EastEnders: Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

I hope that if there's an interest in them they might be brought over, but only if there's an interest. Of the E20 group the only one who really works for me on Eastenders is Mercy (and even she is still a minor character), although that might not have been true if not for the incredibly poor introduction they were given.

McKee has her moments but mostly when she's playing a campy or bitchy type of role. She and Clare were fun rivals and so were she and Cindy.

How soon before we start hearing that he's making EE into HO

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Kirkwood didn't like the way Santer introduced the original E20 group, so I think he's either hesitant or doesn't want to introduce the new group to the main show.

I guess if one or two of them prove to be popular, they'll make it onto the main show at some point.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Did anyone see this brief preview clip from next Thursday's episode with Lisa, Louise, and Peggy?

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[DRW50]

It's not Peggy if she's not slapping one of Phil's women...

Looks interesting. I guess Peggy is going to give Louise back reluctantly and wanted to show Lisa it wasn't about any fondness for her. Poor Lisa.

And poor Lucy Benjamin being dressed like a Florida retiree.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Lisa's always had awful hair and wardrobe from what I recall.

But Lucy Benjamin actually looks, dare I say, a bit younger than she looked when she left in 2003.

Edited July 29, 2010 by Y&RWorldTurner

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Today's episode:

The Lucas stuff was low key and wasn't a huge sensational event, which I kind of liked actually. I think a lot of people probably expected Lucas to commit suicide or kill Chelsea or Libby (since both are leaving soon), but I'm glad it wasn't any of that and it would've been much more predictable. The kid playing Jordan is a bad actor, but I thought everyone else in those scenes were good, and the final scenes between Lucas and Jordan were where we really got inside Lucas's head a bit. Though, I don't know if this episode translated as well on-screen as they would have liked, it did kind of feel disjointed.

They could have also spent a little more time on the Foxes and less on the rounders and such.

Santer would have probably made the Lucas stuff a big event and 90% of the episode, but I don't know if it really needed it, especially after the way he dragged most of the story out. I'm kind of glad it's all out in the open now and didn't involve some final shock tactic like suicide or another murder done by Lucas. In a way, I can see how many would be disappointed since they probably expected some huge event, but the show went in a much more low-key and community based direction.

I really enjoyed the game of rounders, it involved a lot of people you wouldn't normally expect to see together. I think stuff like that added to the community feel of the show, and it was nice that they tied the Lucas stuff in with it at the end.

Edited July 30, 2010 by Y&RWorldTurner

[Ann_SS]

I felt the episode was a let down. I expected more. I liked the community game of rounders. It made me smile, but it seemed totally out of place. The acting was not as good as I expected. The actress who played Chelsea was horrible. Also, people didn't act shocked at seeing Denise alive. I'll miss Don.

I couldn't help noticing that Denise's eyebrows were perfectly shaped although she had been kidnapped for days.

So Fatboy's name is Arthur. He has really grown on me. I liked him a lot today. He and Mercy are nice additions. Will they stay around?

I like Jodi also. She seems very sweet.

[DRW50]

I think you both said everything I would have said!

I actually enjoyed most of the episode, minus Heather (I was especially annoyed they were back to writing her as she was for most of 2008 and 2009). I think Santer would have done a more powerful reveal but then Santer is the one who took away all the story's momentum in the first place, so who knows. He just didn't seem to care that much about the Foxes.

Everyone in this story has done a good job, generally, although Tiana has been better than she was today, and Jordan is the weak link. I still think most of them were fantastic today. Belinda O gave one of the best performances I've ever seen from her. Much better than I had expected.

I really hope that this story isn't going to be written off as a disappointment or a failure by a lot of fans because this reveal episode wasn't bigger. I'm afraid it will be.

I loved the stuff with the rounders, especially the fun sides of Max and Jack. I'm surprised at how much I like Jack these days. The stuff with Darren and Jodie was OK too, but Abi's crush is starting to go slightly wrong. I hope she's not going to go too far.

Great to see Pat at the Vic (it's been years since she ever worked there, I wish it could last) and involved in the game.

[DRW50]

It looks like Eastenders got about 8.56 million for their first 25 minutes last night.

For some reason the repeat on BBC3 got 1.58 million. I wonder why it was so much higher than normal.

[Ann_SS]

I think that the Lucas story has been a success despite any complaints on the boards about the climax being a let down. The ratings show that people watched despite the lack of promotion and that is what counts.

It is quite shocking how likable Max and Jack are of late. They both usually work my last nerve. Goes to show that good writing is a cure all for most characters.

I did like Pat being part of the game. I'm worried about where she goes after the upcoming fire.

Carl, about Christian, I had forgotten that he had a long term partner when he first showed up. The guy dumped him when he found out that Christian had a thing for Jane's husband. Once he got to the Square, he became the single party guy which I loved actually. Christian did technically cheat on James with Syed, but since he broke up with James almost immediately, I give him a pass there.

Edited July 30, 2010 by Ann_SS

[Y&RWorldTurner]

That repeat number is very impressive given that the original airing got about a 41% share.

Tonight is Charlie Jones's last episode as Ben.

[DRW50]

I guess Pat will go back to living with Bianca and her kids but I kind of wish they could put her back in with Denise and Patrick. Denise and Pat used to be close, and that was at least acknowledged slightly by having Pat be the first one to hug Denise when she ran out of the house.

I think it helps that Max and Jack have both finally moved forward in their lives, although that might just be temporary. I think a lot of shows believe that you constantly need to have macho men who are in conflict, but that's not always how it works. Sometimes it's better if you have men who may be stubborn but can also genuinely care about each other. Jack and Max work much better this way than they did as rivals.

Soaps seem to be judged more and more on the reveal, although that's partially down to these being so hyped. I think sometimes it blurs the viewer's mind, or some viewers, about the quality of a story. The Stax reveal was great but was the story itself that good? It always seemed a bit like a cheap Shannon Tweed film to me. The Danielle/Archie reveal was good but was the rest? Rinse and repeat for the reveal of Archie's killer.

I mean obviously these stories were popular and that shows how important the reveal is but I'm hoping people will remember that the story has picked up a lot of steam over the past few months, and that it did a great deal to help revive Denise as an important character. I know some are upset about Lucas not killing anyone, or killing himself, but I think that that would have taken away from what the story always was, a window into his madness and how that madness affected other people.

They should have paced the episode better and they should have had stronger reactions to Denise returning from the dead but aside from those disappointments I thought the reveal was decent. I just think that they shouldn't worry quite as much about balance between light and dark moments on future reveals.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Today's episode:

I thought today was very enjoyable, and the aftermath of the Lucas stuff was handled well. It was nice to see Zainab involved with the Foxes, and not fussing over Syed for once. I thought the hospital scenes with Denise and her family were very good.

The scene where Max eased Stacey into taking Lily out for the first time were nice too. If Stacey weren't leaving, I would think they're setting up Stax to become a legitimate couple this time around.

Dot and Fatboy are strangely highly entertaining together. I don;t know what it is, but I've come to enjoy Fatboy, and teaming him with Dot has been brilliant for both characters.

Jodie, Darren, and Zsa Zsa were filler, but it was funny in some instances. Again, it's hilarious to see just how secondary Zsa Zsa is these days.

Phil: When he [ben] comes out of there, we won't recognize him!

I took that as a wink to the audience about Ben being recast. Poor Ben being slaughtered in prison, though.

I also enjoyed Pat and Roxy interacting, and at east they explained Roxy's disgust over Archie being the reason why she wants to sell the Vic.

Edited July 30, 2010 by Y&RWorldTurner

[Bright Eyes]

I hate Libby. She's an idiot.

[dannigold]

I loved the Eastenders revealed programme. It was nice to see Bryan Kirkwood on it.