Sunday, 10 April 2011

Corrie Sunday Comments, April 10

Off we go for another week of Sunday comments. Don't forget to check the Bluenose Corrie Blog tomorrow for Lines of the week and weekly awards!


After last week, this week seems like it's taking a deep breath and getting it's footing back.


Gail's trying to adjust to life on the outside. Now she's got nothing to think about but Joe's death and it's not going to be easy with the boat that killed him parked outside the door. And looking for all her stuff after Natasha has rearranged the kitchen. Tina is clinging desperately to the last shreds of belief that Gail killed Joe but you could see her defences crumbling, little by little. Her having her job back is a good thing and Tina's back to work too. She and Tina finally made things up.


Nick's busy gobbing off at Deirdre and Peter, cheering that Tracy has been beaten up. I can understand his feeling but he's not got a tactful bone in his body. Now he's poking sticks at Peter and dragging Leanne into things.


Roy makes a romantic meal for Hayley and fills the flat with smoke. Meanwhile, what's on the stereo? "Mama, I just killed a man...." Nice. Hayley, stay in the cafe. But then, Roy goes down on bended knee on broken glass to ask her to marry him. He's not thinking pensions, now, not now he nearly lost her. But now, Hayley seems to have accumulated Mary as her new best friend and wedding planner. This can't end up well.

Audrey isn't too chuffed to realize that Lewis probably had an overnight date. He says "it's my job", oh really? I wonder how many other widows he's got on the string? And if he sometimes stays over, he's obviously being paid for it. An escort is one thing but a middle aged prostitute is another. Audrey, run for the hills! Also, he's been a bit flirty with Deirdre, too, wasn't he? He probably can't help himself. So he's said he's quitting. I don't trust him, i just don't. It's too bad, though, because they make a nice couple even if he's a little younger.

Now, what do we think about Izzy's dad, Owen? Clearly, he and Liz seem interested in each other. He also made a nice peace offering for Izzy. Mind you, it seemed to be about spending money, chocolate, perfume and music and all that. But Gary talked her around. I like the two of them together. I think Izzy is trying a bit too hard to be independent and Owen is finding it hard to let go. They need to find a happy medium.


Looks like Nick is still breaking dates with Natasha for work. He's taking the bull by the horns and he's got a new contract. And nowhere to make the knickers. Talk about cheeky! And he tried to hide the fact from his new buyer. So he sucks up to Peter and Leanne to try to get their old bar premises. That means getting in touch with George which Peter will never do so it's the old sob story for the good old times he lays on Leanne to get the number. Surely the owner would be registered with the local council? Couldn't he just do that? No of course not, because Leanne wouldn't be involved. He's so rude, too, isn't he? I think we need to form a slap line to the right, k? Nick thinks Mike Baldwin was right, you don't have to like the boss. Well he's on the right road to that, then. Mind you, i don't know who was worse in the pub, Peter or Nick and both of them clashing horns like rams on a mountaintop!


Meanwhile, Natasha found out he was married to Leanne and isn't too happy about it. And Nick is having way too much enjoyment out of winding up Peter about Leanne going behind his back. Methinks he still carries a torch for his ex-wife and maybe Peter thinks so too or he wouldn't have kicked off so much. So now everyone is working in a dimly lit space. If Nick could rent sewing machines, why can't he rent a few brighter lights? That can't be safe practice. And if there's supposed to be a tram rattling across the viaduct overhead (like we see in the opening credits), how come we never hear it in the new factory? Surely it's loud enough that the machines don't cover it? Anyway, Natasha is still chasing Nick and now she's lent him the money he needs for the factory. Naturally he's going to take it but that gives her even more reason to think he wants a committment to her.


Laughed at Natasha teasing David and Graeme when G. was massaging David's shoulder! Chesney was always so smart, why is he finding school so hard now? Julie drooling over Ciaran was a laugh, too, though she was a bit daft swooning over the accent when there were all those lovely tattoos on display ;) Ciaran wants to do a speed dating night. That should be good for a laugh. I bet Mary would autobahn over the whole lot of single men, or at least be a train wreck to get to Norris. Tina seemed a bit put off that Graeme wanted to do the speed dating.


Mary is absolutely bonkers, isn't she? Dressing up with a Princess Leia hair do and going on about Star Wars to Ciaran. She was kind of possessive of the Kabin too, wasn't she? The end of one story had something to do with a magistrate. I love that we only get odd little cryptic remarks like that out of her, referring to some murky episode in her past.

Looks like Trev is going to get to see the World Cup after all. He's taking Carla to get away from it all now the police have quite rightly let her off the hook and given her passport back. Chesney has had enough of school and is selling dog collars on the market! He makes out like it was all so hard but he used to be very smart and Cilla and Les considered sending him to Oakhill.

Friday, 8 April 2011

Not an Eddie Windass lookalike

"My Eddie looked like George Harrison in his heyday... if I squinted a bit!" said Anna to Roy in tonight's Coronation Street.


Sorry Anna, I'm not seeing it...

(This post was originally posted by Rebecca on the Coronation Street Blog in June, 2010, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Preview of Next Week's Corrie in Canada (April 11 - 15)

Next week in Canada on Coronation Street sees David taking exception to Graeme's new relationship. John gets rumbled and gains a new BFF. Peter and Leanne row about Nick. Ciaran is interested. Fiz and Chesney row about school. Someone from the Rovers intends to be Weatherfield's Fairest Barmaid.

For more detail and photos, check out the Moosejaw Mercury over on Corrie.net

Thursday, 7 April 2011

Mad Men meets Weatherfield

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog in January 2011, reposted to this blog with permission.)


I've recently discovered the joys of Mad Men  and have spotted some similarities between the characters from Madison Avenue and those of Coronation Street.  So here we go with my take on Mad Men, Weatherfield-style.


Roger Sterling is Ken Barlow. He's a ladies man through and through, hides behind his newspaper and no-one's quite sure what  he does all day long.


Don Draper is Kevin Webster.  Both alpha males, these two brush up a treat after a hard day at work.


Peggy Olson is Hayley Cropper. Neither of them are ready to settle for prescribed gender roles and strike out on their own to do their thing. And both have a secret son.


Joan Harris is Julie Carp, Corrie's very own sweater girl.  These are the women you want on your side if you've got something to sort. 

What's to say with these two?  Pete Campbell is Nick Tilsley. Both have a face that deserve a thousand slaps.


And finally, the belle of the ball meets the blonde bombshell of bedlam. Betty Draper is Sally Webster. All sweetness and light on the surface but woe betide any man who messes with these ladies.

Have a look at our Sopranos - Weatherfield Style, Coronation Street meets The Flinstones and more Corrie look-a-likes here.

Wednesday, 6 April 2011

Corrie's Marvelous Matriarchs

The Mirror has a maginificent seven rundown of their favourite Corrie matriarchs. Have a look at the list here - have they included your favourite?

I'm in agreement with most, but I'm not sure what Michelle Connor's doing on there... she's not been there long enough to be a matriarch. What about Liz McDonald and Deirdre Barlow instead?

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog in June, 2010, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Tuesday, 5 April 2011

Corrie Fab Photo: Maria the kennel maid

Samia Smith is currently on maternity leave other than a short appearance on our Canadian screens this past week during the Underworld Seige. She'll be back for good in about 6 weeks but as she was on my mind, I thought a Fab Photo of her when she first started on Coronation Street as a kennel maid might be in order! Her first appeareance was May 19, 2000 and you can read a fairly up-to-date profile of her over on Corrie.net

Whatever happened to Corrie's Linda Baldwin?


(This post was originally posted by me on the Coronation Street Blog in May, 2010, reposted with permission.)

You may remember that the actor who played Linda Sykes, Jacqueline Chadwick, disappeared. Mike Baldwin, her new husband and sparring partner, was suspected of doing away with her but it turned out she went to Ireland, last we knew.

Jacqueline Chadwick left the show to have a baby but has never gone back to acting. She's now living on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, and running a successful acting school for children. She also writes plays for the kids to perform and produce. She says she really wasn't comfortable in the spotlight that came with celebrity and much prefers teaching and writing. I didn't realise that she was a child actor herself. It sounds like she's made a very happy life for herself over here and we wish her all the best!

Monday, 4 April 2011

Mary Madness

I've been doing some thinking about Mad Mary Taylor. Yes, I do think she's a bit bonkers, wonderfully so, as far as a character goes. But I fear for the future of Mary. She's getting closer and closer to the edge, I think and that can't be a good thing. I've written a bit about my thoughts about her character on t'other blog here.

Corrie weekly awards: March 28 - April 1


Best. Pyrotechnics. Ever! (at least up to now!)

Pointed Stick (aka Get out of my head) award: Gold Star: Carla for continuing to provoke Tony all the way to a bullet through Robbie's heart and a near-miss with the fire and explosion.
Silver Star:Roy keeps getting under Tony's skin!

Don't just stand there award: Gold Star: Maria... just stood there in the pub in shock.

The boy who cried wolf award: Gold Star: David Platt on the witness stand. He finally tells the truth and he's made out to be the liar he *usually* is. So much for that witness.

Putting old ghosts and grudges to rest award: Carla and Maria.

Procedure my arse! award: The cops charging Carla with assault? You've *got* to be kidding!

Mobile Phones and Idiots don't mix award: Nick Tilsley. Hang up already. You want to run the factory, run it!

Tower of strength award: Gold star: Tall Trevor, quite literally.

And on a lighter note, the Fashion statement of the week: Izzy's flower ring!

Lines of the Week:
Carla to Tony: "You're just an under-endowed Scotch psycho"
Audrey: "I know she didn't do it and *I* think she's guilty!"
Julie: "Carla and Nick have said our jobs are safe?" Janice: "Morticia and Max Headroom?" (He SO looks like it, too!)
Tony: "It's going to be awful hot where we're going!"
Carla to Tony "Is it too late to say I'm Sorry?" (just a bit!)
Hayley: "I'd rather be talking about the Flying Scotsman than the Lying Scotsman"
Jury: "Not Guilty" (Was there every any doubt?)
Mary: "The Law's a toothless Tiger" (And Norris is encouraging her by telling her she's got a way with words. Stalker anyone?)
Tracy: "Get real Mam, she's (Gail) collateral damage" and about Amy: "She'll worry if she can't see me" (she doesn't see you anyway most of the time)

Sunday, 3 April 2011

Corrie characters gone AWOL

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog in June, 2010, reposted to this blog with permission.)

There's a couple of Coronation Street characters we haven't seen on screen in a while and I'm starting to miss them.

The first is Gail's dad, Ted Page. We know the actor has been doing this so he's been unavailable for filming in Corrie, but still, what with the court case and Gail in jail, you'd've thought he would at least have been mentioned. Does NuNick even know he's got a grandad?

And where's Aunty Pam with her knock-off ham?

Corrie Sunday Comments, April 3

Off we go for another week of Sunday comments. Don't forget to check the Bluenose Corrie Blog tomorrow for Lines of the week and weekly awards!

Tony was absolutely gleeful much of the time he was taunting the hostages! But Carla certainly knows how to find his hot spots to mess with him. Hayley just quivvered and cried, scared silly. What was it Tony wanted unloaded? Why, jerry cans of gas, of course! It might have looked as if he only had one can but i think Robbie left the rest by the door. That's what exploded. Meanwhile, Tony was very surprised there was no money in the safe. I was very surprised that Carla never changed the combination. Oh and by the way, how does Tony even still have an accountant? Probably as crooked as he is!


Hayley was every so nice to Robbie and absolved him of blame, as a fellow victim of Tony which had the (probably) anticipated result of driving a wedge between Robbie and Tony, fuelled by the missing cash in the first place. Oh Crap! Tony really must be round the twist! He usually gets other people to do his dirty work. I don't think he even expected that he'd actually kill Robbie, himself. He looked pretty shocked. Poor Robbie, he was an armed robber but not a killer and that's what did him in. That in itself is the turning point for Tony, the straw that breaks his fragile sanity's back.


Then comes along sweet little Maria and she got dragged into it all too. No chance that Tony would have hurt her though i think her presence actually pushed him a bit further off the rails, thinking about what he lost...though she certainly took her time telling people where he was when she finally was let go and got herself into the pub! Shock does funny things to one! And once she started, she couldn't shut up even though the police didn't want a panic to start. You gotta love Becky. No panic there but she was the only one trying to do something while all the men stood there and watched! The cops and a television crew hot on their wheels came around the corner pretty quick once called.

Maybe Roy getting under Tony's skin again was why he finally let Hayley go. Now it's down to just him and Carla and it didn't look too good but feisty Carla always fights back. She's a survivor and was bound and determined. Too bad her aim is off by a few inches, she could have killed Tony but only nicked him in the arm. What a fight though, eh? My heart was in my throat at one point. Fire raging, Carla and Tony rolling around fighting for the gun. Tony must have a pretty thick skull. She walloped him on the head with the chair and didn't knock him out! Carla managed to get out and Tony decided it was better to go up in flames as the rest of the gasoline blows the factory up!


In the aftermath, were you surprised the factory was still standing? I guess the fire brigade finally got there, and they must have got the fire out pretty sharpish. Speaking of which, that fire went on for long enough that the factory sprinkler system should have triggered but it didn't, not that we saw. No damage at all to either the garage or Gail's house and where were Nick and David? They weren't in the pub, so they must have been in the house. Didn't they notice the sniper on the roof and the lights flashing? Carla was in hospital and Trevor had to tell her her injuries. She was awake when she escaped, presumably she didn't pass out and stay that way until she woke up the morning after. And how is it right that the police are considering charges against Carla for self defence?? Procedure my arse...there's plenty enough leeway to make an inquiry and drop the whole matter. Yet no, they arrest her for assault and possession of a firearm and that, my friends, is what's wrong with this world!


Now, a confusion... Tony told the women they could scream all they wanted. Nobody would hear them inside the factory and that's probably true or the neighbours would complain about the machine noise. But someone screamed in the factory and Nick and David were still half way down the street approaching their house .... "Did you hear that? Sounded like a scream" and a little holler by Roy at the door was heard well inside the factory, too. So which is it? And did you notice how it got dark in the minutes between Hayley being shoved out the door in broad daylight and after the ad break, they were walking her away and it was full on dark outside.

Nick...you need to get a life because you have no business. Why bother Carla now about it? How did Maria manage to get rid of LadRags? She went to see Carla about it but the discussion never got past some arguing at the door before Tony pulled her inside.


Kirk is such a dip isn't he? Did you hear him wondering about his "Wagon wheels" in his locker in the factory and then he saw a policemen eating one? I'm sure he thought it was one of his! lol! In the hospital afterwards,  I'm surprised Carla had her phone with her since it was not exactly in her pocket through the whole captivity thing and she didn't stop to get it before fighting Tony off.


And now to the trial...


On Day 3, David finally told the truth, contradicting his mother's testimony. For once he was honest and the old "boy who cries wolf" syndrome now kicks in. Everyone thinks he's lying since he always did, lying to save his mother. Wow, if that was the only testimony, you might actually think Gail was guilty! Now there's a lot of reasons why Gail *should* be jailed but this really isn't one of them, is it? Still, the prosecution was practically rubbing their hands and drooling in anticipation. It's for sure they're all thinking things are pretty grim. Odd that everyone would go to the courthouse and not know when the jury would come in. You mean they'd have hung out there every single day the jury was out deciding?


Nice of the jury to wait until after the seige to come back with a decision! Not guilty, of course. (Oh shut up, Tina!) Plenty of reasonable doubt, i should say. Mary and Norris thoroughly disgusted me, betting on the outcome and discussing it where everyone could hear. Nice to see Eileen come to see Gail at the house and express her pleasure at Gail's release. She might not like Gail, but she's fair about some things, is Eileen.

And you can view the comments from your friendly neighbourhood Court reporter, Day 3 at the trial and The Verdict. 


It didn't take long for Tracy to find out the police weren't going to broker any sort of deal and took even less time for Lynn's (Gail's cellmate) friends to gang up on Tracy and teach her a lesson for "grassing". When will Deirdre learn that she can't trust a thing that Tracy says? Why is she always surprised to find out she spawned a madwoman? She's saying that Tracy deserved the beating but you know in a few weeks she'll be back defending Tracy with her last breath. I don't know why Gail wouldn't believe that Deirdre had no idea Tracy was lying. She has known Deirdre long enough to know that Tracy leads her mother around by the nose and Deirdre has very firm blinders on, much like Gail does about her kids but Deirdre is far worse!


Gary's back on leave, proper leave this time and he's getting close to Izzy. I kind of think they have good chemistry, actually but her father seems a bit of a control freak. Chesney might be investigating girly magazines, John thinks, but really, he's been skipping school and selling dog collars on the market instead of studying. Except for Business Studies. I guess he thinks that will help him sell dog collars. Trevor ended up being the one that pulled out of the World Cup trip so the rest of the lads seemed happy enough to melt back into the woodwork so that their partners wouldn't kick the crap out of them for spending all that money! And Maria has rented the salon flat for Kirk to live in so he's got somewhere to live.

Have you noticed The new opening credits that were done when Corrie started broadcasting in HD last year? Lovely!

Saturday, 2 April 2011

Wasn't it a wild ride on Corrie?


(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog in June, 2010, reposted to this blog with permission. It was originally written before this week's episodes aired in the U.K.)

 Ian Wylie has a piece in the Manchester Evening News (published last June) about this week's Coronation Street seige at Underworld. I don't know about you but I thought it was spectacular!

I know the media always say that but he's seen the episodes at a media preview and honestly thinks it's the best thing Corrie's done for years. It's certainly some of the most expensive scenes ITV has ever filmed and it took them four weeks to film just six episodes with a special, fireproof replica of the factory.

Also at the preview were actors Alison King, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Samia Smith and James Fleet, all of whom are involved in the storyline that sees Tony taking his revenge for being banged up in jail.

Ian has a few quotes from Alison and Julie both in the main article and also on his blog where he has a bit more to the story. All the actors had challenges in filming the scenes and it sounds as if they've succeeded themselves. Outgoing producer Kim Crowther says “We’re very proud of this week of episodes,” and I for one, can hardly wait to see it all!

Friday, 1 April 2011

Court Reporter: Gail's Trial, The Verdict



We have a verdict! There was a lot of handwringing among the supporters and indeed, from the accused herself. None of them looked too sure of the outcome. Joe's daugher seemed to be holding her breath and crossing her fingers, hoping for a guilty verdict. You couldn't tell from the jury members' faces as they filed back
in but ...

She's NOT GUILTY!!

The arresting police didn't seem too thrilled and neither did Miss McIntyre who let loose a string of vindictive, horrible and, probably grief-stricken emotions directed at her former step-mum. Two viewers in the gallery appear to have had a bet on the outcome which garnered them a few dirty looks from Gail's family members.

I bet if that Ms. Barlow did testify in hope of gaining something and if her testimony was indeed lies, then she'd better hope she can get herself locked in an isolation cell because prisoners don't like tattlers and they like tattlers who lie even less!

If you didn't know the accused, though, the testimony really wasn't condusive to making you convinced she couldn't possibly have killed her husband. If I was to hazard a guess, I wouldn't have put it as premeditated but I suppose she could have lashed out at him with that rolling pin and bashed him overboard accidentally. Still, why would she have brought the rolling pin on board the boat in the first place? It sounds like the jury believed that Joe McIntyre was a total loser who couldn't even manage to fake his own death properly.

Let's hope everyone can put this behind them now and move on.

Alison King reveals Corrie's most expensive and explosive scenes

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog in May, 2010, reposted to this blog with permission.)
 
There's an excellent interview with Alison King, who plays Coronation Street's Carla Connor, in The Sunday Mirror. Alison talks about the siege on the Street and the explosion in the knicker factory, which kills off two Corrie characters. Read the full interview here.

Now that the story about the fire at the factory is out in the public domain and the Mirror has pictures of the factory up in flames, I feel it safe to blog this picture below I took on our visit to the Street set last weekend (ed. May 2010). It was a shock to see Underworld in such a state, but here it is, fire-damaged and boarded up. Looks like there's some great, explosive scenes to come in Coronation Street.




Next Week on Corrie in Canada (April 4 - 8)


Tracy faces consequences and Nick is glad. Roy steps up his romantic game.  Nick's under pressure to keep Underworld going and uses Leanne to help him. There's a new man in town. Hayley has a new BFF. Audrey has second thoughts. Natasha's eyes turn green. Chesney goes walkabout.


The full weekly preview, with loads of pictures, is right here on Corrie.net
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