EastEnders: Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

I didn't care for this but you can see a few Eastenders stars.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loNQgax53Jk&feature=player_embedded

[Skylover]

Thanks Carl, that is a nice little video to get us in the Xmas mood!

Derek Branning has turned out to be as predictably cartoonish as everyone expected. I just knew from the second they announced that he was joining the cast he would be a stereotypical character to make me stop watching. Everyone's like 'do you know who he is', and he's already ruining Rainie's character.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

PBS is on 2004 episodes, and I really hate Sharon during this time period. It's all either "Dennis, Dennis, Dennis!" or "Dad, Dad, Dad!"

I don't think Louise Berridge really got Sharon at all. Grant and Phil have a history of zapping the personality out of any woman they're involved with, yet Sharon seemed to be the exception when it came to the Mitchell's, yet that wasn't the case in 2004 with Dennis and Den.

I think Sharon regained a lot of her footing as a character again under Kate Harwood, especially when she became more involved with Chrissie and her bizarre love triangle with Den and Dennis was no longer a focal point.

Why do Den, Kat, Alfie, Sharon, and Dennis seem forced into every episode, even when they don't really belong there during this era?

I'm looking forward to Chrissie arriving, and early Stacey soon, but those characters didn't really take off until 2005 under Harwood, and we all know Harwood completely trashed the show by 2006.

[Skylover]

I never liked Dennis all that much.

I'm watching this video. Have you seen it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9SrJQbqDCQ

I think I'm gonna watch some Dot and Ethel two-handers soon as well

ETA: I've just read Lou Beale's entry on Wikipedia. It's worth reading just for the shoddy continuity of her children. It's quite funny. Over the course of the show, the following kids have been mentioned: Pauline, Pete, Keith, Paul, Norma, Kenny, Harry, Ronnie, Dora, Maggie and Maureen.

Edited December 4, 2011 by Edward Skylover

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I like and miss scenes like this:

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KrN7buQLLw4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

It seems so representative of that early 90's era, which was so dynamic, yet so subtle. Every friendship/relationship seemed to have a unique quality back then.

[DRW50]

Thanks so much for linking to these scenes, both of you. In later years I'm not sure Pat and Pauline ever had any real scenes together. I'm sorry that so many fans only have the worst memories of Pauline

I love Civvy Street. I especially like what they did with a young Ethel, and that we got to see more of Lou and what she went through. It's a superb work, and came right at the end of the golden age of Eastenders.

I just can't believe it's the same show as what we've had in recent years. I still have more residual affection for EE than what used to be known as Corrie and Emmerdale before Collinson and Blyth took over, but it's just not the same show....

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Pat didn't even attend Pauline's funeral, which is mind boggling.

I will say that Pauline probably had more consistent airtime than Pat for most of the 00's. I don't think Louise Berridge cared for Pat, but she seemed to like Pauline. Pat just seemed to fade more into the background once they killed Roy off.

There was clearly bad blood between Wendy and the BBC. Pauline might have been awful to watch during those last years, but the character was/is incredibly important to the foundation of this show. I would argue that she played the most important role on the show for years.

[Skylover]

Thanks for posting that scene, Y&RWorldTurner. I'm glad you like the videos, Carl.

I'm tempted to get hold of the beginning years of EastEnders, as many fans really think they were brilliant seasons. And it wouldn't even take that long to get through them seeing as there were only two episodes per week! That was a lovely scene between Pauline and Paul, did they share a lot of scenes in the early years? As I'm too young to remember that era, I only recall the 2000s onwards and those characters had nothing to do with each other.

What's the story between Wendy Richard and the BBC? Why was there bad blood between them? I heard somewhere that Pauline tured into a grouch because the writers intended her to turn into her mother but I think they went too far and just made her nasty. For me Ian represents the basis of the entire show at the moment, and not just because he's an original cast member.

I downloaded some early 2007/6 episodes from when Pauline died, but it was all dominated by Sonia thinking she'd killed her

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I fancy Jake Wood

Edited December 11, 2011 by Edward Skylover

[DRW50]

Pat and Pauline did interact, as Pat had a very ugly and violent history with Pauline's twin brother Pete (they'd been married, she made his life hell when he wanted to leave her, years later she returned and claimed he was the father of her son Simon AKA Wicksy).

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Pat had a complicated history with the Beale's. In fact, Pat's only friend on the show when she arrived was Angie.

Pat's entire basis for coming into the show was to make their lives hell, Pete in particular.

I think it was a brilliant on the show's part to make mention of Pat and alluding to her for an entire year before she showed up. They clearly had plans for the character and were building up to her arrival.

It's interesting how Pat evolved, and how her story with Frank became her definitive and iconic story. The character she evolved into was nothing like the borderline racist drunken whore she arrived as.

Janine will probably hate to see it, but she'll end up just like Pat. Their lives already mirror each other tremendously in some ways.

Edited December 12, 2011 by Y&RWorldTurner

[DRW50]

If you ever want a good read, you should try some of the Eastenders books Hugh Miller wrote in the mid-80s. One of them is set a year before the show began, and focuses on Pete's business problems. He realizes that one of Pat's brothers is destroying his business and a lot of the book is spent on his desperate efforts to survive.

I'm not even sure if she had brothers on the show.

By the way, what do you think of Janine's current story?

[Y&RWorldTurner]

A lot of those books seem to exist in a separate universe from the show. A lot of inconsistencies between them and the actual show.

I'm not sure Pat ever made mention of her siblings, but I could be wrong.

I'm amazed Pat lasted through so many eras and was a very vital element on the show up until the Louise Berridge era.

It just won't be the same without her. I just hope her passing has some longterm value for the characters closest to her.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Janine has been the saving grace of the show this year to be honest. After the way Santer trashed the character, I'm surprised she's become well-rounded again. She's been carrying big amounts of the show this past year.

I think her and Michael have a fascinating dynamic, I'm not sure if he's using her, but there appears to be some connection and spark there that she's never had with anyone.

I hope Charlie doesn't leave again, because I think Janine's become too crucial to the show, and is needed more than most.

[DRW50]

I haven't seen enough of the show this year to really participate but if anyone wants to do a best and worst of Eastenders 2011, I'd love to read it.

[Skylover]

Janine is, hands down, the best soap character of all time. The only character who comes close is Sally Fletcher from Home and Away, for me.