EastEnders: Discussion Thread

[AMCOLTLLover]

Oh no

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 Rest In Peace! What a loss! But 95 is a great age 

[Cat]

June Brown was a legend, and so was the character of Dot Cotton.

I liked the way Gaga warmly treated June Brown on The Graham Norton Show a few years back:

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[Faulkner]

Oh wow. She’s a national treasure. 

 

[Vee]

An immortal legend.

[victoria foxton]

 

 

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Edited April 4, 2022 by victoria foxton

[BetterForgotten]

I know she had long moved on from the show, but it's almost impossible to separate her from my viewing experience and history with the show. She was a very complicated woman IRL and not easy to deal with for some (both on-screen and behind the scenes), but she was always committed to making Dot a standout, and we should be lucky we had such a long time with her. RIP.

Edited April 4, 2022 by BetterForgotten

[Faulkner]

It does seem with the end of an era with Wendy Richard, Barbara Windsor, Leslie Grantham, and now June Brown all gone. Those are familiar names to even a casual follower of the show like me. 

Edited April 4, 2022 by Faulkner

[victoria foxton]

 

  

[Vee]

 

[DRW50]

I know this wasn't unexpected, but you did think she would be around forever. I first got into EE in 1997, months before Dot's return. I met her through Nigel's eyes, and I will always have a soft spot for that period as a result. The '80s were Dot's heyday, but she had strong, moving moments all the way to the end, when she helped her dear friend Dr. Legg pass on. 

She was also, above all else, an icon, and a naturally made one, rather than a cheap pastiche like, say Gwen Taylor's  character.

I'm so glad June quit when Kate Oates arrived and never let that hack defile here character.

You will be missed, June. 

[BetterForgotten]

Oates will probably be overseeing Dot's funeral on the show though (unless they wait years to address it), which has me worried. 

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[DRW50]

It will probably suck, and be breathlessly overhyped, as per usual with "Queen Kate." The main thing is she never got to ruin Dot's last moments. I am so grateful to June for letting us have those to ourselves, and our imagination.

[BetterForgotten]

I love that June saw the writing on the wall in terms of what the show had become and bowed the hell out. Looking back, that should have been a sign to the BBC that something was very wrong with the show, but of course, they refuse to believe otherwise. 

[Vee]

Lukewarm take: I think EE has been flirting for any number of years on being close to the kind of cruising altitude, 'too big to fail' mindset that currently preoccupies Y&R stateside.

Obviously Y&R has a much, much lower budget and culturally relevant footprint in America atm than EE still does in the UK. EE's budget and the overall investment from its parent company is also elephantine compared to any American soap, and I believe there is some creative energy. They are not simply going through the motions in the way Y&R now - Y&R, on top for decades, has no real competition and is comfortable simply marking time for CBS with minimal effort in its own stories. EE is not marking time, but it is also never really fully energized. Like Y&R they have been an institution for so long, with a guaranteed audience and more security than the American soaps, that they're simply not innovating much or challenging themselves. You can predict most of their story patterns, including and up to stunts like who will die in the next murder mystery or disaster. They have a comfort level in knowing they're not going anywhere, so they don't have to consider really shaking up what they do. It's not the same kind of apathy as Y&R, but it is laziness IMO.

Edited April 5, 2022 by Vee

[victoria foxton]

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Edited April 6, 2022 by victoria foxton