Archives for September 2008

Are you ready for tonight? We'll find out if Ruth and her baby are okay, Liz gets very frustrated with Malcolm, and the game's up for Zoe. Can she leave Shieldinch quietly? Of course not! There's a big brouhaha brewing...

River City is repeated on Sunday, 28 September at 1330 on BBC One Scotland. And, as ever, it's on the iPlayer. Can anyone remember what life was like before the iPlayer?!

Inspired by a request from dcampbell42002 (catchy name!), I tracked down the latest poems from Liz's writers' group. Here, for your delectation, are some more offerings from Deek and Malcolm.

Black Rain by Derek Henderson

In the middle of the night it comes again.

The black rain.

Like dead man's fingers it tap, taps on the windows

As it has since I was a wean.

It's always there,

The black rain.

On the sunniest day, when the skies are blue,

It hides inside my heart,

It lies there waiting till I'm feeling good,

Then it knows just what to do

One drop, then two.

It starts off slow, but then it gets quicker,

Till I'm soaked to my skin,

I'm cold and bruised,

But it knows I ain't no quitter.

I'll fight the rain,

I'll take on the storm,

It can try but it will never beat me.

And as the waves crash and

The wind rips up trees by their

Roots, I stand on the cliff top,

Naked and proud, and I scream to

Any who will listen, that this man is

No an island.

And still the black rain falls.

Drip, drip, drip.

'YOU' by Malcolm Hamilton

I was nothing till I met you,

the glove that fits my hand,

the hand that holds my heart.

You cannot know,

You cannot see,

That without you,

There's nothing of me.

Every moment with you is precious

You brighten up my day,

If only I could find the words,

But how could I say....

....that you're the reason that I wake,

And when I go to sleep,

My dreams are filled with thoughts of only you.

You, the sun I orbit,

The beat of my heart.

You, my friend, my pal.

You, my life, my love. You

So there you have it. I think they say an awful lot about what's going on in those poor guys' heids. Malcolm's brought a tear to my eye, especially cos Liz thinks he wrote it about his late wife, Rose. :(

PS Full credit must go to writer Ray Brooking for getting into the minds of our two poets.

Regardless of whether you're on Team Rossi or Team Cullen, last night's show was really moving. I felt so sorry for Ruth and am intrigued to see where she goes from here. Is the baby okay? Will it have a daddy? What kind of mum will Ruth make?

As ever, there was comic relief from Scarlett. I loved it when she turned round to Eileen and said, "I heard the Murdochs found a bloody finger in their soup. Now, correct me if I'm wrang but does that not break about a million health regulations?". Sometimes Scarlett can be awfy canny.

I've already admitted to being on Zoe's side but (maybe I'm just fickle!) I don't think she did herself any favours last night. Even considering being bought off by Lenny is awful. Having said that, would I rather be with Rory or have £10,000? Let me think... Okay, I'm packing my bags. See ya!

PS Before I skip town, don't forget you can watch the show again on the iPlayer, and catch up with what happened in the episode guide.

We've been waiting a long, long time for Ruth's baby to pop out but there are only a few more hours to wait. She was actually due to give birth on the 24th October but nothing in Ruth's life goes to plan, does it?

Marty is, of course, the baby's biological father but Scott was drafted in as the surrogate daddy until Ruth's 'outing' of Zoe damaged their friendship and broke off their arrangement. I reckon he's a far better option than that cheatin' so-and-so Marty.

Soooo, tonight is the night. After an earlier miscarriage and Ruth's recent traumas, will the baby be okay? Will it be a boy or a girl? What will Ruth name it? My money's on Marty or Zoe ;)

BBC ALBA, the new Gaelic television channel, started its life on Friday and one of River City's most famous faces helped launch it. Tony Kearney, aka Scott, is one of a host of Gaelic singers who took part in a specially recorded version of Runrig's Alba. Fact fans may like to know that some of the others involved were Karen Matheson, Cathy Ann MacPhee, and Arthur Cormack.

You can watch the video now on BBC ALBA's beautiful website.

So, Scarlett and Jimmy are taking over the Tall Ship while Raymond is off on his wild goose chase (cynical, moi?)! Will the pub be covered in leopardskin print by next Tuesday? Will they be selling dodgy DVDs from behind the bar? Whatever happens, Eileen is going to hate every minute of it :)

I've been meaning to vent about this since Tuesday night so apologies for my tardiness. That Sharon is doing my head in. Raymond believed every word she said until Eileen and Shona made him doubt her, and now I really can't see him believing his ex-wives again. Do you think Sharon's in the relationship just for the size of Raymond's wallet? Or is her sneaky side just on show to wind up Eileen and Shona?

As for Shona - I really wish Eileen hadn't got in the way 'cos I'd love to see Shona and Raymond back together. What d'you think?

On the topic of love, how much does Liz fancy Malcolm?! I confess to being a little bit jealous but I do think they'd make a lovely couple. Will Malcolm let pride get in the way of a little bit of romance?

I'd love to know what you think!

Tuesday's show is repeated on Sunday on BBC One Scotland at 1320. And it's on the iPlayer already! Did you know that already?!

Check out the Spoilers page to find out what happens next Tuesday. Ssssh, keep it to yourselves!

I saw this still from tonight's episode and thought it was amusing. I don't think the writers' group is really Bob's thing, do you?

I'm just about to rush away from my desk for the weekend but I thought I should share some River City related facts.

Allison McKenzie, who used to play Joanne, is taking to the stage as Lady Macbeth! She'll appear at the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh and you can find out more on the theatre's website. The Scottish Sun ran an interview with her today, in which she also revealed that Daniel Schutzmann (her boyfriend, who played Marty) will be appearing in Coronation Street soon. Watch out for him waiting tables at Carla's hen night.

And, closer to home, Chris Brazier (aka Ewan) is in No.1 magazine this month. Here's a sneak preview of one of the magazine's photos.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

You can see Tuesday's episode again on Sunday, 14 September from 1340 on BBC One Scotland. Or watch it on the iPlayer!

I'm trying to feel sorry for Ruth in her latest drama but I'm not sure I can bring myself to sympathise too much. I mean, I know she's not well but she's been so cruel to so many people. She sat on the knowledge that Zoe had slept with Marty for MONTHS, pretending to be her friend, whilst secretly planning her cold revenge. That presentation was soooo devious.

I thought folk might have an opinion on this so I just did a quick straw poll of my colleagues and, er, I think I've started a couple of wars. I wasn't expecting such passion! Ruth's fans reckon she's a woman scorned and Zoe's a wee tramp (I'm politely paraphrasing here), while Zoe fans think she was driven to it and it was Marty who was in the wrong.

Can anyone sit on the fence here?! What team are you on? Team Rossi or Team Cullen? We're all now desperate to know what you're thinking. Please do share!

Hello! There's a new spoiler on, funnily enough, the Spoilers page. It tells you what's going to happen next Tuesday so don't read it if you like a surprise. Tell me what you think by using the 'comments' bit below.

Ruth's outburst last week was just brilliant - she never does anything by halves and I'm sure you're dying to see what happens to Zoe after The Big Revelation. There are only two hours to go until the next episode! Watch from 2000 on BBC One Scotland and then shimmy back here and let me know what you think. For starters, Rory confronts his girlfriend. The poor guy had no idea she was a prostitute who gave Marty syphilis... but now EVERYBODY knows.

Find out more on the Coming Up page and on the Spoilers page, if you really, really want to know!

Earlier this week, some of the River City cast and crew went on location to film at St. Michael's church in Dumbarton. I've been sworn to secrecy about what they were shooting but there's no harm in you having a guess, is there? Go for your life...

River City is repeated every Sunday afternoon. This Sunday (7 Sept), you can catch it on BBC One Scotland at 1305. It's on the iPlayer, too, as if you didn't already know that :)

As I write, some of the ladies of Shieldinch are getting very glammed up for a photoshoot! Morag Calder (Ruth), Jenni Keenan Green (Heather), Libby McArthur (Gina), Sarah McCardie (Sharon), and Lisa Gardner (Jo) will appear in the October edition of 'Scottish Women' magazine, to celebrate their relaunch. I'll let you know when it hits the shops.

There's a new spoiler and photo on the Spoilers page! I know some of you hate to know what's coming up so don't go there unless you're happy to lose the element of surprise when you watch the show.

If you want to talk about this spoiler then you can comment below. If you don't want to know anything about it then please look away now!

Cora Bissett, who played Niamh's dodgy mate Yvonne in River City, is a woman of many talents. One of her most successful ventures is directing a play called 'Amada', based on a short story by Isabel Allende, and you can see it around Scotland during September. It runs at The Arches in Glasgow from Thursday, 4 September until Saturday, 6 September. You can find out more, including the rest of the tour dates, on The Arches website.

Calling all Ruth fans: do not miss tonight's episode! Ruth's had many eventful moments over her years in Shieldinch but tonight she surpasses herself. I don't want to reveal all just now but if you really want to know what happens then check out the Spoilers page.

So, it seems appropriate to relive some of her finest hours. We've been discussing it in the office and have been remembering fondly such scenes as Ruth charging up the stairs then chucking her mum down them, and the time she kidnapped wee Franco. She's also stabbed Scott (he must be a forgiving guy), returned from Italy with a secret husband, rifled through Marty's medical files at the surgery, and beat up Iona twice!

The episode that really got us talking today is when she took her revenge on Marty on Valentine's Day. She let him think all was well before handing him a syphilis leaflet, disguised as a Valentine's card! She chucked him and all of his clothes out into the street, then forced him to sell his business to Lenny and give her the proceeds. Marty was quickly sent packing and believes his wife has since had an abortion.

Two of the team are now arguing about whose idea it was to disguise the syphilis leaflet as a Valentine's card...

You can relive Ruth's life with Marty in our photo gallery, and watch some of her classic clips.

What are your favourite Ruth moments? I have to confess to enjoying the scene in which she beat up Iona, before Roisin and Gina save the day :)