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EastEnders: Discussion Thread

Toups

By Toups
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DRW50 Grand Master

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I wonder sometimes if the soaps can really create iconic characters now, or if the shows themselves are the characters now, trapped in their own history. I guess a lot also depends on marketing -- I don't think Stacey was ever anywhere near what Den or Angie or Kat or the Mitchells were, but she was marketed as a face for the show in the last few years and Lacey's talent also helped.

I think if it's anyone it would be someone unexpected who just happens to capture the audience, and who is defined by themselves and not by any prefab outline (the one used to create, for instance, Zsa Zsa).

Of the more recently added characters, I think Fatboy could become a pretty good character (not iconic, but pretty good) with the right material.

Edited by CarlD2
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Y&RWorldTurner Newbie

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I think it's much harder these days to find characters who take on a life of their own. Soaps either don't feel like investing in characters, or something gets lost in execution.

I think what really helped Stacey was Kat leaving. Let's face it, Stacey was basically a take on Kat's character from a younger angle without the makeup and leopard print, Tony Jordan even admitted this. When Jessie and Kat left, the show used Stacey/Lacey a lot of fill that void. I noticed this a lot from the 2006 stuff and during the Stax affair. Stacey was very Kat-lite during this time.

I think they just need something unique that the show doesn't offer and that the other shows aren't offering. I don't think Den and Angie, The Mitchell's, and Kat were like anything that were on soaps when they first debuted and during their peak years, they stood out.

Edited by Y&RWorldTurner
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DRW50 Grand Master

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That's true. I think if you shape a character to fit an actor and if you give them time to grow, they can be something special. I think all the soaps sometimes fall too much into tropes, like oh look at the feisty female, look at the hardman. One of the good things about a continuing drama is that people can change. If you push too much too quickly you end up with a character like Roxy, who is pretty much dead because they played everything out so fast.

Eastenders at its best does have characters who are like no one else, and people we can love and hate. Like Max.

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I actually think that's the case more so with Ronnie than with Roxy. I kind of feel Ronnie may be all tapped out and there is no where else to go with her.

Roxy seems to have taken on a new life in recent months, she;s supporting yes, but I feel like they can probably do more with her now than before, which I don't know if I can say for Ronnie.

I think Max is a real asset to the show and Jake Wood can play a lot of diverse things.

Forgot to mention during my Stacey/Kat analysis, the Stacey/Bradley relationship was almost entirely based on the template the show used for Kat/Alfie.

You know, the tough Slater girl who feels unworthy of love falls for someone she normally wouldn't give a second look to that is goofy, slightly awkward, but an all-around nice guy, and then they're on and off for god knows how long.

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DRW50 Grand Master

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I think there are places to go with Ronnie if they try (PPD, or moving on from Jack) but it's tougher for me to see with Roxy because she was basically just defined by Archie and by being immature, not a lot else. The whole baby story was such a mistake.

I can see that. I guess the big change came when Bradley got Stacey to have an abortion.

I think it was Santer who really changed that relationship and who had little interest in Stacey/Bradley, besides will they/won't they. Bradley was just an attachment to Stacey's life while they tried to put her into bigger stories. Kat and Stacey both cheated on the men they loved, but whereas Kat only seems to do so if she has no choice or if she has been betrayed, it seemed like Stacey often just didn't really want Bradley enough to stay faithful, she always wanted more. I never really believed Stacey actually loved Bradley.

He can do anything or be anything. Sometimes I think a producer is almost scared of that type of character, as the show kept Max on a very tight leash for several years. This year they had no choice but to let him loose and he proved to be invaluable, and held a lot of stories together. I hope this is just the start because he's like no other soap character. The best thing about him is his effortless chemistry with everyone, which is easy to take for granted.

Edited by CarlD2
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<embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/1817812373" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=627940051001&playerId=1817812373&viewerSecureGatewayURL=https://console.brightcove.com/services/amfgateway&servicesURL=http://services.brightcove.com/services&cdnURL=http://admin.brightcove.com&domain=embed&autoStart=false&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="486" height="412" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" swLiveConnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed>

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DRW50 Grand Master

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Michael Jackson joke, really?

That guy is kind of oddly hot though.

Thanks for posting this. I didn't know about the video Carol watches. That's going to be so tough to see her reminded of the contempt Billy had for her. Poor Alan. I guess this explains why Sonia and Robbie don't return, even if Alan and Blossom are there. She might ban everyone from the funeral but Alan refuses to go, or he goes after an argument with Carol.

So I wonder if Whitney and Peter are going to be a long term couple.

Does that woman from Billy's past remind anyone of Laurie Metcalf?

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And we can't forget that Bianca wanted to shag her own father (well, she didn't know, but still...)!

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOXT-ycy5D0?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOXT-ycy5D0?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOXT-ycy5D0?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

Edited by Y&RWorldTurner
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I looked it up, and it's Shirley Stelfox, who has been on Emmerdale for years as the one of a kind Edna Birch. She was also on Keeping Up Appearances as the first Rose. And on Brookside for a while. I never knew she was on Eastenders.

I just hated Sarah Hills...the story where Rob was falsely accused of rape was good though.

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