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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 360271" data-attributes="member: 23">14 February - 2 April 1980 3263 - 3290While the crisis is effectively over, it’s pleasing that the reverberations from the gunshot can still be heard some six weeks on.David is well on the road to recovery. Technically still recuperating but this hasn’t kept him out of work nor out of conflict. There’s Chris, who returns having heard the news (if my powers of observation are up to anything, actor Stephen Hoye appears to have had some cosmetic dentistry since his earlier appearances, though with jeans that tight it's fair to say that his mouth isn't the focus of attention in many of his scenes). Believing the story (ironically propagated by David to protect Rosemary) that the shooting was an accident during Rosemary’s attempted suicide, Chris is at first furious at David for his coldness towards Rosemary in getting engaged so quickly to pouty Barbara. This brings out the tigress in pouty Barbara who escalates the drama by telling Chris the facts. For all her claims to be the tigress on the defensive, Sue Lloyd’s portrayal gives the impression that Barbara is simply a drama queen manufacturing conflict, just as she did with Dr Farnham and David. She comes out of it looking heroic all round for treating Chris like an adult, but I can’t help feeling that wasn’t her motive in doing so. Certainly, this vague suggestion of the ice queen feels like a more natural fit than a current storyline which has her attempting to transmit warm, supportive sincerity to Alison Cotterill, though even this feels in character if one considers that Barbara has pushily obtained herself a housekeeper* with the humility to treat Barbara with wide-eyed admiration.Incidentally, the scene in which David and Barbara acquired the coach house was one of those bizarre sequences that can only happen in a soap on this budget, keen to expedite its story onwards. They drop by the coach house to visit a friend of David’s who is leasing it. Since he is not there they let themselves in(!) and start looking round. Then the phone rings and Barbara answers it (how pushy). Despite never having previously spoken to David’s friend, their conversation lasts all of seven seconds. Then she hangs up and relays to David that his friend is having to move out but has offered them use of the coach house. And that’s that. They practically move in there and then. It's convenient to the point of surrealism and reminds me of an Acorn Antiques denouement.Rosemary has been admitted to a sanatorium (not to be confused with its iconic American counterpart, the sanitarium briefly frequented by Sue Ellen Ewing and on the end of many a JR/Jock threat line for many years afterwards), where Chris and viewer alike are horrified to see her without makeup, hair unkempt and knitting him a fetching brown jumper as she tries to tune out reality. The scene in which Chris told her that David’s wedding to Barbara had been brought forward was quite heartbreaking. I wonder if this is the last we’ll see of her.  As an aside, the mental health facility and the ex-wife unable to let go of her husband who is marrying a blonde adventuress made me think of that Knots Landing episode where Val got home from admitting Lilimae to such an institution and rang Gary for support only to find out from Olivia that Gary had just married Abby.Conflict continues to be the byword all round at the motel these days. With Meg suddenly departing on a world tour (presumably so that Noele could have a break) Tish - despite coming in only on a very part time basis - has taken it upon herself to create roles and arrange interviews.There was that time Alison came for an appointment she was supposed to have with Sandy, but which in Sandy’s absence was conducted by Adam at his most brusque, causing Alison to fly off the handle and shout at him. It was a great moment for both characters since the writing and performances made clear only to the viewer that they were each coming from a different place and the interview was a series of miscommunications, with Adam treating the interview more formally than required and Alison’s nerves frayed from waiting so long. All worked out well since Alison was quickly poached by Barbara anyway. And I'm glad to report that Alison has found a far more flattering hairdo (or perhaps wig. I'm still thinking [USER=21]@Barbara Fan[/USER] may have been right about that) and seems all the happier for it.Yet more controversial has been Tish creating a housekeeper role and offering it to Marian Owen  after Doris Luke turned it down due to her commitments at the farm. Jill was annoyed at Tish since housekeeping was Meg’s domain and Jill felt this has risked diminishing Meg’s role.Perhaps most interesting of all in this entire run has been Marian’s reason for wanting to leave the practice. With Dr Butterworth unwell and considering retirement from the comfort of his offscreen habitat, Marian has had a hard time accepting the more irascible and officious Dr Farnworth who keeps chewing her out for doing things the way she always has done with Dr Butterworth. The tension between them has been very watchable. Alan Lander has done a nice job of going ugly and being rather unlikeable at times in order to get the job done, while Margaret John has done perhaps her best work to date. As in the scene between Adam and Alison, it’s easy to see both sides and realise that these are simply two people who don’t click with one another. It happens.There’s tension over at Chimneys with what has become the “main” storyline of this run, but which is, frankly, boring me. There’s some business with Adam needing to marry some bloke’s haughty daughter in order to obtain a contract to do with a large property near a Scottish loch. She pursues him and he’s only mildly interested. Then he finds out he has to marry her and pursues her but she doesn’t want marriage. Jill is aghast. Diane is amused and then these two fall out, with Diane moving back to her flat. Now I think the deal is off again, but I really don’t care. This entire storyline has made me glaze over.There’s even drama on the VTR board, where - before episode #3289 - one of the announcers can be heard calling someone a “bastard” as the mic comes on. From the tone I’d say it’s probably in jest, but without any kind of context or visual it’s hard to tell.</blockquote>

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