EastEnders: Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/s2/eastenders/interviews/a299235/ricky-norwood-fatboy-eastenders.html

http://www.walfordweb.co.uk/item.php?id=2803

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Walford Web is doing their list of the 50 Greatest Characters voted on by the members.

It's shockingly bad so far. You can tell most people who voted are young fans who probably started watching around 2006 or so.

They're counting it down two a day until the show's 26th anniversary in February.

So far the list is:

50. Steve Owen

49. Jay Mitchell

48. Tiffany Butcher

47. Fatboy

46. Cindy Beale

I was never the biggest Steve Owen fan, but even I know he deserved a much higher placing than this. Jay, Tiffany, and Fatboy on a list of the 50 best characters? Yeah, I don't think so.

My Cindy Beale is ridiculously low.

That's why I don't mind too much when critics do these lists, since message boards are so skewed and it's mainly recent viewers who vote for their favourites.

[DRW50]

Don't you remember the critics list last year that had Roxy Mitchell as one of the show's best ever female characters.

I'm not that surprised with the results so far, as they are mainly going to focus on more recent characters, and it's also one of those where you rank people from 1 to 10, which means characters who are presented as more friendly and likeable might get more votes.

I'm surprised in some ways that Steve was even on the list, as he's been completely forgotten over the years.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

It's going to be complete torture knowing that a plank of wood like Jack Branning is going to outrank Steve and Cindy.

I hope Pauline, Sharon, and Kathy make the top 10 (hell, on a list of the most iconic characters, Pauline and Sharon should be top 5 easily). I would be offended if the Mitchell sisters outrank them.

Edited January 21, 2011 by Y&RWorldTurner

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Bianca's last scenes are tonight (since they film scenes out of order).

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Well, the Walford Web list is officially crap with Kathy Beale coming in at #45.

[DRW50]

Poor Kathy, but then, it's been a long time, and the show has brushed her under the carpet.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I still hate Sonia and don't want her back permanently, but...

They actually touched on something very important tonight between Sonia and Carol. The line that Sonia said while she and Carol were in the car together, "I know I'm not Bianca but ..."

Carol's relationship with Sonia is very unexplored, considering she dumped Sonia off on Jim to raise and wasn't around for the very pivotal moments in Sonia's life. Sonia was on the show for such a long time without the other Jackson's, and it really made Carol look like a bad one-sided mother considering how overprotective she was of Billy and her complex relationship with Bianca, yet she really wasn't much of a mother at all to Sonia.

The show didn't have to include that moment, but I'm glad they touched on it. They could have easily brushed it aside, but it's nice they didn't. It's little moments like that which make the big picture better.

I wonder how Pauline and Carol would have gotten on in latter years. I mean, considering the bitter hatred Pauline had of Sonia (which I actually loved!).

However, I don't understand why they had to break Martin and Sonia up after they gave them that happy ending. I never liked them as a couple, but it seemed they only did this so Sonia could either return permanently again (ugh!) or so she could easily make occasional appearances.

Christopher Reason is such an underrated writer, his scripts are always good and he never gets enough credit.

I'm enjoying the Masood's again, now that they've had some lighter stuff and have come to accept Tamwar and Afia. Good thing Denise had that talk with Zainab...

Edited January 22, 2011 by Y&RWorldTurner

[DRW50]

Was tonight's scene with Max the longest smoking scene they've had in a while? I thought Eastenders had sort of moved away from that because of public health. I will say that it's certainly realistic - Max clings to those cigarettes like a life raft. It reminds me of my grandmother.

I agree about Chris Reason. He's very underrated. I loved the scene with Kat and Alfie when Alfie kept trying to call her. I think that was the best Kat/Alfie episode since their return.

They're certainly emphasizing how pushed out of the family Whitney feels.

I thought the two halves with the Brannings were a bit of a mess, and I could have done without Jack's involvement (although I'm glad the show remembered he's a Branning), but I loved all the stuff with Bianca/Sonia and Bianca/Carol. You're right about going back to the rarely explored relationship between Sonia and Carol. In general I thought they got Sonia right this time around, she felt more like the Sonia I remember, just sadder. It's too bad her last few years, and yet another of Santer's bad returns, get in the way.

Adored that last scene between Bianca and Carol. Probably my favorite mother/daughter relationship on any soap. Is it wrong to say I think this is probably the last time we will see them onscreen together

Did you get the feeling that one of the reasons Carol was upset about Sonia living alone in a not so great area with Rebecca was because she was thinking of when she lived alone with a young Bianca?

I really really really wish I could go back in time to when I looked forward to watching Masood/Zainab scenes. There is a permanent awkwardness between them now which deeply upsets me. Zainab in general seems very broken. I'm glad she is trying to learn from her mistakes. The scenes where she let Tamwar see Afia, with some conditions, was good, there was some believable unease.

Great to see more of Denise and Zainab.

I'm sorry to say I don't believe Syed as any part of the Masood family and he seems like a third wheel even in Christian's life. Massage course? How random is that. The only positive I can say is that perhaps he will be the first masseuse on soaps to not be a prostitute. Someone at DS said Ian will probably be his first client

I do not buy this surrogate thing with them for a minute, and I notice in this interview even John Partridge is downplaying it.

http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/s2/eastenders/interviews/a299493/john-partridge-christian-clarke-eastenders.html

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Partly, yes.

I think scene where Sonia was telling Carol she could come and visit her and then said "I know I'm not Bianca, but..." really hit a nerve in Carol and made her realize how much she's missed out on Sonia's life and how much she wants to be a mother to her (something she wasn't for years and years).

The look on Carol's face after Sonia said that line really said it all.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Someone mentioned that we never knew who Sonia's real father was. We know David was Bianca's father, Robbie's father was some guy Carol got tired of and left, and Billie's father was Alan.

I wonder if Carol even knows who Sonia's father is, much like how Bianca doesn't know who Morgan's father is. I also wonder if this is why Carol didn't have the attachment to Sonia that she had with her other children, because she associates them with men she loved at some point in her life and doesn't with Sonia.

Of course a lot of it is down to Sonia's peak years on the show being well after Carol and Bianca left.

Edited January 22, 2011 by Y&RWorldTurner

[Dion]

Apparently Sonia's father was a man named Terry Cant. When it came out about David being Bianca's father, the other kids wanted to know about their fathers. Apparently Robbie's father used her money to buy toys to get 13 year olds into bed (At the time it was a bit of a throwaway line and wasn't explored. I don't know if this was brought up again when Robbie's father actually came on the show - but it is known that he left Carol when he got someone else pregnant as Robbie has a half brother named Kevin. Perhaps Carol was exaggerating and their was only one 13 year old and that was Kevin's mother.) and Sonia's father Terry beat Carol up.

I don't see Carol as the type to stay in an abusive relationship for very long, i'd be willing to bet she up and left with the kids the second the first beating occurred and didn't find out she was pregnant with Sonia until later.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Thanks for the info, Dion!

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Carol and Sonia scene from '99:

It's funny looking at this scene and seeing Sonia's reaction to Carol aborting the child she produced with Dan, especially knowing a year later Sonia would give birth to Rebbecca (then named Chole) not even knowing she was pregnant and then give her up for adoption!

<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UY-VmTA_LC0" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>

The person that uploaded this has a lot of Carol stuff, as well as Den/Angie stuff.

Preview scene for Monday. Whitney is a total bitch to Carol. I bet Carol will never eat peas again.

<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LAPN8ElskNU" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>

Edited January 23, 2011 by Y&RWorldTurner

[DRW50]

Great scene with Sonia and Carol. Not the most flattering hairstyle for Sonia. The Brannings do family drama better than anyone.

There are all kinds of rumors going around DS, one that Derek Branning and his two sons (late teens and somewhere in twenties) will be announced soon. Another is that someone said a Hollyoaks actor told them Sinead Moyenhan has been cast as a love interest for a new Branning.

If that's true...I didn't hate her as much as some fans did, but of all the Hollyoaks actors to bring over, why the wooden Sinead? She was Rhys' sister/lover, Beth.