4344 - Sunday 1 February
Life was hell on earth for Leanne Batt...sorry Tilsley tonight
as she suffered in silence thanks to the enforced secrecy of their
recent marriage in Scotland.. Nicky2 couldn't reveal what had
happened to his parents and it was made worse by Gail slinging
verbal hatchets whenever Leanne's name was mentioned. Leanne wanted
to tell Janice what she had done but the opportunity never arose
because Toyah or less were also in the background removing any
chance of privacy that the two of them might find to have a chat.
Jim and Gary were job hunting without much success till Roy informed them of a local project that could yield them some labouring work. They decided to check the property out and see if it was they were looking for in a job. It would seem when they arrived at the site there was a job available for Gary Mallett but not Jim McDonald. The reason.......the foreman was none other than Steve McDonald and refusing his father work in a time of need was his own form of vengeance.
Gary out of a sense of loyalty to Jim turned the work down which in turn caused upset with Judy who was against Gary working with Jim anyway because Fiona mentioned his presence in the Street was upsetting her again. A rather tenous link if ever there was one but there you go.
Nutty Hayley was round at the Baldwin house today for drinks. She arrived early and Mike eager to avoid any potentially scatty friend of Alma's did a runner to the golf club for a quick nine holes before lunch fully expecting Hayley to be gone when he got back home. He would be disappointed though because Hayley stayed on for lunch much to his disdain. When she eventually did leave the Baldwin's flat she left a parting gift with Alma of a hand drawn portrait that she had done herself. Alma enthused over it (although personally I thought the eyes looked a bit dodgy) while Mike looked a little concerned.
The red rec storyline ticked away in the background and it appeared a tunnel had been completed with Toyah's help. However Toyah didn't spend the night in it because she wasn't too keen on the intensely cold weather outdoors.
Nicky2 looked for windows of opportunity to tell his mother about his marriage to Leanne but there was no opportunity awaiting. In the end he walked out of his house to avoid an argument and went to see Leanne at her house. In the end the two of them ended up in the pub with Les and Janice where Leanne told Nicky2 to show a bit of backbone and tell his mother what they had done. Nicky2 did his usual shrug of the shoulders act which seemed to signal his lack of ideas for a solution to their predicament.
The night ended with Sam and Natalie sitting down for a chat in the back room of the Rovers. Natalie had been watching Sam's reaction every time the wedding was mentioned and noted how she was cringing whenever Des mentioned the subject (mind you so am I he is *soooo* over the top, suspect acting alert if you ask me). As a result she decided that it was time to try and broach the subject with Sam and see if she could find out what was wrong. As ever though Sam was the consistently closed book and rather than talk she would always rather run away from the problem.
All in all : Good
I have a soft spot for Mike's character. He may have mellowed in his years but when it comes down to it his lack of subtlety can be very amusing. Take tonight for instance and his cracks about getting rid of Hayley the nutter. Mind you I do think he has a point.
As for everything else I can't wait for Nicky2 to spill the beans just to blow Gail's head apart, the explosion should be heard on both sides of the Atlantic :)
4345 - Monday 2 February 1998
Tonight's episode dealt with Leanne and Nicky and their inherent
problems now that they had got married. Leanne was in need of
a job and her first port of call was Rita at the Kabin.
As you would expect Rita had little tolerance of anything Battersby related. It wasn't helped when Leanne blurted out the fact that the two of them had got married in Scotland only the week before.
It took Nicky2 time to convince Rita that they had in fact got wed and only then would Rita give her a job on a multitude of conditions. Leanne gritted her teeth and took the job. Rita also promised not to say anything about what they had done.
Jim was suffering tonight as his feud With Steve continued and showed no sign or losing any head of steam. Gary was drawn into the Inter family squabble escalated with a drunken Jim begging forgiveness for doing the dirty with Fiona.
It was a bad night for clingy Hayley too as we discovered her father had just died. Curly was roped into breaking the news and Alma was the chief shoulder to cry on. In fact AIma took such pity on Hayley she allowed her to sleep over at her place which displeased Mike no end.
Sam was planning on doing a runner from Des on account of her pre marital nerves. Des however talked her round Saying She was just a little low on self esteem. l think the truth runs a little deeper than that though.
All in all: good
4346 - Wednesday 4 February
Starting with Sam's feelings towards Des growing colder and colder
by the day as she saw her unwitting bookmaker fiance float off
to work buoyed on a cloud of unrequited love. The shock of losing
the one woman he truly seems to be in love may just about demolish
Des for good.
Meanwhile Leanne was keen and eager to start work with Rita and things seemed to be going well on her first day. Of course Nicky2 was forever in the background hovering around trying to sneak a few minutes with his secret wife but Rita wasn't giving an inch nor letting Leanne take a mile.
Speaking of that little relationship Roy let on to Nicky2 that he was aware of their wedding and he would keep it secret for now but he insisted that Nicky2 tell the truth and shame the devil as soon as possible. It wasn't easy though because Gail was about as stable as the San Andreas fault when it came to mentioning *that* girl's name.
Jim was trying desperately to make amends to his son but it was futile and as a result he was starting to slip slide into one of his little drinking episodes. Luckily good friend Gary seemed to be hanging on to his lapels and keeping him just about on the straight and narrow.
Alma got rid of Hayley by running her home from her and Mike's flat where she had stayed to get over the shock of her father's death. The staff had whipped round a tiny amount each for some flowers although it was alas a token (and cheap) gesture from the staff. Many wanted to come to the funeral but I suspect that was to swing a day off work.
Les wasn't paying attention on the red rec site and tripped and hurt his ankle. It was company policy to rush an employee to hospital in cases like this and Les was more than prepared to play along for the duration. He wasted an afternoon at the hospital claiming he was in agony when anyone with half a mind could see he was faking his injuries to claim some form of compensation.
Martin of course saw through this and began giving Les a piece of his mind with a lecture on how sick the heath service was without scroungers like him ripping their illicit pound of flesh from it. It was very poor conduct from Martin who should have kept personal feelings out of the matter after all it could have turned ugly judging by the harsh tones being used. The lecture continued from a moralising Janice when he got home as although she disliked the Platt's she agreed with Martin on this subject. It was all very lecture lecture lecture if you ask me....
God only knows what the scenario is going to be like when the wedding is revealed...
All in all : Good
4347 - Friday 6 February
Well as you can guess Sam was still playing her silly games tonight
with regard to the prospect of marriage to Des. All her ducking
and diving and tired looking expressions are starting to wear
more than a little thin and if Des hasn't seen through her fearful
demeanour yet he needs glasses. Her latest ploy to throw a spanner
in the marital works involved going to see her ex Ritchie for
some undetermined plan of action. Of course Natalie was going
to be the one to provide an alibi for her while she floated off
to London.
There was also the Battesby's who were getting a fair share of the attention tonight starting with Les who was milking his "dodgy" leg for all it was worth to try and get a day off work. It was no good though as Janice was on to his little plots to shirk the job.
Alma was on the receiving end of another gift from Hayley, this time a luxurious cashmere sweater which Alma felt a tad awkward accepting. Alma and Audrey decided to play cupid as a return favour for the poor woman by setting her up on a date. However they would need someone rather "geeky" to match make her with. All eyes turned to Curly in a wonderfully comic fashion as he entered the Rovers for a drink.
Fiona fretted about the prospect of losing her life to motherhood when the baby was born. She received an unexpected and somewhat cordial visit from Steve who informed her he was going to be doing some work across the road and apologised in advance for any disturbance he might cause.
Les caused trouble in the pub by shouting about the NHS and how it had let him down. Of course as a result he was drawn into an argument with Martin and blows were nearly exchanged. The Platts left the pub and while Martin headed off to get a Chinese meal Gail went home.....
.....only to discover Leanne downstairs wearing a dressing gown suggesting she had just been having a spot of her marital rights upstairs with Nicky2. Gail was still reeling from the Battersby incident in the Rovers and now to see her mortal enemy stood in her house wearing a dressing gown was just too much. Gail went into a tirade against Leanne which brought Nicky2 nicely up on the defensive. It was a lot sooner than intended but he finally blurted out (with some encouragement from Leanne) that they were married.
Gail went strangely silent............
All in all : Good
I wish Sam would get a grip though.
4348 - Sunday 8 February
Picking up where the last episode left off with two certain young
lovebirds making that certain announcement to Gail and Martin.
Yes folks the truth was out and it was time to run for cover as
Gail looked set to go supernova at the news.
Actually in truth her shock did seem to downplay her anger somewhat and she spent a good amount of the time open mouthed in horror over what her son and Leanne had gone and done. In truth it was Martin who ended up being the more vocal of the two but in the end what could he do about the situation... they were married and that was that.
In the Battersby household the reaction was still shocked but in truth a lot more positive. Les was glad to be shut of one of his noisy children while Janice seemed disappointed that she had missed out on a potential event on the Battersby calendar.
The next port of call for the two of them was at Zoe and Ashley's place where they were trying to cadge a bed for the night. Of course putting Zoe and Leanne in the same room together gave them ample opportunity to pull Gail and Martin to pieces and make a vow that Leanne would not see the wicked mother in law until an apology was forthcoming.
Seeing Ashley and Zoe together tonight still puzzled me as to how they could stick together as a couple. They just seem so unlikely and Zoe's vindictive tongue lashing out at a situation that truly didn't concern her just made me dislike her all the more.
A more interesting storyline tonight was Sam, she was going ahead with her top secret plan to see Ritchie aided and abetted by Natalie who would be covering for her in the eventuality that Des might come knocking to see where his beloved was.
The plan was that Sam would be pretending to go shopping with Nat and they would then spend a girly night out and have some fun all the while however Sam would be seeing Ritchie...
There was signs of a thaw between Jim and Steve. It was only a minor sign though as they shared a drink on the same side of the bar in the Rovers. Could it be fuelled by the fact that Steve was now talking to Fiona on "friends" terms. I daresay the young man will be looking to expand the relationship before too long and Fiona in her somewhat emotionally vulnerable position might take him up on whatever offer he might propose.
Nicky2 and Leanne went to see Gail and Martin in an effort to break the bread but partly thanks to Leanne all that happened was a shouting match which ended with the newlyweds storming out of the house. It seemed clear at this point that Leanne was already firmly wearing the trousers and she had took on a somewhat dislikable air to boot.
There was another invitee to the dinner party at Mike and Alma's place and when Mike finds out about another addition to the loony tunes convention he is sure to hit the roof. The next addition to the assemblage of Audrey and Curly and Hayley was none other than Roy Cropper.
Sam made her way to Ritchie's after narrowly avoiding a tricky situation with Des. He offered to run her to Natalie's house and she became somewhat irritable and accused him of spying on her. She will have to be more careful than that if she is going to be a capable liar.
Anyway she made her way to Ritchie's and more or less asked him point blank to throw a spanner in the works and hold up the divorce in some way to give Sam breathing space. A devious move if ever there was one and Ritchie knew it. He had a good bargaining chip to work with here and reckoned it might be something for him to think about....
All in all : Good
Sam's a funny piece of work isn't she with all this messing about. She has never been backward in coming forward before so why not apply a bit of honesty here instead of being devious.
4349 - Monday 9 February
Quite an action packed night with plenty going starting with our
newlywed Tilsley's bouncing back and forth as they looked for
somewhere to live in Weatherfield. Their options were limited
though as the student flats didn't want to know and Nicky2 felt
uncomfortable imposing on Zoe and Ashley even though Leanne didn't.
The end result appeared before them from a seemingly impossible source. The new homemakers would set up a temporary house and home in the Battersby household on Coronation Street. It would be a tight squeeze and I daresay Gail wouldn't approve but it seemed the only logical option at this time.
Sam was still playing her dangerous games with Ritchie tonight as she had spent the night over at his place. Des happened to ring that morning to ask him if he was going to get on with the divorce proceedings. However Ritchie was playing a game of cat and mouse knowing Sam was being deceitful with her new beau. In the end his enduring love for Sam would prevent him from allowing the divorce to go through hence granting Sam's wishes.
Maxine's night at the club had been something of a blast and it would appear she had spent the evening blasted on drink. She had however met some yuppie type gentleman who had made a great impression on her. She had arranged to meet her that dinner time for a drink but there was something of a snag to her plan.
In a bid to impress this man she had told him she was a business woman and in fact she was none other than Fiona Middleton who ran a successful hairdressing salon in Coronation Street. This was all good stuff for Audrey and the real Fiona to joke about but Maxine needed a serious cover story. Luckily she could count on her friends to bail her out when the going got tough.
After a somewhat comic interlude where everyone in the salon played "change the name" Maxine ended up having a successful lunch with this man about town. He ended the lunch date telling her to tune into the local radio station that night as she would find a very special message waiting for her if she listened.
Another source of amusement tonight was the dinner party Alma had planned for a few close friends. Mike bailed out early refusing to eat with the oddball society who were gathering in his flat. With him out of the way Audrey tried to drink herself silly while Curly sat looking more than a touch bored with proceedings.
Well into her second bottle of plonk Audrey drunkenly told Hayley to make a move on Curly as that was the reason the little shindig had been arranged in the first place. It was an embarrassing situation all round and Curly quickly took flight and left as soon as he could see a reasonable exit from the party.
Roy and Hayley left soon after and ended up having a quick drink in the Rovers to round off the night. Both talked about Audrey and her somewhat shameless drunken antics and it was clear there was going to be some mileage made out of a storyline with these two warming to each other.
Jim and Steve appeared to be breaking bread with Jim promising Steve he would staying away from Fiona from now on to spare her any more grief from his actions. However there was a shock for Steve as he got into his car and turned on the radio.
At Fiona's Maxine was listening to the radio as planned and was waiting for her man to leave his message. It was via the local DJ he left a message of love and devotion to "Fiona" a hairdresser in Coronation Street unfortunately the message was from the unfortunately named Jim who while having no connection to Jim McDonald did leave a somewhat unpleasant set of consequences behind.
All in all : Very Good
4350 - Wednesday 11 February
A delightful episode moving along at an excellent pace with some
great pieces unfolding before our eyes. Gail was in a state of
constant supernova as she tried to get her head round her son's
marriage to Leanne Battersby. It was no good though because try
as she might the thought of her son in the arms of that
woman was driving her to insanity.
Speaking of insanity there was a lot of bridges burned thanks to the Jim McDonald radio phone in from the night before. Maxine's little ploy to snare her yuppie Jim had led to WWIII breaking out in the Street.
Anyone who heard the broadcast thought Jim was playing his head games with Fiona again but nothing could be further from the truth. Unfortunately Steve didn't see it like this and after seeing his father in the salon later that day trying to explain the truth to Fiona tried to belt seven colours out of his father.
Gail took her anger out on Roy today and it was compounded when he explained that he might have had foreknowledge of Nicky2's wedding plans. Gail went mad again and told Roy he must have been an idiot to withhold such vital information. She then told he agreed with all those who said he was mentally retarded.
Roy was having none of this though because he had an air of new found confidence inspired in him by Hayley's presence in his life and decided he would not be walked on anymore and announced he would be taking steps to dissolve the cafe partnership.
In the meantime though he put those problems aside to take his new companion Hayley out for dinner. The two made a lovely couple and as they ate and talked about how they enjoyed each other's company it came across just how likeable these two are proving they are both acting up a storm at the moment with memorable performances from each of them.
Les decided to arrange a wedding bash for his son in law and daughter to celebrate their union. This sent Gail further round the twist than ever before but there was nothing she could do to stop. It also looked like Rita was going to be in the doghouse soon because Les knew about how she was amongst the first to know about the marriage before even Gail and Martin.
Les announced he was going to sort out Ritchie by going down to his house tomorrow and find out just what the hell he was playing at. Cue plenty of worried looks from Sam as her plans looked like getting blown out of the water by her fiancee.
All in all : Excellent
For me this was one of the best in a long time :)
Great Stuff
4351 - Friday 13 February
Tonight turned in another strong episode with a number of storylines
panning out and resolving nicely. Starting with a long overdue
apology from Gail to Roy about some of the hurtful things she
had said to him with regard to her opinion about Nicky2's wedding
in the previous weeks.
She broke down in tears and apologised about what she said and the two of them made piece. In fact Roy even consented to giving Gail a reassuring hug but immediately wondered if anybody had seen them in their innocent embrace whether it would look a tad dodgy.
Later that day Roy took his new girlfriend Hayley up to the red rec on a mission of mercy to the protesters who were keeping their vigil to prevent plans to alter the scenic site for the millennium. There was however a potentially lethal problem waiting for them when they arrived.
Spider and his cohorts had been digging tunnels for the last few weeks and as a result the soft muddy ground had become very unsafe as Hayley and Roy discovered when they plunged through the soil into one of the tunnels below. Luckily no harm came to the Street's potential lovebirds.
Meanwhile Des was on his way to see Ritchie to find out why he had decided to pull the plug on his quick wedding plans to Sam. Sam however rang ahead to try and keep Ritchie sweet and keep her real intentions secret. However as we would discover her plans would soon backfire badly.
When Des arrived he was greeted by Ritchie at his most arrogant and within a short while he played back the answering machine and revealed the call that Sam had placed to him earlier that day. The news was undoubtedly a shock to Des who had believed everything in his love life had been falling into place over the last few months.
Les Battersby meanwhile was in full flow with his plans for the wedding party for his daughter and son in law. The locals were all there including a drunken Zoe who quickly showed her true colours by trying to get off with one of Nicky2's friends who was attending the party.
It goes without saying that Gail and Martin were not attending the shindig, instead they sat at home still trying to get their heads round their son's relationship with the deplorable Battersby girl. In the end Martin reasoned that it was simply the course of true love that had thrown them together and nothing they could do would split them up now.
A shell shocked Des arrived back in Weatherfield to confront Sam with the news that he had spoken to Ritchie and found out the truth about her phone call. Nothing Sam could say or do could make Des see her in a good light now and he ended the impromptu conversation by calling her a slut.
All in all : Good episode
4352 - Sunday 15 February
Corrie continues it's cracking form with yet another first rate
episode tonight. Starting the night where the last episode left
off we saw Des at home drowning his sorrows in a bottle of whisky.
Sam turned up from work early keen to sort out the *big* problems
that had manifested between them.
It wasn't going to be that easy though because Sam had mortally wounded Des's pride. He stormed off to be unwilling to forgive and certainly unable to forget.
Elsewhere Ashley was another one of the Weatherfield menfolk who was simmering with anger at the wrong doings of his other half. Zoe's care free attitude to life and love had left him feeling more than a little shut out of her life once again. It didn't help that she had been slobbering all over one of Nicky2's friends at the party over the road either.
The next morning saw us greet the Battersby's in their household. Leanne had given up her room so the newlyweds could enjoy a bit of privacy. However it was made clear that Leanne wouldn't let them rest on their laurels for too long as she came banging on the door to get her stuff for school.
A night in the spare room hadn't done anything to soothe Des's nerves either. He came downstairs and amongst the few words he had to say to Sam were "pack your bags and get gone". I don't think Sam had ever expected Des to go so far but he made it clear that he couldn't trust her anymore and in his book anyone you couldn't trust you definitely couldn't marry.
A shell shocked Sam spoke to Natalie and managed to find a place to stay with her for as long as she needed. With Natalie's help she began packing her things and getting ready to move out of the home she had shared with her former fiancee.
Roy and his now almost constant companion Hayley decided to make amends for damaging the tunnel at the Red Rec by going up there that evening and helping Spider dig a new one. So that evening the couple armed with spades sneaked back on to the site and announced their intentions to the luckless Spider who was digging away in the soil.
He explained that he had a problem with his digging. Each and every time he got three feet down into the ground he was hitting what appeared to be solid rock. The trio deliberated over this little problem and came up with few decent solutions. Spider wanted to go out and "borrow" a pneumatic road drill and hammer through the rock and make progress that way.
This plan was quickly abandoned when Roy discovered in the soil what appeared to be a roman cleaning implement dating back to the times of Roman occupation of England. He explained how Weatherfield had once been the site of a Roman settlement and it was highly likely this could be the site of an old Roman building. Roy and Spider carefully dug some more earth and discovered some terrazzo style paving and Roy using his encyclopedic knowledge hazarded a guess that the red rec could be on the site of an old Roman communal bathing area.
Theoretically this would be the situation that would save the red rec from destruction once the heritage commission got to hear about it. Instead of becoming the millennium site the red rec would become a protected area.
All in all : Very Good
Well Sam got her just desserts but after all that we still didn't see much emotion from her at all. Did she ever really care about Des or was he just a simple prop to occupy her time. Ashley is coming to the end of his tether a little too slowly in my opinion. It's about time he did something pro active to get rid of Zoe once and for all....and finally the new coupling of Roy and Hayley, delightful viewing as ever.
4353 - Monday 16 February
Corrie once again continued it's cracking form of late with the
Red Rec brigade sitting tight on their Roman archeological find.
However it was going to be a close cut thing because the council
had an eviction notice primed and ready to eject the protesters
from the site. Roy however had other plans as he made in roads
into contacting the local university and getting hold of an archeological
professor to try and come to their aid.
Needless to say the likes of Les took a dim view on matters and believed it was all some intricate form of trickery to spin out the delay before the bulldozers moving in. It was definitely a situation where time was of the essence because if the red rec bunch didn't get help soon the site would be destroyed forever.
Zoe was up to some more shenanigans. This time she was speaking to a DSS officer about claiming rent for the house she was sharing with Ashley. However what she was doing was illegal as she was claiming that she and Ashley had a platonic relationship and she was merely a lodger so she could falsely claim more money from the social security offices. Ashley was horrified as he was dragged unwittingly into her web of lies but there was little he could do about it at the time.
In the salon, Steve came in to apologise for his father's behaviour the other day and to offer to make peace with his ex girlfriend. However his presence would be a god send as Fiona suddenly found herself going into labour a full month earlier than expected. With a panic struck Steve by her side they made haste and set off to the hospital even though Maud was telling her it was all probably a false alarm.
Roy summoned up support from the Professor of Archeology at the University and managed to get him on his side to look at some of the artifacts from the Red Rec. He was in no doubt that what they were looking at was a genuine find and made his way to the site to confront the council workmen and in turn to get the council to back down. He was going to have to hurry because the police were moving in and trying to physically eject the protesters who were once again led by battling Emily Bishop
Des angrily dumped the rest of Sam's stuff on the bar of the Rovers for her to claim. His anger showed little signs of subsiding but Sam as ever was still keeping a tight rein on her emotions and if the death of the relationship was hurting her she showed no signs of it tonight.
The Red Rec people saw the warm light of victory as the council announced they would be backing away from the site as of now. It was simply of too much historical importance to simply bulldoze so the likes of Les and Alf were left with egg on their faces. Alf would later sit wittering away in the pub claiming he had politically manoeuvered the situation which in English meant he was talking complete bullsh*t. While across the bar a nice scene showed Martin and Janice breaking bread and actually talking to each other. It even looked like Gail was showing signs of mellowing a little after the hyper week she had endured.
Sam tried once more to talk to the heartbroken Des Barnes but it was no use. Was it foolish pride that kept the anger burning within him or did he truly believe she had slept with Ritchie. Either way he wanted her out of his life for good and he was not prepared to even give her the time of day to speak her piece.
After midnight at the hospital however had Fiona well into labour and refusing to let the more than a little nervous Steve McDonald out of her site. She was afraid and wanted someone she knew with her in this time of need because her mother was alas unobtainable at the moment.
All in all: Very Good
4354 - Wednesday 18 February
The day started early with Steve waking in the hospital to be
greeted with the news that Fiona had given birth to a baby boy.
He was one of the first to see the child after Fiona's mother.
It was clearly something of a humbling experience for him and
he left telling Maxine about the event when he got back to the
Street.
Elsewhere the newlywed Tilsley couple were feeling the frustration of not having a place of their own to live. Nicky2 wanted the creature comforts of home particularly a comfy bed to sleep in. Le anne could only think of one solution and that was moving back in with Ashley and Zoe.
Naturally Zoe was up for the idea but Ashley was opposed to it completely. The two girls put their heads together and schemed a way in which Le anne and Nicky2 would become lodgers. It was a fabricated story involving the pressure of being without a home putting a tremendous and potentially terminal strain on the marriage. Meanwhile Zoe thought taking on lodgers would give her a sense of independence within the household.
Les was mourning the loss of his potential fortune at the red rec following him throwing away a roman artifact. He went out and bought a metal detector and reckoned he would try and find the item in the undergrowth where he had lost it originally.
He would find no joy though as the site was sealed off to protect it from looters. His only course of action was to take his old job with security back so he would have easy access to the site when he needed.
Fiona had a bad case of the baby blues as she talked to her mother about the future bringing up a baby alone. Feelings for Steve appeared to have been stirred within her and in her vulnerable state of mind could she possibly take him back ?
Des was still nursing a lot of anger thanks to Sam and was taking it out on Natalie. He did however go round to see her that night to speak to apologise and speak to her about his feelings. He stayed for a drink and they talked and there was even signs of a subtle come on in the air which Natalie gently rebuffed. Could that be Des seeking a childish form of revenge for an imagined crime of the heart ?
All in all : Very Good
4355 - Friday 20 February
There was mileage a plenty to be had from the Des and Sam love
affair and it would get a more than a touch of prominence tonight
as Ritchie turned up to throw another spanner in the works. However
before that happened we would see Fred greet the day spying Leanne
on the doorstep of Ashley's house.
He almost crashed the car in shock as he thought Ashley might actually have two women on the go at the same time. Little did he know that Nicky2 had moved in as well. He would eventually broach the subject with Ashley that afternoon in a long winded kind of way trying to explain to Ashley about women and their ways. His suspicions however would be quashed when Ashley revealed that he had taken in the newlyweds as tenants.
Spider appeared to be getting set to leave the Street which broke poor Toyah's heart. She confided in Emily about her feelings towards Spider and how hurt she would be to see him go. However there would be a happy ending because Spider announced he had found work on the archeological site where the red rec had once been. This meant he would be staying on in Weatherfield for the foreseeable future.
Steve paid a somewhat sombre Fiona a visit to try and cheer her up during a time when she seemed touched by the baby blues. She had already decided on a name which drew mixed reaction. Her son was going to be called Morgan Middleton. Fiona's mother was on hand as well to warn her daughter about getting involved with Steve again.....
Des appeared almost to be warming to the idea that Sam and him might have a future together mainly thanks to the machinations of Natalie who was trying to steer the two young lovers on the right path. However as I said earlier Ritchie turning up at the Rovers was going to knock those plans on the head.
Sam eager to get rid of troublesome husband took him through to the back and sat him down to tell him that they had no future together. Even though she was split from Des she concluded that she would never go near Ritchie again.
Unfortunately before Ritchie could leave a suspicious Des who had been drinking in the bar with Natalie (who was again trying to run interference) walked in and broke up the "party". Seeing Sam and Ritchie together only cemented his feelings of anger and resentment towards Sam and he made it clear they were finished.
Even when she came round to see him later that day to plead for their relationship's survival Des cruelly told her to leave. He wasn't even prepared to give her the time of day or the breathing space to say her piece.
Zoe's plans of having some easy money coming in were dashed when Fred came round with fresh rent books for Nicky2 and Leanne. He announced he would be taking the money directly from his new tenants meaning Zoe didn't get any real financial benefit from living with her friends.
All in all : Very Good
4356 - Sunday 22 February
Another great little episode spoilt only by Fiona who acted through
the episode with all the finesse and craftsmanship of a car accident.
It was her and Maxine who got the ball rolling tonight at the
hospital in an extremely wooden scene where Fiona was once again
victim of the baby blues.
Nobody could say the right thing without her emotions going for a real roller coaster journey and tears starting to roll down her cheeks. She was understandably pensive about the responsibilities ahead and facing motherhood alone made things worse for her.
Thankfully we were rescued from the bad acting by the rest of the cast who were as always up to scratch. Sam had just about had enough of trying to resurrect her relationship with dozy Des Barnes and was now packing her bags and heading for London. Natalie ever playing a cross between Cupid and The Good Fairy was trying to convince her to stay and give their love yet another chance. It was no good though her mind was made up and after saying goodbye she was all set for the off.
Curly found himself in hot water with Eric although through no real fault of his own. It would seem Firman's recent dalliances with the red rec had left the company with something of an eco friendly image. There was to be a meeting next week which would be attended by many local businesses and Curly had been elected or hijacked more like into giving a speech on business and ecologically sound practices.
Elsewhere Gail was keen to break bread and rebuild bridges with Nicky2 and went to see him about an invitation to dinner the next night. Leanne wasn't invited as Gail claimed their marriage was still a shock to her system and it would take time for her to come to terms with it. Still it was all a start for the rebuilding of the relationship between mother and son.
Unfortunately Leanne wouldn't see it that way when she got home from a shopping trip with Zoe and Ashley that evening. I couldn't help but notice that Shannon had been dumped on someone else again (Nicky2)while she was off gallivanting around with not a care in the world and definitely not a care for her child.
Steve went to visit Fiona and in no uncertain terms got told that there was no future for the two of them. Steve had been visiting a lot of late and it didn't take Einstein to work out what his games have been of late. Obviously he is looking for a secret entrance to Fiona's heart and I think he will eventually get it.
Roy and Hayley were supposed to be meeting for lunch but circumstances meant they would end up eating in the cafe. The talk got a little deeper...well deeper for these two anyway and there was a hint in the air about rumours that have been circulating about Hayley's true gender. Roy claimed he felt there was something different about Hayley but before the subject could be broached any further there would always be someone around to foul things up by coming into the cafe looking for food. The likes of Fred Elliott and Curly Watts in search of divine inspiration for his speech came to mind.
Natalie convinced stupid Des to go chasing after his beloved but estranged Sam. Eventually after nursing his pint for a long time Natalie threw her spanner into the works and ordered him a taxi for the station. Des shot down there but alas had missed his sweetheart....or had he ?
As the cab pulled away and Natalie consoled Des over his loss who should be standing on the kerb but Sam and the two of them reconciled in something of a fairy tale kiss and make up scene with Good Fairy Natalie vanishing into the background. All she needed to do was disappear in a puff of smoke with the words "..and my work here is now done" and the scene would have been complete.
All in all : Very Good
Fiona's scenes were garbage IMO, nil points for acting. Let's face it the girl is never going to get an oscar but she plumbed new depths tonight ably abetted by the off form Maxine.
The last scene didn't run too smoothly for me either. Sam turning up on the kerb at the right moment didn't seem to convenient and just butting in on the conversation between Natalie and Des when he had been so cruel over the last few days didn't sit right with me.
...but then I'm picky :)
4357 - Monday 23 February
The night belonged to Leanne in most respects mainly because she
showed more front than Blackpool when it came to facing off against
the Platt family. It wasn't that she had been invited to the little
family reunion but decided to have the brass neck to invite herself
along anyway.
Gail to her credit bit her lip and kept calm under duress especially since young Mrs Tilsley seemed so incredibly sure of herself and showed a level of cockiness that seemed to increase with every sentence she uttered.
Nicky2 just and tried to blend in with the scenery and keep a low profile and hope he could survive the night unscathed. It was a task he managed to complete and relief was etched on his face when the night was over and he could escape the simmering clutches of his mother and step father.
Elsewhere Steve found himself on a hiding to nothing as far as Fiona was concerned. Despite the pleasantries he had showered on his ex girlfriend since she came home from hospital it was soon clear he had won nobody's trust and was fighting an uphill battle as far as even Fiona herself was concerned. In the end he even sat down and talked to the newly reconciled Des Barnes and wondered if he was truly worthy of Fiona after all.
The boy was good enough to admit his own faults and reckoned his selfishness might destroy any chance of getting back with Fiona again. Also could he truly love the son of his sworn enemy Alan McKenna ?
Elsewhere Sam and Des were back on cloud nine although Sam had a lot of patching up to do as far as Jack and Vera were concerned because of her unreliable nature of late in the work place.
Spider was recruited for the price of a few beers and a platform for his thoughts to write Curly's ecological speech about supermarkets. I'm confident this could be the worst thing Curly could let Spider do with his anti establishment ways.
All in all : Very Good
4358 - Wednesday 25 February
Curly almost fell foul of the nefarious plans of Spider tonight
as he prepared his speech for the W.A.R.T.S (Weatherfield Association
Retail Traders)committee. With only an hour to go Spider was putting
the finishing touches to a very eco friendly/shopkeeper unfriendly
speech designed to raise awareness for the public.
Fiona meanwhile was having troubles not with her newborn baby Morgan but her interfering mother Pam. She had stirred the pot for Steve making him feel most unwelcome in Fiona's household. A ploy which annoyed the hell out of Fiona no end and something she was determined to resolve as soon as possible by ringing her ex boyfriend.
With only minutes to go before his meeting Curly got the chance to review his notes and almost dropped through the floor with shock. The speech would be the death of him on the career front without some quick thinking but it was too late now... or was it ?
Curly launched into the speech which was a raging diatribe against the consumerist was of the modern shopkeeper. The rant continued by raging on about the unwholesome ways of the modern shop and how the environment was being destroyed by lack of responsibility.
Spider was on hand to watch the potential destruction of Curly's job at Firmans and applauded as Fred tried to drag Curly away from the podium until Curly pulled a miraculous master stroke. He made out Spider's speech was merely a warning of what traders faced from the likes of the ecologically rabid types that he claimed Spider represented.
He then began to ad lib a rallying call to all shopkeepers all over the district to stand up and fight for their right to operate as businessmen and women. Spider was speechless and when he tried to exercise his right to free speech was frog marched off the premises leaving Curly triumphant.
Roy and Hayley chatted and it seemed clear Roy had something of a depth of feeling for this "woman". However it was also clear that Hayley was giving off warning signals to Roy not to rush things and not to expect too much.
Fiona and Steve sat down and talked and she explained how she didn't share the same negative opinion of him that her mother oozed from every pore. She explained that she was grateful of his presence and all his help but unfortunately Steve took this as something of a green light as far as relationships go and wondered if he might still have a chance. Fiona hit the panic button and told him to put the brakes on fast. She was in no condition to make any decisions like that right now.
Leanne deliberated on her past and we heard a little more about her biological mother who had left her with Les when she was just three years of age. There was a hint of regret in Leanne's voice when she explained how she had left Les after an argument one night and never been seen since.
Fiona's mother meanwhile was out causing trouble once again. She had been to see Alan McKenna to tell him he was now a father. She even made up a pack of lies about how Fiona wanted him back in her life but it was no good. Alan wanted nothing to do with Fiona or her son and said he never wanted to see either of them in his life again.
Curly ended the night the jubilant hero getting drunk and loud with his mates Fred and Eric Firman. Alas for poor Curly Eric had booked him as a speaker at some more meetings which upset Curly a little but he was soon distracted from his worry when a vengeful Spider came calling. He explained that revenge would be his one day for the deplorable "sell out" he had conducted at the meeting.
The next move would be his....
All in all : Very Good
4359 - Friday 27 February
Another excellent episode to compliment Corrie's seemingly endless
good run of late. Starting with a major bust up between Fiona
and her mother over some of the latter's meddling of late. Fiona
decided that she would be more than capable of going it alone
from now on without her mother prying into areas which didn't
concern her.
Elsewhere Des was getting ready to go away on an overnight trip to Bangor in relation to work. Sam who had been seemingly overjoyed to have her man back seemed relieved to have him out of her hair for a night giving her time to breathe again as the relationship seemed to be getting a touch stifling already.
Spider was planning to subvert Weatherfield supermarket chain Firmans by raising public awareness of their dodgy connections to Norwegian whaling ships. Curly of course still felt capable of dealing with the eco warrior as he was still riding the cloud he had climbed aboard when he delivered his super speech to the W.A.R.T.S committee the other night.
The day wore and things gradually began to come to the boil. Hunky mechanic type Chris popped round to Des's house to pick up some books he had left behind the other week only to be confronted with Sam who was keen to flirt with him rabidly in the absence of her boyfriend. Within seconds she had the wine open and the two were engaged in deep conversation on the sofa.
Sam's body language was the physical equivalent of a neon sign saying "Take Me Big Boy I'm Yours" and as the conversation went on she edged closer and closer to this new object of desire. Of course she furnished Chris with the details of how she felt Des wasn't truly the man for her and how she had been convinced of that fact since she moved back in again only days before. By the end of the night she told Chris how she fancied him and before you knew there was something of a passionate kiss lighting up our screens.
Steve called on Fiona and for a while they all played happy families with Steve telling Fiona how she would be able to cope without the problems of Alan McKenna dogging her. Steve did overstep the mark a little at the end of the night though by making a subtle move on Fiona. It was rebuffed and a somewhat embarrassed Steve left the flat. However it wasn't all as cut and dried as you might think.. Fiona looked like she might be considering Steve's affections.
Roy enjoyed a candlelit meal with Hayley and the night appeared to be going swimmingly. As the last course was finished though Roy suggested coffee upstairs and Hayley clammed up somewhat. She then revealed that she had a secret from her past to tell him and we discovered that Hayley was not a woman by birth but by choice as she was a transsexual.
Roy's face remained relatively calm.......
All in all : Excellent
Sam = Fruit Cake! :)
