Coronation Street: Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

Corrie promises yet more degradation of women, which seems to be most of their output these days.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/soaps/3354344/Maria-Connor-will-be-sexually-attacked-on-Coronation-Street.html

[Y&RWorldTurner]

There's speculation that Michelle Collins (Ex-Cindy Beale on EastEnders) may join and is in talks with Colllinson.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/soaperstar/view/173224/EastEnders-Cindy-hits-Coronation-Street/

[DRW50]

I read that too. You can already hear the hype starting, about how fantastic this is and what a blow to Eastenders, and isn't it fantastic. I actually laughed when I read that about "strong female characters", because Collinson has ruined any strong female character Corrie ever had. The women on the show now are shockingly weak and exist only to be dominated by men. Any time they try to make a decision on their own, they fail miserably, and men have to save them. He's even turned poor Eileen into another one of these twits. Collinson is also terrible at camp, and he's terrible at bringing in new characters. So what is there to look forward to exactly?

Corrie gets a lot of praise at the moment no matter what it throws up on the screen, so I'm sure this will be no different, but it's going to take a lot more than stunt casting to make up for the bad writing and regressive, depressing atmosphere which has taken over the entire show.

Michelle Collins worked well as Cindy because of the writing and because of the mating of artist and character. Nothing else I've seen her in since has come close.

I just hope she takes a look at the disaster of Tracy Barlow's return and makes sure her great pal Phil doesn't give her the same [!@#$%^&*] writing and directing.

[DRW50]

One of my all time favorite Corrie characters is coming back.

http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/s3/coronation-street/news/a299987/dennis-tanner-to-make-corrie-comeback.html

I am very wary over this because a) I think Phil Collinson has turned Corrie into a hollow and depressing plotfest and his characterization is often shocking, b ) the description only mentions him as a criminal and ignores that he was a very popular comedy character, and c) he has ties to almost no one. But it will be nice to see Dennis again, as long as the story works. He was a brilliant character, and, although I know that was a long time ago, I think he was one of the most handsome men to ever be on the show.

I hope this works out. I also hope that they won't bring him back just so he can die.

Unfortunately his comic relief moments do not seem to be on Youtube. Here is his 1968 wedding, his exit story. Phillip Lowrie had casting approval for his bride. He chose a woman he thought could deal with Pat Phoenix. This was also the goodbye for a while of one of my all time favorites, Jerry Booth, who could barely cope with the strain of being best man when his own marriage had been a huge disaster.

Sadly about four years after Dennis left, happily, the show decided to ruin him and say that he had been conning old people out of their money and was put in prison. Awful stuff.

Edited January 25, 2011 by CarlD2

[Dion]

There's still Ken and even Rita (afterall, Rita was actually introduced as an old friend of Dennis' in her 1964 guest stint) and Emily too (though I don't know if Emily and Dennis ever interacted much). They could even make him and Eileen long lost cousins! (after all since Grimshaw was Elsie's maiden name there was a lot of speculation made in 2000 about a possible link between Eileen and the Tanners when it was announced that Eileen was to move into No.11 with her two sons, though that turned out to be the newspapers once again blowing things out of proportion!).

It would be nice if Dennis has been in touch with Jed Stone and tells the others that Jed has got his life in order (I was not happy with the way Jed's last stint ended) or even better, they could bring Jed back too, though I don't see that happening.

[DRW50]

I had forgotten about his ties to Rita. I would like to see more of that. Relations to Eileen and Jason would be great too. Even something with Graeme. Or a return to his days as a talent agent.

I really would like to hear them mention what's happened to Jed, so that would be nice.

I just hope this isn't some type of "help me die" story for Ken. If anyone needs to be put out of their misery lately, it's Deirdre, Tracy, and Peter, not poor Dennis Tanner.

[DRW50]

I found this - it's a clip of Rita's first scene, which also involved Dennis. It starts at about 6:20.

[Dion]

Yes I'd already seen that clip and quite liked the chemistry between Barbara Knox and Phillip Lowrie.

[DRW50]

Apparently The Sun says Todd Grimshaw is returning this summer.

It will be interesting to see whether this is just for a visit (Sean and Marcus are having their ceremony at that time aren't they) or if this will be a longer stay. I would love to see Todd stay around for a while, as Jason and Eileen could use more story and Todd was a great character. But then this leads into the "too gay" hysteria - would Corrie have 4 gay men, and 2 lesbians, on the show at the same time?

Since I can't see Ken's grandson staying around long either I guess it might not be much to fuss over.

[All My Shadows]

Crap, that might get me to watch the show again. I think I've already posted a couple of times about how much I want Todd back.

They can ship Sean and Marcus away...send them off to be near Violet so Sean can be in Dylan's life or send them off to the West End so Sean can be a theatre star or send them off to Majorca so Sean can be a pool boy or send them off to Siberia so Sean can disappear and never be heard from again. Whatever, it's cool.

But let my Todd stay! Patch up the Todd/Jason rift once and for all, give Eileen some good story (another love interest wouldn't hurt...), and make the Grimshaws an important part of Corrie again. Might as well connect them to Elsie since Dennis is coming back.

[DRW50]

I really like Marcus. I would rather he stay on the show.

If they are going to continue to have gay men as asexual then they probably wouldn't keep Todd around anyway, as that would seem ridiculous with Todd, whereas with Sean, I'm not sure anyone wants to see him kissing anyway.

[All My Shadows]

I don't think I've ever seen much of Marcus, if anything, so I guess that was unfair. But...guilty by association

I'd actually like it if Todd came back with someone, but like you said, having 5 gay men and 2 lesbians (7 out of 40+ characters, but whatever) would send people into shock. I would hope that in his time away from Weatherfield, he's gotten more assertive and confident. It's not out of the question that he would be single, of course, but I'd hate to have to deal with yet another story where a gay man falls in love with a "straight" guy who has to be dragged kicking and screaming out of the closet. But how many soaps have gone beyond that basic story without failing miserably?

[DRW50]

When he came back the last time he seemed more assertive, although he also kind of looked a mess and was written as being a loser in his career and not very happy in his relationship (some thought the show was punishing Bruno Langley for leaving so abruptly - he was also given a shirtless scene when he wasn't in great shape).

I do wonder where they can go with Todd. I sometimes toy with stuff like Todd and Gary Windass, but then like you said, it would be the whole straight guy is gay thing.

I do have some story ideas I'm going to write up - I hope you will suffer through them for me

When they said Marcus was coming back I started looking for clips of him that were available in episodes, since there was no "Marcus' Story" or "Mean" or any of that. I started the clips and times at the bottom of this page, and it goes on to page 2. I haven't gotten around to finishing yet.

http://gaydaytime.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=other&thread=992&page=1#207105

[All My Shadows]

Write 'em up! I love a good speculative fanboy read!

Gary/Todd could be good, but how long are Gary and Anna gonna be around? With Eddie gone, I don't see them hanging on too much longer, really. If we have to go through another coming out story, I'd like it to be someone who isn't on the canvas right now, like they could introduce a mate of Jason's and have him developed just a tiny bit before Todd returns. Jason's head would explode! But he would definitely get over himself and give them his blessing, I think.

Thanks for the Marcus clips

Edited January 29, 2011 by All My Shadows

[DRW50]

Anna and Gary...

When Eddie leaves, going to prison for a crime Gary committed, Gary is devastated and Anna can barely cope. "Uncle Len" swoops in, as he has always wanted Anna, and Gary idolized him for years. Gary's volatility is too much for Len to handle, and Anna rebuffs his advances. Finally during a bitter argument, he blurts out that he is Gary's biological father. Gary lashes out at him and shuts himself off from everyone, living on the streets.

Peter has dumped Leanne, and after a one night stand with Carla, washes his hands of her when he finds out she encouraged Nick/Leanne. He finds Gary drunk and half-dead in an alley, and tries to help him pull his life together. Since his flat holds too many bad memories, and Anna can no longer afford her home on her own, Peter and Simon move in with Anna, and Peter convinces Gary to come home. Anna is initially wary of brooding Peter, but soon has a crush on him, and Peter doesn't bother to resist her. Simon also develops a brotherly bond with Gary. Peter tries to hide the fact that he is still in love with Leanne.

Leanne moves in with Nick, more because she has nowhere else to go than for any other reason. They quickly realize they feel nothing for each other and when she ends up out the door with little to her name, Carla surprises everyone by taking her in. Both women love Peter but have moved on, and go out for drunken nights on the town. During one of these, Carla decides to finally admit what she has felt for a long time - she actually hates Underworld and has nothing but terrible memories of the place. She decides to start up a more low-key lingerie business with Leanne, and sells Underworld to an international conglomerate. A representative pops in long enough to appoint a permanent supervisor to take over Carla's former job. To the surprise of many, Hayley gets the job, and her first job is to fire every existing machinist but one. The shellshocked workers insist they won't fight for favor, but naturally, they do. After a few weeks, Hayley picks Sally.

Fiz, already upset over losing her jobs, vents to John, who tells her she has nothing to complain about, and rattles off his many crimes to her, subconsciously wanting her to turn him into the police. She does, but unbelievably, the police laugh at her, saying no one would ever believe that story. She calls Cilla, who, needing a ready-made family to charm a lonely millionaire she knows, gets Fiz and Chesney and the baby to join her in America. John, meanwhile, even more unbelievably, gets a teaching job - in his own name ! - in London.

Maria continues to date Chris, not caring that everyone is repulsed by or scared of him. She would rather have any man than no man at all. This malaise continues until a furious Michelle calls her and Liam's parents to confront Maria. Chris knocks Liam's father out and begins throttling his mother. Maria knocks Chris out, and he is taken away, never to be seen or mentioned again. Maria swears off men.

Todd returns to Weatherfield, and spends a lot of time with Sean, and Sean's boyfriend, Marcus. Sean, already upset over losing his job, becomes obsessed with the idea of Marcus and Todd having an affair. They aren't, but the more he goes on about it the more they're tempted. Finally, Todd moves out, and Marcus and Sean have a big fight. Marcus moves in with Maria. Marcus and Maria, commiserating over their bad relationships, get drunk, and Maria kisses him. They have sex. Sean, going to apologize to Marcus, finds them the morning after, and berates Marcus for being a "traitor." Having nothing left in Weatherfield beyond a friendship with Eileen, he tells her goodbye and moves to be closer to his son. Maria feels ashamed of herself, even though Marcus repeatedly tells her it's no big deal and it just happened. She can't believe she is so desperate for a man she even had sex with her gay best friend.

Kirk swears he has found a foolproof system for betting on the horses, but no one believes him...until he wins, and keeps winning, and keeps winning. He becomes a millionaire, and decides to travel the world. His sister Maria asks if she and the baby can go with him. Saying goodbye to their longtime friends, brother and sister Sutherland look forward to a happier future.

Lloyd's boring stripper girlfriend realizes she was only with Lloyd because she felt like she needed some kind of protection from Chris, and that she has no real interest in Lloyd. She leaves town with her son, never to be mentioned again.

Owen is in the middle of berating Izzy when Jason, doing repair works on the Rovers roof, accidentally drops a chimney on Owen's head. Jason is briefly suspected of killing Owen due to Owen's ugly behavior towards Eileen, but is cleared, but not before a great strain is put on his relationship with Rosie. The last straw is when the papers, wanting a scandal for one of the most popular glamour models in the UK, set Jason up with two strippers. Jason is happy to indulge, and their fling hits the front pages.

A humiliated Rosie dumps Jason, but milks the situation for all its worth. Eventually a "re-virginize"/chastity organization asks her to be its spokeswoman, and seeing more money in her sights, she accepts. She genuinely does try, but ultimately ends up destroying the organization when she seduces the very hot and very untouched spokesman.

Sally's good-for-nothing-but-sometimes-charming father, seeing an opportunity since she and Kevin are divorced, moves in with her. Sally tries to cope as the Street takes much amusement in this "cultured" woman having such a common father. Rita is initially put off by him but they soon fall for each other, and make plans to marry. Sally, for reasons even she doesn't fully understand, rebels against the idea of mother figure Rita actually being her stepmother.

To get back at Kevin, Tyrone sells his half of the garage to a company looking to develop in the area. Kevin manages to convince to them to keep the place open, but has to accept a new manager, a woman around his age who puts on a conservative face around her bosses, but around Kevin likes to drink and talk about football. They become lovers, and their casual relationship infuriates and disturbs Sally to no end.

Emily has a fall at home and many fear she won't pull through. She makes a miraculous recovery, and becomes convinced God is talking to her. Many put this off as eccentricity...until she starts telling them things she would have no way of knowing.

Irma Ogden arrives back in Weatherfield with a bang, hanging on for dear life to her outspoken and rude kids and constantly embarrassed grandchildren. Ken is virulently opposed to them from very early on, filing multiple complaints with the Council to have them thrown off the Street. Deirdre is dumbfounded by his objections until, during a bitter argument with Irma, Ken reveals that he still resents Irma for surviving the car accident that killed his brother and nephew, one Irma said she caused by nagging David. Deirdre sides with Irma, and says she can't remember the last time Ken was so emotional over her. Ken says he and Deirdre have never loved each other, but that he at least used to respect her, and belittles her for becoming such a complete idiot. Deirdre is deeply hurt and she and Ken separate, with no real plans to reconcile. She moves into the Rovers, with a Spain-dwelling Liz's permission, and becomes a barmaid, constantly annoying Betty.

Graeme proposes to Tina, and she accepts, but as she begins passive-aggressively putting down anything and everything he does, he realizes she doesn't really love him, and is too badly burned to have a relationship. He quietly puts his engagement ring in the gutter and drives off into the night, not telling Tina of any of his plans. Tina is surprised at how little she cares, and begins to realize she needs serious therapy before she can be happy again.

Becky and Steve's marriage, thin as it already was, falls apart at the seams after Kylie tries to kidnap Max in the middle of the night. Becky and Kylie struggle, and Kylie falls and hits her head, dying. Becky insists it had nothing to do with her, but even Steve doesn't believe her. Becky flees town with Max, only bothering to tell Roy and Hayley, and Tracy, seeing the opportunity while Steve is in pieces, grabs Amy and also flees.

Completely alone, Steve falls back into old patterns with drugs and alcohol, runs up huge debts, and ends up in a coma. Jim, Lloyd, Eileen, and Andy keep vigil, along with, surprisingly, his first wife Vicky. Although Vicky is happily married and has no desire to ever be with Steve again, she still loves him, and when he comes to and realizes the brewery sold the pub because of his debts, she tells him she bought the Rovers and wants him to continue running it. To keep an eye on him, she has her grandmother Bet Lynch return. Bet clashes with Steve but takes pity on him, as he reminds her of the son she never had a chance to raise. Over time she realizes that any desire she had to run the Rovers again is long gone, and she spends more time romancing Dennis Tanner, who is living with Eileen after an ill-fated attempt to explore her Grimshaw roots dropped him on her doorstep.