Last night’s episode was one of those ‘move the story line along’ episodes and I was trying to find some unifying theme for today’s update. Trust me dear readers, it was a struggle. Finally, someone said the magic words, ‘Zoot Suit’ and I knew I just had to make this update a tribute to my favorite (as in I get down on your knees and worship) Zoot Suiters – Cab Calloway.
Jump and Jive, Dandy Dan
We discover that it’s Less who paints Cilla’s toenails when Chesney and Kirk-eh come in with great news. Chesney has a part in the school play! Cilla is excited until she finds out that he didn’t get the Bugsy role, but rather the role of Dandy Dan.
Chesney is downhearted when her and Less make fun of him, but later when he and Kirk-eh are having some chips, Chesney explains that Cilla and Less are doing emotional projection. Basically, because they feel bad about themselves, they project their negative feelings on to others.
Glacia wonders, ‘Where does he GET this stuff?’. I mean it’s dead on, but where is he learning all this?
They run into Fizz who is OVER the moon that Chesney has a part and agrees to make a costume for him, a white zoot suit.
St. Sal’s Infirmiry
Sally invites Fiz, Sean, Haley and Vicky over to her house for lunch, but the real reason behind it (as we find out from Kev) is to get to the bottom the mysterious circumstances surrounding Kasia’s death. It all seems odd to everyone that Kasia was there so early and Vicky was late.
They ask Vicky a few questions which only serve to upset her. She even defends Karla for fear that the gals may discover the truth. She ends up leaving in a flood of tears despite pleas from the others to stay. After she goes, they start discussing it and at one point Sally even says, I bet they were working double shifts.
This is one of the few times I’m actually cheering Sally on.
Also, I noticed that Sally is a Jackie Collin’s fan – according to her bookshelf.
Hoochie Coocher
Janice awakes to find Liam in her home and once he makes his exit, she of course, goes on about it with Leanne, asking if he was on the meter or not. When Leanne explains that ‘it’s not like that’ Janice tells her she can’t have it both ways.
Later that day Leanne has lunch with Liam and effectively dumps him. (MAN, he can’t get a girl to save his life on this street.).
When she tells Janice that she’s dumped him, Janice is upset that she chose to get rid of Liam and not the job. Leanne says that she just needs to enough money to start over again (AGAIN,what the hell happened to the hush money Danny gave her?). Janice responds by cautioning her that it’s where she ends up that’s important. She then goes on about how clearly Liam and her are interested in each other.
Janice says that what Liam sees in Leanne won’t be there for much longer and when it’s gone, all the money in the world won’t buy it back. Am I the only one in the world that gets depressed by this talk? Is the suggestion that Liam is only interested in her because of her youth? Will she not be attractive at 35 or 40?
Emma and the Completely Unrelated Youtube Video
Emma shows up at the Grimshaws, but Jason intercepts her before she can go in. He tells her she shouldn’t just show up like this and should just go through her solicitor. She says she has and they says the baby will be returned to her but she really didn’t want to go through all the legal stuff to get the baby back. Meanwhile, she wants to see Chloe/Holly.
Jason helps her by going in with her to talk to Eileen. Initially Eileen tells her to go away, but after some convincing she lets Emma see Chloe/Holly. Emma explains why she did what she did and how she wants her daughter back – but Eileen is sticking to her guns.
Later when Emma leaves Jason and Eileen have another argy bargy about the baby situation which ends in him packing his bags and leaving home to “get away from you and that baby“.
In Other News
Maria came to say goodbye to Peter and to find out when they’ll see each other again. Peter says, ‘I’d like that but gosh I’m going to be just so busy with Adam and buying groceries and taking out the trash that I’m not sure it’s going to be a good idea for you to come visit.’
When he says that they’ll see each other the next time he comes to town, Maria gets the message. The big, ‘it was a fun distraction from my sister’s murder trial, but now it’s over kiddo.’
January 16, 2008 at 5:15 pm
The update ROCKS! I love Cab Calloway and the dancers were unbelievable what talent! Sure puts “Dancing with the Stars” to shame.
I don’t understand if Leeanne is making big bucks why in hell is she living in that teeny tiny apartment with Janice and taking her crap?
I am starting to feel a little sorry for Emma she doesn’t appear to be hardup. She has a kick-ass haircut and wears stylish(for her age clothes). I wish we could learn more about her background, does she any sort of support system, eg. parents, siblings etc.
January 16, 2008 at 5:23 pm
I think Leanne moved in with Janice for convience’s sake. Didn’t want to bother with looking for a flat of her own. Maybe she’s also doing it to save bucks for her dream of some big ass house on the french riviera.
January 16, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Chesney must be watching Oprah or Dr. Phil these days.
Sal’s plan didn’t work but the other workers were impressed with her house and I didn’t notice the books but will have to check on Sun.
Leanne never got over Nicky IMO. When he talked her into the abortion it seemed to harden her towards men. Then again, she didn’t appreciate Jamie when she had him and had to make a play for Danny. She really does want to move up in the world financially and doesn’t know how else to do it. I don’t know why, but I have more sympathy for her than Carla. At least Leanne has a heart and appreciates Janice for keeping the family going when they were all together.
January 16, 2008 at 6:25 pm
2 super-fast comments, because this is one of those lunch on the run days…
Re: Chesney and the psychoanalysis. At first I said the same thing – where’d he get that from? My guess is Roy. Remember Roy and Hayley had him for like 3 months while Cilla and Les were in Spain. That sounds exactly like something Roy would say to attempt to make Ches feel better (not realizing that it may not make a 10 year old feel much better).
Re: Janice’s comment to Leanne about how what Liam sees in Leanne will be gone soon. Maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t take that to mean Leanne’s looks. I took it to mean her spirit, her essence. In other words, I thought Janice was actually saying “You’re a special person, and after another few years of this, your heart may be so hardened that in effect you won’t be the same person.”
Anybody else think that last night, or was it just me?
Great update, Glacia! Cab Calloway rocks!
Michigander Fan
January 16, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Can I just say that we have the best update writers in the friggin’ world? There are themes, there is music, there are pictures, and then there are those oh-so-damn-fine pretty words!
*Did anyone ever find out where Leanne’s hush money went?
*Emma became a person the other night, instead of a heartless skrag.
*Eileen’s intended adoption of ChHolly feels right on paper — loving foster mom, child in need.
But IMO what makes it uncomfortable — as opposed to wrong — is that she wants to adopt Jason’s didn’t-know-he-wanted-it-until-he-got-it-but-it-was-all-lies dream child. In other words, it’s too close to home for Jason.
*And finally, Chesney. Musical. Two Songs. Zoot Suit. CAN’T WAIT!
January 16, 2008 at 6:34 pm
MF – you might be right on both counts. That does sound like a Roy-ism. I know that Chesney is a bright kid, but would they be teaching him that at school.
Actually, I wasn’t quite sure myself what Janice was talking about, but I thought she meant looks/youth because she had said that before. But you are probably right with the whole ’spirit’ thang.
January 16, 2008 at 7:12 pm
I agree with what has been said about Eileen. Despite what she has been saying, it is about her, rather than Chloe/Holly. And, it is pretty important to have everyone in the household on side when you decide to take on a child. Emma does not win the mother of the month prize, but Eileen also can’t see beyond her own nose.
January 16, 2008 at 7:16 pm
They really have made Leanne a ‘hooker with a heart of gold.’ And I think that Janice ws talking about her spirit and not her looks.
I think Leanne is interesting to watch because she has the intention of “bettering herself” when there was really nothing wrong with her. But, she has internalized class prejudices. In her quest to better herself she take so many wrong turns which actually cause her to sink lower than she the thought she was. It is very Battersby to embody class conflict. She just does it in a different way.
What I like about the Battersby-Browns in general is that hey are great foil to the “upper class” on the show. With the exception of the affected Leanne, they are crass and irresponsible, but at least they don’t use airs and graces to hide the realities of their character, which you can’t say about the Connors or Ken Barlow, for that matter. You always know where you stand with the Battersby-Browns.
I think Chezney’s grasp of projection (a term that Ken would totally use without being the least bit self-referential) is especially smart because not only has he correctly identified what is going on with his parents, it really is what is going on wth so many people on the street where the Battersby’s are concerned (Gail – who has fought with Eileen – looks down on Cilla when she gets into a cat fight in the street) as well as toward each other (Sally feels that Bill and Audrey set a bad example for her kids, but has totally forgotten that Rosie found out about her affair with Ian Hunt).
Anyway, that is my take on Leanne’s prostitution and Chezney’s knowledge of projection.
January 16, 2008 at 7:51 pm
I totally agree with everyone about what Janice was saying to Leanne. I took it as a “he’s interested now, but if he moves on to someone else then it won’t matter how much money you have, you will have already lost his heart”.
I also wonder why Leanne keeps staying there when Janice is SO rude about everything. I think it’s fine to object to Leannes work and stuff, but you don’t have to be so hurtful about it.
Although, I don’t really remember the last time Janice was anything other then hurtful towards others.
side note:
I do like that Sally has become friends with the factory girls.
January 16, 2008 at 10:04 pm
I think Leanne stays with Janice because she really has no one else who loves her (other than Les, and we know she doesn’t want to stay with Les and Cilla). Leanne is a lonely person hiding inside a tough shell. Liam would probably be good for her, though I don’t think she’d be good for him. When it comes right down to it I think Liam wants to be a decent bloke and he’s already struggling with a brother and sister-in-law who have no morals or ethics. He doesn’t need a girlfriend cut from the same cloth.
I agree that Chloe shouldn’t go back to Emma until the social worker has given the ‘all clear’, but Eileen is living in a fantasy world. She suffered through raising two sons without their fathers’ support, and I think she dreamed of raising a ‘daughter’ with the support of the child’s father. Now that Jason’s making it absolutely clear he won’t be involved, and in fact will work against her, she has to face reality.
January 16, 2008 at 10:08 pm
But Janice once did have a heart of gold – at least towards the girls. She was the breadwinner most of the time she was married to Les and he was rotten to her. She really showed her human side when she had the affair with Dennis but changed when he died. Then Les had the affair with Cilla. The writers spoiled a pretty good character IMO when they made her so mean. She was always mouthy but not so nasty.
Leanne knows Janice cares about her and she’s about the only person left who does – other than that waste-of-space Les.
Good point about Chesney learning about projection from Roy.
January 16, 2008 at 11:56 pm
Chesney has a lot of potential on the street. He’s had it the roughest out of a lot of characters on the show. Unloved and unwanted by his parents, you can see him hardening but instead of becoming destructive and anti-social, he uses that to become smarter. He very quietly makes mental notes and someday, that knowledge is going to come in handy.
He’s a nice kid and shows appreciation to those who show him kindness but someday, when he’s grown up, someone will try to wrong him and by then, he’ll have enough power to do something about it.
January 17, 2008 at 5:29 am
Chesney and Fizz are both survivors and have risen above their mother’s horrible treatment of them and her behavior in general. They are an understated tribute to the powers of resilience and determination.
November 11, 2008 at 6:21 pm
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