Brookside Brookside

[James from London]

I can’t remember if it’s received a passing mention at some earlier point, but it seems Q3 of 1987 is when HIV/AIDS has well and truly arrived in Brookside. And not just in one household. It seems to be on everyone’s minds.

The first mention of AIDS in the American prime-time soaps came a few months before this in the Season 7 finale of Dynasty when Blake warns Steven of the real-life dangers that might befall him if he were to leave Denver. Dallas followed at the start of the next season when JR's favourite hooker Serena explained that she was out of a job because everyone's "scared to death of the AIDS thing." On Enders, Mary the Punk had gone through her prostitute phase as far back as February of '87 when she dismissed the possibility of her catching "that gay disease."

The first Enders character to be diagnosed with the virus wouldn't be until '88, as part of Den Watts' prison soap-within-a-soap. Like Stan on Brookside, Vic was an ordinary blokey-bloke (albeit one doing time for petty theft) with a wife and kids and an eye for the ladies. What's striking about the Enders story is the matter-of-fact way it depicts the utter contempt with which Vic is treated once his diagnosis becomes known, not just by his fellow inmates but by the prison system itself and even his doctor. If memory serves, it's only the prison chaplain who shows even the tiniest shred of compassion. Obviously, it's a very different story when Mark Fowler returns to the Square with HIV in 1990. Currently, Enders has one character with HIV: Sharon's long-lost biological brother Zack, another cheeky-chappy ladies' man, who after much soapy torment and garment rending, is now able to live a pretty much normal life.

Stan coming round for tea must have coincided with me gaining access to a new VCR with snazzy record and pause buttons because this is when I started taping the Grant-centric scenes from the Saturday omnibus, seamlessly(ish) chopping everyone else's scenes out as I went along. As a result, a lot of this dialogue has remained in my head ever since (the classic McGovern one-liner "We were raised Catholic - a mortal sin if you do it with the light on!" being a case in point). I was reminded of this a couple of years ago when Enders introduced Zack's HIV storyline. He finds out he might have it from Brett, an old gym buddy whom he shared needles while doing steroids, who has already tested positive. Brett's line: "I was worried people thought I was gay, or at least I’d slept with some guy, because in my head, it was always a gay thing, but the gay guys I’ve met with it, I’d be proud if people thought I had their strength" immediately brought to mind Stan's speech that begins, "My first worry was people will think I'm queer" and ends with "I just hope when my time comes, I've got half the guts of those nancy boys." Which I guess goes to show that while some things have changed in the intervening years, such as medical science, others remain the same.

Another oddly resonant moment: during the Sunday omnibus of the UK Living rerun of these eps in 1997, a subtitle appeared on screen (as I recall, it was just as Billy was returning to Jonathan and Laura's wedding after the botched robbery) instructing us to switch over to the BBC for some important news, i.e,. Diana's death. Just a few minutes before, Bobby and Sheila had had their "If it's good enough for Lady Di ..." "Since when have we used royalty as a yardstick in this house?" exchange. which was kind of weird -- it's not like she was mentioned every week -- while at the same time demonstrating how ingrained she was in British life.

I suppose all soaps have this kind of obstacle to deal with fairly regularly, but I can't help wondering if Brookie had more sudden departures (or actors leaving before the end of their planned arcs) than most.

I recall Corrie in the early eighties having a stockpile of off-screen characters (very significant ones as well) that needed to be written out because the actors had either died or were too old and/or ill to continue, while Enders had a period in the early 2000s when they were bedevilled by cast illnesses, suspensions, pregnancies and even a sudden deportation, but Brookside might hold the record for major actors walking out in the middle of filming never to return: Bobby Grant, Tracey's Jamie, Beth Jordache. (I also vaguely remember one of Barry Grant's many departures having to be explained by an extra's hands packing a suitcase.)

 

[Mel O'Drama]

The first Enders character to be diagnosed with the virus wouldn't be until '88, as part of Den Watts' prison soap-within-a-soap. Like Stan on Brookside, Vic was an ordinary blokey-bloke (albeit one doing time for petty theft) with a wife and kids and an eye for the ladies. What's striking about the Enders story is the matter-of-fact way it depicts the utter contempt with which Vic is treated once his diagnosis becomes known, not just by his fellow inmates but by the prison system itself and even his doctor.

Oh yes. I'd all but forgotten Vic. Den's time at Dickens Hill was pretty groundbreaking all round, really. Wasn't it partly done so that Leslie Grantham could continue to appear while he took an extended break?

Stan coming round for tea must have coincided with me gaining access to a new VCR with snazzy record and pause buttons because this is when I started taping the Grant-centric scenes from the Saturday omnibus, seamlessly(ish) chopping everyone else's scenes out as I went along.

Oh, that sounds exciting. Editing something this way is a great way to get to know it really well.

Brett's line: "I was worried people thought I was gay, or at least I’d slept with some guy, because in my head, it was always a gay thing, but the gay guys I’ve met with it, I’d be proud if people thought I had their strength" immediately brought to mind Stan's speech that begins, "My first worry was people will think I'm queer" and ends with "I just hope when my time comes, I've got half the guts of those nancy boys."

These are so similar that as I started reading the first part I thought you'd accidentally written Brett's name rather than Stan's.

Another oddly resonant moment: during the Sunday omnibus of the UK Living rerun of these eps in 1997, a subtitle appeared on screen (as I recall, it was just as Billy was returning to Jonathan and Laura's wedding after the botched robbery) instructing us to switch over to the BBC for some important news, i.e,. Diana's death. Just a few minutes before, Bobby and Sheila had had their "If it's good enough for Lady Di ..." "Since when have we used royalty as a yardstick in this house?" exchange. which was kind of weird -- it's not like she was mentioned every week -- while at the same time demonstrating how ingrained she was in British life.

That's quite uncanny. If I stop and think about this, it's almost mind-boggling. How incredible to think that Bobby Grant might have been the last person to casually speak her name on British television in those last moments of relative normality before the country got swept up in it all.

Enders had a period in the early 2000s when they were bedevilled by cast illnesses, suspensions, pregnancies and even a sudden deportation

How intriguing.

Brookside might hold the record for major actors walking out in the middle of filming never to return: Bobby Grant, Tracey's Jamie, Beth Jordache. (I also vaguely remember one of Barry Grant's many departures having to be explained by an extra's hands packing a suitcase.)

Funnily enough, I'd forgotten Jamie's exit (probably because it was one of those non-exits), and I think I've misremembered those hands packing the suitcase as facilitating Bobby's exit, though - again because of its off-screen nature - the only thing I really remember about Bobby's departure is Sheila coming home and calling out his name to nobody as she looked round the house.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Episodes 546 - 560
19 January - 8 March 1988​

As 1988 has gone along I’ve found myself pleasantly surprised that Brookie is still delivering some great material. As mentioned earlier, I’ve long had 1987 in my mind as the year the series began to get a bit stale and a bit safe, but it seems the gradient of the decline is much gentler than I’d feared.

On the other hand, I find myself feeling I have very little to say about the series beyond the Grants and, to a lesser extent, the Corkhills.

Outside these two key families, things have been at best less interesting. And at worst, quite dull.

The care home abuse storyline is watchable enough, not least because it taps into many peoples’ fears and shows the ugly side of human nature. Systemic cruelty, with many carers somehow drawn into becoming participants into bullying and violence towards the vulnerable people they’re entrusted to look after is a fascinating and terrifying psychological concept, and one with numerous real-world examples since these stories were - and still are - regularly in the news (and those are just the ones which are exposed). Where the story falls down for me is that I more or less know how it turns out, and with this knowledge it’s rather easy to see the pieces being put into place to facilitate the story. In particular, this means Christopher, who is persona non grata with Paul and Annabelle, who had even (slightly uncharacteristically, I felt) booted him out after Gordon left, only for him to reappear upon Gordon’s return (Chris is nothing if not thick-skinned). With Gordon out of the body cast from his Gallic motorcycle caper, Chris is due to be given his marching orders once again. Unless he can do… something to win them over. It’s all perfectly serviceable, and I’ve even enjoyed watching Paul and Annabelle seethe at Christopher’s lack of decorum. But it just doesn’t hold up all that well to a repeated viewing with an understanding of the bigger picture.

Knowing the full story has made other Collins scenes a little more interesting: such as Annabelle’s colleague, Brian Lawrence, playing white knight and entering her house to find Paul at his grouchiest and Gordon in his dressing gown with Christopher draped over him. This scene actually drove home for me how “out” Christopher is. He was perfectly comfortable with this stranger seeing this cosy picture which, certainly by 1988 standards, is a tad eyebrow raising. And of course this added to Paul and Annabelle’s discomfiture.

One other note here: Paul continued to argue with Gordon in front of Brian. And another episode had Paul and Annabelle having a heated disagreement in front of Terry, of all people. I recall one other instance of these two arguing in public (I think it was in the Close, and I remember writing at the time that it was quite uncharacteristic). Gone are the days, it seems, when keeping up appearances and presented a united front as a family were the orders of the day.

I’m still not quite sure how to feel about the Rogers family. With the exception of young Katie, the performances are mostly fine (though I’ve now spotted Chrissy rolling her eyes and tutting a few times and find myself hoping it’s not a permanent characteristic à la Pat), but the saga of Sammy’s blue coat is not exactly gripping. Perhaps the best stuff from them in this run came after Growler’s prank of hoisting a garden chair onto the Collinses roof: a retaliation for Paul confiscating his ball after it was kicked into the Collinses’ garden, smashing Paul’s precious mug. Frank’s defensive and almost threatening reaction to Paul’s accusation felt like the stuff Brookie is made of (there were the palest echoes of the scene where Roger Huntington entered Gavin’s house for a similar talk and was quickly intimidated into leaving by Gavin and… Other Frank). This Frank proved to be a decent enough neighbour when, after giving Growler a sanction, he got ready to go and get the chair down.

The Corkhills are still working at the moment, but there is a big red flag in the shape of Jimmy Corkhill, who has moved himself into Number Ten after being thrown out by his wife for cheating on her (presumably while she was working late shifts at the Rovers Return). At the moment, the injection of new energy from Jimmy, Kathy and Jamie all getting their feet under the table (though the least said about Jamie and Jimmy’s feet, the better, given much has been made out of the unbearable aromas in the house at the moment) is proving watchable enough. Knowing that, with hindsight, this is a step from Jimmy moving from recurring supporting player to Brookie bad boy puts a definite dampener on things, though.

Kathy’s been a decent addition so far. I remember her as a nice, chummy kind of woman, but perhaps that’s a sign of my own youthful naïvety. This time round there’s a definite undercurrent of manipulation and deviousness. Jimmy is playing Billy like a fiddle, but Kathy is calling the tune and knows that by aggressively making herself indispensable in bringing a woman’s touch to the house with her lamb dinners and whatnot, she's making it just difficult enough for Billy to ask her to leave.

Barry might be on a similar trajectory as Jimmy, but his return is most welcome. In fact, this visit has been a gem for him so far. When Bobby threw him out, it seemed there was no way back for him. Even if he wanted to return, it seemed life would be made too difficult for him to do so. It’s a feat that his return seemed simultaneously surprising and inevitable. It’s fascinating to think about what keeps bringing him back, and the simplest answer is “family”, although it’s a lot more complex that this.

I enjoyed the air of humility to Barry’s return. It was clear he wanted to make things right with Bobby, and I found that fascinating given how easy it is to view him as the wronged party when he left. Much like Damon upon his return from Torquay, it’s evident Barry has grown in some way. One of the first things he does is seek out Bobby (at The Swan, of course, since Bobby’s spending much of his time there lately) to make things right. And it’s received well by Bobby, which makes a warm gratifying experience as a viewer.

Barry’s had some nice scenes this time round. Perhaps a contender for one of his top scenes of all time is the conversation between Barry and Sheila where they discuss Debbie’s pregnancy and whether or not they would advocate for an abortion given her health conditions. Even knowing how strongly Sheila felt, Barry made his case in a way that was palatable but firm. There’s even a moment where he asks how she’d have felt if she’d been pregnant after the rape (and there’s a flicker on her face that only the viewer sees).

After their conversation, Sheila has a line that I read as praising his diplomacy, and it’s a line that is far more significant with the benefit of hindsight:

I always thought you had my blood in you. You’re Bobby Grant’s son all right.

There’s also a terrific scene where Mr McGrath comes to the house to discuss Debbie’s pregnancy, which builds and escalates and ends up with Barry and Bobby physically throwing him out of the house and flat on his face. It’s notable for its similarities to the scene which ended with McGrath flattening Damon when throwing him out of his home. The lack of mention means it’s not too on the nose, but to those who remember and recognise the - presumably intentional - parallels, it feels like karma catching up with McGrath.

continued​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Episodes 546 - 560
19 January - 8 March 1988

continued
​

As their grief processes widen the divide between them, Bobby and Sheila continue to have some very strong material in their scenes. It feels painful to watch, because of how close-knit they’ve always been. This is far from the first time they’ve had some serious differences, and it’s not even the first time it’s felt things might be beyond repair. This feels different, though, and I’m sure that knowing where this particular arc is taking them adds layers to these scenes.

I’ve mentioned before that 1988 recipe Bobby is the one that I remember, and that’s a shame.The first time round, he came across as quite a bully to me. This time, having watched the whole series to this point in a relatively short time, there’s more nuance, and I’m used enough to Bobby’s ways to be able to get some understanding of what’s going on beneath the surface.

Compelling as the writing and performances make this, it’s not easy to watch, and I can fully understand Ricky Tomlinson’s unhappiness with the way Bobby is being written. Whatever meat Bobby has got his teeth into, there’s always been his wit and humour to balance things out. There’s an absence of that at the moment. Appropriately so, perhaps, given he’s just buried his young son, but still he’s not being painted in the best light.

A recurring motif in the latter episodes here has been the mention of real-world events which somehow inform the Grants’ own responses. There are two notable scenes here. The first comes in the wake of Debbie’s miscarriage, as Sheila tries to make sense of it all:

D’you remember about a week before Damon died - Armistice Day, I think it was, I’m not sure - that bomb in Ireland. Enniskillen. And they interviewed that man who’d lost his daughter. He said it was all part of God’s great plan. He had to believe it was all part of God’s great plan. Well, I’ve been asking why. Just when you get used to livin’ in the depths of despair, He holds you out a little ray of hope, an’ you reach out for it, and [He] snuffs it out. But I think I know why.

Damon’s gone but for a few days there was a chance we might see his child. Not his photo. Not some shirt he used to wear or some ball he used to kick around, but something of his flesh and blood. An’ maybe those few days of hope were worth all this disappointment now. Maybe.

It’s a strong scene, sold wonderfully by Sue Johnston’s delivery. Still, this scene in particular felt a little exploitative to me, not for its mention of the event itself, but for narrowing that down to one person who had been through a tragedy. Unlike the more general references that came later, I found myself wondering if the man who had lost his daughter was ever aware of this scene, and how he would have felt about his pain being used to enhance a fictional story.

The other scene of note on this level came after Sheila castigates him for the principles she feels he has always put ahead of his family, and the person she views those principles have made him. She recalls that he’d called the returning miners “scabs”, and he quickly reminds her that she’d been on the picket lines with him and she, too, had called men scabs.

This leads into a terrific monologue from Bobby in which he gives a list of world events that are framed in the context of the Grants’ story in general and Damon’s death in particular:

I love my family too much to let my principles get in the way. I’ve lost a son. And his life - one boy’s life - means more to me than all the principles in the world.

Well, I lost a son too, you know, Shei. An’ you say you loved ‘im more than me. Well, I don’t see how you can, because I loved our Damon with all my ‘heart an’ with all my soul. But I’ll tell you something: his death has done something to me. It’s made me stick to me principles even more. Because that’s what principles are about. They’re about life an’ death.

D’you know we allow pensioners to freeze to death every year in this country, eh? Where’s our principles there when we allow that to happen?There’s forty seven councillors in Liverpool been barred from office, isn’t there? What have we done about that? Where was our principles then, eh?

An’ you mention the miners. Phew, I remember the miners. I remember them strugglin’ for a year an’ a day. A year an’ a day before they were battered an’ beaten and finally starved back to work. Where was our principles then, eh? There’s blacks bein’ slaughtered in South Africa. The Belgrano bein’ sunk with all them men lost. All them lives wasted. Where was our principles then?

Because that’s where this all started, you know, Shei: the Falklands. The country should’ve been up in arms about it, an’ what did we do? We were glued to the television set every night as though it was the best war movie we’d ever seen. An’ when it was all over, we clapped the producer all the way back to Number 10 Downing Street. An’ then she closed Liverpool down. An’ that’s why our Damon’s dead: because she closed Liverpool down. Oh, one or two people stood up. One or two of them had principles, but there wasn’t enough, was there? That’s right, Shei. All them young men, dyin’ all that way out there in the South Atlantic. An’ our poor Damon dyin’ up in the North East. If there’d ‘ave been a few more people - maybe just a few more - with a few more principles, then maybe they could’ve saved both.

The staging is effective for its economy. The lengthy scene is essentially two shots: first Bobby in the background with Sheila in profile close to camera. Then, when she turns to the mirror the camera switches to give Soapy Reflections galore, and Bobby moves to behind her, eventually moving up to sit right behind her. And the whole time the camera slowly zooms in, giving a sense of intimacy, as well as the walls closing in as home truths are spoken.

This Jimmy McGovern penned diatribe perfectly gets to the political heart not only of Bobby but of the very series, and the pain of the characters. It might seem excessive to blame Thatcher herself for the tragic death of one of the series’ most beloved characters - and it’s certainly ballsy - but it makes perfect sense that Bobby Grant would do this.

In fact it feels necessary. Not only is this a natural evolution of the numerous political rants he’s made, it’s so articulate it makes sense. The country was broken thanks in large part to the way in which it was being run. For much of his time on the series Damon was a symbol of how the Tories’ choices negatively impacted on those young and willing to work. And now in death he continues to be so.

For many reasons, singling out the Prime Minister never feels exploitative in the way that the mention of the man on the news did, but I like that both these choices also feel right for the characters. Because, Bobby would see this through the prism of the draconian system failing the individuals, just as Sheila would be touched by one stranger’s faith.

The moment packs a hell of a punch. It's a wonderful moment for Ricky Tomlinson. I find myself wondering if this will be the last such scene, and hoping against hope it won't.

This is one of two lengthy and wordy scenes which signify turning points for the Grants in this episode. In their next scene at episode’s end, Sheila comes to The Swan to make peace with Bobby - bringing him sandwiches, in a nice little touch - only for both to realise they’re on different paths that don’t seem to give them common ground. I might be a bit premature, but I’m already dreading the family crumbling even more than it has.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I see South has appeared on iPlayer, as one 50 minute episode. It seems to make sense to watch it in one go as presented here, so the question now is: do I watch it before #561 or after #562?

Either way, I'm excited. Due to its daytime educational slot, South eluded me when it was shown (I'm half convinced it didn't appear on S4C at all as I'm sure I'd have looked out for it and planned to set the video), so I'll be able to rectify a 37 year old disappointment and finally watch Morrissey's cameo (even if he didn't seem to rate his own acting abilities).

 

[James from London]

I see South has appeared on iPlayer, as one 50 minute episode. It seems to make sense to watch it in one go as presented here, so the question now is: do I watch it before #561 or after #562?

Either way, I'm excited. Due to its daytime educational slot, South eluded me when it was shown (I'm half convinced it didn't appear on S4C at all as I'm sure I'd have looked out for it and planned to set the video), so I'll be able to rectify a 37 year old disappointment and finally watch Morrissey's cameo (even if he didn't seem to rate his own acting abilities).

Fantastic news!

 

[James from London]

The Collinses have their own issue-led storyline underway with Mona’s declining memory taking hold. But the increasingly soapy contrivances which are to be found across the entire series to some degree, feel somehow quite exposed here. Of course, the social worker had to arrive at the worst possible time (and he apparently changed his mind off-screen, conveniently removing any threat of consequence for Paul and Annabelle). And of course half the close would suddenly doubt the Collinses’ characters to suit the script (even though I quite liked this angle in part, as it seemed symptomatic of the lack of neighbourly togetherness which seems a good fit for this series). Still, it has yielded some gold, particularly seeing Annabelle at her wits’ end.

I recently re-watched EastEnders' equivalent elderly-mother-with-dementia storyline from three years later (although I don't think the 'd' word was mentioned in either soap), this time involving Frank Butcher's mum Mo. For me, the Enders story is the more successful, not least because Mo was already a well-established character. She'd been on the show for about two years prior to starting to lose her faculties, so the viewers could share in the loss of who she had been. We weren't just watching from the outside as we are with Mona. We already understood who Mo was and her pre-existing relationships with her son, daughter-in-law, grandkids and friends on the Square so we didn't need all that constantly explained through dialogue. Imagine if the same thing had happened to Julia Brogan. It would have been heartbreaking to witness. There's simply no way Doreen's anguish (not to mention the rest of her family's) would have been treated as superficially, almost farcically, as Annabelle's was.

Another advantage the Enders storyline had was the wider context of the soap. Simply because the Square is bigger than the close, there was plenty of opportunity for Mo to interact with a large amount of characters, and whatever poignancy or humour or drama resulted from her erratic behaviour felt natural and unforced. As you say, Mona's interactions with the neighbours on the close is far more contrived. It reminds me of the convoluted plotting you'd get on a not very funny sitcom from the same period, leading up to some entirely predictable punchline you could have seen coming a mile off. I think the final straw for me was all the contrivances it took to get to Mona to walk into the bungalow kitchen to find Harry in the nude, much hilarity theoretically ensuing. Can you imagine Brookside subjecting Bobby or Sheila to such undignified plotting? Indeed, all you have to do is contrast this scenario with the far briefer, but much more nuanced, AIDS storyline at the Grants'.

One of the remarkable things about Brookside when it began is that all the characters were depicted with the same level of realism and detail, regardless of whether they were the Haves, Have-Nots or the Habitats. At the point I'm now up to (Dec '87), it seems the close is still divided into camps, but now from a writing point of view: The Haves are now the Grants and the Corkhills, who are still treated the same forensic level of care, the Have-Nots are pretty much everyone else, who aren't, with the arguable exception of Jonathan, kind of caught in the middle while still flying the Habitat flag .

If there’s one family who has owned this run of episodes, its the Corkhills. Billy’s desperation in particular has been tangible, and it’s influencing his decisions. These thirty episodes have seen him make choice after choice in a bid to claw out of the pit, and each choice is more damaging than the one before it.

So tangible. At times, you can almost hear the blood pounding in his ears.

It seems a long time ago now, but somewhere at the beginning of this run saw vintage Billy tearing up the neighbours’ gardens in his (ironically-named) Datsun Sunny, a cathartic expression of his frustration at the neighbours treating him (in his eyes) as a doormat, and an outlet for his home-based difficulties. And that’s just the tip of the criminal iceberg.

You may already know this, but as I recall this episode was broadcast the night before the 1987 General Election. It was a conscious decision on the part of the programme makers, as if to say "this is the damage two terms of Tory government has wrought on the working man". Such was the anti-Thatcher feeling at the time, the message seemed certain to get through and have the desired effect. The next day, the Conservatives won by a landslide. Ever since, without really realising it, whenever there's an election (or referendum) where a positive outcome seems certain, I've always had Billy driving round the close playing on a loop in the back of my mind, acting as a kind of reminder not to get too confident, more often than not with good reason.

The run has closed out with Jimmy McGovern giving some of the Corkhills’ best material as Doreen presses Billy into a confession, and walks out after spitting in his face: more imagery that shocked me the first time round and has never been shaken. The bigger surprise for me was when Doreen returned as I remembered this scene as closing out her time as a regular. But I’m not at all sorry she’s still around as things are really cooking here at the moment and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes next.

I've noticed one of McGovern's writing habits, at least on Brookside, is to have a character repeat a line of dialogue during an emotional scene, almost relentlessly. I'm not sure how or why exactly, but it's really effective. In this case, it's Billy who keeps saying to Doreen, "You spent it like it was going outta style!"

Den's time at Dickens Hill was pretty groundbreaking all round, really. Wasn't it partly done so that Leslie Grantham could continue to appear while he took an extended break?

It was to offset the effect of Den and Angie (plus Lofty) all leaving the show at the same time. Grantham agreed to stay on a little longer and essentially film a year's worth of scenes in a matter of weeks. The end of result is the kind of storylines and plotting you'd simply never get in a soap otherwise.

Funnily enough, I'd forgotten Jamie's exit (probably because it was one of those non-exits), and I think I've misremembered those hands packing the suitcase as facilitating Bobby's exit, though - again because of its off-screen nature - the only thing I really remember about Bobby's departure is Sheila coming home and calling out his name to nobody as she looked round the house.

As I recall, the last bit of Bobby we get -- you may have already reached this, I'm so far behind! -- is Barry hearing him and Sheila arguing offscreen. I think the dialogue was lifted from the previous year when they were fighting about going to Rome.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

For me, the Enders story is the more successful, not least because Mo was already a well-established character. She'd been on the show for about two years prior to starting to lose her faculties, so the viewers could share in the loss of who she had been.

Yes. It's a long while since I watched it, but my memory is that it was nicely done.

As an aside, I know Corrie also covered this ground much later with Mike Baldwin's Alzheimer's, and I read about an Emmerdale episode that was shot from the POV of a character with dementia, which I thought sounded really impressive. It's almost surprising to think of Eighties Brookie giving one of the less-memorable tellings of this particular story.

Simply because the Square is bigger than the close, there was plenty of opportunity for Mo to interact with a large amount of characters, and whatever poignancy or humour or drama resulted from her erratic behaviour felt natural and unforced.

It's fascinating to think of the effect on the series of Phil Redmond's conscious decision for the residents to be somewhat "islanded" in their households without a central social hub. It must have created a hell of a lot of challenges for the writers. Sometimes they rose to it, and sometimes we get Harry Cross exposing himself to Mona.

As much as I dislike them, I can even understand how later decisions like the increased cross-pollination on the Close and (shudder) Brookside Parade might have come out of a desire for characters to interact more.

At the point I'm now up to (Dec '87), it seems the close is still divided into camps, but now from a writing point of view: The Haves are now the Grants and the Corkhills, who are still treated the same forensic level of care, the Have-Nots are pretty much everyone else, who aren't, with the arguable exception of Jonathan, kind of caught in the middle while still flying the Habitat flag .

Spot on. I still puzzle sometimes over how different the writing can feel depending which household is on screen. And it's been building for some time. I think the precedent was set when the nurses moved into Harry's house.

At times, you can almost hear the blood pounding in his ears.

Oh yes. That sums it up perfectly.

I thought the way Billy was isolated was brilliant. It's a rarity in a series of this for a character to have to sit with this kind of anxiety without being able to offload to someone. It was all very much internal.

You may already know this, but as I recall this episode was broadcast the night before the 1987 General Election. It was a conscious decision on the part of the programme makers, as if to say "this is the damage two terms of Tory government has wrought on the working man".

Wow. No I didn't know that was the case. I was watching it back in 1987, but I don't believe I'd have made that connection. That's great.

The next day, the Conservatives won by a landslide. Ever since, without really realising it, whenever there's an election (or referendum) where a positive outcome seems certain, I've always had Billy driving round the close playing on a loop in the back of my mind, acting as a kind of reminder not to get too confident, more often than not with good reason.

The fact that there's an unintentional meta message coming out of the originally intended message is a bit mind-blowing. And I'm sure I'll now remember this next time there's an election with a positive forecast.

I've noticed one of McGovern's writing habits, at least on Brookside, is to have a character repeat a line of dialogue during an emotional scene, almost relentlessly. I'm not sure how or why exactly, but it's really effective. In this case, it's Billy who keeps saying to Doreen, "You spent it like it was going outta style!"

What a great spot. I'll have to keep an ear out for this pattern.

It was to offset the effect of Den and Angie (plus Lofty) all leaving the show at the same time.

Oh. That's what it was for. I can't remember if I ever knew this, but I'd certainly forgotten it if I did. I knew it was something to do with logistics and Leslie Grantham becoming unavailable but beyond that it was a blank. That was really well-planned, and I'd imagine was hard to pull off even then, and probably impossible now with soaps taking up three times as much airtime per week.

As I recall, the last bit of Bobby we get -- you may have already reached this, I'm so far behind! -- is Barry hearing him and Sheila arguing offscreen. I think the dialogue was lifted from the previous year when they were fighting about going to Rome.

That sounds familiar. I'm a few weeks behind in the STV episodes so thankfully Bobby will be on my screen for a little while yet. I've made a note of Ricky's final episode - in the hope I can wrestle some closure out of it - and it looks like it'll hit STV next week.

 

[soapfan]

Ideally, I would love for Brookside to brought back like it was in its original style from 1982-1990, rather than how it was in 1991-2003. It would mean building a fictional new set however and TPTB doing their absolute utmost to make it look like a replica of the real life Brookside Close cul-de-sac houses.

My ideal cast of characters would be:-
Barbara Black (Brenda Elder)
Heather Black (Amanda Burton)
Nicholas Black (Alan Rothwell)
Cheryl Boyanowsky (Jennifer Calvert)
Miriam Charles (Rowena Cooper)
Caroline Choi (Sarah Lam)
Michael Choi (David Yip)
John Clarke (Robert Pugh)
Joe Cleary (Con O'Neill)
Gordon Collins (Mark Burgess)
Ted Cook (Brian Grellis)
Billy Corkhill (John McArdle)
Doreen Corkhill (Kate Fitzgerald)
Martin Cox (Gerard Horan)
Benwall Deburau (Jackson Davies)
Eric Dempster (Roger Walker)
Ken Dinsdale (Eamon Boland)
Jonathan Gordon-Davies (Steven Finch)
Bob Gossage (Allan O'Keefe)
Bobby Grant (Ricky Tomlinson)
Alison Gregory (Alyson Spiro)
Stuart Griffiths (Danny McCarthy)
Janet Hansen (Cheryl Kennedy)
David Hargreaves (Stephen McCann)
Jessica Haynes (Jo-Anne Knowles)
Sally Haynes (Roberta Kerr)
Pauline Hoskins (Eileen O'Brien)
Betty Hunt (Marji Campi)
Roger Huntingdon (Rob Spendlove)
George Jackson (Cliff Howells)
Margaret Jefferson (Barbara Marten)
Alun Jones (Norman Eshley)
Jenny Kaye (Judy Holt)
Maureen Lomax (Val McLane)
Debbie McGrath (Gillian Kearney)
Erica Miller (Jan Harvey)
Stephen Nolan (Ian Puleston-Davies)
Dilys Parry (Jenny Furnell)
Alan Partridge (Dicken Ashworth)
Malcolm Pollock (John Golightly)
Emma Rose (Tricia Penrose)
Shelley Rimmer (Lesley Nicol)
Kathy Roach (Noreen Kershaw)
Sean Roach (Derek Hicks)
John Roberts (Jack McKenzie)
Eileen Salter (Judith Barker)
Keith Tench (Anthony Smee)
Celia Thompson (Annette Ekblom)
Will Thurley (Derek Thompson)
Frank Vernon (Angus Kennedy)

Finally, I don't think characters like Damon Grant, Pat Hancock and Sue Sullivan should ever have been killed off either. Also, maybe the idea of Fran Pearson/Julie Peasgood returning with Barry Grant's son, who would almost be just short of his mid 30s and rebuilding The Grant family under Barry and Fran's son. Other ideas would be The Collins family rebuilt under Gordon Collins too. If it can work for soaps like Neighbours (Australia) and Dallas (USA) to be brought back, then I don't see why it cannot work for Brookside to be brought back, but only within it's 1982-1990 style WITHOUT the shopping precinct and petrol station and just focussing on the cul-de-sac houses.

Even if it means that a new Brookside Close studio set built with plywood instead of real brickwork, like the old EastEnders set.

Originally what was meant to transpire was that Brookside was the better one out of the two in terms of them and EastEnders, Brookside was untouchable in the 1980s, just like EastEnders was in the 1990s, and 1990 was when it was the ultimate turning point reverse trend and ideally Brookside should have either stuck to its roots format from 1982-1990, OR axing Brookside altogether in 1990.

Barry/Terry were a double act similar to The Mitchell Brothers, the only difference being that The Mitchell Brothers were brothers, whereas Barry/Terry were 2 friends that weren't family blood related sibling brothers.

The fact E20 became a REAL LIFE postcode (Newham) meant that I could NEVER enjoy EastEnders as a work of fiction ever again after that.

EastEnders would never have existed if it weren't for Brookside, and whilst Brookside was very realistic and using real houses, if brought back under a new studio set like EastEnders originally was and Coronation Street, then the fictional soap Brookside to make it more fictitious should go by a fictitious Liverpool postcode of either L41, or anything beyond that number postcode up to L66.

Finally, if I am going to summarise briefly the best 1990s storylines Brookside had that weren't sensationalised, OTT scaremongering crap, then they would be:-
1) The lesbian kiss
2) The body under the patio (Trevor Jordache)
3) The Johnsons racism storyline, which was similar to the 1980s homophobia storyline.
4) Jackie Corkhill ripping Bev Dixon's t-shirt, similar to when Sheila Grant had a dispute with Marie Jackson in the 1980s.

From 2000-2003, there was only one storyline that was any good:-
1) The Anthony Murray storyline with Imelda etc.

Even with the 1990s Brookside lesbian storyline/kiss, everyone was singing the praises of the actress Anna Friel, when the truth is, her on-screen partner Nicola Stephenson has actually achieved more success within the acting profession.

 

[Ome]

As I continue to watch all 4 (Brookie:1988, Corrie: 2006, Emmerdale:2006, EastEnders:2007) soaps through their earlier classic years, I’m always saddened by the many great actors who have passed away. I was shocked more, a while back when read that the actors playing Jamie Henderson (Sean McKee) and Bumper (James Carroll) died at a young age.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I’m always saddened by the many great actors who have passed away. I was shocked more, a while back when read that the actors playing Jamie Henderson (Sean McKee) and Bumper (James Carroll) died at a young age.

Same here. While I possibly knew before, I'd (re)read about both recently off the back of their characters arriving in Brookie on STV. Seeing them at a young age on this series really brings it home. At the back of my mind, I just assume they're still out there. I don't know how old James Caroll was, but I'd imagine he was only in his late forties when he died, which is no age at all.

Sean McKee is so good for the series at the point currently screening on STV (1988). He's got an unapologetic edge to him which would have been a really good fit in the earliest days of the series (his personality reminds me a lot of Gavin Taylor). I need to check out some of his other work. Needle is on my radar along with several other Jimmy McGovern films, but it doesn't seem to be streaming or on DVD, and I don't have the heart to watch it on YouTube with appalling picture quality.

I continue to watch all 4 (Brookie:1988, Corrie: 2006, Emmerdale:2006, EastEnders:2007) soaps through their earlier classic years

Oh - you're almost watching Corrie, Emmerdale and Enders in sync. Is that deliberate? Which are you enjoying the most at the moment?

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Episodes 561 - 590
14 March - 21 June 1988
​

Something that’s crystallised for me with this run is the extent to which the Grants and Corkhills are coming into one another’s orbits more than ever before.

There’s always been interaction between them, and often with an air of conflict or competition: from Sheila and Doreen’s initial spats to Damon and Rod’s attempted one-upmanship over their football teams, to Sheila wiping the floor with Julia Brogan by reciting her knowledge of the Corkhills’ criminality.

For me, the shift in tone came almost immediately after Doreen’s departure, when Sheila found Billy sitting in his car and extended a neighbourly invitation for a cuppa and a chat. From that moment, watching with the benefit of hindsight, there’s been a sense of inevitability about the future that - to get whimsical for a moment - feels rather like destiny. I have wondered if, at the time those episodes were written, there was already a plan from the production team that informed these characters’ remaining time on the series.

These episodes have only added fuel to that particular fire. After Billy asked Barry to help shift Jimmy’s contraband insulation from his property, Sheila barged in and voices were raised. But it’s what’s found in between the shouting that really resonated. Her accusations came from a place of what appeared to be genuine disappointment in Billy. And as she got on to Billy’s “fancy woman”, Sheila’s comment about his own marriage recently breaking down was what really struck home. I particularly noticed how hurt Billy appeared, even as he weakly tried to shout back at her. This gave Sheila’s later sincere apology maximum effect.

Likewise, when Tracy returned from London to find Number Ten empty, it was Sheila who invited her in, broke the news to Billy and acted as a buffer between them when the conversation became heated. As an aside, I found it interesting that Tracy was already engaged in conversation with Jonathan. It’s possible he might have extended his own invitation as their conversation went on, so it could be read that - for whatever reason - it was subconsciously important to Sheila that she should be the one to help.

Kathy’s presence has really added to these crossovers. I very much appreciated the false lead where Kathy - having heard from Jimmy about Sheila’s “fancy woman” comment was fuming about the interfering Mrs Grant across the road and determined to confront her. This strongly suggested we were going to see the familiar combative dynamics that have emerged between Sheila previous women associated with Number Ten… most notably Marie and Doreen. After a few words of threat, the realisation (for them and us) that Sheila and Kathy were friends in their younger days was so enjoyable that any hint of contrivance is easily overlooked.

The growing distance between Bobby and Sheila has been almost uncomfortable to watch, and Sheila’s night out with Kathy has been the point of no return for them both. For some time I’ve known this was coming, and it’s an understatement to say I haven’t been looking forward to it. Indeed, just knowing it was coming made me feel a low level sense of unease.

I’m not sure of the ins and outs of Ricky Tomlinson walking off the set. I seem to recall he was unhappy with the direction the writing was taking for Bobby (I think with some suggestion that the demonising of his character was informed by real-life differences of opinion between actor and certain creators). True or not, it’s easy to find this pattern in recent episodes. During this arc, it is Sheila who has been written more traditionally sympathetically, while Bobby’s escalating belligerence has made him at times very unsympathetic. Still, I applaud that Ricky and the writers have gone to this place, which ultimately is understood to be a response to Bobby’s grief and feeling of injustice over Damon’s death. The writers have simply taken Bobby’s principles to the Nth degree to the point that they have destroyed his home life, and there is arguably a certain logic to be found there.

In Bobby’s final episodes, glimpses at him connecting with people in a very human way were very welcome. His grief has isolated him - from Sheila most of all - but we still see him interact with Terry, for example, when Terry gives him a lift and Bobby encourages Terry’s desire to reconcile with Sue. It’s a small scene, unimportant in the grand scheme of things other than it’s possibly the last time these two will interact, but it’s a lovely, warm and naturalistic moment. There’s a great scene where Bobby and Matty are talking, with Matty observing that Bobby’s focus on rescuing young men from unemployment is a reflection of him wanting to save Damon, which leads to them remembering Damon fondly and chatting about the way things are. This is intercut with Sheila baring her soul to the relationship counsellor, with the sadness for the viewer being the recognition that they both acknowledge many of the same issues, but aren’t able to discuss them with one another.

I know he misses Damon as much as I do, but he won’t talk about it. He just gets busier and busier, running round in circles… I s’pose I do the same. Get me books out. Get me ‘ead down. Stop the thoughts.

You can never bring him back, Bob. No more than I can bring Teresa back… Me? I just throw the auld trainees on an’ keep on runnin’.

I keep on workin’. Fighting for the kids.

I was fifteen when I met him. Just left school. I thought “‘Ere we go. I’ve served me time. This was life”… An’ then along came Bob. He was eighteen. He was already working… The day we got engaged I was walking on air. A princess in a fairy tale ‘ad nothing on me. I thought I’d never be unhappy again… An’ Bob thought he could change the world… When I had our Barry, I thought “That’s it. I’m somebody’s wife. I’m somebody’s mother. That’s me sorted for the rest of me life. But you’re not, are you?” I think [Bobby would] like to go back. I think he’d like things to be how they used to be - ‘im at work, me at home - but it’s not enough for me anymore. I found out there’s more. There’s new things to think, new things to do… I won’t go back. I won’t. I can’t. I wanna take Bob with me if he’ll come, but if he won’t, I’m not gonna stay still.

Thought the course of their conversations, it’s evident they haven’t told one another important things. Sheila hasn’t told Bobby she’s begun therapy (“I meant to tell him. Like I said, we don’t talk very much”). And Bobby hasn’t told Sheila that he’s decided to throw all his wages into the strike fund (“I haven’t had a chance to tell her, Matty, ‘ave I? We hardly get time to talk nowadays”). Each of them is counselled to make time for this important conversation but the time never happens and each of them finds out through means of official communication rather than from the other: Bobby receives a letter inviting him to attend couples counselling, and Sheila attempts to draw cash from an ATM, only to be given the message that there are insufficient funds.

continued...​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Episodes 561 - 590
14 March - 21 June 1988

continued​

Sheila’s desire for new horizons might not consciously extend to marriage, but it’s evident she is looking outside of her own household for frames of reference and finding her one relationship wanting. Even compared with the Corkhills’ broken marriage, as she tells Father Gibbons:

You should hear the way he talks about her. The way he feels about that woman. He’d ‘ave her back, you know. No matter what she’d done. I know it’s a terrible thing to say, Father, but in a way I envy him. I envy ‘im carin’ so much. An’ I envy her for havin’ a husband who cares so much.

It’s a turnaround, really. Billy - one of the Corkhills - is now someone to whom Sheila looks up. When Kathy - during a split from Jimmy - suggests a girls’ night out with Sheila, it’s Billy who acts of something as a conscience. She is careful around him, and he is as diplomatic as he can be, initially refusing Tracy’s services as a babysitter because he doesn’t want her - and by association, himself - caught up in the Grants’ personal troubles. Sheila quickly sees this and relents, but Kathy convinces both of them there’ll be no harm.

I want to go out like this because I wanna go out like this. For me: Sheila Grant. Just me. Nobody else. Yeah, I wanna smell nice, an’ I wanna look nice, and I want people to think I’m nice. But it’s only for me. Just me. Do you know why? Do ya? Do you know why? It’s because you’ve given me something to prove. I need to prove to meself that I can just go out, for once, on my own, and feel nice. Just feel NICE. Because nearly every night for the last thirty years I ‘ave sat in these four walls, looking at them. Tonight, for once in my life, all that is going to change.

You go out like that, an’ you don’t get back in ‘ere tonight.

Kath will give me a bed.

You don’t come back tonight, you don’t get in again ever, all right?

Promises, promises. Bobby Grant the big socialist. Champion of the underdog. Freedom fighter. His own wife wears a ball an’ chain. Socialism begins at home.

Not only does the 7+ minute scene build nicely, it’s also wonderfully kinetic, moving from the Grants’ living room to the dining room to kitchen and back through, out of the front door and across the close to the door of Number Ten. Even after it’s technically over, we stay with Sheila in real time as she enters and makes polite conversation with Billy then walks out of the close with Kathy. In typical Grant/McGovern style it’s dynamic in its physicality. Bobby halfheartedly grabs at Sheila who pushes him off. She strikes his arm for even thinking she wants to “cop off”, then she gets in his face and screams at him. They’re finally communicating, but it’s coming out sideways and resentment spills over for the entire scene.

The night out itself is one of Brookie’s more memorable, in large part because it appeared on The Sheila Grant Years VHS released around a year after it was transmitted. Looking at it now, there’s something of a time capsule about it since it feels very much like a typical night out at the club from the era. As with South, it seems to be a rare example of the series using actual proper pop songs (though it’s notable that the same song appears to be played at least twice, and indeed might be the only song we hear).

Surprisingly, given the shallow setting, there’s a lot about it that gets to the heart of what makes Brookside tick as well as touching upon the history of the series. In the ladies WC (while that song plays again), Sheila discloses her rape to Kathy, in large part to stop Kathy encouraging the attention of the two male hangers on. It’s a nice, natural-feeling little scene, that’s interrupted at one point creating a low-key tension that Sheila might not get to explain. The discussion feels particularly cathartic given the scene an episode or two earlier when Kathy began planning the night out as they were walking across the close. At the suggestion of a taxi home, Sheila stops in her tracks and the direction incorporates something akin to the Vertigo dolly zoom which perfectly captures her panic and isolation. It’s a great little moment where we experience what a character is thinking and feeling without them even needing to use words (though she is emphatic enough in her refusal for Kathy to agree to get the last bus home, which adds a Cinderella-style time pressure to the night).

Kathy, too, is on good form. There’s lots here to tell us who she is. On the one hand there’s the brash and chopsy fun-time girl, smuggling in her half bottle of gin to save paying club prices and giving the two men stick on the packed bus home, loving the fact that she has an audience. On the other, there’s the woman who spots Sheila’s moment of withdrawal into herself in the club and wants to help, and the friend who meets the disclosure of Sheila’s rape with compassion.

Bobby snapping and erupting into violence isn’t something new, and it’s for this reason that I don’t find his physical assault of Sheila out of character, particularly given the testosterone in the air from his confrontation of the two men and the tension between him and Billy. Still that doesn’t stop it from feeling very much like a moment where a line is irrevocably crossed. It gave me a bit of a physical jolt at the time, and still impacts all these years later.

Something I thoroughly love about this series of events is the dance between the dark and the light. Sheila’s hungover walk of shame across the close the morning after manages to be very real with a sense of threat in the air while still being impossible to watch without smiling as it gets worse and worse. Paul Collins is taking in the milk and gives her a look of disdain as she delicately emerges from Number Ten’s now-broken door, suitcase in hand, mascara smudged, hair tousled and still wearing her clothes from the night before.

Somehow I doubt this inspired the video to Madonna’s Justify My Love, but... wouldn't it be nice to think it did?

We know exactly what conclusions Paul is reaching , but Sheila wearily shrugs it off as simply one more inevitable bit of bad luck after a whole night of it. Besides, she has bigger things on her mind.

continued...​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Episodes 561 - 590
14 March - 21 June 1988

continued
​

The timeline of Ricky Tomlinson’s departure has been a big surprise for me this time round. In my mind, Ricky had been gone for some weeks or even months before Bobby’s own absence was finally acknowledged on-screen. And I also felt quite certain that he’d disappeared at a time when the Grants were in a period of fairly low key storylines. As it turns out, I couldn’t have been more wrong on all counts. Bobby was seen to have gone in the very next episode following a very strong final scene between Sheila and Bobby which, considering the circumstances, almost satisfies due to Bobby saying his piece and giving voice to long unspoken truths:

I wanted to be alone for a few hours so that I could forget. D’you know, it was really noisy in that disco. I mean it was really noisy. To me it was like peace. The people there weren’t neighbours; didn’t know about Damon; Didn’t treat me with kid gloves. An’ I could breathe. An’ I could forget. An’ I could laugh. D’you know, for the first time I thought about our Damon an’ I felt happy. I kept remembering all the things he did to make me laugh. I kept laughing at them all over again. The twenty years he had were too short, but they’re never gonna go away. Damon means pleasure to me now, not grief.

It was my fault, Damon.

It was nobody’s fault.

Don’t patronise me. It was my fault, an’ I’ve gotta live with it for the rest of me life. I coulda pulled strings an’ I wouldn’t. You listen to me for a change. It was my fault, an’ I was guilty. An’ I feel ashamed. An’ I feel ashamed the way I treated young Debbie at the church. Just lashin’ out at that kid because I couldn’t face the truth. But I can now, an’ there is something I can do about it. Not a lot, it’s just a token gesture, but I can go out there an’ fight for all them other kids. An’ in a way that’s what this strike’s all about, isn’t it? An’ I don’t care if I live on these tins for the rest of me life because it’ll be like champagne an’ caviar. But maybe you should ‘ave it. Maybe you should ‘ave everything.

And that’s that. Bobby disappears up the stairs, never to be seen again, even though he is heard in that remix of an earlier argument at the start of the following episode.

The reasons behind Ricky’s departure are a bit of a puzzle. There’s the story about him being unhappy with the direction of his character since Sheila’s rape. In his book, Phil Redmond acknowledges there is something to this, and that while Sue had the benefit of clear guidance, direction and support for her character, Ricky didn’t, despite the significant impact this storyline would have on his character. Watching Ricky’s final moments bears this out since his departure and its aftermath is shown primarily through Sheila’s eyes. Sheila is given a number of scenes and little speeches that allow the audience to empathise with her. Indeed, Bobby’s line “you listen to me for a change” feels almost cathartic since it immediately follows him sitting silently as she gives another of her lovely monologues. It’s not difficult to believe that Bobby might view her as being rather self-indulgent, whilst simultaneously telling Bobby “you only understand your own pain”.

Still, though, Phil alludes to there being significantly more to the reasoning behind Ricky’s walkout, not least the exploration of the trade union material which, arguably, seemed to be increasingly framed in a more negative light, or at least one that’s at the detriment of Bobby’s solid character (Sheila’s repeats her pre-night out jibe “socialism begins at home” in Bobby’s final episode). In fact, there’s more detail given in Phil’s book about Sean McKee’s departure, which I suppose makes sense since he was present for that, whereas Ricky had simply “done one” before anyone knew about it.

In the case of Sean, he mentions how Jamie’s scenes in those episodes - primarily as a sounding board for Tracy - were hastily given to Jimmy with minimal rewrites. I found no mention of how this worked with Ricky, but there is some probable improvisation to be seen. I suspect there are now more Sheila/Barry scenes, for example. The clearest example is George Williams’s lengthy scene at the office discussing the strike, and him dropping in at Number Five looking for Bobby and passing on messages to Sheila. They’re functional scenes and they actually move the “new” story forwards by adding a mystery about Bobby’s whereabouts as well as an urgency to find him. Still, though, most of these scenes feel functional. Everyone’s very professional and does their best but without Ricky’s passionate energy, the office scene in particular feels noticeably dry

Perhaps it's the lack of closure, but things at Number Five now feel still and eerie. And once Bobby’s departure has been established and word reaches Sheila that he is putting the family home on the market (which, accurately or not, can’t help but feel like a retaliatory move on the part of The Powers That Be, further vilifying the character as a message to the actor), Sheila seems to just fade away. At the end of this run it’s over half a dozen episodes since she’s been seen. While it’s natural for characters to be “rested” a little after big storylines, Bobby and Sheila both slipping from view without any kind of resolution or even a memorable dramatic ending feels symbolic of the uphill struggle the series continues to walk as its core family falls apart.

continued...​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Episodes 561 - 590
14 March - 21 June 1988

continued
​

With a few small changes, the Rogers family is well and truly setting out its stall as the Grants redux. We already have the cheeky young scally son, currently involved in a (rather too protracted) storyline involving the theft of Ralph’s impressive model of the Close (did this belong to the production team, I wonder). Then there’s the stroppy teenage daughter who worries about her image with her peers, though it seems to have become something of an in-joke that the two Rogers daughters are permanently off-screen. Now Frank’s work troubles and lack of support from a hopeless union rep have moved him to a point where Chrissy is suggesting Frank himself should put himself in the running as union rep. And this all happened at at time when Bobby himself was still on screen.

The work and legal troubles coming from Frank’s stolen truck proved watchable if not compelling. And yes, the strongest scene was actually Frank speaking up for himself in a meeting with a superior while his rep sat and did nothing, as well as the scene immediately following it where he gave the same rep hell for being so useless. There is a real fire there, it’s just… Bobby will always be the bar for the trade union stories in this series, and half the battle is accepting that nobody will ever live up to that.

As for Chrissy, her strongest scene in this run came during her negotiations with Sinbad, of all people, over the cleaning of Number Seven’s windows. As with the earlier business with the furniture she wanted Harry to remove from the house, she proved a savvy, forceful and quick-witted negotiator. These scenes are genuine fun to watch. In more serious scenes, I am trying very hard to overcome my (currently mild) irritation with Eithne Browne’s “Pat-isms”: the tendency to roll her eyes and tut and sigh frequently.

Much of Sinbad, Terry and Barry’s shenanigans have proved tedious. The less said about Sinbad wallpapering Number Nine, the better, and the business with the black market trees was almost entirely unnecessary but for one bright spot: a surprisingly electric couple of scenes between Barry and Jonathan over the trees planted in the back garden of Number Nine. First Jonathan grabbed Barry, pressed him against Number Five’s garage door and threatened to break his neck if he didn’t move the trees.

Then their awkward conversation continued in Jonathan’s very green garden:

It’s all right for you, isn’t it? You got a good ‘ouse. Good job. Loads o’ money. I ‘ave to rebuild my life every week, so don’t expect no sympathy off me, all right?

’Urry it up. I got better things to do. What’re you gonna do with these trees, anyway?

I need the money, like… The sixty, seventy quid I’ll get from these will do sound for me Mam, won’t they? For her Open University course.

No! …My garden is ruined with these trees. Now seventy quid might just replace it.

Who says, like?

I says.

Stephen Pinner brings a fantastic intensity to Jonathan during these scenes, and Barry’s responses are fascinating. He’s surprisingly restrained and could have been viewed as almost subservient if not for the above mouthful about his lack of sympathy for recent widower Jonathan.

While he works well with most of the ensemble, for me, Barry needs the right screen partner to truly compel. I really wouldn’t have expected to find this kind of screen chemistry between these two, but contrasted with Barry’s recent scenes with Sinbad, Terry and Ssssizzler the pairing with Jonathan is a gift.

Prior to this, Jonathan and Terry enjoyed a skiing holiday (well, Terry enjoyed it. Jonathan mostly brooded), the most significant event being their introduction to Cheryl Boyanawsky. I can’t say I was holding my breath waiting for this, since my memory is of yet another glamorous blonde entering Number Nine’s revolving door. As it is, it’s been serviceable enough so far. There’s been something intense and a little dark about their early scenes, bonding over losses from which they have yet to recover (Laura for Jonathan, and Cheryl’s brother who died in a boating accident from which she was rescued), and there’s also something questionable about Cheryl’s motive for pursuing Jonathan from one country to another: Was the connection between Cheryl and Jonathan real? Is she really the supportive, understanding, sympathetic almost holy maternal figure she presents as, or is there something more cynical behind it? Or had she spotted a vulnerable person who could be exploited for accommodation and perhaps more (a brand and a Netflix deal, perhaps)? Time will tell. Certainly, she’s no less watchable than Laura or Sue... for whatever that’s worth.

I do wonder why Jonathan puts up with Terry at this point, though I have had some vicarious enjoyment through Jonathan putting Terry through the wringer with the Canadian woman he wanted to impress, such as “helpfully” providing the skis Terry had “forgotten” to force Terry to follow through on his boast about his advanced skiing skills.

Back home, Jonathan’s had some business with a colleague attempting to climb over Jonathan’s back to impress a superior. On reflection, it’s very Heatheresque (though obviously without the undercurrent of workplace sexism), but it’s worked well and woven in elements of Jonathan’s grief process, paired with his trademark pragmatism. It was quite satisfying to see Jonathan gain the upper hand and the promise of a trip to New York into the bargain (even though I have my doubts that the Brookie cameras will make the trip with him).

continued...​

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Episodes 561 - 590
14 March - 21 June 1988

continued​

It’s interesting to think about the away time for cast and crew and the different approaches, and I found myself wondering why Tracy and Jamie’s time in London was given its own bubble while Jonathan and Terry’s visit to Austria was contained in the series proper. Popularity of the characters aside, I think the key difference is that South, like Damon & Debbie, had characters leaving for a new start that was open-ended. It was quite possible they would never be seen in the main series again.

As previously mentioned, this was my first time out with South, which made it special. I can’t say there were any revelations, and it didn’t speak to my heart in the way some of Damon & Debbie did (probably largely due to the absence of nostalgia, but also probably because of D&D’s famously tragic ending), but it was fine.

This being a long run of consecutive episodes, there’s a great deal of distance from South as I write and I must confess much of it has already faded from memory. Morrissey’s cameo was fun (especially considering I’ve read how terrible he thought his acting was) and felt like an authentic representation of bumping into a celeb (certainly, it was more truthful than the daft convoluted kidnap of Paula Yates, fun as that was).

Aside from Morrissey and the fun of seeing London in the late Eighties, my two key takeaways from the series were that Sean McKee is a gem of an actor and there was a good deal of “genuine” pop rather than the cheesy stock music heard in most Brookie households.

While it’s obviously a very different ending to that of Damon & Debbie (and it’s difficult not to compare), South’s closing scene was memorable enough, and only really undermined by the pace at which I watched the following Brookside episodes.

Over at the Collinses, there’s been an abundance of topical gay prejudice injected into the series, first with the requirement for Christopher to take an HIV test in order to take out a bank loan, then with Gordon and Christopher being violently assaulted outside a nightclub. It’s a natural path for the writing to take. Still, though, it feels a little “talking pamphlet” (to borrow James’s trademarked phrase).

This is in large part, I feel, because both characters are defined by their sexuality more than they could be. It’s a double-edged sword. The homophobic climate of Thatcher’s Britain and AIDS panic are truths of the time, and both rife with dramatic potential and it’s natural for the series to mine it. It’s also true that many other characters are acutely aware of the couple’s sexuality and possibly see this over and above their other attributes. The problem with this is that we mainly see the relationship through the eyes of those others, and there’s very little depth or substance beyond that. Even when we spend time alone with the couple, they’re invariably either talking about how others see them or the focus is on some friction within their own relationship. Neither of them interacts with other characters on a meaningful level. I could take the view that this is symbolic of their isolation (they only have one another, and all that), but I feel that’s overly kind.

Brookside’s usually done well with its more militant and confrontational characters, and the choice for the character of Christopher to lean into this works on one level, because he can articulate his reasons for refusing to take the HIV test on principle (and it’s good for the story that this is being utilised for Gordon and other family members to question if this is the real reason he refuses the test). It’s just unfortunate that Christopher mostly vacillates between irreverence and indignation.

On paper, I like the boldness of the character being written as quite mercenary and a bit of an opportunist. He alternates between amusement towards Paul and Annabelle’s conservative ways, talking down to them or badmouthing them to Gordon, all the while imposing himself on them as an uninvited guest in their home. But because we don’t really know anything about him beyond the superficial, it ends up becoming frustrating to watch for all the wrong reasons. It’s just not a good look.

Gordon suffers in this area as well. He’s never quite as irreverent or indignant as Christopher, and there’s the added angle that he is in some way being led astray by Christopher’s bad influence. The tensions between him and his parents - particularly Paul - add some interest. If I look for it, I also kind of enjoy the long-term irony of Gordon ending up as a lazy, work-shy layout while Damon travelled the country in order to work. But when any real interest in the character these days comes from past glories or looking at the bigger picture, it’s not a good thing. Still, I can’t deny that the scenes between Gordon and Paul at the police station in the aftermath of Gordon and Christopher’s arrests (for defending themselves, breaking one of the gay bashers’ jaws in the process) was a nice moment for both, with Gordon moved and surprised by Paul’s support, while Paul was unwavering.

You’ll stand by us?

Didn’t you think I would?

Well, when I phoned I wasn’t sure you’d even come. Thought you might just blow your top again and leave us to stew.

Never entered my head… You’re my son, Gordon. Only one I’ve got.

Am I that much of a disappointment?

I can’t deny I hoped you’d turn out different… What matters is that you’re all right. If it came to the choice between having a son who was gay and none at all, I’d rather have you as you are. I do care about you, Gordon, and I’ll do everything in my power to help you.

#586 was one of those rare episodes that takes place over the course of one night, giving it a real-time feeling. Terry and Sue’s romantic night in is interrupted by Gordon needing Terry to taxi him to the police station (something Gordon later points out as hypocritical, given Paul had previously reported Terry to the DHSS), before they resume in the early hours. While Gordon and Paul are having their talk, Barry has a rendezvous with Sizzler to be given his instructions. And in Stratford-upon-Avon, Annabelle spends a romantic evening with Brian Lawrence as their course ends and goes to his hotel room for a coffee… where she is still to be found hours later when Paul attempts to phone her room in the wee smalls. In many ways it feels like one of soapdom’s least-likely affairs… which is exactly why it shows a degree of promise.

 

[McKenzie]

I've just started watching Brookside from the start and am really enjoying reading these updates - thanks for taking the time to do this.

I originally watched from about 93-99 so I'm finding it really interesting. I've read various books and seen old clips on youtube over the years though so a lot of the big stories are not new to me but the smaller ones are!

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I've just started watching Brookside from the start and am really enjoying reading these updates - thanks for taking the time to do this.

I originally watched from about 93-99 so I'm finding it really interesting. I've read various books and seen old clips on youtube over the years though so a lot of the big stories are not new to me but the smaller ones are!

Oh, that's great. How lucky are you to be discovering these early episodes for the first time.

Enjoy watching, and if you feel like dropping some thoughts in here as you watch, I'd be really interested in your views.

 

[McKenzie]

Oh, that's great. How lucky are you to be discovering these early episodes for the first time.

Enjoy watching, and if you feel like dropping some thoughts in here as you watch, I'd be really interested in your views.

I will do yeah. To be honest there isnt much I can say at this point that already hasnt been mentioned elsewhere.
I like the fact they moved people in gradually. Its interesting to see Barry being a lot softer than he ended up. (although I do wonder how he got the money for a parade of 6 shops and flats but I guess that will become clear at some point). Roger is funny in a ridiculous way but I can see that becoming tiresome after a while.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I like the fact they moved people in gradually.

The "new housing development" really gives early Brookie a USP. I've found the lack of a typically soapy community quite fascinating.

It's also interesting to see the Close itself establish itself. An example being some scenes of characters sitting on very brown lawns where the turf still hadn't taken.

Its interesting to see Barry being a lot softer than he ended up.

Early Barry is great, and your comment has made me think to see if I've spotted a significant turning point by the 1988 episodes I'm currently watching. Without getting into Eighties spoilers, I'd say there have been several.

Roger is funny in a ridiculous way but I can see that becoming tiresome after a while.

I thoroughly enjoyed Roger this time round. He won me over with his run of bad luck in several very early episodes. I'm a sucker for an underdog.