EastEnders: Discussion Thread

[cassadine1991]

They barely debuted

Edited June 25, 2017 by cassadine1991

[hsfolk]

i know, and i can already tell they will chew all the scenery they're in

[DRW50]

There have been some really odd stories going around about the outgoing EE producer. One that the man who plays Phil has been off for months mostly because he didn't want to return until SOC was gone. Another is that he walked after a woman (some say the woman who plays Jane) shouting "Lady! Lady!" to try to stop her from making a complaint. Another is he fired the guy who plays Billy and was going to have Billy die and Jack and Honey in an affair, but the Jack actor refused to play it.

[NothinButAttitude]

 

Scandalous. 

 

So is Perry Fenwick no longer on the show? I have not seen or heard about Billy being onscreen at all as of late. 

 

I'm beginning to believe the Steve McFadden/Phil rumor though as we have not seen Phil in months, which is fine with me. 

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[Skylover]

Phil going has been the best thing about the last couple of months. Billy has been on screen as recently as the last few episodes. Even if the actors were told to do an affair story and Perry was fired, those actors should play what they're given. They're not writers, I do feel like some of these British soap actors are way too big for their boots. This kind of thing would never happen in Neighbours.

[DRW50]

 

Billy was offcamera for months, just popping up briefly. Supposedly if he'd died it would have been in May. But Scott Maslen supposedly wanted nothing to do with this storyline because he felt Jack would not sleep with another woman so soon after Ronnie's death. A BBC executive intervened and Scott went on a break for several months (which is why Jack was barely shown for a while). They gave Perry a reprieve, although I wonder if something is still up in the air as last month he said he had no idea if he was going to be kept on the show. 

 

We have seen him again more recently with the unveiling of Coker and Mitchell, but he is still being written as a screwup, and they also started randomly writing Honey as very unpleasant, so I'm not sure if SOC was bitter, or still planning something, or what. 

 

Perry is one of the show's most underrated actors so I hope they keep him around.

[Adamski]

 

It's fun to speculate! I think anything could happen with their next producer hire. 

[Skylover]

Interesting @DRW50 that you thought Honey was being written as unpleasant because I noticed that too. I'm now wondering if it was meant to be comedy-type stuff that wasn't quite played right by the actress? I hadn't noticed that either Billy or Jack had gone for months, I'm not sure whether there's any truth in those stories. I did find it strange how Billy was written last week as a screw-up, as that is what the writers for the last couple of years seemed to be attempting to get away from. Kind of the loser makes it good kind of story, as he's running his own business and has a family etc and a pretty wife. They were taking it a bit too far in the other direction though so it's more natural for Billy to still have some of the insecurities that he's had his whole life, as well as some character development.

 

More curiously, why has Pam been seen in quite frequent guest stints since her departure? I'm starting to wonder whether they regret axing her and want to kill off Les and bring her in full-time to move in as the matriarch of the Mitchells (Billy's branch of the family)? Ted and Joyce are not working as the replacement older couple and I wonder how soon they will be axed. He's alright but she's not working too well, I wonder if Les and Joyce will be written off in favour of a Ted/Pam combo. I did realise that I had missed Pam when she came back, there's no believable older motherly type to fill her role, Kathy seems too young despite her age and no-one else hits the mark or is the same age range.

 

I am fascinated to see how things develop in regards to Phil, Jack, Billy, the Taylors and Murrays.

Edited June 26, 2017 by Edward Skylover

[Skylover]

I do think Abi living with Jay and Ben is ludicrous. Donna being there is great but it doesn't make sense for Abi to be living with 2 of her ex boyfriends.

 

What are thoughts on Cora? I find her quite poor.

[Skylover]

The Abi/Steven/Lauren/Josh story is brilliant. Lorna Fitzgerald is massively improving, and Abi and Steven are so believable as characters.

[NothinButAttitude]

http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/eastenders/news/a831824/eastenders-catch-up-derek-keegan-johnny-homophobia/

 

And they wonder why Keegan is not well-received with fans and won't last long on the canvas. He's too f-cking vile! There's nothing good about him. He just moves from one disgusting plot to the next. Are there no boundaries for the character?

 

Johnny is a p-ssy to just stand there and allow Keegan to do that. He's another character I just don't care for. Too damn wimpy for me.

[Skylover]

 

It's a good story to have a main character be homophobic. Only if they let him have his comeuppance though (which I guess they won't). I like how Johnny just stood by, it sounds like it has led to some good scenes between Derek and Johnny. Nice depth to it. I do feel sorry for the Keegan actor having to play out a homophobic scene though.

[NothinButAttitude]

 

I'm sorry but it is not a good story when we're supposed to be feeling remorse for Keegan post the reveal he lied about sleeping with Louise. It's overkill. The character is too vile. Bullying Bex, assaulted Emerald, fabricating sexual assault on Louise, now is homophobic. 

 

And Johnny standing by watching might lead to some good scenes, but it still makes Johnny come off as weak, which I find to be suspicious. Just odd that out of all the boisterous, strong Carters that Johnny (the one gay character in the family) would be written as the pansy. 

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[Skylover]

 

I would say Lee is the pansy of the Carter lot and portrayed as so, rather than Johnny.

 

As for Keegan, I haven't seen the episode yet but I think he was just being unintelligently insulting and picked on Derek being gay rather than any real homophobia though I'll see how the story plays out. Perhaps under the new producer they might hit their stride with Keegan. Though I don't find vile characters necessarily out of place in a soap, particular Eastenders, where I don't think we're necessarily meant to like all the characters.

[NothinButAttitude]

 

Lee was not a pansy. His depression held him back from doing a lot. Johnny has been this way from day one. Mick and Linda treat him like he's something delicate compared to the other kids.

 

Soap characters can be vile but there is a limit. Keegan ain't been on the show a damn year, and he's done the most heinous acts in a short period of time. I don't see him having longevity at all b/c of this.