Speaking of Corrie

This summer Ron and I have become hooked on British detective shows. Most are several years old now, but new to us. We started out with DVDs borrowed from the public library, which has the first season of a large variety of BBC programs. Then I discovered subsequent seasons on YouTube, so we watch one episode a night on our Blu-Ray player attached to the television.

Right now we are enjoying Scott and Bailey, a program  about two female detectives whose private lives are intertwined with their professional ones. The funny thing about British shows is that actors we have seen on other programs invariably appear. (There must be a relatively small pool of talented actors.) Whenever that happens, Ron will say, "We've seen him (or her) before." That's my cue to pick up the iPad, look up who the actors are and find out where else we have seen them.

Okay, I have to say it gets a bit irritating at times. I want to just get on with the show, but Ron needs to know where else we have seen the actor. (Sometimes I think he needs a spanking for being so annoying.) But I keep a tab open with the latest episode, and once we have the character's name, I pause the program and search with the iPad, scanning the list of other shows the actor has appeared in until I find one we recognize. Nine times our of ten, for Scott and Bailey, that actor appeared on Coronation Street. In fact, two of the main characters are Corrie alumni.  I think the count is up to ten now for ex-Corrie residents, and we are only on season three.

And speaking of Corrie, here's a little startle that I caught when two seamstresses from the knicker factory were discussing a recent event they were witness to. Tracy, the owner of a second-hand shop, has gone into the office of Carla, the factory owner, and things did not go well for her.

Izzy: "Tracy came out of Carla's office with a face like a slapped backside."

Sinaed: "When Carla slaps a backside, it stays slapped."

Now, if you are a fan of Coronation Street you will agree with me that Tracy Barlow is at the top of the list of characters who would benefit from a good spanking or twelve. So the brief conversation struck me as very appropriate. If only the writers could make it happen. It would surely draw even more viewers than another tram crash.