River City Feed

Beware Billy the Butcher

2012-10-09T16:23:08+00:00

He's just not happy at all.

Was I the only one who just couldn’t imagine Sean Kennedy with a dad? He seemed like the kind of nasty dude who sprouted out of the ground, straight from the gates of hell, to wreak havoc on the good folk O’Shieldinch. But it turns out it he had a family and everything! Plus it’s apparently true what they say – the hard guys have the mumsiest mums and the most psychotic dads. He. Was. Terrifying!

Even when he was playing it cool, Billy the Butcher was menacing and, after his gravelly voice-off with Gabriel, even the Don of Shieldinch couldn’t get him off his quest for revenge! It wasn’t long before he showed his true colours and to the person who deserved it least. Poor Stevie, he was traumatised enough just seeing Sean deid on the floor. Imagine what he’s going to be like after getting jumped, hog-tied and whacked about the gob. Nicole is going to have to put up with sleeping with the light on for the next few weeks, we reckon.

But while trouble at the Tall Ship seems never ending (seriously, there’s bad mojo in that place, do you think anyone’s going to drink there again?) it was all sparkle, cheer and exceptionally early tinsel in the Mullen household as Scarlett decided on a plan for Christmas…in early October. Never underestimate Scarlett when she’s on a mission of enforced funand sure enough she managed to recruit Jimmy, Kelly-Marie and even Molly to the cause. Though, we have a sneaking suspicion that Molly has been waiting for yonks to float her hooch idea around the table. Betcha it was her back up plan to get out of doing the washing up that night.

Next week:
Gabriel is trying to convince his family to give him another chance…again.

Quote of the week:
SCARLETT: I’ve got an idea.
JIMMY: Never!
SCARLETT: A special family Christmas!
JIMMY: Aye, and do you know what you’re getting? A calendar. It’s October woman!

Aaaaaaaaangie! You Don’t Have to Turn on the Red Light

2012-09-07T17:54:46+00:00

Angie's reaction to her reassignment

Jeez Louise, we’ve been waiting on that for weeks now! All Hail the return of Sir Gabe! He finally lost the black jacket of pimpdom and donned the white hat of a hero. F-i-n-a-l-l-y. We were more than a little worried that Gabes was so scared of Sean that he wasn’t actually going to help Angie when Sean decided to send her to his mate’s flat in Newcastle (which sounds like the seventh circle of hell from Angie’s description). All it took was for Angie to confront Gabriel with the spineless Yes-Man he was becoming for him to see the light.

Well. That and realising the complicated web of connections between him and Angie, up to and including Nicole, Cammy, Sean and his bro Michael, all sung to the tune of ‘It’s a Small World After All’. The people you meet in the strangest places, eh! It was sweet to see Nicole and Angie reunited after the last time they met and for Angie to confront Nicole with a couple of home truths. There may have been affairs happening all over the shop with The Geyla but at least Nicole had a home to come back to and people that cared about her. Poor Angie, it was heart-breaking to hear that the only person she felt ever cared for her was Cammy Tennant (aka Cam the Bam). She deserves so much more. Good on you, Gabe. You finally managed to do something right and put Angie on the Clockwork Orange to a brand new life.

But now we are holding our breath. Has the sun finally set on the awful, awful reign of Sean “Shady” Kennedy? Has he gone forever? He did seem pretty panicked when he waved a gun in the Don’s face and he did manage to get Tony the Tiger-Gangster nicked at his arms deal. All in all, looking pretty stupid for him to stick around. But, as Lenny says, how much do we trust Sean Kennedy to be smart?

Across town, Big Bob was handling his recent brush with death with some rice cakes and a large helping of denial. According to him, everyone was overreacting and setting up a healthy-snack lined prison. He’s fine! It took a very quick game of tig with Madonna to convince him otherwise. After everything that happened last week, even Iona raised her eyebrows; telling him to take better care of himself as she broke the news that she was leaving for good. Poor Iona, she definitely looked like a film star and a tragic one at that as she hugged her loved ones goodbye and left Shieldinch for good. Cheerie, Iona! We’ll miss you.

Next week:

Raymond finally gets a break from Shady Sean and is hit with the pub being closed. IN THE FACE! Gabriel is looking cheerier than ever and is that a new ability to talk with Nicole we see?

Quote of the week:

TATIANA: *as Bob starts to get up* Don’t! Even think about it.

BIG BOB: Aye, well, I’m quite comfy right enough.

Here’s to you, Missus McIntyre

2012-09-03T16:28:36+00:00

Iona jumps to the rescue when Big Bob collapses

Bloggage Fans, we have been away for a couple of weeks and we can tell that you’ve missed us. We are terribly sorry to have deprived you of all the best of Shieldinch gossip. But now we present you with a blog extravaganza from the last four episodes. Enjoy!

Wow! That was quite the roller-coaster of emotion. We’re not going to lie, for a couple of moments there we might have had to imagine a Shieldinch without Big Bob. A Mini-Market with no cheeky chap behind the counter, a guitar with no one playing to lift people’s spirits and a Molly with no one to harass nurture. Our hearts were in our mouths (pun unintended) when Big Bob collapsed and, like Iona, we were yelling out for him to wake up! But, unlike us, she definitely kept the heid and managed to keep poor Bob alive until they got him to hospital. And that was just the beginning of the drama! As Iona explained, she had been given a sacred responsibility (by the Clydebankite-Japanese dude she once dated) to take care of Bob now she had saved his life. And decided the best place to announce this was in the middle of the hospital waiting room with his terrified wife and family. Smooth move. You definitely didn’t want to mess with the O’Hara/Mullen clan combined and it was quite a show of force when Tattie, Scarlett and Molly sent her packing.

Tattie, meanwhile, was also given a vigorous talking-to by Molly, who demanded to know if she was in for the long haul or looking for the first exit to a Bob-less future. Those two have had their ups and downs but there was definitely a little tear in the eye when Bob made the grown up decision to make his marriage work rather than walking off into the sunset with Iona. Poor Iona’s heart was in the right place (and she made sure Bob’s was) but it was definitely broken when Big Bob gave it to her straight. Here’s hoping that Iona finds a fella in her pastures new and Big Bob sticks to his guns and keeps himself healthy.

Elsewhere, Nicole was making big life-changing decision but definitely not based on the contents of her wardrobe. But it looks like Leyla and Nicole are right back on track. Could the mistakes of the past have been put behind them? Here’s hoping, and with Nicole working with Robbie AND getting an education, we’re definitely looking forward to the future for this young lady. #haveyourcakeandeatit indeed.

Next week:

Eeek! Shady Sean wants Angie gone but Gabriel is refusing to help her. Come on, Gabe! We know you can do the right thing! And Big Bob’s back from hospital so Scarlett’s turning the O’Hara’s into a biscuit-free zone.

Quote of the week:

TATIANA: I’m going home.
IONA: Back to the Ukraine, aye? Brilliant! Send us a post card.
TATIANA: Home here.
IONA: Aye, that’s probably best. You don’t want to get knocked up again, do you?

Farewell Doctor Dan

2012-09-03T16:28:35+00:00

Dan confronts Gabriel at Sean's flat.

Oh, dear. *Dabs eyes* We were all getting very teary-eyed as Doctor Dan said his goodbyes and took the long taxi ride out of Shieldinch to start on pastures new in North Africa. He even managed to make up with BFF Gabriel before he left and it looked like these two would never speak again after Dan found out Gabe’s secret about working with Sean. After his lovely safe send off from Malcolm, Liz and the Health Centre staff, it must have been quite a shock for Dan to find out just why Gabriel’s not been hanging out round the Arcade so much. You could have cut that scuzzy brothel air with a knife when he blasted his look at Gabriel. You know the one, it’s like that awful look your mum used to give… I’m not mad. I’m just disappointed. We’re surprised Gabe didn’t spontaneously combust from the glare.

What ever happened to Sir Gabe, knight in shining armour? He’s got a bit tarnished now, especially when he didn’t let Dan phone an ambulance for poor new girl, Charlene. Maybe this will be the nudge our Gabriel needs to find a way out of his horrible situation? Or maybe not. When Gabe finally got a chance to explain his side of the story and the whole tangled web of Leyla, Michael and Shady Sean came spilling out, poor heroic Dan’s head must have been spinning. We were all set for Dan and Gabriel, the dynamic duo, to save the day when the good doctor offered to stay. But we kind of have to agree with Gabe’s assessment. Dashing as he may be, Shieldinch’s resident George Clooney wouldn’t have had a snowball’s chance in hell of scaring off Sean.

But! There was hope across the Street. We had out the Lenny flags and the Lenny bunting up, all ready to see him gangster-off with Sean. Things were looking up and, judging by how scared Sean got with Lenny’s mention of the naughty step, the Don certainly has a better chance of chasing him off than the Dan. But no. Ever a dark horse who marches to the beat of his own….cab horns, Lenny is still refusing to get rid of Sean once and for all. And for all his protests of it not suiting him and playing the long game, we are just a teeny bit suspicious that the lordy doth protest too much. Are you a bit feart, Lenny? Come on! We believe in you! Sort that Sean out and send him to bed without tea.

On the other side of the street, things were looking a bit brighter with Iona winning £50,000. Um....we’ll have what she’s having! And it seems like it might be what she was thinking after she saw Tattie with Doctor Dan. That was some nifty fishing with Molly, Iona, we were very impressed. But what’s your game, missus? We’ll have to wait and see.

Next week:

Could this be the end of Tattie and Bob, Shieldinch’s starcrossed lovers? And is Iona making her play for Bob’s big heart?

Quote of the week:

LENNY: Look, I’m going to make this simple for you. Do what you want but stay away from my family.
SEAN: Or what?
LENNY: Do you want putting on the naughty step?

The One Where Robbie Takes Amateur Sleuthing to the Next Level

2012-09-03T16:28:35+00:00

Robbie looking through Will's phone

So. Well. Things didn’t finish up too well in Shieldinch this week, did they? And for Robbie they certainly didn’t start too well either, what with having his lovely flat trashed and then working himself up into a MAJOR tizzy when he found another man’s number in Will’s phone. Even here at RC Towers we had a moment of doubt. Could our Will have been cheating on Robbie? Would he be so cruel? Would he even have time considering the long hours he spends looking into Shady Sean’s underworld and saving the day in most crime-related incidents in Shieldinch?

For Robbie, the answer to all was a definite, paranoid ‘Yes’ and against the advice of Deek (and Kelly-Marie and Nicole and pretty much everyone who’d given it a moment’s thought) he stormed round to confront his rival!

But poor Robbie. Who could have guessed that Edward was Will’s dad and he would be so cruel and nasty about his own heroic son. Robbie was sent back to Shieldinch with a flea in his ear and regret in his heart. But he still managed to make it ten times worse by A) yelling at Will’s dad over the phone and B) not admitting to it with Will when he had the chance. Now, we will acknowledge that going through your boyfriend’s phone, shimmying open his LOCKED personal drawer and managing to systematically destroy his relationship with his father is all a teeny bit mental and Will had every right to be royally cheesed off at Robbie. But that’s just it. Cheesed off. Not violently elbowing him in the gut! We’re seeing a bit of a pattern here. It starts with Will losing his temper and doing something nasty to Robbie, Robbie running off and then getting coaxed back by Will and taking all the blame on himself. The words ‘cycle of violence’ are on the tips of our tongues, Robbie. No matter how bad you behaved no one deserves to be hit by their better half. Here’s hoping Robbie is able to stand up to Will as well as he stood up to Will’s Nasty Pop.

Tattie and Raymond weren’t getting elbowed in the side but they were getting stabbed in the back this week. Raymond trying to live through Murray and playing hard-man with his unknown car buyer spectacularly backfired when the mystery man turned out to be Sean himself! Ooh, Raymond even we were wincing at those sour grapes when Sean forced you to hand over your own money to pay for it. The big question remains…when is Sean going to stop?

Meanwhile, Tattie’s dreams of having a relaxing holiday were totally scunnered when Big Bob “accidentally” spent all the savings on a new computer for Christina. Low blow, Bob! Tattie was so looking forward to some fun in the sun after her year from HELL. She wouldn’t even let Molly and Christina tag along! Mind you, we would pay oodles of money to see what would happen if Molly had her way and she and Christina went to live it large in Ibiza! Any other takers? Shall we have a whip round?

Next week:

Doctor Dan is leaving. (One, two, three – Nooooooooooooo!) and Lenny seems about to put Sean on the naughty step.

Quote of the week:

MOLLY: Listen, how do you think you’ve done in the exams?
BIG BOB: She’ll have done brilliant.
MOLLY: Let’s hope so. Otherwise, all the effort you put into them would be a complete waste of time.

Eileen and the Tale of Teddy Terror

2012-08-29T16:46:00+00:00

Ever heard the fable about the happy squirrel who tried to do too much? The happy little squirrel decided to help everyone else with their business because she was so fabulously excellent at everything she put her mind to. One day, she saw that her baby-daddy was having problems with a nasty bully who was extorting money from him and so she took the most sensible course of action and...organised a back-alley drug deal! Really Eileen? Really? At what point did this seem like a good idea to you?

Never mind that her plan not only involved having poor wee Stevie buying her smack, but there was a whole second part that involved her sneaking up on Shady Sean and planting his own smack in his pockets! Who on earth could have seen that plan going wrong? But of course, poor Eileen had no idea what on earth she was getting herself into and really thought she could outwit Shieldinch's Criminal Mastermind. But never underestimate a man who is chauffeured by a bunch of heavies. It was a scary moment there when Sean cornered her in her own house, scary enough for Eileen to go and admit to Will that she decided to try her hand at entrapment. It looked like proper sour grapes when Will had to break it to her that she wasn't above the law. Ouch. That must be hard for her to swallow. So what can we learn from Eileen's experience, kids? Shady Sean isn't a Teddy man...he'd much prefer a Mr Frosty.

But it was poor Stevie who was bearing the brunt of it this week. Despite angrily chewing on his nails and spitting out 'No Comment' when Will accused him of being a drug fiend (again), he looked so sad in his cold prison cell. Didn't you just want to climb into the pokey with him and give him a great big hug? Anyone? No? Just us then. Losing his job was just the cherry on the cake! What's going to happen to the Brodies now without his valuable bartending income? Well, at least Leyla's cut down on her booze expenses.

Speaking of, Leyla has given us a crash course in things NOT to say at your very first AA meeting. In summation, anything involving what an awful drunk everyone is except for you, laughing at the prospect of having to keep yourself sober and, numero uno, telling your sponsor that you'd kill for a drink the minute you leave the AA meeting. No wonder she needed some home truths from the Dashing Doctor Dan.

But what's this? What's this we hear? Are you leaving us Doctor Dan? Who are these Peace Doctors anyway? You could hear the NOOOOOOOOOO all the way in Greenock when our medical genius announced that he's leaving. But let's hope he gets a good send off if he is deserting Shieldinch for pastures new.

Next week:
Is Don Raymondo finally standing up to Shady Sean? And - we can't even bear to think about it - could Will be cheating on our Robbie?

Quote of the week:
Leyla: It's not like I was knocking back cans on the steps of the library or anything!
Sees man sitting next to her who has clearly done just that.
Leyla: ...uh....sorry.

WATCH OUT WORLD - LEYLA'S ON THE LASH

2012-08-03T18:33:00+00:00

Ahhhhh the perils of sweet alcoholic nectar, eh Leyla? One minute you're stroking the muscular thigh of Hot Tom, the next...well, Murray wouldn't have been our first choice despite his nice car.

Poor Mrs Brodie. Life hasn't been an easy ride for her this last couple of months, and sometimes it's all too easy to take the whisky drink. And the vodka drink. And the lager drink. And the...three bottles of wine. It's no surprise Murray had a chance of getting lucky after that little lot. But kids, here comes the science bit. As Leyla learnt to her detriment, alcohol will not solve your problems. It'll make you fall over in pubs, full-on-mouth-snog inappropriate men and force Dr Dan to perform emergency vomiting procedures in your living room. Leyla's near brush with death seems to have hit home though and it was good to see that she's finally acknowledged she's got a problem. For a fleeting moment RC Towers held its breath as it looked like a Geyla reunion might be on the cards! But...alas, it is not to be. I think we can safely say a flame will always burn brightly between these two, like the Olympic Torch of Love. Well, for the next two weeks at least.

A la Mrs Brodie, most people go to the pub to escape their problems but Raymond's are right on his doorstep. Shady Sean is just getting mean now. Threatening Eileen is one thing (she can be a bit of a handful sometimes). But wee Stuart? Cute l'il Baby Stuart? Now that, Shady, is a step too far. Not even Donald and Cooper, the crime fighting dynamic duo, had much to offer on this one. But getting out of town is no option for Raymondo. Our favourite landlord leaving his beloved pub? NEVER! Instead he's taken the heart-breaking step of moving Eileen and Stuart out of the family home and out of reach of nasty gangster-types. Poor Raymondo. How long can this go on?

Montego Street ran rivers as the tears flowed for the departure of the gorgeous, wonderful and much loved-up Hayley. Just in time probably, or we might have been watching Hayles and Leyla going at it hammer and tongs over Hot Tom (we told you he was a hottie, see?!). Aside from Deek's thoughtful (if not slightly weird!) pressie, the gang were out in force to send Shieldinch's favourite young lovers into the sunset, and down south to Brighton near London, remember! We'll be sad to see our Hayles go, but turn down the chance to live on the beach? You're joking?! We're right behind you Hayley! (Mainly because we like watching Tom from behind!) It was also a lovely emotional send-off for our well-loved actress Pamela Byrne. RC Towers was lucky enough to host a live web chat for her straight after the show this week. Read through the questions and Pamela's answers. Congratulations if she answered your question!

Next week: Raymond's been robbing Peter and Paul, Shady Sean's making a stand and Deek just doesn't get Will...

Quote of the week:
Big Bob: Look, don't take this the wrong way, right, we've all done it. But do you think you've maybe had enough already?
Leyla: Right. And you're some kind of expert on moderation are you? You really know when enough's enough, eh? When to stop stuffing it down?

Fancy a chat with Hayley?

2012-07-30T13:32:37+00:00

We have some very exciting news for you all. After tomorrow night's episode Pamela Byrne, aka Hayley, will be joining us right here for a live chat. Get your questions in right now and join Pamela from 9-10pm. You can also join in the discussion at facebook.com/bbcscotland or @bbcscotland using #askRiverCity.

He's Got 99 Problems but the Ship Ain't One

2012-07-26T15:52:37+00:00

...Or so Raymond thought. But the lovable landlord of our favourite local found himself properly in the mud this week. Enemies were kept close while friends were stabbed in the back and now we've got Shady Sean and his equally shady cronies hanging around the Ship all day and all night! Poor Raymond. By the end of the day, even Jimmy was done with his bezzie mate when Raymond broke the cardinal rule of Bro-Code - never ban your mate from your bar!

Mind you, he probably didn't really help matters by going all Raging-Bull-De-Niro on us! He stormed round to Lenny's, thumping his chest with passion and pride (proving too much for his 40s-style detective Dictaphone) and then chucked out poor contrite Jimmy with all the pomp and bombast of Paul Vitti in Analyze This!

He even had a handle on the labyrinthine mind games of the Shieldinch Don. The Ship's been ransacked but he's not going to report it to the Police, cause that's what Lenny wants him to do, so Lenny must have a plan that he'll cleverly outwit by not doing the thing that Lenny seems to want him to do. Aha!........eh?

Best be leaving it to the real gangsters, Raymondo. And unfortunately, that's exactly what happened! We thought it was too good to be true when we saw Sean actually being....pleasant? Nice? Polite? And we were right! It was all a ploy to get Raymond in Sean's manky pocket. But Gabes?! What on earth were you doing?! Hands up if you were yelling at your TV in horror when Gabes lied through his teeth and stuck up for Sean? Immediately delivered, discounted booze with no money upfront, Raymond? You don't have to have a good nose to smell that this was a dodgy prawn in your curry. Even Stevie could see this was not shaping up to be a great situation and got the penny to finally drop.

Gabes himself did not look happy about it but did he really need to take it out on poor Leyla? We had high hopes for a rekindled romance for The Geyla when she invited Gabes round for dinner. But after being rejected so coldly, Leyla's seems like she's fallen off of the wagon big time and the only dinners she'll be having in a while are going to be liquid. How long before the kids realise that her early nights are actually binges in disguise?

Elsewhere, friendships were being tested over at No. 18 when Robbie took advantage of his Special Robbie Discount to buy the salon on the cheap. But he can't do it alone, and you can always rely on Good Old Deek to save the day. But he hadn't reckoned on the business acumen and controlling powers of Will. Poor Deek didn't see it coming at all. And though we love Will and Robbie together, we have to say that Deek was speaking some pretty uncomfortable home truths. Hmm, Robbie, you might want to watch that one and his patronising couch-pats.

Next Week: Raymond fights back! But will the exterminators clear the rat in his roost? And it looks like Leyla's drinking is catching up with her.

Quote of the week:
Robbie: You like me, don't you?
Will: Robbie, everybody likes you. I love you.
Robbie: Well, that's good.
Will: Isn't it.

The True Story of Rebel Bob - Lover, Fighter, Queue Jumper....

2012-07-20T14:45:40+00:00

It's been a bittersweet few weeks for Wee Bob. Excited about prospective baby-ness (despite Stella's intensive procreation schedule), the pair overcame that rough patch when it turned out Stella was a healthy baby-making machine. Horrible then for Bob to discover that he is, as Molly so delicately put it, firing blanks. But it's a bit more complicated than that...Bob's little fellas aren't great at swimming and once they get there, well, they're in no fit state to do the deed. Cue some heart-wrenching moments as he struggles to tell his lovely lady wife the bad news. Not even jumping the queue at the Oyster gave him a chance to reveal the truth.

Trapped in a pincer movement between Matriarchal Mullens he eventually spilled the beans to Scarlett, who with all her customary tact, proceeded to tell just about everyone who'd listen in Shieldinch. Including our Stella ... Uh oh. Devastated Bob took his anger out on anything to hand...a spanner, the car bonnet. And then, in Shieldinch's answer to Bridget Jones, Stevie. In RC's very own Hugh Grant/Colin Firth tribute, these two were only broken apart from the hair-pulling and head-locking when our fave DC stepped in to break up the fisticuffs.

Understandably devastated, it took Stella to break him out of this reverie. This, people, is true love at work. They're at their best when they're together and babies or no babies, this pair deserve a break. Come on Baby-Gods-of-Fate, make it happen!

An interesting trivia fact though - did you know Wee Bob has never been in a spaceship? Strange, but true.

Slightly closer to home (though only slightly), Brighton looms large on the horizon for our Hayley. Brighton, near London? Well, only in relation to its distance from Glasgow Hayles! Should she follow love's true dream and move with Tasty Tom down south? Give up everything in Shieldinch for a new life near the beach? YES! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU WOMAN?! GO! It took resident agony aunts Malcolm and Liz to kick things into focus and say 'Hayles, when it's right, it's right'. And there are some lovely cafes down there. Just sayin'. An initially devastated Robbie eventually decided to accept the inevitable and pulled out a classic from the Penguin Book of ClichÃ©s. We've all heard the classics - 'it's not you, it's me'; 'every cloud has a silver lining'. And his choice? 'Love doesn't come with a safety net'. So true. Trapeze does though, so if things with Tom don't work out maybe Hayles could consider a future in the circus?!

So, as if there wasn't enough change going on in Shieldinch this week...possibly the weirdest and most unnerving change of all was still to come. Shady Sean being...nice? Well this surely can't be right. Someone get that spaceship back down here...it's lost one of its passengers. (And we can try to get Wee Bob a ride, we like to make dreams come true.) It's always nice to bond with the local publican, but when the thing you've got in common is a shared hatred of Lenny Murdoch, it's not likely to end well. Even Gabe looked shaken by this new and frankly upsetting union. We've got bad feelings in our waters people!

Next week, Raymondo dsicovers the Ship in a terrible mess, and Robbie ponders over an offer he really shouldn't refuse!

Quote of the week:
Zinnie: Eileen put me in charge and I think you need to work.
Scarlett: Well, you carry on thinking, you need the practice.

Birds, Bees and Buffay - It's the Shieldinch Circle of Life

2012-07-13T10:57:50+00:00

After the traumatic events of this week's episode, it feels like a good time to take inspiration from that 20th century philosophical genius, Phoebe Buffay.

Sometimes, men love women. Sometimes, men love men.

And that's really all there is to it. But not for Paul and Ben, Shieldinch's local homophobic-pint-drinking thugs. Poor Robbie was up in court this week, faced with his nasty attackers, all smug in their cheap suits. Subjected to a right rollicking from the mean old barrister, our Robster was left feeling the cold hand of justice, as testimony from Hayles and Will got thrown out with the bath water. As Will rightly said, they wouldn't have met each other if it hadn't been for them....mmmm. We're stroking our metaphorical beards thoughtfully. Maybe Will isn't everything we hoped he'd be?

Here at RC Towers, we're beginning to wonder if Deek's worries might not be unfounded. In Robbie's darkest moments, Will could only let his anger get the better of him, pushing past Robbie and forcing him against an old rusty nail in the doorframe - health and safety first people! Will seems to have more faces than Big Ben right now - one minute playing caring cop with Robbie's friends, the next, he's denying touching a hair on pretty Robbie's head...we thought his violent streak was reserved for the likes of Shady Sean in fairly-public-places. After everything Poor Robbie's gone through, surely Will isn't turning on him too? When your fiance's more interested in chasing down dead bodies than being by your side in court, no amount of smoked salmon tartlets will smooth over those cracks. Lets just hope Will isn't about to get all Sue-Barker-with-a-bazooka on us...

Meanwhile, Leyla seems to have cleared the house of anything resembling alcohol (yes, even that old bottle of voddy hidden in her shoe). She's clearly having a bit of a struggle with this one, but still isn't ready to hold her hands up to the problem just yet. True, a quick drink after work is not the same as shooting up in an alleyway Leyla....but stashing bottles of vodka in the wardrobe and setting fire to the house is surely heading in the right direction! And was it really soda water in that glass?! We've all pulled that trick, and no one ever believes it! With Stevie and Nicole doubting her every word, will their tough love work? Or force Leyla back to where she started? To be fair, watching to make sure Leyla's not drinking might be the least of Nicole's worries. Stevie looks pretty handy with that tea towel...

Finally a bit of good news for Stella and Bob - looks like she's got the all clear on the baby-making front - phew! But they're still not preggers...so, what have they been doing wrong?! Stella's got every leaflet and sexual positions poster out there, she's timed their 'trying' to within an inch of their lives and pestered Poor Wee Bob til he broke. They can't still be in the dark about the birds and the bees?! Maybe all they need is some time, space and a bit of peace and quiet...not likely with Scarlett sneaking around making euphemistic references to sausages. If anything's going to kill the mood, it'll be that!

Next week, Bob's going to the doctor...and it's definitely not for that leg hanging off. And what's this, Tom's off down South? NOOOOOOOOOO!

Quote of the week:
Scarlett: Some folk take ages getting pregnant. Others just get up the duff before you can say 'babygrow'...

It's a Party for One and It's Not Going Well

2012-07-06T18:22:04+00:00

We've all done it, haven't we? Woken up and realized we'd sent that voicemail or message that we didn't mean to? Pranged that car and thought about just driving away? Danced around the living room to our favourite sexy tune getting quietly smashed all by ourselves? Yes, ok, we'll give you that - but all in the one night? Then followed by two bottles of wine with three quarters of a bottle of vodka? Leyla seems like she's really gone too far this week and is in some serious denial.

How on earth was she still standing? Her attempts to hide it from Nicole were pretty pitiful. And sneaking the bottle top off the table isn't really covering it up when she was blasting the music up full volume at 10 o'clock at night. She was also terrible at hiding the car accident as she stared intensely at Murray's damaged wagon in a public place. At the end of a very drunken day, even enabler Nicole was wavering at Leyla's mid-afternoon binge! Cleaning up your step-mum's vomit? Now that's dedication Nicole and Stevie. And after seeing Leyla sitting pounding back the vodka in floods of tears, it seems like things are going to get worse before they get better.

Speak of poor wee souls, awww, Iona. Her face was a picture when she saw her beloved Tom snatching some more kisses in the street with Hayley (though way to go guys - right in front of the mini-market is the BEST place to hide it). Even Robbie was offering to help Iona take a pop at Hayley as our two fabulous ladies fought it out over Tom. Their argument at the Ship almost looked like it was going to descend into catfight central with the poor guy sitting next to them at the bar pretending he couldn't hear a thing! But, being classy through and through, they'd barely been fighting a day before they made up. Hands up though if you were hoping for a Tom-Tug-of-War? Honest, now!

Liz and Malcolm, the couple that give us hope that true love knows no age, were being very sweet this week. Liz's admission that she's scared about Malcolm slipping away from her would have melted the hardest heart and, despite his doubts, Malcolm just couldn't let her down. With a bit of hesitation, his nifty piano skills came right back to him after just a look from Liz.

Just stray observations but who thinks "The Hungarian Clown" is the romantic film of the year? And our Deek's getting cheeky in his old age, what with cheerleaders making him 'think' and all.

Next week: Robbie has to face his attackers once more. Let's hope there'll be no more homophobic pints for them...in jail.

Quote of the week:
Murray: I don't want your money
Gabriel: You're not getting it. Bob is and you're getting your mid-life crisis tragic wagon brought back to its form glory.

Secrets, Lies and Games of Pool

2012-06-28T08:40:49+00:00

Isn't getting a new job meant to be a cause for celebration? Champagne popping, balloons and stuff....but Gabe's 'promotion' in this week's episode must be one of the worst ever. We're not sure how much of a step up it is from dodgy laptops to running prostitutes, but we're thinking Gabe should be feeling pretty hard done by here. At least before the worst he could get was a complaint about the sound card. Oh Gabe, what's gone wrong? But he wants out, it's mean Ole Lenny that won't let him escape...even though Lenny feels Gabe owes him, was this really what he had in mind? Poor Gabe's at the end of his tether, living a life in the criminal underworld is definitely not all it's cracked up to be. So what's his bright idea? Going to the police! Put down the Kool Aid and wake up Gabe - this can never end well!

The only upside to this whole situation is that Sir Gabe, our Knight in a Shining BMW, seems to be rearing his head again. As cray-cray as this situation is, Gabe genuinely wants to help these girls - if he has to be in this horrible place, the least he can do is try and keep them safe. Nice idea but he's playing a dangerous game though, Shady Sean doesn't seem like the kind of guy that would take betrayal very well....And what's this little spark between our Gabe and Angie? Just relief that they've found an ally in each other, or perhaps something more? Gabe did rather seem to be belittling his boudoir talents in front of her though...that's no way to kick things off, is it Gabe?! Maybe she'll be won over by his lovely hair.

One person who isn't susceptible to Gabe's charms is Luscious Liz, who gave him a sizeable piece of her mind after his outburst at a terrified Malcolm. Good on ya, Liz! Not only defending your man but giving Gabe an ultimatum to sort himself out. If only it was that easy...

But now ladies and gents, we return to our coverage of the world's most inept pool tournament, held today at the Tall Ship, Shieldinch. Seriously guys, if a misspent youth gives you anything it's a basic talent for pool. What with Robbie missing shots all over the place and Tom deliberately messing up to impress, what kind of gamesmanship is this? What's wrong with some good old fashioned competition? In fact, we challenge them to a game of pool right now. We've already put a pound on the table - it's on!

But what's this? Tom's missed shot was all a ruse to get our Hayles into his clutches!
We wouldn't mind our favourite Geek Chic fella kissing us roughly outside the Ship. Lucky girl Hayley. He probably deserved that slap, but she certainly didn't mind partaking in round two later on, did she? Could this be the beginning of a beautiful new thing for Hayley? Awww, we hope so!

But while Robbie is off playing pool, his fiancÃ© is chatting up Gabe at the bar. Ok, he's fishing for info, but 'How you doin'?' as an opening line Will?! That only ever works for Joey Tribbiani, and you know it.

Next week in Shieldinch - Quelle Surprise...Leyla's drunk again. How is the mini-market keeping up with her demand?!

Quote of the week:
Lenny: 'I've got your back'
Gabe: 'Then all I've got to worry about is my front'.

New Opening, New Characters and New Website!

2011-10-05T11:06:35+00:00

We have so much to discuss this week! Where to start?? Well how do you like our new swanky website? The darker colour scheme ties in with our new opening titles for the show which I think look pretty darn good. River City has got all sleek! What do you think?

This week also saw the arrival of some new faces. First, we had Doctor Handsome, I mean eh, Dr Dan Hunter who was welcomed to Shieldinch by a traditional Glasgow Kiss from Lenny! Oft, that was some head butt! Hopefully he'll have an easier time of it next week.

Then we had the mysterious blonde sidling up to Lenny at the bar. But wait, haven't we seen her before? Why yes, she was at McCabe's graveside looking very upset and giving Lenny dirty looks. So why by the end of the episode was she in Shieldinch batting her eyelashes at him?! Suspicious!!!! WHO IS SHE?!

Lenny got about a bit this week - it wasn't all head butts and sultry blondes! He spent time trying to convince Amber to let him take the blame for McCabe's death but to no avail. Amber is staying in prison for a long time, not only that, she's transferring to another prison far, far away because fellow inmates "won't let her sleep" - never heard of Nytol darlin?

Lenny then went into meltdown: got ridiculously drunk, got all philosophical at McCabe's grave, smashed up his office, threatened Murray, head butted Dr Handsome, decided to leave town and tried to sell Gabriel his half of the arcade. Phew! Kelly-Marie saw some of this madness and decided that she wouldn't tell Lenny that Bugsy Malone is his grandson. However, it looks like Lenny might be on to her anyway! He spotted her at Ewan's grave and was struck by the similarity between Callum and Ewan, the Mighty Murdoch won't be letting this one go!

Bob and Stella are very sweet aren't they? Things got a bit shaky when Stella started freaking out about their relationship moving too quickly. The idea of dinner with Bob's family had her panicking and winking like a maniac. She needn't of worried though, the Mullens don't need heirs and graces, they were happy with a chippy and some Irn Bru, but aren't we all?

The Brodie famly were being dysfunctional as usual and it was Uncle Gabriel to the rescue! Conor and his stupid mates were bullying Nicole. Leyla despaired and didn't know what to do. If she'd told Michael, he would have stormed in all guns blazing which would have solved nothing. Instead Gabriel solved it calmly and reasonably by talking rather than shouting at the kids. Who knew that Gabe could be so sensible? Ha, in your face Leyla! He ain't as dumb as you thought he was!

It's been an eventful week so let us know what you thoughts on the episodes, new website and new titles by commenting below.

One last thing - River City will not be on next Tuesday, you can see the next episode on FRIDAY 14th October.

Quote of the Week
Gina (to Stella): "And seriously, you have to work on your winking, it really wisnae clear." - this made me laugh because it really was the worst winking I've ever seen!

Fabulous Brodie Brothers...

2011-07-27T13:57:53+00:00

Well, well, well, we have a new crime fighting duo in Shieldinch - The Fabulous Brodie Boys! Their arcade got smashed up, Leo 'The Brawn from Sauchiehall' Brodie went all Van Damme on the culprits while Gabriel played the level headed voice of reason. After the clear up, the Arcade Brigade went on a mission to find out who was behind the ransacking and with a little help from Raymond and Stevie they realised that it was Not-So-Legit Lenny pulling the strings. Gabriel confronted Lenny and headed off feeling quite chuffed with himself, he even called Lenny "wee man" - are you crazy Gabriel?!?! Shieldinch Rule Number 1: Never underestimate the Mighty Murdoch...

My favourite bromance of Raymee and Stevie looks like it's come to an abrupt end! After battling Eileen admirably throughout the episode, Stevie has ended up having to leave anyway as he's now on the run from his old gang mates. But he had so much potential, he slotted in perfectly with the Shieldinch residents - he's got the banter, the charm and a good heart! Surely this cannot be the end?

And is it also the end of Jimmy and Scarlett? Scarlett is now saying that she wants a divorce and Jimmy is gutted. On a happier note, they have Big Bob's wedding to look forward to! The invitations have been sent so it looks like we need to start buying hats ladies! And you know what a Big Bob/Tatiana wedding means? Oh yes, I feel a potato pun fuelled blog coming up!

In backstage gossip this week, a big congratulations to Stephen Purdon (Wee Bob) who got married at the weekend. We wish him and new wife Nicola all the best for the future. Also, I can't wait for Bob to return from Peru - it's not too long now!

Quote of the Week
Gabriel (to Lenny): "You might think you're untouchable, but I'm warning you...wee man, never, ever underestimate us."- it's not actually funny, but it's the most foolhardy thing I've ever heard anyone say!