Planet Sean

spoiler alert: this post makes reference to the June 23 episode on CBC

It was sad to see Marcus pull away from Coronation Street in a taxi, leaving Sean in tears and Eileen with the damning observation that he (Sean) was probably making "the biggest mistake of his life."

Marcus played a key part in recent stories on the street. He helped Maria through her pregnancy crisis and the trauma of her dead baby. He helped Sean through his fatherhood crisis and the never-ending strife with Violet. (Don't forget his Botox training - ed) But the real genius of his character was that he helped make the notion of a 'gay' storyline or a 'straight' storyline irrelevant. He was simply a good character and an interesting addition to the Street regardless of his sexual orientation.

Of course, he still had to deal with the inhabitant of what he calls "Planet Sean" (population: 1) and that has proven to be too much even for Marcus. Sean is impetuous and insecure. One minute, Sean wants to be a dad. The next minute, he's in Ibitha with Lauren. The next minute he's being fired from Underworld. Marcus cannot deal with the selfishness. "I'm sick of being your straight man," he says during their breakup fight. Sean is sincerely remorseful but it seems that it's too little, too late. To be fair, Marcus was staying with his ex (the mysterious Noel) in London and didn't provide full disclosure to Sean about his past relationship with Noel. But all that is ancient history now as Marcus seems to be exiting Coronation Street in a one-way taxi ride.

Then, just when you reflect on how homosexual characters have evolved on the Street, Jerry Morton comes home, observes his neatly tidied house and assumes it was the work of "gay burglars".

Marcus. come back. We need you.