EastEnders: Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

The Pat and Peggy story was a mess. These were two very lonely women being preyed on by a sleaze, yet the story was played as comedy. Harvey was also badly miscast. There were some good moments, it's always nice to see more of Pat without her being ordered around or being put in the hospital, but a lot of it was so embarrassing. I really hated the scene where they began to argue at the opera, it was so degrading. I kept hoping they were faking that fight.

The teens stuff was awful. And didn't you think that Zsa Zsa and Whitney looked like pathetic hypocrites for railing against Lucy on a plan they were more than happy to be a part of? And that flashlight gave us an even closer view of Leon's spots. Ugh.

Who came up with the idea of having Peter fake the tears for Lucy? That was the same badly acted reaction he had when he actually thought Leon was dead. It just put a great big spotlight on how poorly acted this story has been.

The only part I enjoyed was the brief conversation between Fatboy and Mercy but that just points out how stupid it was to have Fatboy spend 6 months going around using painful slang. And he still looks 10 years too old to be a teenager.

Bianca and Carol were by far the best part of the episode for me. Liam was OK but I rolled my eyes at him suddenly finding a voice after years of doing nothing more than sitting there, barely reacting, with that damn cap on his head, like a My Buddy doll.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Hopefully, Kirkwood's influence does a better job with Santer's remaining stories than Santer did.

I can't wait until this show is purged of all of Santer's story influence, it can then start over.

[DRW50]

Were you surprised Peggy took off for two more weeks with what's going on with Ben? That confused me. Babs is like the Erika Slezak of Eastenders

Edited June 4, 2010 by CarlD2

[Y&RWorldTurner]

She returns for Ben's trail or whatever though, doesn't she?

I wonder how they're going to write Peggy out, it's supposedly a huge exit, but I wonder what causes her to leave.

[dannigold]

Does anybody know if Vanessa Gold is a permanant character; beacuse Zoe Lucker gives the impression that she is only staying for a few months.

Edited June 4, 2010 by dannigold

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I think I read that she's signed for a year, so I guess they'll take it from there.

Though, initially, she said it was supposed to be a short stint, looks like it was expanded over time.

Edited June 4, 2010 by Y&RWorldTurner

[DRW50]

Yes, Peggy's at Ben's trial; I guess when the story picks back up in a few weeks Peggy may also be back by then. I don't care that much for Peggy in Mitchell mode but I've missed her in this story.

I do wonder what her exit will be. I think it has to be more than just going to Spain to live with Grant. I guess it may involve Charlie somehow.

As for Vanessa, I wonder if they are waiting to see what happens. I can see her leaving for a while and possibly returning later on. For now I will be surprised if she's anything beyond an obstacle for Tanya, and will never compare to Tanya in Max's eyes, even if Tanya doesn't want to be with him anymore. I also wonder if Jo Joyner is starting to pave her way into leaving the show (she's recently filmed a comedy show during her maternity break) and Vanessa may be someone they fall back on when Tanya's gone.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I think Jo Joyner said she was very wary about doing EastEnders, not only because of the publicity and scrutiny involved with the show, but because she didn't want to get too comfortable playing one character for too long. I wouldn't be surprised if she leaves for good in a year or two.

As for Vanessa, I believe her having a daughter wasn't originally planned and was written in months after Zoe Lucker was cast. I think they ended up signing her for a year and expanded the character and ended up giving her a daughter. We'll see what becomes of the character in a year or so.

Edited June 4, 2010 by Y&RWorldTurner

[DRW50]

I know some have said that now that Jo has kids she may want to stay but I think that's not true for a lot of actors. I wouldn't blame her for going -- the writing for Tanya over the last two years wasn't exactly great stuff.

It's interesting because 3 years ago you could have said that the Brannings, Max's branch of the family, would have been the future of the show, and then when Jack came along that could have been even moreso, with all the anticipation of his relationship with Ronnie, but, although I love Max, these days you could probably write out Max, Jack, Tanya, their kids, and Ronnie, and the show wouldn't really suffer that much. The show never bothered to integrate them into the fabric of the Square. Integration is what really helps a character, more than anything else, if you ask me. Of course that might not be true for Eastenders these days, I don't know, I might just be speaking of the past. Which characters brought in in recent years do you think have been well integrated?

[Ben]

I don't think its a case of who has been well integrated, b/c most/all aren't used to their full potential. On the surface, you could get rid of 90% of the cast, and it wouldn't really matter, but that same 90% will have an effect on one or two characters, instead of a larger majority.

E.g.: Denise, Zainab, Bianca, Ronnie - these four have all crossed paths at one time or another, and have each demonstrated that they have the potential to be mates of some sorts, but instead, they have either forgotten their scenes, or keep them as frenemies (how many frenemies does Zainab need?). Denise/Zainab works well, but both characters have the same tense relationship with Bianca, which never gets touched upon, while Bianca has that same tense relationship with Ronnie, that never gets touched upon. During this time, they could've built up Biance/Zee, Bianca/Ronnie, and developed their characters and relationships. I know Zainab is a difficult woman, but surely they could've had one scene with one of her friends (Denise) comforting her/listening to her freak out about Syed (this would've been forced out of her, of course). It could've given a whole different dynamic on the situation, and even though I can't imagine Zee listening to anything Denise has to say, it would still have let her know that she had someone on her side, so to speak. Or imagine Zee ranting at Denise, and Lucas walks in - where does he stand on homosexuality? Would he have gone all creepy and supported Zee? It's all about character interaction, and exploring those dynamics. Without these, characters will never be woven into the canvas properly.

It's like they only ever remember Christian & Roxy are BFFs when it suits. Jane doesn't have any close friendships outside of Tanya; Ryan has no-one besides Janine and Whitney... in fact, there is a lack of male friendships, with the exception of Phil/Minty/Ricky, but they never share any meaningful scenes. There's potential for Phil/Masood, but I won't hold my breathe.

Re: Jo Joyner - I can see her staying with the show for a while, as long as they continue allowing her to do other projects outside of EE, like she's doing now.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Everyone on Digital Spy and at Walford Web are talking about how different Friday's episode is in its "feel" and how it's one of the best episodes in weeks. I hear Kirkwood's new arrivals were pretty good and they added a lot to the show, well at least this particular episode. I also hear the comedy is the best it's been in a while in today's episode.

Looks like Kirkwood really poured a lot of thought in making his first credited episode and his new characters promising.

I can't wait to watch it later today.

Edited June 4, 2010 by Y&RWorldTurner

[DRW50]

I read that Ian compared Punk Mary, one of my favorite EE characters of all time, to Zsa Zsa. I don't think so, Ian. Mary was not a 30 year old with a frozen face and a fake accent that would make Dick Van Dyke weep.

But I am looking forward to the episode though, like you mentioned. The other stuff sounds decent.

Edited June 4, 2010 by CarlD2

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Just got done watching today's episode, wow, there's DEFINITELY a new burst of energy on the show. And what a difference a day makes.

I enjoyed Vanessa and her and Max's cat and mouse game. She's off to a promising start, I think.

Kim Fox is hilarious and makes a great drunk. You can tell she's a catalyst to make Lucas go even more insane.

Max catching Darren looking at porn.

I enjoyed the Heather and Shirley scenes and then the Shirley and Ian scenes too. I love Shirley, but I'm kind of glad Ian called her out on what an enabler she is for Phil at times.

The teens were barely anything in this episode, and I must say, I did enjoy their interaction with Ian. It wasn't that bad, especially how he annoyed them.

Mercy's grandmother was good too, and I did like her brief scene with Liz as Vanessa drove into town.

And wow, they brought Lauren back from wherever the hell she was. I wonder how they're going to write her out. If this the first time we've seen this school set? I don't recall seeing it before, but maybe I just forgot.

It wasn't a MAJOR episode, but it was enjoyable and definitely not a chore to watch. You can almost feel there's change in the air at the show. I think the Kirkwood era, though he's sharing the EP credit with Santer for the next two weeks, is off to a promising and fun start.

I also thought the comedy in today's show was a lot more character driven than it usually is.

Edited June 4, 2010 by Y&RWorldTurner

[Sylph]

Hate Ben, wanna see him gone.

Love Denise, so bummed Tiana Benjamin is leaving. So bummed. Such a loss. Always loved the character and felt she was underused. Hate Patrick, he can go. I was always irritated by the character.

So sorry to hear Madeline Duggan's leaving. She was kind of obnoxious and too blasé, but I felt there was potential.

The Max & Darren porn was good, but nothing spectacular. And I loathe Darren, BTW.

Love Zsa Zsa Carter so I'm sad she's leaving. Leon/Sam Attwater's been axed too, right? Too bad.

Hate the Beale kids Lucy and Peter, awful, just awful. That's the family I'd kill off. Jane's useless, though I love her, and I despise all the rest.

[Y&RWorldTurner]