DRW50

Reilly seems a bit awkward and wooden to me (then again so do most of the family), but I can see him as the character. Strike was always a bit too hot and Hollywood for me to believe the cowardice and weakness they wanted to make central to Johnny. I think DTC wanted a hot piece of ass to play his avatar on the screen. Now that he got that out of the way, he was more realistic. Abi is just a plot device. They don't even bother pretending otherwise. It's sad. I kind of wish they'd just write her out, as I don't care about her at this point, but then that would mean even more likelihood of Jay going as well, and at least she gives Max more to do.

With Johnny's return, we see the return of pre-rape Linda, when the show made halting attempts to write her as a character that they never finished because the story was never really about her and because I don't think Kellie Bright was ever entirely playing the person they thought she was supposed to be playing. And that Linda is a real mess. I'd forgotten how much her relationship with Johnny makes me rear back. Not only the infantilization, but the long-running struggles with his sexuality, complete with essentially saying she would rather he be celibate because men will just hurt him like she knew all along. Given that men have ruined her life, it would make sense to me if this was explored more (as I think it could have been explored if Nancy had been with a man more aggressive than Tamwar). The Carters have never come across as a happy or coherent family to me, underneath their singing and easy banter - they've never really connected for me the way that families like the Fowlers or the Slaters once did. I'm sorry Nancy is going as that means there's little time to explore the dynamics, but then, the last time there were 3 Carter kids on the show, there was no effort made to write for them... It's nice that the choice to have a duff-duff focused on Mick watching from the window continues DTC's mission statement for the rape story and the Carters in general - their pain is, in the end, all about Mick (and sometimes Shirley). It's still too soon to tell for me with Ted Reilly. He seems like good casting as Johnny - frankly, he's much better casting for the clear character outline of Johnny (the baby of the family, weak and frail, insecure, good-hearted but fumbling his way through life) than Sam Strike ever was. Do I think he's ever going to be a big actor on EE? I don't know. But I do think he's fine for what Johnny is. The best scene for me was Johnny and Shirley addressing the absolute absurdity of her being his grandmother. I always like Shirley in moments like those. I had to laugh when Johnny said that Luca's mother wanted him to stay. It's nice to know that DTC's mother issues know no town or country. You know, I've always liked Bonnie Langford (I'm one of the proud Melanie Bush fan club of about 10 people...), but I never had any idea of whether or not her acting style would fit into Eastenders. As it turns out, it does - she's not perfect, but she's impressed me on more than one occasion. She did fine tonight with some material that could have crashed over the hill of sheer campery. But the character - the character... Why is this woman shouting the street down for Stacey's honor? Of course it's not even about Stacey - it's all about her (as everything is). If SHE has forgiven Stacey, then Masood must do the same, and it also means he will forgive her, but she doesn't have to confront how much of this crusade is about him not forgiving her. And that's why she kept going, even when he repeatedly asked her to stop and hid away in his house to get away from her. This led to that nasty scene that I enjoyed (Bonnie and Nitin do very well together) where she belittled him for assuming she wanted sex (never mind that she'd once used him for sex while keeping the Arthur secret from him) and his shooting back that she wasn't that attractive. I do think there is some element of the show wanting to make sure everyone forgives Stacey, and I imagine he will fall into line at some point, as everyone always does. But most of it tonight was about Carmel's rampant insecurities. Speaking of Stacey, once again no one seems to be able to stop her from cashing into the furniture. I never wanted Martin to be a caveman to Stacey, but it's disturbing to me that she is so clearly not handling...anything well and he and Kyle mostly just have to react to it. Thank God for Jay, pretty much singlehandedly keeping those Mitchell family scenes alive, being assertive and aggressive in the way that I once thought Sharon was going to be, when I had fleeting hopes for about a week in March 2015 that they were going to bother writing her as anyone of value to the Mitchells (that scene of her staring longingly at the Mitchells as they went back home was possibly the most pathetic Sharon scene yet, which is saying something after the last few years). Jamie was wonderful, especially in his moments with Ben. Jamie and Harry Reid have some of the best chemistry of any duo on the show. It's unfortunate that I still worry this story is to set up Jay's exit, because without Jay, I will not give a flying fuc! about the current Mitchell setup. Yes, Steve McFadden is a good actor, but that isn't enough. Then there's Louise, as pointless as ever. I had to laugh when she lunged for Jay, both because Ben did the same last year, in the exact same spot (their positions were reversed but otherwise it was the same), and because I knew the "14" and "child" stuff was going to start when Tilly Keeper looks older than Jamie Borthwick. I refuse to believe that Lisa, a character I always had a soft spot for, had anything to do with this Identikit nobody. Send her back to the factory please. Could they have been any more obvious that they couldn't have Jack in the scene with Abi and Dot because he wouldn't let Phil take Abi? Why not just say he was in the toilet or something instead of saying he spent 90% of the episode holding Ronnie's hand? It's a shame, because I thought his scene with Abi was one of her best in some time, and he's one of the few to address the basic question - who ARE you? what have you become? If DTC is still there when she returns from seeing Tanya, I wonder if we will get one last "greatest hit" where she buries Ben alive...

DTC clearly wanted Johnny/Ben (even thought Strike and Harry Reid had no chemistry), so I imagine Paul will be written out and we'll get a revival of the story he was seemingly plotting before Strike wisely quit - gay guru Johnny "saving" Ben from himself.

But does Sharon do karaoke?

I just think that instead of the arc being about Peggy, it'll be about Phil's alcoholism, Grant returning, Ben's woes, or Louise trying to scam someone. I feel like Peggy is gonna be used as a plot to get sympathy for Phil in future months ahead. We won't get the after affects of Peggy's death like we should. I just don't trust DTC with something like this. I can see why. I have a feeling Barbara will have a lot of input, so it may work out. No way of knowing. At least we can be fairly sure her death episode won't end up being about the hilarity of Aunt Babe shaking her ass while Mick wears comedy glasses and Linda cowers.

So I went to Digital Spy to see what type of reactions there were to the "twist," as I was wondering what collective opinion was. I got about what I expected - someone who said they quit after 2 minutes because of "Robron" and because they thought it ruined Dr. Bailey (I'm not sure you can ruin a plot device, but OK); collective outrage at miserable Aaron being even more miserable because of Gordon's upcoming trial and outrage at the idea of being asked to feel sorry for a sexual abuse victim, complete with someone saying they hope Aaron is the one who goes to prison (for...being raped for years, I guess?); a few people who thought it was Kate Oates, which I probably would have too, and someone saying Matthew Wolfenden can't act. So about the usual for that place. I went to another board and people said it was cruel and bad writing. I was wondering what you thought. I didn't really think it was cruel, I mostly thought it was just overegging (I get the idea of it, especially the drama of David thinking he was clear only to learn he wasn't), but I can see why people would feel that way, obviously - this is a serious subject. With that said, as it's only one episode I didn't mind it that much, and I'll admit the scenes did move me (especially the last scene). If the rest of the story is treated respectfully (so far I think it has been...we'll see about the rest).

For me Peggy's exit really can't be that good, as she's become Barbara Windsor over the years, and the Mitchells are desolate (and only one or two people in the family can really even act at this point). But I thought the episode where she told Phil she was dying was very good, so I think it may work out.

I think they felt like it was a contrast between tears and laughter, or whatever. I think they were also so giddy about having their precious Johnny back that they assumed everyone else would be too. I think DTC will do right by Peggy and Barbara Windsor, as he's very invested in her, but we'll see.

I also can't help wondering if the toilet scene (a bad ripoff of Phil/Ian scenes I never liked the first time around, complete with Harry Reid apparently trying out for Steve McFadden Impression School) is another reason why they cast an actress who looks 25 to play Louise. If a girl who actually looked 14 or even a bit older than 14 had been put in that situation, OFCOM would have have their lines blown up. As it was, the most you could say is if briefly wiped off one of her two facial expressions ("corrupted robot" - the other one is "robot out of batteries").

Why in the hell was a highly dramatic scene literally pushed into the background so that we could see Linda shrieking "JOHNNY!" Why was Johnny sporting a plastic grin as if he was from another planet, completely oblivious to a man berating and verbally abusing a woman over her vicious lies, and the entire crowd being stunned? Not to mention that the man in question was Ben, someone he'd been worried about before he left Walford. I'm not trying to take away from the other criticisms of this scene - the lack of reaction in defending Abi (although I tend to assume most people were just stunned), the ugliness of it all - but I actually thought the scene itself was one of the most searing of this type they've done in ages. It felt disgusting and real, rather than campy and "soapy." Lorna and Harry got it right, the actors watching it unfold got it right (even Scott Maslen, someone I'm iffy on, got it right in that moment), the direction was crisp and atmospheric... How in the HELL was this completely and totally upstaged because it's time to pull our collective puds over DTC's avatar returning home? If there was ever one scene that epitomized why he had to go, this was it.

That's a shame. I wonder if he was ever interviewed about his time on ATWT. Is he the Tom in the 1966 or 1967 clips that are on Youtube?

Fans hate Victoria? Why? I think she's one of the bright spots on the show. A lot of them claim she can't act or hate her for defending Robert. There was a lot of outrage from these types of fans when she dared to be upset that Robert was shot and when she blamed the Whites, then Aaron. These fans can go gaga over a serial rapist but have no time for her.

Adele's not that bad - she just hasn't really done any real acting in about ten years. Brian Capron really was typecast as Hillman...but he was probably lucky to get the role.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x42zsu5_coronation-street-september-23-2002-episode-1-1-2_fun http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x439nqs_coronation-street-september-23-2002-episode-1-2-2_fun http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x43dodw_coronation-street-september-23-2002-episode-2-1-2_fun http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x43e3fo_coronation-street-september-23-2002-episode-2-2-2_fun These episodes have some terrific scenes where Richard breaks into Audrey's house to further his gaslighting plan and ends up cowering in her pantry as Gail and Audrey arrive back early. The last scene as he leaves is a bit panto for me, but otherwise it's genuinely fascinating to see him slowly come unspooled in there as they go on and on and on...and then when he overhears Audrey sneering about him over the phone. There are some good scenes with Todd as well, as he's insecure about where his life is going and is upset about Sarah dating Aidan (Ade), whom he sees as a bully and a thug. There's an especially good scene where Toyah stops by to give him a book for uni and they talk about the struggles of being the "perfect" younger child. The guy who played Ade was on Emmerdale last year as the bartender in the episode where Laurel got plastered (David Barlow was also in that episode, giving her bus money). He's still hot. Ade was an interesting character - he'd bring a lot of material for Todd and Sarah (maybe he could be a magical bisexual like Robert Sugden and have a bit of something with them both) and Ken too. I wish they'd bring him back.

I've been putting some of the episodes that Youtube blocks onto Dailymotion. Here's the Zak/Lisa wedding one (how sad...). http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x43g4n6_emmerdale-january-28-1998-zak-and-lisa-dingle-wedding_fun These are on Youtube (for now, anyway) and are worth a watch if you haven't seen them before. Paul and Diane return to his old Newcastle haunt and he finally tells her about his truly horrible childhood, being neglected by his mother and beaten by the father who was never a father to him in any way. It's probably Mathew Bose's best work as Paul. It also sets up his sister Sharon's arrival a year and a half later - that's good writing. Lots of really good scenes in here too with Viv and Donna tracking down Marlon and Bob before the cooking competition. Marlon acts like a twat, as is his wont, but he and Donna reconcile, with some genuinely nice scenes about Tricia and moving on. After rampant insecurities and a hair-flying scrap, Bob's new girlfriend (now Cathy on Corrie) sees the light and they break up so he can reconcile with Viv. Serving as the backdrop is the one and only Tony Christie, playing himself (and he's also an old flame of Diane's - these two episodes will really show you what a wonderful character Diane was and sometimes still is). The second one is a beautiful episode for Viv/Bob and Viv in general, getting the balance just right with her and showing what a special couple they were at their best. One of the things I think Emmerdale and Corrie have lost in recent years has been their Northern identity, their bread and butter. And that identity really shines through here.

I think they tried to do that in the scene with Robert and Victoria later on (for all the hate Victoria gets from the many disgusting fans this show has, she is one of the few sources of humanity left), but it was all half-hearted.

Madchen Amick?

Stephen Schnetzer voiceover.

Gregg Marx...going a bit sassy gay friend at the end.

Spot the AW cast member.