Hmm. I could like Janine but i read she is taking a break too. And there are others on break coming back. Whats with the Brit soaps and all these breaks? Lol.

And I know what you mean Carl about not feeling real, i meant real in terms, to me compared to the US soaps. I was meaning a different "real". Lol.

British soaps are much more lenient in letting people have time off. Eastenders has had a ton of breaks in the last year alone and has more coming up - in the last year or year and a half, and coming up, Max, Tanya, Kat, Phil, Shirley, Dot, Janine, Ian, Ricky (permanent as it turns out), Bianca.

I do think there's a certain realism on Eastenders, in some weird way. Not as much as in their best years but after Santer left in 2010 they have gotten a little less sensationalist and had more of a community feel.

Can anyone do a brief update for me on like the last month so I feel kinda caught up? Or I can read up more now that I'm into it.

Well... Kat is having an affair with either: Michael, Jack, Max, or Derek. Ray was a contender at one point, but they eliminated him from the suspect list. We are supposed to care, but few do. Kat is a serial cheater. She has a son with Michael - Tommy - who is also Alfie's cousin. Tommy was switched at birth with a dead baby last year (by Jack's ex-wife/Roxy's sister), which caused major controversy and rewrites. Kat was abused by her uncle, but she uses that as an excuse to sleep around, and Alfie is too spineless to kick her out.

As you know, Ben killed Heather, Shirley's BFF. Ben is gay, and a big disappointment to his dad, Phil; he was abused by his step-mother, and has done many psychotic things since. Phil is a major alcoholic thug/gangster. He and Sharon go way back.

Sharon's husband, Dennis, was murdered several years ago. She also used to own the Vic at one point, too.

Shirley used to be married to Denise's now dead husband, who is the father of her two kids, Carly and Deano. Shirley doesn't see them as she's a deadbeat mother who's a functioning alcoholic.

Denise used to be married to a man who turned out to be a serial killer. He staged her death and locked her up for months. Denise also has two children, who left town to go some place. Denise sees Patrick as the father she never had, even though she did think he was her dad at one point, too. Kim & Ray should work, but the writing for them has been sour. She's trying to bond with his daughter, Sasha, and failing.

Ian is an original character. He was all set to marry a woman who didn't really love him, but suffered a nervous breakdown (thanks to half brother Ben 'fessing up to killing Heather), and ended up sleeping on the streets. His ex-wife (and Lucy's mother) was a real bitch. Sometimes Lucy displays some of these qualities. She has a twin, Peter, who is living somewhere else. Bobby is their half brother. Ian has had many weddings. Ian can also be quite the jerk when he wants to be, and was in an on going feud with Phil (Phil did marry his mother at one point).

Janine is the bitch we love to hate. She's has so many layers, and is the best thing about EE. ATM, this is the first time we've seen Janine in this role before; this is all new territory for her, and develops her character nicely. Her complexities would take too long to list here.

Zainab and Masood may seem like filler characters, but they are a very complex family. They are more popular when they do the lighter stuff, as it plays to the characters strengths. Last year Zainab reunited w/ her evil ex-Yusef, who once set fire to her for falling in love with Masood. He started controlling her and beating her. He ended up dying in a fire. Zainab & Masood are now engaged and planning their wedding; he wants to be a teacher, even though they were/are struggling financially. Their son Tamwar was married to Yusef's daughter, Afia, but their marriage ended earlier this year. He has burns from the fire that killed Yusef.

Christian & Syed are also getting married. Syed has a daughter with his ex-wife Amira. You'd need to check out some of their more meatier stories to see how good actors they can be. Christian is a personal trainer, and is kinda Lucy and Bobby's step uncle.

The Brannings are a mess of a complicated family. Max has cheated numerous times, and Tanya is no better. She once tried to bury him alive! And their daughter Lauren mowed him down, too. Max disappeared last year and returned with a secret that involves his repulsive brother, Derek. Tanya hates Derek. Tanya's mother Cora, has a secret dead (or not so dead) daughter. Lauren has a drinking problem. Max's brother Jack, is the father of Roxy's daughter; he's also the male whore of the show. Derek is hated by his son Joey, who saw him hitting his mum when he was a kid. Derek also stole money from Lucy when she was at her lowest point; he's racist and is a general thug/wannabe gangster who is quite a vile character.

Whitney is quasi related to Janine. All of her relatives are off screen. She was abused by a paedophile, and manipulated into sex trafficking. She's dating Tyer, Michael's half brother/Alfie's cousin.

I think that's everything.

Damn. Thank you! That was great! Helps explain things a ton. At the point now with Sharon's return. I was also confused over the Denise/Shirley/Denise calling Carly scenes but now that I know their connection it made sense.

I am liking Janine more and more. I like Kat too but I can see why the affair thing with her is getting old. She seems better than that. I loved Janine and Kat having it out while Tommy was meeting Scarlett.

Edited August 30, 201213 yr by KMan101

Also of significance: Roxy is in love with Alfie, and he knows it. He knocked her back in favour of being faithful to his wife. Of course, this could all change in the future.

Kat used to be better than this, but they have her stuck in repetitive mode. When she and Alfie left in 2005, their story, and especially Kat's, was wrapped up. When they brought them back in 2010, they undid all of that and started to rehash old ground. A lot of it is just lazy writing by the previous regime.

Did you watch Michael & Janine's wedding episode? That episode really explains a lot about Michael's character.

I didn't see it but I'll have to search for it.

Also started watching 1985 episodes.

Started watching August. I really like EastEnders. I think it's got an interesting cast and I love the interaction and community feel and how everyone interacts.

I love British soaps for the fact that they just seem more real. I totally believe I could run into these people and I love the natural dialogue. Again like real people.

I am of course starting with a fresh perspective. I'm around the point of the community cook off and Ian's return.

I like the dynamic between Janine and Michael, however, Janine is really annoying. I want to like her. I've read on here she's a bitch. Where is that? Why are we getting this exasperated mother act? I'm not loving it. Not a great introduction for me to the character.

The Masoods seem boring and fluff characters. They really dominated the show at one point? Oy.

I like what little I saw of Christian and Sayed. Thank god they are pretty (Sayed's hot as hell) but they sure are wooden actors. Wow, they're bad.

I like Kim and Denise. Ray is ehh to me. He seems like a jerk to Kim, who really comes off a tad desperate and tempermental. But I like her. I do hope there's more to Kim/Denise than Kim yelling at Denise for being a sourpuss and Denise huffing and puffing and sighing about Kim.

I like Kat. However, it sounds like she's a whore. I take it she and Michael hook up? Or have? Her and Alfie are really boring together. Why is she with him? He adds nothing. He's an OK supporting character but man they use him a LOT.

Shirley must be a love/hate character. I like that she's different and somewhat crass with an attitude. Is she leaving?

Can anyone do a brief update for me on like the last month so I feel kinda caught up? Or I can read up more now that I'm into it.

I take it this particular time isn't that rough for the show? I think it has a lot of dead weight but the Brit soaps seem to have large casts with all of them serving as supporting at one time or another. I like storyline rotation.

This is interesting since I just started watching Eastenders about six months ago and thanks to the internet I have learned and watched so much of it's history already. Janine and Ian are the characters that really kind of got me into the show..

Edited August 31, 201213 yr by ER Tosh

I already prefer many of the long running characters (whats left) to some of the newer ones. Janine, Ian, Phil, Kat, Sharon and Michael are the most interesting for me. The Brannings are all boring except Derek. I like his daughter. Lucy looks 12 so i find it laughable she is running a restaurant. Shame Ben is done for now.

Lucy needs to gain some weight. I understand having a low metabolism, but it just does not look good on camera.

Goodbye Anthony, I would have prefered your brother Tyler being gone instead, but your no huge loss any road.

Edited August 31, 201213 yr by Bright Eyes

The show needs to play on Syed and Janine's relationship more. I find it fascinating how she seems to dislike almost everyone but has this fondness for him which we see on the odd occasion like this week.

It was stupid getting rid of Anthony. Tyler is way more disposable.

Yeah, I'm kind of surprised they got rid of Anthony over Tyler.

The scene were Sharon drops the contents of her bag on the spot Dennis was killed was brilliant. Despite not having seen that episode, it still resonated with me.

Watched clips of Dennis's murder so I'd be more connected when I saw the scene. Very tragic for Sharon. I also have been reading up on Sharon and had no idea just how popular she is with the UK audience.

Tuesday Aug. 28

Wonderfully way to start the episode by listening to Sharon's words and showing the various scenes. I have loved, love and will always love Janine. It was great seeing her deal with motherhood and getting help from Tanya. I also find Anthony and Alice really sweet together, although I'm not sure EastEnders does sweet. I imagine some horrible drama will befall them soon. The stuff with Kat and Alfie was hilarious. I especially enjoyed her throwing her ruined shoes at him. And that last shot of Sharon walking away from Jack while smiling was great.