Brookside Brookside

[James from London]

As Nick Black, Alan Rothwell is doing a very nice job of being frustratingly vague. His insouciant apathy to his kids’ less sociable behaviour is giving them carte blanche to wind up their new stepmother and score points over her, and it’s almost agonising to watch. This kind of emotional warfare isn’t an easy thing to transmit to the viewer, but the micro-aggressions we see - while not always the subtlest - are just enough to put us firmly in Heather’s shoes.

Like Heather I live in a very calm household and would find it jarring to suddenly be confronted with noise and mess and intrusion, so watching her living this hell is a little anxiety-provoking. I’m impressed with, and at times surprised by, her poised responses.

Ah, this is interesting: I had pretty much the opposite reaction. To me, Heather was the one who came off worst in this scenario. I'm not saying I would be able to adapt to the amusingly self-obsessed Scott suddenly ruling the roost in my own home any better than she does, but I did think she would have given some prior thought to what it might be like to have a couple of teenagers under her feet, and attempted to roll with the punches a bit more. As it was, it felt to me as if I were being encouraged to identify with Nick and Scott (easy-going, laid back, amused) against Heather (the inflexibly uptight outsider). It seemed as if the writers were lulling us into a false sense of security about the new characters, before revealing the darkness that lies behind their relaxed exterior.

While I know where this is going, it’s still fun to see how each new clue can create speculation. The more we hear, the more possibilities there are. Ruth disapproves of Charlie’s presence and warns Nick that if Heather sees him “she’ll find out”. There’s a casual intimacy between the two men - who clearly know one another well. Charlie makes himself at home, looking meaningfully at Nick as he says he intends to stay the night. And the next morning, Nick phones work to take the week off in order to spend it lounging with Charlie. Charlie also moves into the flat to which Nick apparently plans to retreat.

Yes, to begin with there seemed to be something strange and furtive between Nick and Ruth. Now it's between Nick and Charlie, with Ruth on the sidelines. It made for a neat contrast when the show kept cutting between the Collinses, where Paul and Annabelle are trying to figure out the nature of Gordon's relationship with Cecile, and Heather's, where we're the ones trying to figure out precisely what the deal is between Nick and Charlie.

both Annabelle and Paul have plenty of material of their own going on of late. Annabelle has become a magistrate, despite of Paul’s brush with the law during his road safety campaign (or, in part, because of it, since it appeared in the paper on the day of Anna’s interview, with those conducting it suitably impressed by Paul’s passion for his crusade).

Neither one of them lacks interest in their own right at the moment. With Paul’s redundancy creating more opportunities than it closes. The change of life has actually breathed new life into him, and he’s more open and three-dimensional than he has been for some time. Annabelle, too, is passionate about what she’s doing, and they function individually in their own plots on and off Close as well as together.

Again we disagree!

I must confess that on past re-watches, I've put the Collinses on fast-forward after Paul's redundancy. That great scene between him and Billy sitting on the bricks seemed to bring his character full circle: the family's story has been told. I felt that, from that point on, they stop evolving. Instead, they kind of plateau, in much the same way as Harry and Ralph do. This time around, I wondered if I'd perhaps been unfair and decided I wouldn't start scrolling past them just yet. All the same, I've felt something lacking from the road safety campaign/Annabelle becoming a magistrate story, but couldn't put my finger on exactly what. Is it that their new interests come just a bit too much out of nowhere, as if the writers were giving them something to do for the sake of it? And are the opposing nature of these interests (Paul suddenly prepared to break the law just as Annabelle discovers a desire to uphold it) just bit too neatly contrived? There again, one could make the same accusations about Bobby's sudden lack of interest and/or sympathy in the problems encountered by Sheila during her Educating Sheila storyline. But that seemed less noticeable, or just easier to overlook, because there was so much at stake, dramatically and personally, for the characters. I don't get that same feeling with the Collinses. Annabelle's previous interests -- antiques, catering, even jogging or bailing George out of prison -- stemmed from a need to find purpose in her new life away from the Wirral. Her wanting (not needing) to becoming a magistrate doesn't carry the same dramatic weight. It feels more like a whim. This doesn't necessarily make for terrible viewing, but it's not all that compelling either. Likewise Paul's campaign. It's watchable, but almost in a public-information-film sort of way rather than as a piece of character-driven drama. It could just as easily be Annabelle (or Harry or Ralph) protesting, while Paul is the one watching disapprovingly from the sidelines. One can imagine the same plot on Corrie with lots of different characters getting involved and it actually being quite funny, but here it's just a bit ... mild. (As it was, it was interesting to see a barely recognisable Norris Cole as part of Paul's old boy network.)

Paul trying to hide his inability to ride a bike not only from neighbours but also Annabelle

I remember something similar when Annabelle first started keeping fit, with her being too self-conscious to start jogging until she was out of view of the neighbours.

there’s a certain consistency in the way the new face is revealed to the audience: once again, we see a photograph of the new-look Collins before the actor appears on-screen.

Ah yes, gather round as we consult the Mantlepiece of Recasts ...

The current state of play with Gordon’s sexuality is finally confirmed at the end of the 400th episode when Cecile, thinking it already known, tells the shocked Annabelle that Gordon and her brother Pierre were in love but have recently split up.

Next to Pat, New Gordon has always been my least favourite piece of casting on Brookside. This time around, I have attempted to watch his first few episodes with an open mind, but so far I've failed miserably. That means the only remaining point of interest, for me, is to see how Paul and Annabelle, as well as the writers, deal with the dilemma of a gay son on the close. It's uncharted territory for the Collinses and British soap opera alike.

I'm not exactly sure where we are date-wise at this point, but my guess is late August '86, which means Enders has just pipped Brookside the post by introducing UK soap's first long-running gay character (paint-drying afternoon show Together notwithstanding) i.e., Colin Russell, just a couple of weeks earlier,. I didn't like Colin much either back in the day. So timid and awkward, so middle-class and repressed, he felt kind of embarrassing -- but having re-watched his era a couple of times, I've totally changed my mind. Viewed in retrospect, with the character no longer carrying the burden of being almost the only gay in the televisual village, I'm able to see him as an individual character like any other -- and he's quite fascinating. His relationship with the younger Barry (a loud-mouthed oik, naive but totally free of any of Colin's emotional or societal hang-ups) is actually very touching. But as Colin has no family, and Barry has no family we see on screen, save for a remarkably accepting brother, it's a totally different scenario to the one presented on Brookside. (Barry does eventually come out to his father, who reacts so badly that Barry feels compelled to renounce his relationship with Colin and starts dating girls, but it happens entirely off screen. Enders won't have a character in Paul's position, i.e., a father confronted with his son's sexuality, until Kathy's brother Ted gets the short straw in the mid-90s.)

Nick's wife aside, Brookie's depiction of gay characters thus far has been a little ... clunky. I remember a strange scene from a few years earlier where Bobby and Matty, back when they were working for Sheila's odd-job agency, are called out to a job at a hairdresser's. Their attitude to the salon manager (male, chatty) is very much "backs against the wall, lads", the assumption being that this fella would have his evil way with both of them given half a chance. It's not pretty, but it feels real: Bobby and Matty are decent enough men, but why wouldn't they be homophobic, given the time and place in which they live? Only trouble is, the actor playing the hairdresser seemed not to get the memo of what the scene was about, because he couldn't or wouldn't play the hairdresser in a sufficiently stereotypical way to give Bobby and Matty something to react against, and so the scene doesn't quite make sense. (But actually, as I'm typing this, I'm wondering if that was the point: maybe the bloke didn't have to be flamboyant or even gay: perhaps the fact that he simply was a hairdresser was enough to elicit Bobby and Matty's response? Hmm, I'm not sure.) And then there was the horribly mincy, bitchy gay couple Annabelle showed around Heather's house when it was up for sale. They certainly got the memo, but despite their blatant camping-it-up, Annabelle remained oblivious to their relationship, until it was spelt out to her. In both instances, the writers seemed content to reinforce viewer preconceptions rather than challenge them.

 

[AndyB2008]

Re-reading The Man Who Raped Sheila Grant, it really is great to find out more about Jimmy McGovern. It's intriguing that he comes from an educational background, in common with Jim Wiggins and Dean Sullivan (and perhaps others).

Reading what he's said about enjoying intrusive noises from walkie talkies or refuse collection lorries, I hope to keep an eye out for this kind of thing... if I can remember it by the time I get to his stuff.


Off the back of it, I've found myself creating a little spreadsheet of his work and where it's currently available to stream or buy.

I couldn't find any of his pre-Cracker work (Needle, Traitors, Gas and Candles) to stream or buy anywhere. There's also no sign of Hearts and Minds, Go Now, Heart or Common from his later work.

The vast majority of his work seems to have been for the BBC, but only one solitary project (Time) can currently be found on iPlayer. Even more curiously many of the BBC ones are available on rival streaming services (STV, My4, Prime, etc).

Meanwhile, the only way to watch Priest in full appears to be on the Netherlands DVD complete with Dutch subtitles. It seems Miramax cut around 8 minutes from the American print (not too surprising given the different countries' sensibilities), so I'd take subtitles over sanitisation any day.

I noticed some actors appearing in numerous projects: Christopher Eccleston, Ricky Tomlinson and Robert Carlyle seem popular with him.

Another curio: when I put Jimmy's name into Prime, it came up with two films, neither of which has his involvement to the best of my knowledge. But one of them - The Street - has a name in common with a McG series, while the other - Let Him Have It - stars Christopher Eccleston. Even more coincidentally, both of these have already been in my rather short Prime watchlist for some time.

I'm not sure when I'll get round to exploring more of Jimmy's work, but at least I'm starting to get an idea where to start with it all.





Back on Brookside, my partner - who doesn't know the outcome of the current storyline - has correctly deduced whodunnit (on the first guess, mind you). I attempted a poker face and refused to confirm or deny.

Hearts and Minds was another Eccleston\McGovern project, executive produced by Allan McKeown (Tracey Ullman's husband) through his WitzEnd Productions.

Although having a head start (Hearts and Minds premiered on TV before Dangerous Minds made it into cinemas), it was overshadowed by a film with a similar premise, Dangerous Minds, starring Michelle Pfeiffer. (Gangsta's Paradise from the film also went to No.1).

Certainly Hearts and Minds has never had a repeat (except in 1997) or a DVD release, despite Eccleston's career. In contrast Dangerous Minds got that.

 

[PsychoDrama]

I had pretty much the opposite reaction. To me, Heather was the one who came off worst in this scenario. I'm not saying I would be able to adapt to the amusingly self-obsessed Scott suddenly ruling the roost in my own home any better than she does, but I did think she would have given some prior thought to what it might be like to have a couple of teenagers under her feet, and attempted to roll with the punches a bit more. As it was, it felt to me as if I were being encouraged to identify with Nick and Scott (easy-going, laid back, amused) against Heather (the inflexibly uptight outsider). It seemed as if the writers were lulling us into a false sense of security about the new characters, before revealing the darkness that lies behind their relaxed exterior.

I can completely understand this, and after reading your thoughts I found myself reflecting how Heather's position her kind of echoes what we saw at the very beginning where she was very critical and snarky towards Roger, coming across as quite unlikeable at times.

I can certainly see why Scott and Ruth (and possibly Nick) would perceive Heather as the inflexibly uptight outsider, and you make a great point about her lack of consideration when it came to what marriage to a man with teenage children would actually look like. This seems more curious still when we consider that she called off her marriage to Tom over doubts that she had after stopping to consider what life as Mrs Curzon might look like (though perhaps less so when I realised she might regret that enough not to allow herself the luxury of thinking too deeply this time round).

That great scene between him and Billy sitting on the bricks seemed to bring his character full circle: the family's story has been told. I felt that, from that point on, they stop evolving. Instead, they kind of plateau, in much the same way as Harry and Ralph do.

All the same, I've felt something lacking from the road safety campaign/Annabelle becoming a magistrate story, but couldn't put my finger on exactly what. Is it that their new interests come just a bit too much out of nowhere, as if the writers were giving them something to do for the sake of it? And are the opposing nature of these interests (Paul suddenly prepared to break the law just as Annabelle discovers a desire to uphold it) just bit too neatly contrived?

Annabelle's previous interests -- antiques, catering, even jogging or bailing George out of prison -- stemmed from a need to find purpose in her new life away from the Wirral. Her wanting (not needing) to becoming a magistrate doesn't carry the same dramatic weight. It feels more like a whim. This doesn't necessarily make for terrible viewing, but it's not all that compelling either. Likewise Paul's campaign. It's watchable, but almost in a public-information-film sort of way rather than as a piece of character-driven drama. It could just as easily be Annabelle (or Harry or Ralph) protesting, while Paul is the one watching disapprovingly from the sidelines. One can imagine the same plot on Corrie with lots of different characters getting involved and it actually being quite funny, but here it's just a bit ... mild.

These are all excellent points. One thing that's kept me interested is that I remember very little of their post-redundancy storylines other than Annabelle becoming a magistrate. But then there's probably a reason why I had forgotten some of this stuff.

Perhaps, too, I was filled with some kind of good will after that cracking scene with Billy on the bricks. It probably helps that Jim Wiggins has been very game - throwing himself off that bike several times, for instance, and that's certainly helped sell what we've been given. Annabelle's sudden desire to become a magistrate rings true to me since her husband's just retired from full-time work and I can imagine it becoming more important to her to have something away from their home that's hers.but, yes, it's difficult to argue that there's been some contrivance and convenience to their plots.

I remember something similar when Annabelle first started keeping fit, with her being too self-conscious to start jogging until she was out of view of the neighbours.

Oh yes. I hadn't made that connection.

Next to Pat, New Gordon has always been my least favourite piece of casting on Brookside. This time around, I have attempted to watch his first few episodes with an open mind, but so far I've failed miserably.

I'd be interested to know more about what doesn't work for you with the casting.

I suppose I was more on the fence about him. He was never a favourite, but I found him to be serviceable enough. So far I haven't seen enough to decide either way. There is a bit of an awkwardness to him, which is something oldGordon had as well (in both cases I can chalk this up as an inherited upper middle class trait). He's clearly different to Nigel Crowley, but enough time has passed for that to be less of a concern.

I'm not exactly sure where we are date-wise at this point, but my guess is late August '86, which means Enders has just pipped Brookside the post by introducing UK soap's first long-running gay character (paint-drying afternoon show Together notwithstanding) i.e., Colin Russell, just a couple of weeks earlier,

Looking closely, it seems, the day Cecile outed Gordon to his mother was the very same day EastEnders viewers would watch Colin move onto the Square.

I didn't like Colin much either back in the day. So timid and awkward, so middle-class and repressed, he felt kind of embarrassing -- but having re-watched his era a couple of times, I've totally changed my mind. Viewed in retrospect, with the character no longer carrying the burden of being almost the only gay in the televisual village, I'm able to see him as an individual character like any other -- and he's quite fascinating.

Colin's another I'd like to revisit at some point. I haven't watched any early EastEnders since the Nineties so I'm sure I'd view a lot quite differently.

If early Enders ever shows up on iPlayer I'm sure I'll be all over it.

Certainly Hearts and Minds has never had a repeat (except in 1997) or a DVD release, despite Eccleston's career.

Yes - it's a shame it's not on 4OD since they have Dockers and Sunday available.

It's quite disappointing to see all these gaps in the availability of Jimmy McGovern's work.

 

[James from London]

One who has offered Sheila support has been Doreen Corkhill which has worked well because of the on-off tension between the characters. Somehow, that seems to give a distance that Sheila needs at the moment, and I suppose if it had been eighteen months earlier it would have been Marie who was initially brushed off then welcomed instead of Doreen.

Going by Doreen's attitude towards Sheila's ordeal, I've always assumed that something similar (if perhaps not quite not as terrible) had happened in her own past, but this time around I'm not so sure. Maybe it's more interesting if her empathy comes simply from able to imagine herself in Sheila's place. For all of her preoccupation with appearances, Doreen does have a sensitive side. And with Doreen as the intuitively empathic neighbour, it falls to Heather to crowbar in a plug for the Rape Crisis Centre. It's a tiny bit "talking pamphlet", but really it's fine.

The Corkhills have remained great fun to watch

Absolutely. I especially loved Rod's blushing, squirming embarrassment when he visited the Collinses to ask Annabelle for a character reference. She was as nice as pie, but still he couldn't wait to get out of there. So funny. I'm not sure it was even in the dialogue, just his performance. It reminded me of the tension and awkwardness the original Gordon naturally brought to pretty much every scene he was in. Ah the good old days, when the character still had an inner life. (I won't bore on too much about New Gordon for now. I'll leave that for the next batch of episodes.)

Doreen’s clothes party

Light and kind of incidental as this was, to me it felt more character-driven and significant than Annabelle's whole magistrate thing because again it's (at least partly) about Doreen wanting to integrate with her new neighbours. Maybe detail-driven is a better way of putting it: it's about more than what's going on on the surface. I'm reminded of this great essay erstwhile forum member TommyK wrote on his blog:

”The brilliance of Knots Landing -- as with the best domestic dramas -- is that the mundane tasks were always a backdrop (and more often than not, an outlet) for issues of real importance. If Val helped Karen stretch a sweater that seemed tight, it wasn't about the sweater: it was about Karen's insecurities, after spending time away from her family and coming back to find so much changed. If Mack and Karen started squabbling about trivial matters -- like what color the living room should be painted, and which way the toilet paper should come off the roll -- it wasn't about paint chips and toilet paper; it was about Mack having a midlife crisis. (As I mentioned in my Season 6 essay, that season's headwriter, Richard Gollance, would always ask, "What is the scene about?" There had to be something simmering subtextually that the actors could play.)”

Knots Landing season 13

A blog about television.

thatsallsiknow.blogspot.co.uk

And then there's this:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1813891270747869242

Billy offered Bobby some company at Number Five. The big disappointment of this run is that we didn’t get to see their conversation

Absolutely. Billy's one of those characters you could pair in a scene with anyone and it'd be interesting, but especially Bobby.

Sheila is even feeling she can cope with an evening at the Corkhills - the goodwill stemming from her relief at losing the baby which was an unwanted outcome of the rape Incidentally, I’m a little surprised at relief being about the only emotion Sheila displayed at the loss. I’d have expected more mixed feelings since it’s her strong belief that life begins at conception. But I suppose that same belief would help her make sense of it as God’s will.

This was like a two episode, or episode-and-a-half, glimpse into an unresolvable nightmare. When Sheila miscarries, it feels like nature, or God, being merciful for once. It doesn't feel like a cynical cop out the way Donna losing her Down's Syndrome baby once all the easy sentiment had been milked from the situation did on Dallas. Karen's little "I love this family" monologue was sweet and poignant and echoed Damon's similar "We love you and me dad" speech to Sheila a couple of years ago when she and Bobby were at loggerheads. Barry's eulogy ("We all loved our Damon" ) in a year and a bit (so soon!) will complete the set. The L word is using sparingly at No 5 so when it is, you believe it.

And before the pregnancy drama, had come the reveal of whodunnit, but too late for poor Teresa, so depressed at her belief that Matty had been charged with the rape she went against her own strong beliefs to take her own life. The pointlessness of it all makes it absolutely heartbreaking to watch it play out, with the viewer drawn into both Matty and Teresa’s states of mind. Matty - having been put through the wringer during questioning - elated that he is vindicated and now a free man. Teresa, unaware of the development and in a fugue state, spiralling downwards.

It was a very bold move, at such a crucial point in the story, to suddenly focus so completely on Teresa, a comparatively minor character who we don't know that well and whom we've never previously seen in a scene without Bobby or Sheila, let alone entirely on her own and on the brink of madness. Yet it completely worked.

In a way, I feel like Teresa's suicide is to this story what Richard's disappearance was to Knots Season 4. Both are characters caught in the cross-fire whose lives quietly fall apart while everyone's focus is elsewhere. Once the whodunnits have been resolved, the supporting characters have been written out and the principals start to move on with their lives, their permanent absences are the most tangible evidence that this whole crazy chain of events happened in the first place (not to diminish the long-term effects of the rape on Sheila, of course).

The dialogue that plays around Teresa’s head feels both disorientating and subjective. The viewer is right in there with Teresa, sharing her memories good and bad and, possibly, real and imaginary (I couldn’t rightly remember whether some of the happier dialogue came from moments we’d previously seen. If not, I only had Teresa’s version of those memories which makes them somewhat unreliable given her state of mind), which makes the outcome hit much harder.

I imagined the disembodied voices to be memories of holidays or outings taken when her and Matty's kids were young, outings that possibly involved taking a ferry across the Mersey. It reminded me of Petra going back to the guest house in Wales she'd stayed at as a child with her sisters to die, which also echoes the premise of Willy Russell's One Summer -- revisiting the scene of some past happiness in a futile attempt to recapture it.

Pat’s hurried on to the married wife of the manager of the football club he and Terry are suddenly very keen on. Sadly-but-inevitably, neither development has improved his watchability).

The same situation Barry got himself into at the start of the series, only I don't remember Barry grinning as smugly or as often as Pat does as I scroll past his scenes.

I've taken the plunge and ordered this. This is the earliest Jimmy Mac film available in any format, so it's likely to be my starting point whenever I dive into his stuff beyond Brookside. I'll probably begin with the films and save series like Cracker for later.

Great! Priest is the only one of McGovern's cinema films I recall having much of an impact.

Still making my way through Making Out (not quite as good as I remembered, to be honest, at least not yet) and there are no shortage of Brookside actors on display which has thrown up some interesting permutations: Currently, Madge is having an affair with Sandra's husband, while another character is cheating on Crossroads' Jim Baines with Brookie's Alan Partridge. Heather's old flame (the one who tried to sell her a car and then turned out to be married) works for Roger Huntington's dad who is married to Robin Tate's wife Dorothy. Oh and Damon's mate Neil now has dreadlocks and a job in a record shop.

I found myself reflecting how Heather's position her kind of echoes what we saw at the very beginning where she was very critical and snarky towards Roger, coming across as quite unlikeable at times.

Oh yes, good point!

It probably helps that Jim Wiggins has been very game - throwing himself off that bike several times, for instance, and that's certainly helped sell what we've been given.

Watching the next few episodes, I can see why the writers might have given Paul that story. It creates a sympathetic contrast with what he's about to be plunged into, i.e., The Gordon Situation.

it seems, the day Cecile outed Gordon to his mother was the very same day EastEnders viewers would watch Colin move onto the Square.

Very interesting!

I haven't watched any early EastEnders since the Nineties so I'm sure I'd view a lot quite differently.

When did you and Enders part company the first time around?

 

[PsychoDrama]

Going by Doreen's attitude towards Sheila's ordeal, I've always assumed that something similar (if perhaps not quite not as terrible) had happened in her own past, but this time around I'm not so sure. Maybe it's more interesting if her empathy comes simply from able to imagine herself in Sheila's place.

While watching I found myself thinking there might be something behind Doreen's empathy towards Sheila's experience. I kind of like that it's kept oblique, with neither confirmation nor denial of the possibility.

I especially loved Rod's blushing, squirming embarrassment when he visited the Collinses to ask Annabelle for a character reference. She was as nice as pie, but still he couldn't wait to get out of there.

Oh yes. That was such an awkward scene (and probably exactly how I'd have been in that situation at Rod's age).

It reminded me of the tension and awkwardness the original Gordon naturally brought to pretty much every scene he was in.

Now you mention it, I can completely see that. The ribbing Rod occasionally gets from Damon harks back to the dynamic with early Gordon as well.

I'm reminded of this great essay erstwhile forum member TommyK wrote on his blog

Oh, this is wonderful. Such a meaty piece that captures the great and the terrible of that season. I just read the whole thing and found myself laughing out loud at some comments while nodding in hearty agreement at others.

And then there's this

This went over my head as I watched. I didn't even notice it was the same actress who'd be back a year or so later. Then I spotted her name as I looked over the cast for these episodes and struggled to think who she'd played. Until I saw your screen cap. So thanks for this.

When Sheila miscarries, it feels like nature, or God, being merciful for once. It doesn't feel like a cynical cop out the way Donna losing her Down's Syndrome baby once all the easy sentiment had been milked from the situation did on Dallas.

It occurs to me that without the substance - if someone were to read a synopsis of both arcs, for example - each might seem as contrived and convenient as the next. But you're absolutely right that it doesn't feel that way in the case of the Grants.

Karen's little "I love this family" monologue was sweet and poignant and echoed Damon's similar "We love you and me dad" speech to Sheila a couple of years ago when she and Bobby were at loggerheads. Barry's eulogy ("We all loved our Damon" ) in a year and a bit (so soon!) will complete the set. The L word is using sparingly at No 5 so when it is, you believe it.

Very true.

Karen's had some terrific moments lately.

In a way, I feel like Teresa's suicide is to this story what Richard's disappearance was to Knots Season 4. Both are characters caught in the cross-fire whose lives quietly fall apart while everyone's focus is elsewhere.

That makes sense to me, especially with your earlier comparisons between the two storylines.

I imagined the disembodied voices to be memories of holidays or outings taken when her and Matty's kids were young, outings that possibly involved taking a ferry across the Mersey. It reminded me of Petra going back to the guest house in Wales she'd stayed at as a child with her sisters to die,

Yes, I think the fragments of dialogue added much substance and poignance to the way Teresa died. It's a clever and efficient way to tell a story of someone who, as you said, we really didn't know all that well.

Of course I knew that the suicide gave Teresa something in common with Petra, but until you pointed this out I'd completely overlooked that they both chose to do so somewhere that had warm and happy associations for them.

which also echoes the premise of Willy Russell's One Summer -- revisiting the scene of some past happiness in a futile attempt to recapture it.

Oh yes. I can see this as well.

The same situation Barry got himself into at the start of the series

I was a little surprised that Terry didn't mention this when warning Pat off. But then it's (presumably) early days with this storyline.

Great! Priest is the only one of McGovern's cinema films I recall having much of an impact.

That's good to know. Priest actually landed on my doormat last night (along with Personal Services), so it's going to happen.

Still making my way through Making Out (not quite as good as I remembered, to be honest, at least not yet) and there are no shortage of Brookside actors on display which has thrown up some interesting permutations: Currently, Madge is having an affair with Sandra's husband, while another character is cheating on Crossroads' Jim Baines with Brookie's Alan Partridge. Heather's old flame (the one who tried to sell her a car and then turned out to be married) works for Roger Huntington's dad who is married to Robin Tate's wife Dorothy. Oh and Damon's mate Neil now has dreadlocks and a job in a record shop.

Wow. That is one bonkers family tree.

When did you and Enders part company the first time around?

I'm not sure of the exact date, but it would be early-to-mid Nineties. I don't think there was any specific storyline that turned me off, but outside influences.

Just before UK Gold launched I invested in satellite TV, and having access to all that nostalgia (as well as discovering loads of new series) saw a serious overhaul to my viewing. Series I'd watched for a long time were dropped soon afterwards as there just weren't enough hours in a day. In many cases - Enders being one - new episodes were replaced by repeats of the same series (my rationale at the time being that I was paying for access to the repeats, and they would presumably catch up with the new episodes in time anyway).

By the latter part of the Nineties, life had become busy and I watched little-to-no TV, so I never did catch up or ever watch episodes beyond the early Nineties.

 

[James from London]

along with Personal Services

Great -- more Madge! She's absolutely the best thing about Making Out.

 

[James from London]

Just before UK Gold launched I invested in satellite TV, and having access to all that nostalgia (as well as discovering loads of new series) saw a serious overhaul to my viewing.

Yes, UK Gold was a bit of a game-changer all round really.

 

[PsychoDrama]

Great -- more Madge! She's absolutely the best thing about Making Out.

Oh - this is terrible. There are so many Brookie-adjacent series I still have yet to see.

I've now saved this one to my iPlayer watch list. Now I just have to find the time to actually view it.

 

[soapfan]

Brookside went on a decade too long and should have been axed in the early 1990s.

 

[PsychoDrama]

Episodes 401 - 415
1 September - 20 October 1986​

At this point it feels almost novel for Heather to be at the centre of things. This batch of episodes has seen an abundance of Heather (or Nick) having the episode’s last word or shot. This novelty seems to highlight the lack of big drama for Heather in recent months (quite possibly, when I think about it, since the wedding to Tom Curzon was called off). All the same, Heather has still been a presence, bringing a reassuring grounding to the series even while having less to do. Now that she’s Mrs Black and Nick’s secret has been blown out of the water, the end feels very much in sight and her current drama is very much a last hurrah for the character.

The reveal of Nick’s sordid secret was done well. There were many episodes spent dropping hints and red herrings. Like Charlie revelling in Heather’s discomfort when seeing Charlie deep in conversation with Gordon and Chris, fearing they connected so easily because of a shared sexuality. As he delighted in teasing Heather, the bond he shared with Nick was much deeper than sex. Perhaps the best example of a secret hiding in plain sight was when the name of a film was dropped and Charlie smirked at its accuracy. Annoyingly, I can’t remember the film now, but I remember giving a little snort of recognition at the time because I was vaguely aware of the film’s key theme.

One of the most interesting aspects of this storyline has come from Heather’s relationship with Nick’s children. I do enjoy that Heather isn’t successful at hiding her selfishness when it comes to sharing Nick and her home. For a time, Ruth and Scott are viewed as the problem that comes between the newlyweds… and there’s certainly good reason for this. Unlike easygoing Adam who takes to Heather right away, Ruth and Scott have done all they can to make life difficult for their new stepmother. They don’t approve, and it’s evident to Heather from the coded language they use when she’s around that she is being excluded from the secret they share. As the stroppy, smirking, haughty, shoplifting-for-attention daughter, Ruth is certainly annoying, and so it feels quite satisfying when - during another of Nick’s absences - Heather curtly shows her the door and tells her not to return.

The interest, though, comes as Heather begins to realise that both children are as broken by Nick’s secret as she is from being shut out. There’s a terrific scene where Scott has overheard her telling Nick she doesn’t want his son around. She sits on the stairs with Scott and you feel her heart melt a little as he talks about the wall between him and Nick. At this point, the simple act of her putting her arm round Scott feels hugely significant. Likewise, while she has enjoyed being part of Nick’s secret to Heather’s exclusion, it’s Ruth who eventually spills the beans, taking Heather to Nick’s flat to catch him in the act.

For a short time, I found myself questioning Ruth’s motive. Was she doing this to help Nick, or to ensure Heather and Nick’s fragile relationship is destroyed? This doubt was compounded by the facts that Ruth betrayed Nick’s confidence on a technicality (“I can’t tell you… but I can show you”) and that she wanted Heather to tell Nick she’d forced it out of Ruth.

This question felt unimportant, though, once Heather arrived at the flat. I love how subjective and messy the filming of this scene was as we walked through the door with Heather to find Nick and Charlie. The moments of confusion that followed for everyone before the pieces come together and it’s evident Nick and Charlie are shooting up drugs were enjoyably naturalistic. And effective - I was watching with someone who didn’t know Nick’s secret and was genuinely surprised by the scene.

I confess to feeling there was a degree of contrivance in the scene. From a storytelling perspective, it seemed convenient that Heather should uncover things on what we’re told is one of the rare occasions Nick injected, rather than smoked, heroin. And even more so that Nick should overdose on that very occasion, within seconds of Heather leaving. On reflection, though, I realised the reasons it seems contrived are exactly why it makes sense. It’s within the realm of possibility that Ruth might be aware of the escalation and want to stop it. And if we believe Nick and Charlie that they don’t usually inject, this would probably increase the chance of an accidental overdose (in addition to the on-screen conjecture that it might be due to this particularly batch being purer or stronger than usual). There’s even the more dramatic possibility that Heather arriving when she did distracted Nick or Charlie so that they over-administered. Whatever the truth, it’s not explored here simply because the revelation that Heather’s new husband is a drug addict is the crux of the matter. And that’s enough of a game-changer.

Given she is not renowned for her patience, Heather’s aim to love her husband back to health shows promise. Already she’s given him a sharp slap to the face for not showing up to his counselling appointment. Nick is already seething with resentment over her micromanagement of his life, and it can only get worse.

continued...​

 

[PsychoDrama]

Episodes 401 - 415
1 September - 20 October 1986
continued​

One nice touch was Heather confiding in Sheila (which mirrored Heather being there for Sheila after the rape and suggesting counselling). This kind of female heart-to-heart is the daily bread of other soaps but still such a rarity in Brookside that such a scene feels important and refreshing. Even more so with Heather who doesn’t trust easily.

For Sheila, too, it has been good to see her put in a supportive capacity this way, which is an important way of giving her back some sense of purpose and even power. After recent events, I can imagine a series with less nuance in its characterising her as The Victim or The Defiant Survivor, or swinging between the two. But what’s impressed is how the balance is struck between Sheila’s recovery and other parts of her family and friendship life - from adjusting to Karen moving in with Guy to her amusement at Damon’s pushy girlfriend Gail taking over her house (God - what a nightmare is Gail. And played to perfection as I believe her completely and have known one or two Gails. There are also shades of original recipe Sally Seddon from Corrie, I think).

Because of the degree of normality in the Grant household, when Sheila’s post-traumatic stress is triggered it feels more powerful and surprising. The scene with the pushy salesman who invaded her home may not have been subtle, but it did a terrific job of conveying her growing panic, with the subjective shots of him walking towards her calling out her name convincing that this would push her over the edge.

I also appreciate that it hasn’t been an easy road back for Sheila and Matty. Despite reconciling at Teresa’s funeral, I like that the difficulty between them has created a kind of strain. This adds layers to any scene they share while still showing them both plugging away at being friends. It makes any connection they have these days feel hard won.

Sandra has now left for Edinburgh with Tony the doctor, causing Pat’s usual “petulant child” delivery to hit dangerous new levels. In a scene where his married woman was made it plain bored with his navel gazing it felt she was truly the voice of the audience. It’s nice that Sandra’s had her happy ending, I suppose, but it’s difficult to know what function the tenants’ house now serves, besides the occasional mildly-entertaining visit from Harry. The characters in this household aren’t generating their own stories, so it feels things have to be manufactured. There’s now a temporary new tenant who is a professional thirty-something who is selling her own home in order to move to the area. The difference in backgrounds, and her profession of working with young offenders contrasting with the frequently-dodgy nature of Terry and Pat’s shenanigans has some promise, but it’s all very low energy. The new tenant’s main “thing”, it seems, is a hearing impairment which requires a hearing aid. This is all fine, but with little else to the character at the moment it feels a bit “talking pamphlet” (to purloin James’s expression).

Paul and Annabelle’s reactions to Gordon’s sexuality and relationship with Christopher has been interesting enough. With Paul in particular his relatively quick acceptance feels a little unexpected, but with just enough private tut tutting to convince that it’s a journey for him. With Paul and Annabelle the Close’s most conservative characters (small and big “C”), it’s good to see them challenged in this way, and having conflict or lack of acceptance coming from outside forces has given them a good reason to rally round.

Carol felt a little like the series’ sacrificial lamb in this storyline. It’s many months since we last saw her (perhaps longer), but she was given a very brief return to be the the voice of homophobic dissent before a hurried exit. Had I been asked to guess ahead of time, I would have imagined any conflict would have come from Carol knowing more than Paul or Anna and perhaps even being something of a confidante to Gordon (similar to how she was with Lucy and her married man). Then again, we know little enough about Carol for her reaction not to be set in stone. And this is 1986, when AIDS panic was at its peak. With so little known beyond histrionic messages, it's believable that Carol would be concerned.

In fact, given the times, it feels the Collinses have got off lightly… so far at least. Even Billy Corkhill didn’t give Paul as difficult a time as he might have done after Gordon’s Gay Times arrived at his house, helped by Paul leaning into his rarely-seen liberal parent side by being open about Gordon’s sexuality. His little Margaret Rutherford gurn after seeing Billy off made me chortle. I do have a soft spot for Paul’s more flippant side, and I remember we have plenty more of this to come in the upcoming storyline with Annabelle’s mother Mona (Paul’s line about writing in green ink being a sign of madness has never been forgotten and still makes me smile whenever I see a green biro). Even Harry Cross managed only briefly to take the wind out of Paul's sails with a boast about the grandchild on the way.

It’s been good, too, to see Annabelle a little out of her depth as she sets out on her new vocation as a magistrate. It’s funny to think how very different things are in their household from a short time ago.

 

[PsychoDrama]

Just to mention, I've merged the two Brookside discussion threads together, having realised our current thread is a direct continuation of an earlier one with the same title.

Hope this doesn't cause any problems for anyone with notifications, etc.

 

[Whovian]

Been watching an episode here and there an up to Episode 75 so still a long way behind.

It's interesting how Petra's grief is still openly on show many months (broadcast timeline) down the line from Gavin's death and it's impact on her relationship with Barry being explored in small, incremental steps. It's something modern soaps are pretty bad at doing with grief all too often being ignored in favour of moving the plot on whereas here it's actually serving to shape the plot which is refreshing. However it's also nice to see characters genuine frustration with the more selfish aspects of her grief and her over-reliance on them and as Barry accuses her of her tendency to use other people. Which makes it even more odd that her miscarriage so far seems to have had little affect on her - but maybe that'll be explored down the line.

I'm enjoying the increasingly tense atmosphere in the Grant household between Barry and his parents- hopefully this goes somewhere and he actually finds a way out of the situation for all their sakes. It seems pretty difficult for him to maintain the lie that he's got work when he's coming home half-way through the day to sit on the couch and drink - much to Sheila's frustration. The factory being threatened with closure is also an interesting storyline - although the union storylines isn't my favourite part of the show.

Other than that I just want to highlight the couple of episodes with the Isle of Man holidays - they were fabulous viewing with the shifting dynamics between Petra and Barry looking for space to talk but constantly bumping into Alan and Samantha making for a fun couple of episodes. Also interested in where Heather and Roger's affair storyline goes - as it looks increasingly likely he's going through with the affair. No doubt there'll be an explosion from Heather when her suspicions are revealed to be true. I haven't looked it up but I'm wondering if Roger's going to end up having the child he so desperately wants with Diane.

I'm still struggling to care about the Collins storylines - Annabel's closeness to Robin Tate is adding a bit of interest though. Lucy's arrest showed up the tension of parenting styles between Annabel and Paul but frankly Lucy's snotty nosed brat antics are infuriating to watch at this point although the scene where Paul and Annabel discuss packing off to some acquaintance/relative in France was a nice way to show how irritated Annabel was getting with her antics.

 

[PsychoDrama]

Episodes 416 - 430
21 October - 9 December 1986

​

The end of Brookie’s fourth year of production and the beginning of its fifth has struck a balance by giving us the definite end of an era while longer threads of continuity run alongside it to keep a good degree of familiarity.

The clearest line in the sand has been Heather calling it a day right at the end of this run, one month into Year Five. In many ways it feels it’s been a long time coming - Heather did almost sell up a couple of years before this, and has been slowly heading towards a new rock bottom/epiphany since Nick’s drug addiction was exposed. When it came, though, Heather’s exit felt surprisingly - almost indecently abrupt. And a little hollow. Deliberately so, but still hollow.

One thing that can be said for Amanda Burton’s final arc is that she was given great material. There’s a part of me that wants to say it was her best work on the series, while another feels to say this would diminish the other great stuff. It’s quite obviously dramatic material, where she can take off the makeup and smart suits and show us Heather more dishevelled and slowly falling apart because she’s completely out of control of a situation. But her work here is a standout not because of the melodrama but because throughout her entire run she’s so consistently been able to communicate what Heather thinks and feels without having to say the words. That remains true here, and it’s what gives this story its real punch.

Of all the residents, Heather appears the least likely to get involved in such a storyline (with the possible exception of Harry and Ralph). Even the Collinses would seem a more obvious choice given their two rebellious offspring. But this is exactly why the story works so well. Professionals who use drugs recreationally or become addicts while still continuing to function aren’t unheard of, so I applaud the choice to go this route. Examining the devastating effect of such addiction on a household is fascinating, and this has shown very effectively how Heather’s path now parallels Nick’s and she herself is drawn down into a similar rabbit hole from which it’s almost impossible to extricate herself.

Scenes between them at Number Nine have been simultaneously claustrophobic and compelling, and even a little icky as the audience is party to the cycle of dysfunction: lies leading to ultimatums leading to heartfelt promises leading to lies… The duality of Nick’s personality is shown and makes sense of why Heather would choose to believe him. When he’s not on the smack, he’s kind and thoughtful and vulnerable, which makes the blasé, reckless Nick he becomes all the more disappointing and frustrating.

Nick’s inevitable departure and park bench offscreen death still hits hard thanks in large part to Amanda Burton’s knockout performance. There’s a terrific scene where she’s just been told by a police officer and is clearly confused and not taking in the news. She’s been told he was found dead but didn’t hear the word “dead” and was surprised when asked to attend the mortuary to identify him. There’s a really interesting choice not to show the beginning of the scene (I assume this is by design rather than editing) so we, too, have Nick’s death confirmed with the line about the body in the morgue. It’s a little disorientating and leaves us to process things and make sense of it over the commercial break, just as Heather will attempt to do on the unseen journey to the mortuary, which is where we next see her.

There are two aspects of Heather’s exit I find bewildering.

One is the speed with which her departure happens. There’s barely any sign of it until her last couple of scenes when she tells Barry she’s going, hops in her Scirocco under cover of night and speeds away (while the lingering angst of her husband’s betrayal and the high emotion of the moment evoke Valene’s departure at the end of Knots Landing’s third season, the staging of this has always reminded me more of Richard’s similarly covert-and-bittersweet departure the following year).

The other surprising thing is that, once Nick has left, the interpersonal drama that’s mined from Heather’s exit is almost exclusively with Barry. There are a couple of nice scenes with Annabel while Nick is missing - and it’s a nice touch that the historically-guarded Heather withheld the truth of the cause of the marital rift from Anna - and a couple of looks or nods across the the cul-de-sac whenever she’s had to go outside. But the only person she’s truly spoken to has been Barry.

There is sound reasoning behind this, since Barry has personal experience of being in deep with someone who is addicted to heroin (a number of times when watching scenes relating to Nick’s addiction I’ve found myself reflecting that this story is so much more satisfying and substantial than the brief business with Barry and Jane last Christmas… because we’ve been able to see it progress and evolve, and we got to know Nick rather than the character being defined by his drug addiction in the way Jane was. It makes me so much more appreciative of the Heather/Nick arc). So it’s natural that Heather would approach Barry once Sheila had told her.

There’s been good stuff to seeing Barry in this position. In one scene of him comforting the distraught Heather on her sofa, I kind of flashed back to the scene on the very same spot where he’d comforted Petra after Gavin’s death. Then I remembered them discussing how Heather was “not like us”, and that backstory added layers to the story (I also felt relieved that Heather still had sense enough not to fall into Barry’s arms, even as a baser part of me craved Paul Collins to walk by the window and misconstrue the situation when he already thought Barry was cheating on Lucy with Vicki Cleary).

Still, it did feel there was a degree of soapy contrivance. After Nick’s death Barry seemed to be conveniently around whenever he was needed, and Heather leaning on him so heavily seemed a little out of character, even given the circumstances (but then I can also rationalise it that the situation with Nick had changed her to a degree).

The lack of interaction is hugely disappointing in one sense. I missed the closure with Annabel or Sheila or even Harry. I also feel we’ve been deprived of seeing the fallout with Nick’s children. But it’s a reminder that this isn’t about them. It’s Heather’s journey. At this point Heather has ostensibly simply gone to visit her parents while she recovers, so perhaps hindsight influences how I view it and the low key exit is fine. Besides, it’s all perfectly true to her fierce independence. This angle of her character means Heather is one of the characters who has stayed truest to the original vision of the series in which each home is an island. I’ll miss her a great deal.

continued...​

 

[PsychoDrama]

Episodes 416 - 430
21 October - 9 December 1986
continued​

Barry’s return has given a nice injection of conflict to the Grant household, while also keeping things balanced.

In his relationship with Damon - particularly his teasing over the suffocating Gail - it’s occurred to me that Barry is balancing things out by filling the gap left at Number Five with Karen’s new living situation (and then I felt bad for not even registering that Karen has all but left the series. I know she’ll be back for a visit very soon, so I’ll be certain to pay more attention).

The conflict has come from strained relationship between him and Bobby in particular. In simplistic terms, Bobby is jealous that Barry has been able to do what he hasn’t and restore some of Sheila’s confidence. While Bobby has been over-protective, ensuring one of the family members is always present, Barry has encouraged Sheila to push her comfort zone and get outside - even going as far as travelling in a taxi. But this is Brookside and these are the Grants, so there’s a lot of complexity going on beneath the surface.

I forget how things were when Barry left after his last visit, but my memory is that things between Barry and Bobby were in a good place. In a way, the current situation seems to have regressed to an earlier point, undoing the good work that’s been done. But it also seems believable. It’s human nature to be fickle or insecure in certain matters, and this has always been a particularly fraught relationship. It’s even quite possible that Bobby can get on with Barry and support him only when he’s not living or staying under the same roof. Some people just weren’t meant to live in such close proximity, and the alpha male dance going on between these two has always caused problems, so it’s all organic and both actors convince with their intensity. Ricky Tomlinson’s willingness to go ugly has been particularly strong and, like Amanda Burton, it sells because he is so invested in character. As hurtful as his stinging words and hostile energy may be, there’s a vulnerability behind it. Bobby’s attack is a means of defence, and it’s what he’s defending that remains most interesting. With the dubious benefit of hindsight, scenes like this also add the layer that came from a future retcon (which I don’t like at all).

Adding more strain, Barry has approached Tommy McArdle to arrange the beating of the man who raped Sheila. In addition to his methods, the timing of the beating - right before the trial in which he was expected to plead guilty, allowing Sheila some form of closure - has doubled down on the stresses. Sue Johnston has done great work showing Sheila on a knife’s edge because of the tension between her husband and son adding to the stress over the trial.

There’s an almost bizarre scene in which Tommy visits the house with a broad smile to offer Sheila flowers, all but telling her what he and Barry have arranged for her, causing Sheila to lose it and start shouting at both of them about what it’s cost her. The image of Sheila violently whacking the shocked Tommy with his own bouquet whilst expelling him from her house is borderline comical (shades of the “I want to be wooed” scene in Carry On Matron), but it’s grounded in stark reality by the pain in Sheila’s voice, and the truth of her words hitting home and taking the rug out from beneath Barry.

The favour Barry now owes Tommy has been called in and spilt over to Number Seven when Terry and Pat were roped into the Barbados trip which has meant, unfortunately, much screen time has been devoted to this. While the scenery was beautiful, now that it’s over I find myself questioning what the point of the trip was. Up to this point, whenever Brookside has travelled beyond Liverpool, something good has come from it. Heather and Sandra’s respective visits to Ireland and Glasgow gave us some more background and enriched their characters. The Isle Of Man trip evolved the Barry and Petra relationship. Even Bobby and Sheila’s holiday in Benidorm was significant for Sheila telling Bobby the baby news she’d been carrying and afraid to say back home. Pat and Terry went off to a nice place, larked around a bit and came home. Yes, it had its moments with was whole mule/contraband business. And for the less demanding viewer there was Pat’s holiday romance (he claimed to Terry he’d never felt this way about anyone… after all of three days), but now that they’re back nothing has changed. It could have never happened and everything would still be the same. If anything, it exposed insubstantial the characters are.

Back home, the changes to Number Seven are for the worse. Gill has moved out, but not before fending off Tommy McArdle who was making romantic overtures (Tommy seems to be getting put in his place left, right and centre at the moment. I can’t help feeling it’s somehow symbolic of the hard edge which gives the series its USP gradually softening). I feel for Gill, since I don’t feel she had much chance to make any kind of lasting impression on the series. She showed some promise, but she was a quieter kind of character that simply didn’t fit into this increasingly one-note household.

With Sandra and Gill both gone, Terry seems to be temporarily making up the triad this house appears to need. They seem to be having a good time larking round, drinking and ladding it up. Sadly, it’s less of a good time for the viewer (and God in Heaven… Pat trying to be one of the lads with “Tez” and “Baz” is so awkward it’s painful).

Harry’s had some strong material in this run, with the loss of his granddaughter, born prematurely following a row between Harry and Sally. I do love the tragic element to this character which is frequently hidden from most of the other residents.

Meanwhile at the Collinses', there have been some watchable time-passers with Paul’s new video cameral, Annabel’s food going missing after being looked after by the neighbours (followed by a food poisoning scare after the food was served at a party). There was even one discussion between Gordon and Annabel - speaking of his jealousy over Chris going on a skiing holiday - where he momentarily felt like the same character played by Nigel Crowley.

The Corkhills have been smashing it in this run. Financial problems agree with them: there’s been the loss of Billy’s job and the repossession of his company car (I love that Doreen was the one to tell Billy’s boss to take a running jump, after her endless insistence that Billy should do what he needs to do to keep the job and their security), a fiddled ‘leccy meter, credit card debt, a repossessed telly and endless digs from Billy over her fancy dresses and indulgent fantasies of being a model. And all while Rod is on the verge of joining the force. It’s great stuff, and I’m hoping this continues as the fifth year goes on.

 

[Whovian]

Last night I watched four of these five: two consecutive Andy Lynch episodes followed by two Jimmy McGoverns. Good as the Lynch episodes were (particularly Barry’s exit for London, taking Sheila’s kidney fund collection money and rubbing her nose in it) I was struck by how things sparkled into life when I hit the two McG episodes.

Picking up in this now as I've just reached this episode in my run and thought it worth going back to see what you said. I'm blind to what's to come but for me this is the first thing Barry has done that seems downright nasty and could be a sign of a shift away from the loveable rogue type he's been portrayed as so far in the series to a more villainous take on the character. Taking the kidney fund money just seems inherently evil and beyond the bounds of the 'bad lad' he's been portrayed as so far. I found it hard to believe Barry would treat Sheila with that little respect especially as the way he was demanding the money for the club seemed to be out of character, for him to then go on and nick charity money / his mum's money whichever way you want to look at him really takes the character out of the realms of nicking stuff from his work that we've seen before. Although seems unlikely Sheila will stick to the promise never to let him back in the house over it for too long.

 

[PsychoDrama]

Picking up in this now as I've just reached this episode in my run and thought it worth going back to see what you said.

Great. I hope you'e enjoying. I envy you still getting to experience this the way that you are, and look forward to your continued view.

I'm blind to what's to come but for me this is the first thing Barry has done that seems downright nasty and could be a sign of a shift away from the loveable rogue type he's been portrayed as so far in the series to a more villainous take on the character.

Yes, that's a good point.

I love that you've reached this point now because your comments about Barry dovetail well with the "current" episodes on STV, some 350 episodes on. For the sake of avoiding spoilers, I'll just say that there have been statements about Barry that I thought were quite harsh, but now that you've mentioned the kidney fund money incident I'm reminded how many layers there are to the family dynamics.

 

[James from London]

Oh - this is terrible. There are so many Brookie-adjacent series I still have yet to see.

I've now saved this one to my iPlayer watch list. Now I just have to find the time to actually view it.

I have to confess to giving up on Making Out after the first series. I got kind of Margi Clark’d out. I think it’s probably fallen off the iPlayer by now. But Boys From the Blackstuff is on there, and that’s full of Brookside-adjacent stuff: Bobby Grant as a doctor, Vicky Cleary as a DHSS spy, a really lovely performance by Tracey Corkhill’s real-life granddad, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg (even if Alan Bleasdale wasn’t exactly a Brookie fan as I recall), plus Julie Walters in one of her best roles.

The reveal of Nick’s sordid secret was done well. There were many episodes spent dropping hints and red herrings. Like Charlie revelling in Heather’s discomfort when seeing Charlie deep in conversation with Gordon and Chris, fearing they connected so easily because of a shared sexuality. As he delighted in teasing Heather, the bond he shared with Nick was much deeper than sex. Perhaps the best example of a secret hiding in plain sight was when the name of a film was dropped and Charlie smirked at its accuracy. Annoyingly, I can’t remember the film now, but I remember giving a little snort of recognition at the time because I was vaguely aware of the film’s key theme.

I think the film might have been The French Connection (which is also on the iPlayer for the next fortnight, along with another early 70s crime classic, Get Carter starring Michael Caine, Britt Ekland and Alf Roberts. I'm planning to re-watch them both).

I really loved the exchange between Heather and Charlie at Paul and Annabelle's barbecue, thrown to conceal Gordon's sexuality from the neighbours. "They're gay, aren't they?" Heather asks coolly. In that moment, she is too preoccupied with trying to make sense of her own situation to care less about the Collinses and their strenuous efforts at concealment. .Instead, she and Charlie find themselves unintentional co-conspirators, both in on the secret the neighbours are frantically trying to hide.

Ruth and Scott have done all they can to make life difficult for their new stepmother. They don’t approve, and it’s evident to Heather from the coded language they use when she’s around that she is being excluded from the secret they share. As the stroppy, smirking, haughty, shoplifting-for-attention daughter, Ruth is certainly annoying, and so it feels quite satisfying when - during another of Nick’s absences - Heather curtly shows her the door and tells her not to return.

As petulant stepchildren-to-be, Ruth and Scott got off to a bit of a soapily generic start, but I really warmed to them this time around. As the cracks in Nick's persona start to show, they both become increasingly more interesting.

The scene where Ruth goes round to the Corkhills for tea and teams up with Billy to make fun of Rod's plans to join the police reminded me of the dynamic when Karen's old army boyfriend Mike came home on leave and started with palling round with Barry and Terry, leaving Karen herself out in the cold.

There’s a terrific scene where Scott has overheard her telling Nick she doesn’t want his son around. She sits on the stairs with Scott and you feel her heart melt a little as he talks about the wall between him and Nick. At this point, the simple act of her putting her arm round Scott feels hugely significant.

Yeah that was a great little moment, and the Heather/Nick bedroom scene that preceded it was one of several wonderfully nuanced 'scenes from a marriage' between them, full of fascinating little shifts of emotion: from romance to intimacy to suspicion to resentment ... I could have watched the two of them circling each other forever. But it's Heather's ball-shrivellingly withering "The world is full of I-could-have-beens" speech (written by - surprise, surprise - one J McGovern) that has lingered in the back of my mind for decades.

Damon’s pushy girlfriend Gail taking over her house (God - what a nightmare is Gail. And played to perfection as I believe her completely and have known one or two Gails.

Aw, Gail! With her dreams of having a jacuzzi "like Joan Collins or Krystle", she might just be my favourite of Damon's girlfriends. Since returning from his summer job with short hair, we've seen a newly mature, sober Damon, which has been both plausible and oddly moving. Gail gets him in touch with his mischievous side again, even if she's far nuttier than he ever was.

There are also shades of original recipe Sally Seddon from Corrie, I think).

Oh, interesting!

Sandra has now left for Edinburgh with Tony the doctor, causing Pat’s usual “petulant child” delivery to hit dangerous new levels.

I remember my housemate at the time laughing at Pat and Sandra's overwrought final embrace, saying it looked like they were eating each other's hair.

Paul and Annabelle’s reactions to Gordon’s sexuality and relationship with Christopher has been interesting enough. With Paul in particular his relatively quick acceptance feels a little unexpected, but with just enough private tut tutting to convince that it’s a journey for him. With Paul and Annabelle the Close’s most conservative characters (small and big “C”), it’s good to see them challenged in this way, and having conflict or lack of acceptance coming from outside forces has given them a good reason to rally round.

With New Gordon, everything's about Being Gay, but it's all external. He gets interviewed for TV about ... Being Gay. He orders a magazine about ... Being Gay. He wears a badge that symbolises ... Being Gay. Tellingly, his reunion with schoolfriend Chris takes place entirely off screen. From the first time we see them together, they are singing from the same Being Gay hymn sheet. Chris works in a gay bicycle shop (or something) because ... well, of course he does. It's another external. From watching these episodes, you wouldn't think that being gay had anything to do with anything internal:, anything to do with emotion or desire or shame. "I'm not ashamed of being gay," huffs Gordon at one point. "Of course not," Annabelle replies dutifully. But It would be more dramatically fruitful if he was ashamed, or at least ambivalent, or really anything other than just blandly, self-righteously, all-purposely Proud.

When Gordon explains, blandly and proudly, the significance of his badge to Barry and Sheila, I was reminded of the OG (Original Gordon) and how, every time he would encounter Damon and his mates on the close, there was always an awkwardness, a tension, about him, even when they were all getting along. It didn't have anything to do with Being Gay, it had to do with smaller, subtler things: upbringing, class, insecurity (all of which were kind of encapsulated in that small but brilliantly illuminating conversation between him and his dad where he admitted to resenting Heather for being so beautiful.) Now all those quirks and idiosyncrasies have been ironed out. As well as being recast, Gordon has been reprogrammed. He is no longer Awkward, Interesting Freckle Boy; he is now Well-Adjusted Gay Character. And that's all he is. There are numerous smaller characters -- all of Damon's and Karen's friends, every person Heather's ever worked with -- who have felt more rounded, more real than New Gordon.

Carol felt a little like the series’ sacrificial lamb in this storyline. It’s many months since we last saw her (perhaps longer), but she was given a very brief return to be the the voice of homophobic dissent before a hurried exit. Had I been asked to guess ahead of time, I would have imagined any conflict would have come from Carol knowing more than Paul or Anna and perhaps even being something of a confidante to Gordon (similar to how she was with Lucy and her married man). Then again, we know little enough about Carol for her reaction not to be set in stone. And this is 1986, when AIDS panic was at its peak. With so little known beyond histrionic messages, it's believable that Carol would be concerned.

The show's unwillingness, or inability, to get beneath the surface of Gordon's character means the focus is continually put on Paul and Annabelle's reactions to his sexuality, and those reactions can apparently only be dramatised by the threat of someone finding out, so it becomes about externals built upon externals built upon externals. On EastEnders, the most overtly negative response Colin faced to his sexuality was from Dot Cotton when, after months of thinking he was the bee's knees, the penny finally drops that him and Barry are "that way". As with Carol, the discovery arises out of a domestic cleaning situation. Doing Colin and Barry's service wash in the launderette, Dot can't understand why there's only one set of bedsheets to clean -- until she does. Again, as with Carol, there's an immediate fear of AIDS, but as Dot is Dot, her reaction is 100% in character and the Square (and the soap itself) is big enough to accommodate both Colin and Dot until such time as he can get through to her and they can become friends again. In comparison, I felt Carol was used - as a sacrificial lamb, yes, but also as a kind of scapegoat .

Going back to Paul's zebra-crossing campaign storyline, which I didn't hate but didn't love, I think my main problem was there wasn't really anything emotionally at stake. Somehow, the heart of the story was missing. Perhaps logically, that heart should have belonged to the woman whose son had been killed in the first place, but I can't even remember her name. Nothing wrong with the actress, but she existed solely for Paul and Annabelle to react to, just like Carol does here. Two working-class women whose anger and intelligence the show pays lip-service to (for there would be drama without them), but isn't really interested in. If Brookside was coming at this situation from Carol's point of view, I could imagine her realising Gordon is gay, quietly fearing the worst, and rather than kicking off hysterically, simply never showing up for work again -- but that wouldn't have given Paul and Annabelle anything to react to, and they seem to be the only prism through the show can confidently deal with anything to do with Gordon's sexuality.

(I'm aware I'm being more picky here than I would be about another soap but really it's Brookie's fault for setting such a high standard for itself!)

Even Billy Corkhill didn’t give Paul as difficult a time as he might have done after Gordon’s Gay Times arrived at his house, helped by Paul leaning into his rarely-seen liberal parent side by being open about Gordon’s sexuality.

Of all the plots to externalise Gordon's gayness, I remembered this one as the most painfully contrived -- of course Gay Gordon reads a magazine all about Being Gay and of course he insists on having it delivered to his parents' house and of course it goes to the wrong address -- but it actually wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Gordon's explanation about having to order the mag because it's hard to get hold of at least makes sense, and Rod and Billy's homophobic reaction to it felt refreshingly honest. (That said, it's funny how their - completely believable - prejudices surface for that one scene and then completely disappear again. It's a bit like the episode of Friends where they've managed to to secure a brief cameo by a big rock star at the end and so for the duration of that one ep, everyone's the biggest fan of Sting in the world, and then he too is never mentioned again). Two minor discrepancies I noticed: everyone involved in the story insists on calling Gordon's publication a paper when it's clearly a magazine (even when they're holding it in their hands), and when Billy and Rod are tussling over it, they manage to pull the cover off, yet when Billy subsequently hands it to Paul, it's miraculously intact again. In and of themselves, these fluffs are totally unimportant -- I mean, who cares? -- but it's kind of emblematic of the disconnect between the subject Brookside purports to be tackling and the way it's presented on screen: unconfidently, from a distance, with kid gloves.

It’s been good, too, to see Annabelle a little out of her depth as she sets out on her new vocation as a magistrate.

The "I'm Sting's biggest fan" syndrome manifests itself here too, with Annabelle's otherwise kindly instructor making an out-of-the-blue homophobic jibe about his bitchy helper. (Again, this is more an observation than a criticism.) The bitchy helper himself was a reporter in the Grants' Mother & Baby Photo Competition story the previous year and I think he pops up again in Damon & Debbie.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

I have to confess to giving up on Making Out after the first series. I got kind of Margi Clark’d out. I think it’s probably fallen off the iPlayer by now.

It’s back on the iPlayer. I haven’t watched it but I remember seeing some sort of promotion about it being added (possibly along with some other 80’s series) earlier this year. Coincidentally, I’m planning on rewatching Letter to Brezhnev tonight.

 

[James from London]

It’s back on the iPlayer.

Till Friday!