EastEnders: Discussion Thread

[dannigold]

The soap schedule for Christmas day is Emmerdale 6-7pm, Corrie is on 7-8pm and Easenders 8-9pm. No Hollyoaks

[DRW50]

Looks like the Daily Mail hysteria has already caused them to edit out scenes from the upcoming NYE story.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=1414123

[Bright Eyes]

Which pisses me off.

[All My Shadows]

That really sucks.

[Bright Eyes]

The look on Janine's face at the end was just excellent. She looked like she found religion. Bye bye Stacey!

I wish that Max and Stacey scene was longer. Damn Ryan for breaking it up. I was on the verge on tearing than that loser had to show his face!

Edited December 24, 2010 by Amello

[DRW50]

It's fascinating to see the outpouring of passion and trench fighting about Stacey vs Janine that this story, as messy as it has been, has produced. It reminds me much more of American type of soap fan reactions than the usual UK fan reactions.

[DRW50]

I enjoyed most of this last episode. They're doing a good job of building up to the climax while still having plenty of strong character-oriented moments, and the cast has been doing a fantastic job, few weak performances. I just hope it won't fizzle out at the end.

This cracks me up.

http://holysoap.five.tv/eastenders/news/janines-holy-post-11498

Stacey photos in her last episode.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s2/eastenders/news/a294740/first-look-staceys-final-eastenders-ep.html

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Stacey and Max seem to be the hidden love story. The glances they exchange, how it tears them apart that they can't speak to one another in front of Lauren, and yesterday when Stacey told him, "What was I supposed to do? You abandoned me!"

I think Stacey's last scenes are with Max too.

Edited December 24, 2010 by Y&RWorldTurner

[Y&RWorldTurner]

A video on the move to HD with some BTS people, as well as a small skit with Himesh Patel and Charlie Hawkins:

<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkuveUMtkkw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkuveUMtkkw?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=hkuveUMtkkw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

[DRW50]

That was fun - I wish we saw more of Darren and Tamwar on the show.

That Dot's wig thing is so odd.

So did they add the ugly wallpaper because of HD? Do you ever expect Hilda Ogden to wander into the Vic living room now?

[All My Shadows]

The last few episodes have been overwhelming, to say the least. Charlie Brooks is working the hellll out of everything she's being given.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I enjoyed today's episode.

Peter seems to finally have come into his own as a character, too bad it took Thomas Law's last episode on the show to accomplish this. I wonder if he'll be back or if they'll recast, as we already know Lucy will be back in the New Year, unless plans have changed.

The Max and Janine scenes were very good, but Janine and Lauren are right about Max. He's prepared to drop everything and see Bradley branded as a murderer just to protect Stacey. Too bad Stacey and Max were never allowed to become a legitimate couple, because that's where the real love affair is IMO.

Bianca getting arrested and then them finding all the other stolen goods her kid stole for her. I felt sorry for her having to have her entire family watching her being driven away by the police, but it was all her fault in a way for stealing and then setting that type of example for her kids who were just following after her.

I loved the way they cut the scenes between everyone as Kim was singing her solo Christmas carol.

I'm interested in seeing where this business about Kim and Denise running a B&B together.

I for sure thought Janine was going to air Stacey's confession to everyone in the Vic, I was thoroughly surprised by the Ho Ho Ho's! I guess Max switched the recordings, again proving the lengths he'd do to protect Stacey.

In one of the deleted scenes Lauren tells Max something about how he'd pick Stacey over her and Abi any day. I can't say I would disagree with that in any way. Stacey is clearly the one who "got away" for Max.

The overall community and Christmas atmosphere on the show was very strong too. I always love the background music EastEnders uses on Christmas.

Now on to Stacey's exit tomorrow. Don't forget the show is airing on Saturday and Sunday, guys!

Edited December 25, 2010 by Y&RWorldTurner

[DRW50]

I thought this was a fine episode, and whereas some other Christmas episodes, I admired the storytelling more but wasn't overly interested in the characters, this year I could see some writing issues but genuinely cared about most of the people involved. These recent episodes have really excelled at driving up your emotions for the characters. Last year while I could see how they worked out all the details for Archie's murder but it was all so cold, I didn't really care. Yet the show has worked that Christmas, and the Stax Christmas blowup, into this year's story. This story has really built on 3 years of material.

Still don't understand the pacing or reasons for Glenda's push down the stairs -- I wonder if they cooked this up because they were writing Peter out? Shirley was amusing at least. Every time I see Roxy without those awful extensions I keep forgetting who she is. It's a shame that the hell of Jane's revenge schemes has been replaced by another big lie she doesn't know about, and she seems dense to not wonder more about exactly what they're hiding. I hate seeing Ian taken back to this level, as the character can be much more. In spite of all this the work from Adam Woodyat and Thomas Law carried the day. Thomas still has a long way to go but I can't believe this is the same actor in those teens in the woods episodes. The scenes where he threw a brick through the window and denounced Ian had a real punch because we've seen more of Peter's good side and we've seen him slowly dragged down by all of Ian's lies. After years of the show not knowing what to do with him, he might finally have some real potential. I hope Thomas will be back.

Only when they had the scene of Peter being seen off by mute Ben did I get just how much the teen set has changed over the last year. Only Whitney and Abi made it through the whole year.

Loved the scenes with Janine and Max - I don't think they'd work as lovers (she'd never be satisfied being one of Max's harem), but I'd like to see them fighting over the car lot or something. Wasn't as crazy about the scenes in the Vic but for what they were I thought they worked. Janine scenes like that fall into bad camp or good camp -- most of 2009 was bad camp but this one I would put more in the good category. What a contrast to Tracy on Corrie strutting in like the bad Melrose reject most of Corrie has become.

The whole Bianca exit story is contrived but I thought Patsy Palmer did a fabulous job. I always love when Bianca is quiet -- Patsy Palmer is so much more than the screamer. The scene where she stole the perfume was contrived but Patsy carried it off. I loved her work in the scene where Bianca lashed out at the cop, and her shock when she realized what she'd done. And Ricky got to do the shouting this time.

LOVED everything with the choir. I don't know if you remember, but Emmerdale did this a few years ago, they had a big comic relief choir story to contrast to the misery going on elsewhere. I liked that story more than many others did, but I think it was let down by going on a little too long and being a bit too silly. This story has been shorter and more character-based -- Dot being befuddled by Boney M, Dot wanting to sing solo, only for Kim to take over. And where else can you find glittered cleavage on your soap?

Then Lacey delivering such a moving performance when she confessed the truth to Ryan. Moments like that are why I'm going to miss Lacey, even if Stacey is played out. I will also miss her with Kat.

This episode also had the first montage I've really enjoyed in a British soap.

What an up and down year for Eastenders, possibly the most unstable ever. As the year ends I am still where this summer, before everything became so ugly and hostile and the show fell apart -- I think Kirkwood has added a lot of community and heart to the show and I find it more watchable than I have in quite a few years. I just hope it lasts.

[DRW50]

Yeah, that scene where they said Bianca told them to steal, it was a good scene. This is the type of material I would have preferred for the family in the beginning instead of all the cutesy kids and their cutesy reactions. If they were living in poverty then they probably would have been stealing more often and would have been more out of control.

It's also a good contrast to the life Ricky's led and what Bianca's been doing in recent years, something the show has rarely addressed.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I did really feel for Stacey at the end of the episode with the guilt and shame written all over her face. Lacey can make Stacey sympathetic even when the character shouldn't be. They will really feel her loss for a while I think. I wonder if they're giving Kat that new friend because she won't have Stacey and her sisters to bounce off anymore.

I was surprised at how well it worked in this episode. It wasn't "OMG look what we're doing," it felt just right and effective for what it was supposed to do.

This episode felt more like the early 00's to me, before the lost some of its heart in the mid/late 00's.