LondonScribe

I didn't know about the broken embargo. Then again, I still haven't rekindled my love affair with Eastenders so these things are passing me by. In fact, I only see bits and pieces of each British soap and only fully watch Y&R and Home and Away consistently as well as focusing on my own writing. I'm hearing of improvements to Coronation Street and I'm still adjusting to McLeod's tinkered version of Emmerdale, but is Eastenders (in general) worth getting back into?

Is it me or was a little jab at DigitalSpy and the like when talking about click bait websites? 😂

I see Digital Spy have jumped aboard the O'Connor Express pretty sharpish. http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/eastenders/feature/a808647/is-eastenders-going-back-down-to-earth-under-new-producer-sean-oconnor/ It's as if someone watched a few of his actual episodes and realised "oh, we quite like this"

Now it's been broadcast, hopefully I will be forgiven for saying well done to the winners. I also hope I'll be forgiven for suggesting that most of Emmerdale's wins seemed to be 'fanbase' wins. The test will be if Coronation Street wins Best Soap next year. Or if this year's winner can gain momentum.

Guess that means his episodes of Emmerdale will be airing soon A newspaper article (the Metro, I think) said June.

Iain McLeod is doing a lot of talking, isn't he? Lol

I'm surprised it took me this long to discover this item. Sean O'Connor fascinates me as he is what I used to call a 'not quite' man. Not as a term of criticism because often what he does is very good but never for long enough before other factors get involved: As series producer of Hollyoaks (with Liza Mellody) in the early 00's they came up with interesting ideas, such as comic character Bombhead's growing secrecy, that turned out to be him looking after the skeleton of his mum (who had died without anyone knowing) and the 'mysterious' Bella's developing romance with Cameron. Both ideas and stories were immediately halted when they were swiftly removed in favour of stalwart producer Jo Hallows. Footballers Wives had quite the following, with the advent and popularisation of the WAG culture. But it was the creation of the Tanya Turner character and general change of the show in Series 3 (under Sean O'Connor) that seemed to spark it onto life. Opinions on actual show quality vary, however. I think the most prominent example of 'not quite' was Family Affairs. Made series produced after Paul Marquess moved Alison Davis over to The Bill, O'Connor revamped the cast, getting rid of Dave Matthews and his son, Jake, as well as other characters as well as introducing and highlighting Sami, the openly gay Muslim man and his closeted, married (I believe Jewish) boyfriend, Max. The tone and types of stories changed but darned if I remember much of them. Then came what I call a quiet revamp in the first week of September 2005 when the show went from 'film' to 'live' and Pete Callan was killed off. It was also the first use of musical scores in the show, something that would occur increasingly. The Swan burned down, Eileen fell into the Thames, Eileen left, the pub was rebuilt and renamed The Phoenix, complete with mysterious new landlord, Rex Randall and his obsessive sister (whose name escapes me), Gary Costello was caught drink driving and lost his license and job, then lashed out at the increasingly bratty Chloe. The feeling was he was going for a 'younger', 'sexier' and more scandalous show with the kind of characters (student nurses and a junior doctor, a former footballer and his wife, a policeman and his wife) and antics such as Eileen flushing Pete's ashes down the toilet, and Sami's disapproving (and culturally ashamed) mother stabbing him when he refused to deny his homosexuality. There were interviews about he, his executive producer, Johnathan Young, and his story producer Dominic Teadwell-Collins, projecting stories 2 years into the future 'opening up Charnham' and possibly renaming the show... Then Channel pulled the rug from under it all and announced the show would finish at the end of the year. Only in the last couple of years has he been able to implement any kind of vision and that was on the radio soap (and more popular than most would realise) The Archers. I don't listen to it on any regular basis so I won't say too much other than I remember raising my eyebrows when he got the job as the Editor of the show (that being the equivalent title for show runner) and many devotees aghast with horror. The general view is his vision is a little more in keeping with telly soaps, though it does seem to be in the general conversation more than before. Or maybe I just notice it more. The one storyline that has people talking a lot is a not very nice man called Rob who has been manipulating, controlling and mentally dissecting his wife, Helen, playing on her insecurities and looks like he's trying to mine issues of the past such as anorexia and is succeeding in isolating her from her very close family. It's playing out in 'real time' apparently and has been a source of interest and frustration to those used to shorter term stories. So there you have it, more (factually shaky) ramblings from me on something wholly inconsequential. I'm not even going to try and predict how he could affect the show. I'll just see what happens.

WHAT?!!! OMG. I hope that they eventually boot Jill's ass (along with Pratt) and allow him to take the EP role. He at least seemed to run EE at a logical time, so I could see him restoring logic to Y&R. Well, let's just see. Mal Young, it has been said, started the shift in focus from Brookside's roots to what subsequent producers, specifically Paul Marquess, did, which was more heightened drama (and sensationalism). A style of producing that allowed the newly established Channel 5 to use him to create Family Affairs and the BBC to poach him to the position of Head of Drama that same year. If I have this right, he was responsible for the Eastenders stewardships of both Matthew Robinson (Steve Owen character, Saskia murder, Matthew Rose saga, Tiffany exit, Grant Mitchell exit, etc) and John Yorke (you know what he did and who he introduced, lol) as well as the creations of afternoon soap, Doctors and Holby City. Add the re-commissioned Dr Who to the mix (though I think he may have left by the time it came on air). He is not without question, having hired the well meaning but unfortunate Louise Berridge at Eastenders and former Emmerdale and Coronation Street producer Mervyn Watson to overhaul and completely 'soap-up' Casualty at roughly the same time ITV hired Paul Marquess with the same mandate. Having being hired both here and in the States for 19Television (I think it's called) as Head of Drama, it would be quite a turn up if he isn't taking up a fairly significant role at Y&R. A potential replacement one (or both) of the current Executive Producers? I don't know as the senior executives at CBS and Sony seemed to be all in with the two incumbents.

And there are pictures he has taken of Y&R actors. It'll be interesting to see what happens with this. Perhaps he has taken Mary O'Leary's role? Or is a Supervising Producer? I say that as he appears to be on set. I guess we'll see.

That's incredibly generous of you, though it relies a lot on the past. I'm not as 'in' on anything recent. Lol. I'll voice my opinions (and I always go to great lengths to make them only that) on Emmerdale though I have very little to gauge Iain McLeod on off-hand. I can't shake this uncomfortable feeling that we won't like the changes he will bring.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say people aren't huge fans of Eastenders on here. Lol... Kidding aside, after giving it a cursory glance and struggling to finish the last episode broadcast and when examining the state of this unrecognisable show that has the name and theme of Eastenders (whilst agreeing with the comments that came before mine) it occurred to me that I went through the same thing with another once powerhouse soap that I have stopped watching... The Young and the Restless. Both shows have veered hugely from their identity and what made them what they are, both have characters that are basically Teflon, neither are in any immediate danger of being cancelled, both have suffered in recent(ish) times from a succession of writers and producers who just don't get it, despite what they say to the contrary (though 'credit' to Charles Pratt, he more or less said from the start he was going to do his own thing), and both do not have a hope in hell's chance of getting their next appointment correct. While ITV (certainly Coronation Street) have a (moveable) structure in place, and a resource of at least serviceable parts, the BBC do not, at least not regarding soaps. I do not trust Casualty and Holby City Executive Producer Oliver Kent as far as I can throw him, radio soap The Archers programme editor Sean O'Connor has done TV soaps with mixed success (he made a minor, insignificant dent in the Eastenders story team years ago, was railroaded alongside Liza Mellody by Phil Redmond and Jo Hallows at Hollyoaks, and had the legs chopped from under him at both Family Affairs and after the reasonably well received Series 3 of Footballers Wives) and the Producers of Doctors Will Trotter, Peter Errol Lloyd and Mike Hobson, only deal in 'cosy' afternoon soap. With those in charge of Eastenders now, they had a real gem of a producer who joined with Dominic Treadwell-Collins, left fairly quickly and who's departure coincided with the wheels falling off. And that was Alison Davis. Unless I missed a specific reason, I'm unsure why she left. History (Family Affairs revamp in 2003, stabilising The Bill in 2005, even when Paul Marquess was still the EP of the latter) has taught us that she is more than capable. The only other person I would have recommended no longer works for the BBC and hasn't since 2011, and that is former Holby City producer Myar Craig-Brown. She is now a big wig at ITV Drama and she only produced one series of Holby but after the shift to HD and the high profile departure of previous head Tony McHale in 2010, she took over and created characters such as Henrik Hanssen and Antoine Mallick. And Sahira Shah was liked in some quarters. Lol Off-tangent I may have gone but the point is there. Soap-wise, the BBC are fairly snookered unless they find a hidden gem or put their trust in a 'writers producer' again such as McHale.

Having watched all of the Christmas episodes this year even though I don't watch all the soaps (hey, I had time this year, and schedules were quite poor) I can say with no hesitation that Emmerdale was the best watch for me, hands down. It got the balance right and the reference to Tom King's death surprised me. As a regular watcher at that time, I had forgotten that Edna held a torch for him. At the time (or just after) Len Reynolds had a thing for her, which was breeding issues for Pearl who was in love with Len. If I remember correctly, my memory is shaky on that one. And I too, have enjoyed Eric's story, and didn't think I would when it first began. Perhaps my opinion is largely influenced by the fact that I don't watch the others (or have been bored by them) regularly this year. And the last few months have been a triumph in regards to the retention of (the implausibly attractive) Leyla, when it would have been easier to simply write her out when Alicia and Jake left. And rather interestingly, they have her maintained friendships rather than pair her with David or Nikhil (yet). Again, an easier option than what they have done. So either it's undeniable character viability or the skill of the writing/senior production team. If it's the latter, it'll be interesting to see if the incoming Iain McLeod has plans for her. And this extends to a few of the other characters, who have been (seemingly impossibly) tied to the tapestry, creating an ensemble.

Take a bow, Steve Frost/November

This is largely my (time-worn and hazy) opinion but Steve Frost had a few drawbacks. 1) He followed the much lauded Kieran Roberts at Emmerdale and his tone was (dare I say) flatter than his predecessor. The stories and characters suddenly didn't seem to resonate in the same way (something that he somehow managed to achieve at Coronation Street, despite following on from Tony Wood's sitcom/Carry on Corrie stint) 2) The producer he was unfavourably compared to was then doing what he was doing at Coronation Street at the same time. Aside from axing Malandra Burrows, he took the (brave?) decision to axe the character of Sam Dingle (a decision reversed, I believe, by Kathleen Beedles). I don't think he was bad, and he introduced the King Family, so I suspect some fans will thank him for that. Perhaps I'm being too hard on him.

I won't bore you all twice with what I've written in another thread but what I wil say in duplication is I wish Kate Oates well and hope for the best as I will pray for Emmerdale. Let's merely hope Iain McLeod has been working to the directive of Bryan Kirkwood over on Hollyoaks and that his style isn't at such odds with what we see now that a messy transition and fall-out takes place. Who knows, perhaps the best is yet to come. Though with what I expect to be some of the Hollyoaks storyliners following him, I do wonder. Read more: Coronation Street: Discussion Thread - Page 92 - DTS: Foreign Soaps - SON Community http://boards.soapoperanetwork.com/topic/27045-coronation-street-discussion-thread/?page=92#ixzz3m8qFnPdY

As good as a fit as Kate Oates has (largely) been on Emmerdale, Coronation Street is an altogether different beast. It's an institution, it's The Daddy, it's a machine. When Bryan Kirkwood was named Executive Producer of Eastenders I made the same point about Eastenders (and the BBC) being a machine and said he would do well if he worked within the machine. The results are well documented. If you believe what you read, Coronation Street has much bigger egos, higher profile characters/actors and a 'pecking order' that would be harder for anyone to navigate. Unless she ties up her tenure with a pretty bow, people may judge her stewardship of Emmerdale as having lasted 6 months to a year too long. It's also important to remember that some of the artistic license, afluence and 'glamour' afforded to aspects of Emmerdale aren't traditionally associated with Coronation Street. Though gawd bless Phil Collison for giving the associated sensationalism a going over. But as we know, especially in the last 15-20 years, guiding Emmerdale does seem to be some kind of leg-up to Coronation Street, regardless of how well-received (see Kieran Roberts and Kate Oates) or otherwise (see Steve Frost/November and Stuart Blackburn) your time on the former is. Though not a rule (see Anita Turner and Kathleen Beedles, a certain Mr Blyth not considered for obvious reasons). If Kieran Roberts is anything to go by, then quality should follow Kate Oates to Manchester from Leeds. And having gone over to the you-know-where to gauge reaction, I see the perve threads have started already over the incoming producer. I wish her well and hope for the best as I will pray for Emmerdale. Let's merely hope Iain McLeod has been working to the directive of Bryan Kirkwood over on Hollyoaks and that his style isn't at such odds with what we see now that a messy transition and fall-out takes place.

I have no idea. I think Danny Miller is cute as a button, but this other guy is adorable as well, so I was curious as to his identity. Of course, there's always the chance that he is not an actor or someone famous at all, but rather just Miller's friend, cousin, or whatever. The man is called Jack McMullen and he is an actor. First coming to prominence in the latter years of Grange Hill (when Phil Redmond essentially took back control of the show and relocated it to Liverpool) and has appeared in various shows, most notably Waterloo Road.

Well, after the Emmy's I do wonder if she'll be afforded a little more time? As for the pre-JFP music, I can't say I've noticed. It all still sounds very blah. That and the change in produdtion are two of the biggest mistakes made. The writing could (in effect) be masked/less obvious if the aestetic essence of Y&R remained. Only a bit though.

Belle Dingle's storyline has been revealed. Let's just say it ISN'T a teen pregnancy... http://www.dailystar.co.uk/showbiz-tv/hot-tv/361925/Emmerdale-Belle-Dingle-embroiled-in-MURDER-storyline

Without giving too much away, Eastenders featured a scene that, in a way, reminded me of David Kimble's exit from Y&R. Think Kick-Ass. Just a tad less gruesome. No doubt OfCom are in for some complaints, mainly due to the time it was shown (8-9pm, pre-watershed)

On Monday 9th December, the second coming of the Soap Messiah occurred. All the ills of the last 3 and a bit years in Eastenders magically came to an end as the closing credits concluded with Executive Producer DOMINIC TREADWELL-COLLINS. All hail DTC... At least that's if you believe the 'faithful breathren' on Digital Spy. Even one poster was honest enough to say that they were probably just seeing what they wanted to see, just because they knew a new producer was in charge. My opinion? It was a good, well-paced episode that appeared to possibly turn the ship towards Christmas, which is quite something considering it started more or less where Friday's episode ended. But it was one episode. I'm going to adopted a wait and see attitude and judge the show a few months down the line (even though Christmas was apparently re-written by the new team) and won't get carried away by the tweets of the journalists who have already seen the Christmas and New Year episodes.

Tonight (5/12/13) will obviously be remembered for more significant world events but in EE, it was the last credited episode of Lorraine Newman as Executive Producer. The next episode, Monday 9th December will be the first credited episode of Dominic Treadwell-Collins as EP. Also, announced tonight was the return of Lacey Turner as Stacey Slater. In relation to this, the highest profile EE fan site, Walford Web has closed down suddenly. The speculation is that the media embargo on the above mentioned news was (effectively) broken by someone on that site leading to the owner shutting it down. Apparently, it will force many of their users onto DS, a site they have slagged off for years. This should be fun...

In UK soaps, the Executive Producer is in essence, the show runner. Deals with the networks, finances, etc, and sets the direction. The show is essentially in his/her image. The Series Producer, Story Producer and others are there to execute the vision of the EP. The most visible examples of this are Dominic Treadwell-Collins for Eastenders and Bryan Kirkwood for Hollyoaks (a tick I think the latter picked up from his stint on the former, more to follow). And their names would usually be the last on the closing credits (a crediting trait on UK shows). However, on the ITV shows, the EP manages several shows or is a corporate head (for example, Kieran Roberts is the Head of Drama at ITV/Granada, clarification sought on official title) so doesn't run the show. The showrunner is you-know-know and he is credited as 'Producer'. The same set up on Emmerdale with John Whiston (who, by the way doesn't appear on Emmerdale's closing credits) as EP and Kate Oates is Series Producer.

Bringing Liz back was a decision by Stuart Blackburn. I believe the turning point in this story was the fact that David caused the car accident, which has 'changed Nick's life' (for now). It is quite strange considering Kylie sleeping with Nick (cheating on both sides) was the catalyst to this all.

With a soap/drama serial scene that has given us Louise Berridge (especially in 2004), Anita Turner, Oliver Kent, Paul Marquess, etc, to call Stuart Blackburn the worst is a damning indictment. Yes, Mr Blackburn, who wasn't a bad scriptwriter back in the day (he wrote that (in)famous episode of The Bill back in 2001 when Special Constable Terry Knowles was stabbed in the neck with a comb handle) came to Coronation Street with somewhat of a chequered reputation for soap producing. His Emmerdale was less-than-remarkabke and seen as very serious and depressing, with odd/bad couples and poor plots. It certainly wasn't on my Sky+, whereas it is the first thing I watch when I get home from work, thanks to his successor, (the almost improbably gorgeous) Kate Oates. Moreso than my superficial comment, she seems to get Emmerdale and has sped things up. Whilst not quite the 'Dynasty-esq' barminess of Kath Beedles Emmerdale nearly a decade ago, it just works, in contrast to Coronation Street. In my view, everything else on the show bows down to the Cropper storyline, which is already breathtaking and heartbreaking, thanks mostly to the acting masterclass by the actors. So, on one hand, avid viewers should hope that Coronation Street isn't damaged or gutted too much by Stuart Blackburn. On the other, unless ITV has another Collinson-esq 'chosen one' they want to poach from another network, then usual services will be resumed and the Emmerdale producer will move to Coronation Street in 2015 or 2016. Interesting point about Emmerdale under Gavin Blyth. I think he is seen with a great deal of fondness because of the initial upturn in quality after Anita Turner and sadly, the circumstances behind the end of his reign. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't he plot the 'almost off screen' deaths of Terry Woods and Viv Windsor? So yes, perhaps Stuart Blackburn has been unfortunate enough to inherit shows without a solid foundation?