EastEnders: Discussion Thread

[victoria foxton]

On the US soaps everything is always ass backwards. 

[DRW50]

 

From what I've read it's mostly the same crap they already had, just a few advanced while offcamera.

[Manny]

Ah okay, I understand.

Well that would make sense especially for stories which were not popular. Those should have been just finished off screen and new stories should start. 

[Vee]

Sharon and Ian as the new owners of the pub almost has me interested in checking out the return.

[DRW50]

 

The show is pretty awful now, sadly. 

[BetterForgotten]

The Secrets From the Square (even if Stacey Dooley was sometimes an annoying host) specials were probably the most interesting thing the show has produced in years, and obviously they had almost nothing to do with the current show. 

 

The final episode with Jessie Wallace and Lacey Turner was probably the best one and could have probably gone on for a good hour if needed. Lacey was more talkative and candid than I've ever seen her be, and Jessie was more reserved than I expected, lol. It's nice that they mentioned great writers from the past like Tony Jordan and Sarah Phelps, the caliber of whom the show so badly needs these days. I kind of got the feeling both women knew the writing on the show is not up to par anymore or what it was when their characters were at their height, but they remain loyal to it likely as a safety net. 

Edited September 5, 2020 by BetterForgotten

[DRW50]

 

I get the feeling from what she's said that Lacey is happier backstage than she was in past years, as she is apparently very good friends with James Bye. It's just a shame that the show has squandered Stacey so much to where it's going to take an incredibly strong team to rehab the character.

[LondonScribe]

The conclusion to the Chantelle and Gray domestic abuse storyline has been revealed by Eastenders themselves tonight...

 

I’ll not state it myself (as it has not been broadcast, so technically counts as a spoiler) but the fact they decided to is very significant and actually marks a first in British soaps. 
 

Anyone who finds out will see the sense in my rather garbled message and understand why they probably had to.

Edited September 6, 2020 by LondonScribe

[Skylover]

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This is EastEnders, what a surprise, not.

[BetterForgotten]

The actors in that story were kind of cringeworthy from what I’ve seen. I can’t believe they were given a story like that.

 

Toby-Alexander Smith is cute though, I guess...

[Bright Eyes]

 

I think he's gorgeous, but acting isn't really his thing and it isn't hers either, at least not yet. She needs to learn to emote and put a moratorium on her deer in headlights reactions, and he needs to learn to stop whisper acting every single line with horrible line readings.

Edited September 7, 2020 by Bright Eyes

[LondonScribe]

I’m pretty sure I read a quote from Executive Producer Jon Sen saying the story had been planned out with a clear ending in mind from the very beginning. Come roughly September 18th (the speculated date of transmission), this would have been running for about 18 months.

 

The fact that he has plotted Christmas 2021 probably tells you all you need to know about his long-term planning 

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[Bright Eyes]

 

Jon Sen has been a very C-level showrunner. It's passable, but not at all fulfilling.

[LondonScribe]

Cards on the table, I’m no longer an avid watcher, but still know what’s going on.

 

But I’m not a ‘stan’ for Jon Sen, either, though I appreciate his profile and some of the powerful stuff he’s produced/directed drawing attention to the Asian community (I think he’s Indian, but not certain), but his last job before Eastenders was as a director on Casualty, which succumbed to the filmic gloss a while ago.

 

If I’m honest, I think that period Kate Oates produced the show solo was stronger than when he took over the day-to-day running.

 

But you never know, something might click, a la Iain MacLeod at Coronation Street (as I understand it) and things pick up.

[BetterForgotten]

I was mostly referring to the end this clip, when after reviewing the famous Kat/Zoe scene, Lacey and Jessie basically mention how good the writing used to be when they had people like Sarah Phelps and Tony Jordan, lol. It's like even the actors on this show know that they don't really have that caliber of writers anymore to salvage their characters.

 

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