more block of wood to add on to the chip on his shoulder. One flash of sympathy for him, i thought. Mum and Dad split up, Mom marries a killer, Dad moves away, now he finds out his mother wanted to abort him. A kid doesn't understand that the maternal instinct would have kicked in and he was just as wanted as the other children. Is it any wonder he's out of control? He sure didn't pull any punches when he revealed all at Christmas dinner! And why stop there? Why not spill the beans that Bill is shagging the black widow in front of Maureen? David really is a little s**t isn't he? What Audrey said was shocking but he did push everyone to their limit that day. Gail should have thrown him out or told him to go live with his father.

Les and Yana spent a chilly night in the bath full of mushy peas. Ewwww. It looked like there was more peas in the bath the further on the evening went and by the end of the night it looked more like plain water than thick mushy peas! That was a good revenge but unfortunately the reason behind it is contemptible. When you think Cilla couldn't get any lower, she does. Blanche was the only one that doesn't believe that Cilla's ill. Wants to see a doctor's note. Cilla didn't waste any time getting away for her holiday either. Alone of course.

Gail really looked like she was hearing way too much information when Audrey and Bill were flirting there just before Christmas. Would have been nice to see David wish Rosie a happy birthday seeing as his is the next day anyway. Didja see Gail's face when she saw Maureen? And David's face?? And Audrey and Bill both went particularly green. Why didn't anyone offer Maureen a plate of dinner? not likely she had any. Bill's excuses to Maureen were particularly lame. He missed her? He loves her anyway? it stops now? He's lucky Maureen didn't stop it now with the carving knife. I don't believe Bill when he says he'd always been faithful. He didn't show any reluctance at all with Audrey, none. You would never guess it was the first time he'd broken his marriage vows. So Maureen decides to wash her hands of the whole mess, husband included. What does Bill do? Well he's got to suck up to Audrey of course. Instead of sucking up to his wife. He didn't even try! I chuckled at the confrontation between Maureen and Audrey though, with name calling flying back and forth. Audrey and Bill say goodbye in the pub. I'm betting if he's staying in Weatherfield, he won't be long until he's got his feet back under her table. Audrey's voice kept going out. You can tell which scenes were filmed on the day she had laryngitis and which ones where she was better.

Oh eck!!! Someone's dropped a baby on Jason! Then Sean went running down the wet cobbles with silly slippers on and a Santa hat with funny hair on the sides of it! So she met Jason last Christmas and this is the result and Jason has no idea or memory. I wonder if that means it was someone else using his name? That's my first thought but then if he was drunk enough, he might not remember anyway. He's that thick he doesn't remember last week let alone a year ago, even sober! Every Christmas, someone has a disaster and this year it's the Platts, Websters and Grimshaws. I think Eileen should definitely get a dna test or at least a blood test.

Sunday Comments, Sept. 16

Lines of the week:

• Jamie about Violet "She's just angry. It'll pass." Frankie "What if she turns into Tracy Barlow?"
  
• Kirk "I had a paper round once. I got lost" *snork*
  
• Jamie "There's plenty of blokes out there who have a kid with someone and then start a new relationship. Dad did, I'm going to be just like him" (isn't that the understatement of the year?!?!?)
  
• Les "I'm the one that has to carry on. You'll be all right. You'll be gone. I intend to drink and smoke my way into oblivion" (yeah, that's supportive innit, always all about him)
  
• Steve "If you ask me it's the poor dolphins we should be collecting for"
  
• Janice "Normally when Granny comes calling it's tea and cakes not incest and murder"
  
• Blanche "Who says there's no such thing as a happy medium" *snork*
  
• Frankie "Daddy is actually shacked up with Gran'ma"
  
• Cilla "With kids like i've got, i wouldn't be surprised if i beat this thing" (doesn't she just make you want to scream!)
  
• Jamie about everyone else "Some people are sick" (pot? kettle?)
  

Violet didn't waste any time spreading the news and now that Noz knows, the secret will be across the cobbles like spilled milk. You might as well write it on the Kabin newspaper ad sign out front! Frankie's back. I thought Jamie was picking up Frankie? Don't tell me, she came home in a taxi and he's still at the airport waiting. Oh wait, she's not coming back until "tonight". Early winter sunsets always throw me off on the show. What a greeting, too. One of the most gossipy neighbours sticking nis Noz in. I bet she's thinking it doesn't rain but it pours once she got Jamie's news about Violet on top of it. Well it had to come out sometime. I bet it's really going to make Frankie have second thoughts about the whole affair. He really doesn't have the first clue about babies and parenting just like Frankie said. I did laugh at Becky asking if there was a difference between father and son and wondering how Violet feels being dumped for her boyfriend's mother! She's growing on me, is Becky! Then first Sean gives Frankie and Jamie what for and now Violet does! Yay!

Where is Danny anyway? He's not even called his mum and Frankie thinks the police ought to be told. But if they know why he disappeared, i'm sure they'd not be too keen to persue their inquiries. Wouldn't they have thought that Viv would come up and find out where her son was and of course, it won't be long before she finds out the truth of the matter. And let's face it, Jamie really didn't care if his father's missing or not even when it came down to a visit to the morgue and a brief sigh of relief. And then it was back to "all about me" without a thought about how anyone else was feeling, even how his grandmother was going to feel when it came out. In the middle of the pub. She's got to know sometime. I really think Jamie has been 120% selfish, Frankie was right, he doesn't even give looking like he gives a toss a little bit of effort. That's because he doesn't. And now she seems to suspect that Jamie really could have killed his father. He certainly was angry enough and it sure seems like my suspicions are right. Jamie is still pretty ticked over Danny stealing Leanne.

They're worried about Danny, about his giving the lot to Jamie but not really, about Warren taking the news badly, about Violet's pregnancy and the whole world knowing their business. It's them against all the odds which are stacking up higher and higher. Do i care? Do i heckaslike. Do you know what? I could care less about this whole storyline and i can't wait for it to be gone off my screen. The things i do for you lot! ;)

My God those were rough looking eggs Les was frying. The whole family seemed to be handling the stress of waiting for the test results badly. Leave it to Cilla. Cake and beer chaser. Did you see that snog Cilla laid on the doc? Classic! Cilla finally crossed the line though. As bad as she's always been and as rotten, letting them all think she's dying as revenge for Les's fling with Yana is reprehensible! It's one thing to accuse Les of being selfish, "it's all about you Les!" but look who's talking! She's going to make him pay but how? by getting herself a holiday to swim with the dolphins. Is she actually feeling a pang of conscience with all the public contributions? And Les, being Les, is about as supportive as a bowl full of jello. And part of it makes Les and Yana both take a bath in beans outside in December!!! Rofl!!

Tracy doesn't seem to be having any trouble carrying her shopping in the arm that she burned. Did i pose the question already as to why nobody has mentioned Charlie's "abuse" of Tracy to Steve in case Amy is in any potential danger? Well we know she isn't but the hysterical neighbours and Tracy's family don't. Boggles my mind why Claire would invite Tracy for Christmas and not Charlie and it wouldn't occur to her that Charlie might take it badly no matter what Tracy says about him not being much for Christmas. Surely if Tracy went anywhere, with or without Charlie it would be to her own family anyway. It would have been smarter to get Deirdre to ask her to come to theirs.

Claire's not wearing glasses? I hadn't noticed either! Michelle and Steve sure are taking their time getting together. If it isn't one thing, it's three and they can't seem to get their wires pointing in the same direction. Debra Stevenson is really waddling with her baby bump now. Looks like Bev is finding eviction papers in her Christmas stocking. Yet again she barges ahead and does something that affects everyone without asking (Christmas tree) and completely misses all the hints when she decided not to go to Shelley's for the holiday until it was as obvious as a tank. I wonder why nobody, much less Bev, has pointed out that Shelley is going to give birth to Bev's grandchild? At the end, at least she saw sense over the ashes. Anyway, it's too bad, in a way, i always enjoyed Bev's character. Suzie Blake always did a fabulous job!

Vernon is hoping to get back behind the drums and take Michelle with him during a pub's busiest season! Liz would have been quicker to let Michelle off for the night if she knew it would interfere with a date with Steve but of course it does mean spending the evening in Vernon's presence. A rock. A hard place. but hang on, i thought Michelle made the date knowing it was her night off anyway? Why did Liz have to be consulted at all? I love it when Eileen teases Steve!

Sophie's doing a lot of pulling past history out of the air. Everyone seems mystified as to how she'd know about Alan Bradley but i would think that would be Street legend even if it did happen before her time. Hmmm sounds like we're getting closer to the truth, if the only people that knew about Vera's past pranks were Ivy and Hilda. Stay tuned. And it Looks like Gail and Sally are in a fierce competition over the dinner! What kind of knitted cap was Claire wearing and why did she have al of her hair stuffed up inside it like a hairnet? Talk about a fashion don't! Isn't Amy's hair getting long! When Tracy was carrying her out the house it was right down to her back!

You probably have heard that Liz Dawn has emphysema and it's getting more evident in Vera's scenes lately. Ms. Dawn sounds very winded a lot of the time. It's also why most of her scenes have her sitting down for the most part.