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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Spells &amp; Karma" data-source="post: 406126" data-attributes="member: 23">Episodes 391 - 400 28 July -  26 August 1986 continued… The shockwaves from Sheila’s rape have continued to resonate and impact. All the same, as I watch the latter part of these episodes I’ve found myself marvelling that there’s been so much focus on other households. The rape storyline hasn’t been in the background exactly, but others are being given space to continue and develop alongside it. Thinking about it, this is probably something that sets Brookie apart from more conventional soaps where characters are in one another’s pockets. Don’t get me wrong, word did eventually get round much of the Close, but for most it has little resonance and most are fairly unaffected. One who has offered Sheila support has been Doreen Corkhill which has worked well because of the on-off tension between the characters. Somehow, that seems to give a distance that Sheila needs at the moment, and I suppose if it had been eighteen months earlier it would have been Marie who was initially brushed off then welcomed instead of Doreen. The Corkhills have remained great fun to watch, by the way. Doreen’s Lady MacBeth bit has continued with her manipulating Billy to go to the dentist by outright lying, telling Tracy that lying is sometimes necessary for someone’s own good. Meanwhile, while Doreen was selling end-of-line clothing, and Julia was adding whisky to the terrible wine she’d bought to serve, Billy offered Bobby some company at Number Five. The big disappointment of this run is that we didn’t get to see their conversation (I wonder if it was filmed and deleted). By the time of Doreen’s clothes party, Sheila is even feeling she can cope with an evening at the Corkhills - the goodwill stemming from her relief at losing the baby which was an unwanted outcome of the rape Incidentally, I’m a little surprised at relief being about the only emotion Sheila displayed at the loss. I’d have expected more mixed feelings since it’s her strong belief that life begins at conception. But I suppose that same belief would help her make sense of it as God’s will. Sheila also had the added catharsis of sending Alun Jones on his way with a flea in his ear.And before the pregnancy drama, had come the reveal of whodunnit, but too late for poor Teresa, so depressed at her belief that Matty had been charged with the rape she went against her own strong beliefs to take her own life. The pointlessness of it all makes it absolutely heartbreaking to watch it play out, with the viewer drawn into both Matty and Teresa’s states of mind. Matty - having been put through the wringer during questioning - elated that he is vindicated and now a free man. Teresa, unaware of the development and in a fugue state, spiralling downwards. The dialogue that plays around Teresa’s head feels both disorientating and subjective. The viewer is right in there with Teresa, sharing her memories good and bad and, possibly, real and imaginary (I couldn’t rightly remember whether some of the happier dialogue came from moments we’d previously seen. If not, I only had Teresa’s version of those memories which makes them somewhat unreliable given her state of mind), which makes the outcome hit much harder. The writers have really put this couple through it, right from the start. It’s bleak, cruel and compelling. Meanwhile,  a visit from a reporter has been a nice way of shining a light on a number of soapy secrets in the series by having an intruder show interest. The scramble to conceal certain facts from the journalist involved several households. Ostensibly he was there to help Sandra pursue her case, but it turned out he was there to get an angle on the first anniversary of the siege and an update on the romance that developed between Sandra and Pat (now officially over, and Pat’s hurried on to the married wife of the manager of the football club he and Terry are suddenly very keen on. Sadly-but-inevitably, neither development has improved his watchability). Then the journo tried to find out who had been raped but was given false leads (not least from Damon, protective as ever of his family). Tracy - wanting this week to launch a modelling career - gave him a false name lest he discover she’s related to the Billy Corkhill who’s been in court recently. Coincidentally (and presumably not intentionally) she used the surname “Jones” - the family name of the three key female former  occupants of Number Ten.I've taken the plunge and ordered this. This is the earliest Jimmy Mac film available in any format, so it's likely to be my starting point whenever I dive into his stuff beyond Brookside. I'll probably begin with the films and save series like Cracker for later.</blockquote>

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