Small moments of triumph

(This post was originally posted by Graeme N on the Coronation Street Blog in November 2014.)

I don't know how I feel about Coronation Street at the moment. There are things that I have really enjoyed that I wasn't expecting to and other stuff that provokes stifled yawns.

I unexpectedly really enjoyed Tracy's wedding debacle and Rob's comeuppance. Rob was a character I was never too fond of but he has grown on me and I'm actually quite sad to see him go. Tracy, a character I would happily push under the Weatherfield Wayfarer tomorrow, was hard to sympathise with and as usual, easy to loathe. Typically she's blaming everyone else for her current predicament and I fear there will be more fireworks ahead between her and Carla.

Peter coming out of prison was always going to be a queasy watch. We knew he had false hopes when it came to Carla and I was glad she stuck to her guns and saw him off. Although Peter has been a deep, beautifully flawed Corrie character I will be pleased to see him off our screens for a while. It's a tribute to Chris Gascoyne that the character has survived the awful Tina affair plot pretty much intact. I'm still ready for a break from him though.

Another character I struggle to empathise with is Todd Grimshaw. I understand from what I've read that the aftermath of his brutal mugging will see him become even more unpleasant as he seeks revenge from his nearest and dearest. Sorry, but this is tedious. Fair enough nobody turned up to dinner but really he only has himself to blame on that front. Had he not been so odious and conniving ever since his return, none of this would have happened. His brief good turn, helping Roy scrape eggs off his windows was nowhere near enough to elicit any sympathy whatsoever.

The arms-folded one is also heading for dark times.Steve's depression is continuing to manifest itself and neither Michelle nor Liz really have any clue what is going on. I would have more interest in a relationship hitting the rocks if it was one I actually cared about. I would much prefer for Steve and Michelle to break up for good, rather than fighting collectively from our armchairs to keep them together. As always, Michelle is making Steve's problems all about her. A deeply unsympathetic character who needs to ship herself off to wherever that charmless, gormless son-who-is-not-her-son has gone. 

I am looking forward to seeing more of Tim's storyline. Joe Duttine can do no wrong so I'm hoping he will deliver the goods as Tim struggles with his literacy issues. I also really like the idea of Dev and Julie together. Meddlesome Mary needs to let them be. And Cilla's return has been quite enjoyable. I'm pretty relieved the character has been toned down considerably and is therefore much more real and believable. I'm quite sad she's not staying on longer. Who'd have thought it?

The scenes of Maria and Luke out in the countryside were pretty tedious to be honest. I enjoyed Audrey's matchmaking but that's as far as it goes. I struggle to feign any interest in Maria these days and worry she's grown stale. Luke, like his sister Steph, shows promise though and I hope we see more interaction between them in the not too distant future.

Shock of the week for me was Katy declaring all of a sudden that she wants to become a paramedic. Really? While further education amongst the good people of Weatherfield is worryingly rare, this is a giant leap for me. What has happened to her son by the way? I can't remember the last time I saw her interact with him.

I still don't know what to make of the Nazir family. Yasmeen is fairly spirited (!) but her husband doesn't bring much to the party. I am liking Alya though, I think she has promise. As always though, there just seems to be too many characters for each of them to develop naturally. 

So how is Corrie for you at the moment? What are you enjoying and what is making you cringe?




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