Crawling from the Wreckage - Review:-02.06.2014

Seems as though there have been a lot of things crawling from the wreckage of late, including an annoying little voice crawling from the woodwork, which seemed to have been silenced for a bit, for whatever reason. I should have known it would only be a matter of time before that morally repugnant little cockroach would start their incessant, self-righteous, passive-aggressive whine against whatever I opine. Now that Tanya's gone, she appears to have taken on the mantle of defence of Jane and poor, pitiful Shirley. Odd, that, because I distinctly remember her actively disliking them both. It won't be long, I wager, before her alter ego appears - a different name, a proxy server, but always backing the fruitless argument and subtle bullying of her real persona - gingerly ensuring that she's always morally offended.

I'm watching. And I'm waiting for the personal information to begin.

The Morning After.

It's interesting to see the effect David's departure has had on his family - on his daughter, on Carol and on his brother. The aftermath of David's departure brought, probably, the best scene in last night's episode, as well as a new bonding between Carol and Ian.

If Lucy's death and Carol's cancer have produced anything positive, they've done so via the departure of one of the programme's most important legacy characters: David Beale Wicks.

All of this, combined together, has forged a new sort of familial bond between Ian and Carol that's beautiful and poignant to watch.

The best scene of the night belonged to Ian and Carol. I like the new closeness and friendship that's developed between the two of them, and I found it quite touching that Ian was hurt his brother didn't say good-bye and that he'd miss having him around. With David going and Bianca about to go, the Beales are decidedly thin on the ground, and Ian knows that with David gone, there's no one left in his family dynamic from his generation. As sad as he was, he understood Carol's reason for calling an end to her relationship with David, even though Ian understood also that, for David, Carol represented normality. She grounded him, but she couldn't hold him to that, and in the end, the effort proved too much. Beautifully underplayed scene.

... as opposed to the return of ...

'Owmahgonnafedmahkids?

Bianca is back in full whining mode. Pardon me, but doesn't she earn money from the stall? And Janine is supposed to be charging them next to nothing in rent. Doesn't Ricky, the husband who's been white-washed out, contribute to his children's financial support? It strikes me that she wasn't concerned about her mother's emotional health at all, which has a direct bearing on her physical health since she's still on a course of chemo - didn't we see a cold sore on Carol's lip tonight, which is a sure sign her bodily defences are down? Nope, Bianca wanted her father around because he paid the bills and took the pressure off her to provide for her children. Once again, she's become as child-like, as feckless and as puerile as Tina. And once again, the situation was all about Bianca. She was practically blaming Carol for the situation with David, but didn't have a word to say about David filching all the money he'd put into the car lot, leaving Max high-handed.

As for Sonia, she means well, but just ... go. SuperSonia is now taking over Carol's job in the cafe, as she seems to be to nursing what Ava was to teaching - always around, like a bad smell.

An Innocent Man.

Sharon's back. No, I really mean it. She's back. To her old self for one night only. You'd best watch this on IPlayer, because when her big storyline rears its head in a couple of week - you know, the one we've been teased and promised by DTC and his henchman Alex Lamb for weeks - you'll be pleased to know that the storyline is all about ... Shirley and Phil.

That's right. Shirley.

Be prepared for Shirley to be this tenure's Stacey. Shirley is going to feature, albeit tangentially, in every storyline featured this year, but, trust me, the spoilers don't lie. Sharon's attack will all be about garnering sympathy for poor pitiful Shirley in her amourous pursuit of Phil.

Until then, for one night only, what starts out as an idealistic quest by Sharon to get Jake Stone to confess to Lucy's killing, ends with both Sharon and Phil being suspicious about Ian's whereabouts on the night Lucy died.

The other good scene tonight came at the prison where Phil and Sharon (once again, back to her best, given someone who knows how to write for her) visited Jake. Although why Sharon thought she could convince Jake to own up and confess is another something from the realms of fantasy, but I can live with that for the scene it produced. And I thought Jamie Lomas was quite good. He doesn't fit EastEnders, but for this storyline, he comes off quite well. The fact that Jake and Phil connected over the fact that both are alcoholics is significant. What sold Phil was Jake saying that he couldn't remember what happened at his flat until he woke the next morning with a raging hangover; Phil's been there and done that as a drunk, himself. The other thing that sold it for Phil was the fact that the police now know that Lucy wasn't killed at the flat.

Don't be surprised by the next scene featuring Aleks. Aleks is a red herring. Aleks was with Roxy all night, either at Roxy's new house or at Phil's. He admitted that to Lauren and Roxy backed him up. This means someone else was at the flat, because at that time, only Aleks and Jake lived there. Or, it means that someone came back to the flat, who had traces of Lucy's blood on their person. Again, I don't think it's Alex.

Just keep thinking about that incongruent scene in the Vic the night Lucy died, about who left following whom and where they went, presumably, to shag. I'm still sticking with the people we've seen the least in this storyline. As DTC says, this is Broadchurch.

I was wondering when Sharon was going to voice her suspicions about what Cindy told Ian. Actually, I think Ian's absence that night was because he was meeting Ben.

Mrs Malaprop's Purpose.

A lot of people are on a huge downer about Billy Mitchell and want the character axed. I'm a supporter of Billy, simply because he's so much like a lot of people in real life, down-on-the-heel losers who never have any luck or common sense enough to gain some and who resort to desperate measures to stay on the up.

Billy genuinely wants to provide for those whom he loves. He genuinely wants to do well for himself and be accepted fully within his family dynamic; but there's always something holding him back. Newman progressed his character to the point were he was making a good wage and was booted and suited and in a job he loved. DTC has regressed him to the point at which DTC was most comfortable with Billy - the feckless and luckless loser who resorts to stealing post in search of money.

Yes, Billy's compromised the compassion of various people and relatives who've helped him at certain times. He's stolen from no less than Ian, Janine and Peggy; but at no time has Billy ever come out on top of a situation to his advantage, and he doesn't tonight.

Besides which, Perry Fenwick is one of the strongest actors on the programme, who never fails, when he's called upon to step it up a gear.

Yes, the Canada modelling agency storyline is farcical, but it's good to see Perry Fenwick getting something again. I'm one of the few people who actually likes Billy Mitchell, chiefly because when he has to, Perry Fenwick can pull off a cracker of a scene. And, after a long time - or so it seems - it's good to see Roxy again. Roxy and Billy really are the intellectual runts of the Mitchell family, with Billy totally misreading Honey's intentions and Roxy, ever the romantic, encouraging his hopes. Lola was the only one of that trio who was cynical about Honey's intentions, and she was right. 

Here's another observation: Honey cannot legally take those children out of the country without Billy's permission. DTC was astute enough to make this part of a major storyline in 2008, which culminated in Lauren trying to kill Max. Well, that seems to have been forgotten in the space of six years and a new head for Lauren, so why shouldn't the law, proper, be forgotten in the interests of a good storyline?

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Carters.

Shirley fanagled money out of Phil "calling in a debt" of ten grand, which she handed over to Stan for Dean's business venture, yet what did she do to come up with his deposit and first month's rent, which came to about a grand? Dip into the till or the safe upstairs filled with money waiting to be banked? You can't buy your child's affection, Shirley. That's right, the son you left. When Dean finds out your secret and harkens back on your bonded behaviour with your "brother," he's going to take that money and fling it right back into your face. The Young Pretender to your secret Crown Prince. I guess we saw Community Shirley tonight, playing Lady Benevolent to the Court Jester's plight and seeking to win affection and influence with Dean in a way in which she could be able to reveal to her advantage at a later date. Come to Mamma, Dean, she's the one who found you a place to live. Isn't she a good mamma?

I actually loved Dean's greeting to her when he entered the pub.

Oh, hello, and with a shrug of the shoulders.

The Carters pay lip service in niceness to Stan, after he "loaned" them the money they needed, but Shirley apart, they trash-talk him something disgraceful behind his back. Shirley's just downright rude and mean. At least, Dean is honest enough to let Stan know that he needs the money Stan promised, which makes his hypocritical relatives take the moral high ground ... as if their cack doesn't smell in this situation.

Tina and Tosh ... just go. Go now. Tina is a slob - lazy, feckless, irresponsible and forty. Whatever charm she had, left her as soon as she turfed her daughter out to raise herself whilst Tina went her own way. She can't be arsed to keep a kitchen clean or to clear her mess? I'm still at a loss to figure out how she got this far in life.

That said, my favourite Carter is and always will be Linda. She was bloody excellent tonight. Lines of the night go to her and Perry Fenwick:-

Billy: And I was wondering if we could have a bit of table service - you know, bring over a couple of glasses of bubbly and some nipples.

Linda: Nipples?

Billy: Er ... nibbles.

Linda: Smoked salmon or caviar?

Kellie Bright does an excellent deadpan, and her zingers were spot-on as well. The hand model line was hilarious.

Linda Carter is obviously "the good;" the question is: Who is the bad and who is the ugly?