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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 421626" data-attributes="member: 23">Episodes 561 - 590 14 March - 21 June 1988 continuedIt’s interesting to think about the away time for cast and crew and the different approaches, and I found myself wondering why Tracy and Jamie’s time in London was given its own bubble while Jonathan and Terry’s visit to Austria was contained in the series proper. Popularity of the characters aside, I think the key difference is that South, like Damon & Debbie, had characters leaving for a new start that was open-ended. It was quite possible they would never be seen in the main series again.As previously mentioned, this was my first time out with South, which made it special. I can’t say there were any revelations, and it didn’t speak to my heart in the way some of Damon & Debbie did (probably largely due to the absence of nostalgia, but also probably because of D&D’s famously tragic ending), but it was fine.This being a long run of consecutive episodes, there’s a great deal of distance from South as I write and I must confess much of it has already faded from memory. Morrissey’s cameo was fun (especially considering I’ve read how terrible he thought his acting was) and felt like an authentic representation of bumping into a celeb (certainly, it was more truthful than the daft convoluted kidnap of Paula Yates, fun as that was).Aside from Morrissey and the fun of seeing London in the late Eighties, my two key takeaways from the series were that Sean McKee is a gem of an actor and there was a good deal of “genuine” pop rather than the cheesy stock music heard in most Brookie households.While it’s obviously a very different ending to that of Damon & Debbie (and it’s difficult not to compare), South’s closing scene was memorable enough, and only really undermined by the pace at which I watched the following Brookside episodes.Over at the Collinses, there’s been an abundance of topical gay prejudice injected into the series, first with the requirement for Christopher to take an HIV test in order to take out a bank loan, then with Gordon and Christopher being violently assaulted outside a nightclub. It’s a natural path for the writing to take. Still, though, it feels a little “talking pamphlet” (to borrow James’s trademarked phrase).This is in large part, I feel, because both characters are defined by their sexuality more than they could be. It’s a double-edged sword. The homophobic climate of Thatcher’s Britain and AIDS panic are truths of the time, and both rife with dramatic potential and it’s natural for the series to mine it. It’s also true that many other characters are acutely aware of the couple’s sexuality and possibly see this over and above their other attributes. The problem with this is that we mainly see the relationship through the eyes of those others, and there’s very little depth or substance beyond that. Even when we spend time alone with the couple, they’re invariably either talking about how others see them or the focus is on some friction within their own relationship. Neither of them interacts with other characters on a meaningful level. I could take the view that this is symbolic of their isolation (they only have one another, and all that), but I feel that’s overly kind.Brookside’s usually done well with its more militant and confrontational characters, and the choice for the character of Christopher to lean into this works on one level, because he can articulate his reasons for refusing to take the HIV test on principle (and it’s good for the story that this is being utilised for Gordon and other family members to question if this is the real reason he refuses the test). It’s just unfortunate that Christopher mostly vacillates between irreverence and indignation.On paper, I like the boldness of the character being written as quite mercenary and a bit of an opportunist. He alternates between amusement towards Paul and Annabelle’s conservative ways, talking down to them or badmouthing them to Gordon, all the while imposing himself on them as an uninvited guest in their home. But because we don’t really know anything about him beyond the superficial, it ends up becoming frustrating to watch for all the wrong reasons. It’s just not a good look.Gordon suffers in this area as well. He’s never quite as irreverent or indignant as Christopher, and there’s the added angle that he is in some way being led astray by Christopher’s bad influence. The tensions between him and his parents - particularly Paul - add some interest. If I look for it, I also kind of enjoy the long-term irony of Gordon ending up as a lazy, work-shy layabout while Damon travelled the country in order to work. But when any real interest in the character these days comes from past glories or looking at the bigger picture, it’s not a good thing. Still, I can’t deny that the scenes between Gordon and Paul at the police station in the aftermath of Gordon and Christopher’s arrests (for defending themselves, breaking one of the gay bashers’ jaws in the process) was a nice moment for both, with Gordon moved and surprised by Paul’s support, while Paul was unwavering. <img src="https://i.vgy.me/dtgTkO.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 534px" />#586 was one of those rare episodes that takes place over the course of one night, giving it a real-time feeling. Terry and Sue’s romantic night in is interrupted by Paul needing Terry to taxi him to the police station (something Gordon later points out as hypocritical, given Paul had previously reported Terry to the DHSS), before they resume in the early hours. While Gordon and Paul are having their talk, Barry has a rendezvous with Sizzler to be given his instructions. And in Stratford-upon-Avon, Annabelle spends a romantic evening with Brian Lawrence as their course ends and goes to his hotel room for a coffee… where she is still to be found hours later when Paul attempts to phone her room in the wee smalls. In many ways it feels like one of soapdom’s least-likely affairs… which is exactly why it shows a degree of promise.</blockquote>

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