Ben

Their effort was cute, but not as well thought out as Neighbours' anniversary nod to EE. But, I guess they didn't have much time to think up a decent concept.

I did like the Aunt Babe/Jason Donovan scene (as it reminded me of Rowena Wallace's character Mad Mary kidnapping Pepper), and the Kat/Alfie one, as well as the comedic scene with Cora blowing smoke in Linda's face, only for her be engulfed in smoke.

But, Mick/Nancy carrying out the dead body seemed odd, and Lee boozing on the bench dreaming of Susan was just weird.

The actor who plays Kirin is 21, while actress who plays Vanessa is 39 (even though she doesn't look it).

That was the worst episode this year. Les and Pam are awful, but so is Donna, and sadly, I can't muster up the will to care about Carol's story, b/c it should have happened last year. It's like they didn't care enough to finish her cancer story after she was given the all clear, so they're randomly revisiting it now (despite the fact Carol has been her usual self for the last few months), and if they don't care, I don't see why I should.

I can't believe they're going to waste Ellen Thomas' character on Les. Seriously, of all the men, she has to be attached to him?! I can't wait for the awful reveal of Pam discovering her husband has another woman. The Cokers are so pointless - even more than Donna.

Les, Pam, Donna, and Nancy have had no development since they arrived last year, but we're now supposed to care about them. Nancy sure spilled all the tea to Tamwar really quickly. She has a big mouth.

I like Shabnam and Kush, but they're giving them boring material. What was the point of Shabnam's secret? It's had no affect on her at all since she spilled to Stacey. Now her and Kush are being wasted with this secret-romance-that-no-one-knows-why-it's-a-secret-romance story.

I like Tamwar (or at least how he used to be). He always worked best when he was with interesting characters, like his family and Afia. But since Zainab, Syed and Afia have left, he's had no one to bounce off of, and due to being shelved for the last 3-4 years, he slowly become boring and very dull. Now I feel Himesh Patel is just phoning it in, and sadly Tamwar has been reduced to a caricature, due to having zero development. I'm really not feeling him and Nancy like I thought I would; they don't have any chemistry, and I don't believe Nancy would look romantically twice at someone like Tam. I always thought Tam would have worked better with Lucy during that time she had her cancer scare.

How unrealistic was Kat getting all of her stock stolen? Everyone just stood idly by watching as they took everything.

Some of the cast of B&B wish Neighbours a happy birthday! It's so cute.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjFw8-Ugt44

New promo for the anniversary week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PquhrIisenI

I've actually grown to like Linda, and I think she's the only Carter who I like watching. I think the writing has been poor for the whole family, and I think Mick and Linda were never developed enough to sustain the amount of air time they have had. DTC came in and decided to put his family on screen - big mistake if you're only basing the characters on your family in one particular story (Johnny's coming out), b/c once that was over, they all lacked direction, and ended up changing their personalities (Linda aside). They were certainly not the mega hit DTC intended them to be.

I like Linda b/c I think she retains some sense of likeability underneath it all. I can see the type of character she's supposed to be, but has yet to realise it. You can tell she's supposed to be a woman who has had a lot to deal with from a young age, who has pulled herself up and carried on regardless; she's still with her childhood sweetheart, and that's actually, quite sweet; she likes to be in control, and cares about what other people think (makes sense when she had Lee when she was a teen). But where they went wrong was not communicating her reaction to Johnny being gay, as it made her appear unsympathetic and kinda homophobic when that wasn't the case; then they had her keep so many secrets to the detriment of the character. I don't believe Linda would have kept the rape a secret for as long as she did, or from Mick; I don't believe she would have kept the fact her and Mick aren't married from the kids (that seems ridiculous).

I just don't care for Mick, Nancy, Lee, Tina, and I hate victim Shirley. Stan's OK, but he's dying soon, so no big loss really.

I like seeing Linda interact with Kat and Sharon, b/c I think all the Carters need this - they're too isolated and wrapped up in their dramas, which has damaged them further from not having friends to interact with. Mick's "friendship" with Ian is forced and contrived, Nancy has no friends, Lee just has whitney, and Tina only has Sonia. I thought Linda and Sharon was another contrived pairing, but recently, I've enjoyed their scenes together. What the Carters need is to have a break from being frontburner, and just play supporting roles in other characters' stories; give them time to breathe and develop.

ETA: I didn't really like the Linda/Kat stuff, as this type of pairing always leads to regurgitated dialogue. Anyone who shows they have standards, who are ever so slightly middle class, gets accused of being snobbish and looking down on everyone else, like Lord and Lady Muck. Urgh, Kat - your so far in the gutter, even the local hobo looks down on you. That whole episode was a bore-fest. Of course Shirley had to be randomly included, who added nothing to the group.

Kim's story is a mess, and lacks the emotional integrity it should have. I think this should have been the time when we saw Kim and Vincent interact, not have him be this mystery man off screen (while we wait for filming to catch up to Live week), like viewers hadn't guessed is her long-lost husband. Her whole explanation of what she saw Vincent doing sounded like a joke.

What bothers me is that yet again we have a rape story on a soap where a woman going to the police about her attack leads to nothing but grief and absolutely no justice.

Soaps like to talk about all the groups they work with on rape stories, but what this increasingly means is they’re using these groups as a cover for melodrama and fear.

If more women choose not to go to the police because of what happened to Alicia, then it’s just sad and it’s wrong.

I think it's more important that they present this in a realistic way. The only way the CPS would take on the case is if there was some kind of evidence, and Alicia unfortunately has none due to the nature of the attack. It would be wrong for the show to present this in any other way. But, we know that there is the photos on Lachlan's laptop, which if not deleted, could be used as evidence of stalking, and could be enough to persuade the CPS to press charges. The sad reality is that most rape cases don't end with a prosecution or a prison sentence.

I really don't feel ED are using this in any sensationalistic way to create melodrama, b/c so far, it has been written sensitively. With a story like this, it is so difficult to present it realistically and at the same time be positive about reporting sexual attacks straight away, as the two don't always gel in real life. At least they have shown Alicia to be treated respectfully by the police and in a sensitive manner. I hope it doesn't discourage people from reporting attacks as well, as you never know whether your case will be one of the success stories in getting a prosecution.

It's way better than the time Corrie's Carla was raped, and the cops treated her harshly, like she was in the wrong, not to be believed; or the time HO had John Paul get sent to prison after being set up by his student rapist for inappropriate behaviour with a student (Sam the cop being vile to him as well); or EE having Linda keep her rape a secret for months for no real reason other than to create drama, while throwing in an unnecessary who's the daddy? twist; or recently on Neighbours, when Terese reported her almost rape to the police, only for the story to randomly vanish like it wasn't important (accidental on their part, I'm sure, but still...).

Channel 5's 30th anniversary promo (the video to match the cast photo).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1S4WErqsx4

Promo for the documentary - Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite. It will air on Ten and Channel 5 on Monday 16.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jSiNiIf9NE

Apparently so. Chris' departure hasn't been officially confirmed, yet, but a reliable source has confirmed it to be true (the kind of source that people believe).

The show is neither confirming or denying anything (much like with Bailey's rumoured exit), which is probably the best way to go.

The omnibus used to have a fixed slot on a midday Sunday, which used to pull in a decent figure for that time of day. Occasionally, it would be moved to BBC2 for sporting events, like Formula 1 or the tennis, etc. But, over the last few years the ratings fell, and more and more sport occupied the slot, pulling in better ratings, so from a business perspective, the omnibus had become kinda pointless (especially with DVRs/PVRs/iPlayer/BBC3 rerun). It did disappear all together for a few weeks, but people complained, so they brought it back in a Friday graveyard slot, which seems to rate similar to what the Sunday episode used to (it could be that it's helped by Graham Norton being its lead-in some Friday nights).

I get why the actors would be upset, but the fact is, the whole notion of an omnibus is kinda outdated in the age of on demand services and catch-up TV. iPlayer episodes pull in more viewers than the omnibus does sometimes (I realise there's no way of knowing how many viewers are watching more than once).

Where did you hear/read about the change in pay, Tim? Will being paid weekly instead of by the episode be a negative thing?

A few cast shots that have been released. For some reason, they've yet to publicise any shots of the Willises, Kyle & Georgia, and the Turner men.

Thanks. You can tell she's genuinely touched.

I did watch it. Stefan Dennis was great, and the girl playing Zoe was surprisingly good. I also laughed at Susan slipping on a puddle of milk - isn't that how she lost her memory 20 years ago?

I liked the genuine congratulation to Eastenders. Neighbours really does have a kind heart.

I saw some interview with the guy who plays Harold, talking about how he feels like the show is in good hands now, which he didn't the last time he visited. It's a real contrast to the guy who plays Alf on Home & Away and his recent comments about that show...

Yeah, that whole spoof was kinda retro in nature. Susan's love of soaps was acknowledged (which it hasn't been since 2004), and she did indeed slip on spilt milk, and lost her memory in 2002. The accents generally were a lot better than I thought they would be. I did like the Kat/Zoe spoof with Naomi/Paige, and then Lauren appears to say, "No, I'm her mother," highlighting how Paige was Lauren's long-lost dead daughter from 20 years ago.

I hope EastEnders do something to congratulate Neighbours on turning 30. It would awful if they didn't. I think it's a nice, easy thing to do, especially in the social media era. The soaps used to do this kind of thing in the 90s, and then it all fizzled out for some reason.

Ian Smith was right the last time (either 2009 or 2011), and he's right this time. Susan Bower didn't love the show the way a producer should have, and Ian even had to tell her in 2011, that the way the characters were all behaving was unpleasant to watch. I remember he said he had to fight to get them to write a scene where he visited Madge's grave, before he married Carolyn, b/c Harold would never do anything like marry another woman without consulting Madge. The fact they had Harold marry Carolyn never felt quite right, anyway.

From what has been said of the H&A producers, they don't take criticism lightly. Ray (Alf), actually went to the previous producer (Cameron Walsh) in 2009 saying the same thing (2009 was the year they had a people smuggling mystery last the whole year), and that gave way to the boring 2010 year, which went the complete opposite. I'll be interested to see what the current producers make of his comments, especially at a time when the last of the original Braxtons (who have dominated the show) leaves this year. Hopefully they'll inject some balance back into the show. Ray is probably the only one who can get away with criticising the current team - Robert Mamone (ex-Sid Walker) was the last actor to openly criticise them for writing Romeo's cancer story so badly, and they responded by firing him (which he alleged in a tweet).

Maybe Bossy gets a love interest for the 30th anniversary!

Maybe she will. I don't think it's a coincidence that the mystery dog is the same breed as Bouncer was - maybe this dog will be a relative?

I uploaded it to my photobucket account. I'll leave it there for a few days, but I may take it down, just in case of copyright and stuff.

http://vid1248.photobucket.com/albums/hh498/BeachDude44/Jackie%20Woodburne%20has%20a%20message%20for%20Oscar%20winner%20Eddie%20Redmayne_zpsq22bgdgg.mp4

OK, I'm going to attempt to upload it somewhere else.

Have you guys seen the EastErinsborough video they did congratulating EastEnders on 30 years?

Where did you try watching, Carl? (Just so I don't end up posting the same one you can't view!)

Yeah, I'm not too big on the "Aaaahhhhhhnnnnneighbuhrrrrrrssss" themes that they've had. This one seems like a backtrack to the earlier 2000s. I prefer the 1999ish theme from the eps Oxygen showed back in the day.

The idea was for the theme and credit shots to be retro, a throwback to the original, 90s, and early 2000s styles. The broadcast version was slightly altered so the vocals aren't quite as drowned out by the music as they are in that video you posted. They do take a while to appreciate, that's for sure.

Here's the 2015, 30th anniversary cast photo.

(Left-right)

Top Row: Kip Gamblin (Brad Willis), Eve Morey (Sonya Rebecchi), Ryan Moloney (Toadie Rebecchi), Ariel Kaplan (Imogen Willis), Travis Burns (Tyler Brennan), Colette Mann (Sheila), Scott McGregor (Mark Brennan), Josef Brown (Matt Turner).

Middle Row: Tom Oliver (Lou Carpenter), Rebekah Elmaloglou (Terese Willis), Tim Phillipps (Daniel Robinson), Jenna Rosenow (Amber Turner), Stefan Dennis (Paul Robinson), Jackie Woodburne (Susan Kennedy), Alan Fletcher (Karl Kennedy), James Mason (Chris Pappas), Chris Milligan (Kyle Canning), Morgana O'Reilly (Naomi Canning), Harley Bonner (Josh Willis), Olympia Valance (Paige Smith), Kate Kendal (Lauren Turner), Saskia Hempele (Georgia Canning), Meyne Wyatt (Nate Kinski).

Front Row: Bossy, Calan Mackenzie (Bailey Turner), An unknown mystery dog, that is not on screen.

I'll post some of the new cast photos if anyone's interested (or hasn't seen them). They were taken when they filmed the opening credits.

It's hard to believe Nicola was a flat out bitch and Bernice was her foil and semi-comedic central heroine.

I've always felt Nicola's progression has been natural - may be it helped that I skipped the De Souza era? She still has moments of bitchiness and the schemer she once was, but pairing her off with Jimmy has really mellowed her for the better. Bright Eyes is right about N&J: they have become one of the backbone couples and heart of the show, and who would ever have believed that?!

I'd never have imagined David being a schemer - that's certainly not what he is today, or has ever been for the last few years. I'm glad they moved him away from that. Can't imagine he or Nicola would ever flirt with each other, let alone sleep together. Did this all happen in 2008/09?

Chloe was an interesting character. So spiky, but she had a heart deep down underneath, when given the chance.

I'll never understand why they killed Carl off.

I loved Chloe, but she was never used to her full potential really. I remember her being in the triangle with Syd and Scott (Syd was another character they wasted), and I do remember some of the Carl/Chas story. Didn't she concoct a fake pregnancy or something to snare Carl? I'm sure she faked something at the time.

I don't know why they killed off Carl; another silly, thoughtless stunt by Blackburn.

I've been avoiding Corrie because I'm so let down by the cheap ass, pathetic stories they've given to Todd to destroy the character, but I may have to watch some of this (I guess this is what Cotton has been talking about not getting any backlash - Sean is so asexual, no wonder).

Don't watch - yet. I haven't watched Corrie for over a year, then yesterday I saw an episode, and it was so boringly dull. Nothing happened at all. It certainly had that Blackburn look and feel to it that ED had when he was exec producer: grey and miserable with not much happening half the time. It reminded me why I tuned out in the first place.

There was one scene with Sean and that guy; they looked like mates, when I think they are supposed to be dating. Todd was acting nasty and jealous for some reason. Tim spent the episode locked in a house being scared of a rat; Gary took some orders in the cafe and dropped a cup; Steph, I think, harped on about making sure Audrey knew how to do black hair; Les Dennis mopped around looking permanently miserable and melancholic for no reason that was stated (is he always like this?), which made Gail look like a ray of sunshine; Michelle outed Steve for being clinically depressed after Norris was being hateful.

Getting rid of Terry and, especially, Viv the way they did was unforgivable. Viv could still have played a major part on the show, and I would rather have had her still on the show and gotten rid of Bob. Terry on the other hand lost some of his relevance back when Chris Tate died, so his death wasn't as upsetting as Viv's was. But I would still have preferred if a Dingle or two had died before him....

Terry would have been much more interesting to keep on than Bob. I hated how they killed off Viv, and I think that was quite spiteful of TPTB at the time who were having "issues" with the actress (I forget her name). It would have been so much better if they had bumped her to recurring, that way when new producers would be hired to replace them, they could have reinstated Viv. Of course that's wishful thinking; most writers seem to let their egos do the thinking and they make decisions that ultimately damage the show.

For Robbie, Megan was probably his closest relationship, and they shared some lovely moments; both would have protected each other, even though they acted like they hated one another at times. It was frustrating in their last year, b/c Megan acted like Robbie didn't exist for months, due to the PTB forgetting about them.

You could feel that Declan and Megan loved each other a little too much, like it would at times step over the line and fall into something more creepy. They both had each other's backs, and were super loyal to one another to the point of extreme; at one point, all they had was each other, and their closeness was unbreakable, no matter what either of them did to others or each other. I don't think the incestous vibe was intentional, just something that came about from the actors that the writers picked up on. Declan and Megan's last scene together was of him kissing her on the lips, before going underground (nothing passionate, but enough for it to be a bit odd for siblings).

Nicola in full on bitch mode is awesome, but she's been toned down a bit over the last few years. She can still deliver the odd acid tongued quip when she needs to. Her and Jimmy are really good with the comedy, too.

I wasn't watching during that period with the Valeyard. What was that all about.

ITA about David and the buzz cut. He suits it longer and more styled, something that suits the character, IMO.

I'm a David/Alicia fan, and knew they would eventually get together during the whole Priya saga. I think his pairing with Priya was quite frustrating b/c David was only with Priya b/c he thought Alicia didn't love him; it all hinged on communication errors and pridefulness from both parties who didn't want to admit their feelings to each another (this part of the story seemed to drag on for months). Priya's character wasn't that sympathetic then, so I think it really helped her character when she developed anorexia while pregnant, as it enabled viewers to see her vulnerable side and flesh the character out a bit. In the end, Priya suits Rakesh more than she did David.

Nicola got pregnant last month, only to discover she had a rare-ish condition - I forget what it was called, but it meant there was no baby, more like an empty shell had formed which meant the pregnancy would not progress. She wanted to try for another baby straight away, but has since been unable to sleep with Jimmy. She's just realized that she has no desire to have sex at all.

James is a failure. I don't know if it's the character or Bill Ward's acting choices, but something has gone wrong. It's quite odd thinking that he's related to John, who was much more of a charismatic character than dull James.

On another note, Megan has just run off with Fake Archie. I wonder where they're going with this story?

It all comes back down to the awful pacing, and the over reliance of plot over character.

Isolate the Shirley/Mick story from the rape story, and you have a simple story that features a whole host of complicated characters that had a year's worth of material at it's feet; if this had been Emmerdale, they would have gotten all they could out of it for the entire year, and we would have felt every beat of the story.

Babe had a crush on Stan when they were kids, and she has been jealous of her sister ever since. This should have been foreshadowed months ago, instead of randomly revealing it for shock value. They could have fed off of the sisters' rivalry and bitter resentment for a couple of months, with Babe struggling to care for Sylvie, sometimes restraining her out of bitterness, while Sylvie struggled to keep her mask from slipping. But no, we don't get any insight into any of these characters relationships or emotions b/c it isn't important compared to the shock value plot twists.

Shirley only told Mick all of this so she could earn his sympathy, while throwing everyone else under the bus. It was all an excuse of course, b/c Shirley never owns any of her actions. So, Shirley got pregnant without realizing (b/c Sylvie hadn't bothered to tell her all about sex, contraception or even what her period was all about), and Sylvie wanted her to get rid of it, labelled her a tart, etc, beat her, and pushed her down the stairs. Sylvie is now evil, a 1940s Cruella di Vil, so nasty and twisted as she spits at Shirley that she should have had her aborted, while lurching from demented to lucidity at leisure. But wait, lets not forget that Stan used to be reviled by his family for being nasty, too (before he turned out to be relatively nice with an acerbic tongue), so it turns out he used to hit Sylvie while being a violent drunk. Babe is revealed to be short for Baby, as their parents couldn't be bothered to name her, and it was Babe's idea for Shirley to pass Mick off as her brother - Babe entered as bit of a nasty character, who it turns out is just quite sad. Shirley blames them all for her problems. They even try to convince Mick that Shirley was a good mum as she took care of him and Tina after they got them out of care. (I swear, the timeline for all of this is so small!)

However, none of this explains why she ended up being an awful mum to Dean and Carly, considering she apparently married Kevin not long after abandoning Mick and Tina to live with drunken Stan. None of it explains why they all act as if they weren't estranged for years (something they all seem to forget). Shirley's Wicks history jars with her Carter history due to the retcon.

It's all very theatrical (DTC is a theatre fan and it shows) and melodramatic, but due to the poor pacing, structure and a lack of heart, the whole thing left me cold. All of this happened after Mick & Linda told Lee and Nancy the truth about the rape, and Mick admitted to feeling like he failed Linda by not protecting her. The guy has a lot going on up stairs, so to throw this Shirley mess at him was too much - the guy should be having a breakdown with everything he has to deal with. And a better actor would be able to convey all of that.

Tim: I don't think it's Matt Di Angelo's fault, as the writing just isn't there. It's not focused on exploring the characters emotionally, so Dean is just reacting or advancing the plot when necessary. I do like Linda, now, and feel she has a lot of potential. Her character is leading the rape story right now (after months of it being all about the plot).

Thanks. I was asking because I thought I read something about him being charged with something - maybe I misread it.

Someone was saying that Dan and Ali were mostly presented as the couple in this episode (with the Rachel story). I'd say maybe the show was heading there but I guess since they just had her marry Ruby last month, maybe not.

Have you been reading any spoilers for the Aaron/Robert/Katie/etc. story?

Rakesh gave Jai half of the money to pay Josh and get "his son" back. Rakesh pointed out that if they call the police, he could be done as an accomplice to child trafficking or child abduction. They are all up to their necks in a whole heap of trouble.

Gotta say, I never saw this twist coming, and it was awesome. Never has a soap literally shocked and surprised me in a very long time. One of the brilliant things about this is that I'm sure they used the same child actor who played Archie when he left for the same kid that Jai "brought", so for the viewers, it was the real Archie and no-one ever suspected a thing. For the first time in 2 years, Jai, Megan and co are finally involved in a story that has captured my interest. I did feel a tiny bit sad for Jai when he realized that he didn't have his son all along, but that quickly disappeared the moment he decided he didn't care about Fake Archie; at least Megan had the sense to remind him that he's just a kid and needs them. I get the feeling Megan will want to hold on to Fake Archie for as long as she can.

They already went there with Ali/Dan months ago. They had a ONS, Ruby found out, dumped her, then married her a few weeks later. I don't think Kerry has forgiven Ali, yet.

Are you looking for spoilers about the Aaron/Robert/Katie story, Carl?

But I did just see a Youtube clip of her being sentenced to two years! What did she do?

What hasn't Charity done?! Yeah, she's the blonde who alerted Moira to the fact Cain had an aneurysm, and has recently said she's still in love with Cain.

Charity and Cain used to be a couple; Debbie is their daughter.

Charity pulled suicidal Declan Macey out of Home Farm after he set it on fire due to being heavily in debt. They ended up falling in love later down the track, but to begin with they were a couple for appearances only. Declan needed the insurance money to pay off his debts and rebuild Home Farm, so Declan suggested framing her cousin Sam for the crime. Sam at the time had broken into Home Farm with the intention of stealing his Christmas presents as payback for firing him, but had a change of heart and put them all back, but he was caught on CCTV. Charity felt guilty for framing her cousin, so decided to blackmail Sam's girlfriend Rachel Breckle as revenge for having a child with Charity's then husband Jai Sharma. Charity gave Rachel an ultimatum: confess to starting the fire, exonerating Sam, then leave town with her and Jai's son for ever, or, stay and let Sam rot in prison. She chose the former. Jai was devastated at losing his son, and Sam was heartbroken. The insurance money paid out, and Declan and Charity started their new life together.

But, Declan's sister Megan didn't trust Charity and wanted her gone. Declan wanted a baby, but Charity didn't want any more children; she didn't feel she was the maternal type, and really after screwing up Debbie's life, she had Noah (her son with Chris Tate) who has acted as a "do-over", and didn't need or want any more children. But, a baby was a deal breaker for Declan, and Charity got pregnant. Only, she didn't want it so got an abortion in secret. Charity framed Megan for "killing" her baby after they got into a fight, and Megan was ostracized by Declan. Megan teamed up with her son Robbie to uncover the truth, and once they did, Declan went on an epic revenge rampage by poisoning Charity, then luring her to a secluded cottage where he bashed her over the head with a meat tenderiser, and planned to bury her alive. She escaped onto a boat where Declan surprised her; he aimed the flare-gun at her, but Robbie swam to stop him, jumping in the line of fire. He died. Declan sent a DVD to the cops (and everyone else) confessing to starting the fire, and blaming Charity for the insurance fraud, framing Sam and blackmailing Rachel.

It would have been her word against Declan's if the corrupt detective Bails hadn't been out for revenge. Charity used to be a prostitute and it turned out that Bails was her pimp (someone correct me if I'm wrong), and later his life got messed up as a result when Charity got out. Bails blackmailed Debbie's boyfriend Pete into convincing Charity to confess to all the charges. She eventually decided to do the right thing by Debbie and made a confession. Rachel returned to give evidence, which sealed Charity's fate. Hence why she got two years.

Rakesh is awesome; he's such a likeable character, and I love his little unit with Priya and Kirin. When he arrived, they billed him as villain, I think, and gave him that boring blackmail story with Jai, which has thankfully fizzled to nothing. Jai was shouting from the rooftops that Rakesh couldn't be trusted, but never revealed why for no logical reason other than being a douche. It never went anywhere.

I hate Jai and Megan. I used to like Jai with Charity, but as soon as they split, he became such an unlikeable jerk. He doesn't really have any redeeming qualities at all. He's rude, obnoxious, arrogant, and really needs to go. The wrong Sharma brother left the day Nikhil went to Canada. Megan randomly latched on Jai and they became an item, even though they have no chemistry. It felt like they were paired up b/c Megan was drifting about. Now, Megan has stayed with Jai after finding out about his affair with Layla, which is very out of character. I guess it's b/c she doesn't want to be alone, but still, she's given away all of her self respect and dignity to bloody Jai of all people. Megan should have left after Robbie was killed and Declan went on the run, as she's a spare part with no connections to the village. She's also pretty boring, too.

I'm also not keen on the idea that Jai is some kind of super catch. Layla is falling all over herself to be with him, even though he's not treated her well at all. They're another couple with no chemistry, and Layla is another woman who is giving away her self respect to Jai.

This is what bugs me about ED at the moment: 50% of the show is decent, with potential, and interesting characters leading story, while the other 50% is awful.

Dodger's exit was dumb and super contrived (what's new).

Part of HO's problem is they have this penchant for hanging on to characters when they shouldn't. Dodger and Maxine should have left together, that's where the story was heading, and would have felt natural. But no, Dodger must go on the run b/c his incest daughter pushed his half brother off of the hospital roof, and he'll definitely go jail, despite Will trying to kill both of them moments before. If Sienna, Patrick, Freddie, Grace, Trevor (and basically every other villain in the last 2 years) can escape any charges brought upon them, change alibis and statements at the drop of a hat, then surely Dodger could have wriggled out of this.

Such awful writing.

KMan: You're right about Dodger being isolated from the rest of the cast. They seemed to have forgotten about his friendship with Darren over the last year, and for some reason, he barely shared any scenes with half the cast. I think that was a shame, as he was a decent character who had chemistry with everyone he worked with. I guess they prefered to focus more on the Roscoes, Ste, Sinead and mixing them up with as many characters and stories as possible all at once.

Shame Charity had to go down, but a necessity for the character. I bet it wouldn't have happened if EA wasn't pregnant. Now she's revealed she's in love with Cain (again), I guess this will be the story focus for when she returns in a year's time.

Don't like Rachel, so not happy to see she's back permanently. But, it does explain why they chose to bring back the awful Tracy. I'll have to FW what will surely be the tedious triangle of Rachel/Sam/Tracy.

I read on DS that if two men are in bed, one of them has to have a shirt on, like Aaron did in the barn. If that's truly the case I think if the writers could go farther, they absolutely would.

I think that's something some people have picked up on, but something that isn't necessarily true. It's something they do HO, which people have noticed happen on other soaps for some reason. A notable exception would be that scene of Christian/Syed in bed on EE, where both actors were shirtless. I think sometimes it's just directors playing it safe and sometimes living up to what has become a "thing".