Am I to assume Derek is the one stalking Phil regarding the 1994 fire? If so, that doesn't make sense.

Only Grant, Sharon, Pat, Frank, Phil, Kathy, and Ricky knew about that. I don't see how anyone else would know. Janine only found out this week from Pat.

It would be great if Kathy was unexpectedly still alive and stalking Phil about it, or if Sharon returned and found out about Phil's role in Dennis's death and used this as payback.

Just getting around to watch The New Moons (whom I can't stand) Revealed, which was more of a recap of fathers on the show.

The best recap was of Sharon and Den's relationship. Tony Jordan mentioned that for most men, the wife is the the love of their life and soulmate, but for Den that was Sharon, which made their relationship interesting.

Ronnie/Archie was such a cheap rip-off, thank god Den never crossed that line with Sharon.

:27 to 5:15

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Thanks for the link to the interview.

It sounds like Max is going to be a long-termer seeing as Jake says he'll stay at EE for as long as they want him. That's good news as Jake is a great actor and I love Max when he's not going round in circles, story-wise.

And I sigh deeply at the thought of Derek and Phil. The only thing that's keeping me interested in Phil's character is Ben at the moment, and even that there's problems there. If they're not going to do the character justice then they should cut their losses. You'd think they'd learnt from the failure of the gangster years mid-noughties but they're rehashing it all again.

It doesn't seem quite like the gangster era to me because these men aren't just random hardmen dumped onto the square, as Johnny and Andy were, but I am not all that thrilled with the idea of Derek/Phil conflict. Phil always wins in the end, and Derek would be more interesting with his family. I'm just sorry John Bardon can't be a part of any of this.

I bet the only difference between this and the Gangster Era is that the characters have families. It will probably be the similar crap, Derek and Phil at war because Derek stepped on his foot or something.

Janine spoiler:

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/221581/Baby-bombshell-for-Janine/

Janine spoiler:

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/221581/Baby-bombshell-for-Janine/

I think it's an interesting twist. Considering...

Janine learns that Michael has no money, and it kind of sparks this question as to whether or not Michael is using Janine.

I don't really like Ben's story, as he's a pretty unlikeable character, and he's written in such a messy way that I don't feel sorry for him, or anything really. He lurches from one nasty act to another, with some nice scenes thrown in for good measure, trying to show us that he's not all bad. There's never any consequences to his actions, or development of his character; it's just the same 'ol same 'ol story rehashed. And the Christian "twist" is the worst so far - it's so unnecessary. I'm sick of seeing Christian's character victimised by violence b/c he's gay (Qadim's thugs and now the aftermath of Ben's lie, and I'm sure he was gay-bashed a couple of years ago), not to forget that they've been here before with Steven Beale. On a side note: I've always thought it should have been Syed who got beat up by Qadim's thugs instead of Christian - that would have made more sense, as Qadim would have gone after him to avenge his daughter.

The continuity in the Yusef story is terrible. They brought back Amira, and suddenly she's lost her brain after one meeting with Yusef. They actually had a good set-up with Christian/Syed/Amira, as you can see all the sides to the story as no-one is truly in the wrong, but by involving Dr. Evil, it has tainted that triangle and turned it into something it didn't need to be. The Yusef story could have been awesome, but due to the shoddy plotting, pacing and continuity with character's personalities, that has let it down. It's still entertaining for the most part, but a lot of the time it's difficult to suspend one's disbelief.

Not feeling the moronic Moons and the Jodie/Poopy stuff; I don't get why they never got rid of Jodie when they axed Vanessa and Darren, instead of axing her a couple of months later. Not much to say about Tanya's story, as it doesn't get played much. I am enjoying the show without Alfie & Kat, who had become especially annoying before they left for their Spanish vacation.

I've been meaning to reply to this post for a while.

I can definitely see why people wouldn't like Ben but I still find him a good character and think there's untapped potential with him. I do wonder how people would have reacted to him had he not been re-cast from Charlie Jones. I do agree that he's written in a messy way, but I think you can empathise with the character because his father is Phil Mitchell. He's had such a dysfunctional upbringing and relationship to his dad, constantly feeling that's not good enough and doesn't fit in, which has caused him to become so conflicted and kind of lost. I actually blame the writing more than Josh Pascoe for the reason Ben has gone down badly as a character. I think Josh is great - he comes across with this awkwardness which I think really rings true in the circumstances.As for there being no consequences to his actions, isn't that part of being a Mitchell? The Christian twist is stupid, but there you are, I guess you can't expect a great story consistently from the writers these days.

A lot of things are such a mess. The Masoods are ruined almost beyond repair. I much prefer your scenario where Amira was not involved with Yusef. n fact I don't see why they couldn't have brought back Amira further down the line once the Yusef plot had tied up. They're rushing all the stories at once. The Yusef plot had potential, but was stuffed up pretty fast. Everyone's acting out of character, irationally and everyone's become dislikeable.

I really enjoyed tonight's episode though. The Brannings/Crosses are great, even if Tanya is driving me insane by refusing treatment. My favourite thing at the moment is Lauren the Slag™. I think it's a good route to go down considering her parents actions. It may be predictable but it has loads of potential for future storylines. Abi is such a weak character though.

Jake Wood on This Morning:

<iframe frameborder="0" width="480" height="270" src="http://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/xmiy20"></iframe><br /><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xmiy20_jake-wood_people" target="_blank">Jake Wood</a> <i>by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/Endersfan" target="_blank">Endersfan</a></i>

I loved the Bad Boys montage.

Charlie Brooks will be on the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15853992

I've been meaning to reply to this post for a while.

That's the problem: I don't empathise w/ Ben at all. I used to understand why he did the things he did, and could see how having Phil as a father would be a problem for him, but his recent actions have gone beyond his dysfunctional childhood, and thug for a father, and all the conflicted emotions. When he bashed Jordan and sent him into a coma, I could understand how he came to that point; even allowing Phil to torment an elderly man, and all the subsequent abuse that Patrick/Denise received was to a point, understandable with how scared Ben was to come out. But, accusing someone of molestation is an act that goes beyond Ben's fractured upbringing - that's all on him, not Phil, but him. And the no consequences thing is again all on Phil, while the rest of his family always suffers Karmic retribution - Billy, Roxy, Ronnie, Grant... they've never gotten away with everything like Phil does, and now Ben does. It sends out the wrong message. And what's worse is all those around Phil & Ben prop their actions without any follow through. Jay raved at Ben for a minute, and they're still mates; Shirley continues to support Phil, no matter what he does; Roxy continues to live in Phil's house after what he did to Christian, and she still treats Ben like he never nearly destroyed her BFF's life. Roxy doesn't have to live there; I'm sure it would look better on her custody application if she wasn't living with known criminals! It's this lack of retribution that pisses me off.

IA with you that JP is not the problem, the writing is. He's an OK actor, and plays Ben to the best of his ability, but the writing does him no favours. I think it's difficult to compare Charlie Jones and JP as their Ben's are very different.

I think the actors can salvage the Masoods - they're not beyond repair, yet. I think they could have waited to bring Amira in, as her scheming with Yusef is so out of character. I'm disappointed that once Christian left, the Syed/Amira story has disappeared. This was one triangle that with the right writing, could have been really good; it could have been so ambiguous, as they all could have been root-able. The main problem with Yusef, IMO, is the bad execution the story began with. The moment Zainab started to fall for Yusef, remembering her old love for him, was the moment this story lost what credibility it had. She never loved him, that's the whole reason why she fell in love with Masood! And then she just decided he didn't set fire to her all those years ago. And now it's a domestic violence story!? I don't care how much Nina Wadia praises the story, the writing still sucks.

That was a really good episode, with some funny scenes thrown in between Pat/Billy/Lola. Jo Joiner is rocking the story, but unlike you, I get why she's refusing treatment. She was in "fantasy world" where she thought having treatment meant everything would be fine for everyone, but then her "friend" died, and reality hit her, making her scared and confused. What vexed me is her refusal not to tell anyone; it's so annoyingly dragged out, and really it would have better if Tanya had told her family weeks ago, instead of playing the story in a sensational way by giving her a secret and a reveal. Lauren has improved a lot as a character, and I like that she's gone down that path. Abi did prove that she wasn't a weak character, but lately she's reverted back.

And why have they regressed Kat? This part of her story was done with when she and Alfie left in 2005, so why rehash it all again? Is it b/c they've run out of ideas for her? Why hasn't Alfie suggested she see a therapist? I don't know what to make of Alfie giving her permission to sleep around when ever she feels like it.

I loved the Janine/Pat scenes last week. No matter how many scenes they have concerning the same subject, the writers always manage to pull something new out of it. It was good to see Janine finally realize that her dad, Frank, was actually a jerk. The bubble has finally burst.

I've been watching a lot of 2005 and Den's murder story again. I think this might have been the only time the show told an umbrella story that involved nearly the entire canvas. The Watts, Slaters, and Mitchells were all front and center during this time and within the same storyline. I can't remember the show telling a storyline like this before or since.

I can see why 2006 was such a rough patch for the show, as the show focused so heavily on these characters in 2005, and with the exception of Stacey, Phil, and Peggy, they were all gone by January 2006.

Loved Chrissie's getting found out episode with Sharon punching her at the end. I don't think there's been a villain like Chrissie since on UK soaps - she was vulnerable, funny as hell, and nasty all at the same time.

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I miss Sharon and I hope she returns in 2012. Especially with Pat going, and no Pauline or Peggy around. The show needs that iconic female figure who goes back to the beginning of the show. I think 2012 is the right time for Walford's Princess to return, I don't care what excuse Kirkwood is giving. I think she could be a strong matriarchal figure, especially now that she's a mother and we've never seen that side of her, but she's still young enough to be relevant elsewhere (but please, don't pair her with Phil). She could be the moral center/central community figure of the show. I'd also like to see her track down her biological family and half-siblings. The story with Sharon and her biological family has never really been told.

They can even recast Vicky and bring her back with Sharon and Dennis, Jr. I wish Sue Tully was still acting, Sharon and Michelle returning together would be a dream come true.

I just watched a clip of Deano's return and a fight he had with Sean Slater. liked Deano, but Sean was a truly terrible character. One of the worst things about 2005-2008 was Sean frickin Slater. Watching him made me really appreciate the current show.

There's nothing worse than a panto character who doesn't ring true. I guess Michael is the modern day equivalent of Sean.

They're bringing Stella's death back up.

There seems to be quite a bit digging into the past lately, which surprises me.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s2/eastenders/news/a353045/eastenders-character-to-face-double-murder-rap.html

What are your opinions on the Millers?

Thanks for the link. I like it when they bring up the past. I've heard that that was one of the main criticisms of Louise Berridge's era, however. Apparently characters would make references to the past at the expense of the advancing of current storylines. TheFrank/Phil/car lot stuff was good.

Edited November 27, 201114 yr by Edward Skylover

Phil has gotten away with so much over the years. It's about time these various crimes, which always go under the rug because Phil's the hard man and blah blah, are addressed. I just wish they could bring Lisa back.

I love that Pat shot.