Catch yourselves on!

Have I mentioned how much i'm enjoying the return of Jim "Big Mac" McDonald? I always thought the chemistry between Jim and Liz was electric, largely in part to the actors who really did work well together. Even when the characters were apart, when they were fighting, when they were with other people, all one of them had to do was look at the other and you could see all that history between them laid out...the good times and the bad. The love and the regret and you always knew there would always be something there between them even if you also knew they weren't good for each other in reality.

Liz married Jim as a teenager, pregnant with twins and had to take on most of the responsibility of raising them while Jim was in the army, often away. She would have had to live away from her home and friends with each different posting he would have had. She would have been young and lonely, she'd have had to contend with his drinking and his hot Irish temper. And his jealousy. Jim's jealousy would always come between them and cause trouble. He was married to a gorgeous woman and he knew it.

When the lads got older and didn't need their mother as much, Liz starting wanting things for herself. Jim got scared, feeling she'd realize she no longer needed him either and things got worse. In trying to hold on so tight to her, she slipped through his fingers. Add guilt and regret onto his jealousy and you had a recipe for rage and disaster. They tried to run The Queen's, a Newton and Ridley pub but the brewery rep had his eye on Liz and even though Liz had no intention of taking him up on the offer that was clearly there, Jim's temper went into overdrive and his actions and reactions ended the marraige, albeit temporarily.

It ended in divorce eventually when she admitted she'd had a long ago fling with his best mate in the army. He hit her and threw her out of the car and left her on a dark road. Let it be said, Liz had a pretty hot temper at times, too. In her rage and anger, she doctored up the bruises to look even worse than they were!

Like two "star crossed" lovers, though, over the years they were back together or nearly so several times. It really was clear to me that although they loved each other, they were bad for each other as well. Liz had established her own independence but Jim never really got control of his jealousy and anger issues, and his temper and parental protective instinct led him to beat the tar out of Jez Quigley who had beaten Steve very badly. Understandable reaction in one way but taking the law into hiw own hands in a fit of red rage landed Jim in jail for 8 years because Jez died of his injuries. Jim at least did the right thing and confessed and would allow no defence of his actions. Liz returned for the trial and in a surprise move, married him before he was sent down.

While he was in jail, however, his temper ended up extending his sentence and his jealousy led him to escape. He heard Liz was canoodling with the landlord of a bar she was working in, up in Blackpool (she was, as it happened, but she wasn't in love with him.) They nearly managed to escape together to Northern Ireland but saved Ashley and Clare, stranded in a boat, instead and recaptured, Jim was back in the nick. His temper led to an arguement and fight inside and Liz finally had enough and divorced him.

Now she's involved with mild mannered Vernon, a musician who's a bit of a slacker but he genuinely loves Liz and he treats her with respect and he treats her like a queen. He's everything Jim is not and he's definitely not got the exciting edge, either. Liz always seems to thrive on that edge and it's clear to all of us that Vernon isn't really her soul mate. It's too bad that she hasn't really learned that she can be happy with him. I think she does love him in a way but it's not with a passion, certainly not with the passion Vernon feels for her.

Jim has finally been released and in spite of promising to stay away, he just can't do it. Coronation Street was a large part of his life and Liz an even larger part. He still loves her. You can tell. That look is still in his eyes. The history and the love, the regret. He ambled back on screen and it's felt like he's never been away, aside from the fact that he's been keeping his temper in check, trying to prove he's changed. Has he? He says he wishes Liz well. He probably does but would prefer it if he could get her back. He's not consciously trying to stop the wedding but he's consciously trying to show himself in a good light, reminding Liz of the good times and how it could be between them. "This is what you're missing". Except it's bound to blow sooner or later.

And already you can see Liz starting to doubt her decision to marry Vernon. She's having chats with Deirdre, talking about her fantasy man who resembles Jim not just a little. She's starting to have second thoughts. Maybe not that she'll go back to Jim, but that she might be making a mistake marrying Vernon.

Unfortunately, Charles Lawson is only back for a short time so we know Jim and Liz aren't going to get back together. The big question is, will the wedding go off as planned or will Liz do the right thing and dump Vernon? By next week, we'll have the answers.

Either way, it was great to have a little bit of Jim for awhile, so it was. From the first "What about yer, Steven" to his connecting with his wee granddaughter Amy, to the father-son relationship that puts poor Steve in the middle. Seeing him with Liz again, feeling that crackle of chemistry. It was short, but it was worth it.