LondonScribe

I hardly go on the Digital Spy soap forum, but I did today and I’m reminded that it is 20 years since Family Affairs aired its last episode.

This aspect about the way the rumour was conveyed annoyed the heck out of me. It was so contrived and cack-handed, all so it could lead to that ‘cute’ moment when Vernon revealed the truth of the matter. It made Ted, Nicole and Dani all look like vectors of statements rather than actual people, even if we were ‘meant’ to understand why the sisters’ own experiences would cause them to act how they did.

I don’t I’ve ever explicitly asked you @DRW50 When was the last time you consistently enjoyed Eastenders while watching? We seem to only put you in the position to explain what doesn’t work but, not detail what worked for you with the show and where in could go to make it more watchable.

I’m certainly not a Chris Clenshaw ‘devotee’ and he was far from perfectly consistent, but holy moly, the drop off from him to Ben Wadey’s stewardship, and how quickly it occurred is both heartbreaking and astounding. I promised I’d give it 6 months before making up my mind and that’s reflected in my lack of posting in this thread. But Nigel, Phil and Julie aside, I’ve not liked what I have been watching. Characterisations have been torpedoed to serve the plot and the ‘shock factor’ (what the heck was that with Anthony Trueman?) and the stories have been structured in a stodgy way. Christmas 2025 wasn’t for me, and with the show not showing much promise (and guaranteed when the previews for 2026 come out, Wadey will use the words ‘dramatic’ and ‘explosive’ and ‘shocks, shocking, etc’ a lot of times) I’m ready to tap out fully, my watching already intermittent. Viewers are already calling for Wadey’s head, but I don’t believe the BBC/Kate Oates will act that quickly, so the hope should be that this messy period was to get to 2026 and enough pieces will be in place that the show can kick on and increase in quality.

Hello everyone. Hope this isn’t an unfair question but I think the material shift has occurred over a long enough time that I can ask. What is the show like now with Ron Carlivati long gone from the show? Better? Worse? Different but the same? Etc I’m likely taking on more soaps next year and want seeing the lay of the land. Thanks.

I’m always on the hunt for new soaps and drama to watch, especially since Beyond The Gates is the only other that I watch now. When there was an African Channel here in the UK, this show and Tinsel were shown on it so I got a sense of it, but I didn’t stick with it. I might find time to fix that.

Interesting story (as in, not interesting at all 😂), a friend and I were in the very early stages of developing a mini series of very short parts (2-3 minutes each) but the pandemic happened and then life. I guess the true desire wasn’t there. I’ve been doing a lot of research into ‘vertical dramas’ and I wonder if this P&G enterprise is going to follow those lines.

I don’t know if this has been mentioned or not but catching up on last week’s shows, I suddenly sensing anvils where Jessica is concerned. I wonder if she ends up being something like the daughter of the person who is going to Primary Martin next year. Or, unconnected to Jessica, if ‘known hot guy’ ends up being his primary opponent?

My assessment of why nobody has been concerned about Tyrell losing his virginity is because he hasn’t been shown trying to lose it. There’s nothing to suggest there has been a ‘boys will be boys’ approach, in fact Martin’s approach has touched on Tyrell (with Jessica cheekily trying to joust with him about curfews, etc). If the next stage of their relationship is explored, and there is a more ‘hands off’ approach from the other characters, then I’ll be the first to point out a double standard that has not yet been shown. I think it was you who referenced Eastenders and Hollyoaks as examples of soaps that depict a more ‘realistic’ approach to teenage sexuality? That is true, but even they broadly take a didactic approach to that. Rarely does underage sex go without consequence, especially for the female. 13-14 year old Lily Slater has a 1 year old daughter after her first time with same age Ricky Branning. Hollyoaks is absolutely THE show that shows (British) teenagers as they are with full agency. It’s also a show that skews younger and targets teenagers and young adults. And for all that BTG is doing to modernise its presentation, I think American daytime skews older and more conservative, so a kid gloves approach may be what is happening here. The story is still young.

The dichotomy between Samantha and Tyrell is very deliberate. The writers have gone out of their way to present Samantha’s impulsive streak and want for attention versus Tyrell being more sensitive, happy to keep his head down and being studious. The former being something I suspect will be linked to June and her own past, despite her being completely spot on about Nathan on first sight. I’d have to reserve judgement on the slightly subtle aspect of the story that Tyrell is being impacted by Samantha’s actions (I wouldn’t be surprised if this story sees Tyrell lose Jessica again, on top of him already nearly catching a beating from Nathan trying to ‘defend his sister’s honour’ when she herself seems ‘less concerned’ about it). The only reason I will never say that Tyrell is atypical of a teenage boy is because I was exactly like him at his age. As the preview for next week shows, this story has a way to go and I have a feeling that after a number of near-misses, Samantha will find herself in a position that she won’t be able to get out of as easily. Whether Nathan-related or otherwise.

It’s likely that these plot points were always going to occur, but I’ve noticed that the intrigue has picked up, almost in tandem with Tracey Thomson replacing Bob Guza. Particularly with Hayley and Andre.

I caught up to yesterday (I have to wait till it gets uploaded to the app) and man alive, Eva’s transformation into Leslie is complete!

I knew it! I speculated after her last appearance that she’d end up at OG’s or Downtown.

Watching the episode, I got the sense that they were putting a bow on June’s story for the time being and we may be seeing less of her, until such time as her being back serves the story. Unless this ‘purpose building’ and life construction plays out on screen with her working in any of the establishments (Orphey Gene’s or Uptown) or Naomi somehow convinces someone to provide an entry-level job of some kind.

So Hayley is well and truly going to stitch Dani up, huh?