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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Marley Drama" data-source="post: 410111" data-attributes="member: 23">Episodes 431 - 445 15 December 1986 - 2 February 1987 continued It is noticeable that Bobby has become increasingly boorish and unreasonable at home recently. I realise this is possibly in part a response to behind-the-scenes friction between Ricky Tomlinson and Phil Redmond, but it’s played for complete truth and so feels authentic as Bobby’s response to the trials and traumas of the past year. At work he’s involved in flagging up an asbestos scare and under great pressure from high ups who want it forgotten, which - apart from being very watchable in its own right - adds further weight to his short sightedness and shorter fuse at home, even if i could be viewed that we’re right back where we were a hundred episodes and a calendar year earlier, with Bobby objecting to Sheila’s course in the first place. Damon’s still consistently being Damon, which is no bad thing. Recent episodes have focussed on his romantic life with possessive Gail being literally shown the door as Damon booted her out of his life to make way for Debbie McGrath. I hadn’t realised (well, remembered) that there was a soapy overlap between Gail and Debbie. Debbie’s presence gives me mixed feelings since it means the first Brookie “bubble" is on the horizon. This knowledge added an unexpectedly poignant layer to a typical Damon scene where, with year’s end approaching, he calculated his age in the year 2000, being horrified at the thought of being old (on another note, he also calculated how old Barry would be, which immediately made me realise that Brookie would still be running past this point). Damon’s current bezzie mate is Mark. There’s a very natural spark between them, and it feels such a comfortable and established friendship it got me wondering if Mark had appeared before, and while he hadn’t, actor Dean Williams has appeared in the series in two previous roles: Mike Hughes in some early 1985 episodes, and someone called George way back in December 1982. Neither of these rings a bell, and episode synopses tell me nothing, but perhaps the subconscious familiarity has eased his way in. Of course, it’s difficult not to compare with Gizzmo, Ducksie and Neil. Mark is probably less quirky and more conventional than the earlier friends (a little ironic given 1987 Brookie has some far broader characters than it did in 1982), but as mentioned, the energy is good, and from what I’ve seen I’d say Dean is a better actor than the other three, which may explain his post-Brookie filmography, including - among other things - seven episodes of this thread’s regularly-referenced Making Out. My only (arguably less positive) observation is that Mark is very similar in character to Damon. Nothing wrong with this, really, but it could explain his apparently relatively short lifespan on the series. Even his comic turn of phrase is similar, with him describing Debbie’s friend as having “a face like beans on toast”. Damon’s also had some golden moments teasing his frenemy Rod, who has now officially become Rod The Plod. It’s so very Damon to always get the last word in their jibe matches, and always with an insouciant air and a wide grin. It’s plain that Rod being offered a well-paying job which will give him the means to impress Rod’s new girlfriend Kirsty is something that stings Damon, still struggling to find employment… but he’ll never let Rod know that. And the funny thing is, Rod would probably have empathy for Damon if he did. Kirsty, by the way, is a very familiar face. She’s one of those secondary characters I’d forgotten but who I remember well as being part of the fabric of the series for a length of time. This time round - having watched chronologically from the beginning - she reminds me greatly of Michelle Jones, back in her early days. Physically they’re not unalike, and she also seems to share early Michelle’s chirpy, romantic optimism. There’s a really sweet moment for her when Billy has cut off their stolen leccy and stormed off after a row with Doreen. Doreen is feeling very low about not being able to cook dinner and Kirsty, intuiting this, sends Rod out for pies and offers to stay and chat with Doreen. The fiddled electric meter has been another example of the Corkhills trying to scrape by until circumstances get better, and it’s been almost painful to watch Billy suffering the brunt, with the bank’s increasing stranglehold on him (and the entire family’s assets) while Doreen is returning home, credit card smoking hot, after a shopping spree with Julia. The friction in the family has been great. Rod returns with the pies to find the leccy back on, which is something he frowns upon given it could jeopardise his new job. Billy is quick to tell Rod that the pies are the entire family’s and it’s time to start chipping in rather than taking.Meanwhile, Tracy’s spending her entire life with a face like a slapped arse over having to go into her training scheme at the hairdressers. She’s stropping round the place, talking back to owner Shelley, leaving and arriving when she pleases and making up stories to justify it. Telling Shelley that Doreen was waiting for some results from a cancer scare was a low point, but gave the chance for a minor farce when Doreen visited and Shelley thought she was coming to celebrate the good news of being cancer-free. Tracy got away with it - this time - but it doesn’t feel as though she is long for the hairdressing world. Her attitude is certainly poles apart from Damon’s eagerness when he did his YTS. continued…</blockquote>

Verification: Who played JR Ewing?