EastEnders: Discussion Thread

[Darn]

 

No problem. I hope that didn't come across rude, wasn't meant to be at all.

 

 

Thanks lol, I've only seen the former Michelle in clips and this doesn't seem like the same person but what do I know? I just know this one doesn't seem to fit what they're selling.

[DRW50]

 

None of this has any resemblance to Michelle, who was a very self-determined woman. The show is now seemingly saying that being insecure about her age and looks made her seduce a 16-year old student (in a magical land where there are no legal consequences and he can fly around the world to reunite with her). 

 

Lee's story was actually pretty good for the first few months. Somewhere along the way they decided to make him "bad" so that we could agree with the idea that he must be sent away and that a mentally ill person can only spare everyone around them the pain of being near them.

[Skylover]

 

Not at all. I'm still enjoying the Michelle story despite its glaring flaws.

 

I actually think the Lee storyline is the worst story I've ever seen on a soap. So offensive to people who have suffered Depression.

[Vee]

Danny Dyer is officially taking a break of some sort, for (the classic euphemism) 'exhaustion.'

Edited February 17, 2017 by Vee

[DRW50]

The tabloids claim it's due to booze. Who knows. I know a lot of people are thrilled over it as they can't stand Mick. I have mixed feelings about the character. I'd rather see him than most of the current main faces, but that's not saying much.

[Vee]

It feels like that whole family could roll up and blow away if a few more go, but I've said that before about various EE stalwarts who hang in. I find most of the actors in the Carter family compelling in various scenes but I don't really care about them as this cozy, manufactured phenomenon the production or the BBC seem so keen on; I find their ongoing dissolution at the moment much more interesting.

 

I did love Babe's exit scenes, although the curse (complete with echo reverb FX) was a bit much. I do wonder if my interest will flag further without Annette Badland scheming. I can barely recall Mick's offscreen wife and have little to no interest.

[TimWil]

The actor playing Preston sure is pretty but the Bugsy Malone accent is a tad much. OK, at least he's TRYING to do some sort of American accent. I think a wiser choice might have been a Southern accent ( ie Georgia, Mississippi or Alabama). It could have been established that he was a new student at the school, felt isolated, Michelle crossed the line by befriending him and then REALLY crossed the line.

 

Carl, I'm surprised that you have such a strong resistance to Michelle as she is now. I'm putting aside your opinion about the performance itself. Yes, Michelle was "the sensible one" but she also had a willful streak. She was willing to drastically alter her life by running off with Clyde! I think the Michelle who's in Walford now tracks with who Michelle was then.

 

 

 

[NothinButAttitude]

 

Is the actor playing Preston even American? I'm over EE casting Brits as Americans when they could've easily cast American actors in the roles. I hate when US soaps used to (and still do) cast Americans as Brits. 

 

I do think that if they told Michelle's story how you displayed, I personally could've possibly entertained the idea of her sleeping with a student. I just find it odd seeing as she saw the grief Arthur and Pauline went through when it came out she slept with Den. Just still seems out of character for Michelle.

[Vee]

I also think NuMichelle is pretty pathetic, sad and occasionally creepy most of the time. That's not the Michelle I remember and it doesn't have to be written this way. I think Jenna Russell is capable of playing a more grounded, tough version of the character, but they have her sort of waning and pining as the horny schoolmarm.

[DRW50]

 

Michelle having a lengthy relationship with an underage student and then planning to abandon everyone in her life and run away with him was a bridge too far for me, especially when the only reason given was "bingo wings" and having a fat ass. Michelle may have been needy and impulsive, but this goes beyond that level of behavior. I also came away thinking the show had no idea of the laws in Florida, and just assumed the age of consent in Florida is the same as in the UK, which is very sloppy writing - I had expected better from the show than that. I think the only reason they had him that young is because they wanted a love triangle with Bex. The problem is that any time Michelle is in a scene with any boy around 16 years old, people are going to assume she's on the prowl. Was this the best writing choice? The show tried to add some sort of quasi-social content to it by having her say if she were a man, everyone would be thrilled, but how many male characters on this show near 50 years old are bedding down 16 year old girls? The story mostly just seems like another one of those old songs and dances about the sad pathetic middle-aged woman who has given up on everything, rather than anything the show takes seriously. Michelle was always more than that. Fowler women were always more than that. If the show needs a pathetic middle-aged woman who has given up, they already have Sharon for that. 

 

No.

 

He seems to think he's playing a Russian.

[NothinButAttitude]

Here's my question, wouldn't Michelle be considered a fugitive if we factor in FL laws or is Declan enough where they'd look away from it? 

 

IMO, this story has just destroyed Michelle. Now I am wishing they just would've left her and her kids off the canvas b/c they've flopped with Michelle, Mark, and Vicky. 

[DRW50]

 

If it's on her record to where it's costing her jobs, then she would have been charged. If she made it out of the country before his family found out, she likely would have been extradited - a pretty white boy taken advantage of by a female teacher (and with a name like Preston he comes from money)? It would have been a huge thing. 

 

Again I don't think the show bothered to check about age of consent in Florida until after those early episodes had already aired. 

 

The biggest problem with this Michelle is how weak and aimless she is. If you watch any old material with her you will see that just was not the case. 

[NothinButAttitude]

 

Weak and aimless was nothing I ever got from Sue Tully's Michelle. At least from what I've seen of her. She was one of the few characters that stood up to the Mitchells fearlessly during that time. 

 

I agree that Michelle's scandal would be plastered all over the news a la Mary Kay Letourneau. It sucks that these shows don't either bother researching. This could've been a simple Google search, or call to the Writer's Guild, who would've directed them in the right direction. 

[DRW50]

 

It doesn't help that the person who wrote that episode (Carey Andrews) is one of their worst writers. I have a feeling they just see America as lawless. Last year they had "Mark Fowler Jr" leering at his 15-year old cousin, and when Shakil questioned him, he said that's just what they do in America. 

 

I do see what @TimWil is saying. I feel like I've been zeroing in on this story and maybe I should give it more time, maybe I should give the show a chance, maybe it's too easy to complain. I don't know. I just hate seeing Michelle this way...she's such a confused character at this point that I see people seriously suggest that either Jay or Tina will be her next love interest, and it could very well be true. Could you see Martin hooking up with Ben? (although I wouldn't say no) Yet that is where we are with her.

[NothinButAttitude]

 

I missed the line that Mark said to Shakil and I am glad I did. 

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Ever since Michelle's secret was revealed, I always suspected that they may slap Jay with Michelle as they are both sexual offenders. I'm sorry but I just don't like this story at all. It is too OOC for Michelle for me to turn a blind eye.