EastEnders: Discussion Thread

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Definitely welcomed, compared to the utter crap and cliches that were thorn at us this week and for the final months of Santer's solo episodes (like the Pat and Peggy mess over Harvey).

The show just seemed fun today, nothing revolutionary, as you said, but a noticeable shift in tone and direction. There seems to be life in Walford again, something I haven't felt in a while. Though, we have to wait until late August/September to see when Kirkwood's stories begin to take off, but the new characters thus far have good potential.

As I said before, it wasn't a major event episode, but the shift in tone was very noticeable and welcomed.

Edited June 5, 2010 by Y&RWorldTurner

[DRW50]

Oh well. If any Eastenders character would fit into porn it's Max Branning...

Edited June 5, 2010 by CarlD2

[Bright Eyes]

Well, watched my first ever full EastEnders episode.

A little boring with all those mangy children. Why are Lauren and Lucy like two feet shorter than everyone else? LoL Them kids are the snoozers. I did like that old guy getting one up on them though. But, from what I've seen, I've always hated that old butch cow that was yelling at him and today definitely didn't make me feel any different. Not to mention she was defending Ben's father, who, from what I've read, is basically EE's Todd Manning. Ugh. Also, I don't buy for a SECOND that Ben could ever beat up Lucas. Not in a million years.

Getting that out of the way, this Kim chick was hilar! Love her. Chelsea (I think that's her name) looked gorgeous today.

Darren was cute. He's my favourite so far.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Ben didn't beat up Lucas, he just hit Jordan (Lucas' son) over the head with a wrench or something and left him unconscious overnight.

[Bright Eyes]

Oops, got Lucas and Jordan mixed up. Was Jordan bullying him?

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Yes, but so is everyone else on the show.

Phil told Ben to defend himself, and Ben's solution was putting Jordan into a temporary coma, though he's regretful.

Edited June 5, 2010 by Y&RWorldTurner

[DRW50]

Ben and Jordan used to be friends, I guess, it was hard to tell. Then Ben got upset because Jordan and Abi, Ben's friend, spent more and more time together. Ben started being bullied at school and that made Jordan and Abi hang around him less. I think Jordan also said that Ben was using racial slurs against him. I don't know. The story is made up as it goes along.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Jordan was also upset with Ben after he took the blame for the alcohol situation, which was probably the source of their scuffle when Jordan got hit on the head with the wrench.

Have you seen today's episode yet, Carl?

[DRW50]

Well, you, Sylph, and Amello already seemed to cover everything, but I agree with what you said, there did seem to be a big change in tone. I asked myself if I was looking for this because I wanted to see it but I think it's more than that. Everything seemed much more extreme, in a good way. Like Shirley. There was no real reason to believe all those months she spent passively watching her little family fall apart. The Shirley we saw today was the real Shirley -- a very nasty and confused woman whose only solutions were getting drunk and lashing out. I thought the scene in Ian's kitchen was great.

I LOVED the scene where Ian told the "teens" they were nothing special and then they all left. The best part was Fatboy's reaction when Ian said that Fatboy was a young Ian.

I thought Mercy's grandmother was a little bit of a caricature, but she was OK. I wish they'd done more to introduce Mercy because as much as I like Mercy, how many viewers are going to be upset at someone they have seen for a week possibly leaving town?

I liked that all the stories were weaved together. Liz and Grace talking before they went to their separate stories. Ian and Shirley/Ben/etc and Ian and the "teens". Liz and Grace being interrupted by Vanessa before she went to meet Max and Darren.

Vanessa had a decent entrance. Low-key, but with some promise, which is what a soap entrance probably should be. The flirtation with Max wasn't too fast, and they had chemistry and they both looked very attractive. I thought Darren was a bit much but Max repeatedly telling him to back off was funny.

The best part of the episode was the party at the Foxes. So many different personalities in that one room and it really was riveting to watch. Kim was very loud but she had some hilarious moments...my favorite part was when she led a toast to Jordan, ending in her screeching "JORDAN!!!" as fast as she could. I also liked the mention of a Dionne Warwick impersonator. The good thing about Kim is she isn't just a loudmouth, she's there to push buttons and help us get more insight into Denise's history. Repeatedly bringing up Owen and making Lucas and Liz squirm (it was a good writing choice to have Liz as the one who seemed to be the most like Lucas in those scenes). Encouraging Denise's wild side. And those scenes where a drunk Denise pleaded with Lucas to be with her, to want her.

It was all very character-driven and a good start to what might be ahead.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Yeah, I think you had to have been watching consistently for a while to notice this big shift in tone with this episode.

I really do hope it's an indication of what's to come.

I do wonder, however, how many of the fans who came in during Santer's era (primarily the younger fans) will react to more character-driven drama. A lot of them seemed to have been trained to accept Santer's plot-driven, shock tactic, and filler-based in between show. I can't imagine how they'd react to a more subtle show.

I agree about Shirley, it seemed like she was finally being herself again and came out of her shell.

The party at the Foxes was the best, I really do hope Kim is here for a while.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

BTW, Kris Green said on Twitter that the scenes at the end of the episode with Lucas by the bar watching the actress that was supposed to be the prostitute was a result of the re-shoots/rewrites that took place this week...

Edited June 5, 2010 by Y&RWorldTurner

[DRW50]

You have a good point about whether the more recent viewers or younger viewers will keep watching. Kirkwood knows how to do stunts so that won't be a problem but if the tone of the show changes from what it has been for most of the past few years, which is generally shallow and doesn't explore that much, then I wonder if people will want to keep watching. And then there's the exits of some of the teen characters. I don't agree with the idea you sometimes hear that teens only watch for teens, but a lot of the younger viewers do seem to like Lauren, so that might cause some of them to lose interest (although she has barely been on most of this year anyway). I guess a lot depends on the new characters Kirkwood brings in and the stories. Generally I think Eastenders has been rebuilt enough to where it will still stay strong in the ratings as long as care is taken. They were lucky that the time between the live episode and the most recent episodes were not long enough that people would go away (it took several years of not so great episodes for viewers to leave starting in 2004, didn't it?).

I've heard some fans say Shirley is being regressed, and I guess that's something I would complain about with some circumstances, but the problem is that Shirley has mostly matured because of a fantasy world. Her relationship with Phil and dealing with his kids -- she has built herself up for that. When it goes away, what is left of her? I'm sure Shirley will go back to enabling Phil soon enough.

So I missed the part where Lucas talked about someone named Mark. What was that about? Is that part of the rewrite or is the woman Lucas saw at the end of the episode going to be his focus?

[Y&RWorldTurner]

The bartender at the club called Lucas "Mark!" so it appears that he's been frequenting this place and using that name.

I think the brunette woman he was staring at will be his upcoming focus.

Apparently, all of this was part of the rewrite.

[DRW50]

Oh. I'm so dumb. I thought they meant someone else was Mark. I did see that part.

It's way too early to tell but I actually kind of prefer this idea to the one of Lucas going around trying to save and then kill a prostitute.

[BadBoy93]

On Monday we have another arrival in the form of Jodie.Cant wait.