EastEnders: Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

I had seen the 1997-era episodes on PBS and then kind of lost interest, but started back with BBC America, around the time the SLaters showed up. I kept up with it for a while, in spite of being repulsed by the constant focus on Phil, because I enjoyed Steve Owen and the Slaters and Dot and Jim, among others. I think what made me lose interest was when BBC America took off the Classic reruns, which I loved.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I still don't think any soap since has introduced a large new family as successful and that fast as the Slater's. They were all so unique and fit in seamlessly.

Though, Stacey's really kept their name alive as Lynne, Zoe, Little Mo, and Kat started to leave within a year of each other.

I'm re-watching some of Little's Mo's trial on YouTube again. It's just harrowing, especially to see her guilty and understanding why the jury found her so given the evidence, yet also knowing how badly Trevor damaged her. Even Trevor had tears in his eyes when Little Mo was found guilty! I remember being so shocked when I first watched all this.

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Then this heartbreaking scene between Little Mo and Charlie in prison:

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[DRW50]

Did you ever see that Slaters in Detention DVD? They had the other ending, the one if Little Mo had been found not guilty. I think the most entertaining part of that DVD for me was the ending

There was such a special chemistry between the Slater family back then which was never really equaled. In the family itself I think only Jean and Stacey have that chemistry now.

Before the channel was taken down I was watching some of the clips of when Charlie was sent to prison, and while I don't know the wisdom of having so many members of the same family sent to prison within a few years (wasn't Big Mo behind bars not too long after this), there was a really good scene with Lynne and Charlie where she said she always had to be the strong one, but she wasn't strong, and she needed him to be there for her like he always was for his other girls.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Slaters in Detention was flippin' hilarious, I'm still surprised they even did that special.

Lynne was definitely the lucky on in that family though. She never had to go through what Kat and Little Mo went through in their lives, which is why people probably found her to be the "boring Slater."

Did you ever find Stacey in her younger years at least to be mini-Kat? I know she was created to be a younger version of Kat and the similarities are definitely there. Stacey probably came more into a different path though when she met Bradley.

I'm really interested in seeing how Kat and Stacey interact with one another now and before Stacey leaves at the end of the year.

Edited July 17, 2010 by Y&RWorldTurner

[DRW50]

I see more similarities to a young Janine than a young Kat, but the gobbiness is definitely there. I think the main difference was that even though Kat felt alone and felt ashamed, she did have a loving family who were there for her. Stacey never had much of anyone and was generally an isolated character.

[DRW50]

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/scoop/a245122/enders-attack-corrie-scam-and-oaks-proposal.html

I wonder if this leads to Phil's drug problem.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I wonder if Phil will cause the Vic fire with being hooked on crack soon...

I've heard that Derek Martin filmed his last scenes as Charlie not long ago. So if Charlie is killed off, I wonder if we'll get a Slater family reunion, minus Zoe of course, for his funeral?

Some more details on Barbara Windsor's going away party from last night, they seemed to have really gone all out for her, deservedly so.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/144922/Barbara-Windsor-leaves-Eastenders-with-bubbly-laughter-and-tears/

Edited July 18, 2010 by Y&RWorldTurner

[Ben]

I think, like Y&RWorldTurner, that there has been too much happening since then to really be able to catch up, and starting from June 2010 is probably a good idea, but, I think it may be good for you to see some of the bigger episodes in between, which could broaden your perspective on what's going on now. Off the top of my head: Stacey being sectioned; Lucas & Denise's wedding/Owen's death; Christmas 2009; Zainab discovering Syed & Christian's affair; Syed & Amira's wedding; the Live Episode; Amira learning the truth...

I can't think of any other significant episodes... Can anyone else?

[KSlater]

Thanks for the suggestions, Ben. I saw a little clip of the Live episode on the EastEnders Youtube channel last night and was blown away.

[DRW50]

This wasn't a great episode but I enjoyed some of it more than most of the "event" episodes of the past year. It was one or two episodes before Christmas, when the Mitchells were trying to host a Christmas dinner elsewhere to make extra money and Peggy's sister Sal, who was visiting, helped lead the diners in a chant of "We Shall Not Be Moved" until she realized how cash-strapped the Mitchells were. Then she decided to help them by acting as the entertainment, and practicing fire-eating for the shocked crowd.

[Ann_SS]

I loved the episodes with Syed and Amira's wedding and Amira finding about the truth about Syed and Christian. It think Marc Elliot while still the weak link did a good job in Syed's scenes with Zainab and Christian in the wedding episode. In the episode where Amira finds out, I love the scene where Christian and Syed are confessing all to Amira and she says that she wants to bury Christian alive. Christian responds that it would make no difference that Syed would find someone else and Syed turns to Christian and says I wouldn't. It was one of the few times that I believed that Syed loves Christian.

Another episode that l loved, but didn't get a lot of buzz was the one where Jim goes to visit Jack in the hospital. Dot as the Branning matriarch getting the family (and Ronnie) together to go visit Jack who had just woken up was quite touching. I'm not a real Branning family fan, but I really bought them as a family in that episode.

Edited July 18, 2010 by Ann_SS

[DRW50]

Yeah, there were one or two episodes around Jack's shooting that weren't too bad. Mostly when it involved Carol and Dot.

Ricky and Bianca getting married and Carol returning wasn't bad either.

I was watching some special last night, 30 Years of An Audience With (an ITV show), and when they showed a clip from the Spice Girls appearing on the show, I guess in 1996 or 1997, they showed Barbara Windsor out in the audience, and I could swear Samantha Janus was sitting not far from her. I wonder if they remembered that when Sam went to Eastenders a few years ago.

[KSlater]

Thanks CarlD2 and Ann_SS! I watched the Syed/Amira wedding episodes this morning. The actress who play Zaniab -- I can't say enough about her. Zaniab is so bigoted and set in her ways, but still I adore her in spite of it all. I thought the confrontation between her and Christian, when she found out, was great. She kept pushing and pushing until Christian snapped -- and the way he blurted to truth out -- I could tell it cut her heart apart. And her confrontation with Syed -- also well done. Zaniab reminds me a little bit personality wise of Pauline Fowler in that she wants to rule every aspect of her childrens' lives -- they are her whole life, but she's too caught up in how things are "supposed" to be with them instead of seeing how things really are (if that makes any sense).

Edited July 18, 2010 by KSlater

[Ann_SS]

K, I'm so glad you enjoyed the episode as much I did. Nina Wadia who plays Zainab is a talent and a find for EE. You absolutely right that Zainab is the new Pauline. EE can never let her leave. It may be EE heresy, but she is a better actress than Wendy Richard. Nina is a multifaceted actress who makes me feel sorry for Zainab even as I want to slap the hell out of her.

I loved the confrontation with Zainab and Christian. There was so much anger, venom, cruelty, spite, frustration and vengeance in their scenes. You could see Christian trying to hold back, only to be pushed over the edge by Zianab's homophobia and religious bigotry. I have to admit that I busted out laughing when Christian told her that he and Syed did everything and that he loved it. The revulsion on Zainab's face when she hears this and then later when Syed finally mans up, defends Christian, admit that he is gay, and that he loves Christian is painful and real. I found these scenes hard to watch because it is hard to acknowledge that even people that you love and care about can be bigoted. I know this first hand.

I have been watching a few scenes of Christian/Syed, put together the story isn't bad at all. I think if there had been more scenes of them happy together like when they go for that walk and Syed tells Christian that he loves him, their love story would been more believable. After re-watching these scenes, I am thinking that I have been too hard on ME as an actor. He does alright when he doesn't look disinterested in what Syed is supposed to be feeling about Christian.

And K, we both know that there is no such thing as too much Dennis love.LOL

Edited July 18, 2010 by Ann_SS

[DRW50]

I definitely agree that Nina is a better actress than Wendy Richard. Wendy wasn't so much of an actress as she was a personality, which probably suited Pauline. You tend to see Wendy "acting" more early on. As the years went by, Pauline BECAME Wendy, and vice/versa. I don't think that Nina and Zainab have that much in common. The main difference between Nina and Wendy is that EE did such a great job of setting up a family unit around Pauline, one which lasted for years. I don't think Zainab has that. Too often her scenes end in her family shunning her or barely tolerating her. Mark and Michelle and even Martin loved their mother, she was not simply a gorgon, at least not until near the end. I wish there was more complexity and more family happiness in the Masood scenes. This is one of the reasons I want Shabnam to come back, not because I think she will add happiness but because it's another dynamic to add to the family. The Fowlers had Pauline/Michelle, Pauline/Pete, Michelle/Arthur, Pauline/Mark, Michelle/Mark, and Lou's relationships with her kids and grandkids. They alone could have had their own show for years.

I thought that the wedding episode was very well-acted...what I really loved in this episode were the scenes where Zainab finally told Masood about his nasty brother putting the moves on her, and Masood throwing him and his wife out of the house. Other than that the fight between Christian and Zainab was probably the high point. That was John Partridge's best acting moment on the show, and to his credit, he told Nina Wadia to actually hit him, and hit him hard. The fake slaps on this show are ridiculous (see just about any scene with Pat or Peggy) and a fake slap in this moment would have thrown you out of the drama.

In terms of the writing, I thought this had some of the same flaws as the rest of the storyline, which is a) I don't believe Syed and Christian are in love b ) they are both immature and they use people while acting like victims c) they are both ridiculously melodramatic at all times. And this episode, like the scene where Masood punched Christian, involved Christian going on about the hot sex he and Syed had. Christian claims to care so much about Syed but more than once I have gotten the feeling that he just enjoys the idea of this forbidden affair, that if Syed were some guy he met in a club, he wouldn't have been interested after the first night. Christian has a history of wanting men he can't have. He did this with Jane's husband and with Steven Beale.

The other thing which bothered me was that Christian was basically doing his best to break a woman who was in the last stages of a risky pregnancy. The original plan supposedly was for this baby to be stillborn. If that had happened, then even though I'm sure the show would have found a way to not blame Christian and Syed, I would have put a lot of blame on Christian. I don't know why they changed the decision, if they did, but I'm very glad they did.

What always stays with me is how long Syed kept this lie going, even when he knew he was going to hurt so many people. Sometimes I think the show would rather viewers believe that Zainab knew about Syed for ages and pushed him to be with Amira because she knew he was gay.

I feel like I might enjoy his work more if I only watched occasionally. I have seen him do the exact same mannerisms so many times (the Shakesperean yelling, the teary eyes, the terrified look, the glazed over smile), in so many scenes, that I can't tell the difference between Syed leaving his family behind or Syed getting the wrong packet of cereal.

I also think that they should have played down the stuff with Amira because even now I have a hard time believing he never loved her. He had so much more chemistry with her.

Edited July 18, 2010 by CarlD2