The Viaduct Needs Patties: In Praise of Coronation Street

If you're new here, you might be surprised that I watch soap operas. Not only that, I watch soap operas from around the world. The UK is a powerhouse for daytime drama because they have serious longevity in the genre. One of the longest-running is ITV's Coronation Street.

The fans call it Corrie and like many epic series in the genre, it focuses on a location: a cobblestone old-school neighborhood in the heart of fictional Weatherfield. I found Coronation Street - where else - via YouTube clips in pursuit of other characters and timelines. The compelling story of Paul and his abuse and relationship got me first into the show, but the Street really showed up through his family and the interlocking stories. Paul and Billy led me to Gemma and Chesley and the quadruplets.

Then Carla and Michelle and Robert and Gary. In terms of cast, Coronation Street only rivals Young and the Restless with size of cast and plot lines. By the time you say "whatever happened to..." you get a story to catch you up.

Some shows make you want to go to a place. Some satisfy your curiosity by showing you exactly what a place is. Coronation Street does both. Salford and Manchester is most assuredly on my shortlist for a future British Isles trip. However, the charm of Corrie is that the characters are typical people. The diversity is natural for this part of the country (as I understand England) and the actors are accessible. Even the most fanciful and adventurous plots that hatch on the Street start with mundane conversations at the pub or work or home. The most tense and controversial events feel ripped from the headlines and connect to what many of us are dealing with in the West. ITV did a great job integrating the pandemic into their shows. The social distancing is not terribly obvious and the reactions are just what you'd think it would be.

Best of all, the jaw-dropping moments build beautifully over time. British soaps build a slow burn for explosive episodes without repeating pointless dialogue over and over. Few moments are wasted so when the scandal breaks, the viewer is truly transfixed.

I for one will never forget what happened at Michelle and Robert's wedding. The night of the shooting and the death of Sinead are seared in my mind as well. (Probably should have skipped those episodes; she died just a few weeks after my mother died.) I watch Coronation Street on Hulu on a 2-week delay so I am eager to see the results of Geoff and Yasmeen's day in court. (ITV's YouTube channel posts update clips every day so I have an idea but I want to see it for myself.)

Weatherfield seems like a great place to ride out the end of the pandemic. Let's meet for lunch at the Viaduct Bistro one of these days. One suggestion: where are the West Indian dishes? Not even a nice beef patty?