Tag Archives: Marc Selby

Coronation Street, Coronation Street Scene of the Week

Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Feb. 5/12)

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Nightmare on Coronation Street

Kylie enters Audrey's salonMonday and Tuesday – great writing, acting, story and character development.  Hard to pick one scene but that’s the task I have set myself. So, Audrey and Kylie at the salon when Kylie hopes to get her job back.

A static scene, just the two of them talking.  But the ‘story’ told!  Audrey’s anger and heartbreak. Kylie’s guilt combined with defiance.  With facial expressions and minimal movement, both showed what was in their minds, how they felt about each other and their memories of what had happened the previous day.  It was heartbreaking to watch and also kind of scary, not knowing which one of them might explode.

Audrey refusing to rehire KylieKylie clearly felt bad about the maelstrom she had caused, thinking she was oh so clever.  She was also scared, knowing that she had indeed pushed too many people too far. Her whole little world and its hopes and dreams might well collapse. And there was nothing she could do about it.   She was also angry and feeling put upon because, after all, nothing is ever Kylie’s fault, somebody is always to blame.

Audrey telling Kylie she loved MarcAnd Audrey was badly shaken, by her own feelings of cowardice as much as by her realization of just what a nasty little cow Kylie really was.  She felt betrayed and she felt herself to be a Kylie crying while listeningbetrayer, yet she had to deal with Kylie right then as employer, business heir and granddaughter-in-law.  You could see she really just wanted to go in the back room and cry.  She looked tired and fed up with dealing with nastiness and idiocy.  And during this, she was herself feeling that she had been both nasty and idiotic to Marc.

Kylie with camera phone in KabinKylie put the cat amongst the pigeons by threatening to show a video she took of Audrey with “Marcia” if Audrey doesn’t rehire her.  Audrey tells Marc who suggests making his alter-ego Marcia public so Kylie’s threat will be meaningless.

Marc tells Audrey they should take controlMarc clearly wants Marcia to come out and Audrey clearly doesn’t.  But both put it in terms of what they can and cannot ask of the other, not what they themselves want.  Read between the lines, people!

Marcia is out!

Rita Mary and Gail look at MarciaSo Marcia appears at the Rovers, asking “room for a little ‘un?” at the table with Audrey, Rita, Gail, Sally and Mary.  Rita and Mary, even Sally, pick their jaws off the floor quite quickly and are fine towards Sally and Audrey when Marcia walks inMarc/Marcia.  Not so Gail and Audrey.  Later, Audrey tells Marc she had thought and hoped she could handle it but she can’t: their relationship is over.  And she’s devastated, both at losing him and at being less open-minded than she thought she was.

Stella greeting new customer MarciaKylie, who has created chaos because David didn’t phone her on her birthday, realizes it’s all over when she sees Marc in the Rovers as Marcia.  She has no more cards up her sleeve to get out of this mess.  Of course, it’s all Gail’s fault for causing what Kylie calls this “nightmare on Coronation Street” when moaning to new BFF Eva.

Another storyline I must mention as Owen Katie and Ches seeing ultrasoundunfolding beautifully was Owen, Katie and Ches recognizing the possibility of Katie’s baby having the disease Izzie has.  The writers gave a lot of material for thought and the actors portrayed it deftly.  All told, these episodes were Corrie Street at its best.

SW Ont. Corrie fans – former Corrie actors are coming to Althouse Auditorium, UWO March 30th.  Yes!

Coronation Street Scene of the Week

Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Nov. 20/11)

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Marc & Marcia & Bambina

The scene that made me shriek with delight this Tuesday was Kevin’s surprise gift to Sally seeing her Fiat 500Sally.  A beautiful little red Fiat 500, giftwrapped!  I just wanted them to keep the camera on the car.  My delight quickly turned to horror as Sally shrieked at the happy salesman to take it back.  No, Sally, you don’t know what you’re saying, no no, keep the car!!  Keep Kevin.  Give the car to me – Kevin too if it’s a package deal!

I thought, she’ll come to her senses.  The car will win out.  But then she flew into Kevin, and even said “the colour stinks”!  No, it’s beautiful!  It’s a brand new little Bambina.  Red!  What more could you want?

It was hard to concentrate on the show after that.  The image of the little orphan car wearing its bow was burned into my brain.

Marc as Marcia

Marc and Audrey in police station Marc as Marcia in police stationBut then I saw Marc, bruised and bloodied, slumped on the bench in the police station in dress, necklace and blonde wig.  The look of surprise then realization on Audrey’s face as she recognized the battered lady on the bench was the suave man she had come to the police station to help – priceless.

Then the beautiful scene that put even the Fiat 500 out of my mind (briefly).  Marc, cleaned up as best he could, explaining about being a transvestite and about his late wife and her acceptance of him and his alter-ego Marcia.  And Audrey understanding, remembering people in her life who were “different” but made her feel “fabulous” for just being her.

Audrey consoling Marc with a hugShe had jumped to the conclusion that many do: that cross-dressing is only something gay people do.  So she remembered her gay friend, Lionel the colourist.  I wished I had known Lionel, just from how she talked about him.  Sadly, he was one of the too many who died of AIDS in the 1980s.

That was a time when living with AIDS wasn’t talked about; dying from AIDS was the only option.  It was very frightening for gay men and for anyone who knew and loved a gay man.  Audrey’s far-away look as she talked about Leonard brought it all back for me.

And Marc was equally concise and effective at explaining straight male cross-dressing to Audrey.  He also conveyed the fear of telling a partner about it, about the fear of rejection Audrey telling Marc he must tell Claudiaand the joy of acceptance.  I also wished I’d known his late wife because she sounds like a lovely lady to have made him so happy in her life and so sorrowful at her death.

I hadn’t really had any thoughts one way or the other before about Marc, other than wondering what he was doing in the storyline with Audrey and Claudia.  Now I like him, feel like I know him, and I hope he and Audrey become lasting friends.  If he tells Claudia about his cross-dressing, I hope she is as understanding as Audrey was.  But, after all, she’s a hairdresser too so, as Audrey said, she also ought to have lots of experience with “people of all types.”  I’m counting on you, Claudia.

Big Jim

Jim telling bank teller to put money in bagFriday note:  I do not believe this bank robbery and Jim story.  He wouldn’t be that stupid, so he wouldn’t.  There are a million other ways to get out of this cockamamie story about the pub ownership.  Jim’s character didn’t need to be sacrificed in schedule-driven writing to accommodate actor and production plans.