What a great way to celebrate 'Coronation Street's 50th anniversary - blow half the place up! Actually, it is not the first time this has happened - in 1967, poor Ena Sharples ( hairnet and all ) got buried under the rubble when the tram came off the viaduct. The only new element this week was some nifty special effects, courtesy of The Mill, responsible for trickery in both 'Merlin' and 'Dr.Who'. Can we expect The Street to celebrate its 51st anniversary by having Daleks and Cybermen shoot it out on the cobblestones while Ken Barlow struggles to reverse the polarity of the neutron flow? I cannot wait.
Back on topic. 'The Party's Over' begins with Sir Greville informing Alan that a Government geologist named Quail ( Moray Watsn ) made a mistake concerning North Sea Oil. It is due to run out sooner than expected. The P.M. wants to go the country before the economy crashes, and Alan is put in charge of the election campaign. As expected, he runs a seedy, cynical campaign, wrapping his party in the Union flag whilst promising free gifts for all who vote Tory such as shopping vouchers, a Michael Heseltine 'Tarzan' T-shirt and a 'Gazza' car tidy. The Tories shoot up ten points in the polls. But Sir Greville is not happy. He had hoped Alan would make such a mess of it the party would lose, letting Labour in and taking the blame for the imminent financial crisis. There is only one thing Alan can do now - put Piers in charge...
This episode has a touch of 'The Rise & Rise Of Michael Rimmer' ( a wonderful 1970 film starring Peter Cook ) in that it satirizes the marketing of political parties. Rumours flew that the Tories wanted to lose the 1992 election so that Neil Kinnock's Government would take the rap for the E.R.M. ( Exchange Rate Mechanism ) fiasco. As we know now, they won with a small but comfortable majority and the next few years were hell for John Major. Politics is a strange business all right.
Funniest moment - Piers admitting to having voted Labour by mistake at the last election.
Second funniest moment - Alan's Party Political Broadcast, which plays the patriotic card for all it is worth and features footage of a weeping Paul Gascoigne. According to Alan, Gazza was upset at the thought of Labour returning to power. Draped by two sexy girls, Alan concludes with: "Well, there you have it!". Glancing at the girls, he adds: "Well, I did anyway!".
Back on topic. 'The Party's Over' begins with Sir Greville informing Alan that a Government geologist named Quail ( Moray Watsn ) made a mistake concerning North Sea Oil. It is due to run out sooner than expected. The P.M. wants to go the country before the economy crashes, and Alan is put in charge of the election campaign. As expected, he runs a seedy, cynical campaign, wrapping his party in the Union flag whilst promising free gifts for all who vote Tory such as shopping vouchers, a Michael Heseltine 'Tarzan' T-shirt and a 'Gazza' car tidy. The Tories shoot up ten points in the polls. But Sir Greville is not happy. He had hoped Alan would make such a mess of it the party would lose, letting Labour in and taking the blame for the imminent financial crisis. There is only one thing Alan can do now - put Piers in charge...
This episode has a touch of 'The Rise & Rise Of Michael Rimmer' ( a wonderful 1970 film starring Peter Cook ) in that it satirizes the marketing of political parties. Rumours flew that the Tories wanted to lose the 1992 election so that Neil Kinnock's Government would take the rap for the E.R.M. ( Exchange Rate Mechanism ) fiasco. As we know now, they won with a small but comfortable majority and the next few years were hell for John Major. Politics is a strange business all right.
Funniest moment - Piers admitting to having voted Labour by mistake at the last election.
Second funniest moment - Alan's Party Political Broadcast, which plays the patriotic card for all it is worth and features footage of a weeping Paul Gascoigne. According to Alan, Gazza was upset at the thought of Labour returning to power. Draped by two sexy girls, Alan concludes with: "Well, there you have it!". Glancing at the girls, he adds: "Well, I did anyway!".
