May 1998

4395 - Friday 1 May
Tonight saw Zoe pushing ever close to breaking point following the death of her child Shannon. The weeks prior had been ones of unbelievable strain which was easily too much for such young shoulders to bear.

Although Ashley tried to be supportive he was simply not equipped to deal with the trauma she was going through. He himself was dealing with the loss as well as trying to juggle caring for Zoe and running the shop.

As the night wore on we saw many concerned about how the young girl was reaching breaking point and how her perilously short fuse was about to blow at any moment.

Meanwhile another short fuse belonged to Sam who discovered Des was seeing Natalie and had taken her to a football match. Her jealous was as clear as day as she bitched with Des's potential new love match. She tried to claim she was disinterested in whatever was happening in Des's love life but her performance was extremely transparent.

Then there was Jack or should I say Lusty Jack. His hypnosis seemed to have unlocked a devilish rogue from a previous life who kept popping up at the most inopportune moments. He would be there to call all and sundry wenches and even went as far as squeezing the backside of Betty Williams. A slap across the face brought the familiar Jack back from wherever in this currently shared mind he was residing.

Jim was still unconscious but Liz and now Gary Mallett were suspicious of what had truly happened on the building site the day he "fell". Steve was keeping shtum although he really had nothing to worry about, after all he as only defending himself from the mad rampage of his father when he tripped and tumbled off the scaffolding.

Nicky received a letter from the man who killed his father. It was of course addressed to Leanne as she was playing the stooge identity who was writing to him. His parole date was coming up soon apparently and Nicky thought it would be a good idea for her to visit to find out more details about exactly when.

The night ended when Zoe finally snapped and pushed all of Shannon's belongings across to the Mallett household in her pram. She was hysterical and accusing Judy and Gary of taking and killing her baby and then just moving on to one of her own. Zoe's hysteria increased and she pulled out some cigarette lighter fuel and dowsed Shannon's pram in the stuff. She lit a match and torched the entire pram before pushing it at Judy who was stood in the doorway.

Gary was livid as he managed to divert the blazing pram away from the house and into the Street and luckily Kevin put the fire out with an extinguisher from the garage. Gary threatened to phone the police but the situation was avoided when Ashley pleaded her case and promised to get her immediate psychiatric help.

All in all : Good

 

4396 - Sunday 3 May
While Lusty Jack continued his rampage at the Rovers things got considerably worse for the distraught young Zoe. Jack however kicked things off by slipping more and more into his old school persona. However as we would discover he was definitely faking everything that was happening to him in the hope of an easy life and a damn fine job he was doing of it as well.

He took from the till readily in a quest to replace his "stolen" horses Jessie & Bessie. Vera of course was taken in by all this tomfoolery but I am sure Natalie wasn't as she and Betty complained about Lusty Jack's sexual harassment.

Then there was Sam who was in a jealous rage over Natalie's budding relationship with Des Barnes. It was irrational because she did dump him after all and the two had an argument when Sam discovered how Des was now going out for a meal with Natalie.

Nicky was pestering Leanne to continue writing to Whatley the killer of Brian Tilsley. Leanne however was concerned about how Nicky was prepared to go to avenge his father's death.

Zoe was the scene stealer tonight though as she slipped deeper and deeper into her traumatised state. There was talk of forcibly taking her into mental care a situation which was decided upon when Zoe began cutting off her own hair with a pair of scissors. She eventually went willingly when a Doctor called to assess her state of mind but her resentment towards Ashley was by this time total.

The night ended with Steve McDonald who finally confessed his involvement in his father's accident to Fiona. She had been badgering him for the truth in her usual interrogative way and Steve was forced to come clean about what had happened when seeing his father almost die that day from a blocked breathing tube made him rethink his attitude towards what had happened.

All in all : Good

 

4397 - Monday 4 May
While Ashley deliberated over the actions which he had orchestrated to get Zoe into much needed care there was a good deal of significance placed upon Leanne and Nicky and his plans to seek some form of vengeance on the murderer of his father.

Leanne once again showed concern over her husband's seemingly obsessive behaviour when it came to the subject of the man who had killed Brian. She was now refusing to get involved but Nicky decided he would press on with his letter writing ploy whether she liked it or not.

Then there was Sam. A bitch of the first order who strived to get on my nerves as much as possible so God alone knows how Natalie felt after the muddled piece of work moaned about the injustices she was suffering because of Des being stolen away from her by the blonde barmaid.

She even began a mini slur campaign against her in the Rovers claiming untruthfully Nat had kicked her out of the home they shared. Natalie would lose little sleep over this because in all honesty the loony is better out of the house than in it.

Then of course we had Lusty Jack. The alter ego of Lusty was good old Jack Duckworth and he was not adverse to having a little giggle at the expense of Vera with Fred Elliott about how his little ruse was working like ye olde charme.

An increasingly desperate Vera went to see the hypnotist Magenta Savannah about her husbands problems only to be talked into having a regression of her own performed. Her aspirations to royalty of course smoothed the pathways for her to part with her money no end.

The true secret of foiling Jack in his plot however lay with Roy Cropper. He harboured a desire to unlock the secrets of the past through Lusty Jack and began asking questions to the bawdy alter ego. His knowledge outweighed Jack's however and he soon began to trip Duckworth up when it came to the secrets of the past. Jack decided it was time to trip back to his real self to avoid being rumbled.

Jim remained comatose but showed hints of movement. Of course Steve was still nursing the guilt he felt over what had happened at the building site. He was now almost wishing that his father would expire and let him off the hook for any misdeeds he had performed but alas he and us the viewers will never get that lucky.

The night ended with Leanne confessing Nicky's secret longing to avenge his father's death to Rita. She came to see him to talk him out of doing something stupid but she might be too late. He had redrafted a new letter to Whatley and it was all ready in the post...complete with a photograph.

All in all : Good

 

4398 - Wednesday 6 May
Tonight had a heavy feature on Steve McDonald and his role in the predicament of his father. It looked like it could remain a long haul for Jim to pull through and the perspective was shifted to his son tonight. Steve was the next of kin and as a result responsible for the life and death decisions which potentially arise with long term coma patients.

He hovered nervously around the bed unsure of whether he wanted his father to live or die for fear of the emergence of the truth. In fact his conscience pricked him so hard he was arguing with the man as he lay prone on the bed under his now customary mass of tubes and wires.

Jack was rumbled tonight as well thanks to mind of Roy Cropper and his eye for detail in the past. After making a glaring error with regard to the history of Bonnie Prince Charlie, Roy announced his suspicions to Vera.

Jack you see had been maintaining his ruse of Lusty Jack and had continued to smoke unabated as well as hiding from any potential work which needed doing by nipping back into the past whenever strain reared it's head. However Vera would find her revenge in the most cruel way imaginable....

She would play along with Jack for the remainder of the day by cooking him a scrumptious meal fit for a man of Lusty Jack's era. He sat there and wolfed down his food without realising what it was. Vera then led him outside and showed him his pigeon loft...empty bar a few feathers.

Vera of course hadn't killed his pigeons just made sure they were out of the way while she pretended she had cooked them for the pie Jack had just eaten. The result left Duckworth in a heartbroken state as he feared his beloved birds were dead.

Meanwhile Nicky and Leanne were in a panic stricken state over the potential visit from Whatley. Nicky's foolish plan to contact Whatley through his wife had led to nothing but heartache for the pair and they were now at a loss when it came to finding out what to do about him.

Zoe appeared to be making a recovery at the hospital and stressed a desire to apologise to Judy Mallett. She was all for the idea but Gary was against it fearing for the condition of the baby she was carrying while exposed to stress.

Sam was playing silly beggars with Des and Nat. One moment acting hostile to them and the next moment buying them all drinks as a sign of friendship. The girl is madness personified and no mistake.

The night ended with Liz reminding Steve of his responsibility to his father and how she do the right thing. Surely he wouldn't wish Jim dead....would he ?

All in all : Good

 

4399 - Friday 8 May
A predictable episode tonight with Zoe coming out of hospital and arriving home to Weatherfield and Ashley. She was in something of a subdued mood although in herself she did seem to be stable. Ashley decided to treat her to a make over at Fiona's to make her feel better considering she had recently hacked off her own hair with a pair of scissors.

Fiona of course was more than willing to help out with this matter although Maxine had reservations about treating a "nutter". So in came Zoe for her session where she was greeted with plenty of small talk from Fiona yet a somewhat frosty reception from Maxine.

Unfortunately things were to take a turn for the worse. Zoe was left unattended in the shop with Morgan and decided against her better judgement really to take him out for a walk. Maxine was so engrossed in a phone call that she never even heard them leave.

The two of them took a walk through Weatherfield and it seemed clear that no harm was going to come to the child. However there were many others who didn't see it that way. Especially Fiona who blamed Maxine for Morgan's disappearing act and swore terrible revenge on her if any harm befell her child.

Elsewhere Jack was smoking again and aghast with worry about the fate of his pigeons. While he worried Natalie and Des pondered over Sam's behaviour as she publicly acted nice with them yet on the quiet fixed the two of them with killing stares.

Jim remained out to lunch while Steve and Liz wondered just exactly what sort of a man he was. They cast their minds back over the good times but for Steve most of them included some form of alcohol colouring his father's view.

Nicky and Leanne continued to row over his irresponsible actions with regard to Whatley the man who had killed Brian Tilsley. Leanne feared her life was in danger and she would be stalked by the man when he got out of prison.

The night ended with Gary and Ashley along with all and sundry including the police cornering Zoe down at the park as she stood on the bridge with Morgan. They all thought she was going to do something awful to the baby when in truth she looked round in surprise at all that was going on around her.

All in all : Poor

In my opinion a predictable storyline. Too obvious for words and not terribly well executed.

 

4400 - Sunday 10 May
The baby snatch plotline drew to a dramatic close tonight starting with Zoe and Morgan on the bridge with a frankly useless looking police officer trying to talk her down. Zoe protested that she had done nothing wrong other than take Morgan for a little walk.

It didn't take much to make Zoe give the child up in the end but they were faced with another problem almost immediately. Zoe climbed over the edge of the bridge and threw herself off into the water. She was not a swimmer so almost immediately began to drown.

Enter Gary Mallett who launched himself off the bridge to the rescue. He managed to drag Zoe to the side before she had the chance to take too much water on board. Although Zoe would need to cough some water up she was basically physically healthy despite the experience.

It seemed to take an age before the police confirmed to a distraught Fiona that her child was safe and sound. Of course Maxine was still in the major league doghouse for her sins and although Greg her new beau reassured her that she wasn't all too blame she had taken a lot on herself.

At the hospital Zoe was charged with abduction and promptly sectioned into mental care once again. It was clear to the Doctors she had been released into the community much too early for her own good.

All this had something of a cumulative effect on Ashley who has been bearing the strain of Zoe for much too long. He had excused her behaviour for so long now he finally seemed to think the relationship had burned itself out and he could sustain it no longer. Even when Leanne tried to talk him into giving her another chance there were signs that the young man's shoulder had finally buckled under the pressure.

Meanwhile Liz had been keeping a bedside vigil with Jim all night. However as she turned to leave Jim began to move. He was making moves to even try and weakly sit up. As we left the show that night it was clear his eyes were open and a possible breakthrough was just round the corner.

All in all : Poor (in my opinion of course)

 

4401 - Monday 11 May
Tonight saw signs of life from Jim McDonald as he began to slowly surface from the shadowy world of his coma. Liz of course was very happy to see her ex husband slowly coming round but Steve was feeling a touch apprehensive about what was happening because he was concerned about the implications of his father walking around and explaining what had really happened on the building site.

Zoe had sunk just about as low as she could get and the strain was finally starting to exhibit itself on Ashley. All he could see ahead was a life without Zoe as he finally decided he was not the man who could make her happy and it was perhaps finally time to call it quits between the two of them.

Sam was playing silly beggars as well tonight in her latest scheme. She complained of feeling ill and Vera in her sympathetic mode decided she could do with a few days away from the work place. Sam seemed to be arranging her time off to make Natalie's social life with Des as tough as possible.

However there seemed to be another agenda at work here as well as she spoke to Gary about Judy's pregnancy. Could she be planning to work a flanker on Des and make out she was pregnant by him.

Les was playing below the belt as well tonight as he seemed to have developed a fixation on the mother of his long lost son Greg. He tactlessly asked Rita about the best way to "crack off" with a widow much to her distaste. The topic of conversation didn't get back to Janice but it was driving a wedge between them anyway.

Maxine was still feeling the chilly side of Fiona's moods. She was relegated to Audrey's second string replacement in looking after the salon while Fiona had a day out with her son. There was no hint of forgiveness in her heart just yet to speak of.

Nicky and Leanne were still at odds with each other as she panicked over the possible visit of Whatley. Nicky was convinced he was in the right and although he confessed they had rowed to Martin and Gail he didn't feel able to bring up the subject of what the row was about leaving the two of them to ponder what was truly going on between them.

All in all : Good

 

4402 - Wednesday 13 May
Tonight saw Jim making something of a recovery of sorts as he lay in his bed capable of speech after a fashion and showing signs of lucidity. Steve of course was looking guilty as sin as he tried his best to be "nice" to his dear old dad. That same dear old dad he had spent the last few months fighting with.

Zoe meanwhile was slipping down into a deeper depression faster and faster and Ashley made things worse by refusing to visit that day. It was Leanne who got the privilege of seeing her friend at her very worst. She also had to keep the knowledge that Ashley wanted to end their relationship secret which made the visit harder.

Les meanwhile was as always putting Janice down while he pined for a woman he hadn't seen in over twenty years. He was keen for a reunion of sorts with Greg's mother while seeing fit to trample over his wife's feelings at the same time. Could her money be what he was after all she was recently widowed.

Meanwhile Sam was playing games with Natalie. She took to stealing a ring Natalie had left on the bar while she was cleaning some glasses leaving Natalie heart broken over the fact that she had lost her one remaining heirloom from her mother which she had left from before her death.

The night ended on a sour note for the McDonalds as the Doctor revealed that Jim had suffered a delicate spinal injury which could leave him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Although that wasn't certainly the outcome it was something that had to be considered for the future.

All in all : OK

 

4403 - Friday 15 May
Tonight's episode dealt with Jim slowly recovering certain areas but not in others. Steve and Liz were still unsure about how to tell him that he may never walk again and for the time being they were keeping the information from him for the good of his mental state.

However it was a time for some degree of honesty. It was finally revealed to him that he had been the victim of an accident caused by his little punch up with his son Steve. It was all a blank to Jim as he could remember nothing surrounding the event at all.

Meanwhile Ashley was still deliberating over how to tell his girlfriend Zoe how they were now effectively finished as a couple and how he wanted her out of his life. It was made harder by the fact that she was showing signs of recovery and how she wanted to make a special go of things now that she was getting the right care and attention from the hospital. Ashley couldn't summon up the courage to let her down so hard at a time like this so wracked with guilt he kept his true feelings to himself.

Maxine was lined up for getting hurt tonight by Greg. He told her he would be taking her somewhere nice for a meal so she went to the expense of buying a new outfit for the occasion. When they met in the Rovers however Greg seemed more interested in buying round after round and staying in the pub rather than going to the appointed dinner date.

It turned out he had been winding poor Maxine up about the dinner date but said they would go for something to eat later on that evening. That was the plan until Les accidentally spilled a pint down Maxine's dress and she would have to go home and change her clothes.

He parked up by her house and seemed keen to go in with her until he discovered she lived with her parents. In an instant he cooled off completely and before you knew it he was driving away as quick as his car would take him. Very unpleasant of the man indeed.

Speaking of Battersby's Les was proving to be something as a cad as he secretly arranged to meet up Maureen the mother of Greg his long lost son. He fed her a line about how he had done well for himself in his life and they arranged to meet up the following Monday at her place. He even began to scout the fashion magazines for tips on how to look good for the event.

The night more or less ended with Jim promising his family he would be out of bed and at home again soon. There was worried looks all over as they had still not told him that he could be wheelchair bound for the rest of his life.

All in all : O.K

 

4404 - Sunday 17 May
A meandering episode of the Street dealing with a lot of the current plotlines but advancing them very little. Nick continued to tear himself to pieces over his father's death and the pain he was feeling over the imminent release of "pen pal" Whatley the man who did the deed.

Leanne of course was oblivious to much of what was going on because she was unaware Nick had intercepted a letter intended for her from Whatley. She was merely happy to see life getting back to normal and to receive a pay rise from Rita.

Les meanwhile calling in an old favour from a friend to acquire a set of nice wheels to impress his old flame Maureen tomorrow night. Janice knew nothing of this but all she could see was her husband becoming more distant and it was breaking her heart.

Ashley tried again to finish with his girlfriend Zoe but seeing her making more progress at the hospital and seeing how she was fired with enthusiasm thanks to his support made him lack the courage to say things were over.

At the Rovers £25 went missing from the petty cash box. Only Jack, Vera and Natalie had keys to the box leaving Sam out of the frame apparently. However it was clear Sam was up to her neck in this little scam and it was clear she was looking to turn the knife to make Natalie look guilty although she was keen to do it in a subtle way if she could get away with it.

Maxine got an apology of Greg and the two of them prepared to make a better night out of it than they had done before. As a result tomorrow would be a special night out at Greg's hotel.

Jim received the news that he may be crippled for life tonight. He took the news bad punctuating the silences with bouts of anger. In the end he reckoned he would be better of dead than in a wheelchair.

All in all : Average

 

4405 - Monday 18 May
Technical breakdown ! Not reviewed :-(

 

4406 - Wednesday 20 May
Tonight featured heavily on the farcical Les Battersby and his sojourn at the local police station. It all fell on young Greg's shoulders to bail out his errant father for his sins. A plan which didn't sit well with him as he was well on his way to a night of bliss with Maxine.

He was forced to head to the police station and leave Maxine back at the hotel free to steal the mini bar and head home in a taxi while he dealt with family business.

Upon getting Les home he reluctantly concocted a story of how heroic Les had spent the night at the hospital with his Les and his friend Charlie after Les rescued him from a burning car. Janice of course believed this and spent the best part of the next day painting a hero worship picture of her devious husband.

Nicky meanwhile tried to see Whatley in a bid to clear up all the mess he had made with his letters from Leanne. He was turned away from the prison though as the visiting pass was for Leanne and not for him meaning he had not resolved the problems they were facing.

Jim meanwhile still had something of a swiss cheese memory. He did however vow that he would remember everything before he got out of prison and it was clear he was starting to question just how truthful Steve was being about the accident.

All in all : O.K

 

4407 - Friday 22 May
Tonight's slice of Weatherfield wandered along inoffensively enough with few developments coming along with the capacity to fire any interest. Sam kicked her malicious plans into action big time tonight. She had successfully manipulated Vera into thinking that Natalie was a devious scheming thief who couldn't be trusted around the pub for the sake of the till's contents.

Nicky meanwhile was searching for more information about his father's past and the circumstances which led to his killing. He did some scouting around and discovered the name of the woman who had been at the scene of the killing all those years ago and arranged to meet her. Of course this all made his relationship with Leanne very tepid as he was forced to lie to her when he mentioned where he was going.

Jim meanwhile learned the full truth about what had put him in the hospital. Somehow he wasn't surprised it was the drink and his temper which had possibly cost him the use of his legs. He bore no malice towards his son Steve and accepted that his circumstances were the results of his own stupidity.

Back to Sam and she went to see Des Barnes tonight with some very important news for him. She announced that she was three months pregnant with his child. Des didn't believe her story but she was most insistent to the point where Des turned Natalie away from his door when she came round to see him for lunch. Methinks that was possibly one of Sam's motives behind this little scam. Anyway to conclude Sam stated that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Des and the child she was carrying.

Steve and Fiona decided it was time for a holiday thus Maxine and Audrey were left with the salon to themselves. Audrey also wangled it for Maxine to have use of the flat above while Fiona and Steve were away meaning she had a little love nest for a week or two.

The night began to draw to a close with Jim in hospital starting to feel unwell. Suddenly he was gripped by a sudden pain and he began to bleed from the mouth. A definite set back appeared to be on the horizon ?

Things ended though with Leanne getting a mystery visitor on the doorstep. It was none other than a somewhat leery looking Darren Whatley looking to introduce himself and come into the house. What made it worse for Leanne was she was all alone......

All in all : Average

 

4408 - Sunday 24 May
In my opinion a dire episode that seemed to have nothing in th way of redeeming qualities as it stumbled from one stilted scene to another. Nicky was in the midst of speaking to the woman who was his father's bit on the side on the night of his murder.

Nicky learned how his father although brave for taking on three men in a fight was a somewhat headstrong character who it would seem was spoiling for a fight during the entire duration of the evening. It was hard for Nicky to swallow this information as he had always put his father on a pedestal.

Meanwhile Leanne spent the better part of the evening at the tender mercies of Darren Whatley the man who killed Brian Tilsley. He turned up out of the blue in a very presumptuous form to see Leanne. He invited himself into the house and proceeded to frighten the living daylights out of Nicky's wife as he hinted about the type of relationship he wanted with his pen friend of the last couple of months.

Jim had took a turn for the worse and was back on death's door again. Steve and Liz hung around the hospital then decided to go to the Rovers to continue their worrying. Overacting bonus points go to Liz McDonald for her usual over the top performance.

Des confided in Natalie about Sam's supposed pregnancy. Natalie thought it was all a bluff and told Des to confront her about what she was doing. Sam was prepared to swear on a Holy Bible (Wooh, impressive) that she was telling the truth and Des was supposed to believe her on those grounds alone. Very weak storyline indeed.

Ashley returned home just in time to ensure that Darren Whatley didn't get his wicked way with Leanne. However the experience had traumatised her enough and she told Nicky she was going back to her mother's house when he returned home. His meddling in the past had done him some real harm now.

All in all : Poor

 

4409 - Monday 25 May
Apologies for last night's missing review. I am having some rotten luck with hardware at the moment but I promise things will be back to normal soon when I get my system sorted :(

 

4410 - Wednesday 27 May
Tonight saw Leanne in unforgiving form as she suggested getting a divorce from Nicky. Janice was understandably worried about the situation as news of their split began to spread slowly through the Street. Gail discovered the news and although feigned shock and horror at the prospect seemed to be having a private gloat about the matter.

Meanwhile Les was trying to save his own marriage by removing any media evidence of his little accident with the police car. He was buying up all the copies of the local paper which was covering the incident which had involved him and was burning them in his back yard. His plan almost failed though when Janice got hold of a copy but never got time to read the story about what had happened.

Sam was playing with Vera's heartstrings about the baby and reckoned Des was the complete villain of the piece for wanting an abortion from her. It was all part of her wicked game and was successfully tying Des's mind up in knots as he deliberated the best course of action to take for the best.

Meanwhile Whatley was prowling around in cat burglar fashion trying to see Leanne Tilsley. He failed in meeting her but overheard in the cafe what marital strife she was going through thanks to Gail and Toyah having a heart to heart about the matter.

Jim found out he would be coming home soon from the hospital with Liz and Steve around to look out for him. Steve suggested a welcome home party which Liz was unsure about but Steve was convinced it would be a good idea for him.

Les meanwhile was sent round to make the peace between Nicky and Leanne but Les's temper meant he nearly beat Nicky senseless for hurting his daughter and he presumed Nicky had been playing away from home with another woman.

The night ended with Des deciding to honour his commitments by deciding to be a father to Sam's baby although Natalie was becoming even more suspicious than ever over the matter.

All in all : Good

 

4411 - Friday 29 May
Tonight was fuelled mainly by the return of Jim McDonald to the Street following his long stay in hospital after the accident. A case of truly overblown acting on most people's parts as they gave him no less than a ridiculous mob welcome.

People flooded from their houses to mill round Jim in his trusty little wheelchair and bundle him into his little abode just off those famous cobbled streets of Weatherfield.

As if to emphasise how helpless Jim felt the camera people decided to make everyone look large and looming as poor tiny little Jim sat confined in his little chariot.

It didn't get any better when they decided to throw a party either. Everyone came to wish him well but Jim wasn't in the party spirit and sat swigging from a bottle like the crippled bloke from Forrest Gump and he was a poor version at that.

In the end he told everyone to leave him be as he needed to take a pee. The fact that Liz was going to be the one helping him on to a potty made it all seem the more embarrassing for him. It was a clear he was being consumed by his own negative feelings but then I guess he would hardly feel like a million dollars at that moment.

As that happened we saw further evidence of the crumbling marriage of Nicky and Leanne. Gail came round to offer condolences so Nicky smirked. Leanne came round to pick up some more of her clothing and belongings so Nicky once again decided to smirk. Can't the guy do anything without having that bloody awful glib look on his face. I often wonder if the return of Nicky1 wouldn't be such a bad thing. At least we could laugh at his dire attempts at acting. Nicky2 isn't even that funny.

Then from out of nowhere we saw the return of Paul the arcade owner who as we know had a potentially expensive night with Judy Mallett when she was into buying babies wholesale from the likes of Zoe Tattersall. The man had metamorphosed into a shambling drunk....why, you might ask ?

Apparently that one night of meaningless sex with Judy had become the focal point of his life and was now driving him round the twist. He couldn't bring himself to move on and was now seemingly obsessed with the woman.

Then there was the evil Sam who becomes more pantomime villain with every passing episode. She was now threatening to abort the child of Des Barnes which made him react with horror. He decided that it was in the best interests of the child and his own desire to have children to settle down with NastySam.

Of course all this was going on within plain view of Natalie who decided that she had fallen in love with Des. The poor lad by now had little idea whether he was coming or going. He came to talk to Natalie because his head was in bits over the Sam scenario. I reckon that will have blown whatever was left to the four winds.

The night ended with Jim been lifted into bed by Liz (Well, Bev Callard is a fitness buff isn't she). She did however leave him on top of the covers and with his dressing gown on before going to bed. Jim was left all alone to cry himself to sleep.

All in all : Unintentionally Hilarious

What's happening in the Street ?

That was IMO a seriously dodgy episode. The Frankenstein style mob deployment on Jim only needed pitchforks and burning torches to complete the image.

Then this silly Paul/Judy thing which was staring up... completely ridiculous.....

 

4412 - Sunday 31 May
Jim was fighting back despair tonight as he saw first hand the limitations of life in a wheelchair. Liz of course was on hand to juggle her working life with the duties of a carer but I can't see that lasting too long. Jim is proving to be a stubborn patient and there is only so much Liz can do for him under the circumstances.

While that was going on we also saw Les milking his back injury pretence to the maximum. He had half fooled Janice into believing there was something wrong with him primarily so he could cover up the fact that he had been in an incident with the police recently and had lost his licence so he would be unable to drive any car.

NastySam took an even bigger twist down her personal path of malice tonight as well as she took larger and larger steps to sucker Des into playing things the way she wanted. He told her he wanted to talk to her about the baby and the potential life they could all have together.

Sam was in agreement but I was more surprised that a worldly wise man like Des couldn't see through Sam's "he's behind you" pantomime villain performance. Anyway over a meal the two of them discussed the future but Sam had terms she wanted to employ.

She told Des that anything that she had done in her past couldn't ever be thrown in her face if they ever began to argue or fight. She also stated that there was only room for the two of them in their relationship and Natalie would have to be out of the picture. There wasn't even room for her friendship in Des's life if she was to become part of it again.

The crux of the episode resolved a lot of the recent Nicky v Whatley drama. We watched as Whatley looking every inch a reject from The Professionals crept up and down the Street looking for a moment when he could catch Leanne alone.

He eventually followed her into her parents house when he was sure they were alone and began giving her the third degree to find out what exactly had been going on. Leanne was terrified and through her tears eventually explained that her husband Nick had been the one to arrange the letters and the visits to the prison.

Nicky of course was in the pub with Ashley getting slowly drunk. Gail and Audrey came round to see if the tipsy youngster was O.K but he wasn't in the mood for company.

He left the Rovers and wandered up the Street with a view to seeing his wife at the Battersby household. As he stood by the front door he could hear Leanne inside crying and the raised voice of Whatley.

He ran round the back of the house and barged in with a view of taking Whatley down in much the same way as his father had been dealt with. Luckily Whatley overpowered Nicky and threw him to the floor.

He explained how one moment of madness had made him a murderer and left his life irreparably damaged. Nicky of course was too angry to listen to the tale he was being told. Whatley however didn't want to hang around and cause any further trouble and left.

The night more or less ended on that note apart from a shot of Des kissing Sam with her looking more interested in the wallpaper than the man she was supposedly in love with.

All in all : O.K




Written by Adrian Carter

 

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