The S-Word

(This post was originally posted by Scott on the Coronation Street Blog in February 2012.)


Something weird happened in last night's Corrie.  They mentioned Salford.  Twice.


First Roy said his cafe was on an "ordinary Salford backstreet".  Then Jason said he was just "a Salford boy".



The odd part of all this is that Weatherfield has always presumed to be Salford; in the fictional world of Coronation Street, the city across the Irwell doesn't exist.  Tony Warren based Weatherfield on Salford in the first place so we've always worked on the assumption that it's not there in Corrie world, in the same way that Metropolis or Gotham City are basically New York.  Weatherfield = Salford.



Roy and Jason's statements throw up a load of questions.  Does this mean Weatherfield is just part of Salford?  Has it always been this way?  What about Weatherfield's mayor, Alf Roberts, or Councillor Dierdre Barlow?  Who did they represent?  Does this mean that the Lowry is now under Weatherfield's jurisdiction, so Audrey can nip to the ballet when she gets a spare minute?  Does this mean that Greater Manchester is even bigger than we previously thought, because Salford and Weatherfield are both in there somewhere?  Is there some kind of demilitarized zone, like the one between the two Koreas, where neither side has responsibility?



I think we should be told.

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Peter Barlow circa August 1978

This is Peter Barlow as seen in Coronation Street in August 1978. He's played by Joseph McKenna. Peter has come to visit his dad and  Uncle Albert from far off Scotland and has the accent to prove it! He's 15 and freckled and you can't picture this ginger lad growing up to be the unfaithful alcoholic Peter we know today!

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Alan Halsall thinks Tyrone and Kirsty are brilliant

(This post was originally posted by me on the Coronation Street Blog in February 2012.)

There's an interview with Alan Halsall over on Digital Spy today. He talks about working with Natalie Gumede, who plays Kirsty, and how he sees Tyrone and Kirsty's future working out.

We know that Tyrone is going to propose to Kirsty after he mistakenly believes she's having an affair. This comes from Tommy and Tina getting the wrong end of the stick and of course with Tyrone's history with Molly, he's going to be exta-sensitive to suspicions of that nature. When he finds out she was only planning a romantic Valentine surprise, he thinks he's going to lose her and plans a grand gesture, proposing to her at the police station.

Alan reckons that Tyrone still realises there are problems but thinks a proposal can make them all go away. He's not too keen on Tommy and Tina, either, for interfering but Alan says Tyrone is a forgiving sort of bloke and it will probably blow over soon enough. He's looking forward to seeing what happens when Terry Duckworth lands back in town since he and Terry have had some contentious history.

When asked about the appeal of Tyrone, Alan says: "I think it's because people can relate to him. That seems to be true for all sorts of people - there's ladies who want to mother him, young lads seem to get him too, while other people will know somebody like Tyrone." And I think that's spot on. Tyrone is a regular guy, isn't he? He's everyone's mate, everyone's wing man, the solid and loyal sidekick.

Tyrone's one of my favourites and Alan Halsall is a really lovely man, from all accounts!

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Corrie Canada weekly awards: April 30 - May 4

They always say that award: "Neither of us meant to hurt her, We tried to fight it, I hate myself for it" (hollow words. They mean nothing. If they did, you wouldn't have done it in the first place.)

Gossip Central award: Sally wasted no time spreading the gossip about the affair and later, the verdict, did she?

Perception award: Gold Star and the Oscar goes to... Frank Foster. Boy could he put a spin on what happened that night!

Mr. Cellophane award: Transparent Star: Steve is so obvious, I can't understand why Tracy can't see right through him and detect he was up to something.

Techy award: Milton had the whole "Beef Encounters" presentation on his laptop in days!

Snap to it award: Rosie snaps her fingers, Jason jumps!

Obligatory Trial outbursts: Leanne and Peter. You can tell the jury to disregard it but they've heard it. The door can't be shut on it. And there's always one to protest the verdict.

Botulism award: Carla doesn't keep her eggs in the fridge?

Made your bed award: Lie in it star: Peter keeps trying to dump Simon on Ken.


Majority Rules award: Carla has the majority share. Shouldn't her opinion on the business weigh a bit more?

Out of the cupboard: Sophie made another rare appearance.

2012 Cute Baby Award!

Tit for Tat award: Childish Star: Tracy and Steve's antics are so boring.


Lines of the Week:
Owen about Frank "Never mind being locked up, he should be put down"
Sally "Didn't you know? They're having an affair. Have been for ages. ... Cheers!" (*smack smack smack*)
Leanne to Peter "One thing was true. You were going to see a dog!" and "She gets the bling and I get the booby prize"
and "There's no such word as 'couldn't' only 'won't'"
Deirdre "A woman scorned is a very different kettle of fish from a man scorned" Ken "Tell me about it"
Milton to Hayley "People don't want food any more, they want ideas packaged as food." (not me)
Milton to Roy "Goodbye Roys Rolls, Hello Beef Encounters"
Roy about Milton "The Brashness! The contempt for the English language!"
Foreman of the Jury "Not Guilty"
Rosie "Jase! I'm a Celeb! Everything I do is news!" (Aw Bless her, she's thick as a brick isn't she?)
Deirdre "They're like busses to Peter, always another one along in a minute!" (Ha!!)
Tracy about Peter "He can't just dump Simon here" (ironic, much?)
Roy to Milton "As far as you find it possible, try to keep your mouth shut"
Beth to Julie "There's as much chance of peace between them two as you being a natural blonde!"



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Steve and Tracey and that bizarre wall

(This post was originally posted by Rebecca on the Coronation Street Blog in February 2012.)

So Steve went and got Owen to build a wall in the front hall of Number 13, and not only was Owen the fastest builder in the West, he managed to plaster and paper the wall as well! All before Tracy had cottoned on and returned home, all thoughts of reconciliation forgotten once she clocked the home improvements and realised she and Amy were banished to the upstairs.



It was a welcome respite from the awful trial, Carla's upset, Leanne leaving, that terrible story about Sylvia and Norris battling each other, and the myriad other dreary things happening in Weatherfield this week. It was an inspired bit of comedy - inspired possibly by the famous Steptoe & Son episode where they fall out over redecorating the house, so Harold builds a wall down the middle, leading to hilarious consequences where, for example, he can't see half of the football match or indeed turn the TV on as Albert has the buttons on his side of the wall.



But, it didn't seem to make much sense on a few levels. Firstly, where was Steve going to go to the loo? Wee in the kitchen sink? The yard? Run up to the Rovers each time? I hope he's got an old tin bath stored somewhere because he'll need it in front of the fire when he needs a bath. Tracy and Amy are alright - they've got the bathroom, although they did need to borrow some plates for their chips. But why didn't Steve get Owen to put a doorway in the wall so that they could have both used the door off the street, rather than Steve having to use the door off the yard as his front door?



This whole thing also got me thinking - you never see the front rooms in a lot of houses on Coronation Street. They're traditional two-up-two-down terraced houses, only a lot have been extended with kitchens and sometimes even bathrooms on the back. Traditionally (and probably when Corrie first started) the back room would have had the range and would have been the family room, with the front room being used only on special occasions. My mother-in-law still keeps her front room for best: At Christmas we were invited in, only for my husband's stepfather to remark "You can't go in there, man! No one's died!" (My husband's family are from Durham...)



In some houses it makes sense that we don't see this room, because it must be a bedroom. For instance at No. 1, it was Blanche's room. In Eileen's house, it must be someone's bedroom, although confusingly everyone always seems to come from upstairs in the mornings. This is the same in Tyrone's house, although I think sometimes it seems like Tina comes from here so maybe it's hers?



In some, the entire downstairs seems to have been made into one room. I hope they got a decent RSJ in to keep the upstairs up. For example, in Fiz's house, we come straight off the street into a fairly big room. In Maria's old house, where I think the Alahan's are currently living, it seems the same - the room comes straight off the street and the stairs come down into it. This house always seemed to have more delineated spaces for living and dining, too.



But in Emily and Norris', and where Steve and Tracy are currently living, there's clearly a front room that no one ever goes in. Well, not that I can remember the last time we saw into No. 3, and where is Emily anyway? I do hope Eileen Derbyshire is okay. I'm guessing that Steve's wall means that he gets this room - but he'll probably still never use it.



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Sunday Canadian Corrie Comments, May 6

Well, that's it then isn't it? The bomb went off in the court and it can't be unexploded. Leanne knows Peter and Carla are having an affair. Frank tipped the news in the best way possible. Peter scrambles but Leanne isn't having it and Peter gets to be with Carla a little sooner than he thought. I wonder if he would have left her after the trial like he said he would? Moot point now. Clearly it's affected Carla's case and not for the better. Frank does an impeccable job of testifying and nobody should be surprised. He's a control freak and is very good at lying. That in addition to the bombshell and Frank is deemed not guilty! Just for good measure, Peter gets to stand up and protest the verdict just like someone does every time!

It's hard to believe when Carla had the bruises to prove it and all the post traumatic stress that both the police and Maria can testify to but it's a soap trial and it's got to be dramatic. Of course Frank doesn't want to have civil action taken against Carla. There's a lot more flexibility in that type of court case and it could very well go against him there.


Don't worry. Frank is a villain and he'll pay eventually. He came to Carla supposing to make peace but you could see it wasn't over by a long shot. The very next morning he's arrived with all his staff to share Underworld since there's no longer any reason he has to keep away and because he owns part of it himself. Now how's *that* going to work! Not well i should think. Even just having Michelle and Sally sniping in the office will be bad enough putting aside the fact that half the worker bees believe Carla and half of them believe Frank. But Carla is the majority shareholder, you'd think she would have more to say about the division of work etc.


Carla is still trying to keep the factory afloat and this new client, Jenny might have just the order she needs but the conflict is going to make things more and more difficult. Frank offers to buy her out and she considered it but is determined not to let him win.

Leanne and Peter tear apart their marraige in some very painful and realistic scenes. Leanne packed a bag and the hearts of millions of Canadians broke when Simon ran crying down the middle of the street after his mummy! Peter most certainly didn't put Simon first in all this and continues to run to Carla, leaving Ken and Deirdre with Simon most of the time. Simon is not dealing well with it all, as you would expect and is kicking back, poor mite. It seems like Ken does understand Peter's dilemma even if he disapproves of it, mainly for Simon's sake. I suppose he would! Stella in incensed at what Peter's done to her chick and wastes no time tearing chunks off both Carla and Peter (or CarPet in couple-speak)


I wonder if Peter should be afraid? Carla's managed to see off almost every bloke she's been involved with.


Sally is right in her element, crowing to the neighbours about the affair in case anyone hadn't heard and shouting the verdict from the rooftops. It has another effect too. A lot of people think Carla was lying about the rape so that she could get rid of Frank to be with Peter. That's a test of true friendship, isn't it? The ones that believe you no matter what a verdict says. Leanne is devastated, Ken is both mortified and disgusted. After all, he should know ;)

Steve and Tracy have gone to war, or at least, Steve has. He's dug his heels in and refuses to leave the house and since her name is on the deed, she's not going either so he decides to block off the upstairs to the downstairs and create "flats". I don't think that's at all legal and you'd think Owen would know better. I'm surprised Tracy never saw this coming. Steve's as transparent as cling film! I'm not sure why he would have built the wall parallel to the front of the house. Leaves a bit empty space there and a wasted window. And Tracy didn't waste any time setting up a sitting room in one of the bedrooms did she? There's a sofa and everything! So she and Amy must be sharing a bedroom. It's all so silly!


Tracy is going to fight it of course and she's pulling her parents into the fight as always. I laughed at her moaning and complaining that Peter dumped Simon on his parents. Pot? Kettle? Tracy uses her mother as per usual to try to put her case to Steve but he can see right through her. The battle continues. It can't drag out too long. Someone is going to have to back down. Steve has the taxi flat, surely he could just move in there but it's the principle of the thing.


Brian and Kylie start a war over the lunchboxes. Brian looks like a total idiot trying to come up with plans to make the school successful. Only Brian could compare himself to President Obama! LOL! Anyone feel like Brian is the new Derek Wilton? I do! I'm not auire sure a healthy eating initiative is going to raise the school's profile and standing but there you go. It's all intended to feed the conflict with Kylie.

Rosie role plays, practicing for when she gets famous! Oh come on, you know you do this! You're on stage performing, you're on television, you're doing something you always dreamed of right? Anyway she and Jason got it on in the car but when the hand brake came off, they rear ended someone and they happened to be in Owen's van at the time! Oops! Because she was the face of bicycle safety, her face gets plastered over the newspapers after the accident and she gets sacked and so does Jason but now Rosie's agent has got her an interview for a television job!


Milton has big plans for Roy, he is encouraging expansion and wants to make it into a chain type restaurant based on a train theme. I can't really picture Roy in a chic environment and Roy most certainly can't either. It feeds Sylvia's need to go upscale along with Milton though.


Poor Katy is struggling with new motherhood, no sleep and all the responsibility of it. Chesney is trying to work all the hours he can so he's not a lot of help. Deirdre was helping out in the bookies. I thought she worked at the health centre?


And that's it from me for a few weeks while i'm on my holidays.

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Factory of Death or the Curse of the Connors (WITH SPOILER at the end)

(This post was originally posted by me on the Coronation Street Blog in February 2012.)

The Coronation Street factory name Underworld seems to be more appropriate than you might have thought. Anyone who works there caught saying "this factory will be the death of me" better watch themselves. That's more of a jinx than they know!

People have died there over the years and it is about to be the scene of one more death (revealed at the end of the post).


Let's go back in time.

The problems seem to have started when original owner Mike Baldwin expired on the factory steps in the arms of his rival, Ken Barlow in April 2006.


When the Connor brothers took over after Danny Baldwin and Adam Barlow were persuaded in turn to sell out, that little cloud of death over the factory started raining down.


It was April 2007 and the Brothers Connor hired a group of Polish women to work in the factory.  At the time, Carla was trying to get her own line of clothing started and a few of the new workers agreed to work at night on that order, in addition to working their regular day shift. Early one morning, Kasia was trying to carry too many boxes down the stairs and missed the top step, crashing down to the factory floor and she died. Her death was covered up so that Health and Safety wouldn't realise the long hours she'd been working.


Come forward a few years to 2008 to Tony Gordon's term as one of the factory owners. After putting a hit out on Liam Connor for having an affair with Carla, Tony nearly killed pensioner Jed Stone. It was a near thing but Jed survived to tell the tale. Tony nearly killed Carla when she found out and put two and two together, realising that Liam's death was Tony's fault. She left Weatherfield but when she returned, she and Roy pushed so many of Tony's buttons that he broke apart, nearly drowned Roy and then turned himself in.


The next death comes into play when Tony escaped from prison in June, 2010, intent on revenge, and held hostages in the factory. He shot his henchman first, and then decided to set fire to the factory, trapping himself and Carla inside. Carla managed to escape but rather than allowing himself to be caught, Tony stayed inside and when the petrol cans caught fire, the factory exploded and took Tony to "Underworld" for good.

Barely a month later, however, another dead body was entombed under the floor of the factory when John Stape hid the body of Colin Fishwick in a hole in the factory during the reconstruction after the explosion. The body was wrapped in a rug and the builders poured concrete in the hole to rebuild the floor. The better part of a year later, the body was discovered when a drainage problem resulted in excavations, John himself being the one to dig up the body before anyone else could find it.


SPOILER WARNING!!!!!


The latest death is set to be Frank Foster, partner in the factory with Carla Connor. How he will be killed has yet to be revealed but the scene will probably be set with a number of potential candidates as the murderer.


So, did Mike Baldwin start this all off or is this the Curse of the Connors? Maybe Carla ought to get out while she can!


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Lingering thoughts about Corrie rape trial (with spoiler)

I wanted to weigh in on my own thoughts on the Coronation Street rape trial from last week and have  just written a summary of Frank Foster's rape trial for Corrie.net.

And breaking with tradition on this blog, I will reveal that Frank will indeed be killed in the factory. Soap Law dictates that villains are caught or will die and since Frank didn't go to jail, it's obvious anyway what will have to happen.

And from here on in, let's all keep a watchful eye for clues as to who the murderer will be when Frank pops his clogs amidst the knickers in the Factory of Death!

Here's a few blog posts speculating on Frank's killer....
Anne Foster
Sally Webster
 And ITV wants you to think it's one of these six.

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Sneak Preview of next week's Canadian Corrie, May 7 - 11

Without further ado, here's a brief run down of next week's Coronation Street on Canadian Screens:

Paul has a housing crisis and Eileen offers hers. Is that such a good idea? Rosie has a dream job offer...in London! Will Jason go with her? Katy is struggling with the baby but Chesney is working too hard to help much. Katy takes a chance. Tina rents a flat and ends up with a roommate or two. Tommy thinks he's caught Kirsty in a lie. Nick makes an effort.

Brian reaches out to Ken and confides a secret that could devastate he and Julie's relationship. Simon hates Carla and shows it. Audrey has a health crisis.

For more detail and photos, see the Moosejaw Mercury at Corrie.net


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Corrie Ping notice for Comox, B.C.

If you live in the Comox valley in British Columbia, this is good news for you. I've seen a notice for a Corrie get together, commonly known as a "Ping", to be held this Sunday, May 6 at the Best Western Westerly Hotel in Comox. Registration is from 2:15 to 2:45 with a $3.00 cover charge. See this posting for a phone number to call for more information.

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The beginning of the end for Frank Foster (Speculation)

(This post was originally posted by me on the Coronation Street Blog in February 2012.)

Now that we know that Frank was cleared of the rape charge and can now walk free, and we know that Sally finds out about Frank cheating on her, I think that could be the catalyst for Frank's ultimate downfall.

We've long thought, here at Blog towers that Sally will be the one that ends up helping to bring down Frank Foster and this could be the start of it. Sally won't take this lying down and a confrontation with this man could end up with a frightening outcome. It remains to be seen, but that's my guess.

We also know that Frank Foster MUST pay for his crime and since he's not going to jail, that means he must die by Soap Law. I reckon he will be murdered. Sally will likely be set up as a suspect considering how angry she's going to be, and possibly frightened if he gets aggressive with her. Then again, Kevin Webster could be riding to her rescue if Frank attacks her and we all know what kind of temper he's got! Clearly Carla is going to be a contender as will Peter.

Speculation:

But who will the the one that ultimately brings Frank Foster down?

If it isn't self defence or an accident, and none of the main suspects named so far are leaving the show, then Soap Law dictates it might be an "expendable crew member".

In that instance, my first guess would be his mother, Anne, in a fit of temper or temporary insanity when she realizes what he's really like.

Anne might catch him attempting to rape Sally and whacks him over the head and maybe she'll try to set up someone else, possibly Carla or Sally, to take the fall. The wrong person will be imprisoned at first, this year's recipient of the Deirdre Raschid "I Didn't Do It" trophe but the real murderer will be outed eventually.

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Heartbreaking picture of the week

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Coronation Street charmer calms nervous air passengers

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog February 2012, reposted to this blog with permission.)

The voice of Nigel Havers, who returns to Coronation Street soon as conman charmer Lewis, bas been voted the most reassuring to nervous air passengers.

In a poll this week about pilots' voices, a clipped Home Counties accent was voted the best of all in the survey of 1,000 regular travellers. There were also a preference for certain regional accents, with the Scottish lilt taking scond place and the Republic of Ireland taking third.

The celebrity voice passengers found most reassuring was that of upper class actor Nigel Havers, followed by Sean Connery.  Stephen Fry, Patrick Stewart, Hugh Grant and Ewan McGregor all made the top ten.


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Carla and Peter ("CarPet") - a classic Corrie couple?

(This post was originally posted by Clinkers (David) on the Coronation Street Blog in February 2012.)

Let's join hands and weep for Leanne Barlow. The same Leanne that went from being a teenage slapper to coke-snorting barmaid to tart. Now she is a sinned-aginst houewife in an M & S mac. Weep for her.



Or should we? From the embers of a not-so-hot marriage, Peter rises like a phoenix. Admittedly a gaudily tatooed phoenix but hey, you can't have everything. What he does have though is the lovely Carla, once mistaken in the Rovers for a post-op transexual. Raven-haired, red wine stained, you can imagine her wallowing in a vat full of Boddingtons. She's a bit hard-faced, not in the least bit girly and an alcoholic. Who better to share this burden then than Peter Barlow, knocking on fifty, former owner of a Scottish accent which disappeared only to be replaced by the northern brogue we've come to know and love. Peter Barlow - alcoholic, bigamist, chain-smoker, wimp.

The Barlow-Connor relationship is a disaster in the making. This worrying twosome will prop each other up through the wreck that is bound to be their life together. Scary Simon will have to contend with this most un-motherly of mother figures while Dad reels around with a vodka bottle. Let's be honest, this really is not what dreams are made of.



What of Leanne? Well, let's go for the most obvious possible storyline. I'll bet you a ha'penny to a hotpot that she will discover that she's pregnant fairly soon. This, of course, will throw Peter into even more doubt and will call for 'a decision to be made'. Will he opt for the Les Dawson-voiced strumpet at the knicker factory or harridan-in-the-making Leanne?



A nation shuffles closer to its TV screens.

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CBC Renews Coronation Street

The news from the Toronto Star this morning is that your favourite game shows, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy are not coming back in the fall season but not to fear, Coronation Street isn't going anywhere. While all the federal spending cuts have hit the news here this week, CBC is trimming and the game shows have very expensive license fees.

Spokesperson Christine Wilson, the director of content planning says "Unofficially I can tell you Coronation Street is coming back. If it didn’t come back, something would happen on Parliament Hill," Wilson said.

She's probably right!

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