EastEnders: Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

Who else would you get rid of? 

 

I'm still so annoyed about Lee, but other than that most of the people who are leaving I can understand. I'm wary of someone I really like and feel has huge potential being cut as some awful karmic balance. I hope not. 

 

I'd get rid of Vincent too but I know that isn't likely. 

[Bright Eyes]

I feel the same way about Lee. I had visions of Martin/Stacey and Lee/Whitney being a tight foursome on the square. I yearned for a double date between them. And since I'll never buy Kush as Martin's close friend anytime soon, strengthening his friendship with Lee would have been a priority. Lee/Stacey and Martin/Whitney could bond dealing with mental illness, their partners bonding over the best way to cope, and they compare notes on dealing with everyday life. They could have been great together.

 

Though I'm not that cut up about it in the grand scheme of things, I also posted my thoughts before about how much Roxy could have soared away from Ronnie, and the Mitchells. She's always so likable when she has nothing to do with them.

 

Vincent isn't on my hit list because the character is completely inoffensive these days and Richard Blackwood is shamelessly hot enough for me to not make his axing a priority. Make him friends with Kush and have them whore around together. I think Blackwood could pull off being a cad type. This would clearly mean the end for him and Kim, and she could leave with Pearl. I liked her under Kirkwood, but she hasn't been the same since she returned and Denise doesn't need her, and Kat isn't around to be her friend, which leaves her with nothing.

 

Obvious choices for cuts are Shakil and Jane. It's hard to know which characters should truly go because we have no idea what SOC will do. So many things are all a big question mark.

 

Lauren and Abi are floundering, but they have to be kept dithering around while waiting for Max to return. It's a scary prospect wondering how that story will go. And what about soon to be a single father of two, Jack? When Ronnie leaves, what will become of him. What is his relationship with Max going to be? Don't strike me, but I actually think he and Whitney could become good together. They make sense in my head, anyway, and Whitney could certainly pull off being with an older man without her coming off as immature, or Jack looking like he's going though a mid-life crisis.

 

Tina, Johnny, Louise would be quick and easy for me.

 

Belinda - Carli Norris was so brilliant on Hollyoaks that it still is a sore in my craw how Kirkwood just threw out her and the great Kane family. She is so much better than what Belinda is right now. I don't think the show really needs Slaters around though. Stacey certainly wouldn't hurt without her presence.

 

In a perfect world, this would be the end of the line for Phil. I don't know how the hell one goes about fixing Ian, but these two aren't going anywhere so it's a moot point to think otherwise.

 

Shirley, Mick, Linda - Mick and Linda will have to wait until her maternity leave is over. Having Mick deal with being completely alone in the Vic could be interesting in the interim. As for Shirley, look at all the dross her existence has besotted us. I've always hated her. I'm also assuming Sylvie is a shelf life character. Other than Tina, would anyone care if she died. Heck, make that Tina's exit story. Sylvie dies, Tina realizes how vile they all are when no one wants to help with the funeral, so she books it and leaves Mick in the lurch with the bill.

 

Carmel - I wouldn't get rid of her right away, because I'd make her a villain first.

 

Donna. The show needs to prove me to she's not just a token. Hollyoaks knows how to do this effortlessly.

[DRW50]

I love that idea for Tina. That would be a perfect exit, both for her character and to sum up the Carters. 

 

I'd keep Shirley because of Linda Henry, but otherwise the character does feel exhausted. Having a family made her feel more depleted than anything else could have. 

 

I had forgotten about Carmel. I'd love to get rid of her. She's just become unbearable as she's taken over the show in recent months, endlessly drinking, feeling sorry for herself, and making everything about herself. That poor Masood's last year on the show was all about being her catspaw has just been such a sad display. 

 

If Vincent had chemistry with...anyone, I'd want him around, but he's just sort of there. I'd take him over Kim at the moment though, after the vile way she's been written for this vile Denise pregnancy story. 

 

I have a feeling they're just waiting until Ted Reilly's contract is up, but I wish they'd try to do something with Johnny. With proper writing (mainly conflict with Mick, more ties to Steven), he'd work.

 

I've given up on Jane every going anywhere. Ugh.

 

I'd go ahead and write Abi and Lauren out even with Max returning. I'd give them one more chance, but Jossa seems completely over the show and Lorna Fitzgerald is just such a limited actress. Maybe O'Connor has something in mind for them beyond vacuous victimhood. I hope so. It's actually shocking just how isolated Abi is, and not even for a story reason - just because she became such a complete plot device and they never cared about picking her back up.

[Bright Eyes]

Abi - She perplexes me. I was a bigger fan of hers than most until she got with Ben. Fitzgerald was one of the highlights from Live Week, but she has been so juvenile in her delivery it makes me seethe. Maybe she just needs a stronger directing influence? God knows DTC's characterisations threatened the strongest of actors on this show. But if the character has truly outgrown her, I do hope they let Abi succeed professionally. She deserves to be the veterinarian she dreamed about for as long as I can remember, and if Max is still on the show in a few years, recast and have her return as an accomplished woman. Maybe even have her become a full fledged doctor, and move into Dr. Legg's old place. I'm surprised the show has never done that with a past character.

 

I might be able to handle Johnny a little bit better if they stopped putting him in old man desperately trying to cling to better days clothing. Ugly, ugly, ugly. I did like his scene with Colin, but to your disagreement, when I see him, I see how lacking he is compared to Sam Strike in numerous ways and it's always a let down. Plus, he's a Carter. The name alone makes my blood boil. Unless you have the charm of Strike or Hatchard, I have my red pen at the ready.

 

Edited September 18, 2016 by Bright Eyes

[NothinButAttitude]

Oh @DRW50, I log on and see this ... the greatest news EVER!!!

 

Now if Jane could go.... I will never hold out hope of her being booted. 

 

I agree with you too that Abi and Lauren both need to go. IMO, Lauren should've never returned anyways. She should've remained offscreen with Peter and lived happily ever after for a few years. I think that after the pregnancy scheme that Abi should've been ran off the Square by Ben and went to go stay with Tanya. I get they are trying to make Abi a poor man's version of Janine but I have yet to see it and never will. 

 

I hope with all these people going, EE brings back characters we love or create new, dynamic families. I wish that they'd still bring back Chelsea and Jordan as Denise needs family badly. I thought Joivan Wade was so good as a Jordan recast and they blew it with a stupid ass story. I hope O'Connor tries to woo him back. 

[DRW50]

If they let Lorna mature a bit in her delivery and have her go back to school (Abi, I mean), I think she could eventually make that work. The campy stuff has never fit her and never will. I hate the whole "new Janine" fallacy. They also missed the prime opportunity to revive her relationships with Ben and Jay - now it will seem forced. 

 

Sam Strike is one of those people who has a lot of personal charisma but when it came to how it fit the role, I never really bought it. He would have been better off playing a role like Paul Coker. Ted Reilly is who I pictured Johnny as in my head.  But that's not enough when the writing is nonexistent and the Carter family have never been more unpleasant or superfluous. I'd say the best they can do with Johnny is, again, a messy relationship with someone like Steven, a conflict between being a "good" gay and "good" son and doing what he wants, and an actual career. I'm not really expecting anything though. 

 

I forgot about Jack. I actually have liked him this time around, but he's always seemed to be there just for Ronnie's fan fiction saga. I'm not sure where to take him when she's gone. I just hope they have dropped the affair with Honey. 

[Bright Eyes]

I only saw the tail end of Chelsea's run, but I agree about both her and especially Joivan Wade returning. I wouldn't even mind Libby either. Denise really wouldn't need Kim around then. I hated the little I saw of Libby initially because at the time I started watching she was around that vacuous wheelchair character and some annoying old woman, who I think was her grandmother, but in her returns she's been a breath of fresh air.

 

Does anyone have any random character return wishes? I always thought getting rid of Gary Lucy/Danny Pennant was a hasty move. Imagine him and Steven making some sort of sex bet, while fooling around with each other. He worked well with Janine and Lucy, and probably could do wonders to breath some life into the show.

[DRW50]

I'm hoping re: Jane, as her current wise owl incarnation is truly stomach-churning, but I feel like they may not want to admit just how destructive this story with Bobby was. 

 

They really screwed Jovian over. A pointless, unpleasant storyline that was seemingly done just to knock Denise up with the spawn of the devil. He did a good job on Doctor Who - it was a shame to hear people saying oh he can't act, blah blah. He never had a chance. 

 

SOC doesn't seem like he's in a hurry to bring people back, although we know none of his plans. I wish he'd bring Chelsea back. She was always the member of the family with the most potential. 

[DRW50]

 

I agree about Danny. 

 

I'd bring back Vicki Fowler, Carmel Jackson, a recast Kenny Beale and his kids and grandkids. Nigel (if the actor would come back) for a brief stint, ideally to repair Clare's disastrous return and say goodbye to Dot. Maybe Mary Smith and her daughter. Chelsea. Jake Moon. Darren Miller.

 

Edited September 18, 2016 by DRW50

[NothinButAttitude]

I don't want Libby back. She can make sporadic returns, but she would not assimilate into EE now on a permanent basis. For one, her two friends, Darren and Tamwar, are both gone. The Masoods are about to be totally extinct so no need in Tamwar coming back. Darren was OK with me up until he knocked Heather up. After that stupid story, I wanted him gone forever. I know the actor who plays Darren has wanted to come back for awhile but nope. So w/o them, Libby has no purpose on the show. 

 

EE does need to build some sort of young adult/teen set b/c they are running thin at this point.

 

Of returns, I want Chelsea and Jordan back. I've said that I want Chelsea back and put her either with Kush or Martin. I'd prefer Martin b/c I want him with someone exciting but not nutty like Stacey. Plus, I'd like to see what she's been up to since she left. With Jordan, he should've never been written off upon his return. Though his story of helping Lucas was stupid, Joivan [Wade] and Diane [Parrish] pulled me in. 

 

Unlike many, I don't mind Kim as she serves as a comedic figure on here. I like her and Vincent even though I don't care for Vincent being written as some bad ass. 

 

I do wish that they'd bring back Liam Butcher. He needs to be alongside his cousin Bex, Louise, and Shakil in somewhat building a new generation. I wouldn't mind Tiffany, Cindy Jr, or TJ returning too.

 

I wanted Carol back but DTC practically killed the character with lackluster stories and sheer boredom. 

 

I was hoping that Mark's return would open the door for Courtney and Vicki to create a little unit and put down roots in EE again; however, after that sh*tty Grant story along with the Mark/Courtney incestuous flirting, I can do w/o that family unit for a long time.

 

 

They truly did screw him over. I never got why people said he was bad. Like you said, he was never given a chance. With the material he did have, he couldn't really show his acting chops off. The character was written as angry and threatening 99% of the time.

 

That still pisses me off how they wrote Jordan as an angry Black man then ship him off to prison. I'm getting pissed all over again thinking about. Just ugh! 

[Skylover]

New Jordan was hot and a good re-cast, I thought he would be sticking around so I was annoyed when he didn't. I'd prefer him over Chelsea but I wouldn't mind Chelsea. I never want to see Libby again unless she is re-cast.

Liam or Cindy Jnr would be cool but I don't think there's enough of their family around, I'd rather have Jordan back.

[DRW50]

Per Walford Web, Masood's last day is this Friday. I should be more upset than I am, but I'm glad to see him go rather than more of dealing with Carmel and walking in and out of rooms like an extra. 

 

Today's episode was one of the best episodes in a while - very well-balanced, even if some of the writing in places (like the Cokers) was clumsy. The scene where Sonia tore a strip off Shirley was perfect. 

[NothinButAttitude]

Cindy is a surrogate daughter of Ian. She has plenty family on the Square. Liam has Sonja and Bex. That's enough family. 

 

 

I'm going to be sad but happy b/c I am glad to see him go off into the sunset. This past regime never even tried with Masood. It's truly about to be the end of an era.

[DRW50]

These last few episodes have been some of the strongest in a while - everything has more weight and an everyday quality that doesn't feel forced. I just hope that this isn't the usual new producer fluke. It's nice to actually be watching Eastenders again, not a jerkoff fantasy of egotists. 

[LondonScribe]

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"