EastEnders: Discussion Thread

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I don't get that, Hollyoaks is a youth oriented show, while EastEnders has a very limited youth portion of its cast and has never really primarily focused on them.

If anything, Kirkwood's Hollyoaks used a lot more people who were adults than past regimes or recent regimes have at that show. His Hollyoaks wasn't really the stereotypical teen soap the show was known for up until then.

There's always going to be the rotating feature where one group of characters is heavily featured for a few weeks and then a next group. Though, I think this has been handled a little better recently. Kirkwood's Hollyoaks was well-paced in 2006 and 2007, 2008 was hit and miss and the Niall story might have dragged on way too long. Though, overall, I wouldn't say most of his big stories were horrifically paced at that show, some had a tendency to drag though.

The last time EastEnders had superb pacing I would say goes back to the John Yorke era, that was really the last golden era for the show where it seemed like everything just clicked.

Edited August 17, 2010 by Y&RWorldTurner

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Preview scene between Aunt Sal and Peggy from Thursday's episode:

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I love Aunt Sal.

[Ann_SS]

Well, it is clearly my perception of the Hollyoaks cast. I'm just pleased to see how Kirkwood is showcasing some of the overlooked EE cast.

As long as Kirkwood improves the pacing, I'll be happy. I know that EE does a lot of block taping to save money, but how those scenes are aired impacts how invested the audience becomes in stories. I just hope that Kirkwood pays attention to this aspect of his storytelling better.

LOL! Good job telling Peggy off, Aunt Sal. Peggy's family is a dysfunctional nightmare. I love how Jack, Roxy, and Billy are cracking up at the table. They know that Aunt Sal is right.

Edited August 17, 2010 by Ann_SS

[DRW50]

I think Kirkwood and to a lesser degree Santer both did a good job of interweaving stories in 2007 (although Hollyoaks has always had huge black holes -- the other soaps did not until more recently), but then that fell apart in 2008. Santer's became just laughable by 2009 and early 2010. I think cast integration has improved markedly over the past month or two, but whether that will last, who knows.

[DRW50]

I thought today's episode was good. Like you both said I have no pity for Heather and while I know Shirley felt guilty I'm glad she didn't cave in to Heather's whining. I don't understand why Billy or Jay weren't there to help. I'm glad Zsa Zsa will be gone soon -- she's so wooden she can't even clap properly. The scenes at the club were almost like a joke, with overaged Fatboy being teased about an older woman, and Zsa Zsa being asked if she can drink. Leon seems to be getting a bit thick around the middle.

Linda Henry was amazing in the scene with Phil in the garage. I liked how she underplayed most of what was going on, to trying to help him to the last scenes where Phil chose the drugs over her. I wish they'd addressed that Shirley has dealt drugs (remember the ice cream van) but it was still powerful.

I wish they hadn't taken Glenda in this direction but I thought Sam Womack and Glynis Barber were both very good...I don't know how Womack keeps up as Ronnie goes through one tragedy after another after another. There comes a point where it's almost overload, and Womack is probably right to take this like someone who is so weak and has to steel herself for the next hit to come. I thought that Roxy and Jack were believable as quiet, slightly traumatized and ill-at-ease background players, and then Roxy's reaction when Ronnie talked about Glenda rejecting her after the abuse began. That surprised me as I thought they had set up that she was always closer to Ronnie while Archie was closer to Roxy, but who knows. I hope they can work out a way back for Glenda but I'm not sure how. Peggy meanwhile is quickly forgiven...

The last scenes cutting from one set of characters to the other reminded me so much of Knots Landing, their opening credits, and some of the episodes, like the one where Abby had to give Diana kidney.

Edited August 18, 2010 by CarlD2

[Ann_SS]

I think that Glenda maybe done. They did not give her a good excuse for ignoring the abuse and everyone is back at the Vic in preparation for the fire. Glenda could be one of the victims of the Vic fire, thereby giving Ronnie and Roxie more tragedy. Just my speculation here.

That is why it looked for familiar. Classic old school. I liked it a lot.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

They'll probably build to a reunion of sorts between Glenda and her daughters up to Ronnie's wedding to Jack. That's my speculation.

Peggy will be gone before the wedding, and Ronnie will need someone else other than Roxy for support.

[Ann_SS]

You might be right about Glenda. I hadn't considered Ronnie's upcoming wedding. I would to see them do something positive with her character.

[DRW50]

Some have speculated she might be the one who starts the fire.

Natalie Cassidy speaks out against Phil's drug story:

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s2/eastenders/news/a263280/natalie-cassidy-phil-plot-is-outrageous.html

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Natalie Cassidy needs to sit her ugly oger-looking ass down. Frankly, her final years on the show were more offensive to me than this.

If they didn't show the graphic nature of drug abuse, they would still be criticized. If they're going to do a story like this, they should present it this way. People get too offended, and yet they still want the show to be "realistic."

What did people expect from a drug abuse story? Phil to talk about being hooked on crack and never seeing him actually smoke it?

The soap audiences complain about the most ridiculous things, especially when they already know the content of the storylines beforehand.

Edited August 18, 2010 by Y&RWorldTurner

[DRW50]

I guess she feels this story should not be broadcast at all in the timeslot. The whole thing is that Eastenders broadcast these types of stories, actually in even more graphic detail (Donna Ludlow, Nick Cotton) a long time ago. I guess that was before the era of complaints but still, this is not new for Eastenders. This is a story which is about pain and is an important way to talk about drug abuse after various soaps have done a poor job depicting it. Why don't you complain about Chelsea getting over her coke habit in a week, or Phil's alcoholism being treated as comedy?

Not to mention some of the ugly stuff going on during the "gangsters" era, which was apparently acceptable because it didn't involve drugs.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I wonder if this is how Lucy is being written out until the recast shows up later in the year.

One upcoming spoiler says:

Though, she doesn't yet know that Jane secretly knows about her abortion. The upcoming Jane storyline has a lot of potential.

[DRW50]

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Yeah, it does seem like the fallout mostly focuses on Ian and Jane's marriage, and Jane wants revenge on Ian, not his kids. Though, she'll probably be using them in that.

[Ann_SS]

I am very excited to see how Jane's revenge plot against Ian unfolds. I suspect that it won't end well for either of them, but should be good.