The State of the Street: April

This month ended with the big reveal that Colin seduced Paula when she was just a schoolgirl, producing Julie as a result. It seemed ok when it was Sarah getting pregnant so young because it was Sarah and another young lad. It feels really creepy knowing it was the father of Paula's best mate, Eileen. (But it's been done before, in That Other Soap's very early days so it's nothing new!) It seems clear he must have taken advantage and it's bound to be the last nail in the coffin between the already rocky relationship between Eileen and her dad (and yes, pun intended, since the spoilers have already said Colin is going to die!). And poor Julie! Julie's really had a roller coaster April! It started off badly. She was going to break up with Kirk but he finally realized she was going off him and finished with her first. Then she starts flirting with Jason and finds out he's her nephew! Still, it gives some of our favourite characters a good workout of the acting chops.

Ken finally told Martha the truth and that was the end of it. Or was it? So that's two randy old beggars on the Street (see above). Ken has always felt he's better than everyone else. Yet, though he's sometimes had affairs with women who were more on his level, at least in his mind, he's always married women he felt were "beneath" him; women that were less cultured, less educated and more "motherly" and then he cheats on them. Ken Barlow has never been faithful, not even to his sainted Valerie and as he's cheated on Deirdre before, you'd think she'd recognize the signs. Involving Peter was good too, since Peter doesn't really have a lot of room to take the moral high horse, he of the bigamist past.

Now Ken's found what appears to be the love of his life, a perfect woman that he has everything in common with and who lives on a boat called Utopia. It's almost like a fairy tale, isn't it? I've always said it was too good to be true and kept waiting for her to scam him somehow. It doesn't look like it's going to happen and Deirdre will find out the truth soon enough because it's a soap and that's what happens. He is inches away from jumping from one ship to another, figuratively and literally, and one more row with Deirdre or one more sloppy tin of leek soup just might push him to it. Will they split up? Well, Stephanie Beecham isn't going to be a permanent character and William Roache is not going to leave the show or it would have been all over the news so we can surmise that they will not be sailing down the canal together. Will Deirdre take him back? Even if she does, how can Ken ever be happy with her again? I have to say, though, this story has been one of the better ones of late. It's a classic soap plot but very well implemented.

Make that three randy buggers... Jack has met a lovely lady who fancies pigeons just like he does. Talk about a woman after his own heart! I wonder if she can cook? Awww, it's nice to see Jack find someone to keep him company. It's also nice to see him struggle with coming to terms with a new relationship, still missing and grieving RVera but trying to find a way forward. It's something that soaps don't often do. They rush the character through a grieving period and into new relationships when it's not realistic at all. Men often do find a new partner quicker than a woman who has lost her partner does, but it's nice to see they've given Jack lots of time.

The wedding didn't happen. The honeymoon did. Now we get to see whether Becky and Steve can make it work. There's a little girl involved and Becky isn't really a motherly type of gal, not having had much of an upbringing herself. I like that about Becky. We get sharp little glimpses into her past, sometimes funny and sometimes very poignant and we can see how it shaped her into who she is today. Coronation Street is good like that. We'll see more of this as Becky struggles to find her place in Steve's life, a place that's more than just a physical romp in bed. It's not as if the MacDonalds have a storybook family history but I think Becky's past is even more dysfunctional and it will be interesting to see how she finds her feet. As I mentioned last week, The course of true love never doth run smooth so even though Steve and Becky are going to be together, it's going to be a rocky road getting there and it started off this month with a big pothole called Tracy, Amy and the Truth.

Peter got quite a wakeup call but even then, he's making jokes about being an "alkie" and being very defensive about not drinking and not really humbled. I think he's still got the blinkers on and it doesn't quite sound like he's all the way "there" yet, not to me. God forbid, another tragedy happens to really make him admit he's got a problem. He's quit on his own and yet most people find they have to seek out help and support groups to get through it. I have a feeling he's going to go back to the bottle, because he'll think he has it licked so the occasional drink now and then won't hurt. Coronation Street really needs to take a hard look at alcoholism and make it realistic. I hope they're planning to keep this on the radar. In the meantime, Blanche is set to move in with Peter and that's going to be a joy to watch! If that doesn't drive Peter to drink, maybe he really *is* cured!!!

Teresa Morton's back, just as "drunk and ugly" as ever and this is a good thing! I know a lot of people think she's just horrible and they're right, she is. But I find her a lot of fun to watch. Just when you think she can't do something worse, she does. She's an even worse mother than Cilla Battersby and that's saying something yet she stepped up to the plate when Mel got into trouble, took matters into her own hands, and beat the crap out of the lead player in that girl gang that put an end to Mel's friend Abi's police career. Ok, it wasn't the ideal way to do it, but there was a glimmer of maternal instinct behind it. I loved watching her antics last time around, from pulling Rosie out on the street by the hair to soaking Lloyd for cash after lying that he was Finlay's father to poisoning Jerry because she wanted a comfortable, and cheap, place to live. The thing with Teresa is that she's just not that clever and she ends up being hoisted by her own petard every time. Even if she's only here for a short time (but I hope she sticks around), I'm going to sit back and watch her cause havoc in poor Darryl's life now she's managed to get her feet under a table in Dev's shop flat.

And you know, even though "The Soap That Shall Not Be Named" seems to get more awards than Coronation Street, you hear a lot more famous actors and celebrities wishing they could get a part on Corrie than you do that other soap, don't you? (Even, recently, the Grand Dame from that show!) I guess that's proof for the pudding on which soap *really* is the best!!!

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Could I just mention that I studiously avoid all spoilers and only read an article if I've already seen the episode referenced. So, I wasn't best pleased to spot a shocker yet to happen in a summary article about April's happenings. Please remember that we don't all know what's coming because we want it revealed as we watch! [Wakie Wanderer]