Members dannigold Posted March 26, 2008 Members Share Posted March 26, 2008 'Enders' plot strikes blow in soap battle EastEnders recorded its largest audience of 2008 on Monday thanks to a bury-your-husband-alive storyline. Some 11.4m viewers, or 42.4% of the audience, were watching at 8pm. The BBC One soap's previous high was 11.1m (44.3%) on January 3, a Thursday 7.30pm episode. The double-bill of Coronation Street could not match its rival, with 10.9m (41%) watching at 7.30pm and 9.9m (36.5%) an hour later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KSlater Posted March 26, 2008 Members Share Posted March 26, 2008 I love that EastEnders isn't afraid of audience outcry, stands behind what airs and just goes with a good story that plays out to a brilliant conclusion (wouldn't it be nice to see such guts on US soaps). And I love even more that a great storyline is rewarded by high ratings. Thanks dannigold! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JamesF Posted March 26, 2008 Members Share Posted March 26, 2008 I was very dubious about the burying alive stuff and Friday's episode was really OTT. Fortunately Monday's episode wrapped it all up logically and had some fantastic acting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted March 26, 2008 Members Share Posted March 26, 2008 James, could you tell me how exactly are soaps written in the UK? Over the years I've found many different accounts on how that goes, so it would be really helpful if you made sense of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted March 27, 2008 Members Share Posted March 27, 2008 LMAO! Milking the Max Factor Kevin O'Sullivan 23/03/2008 Welcome to the wonderful world of Walford... where, three long months after their sensational Christmas Day bust-up delivered the best soap episode of all time, Max and Tanya are still the only show in town. This dismally dysfunctional duo's never-ending trouble and strife has been stretched to breaking point. On and on... and on it goes. When it will end, nobody knows. But you can see why the spacealien scriptwriters are reluctant to change course. Apart from Mr and Mrs Branning's increasingly implausible eternal feuding, Albert Square is drowning in a sea of nothingness. It's a load of boring rubbish. So, in a weird week of trumped-up melodrama, it was back yet again to bloody Tanya. And her latest final solution to the Max problem. Convinced that her fiendishly clever plan to get away with the perfect murder couldn't possibly go wrong, tubby Tan turned to her sinister sidekick Sean Slater and insisted: "I've thought this through." She sure had. Her carefully concocted plot to kill "mad" Max was almost flawless! She buried him alive. But not before leaving the most comprehensive trail of evidence in criminal history. How to bump off your husband - and go straight to jail! Double-dealing Max was condemned to a grisly death when his airhead wife realised he'd reneged on a deal to hand her his alleged fortune. "I was stupid to think he'd sign everything over," she wailed. "He's too smart. He's too devious." Oh yeah - brilliant. All he did was sign the forms in front of her then rip them up when she wasn't looking. Machiavelli - eat your heart out! But, one year and three months (count 'em!) after seducing his future daughter-in-law Stacey Slater, the horrible hubby from hell lay beneath the earth screaming his bald little head off. "Bye Max," hissed Tanya as she nailed down the coffin lid and faithful lug Sean began to fill in the absurdly shallow grave. One foot under! Say what you like about East Enders - but "fast-paced" it most definitely is not. Everything trundles on forever until the very last drop of feeble drama has been squeezed dry. Why does Max and Tanya's turmoil continue to hog the limelight? It has to. Because the rest of the nonaction is uninteresting dross. It's impossible to give two hoots about Ian Beale and his missing daughter Lucy. Like the Platts of Corrie, chip shop Ian and his calamitous clan have weathered so many scrapes over thousands of turbulent instalments, they can no longer be taken seriously. And why should we care about Shirley's lump? This nasty hatchet-faced soak, who so endearingly abandoned her kids, is hardly a sympathetic character. The only worry most of us have is that she might survive. Last, but certainly least, let's try to forget TV's dumbest-ever storyline. "This can't go on," sighed moronic mechanic Minty as the life-sapping saga of his pretend wedding to huge Heather entered another soul-destroying chapter. For once in his useless life Minty was right. Make it stop. Now the poor guy is doomed to fall in love with Heather for real. I'd swap places with Max any day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dannigold Posted March 27, 2008 Members Share Posted March 27, 2008 I would ignore his comments he has hated EE since day one, and is very anti BBC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dannigold Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 Franks for the memories Having both been married to and conned by that infamous scoundrel Frank Butcher, it’s amazing that neither Pat nor Peggy look at the calendar when his coffin arrives on board a horse-drawn hearse this Tuesday. As Frank’d say, we’ve got a right couple of pilchards here… Because knowing him to be the master of duckin’, divin’ and deception, this could be an elaborate April Fools’ Day hoax – much like he faked his own death in Spain in early 2002. Normally, the peroxide pensioners would rip off the coffin lid and hold a mirror to Frank’s mouth just to make sure he’d stopped breathing. But they behave almost with dignity. Sadly, this time Frank is most definitely brown bread. And, in their way, these episodes are a belated tribute to the actor who played him for nearly 20 years, Mike Reid, who sadly passed away last July. Even from inside his box, Frank manipulates Pat and Peg into fighting yet again. Peg dances on his grave, while Pat describes him as her ‘soul mate’. ‘The real Frank was ’orrible, nasty and rotten through to the core,’ Peggy spits as they slap each other. ‘Will you listen to yerself, you stupid fat, old tart? The only fing Frank Butcher wanted from you was sex.’ With Enders on blistering form at present, this is also a timely reminder of the ghosts of Albert Square, because Frank’s funeral brings back his kids. Thickaaay Rickaaay – one of the few fellas who makes Peter Andre seem intelligent – arrives with his dippy fiancee Melinda, and his enigmatic sister Diane with her romantic secret. Best of all, one of soapland’s legendary soap bitches is here – black widow Janine, all screw-you attitude, designer clothes and a Mercedes Benz. ‘Well, the prodigal returns,’ Pat sneers, two and a half years after Janine’s murder trial collapsed. ‘I know why you’re here, but don’t worry. You haven’t missed the will.’ As Rickaaay tries to contact his ex-wife Bianca so that their son Liam can come to the funeral, we also catch up with her again as she hits hard times. Volatile and poignant with black and white flashbacks, this is a fitting send off for a great EastEnder. As his ashes are scattered in the gardens, there can be only one epitaph for him and Mike Reid – it’s ‘where his heart is’. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dannigold Posted March 29, 2008 Members Share Posted March 29, 2008 Here is another brilliant promo for the Return of Bianca and her four kids. Beware of the singing http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=uhMogwLsS-s&fmt=18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted April 4, 2008 Members Share Posted April 4, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted April 4, 2008 Members Share Posted April 4, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members All My Shadows Posted April 7, 2008 Members Share Posted April 7, 2008 I've been reading up a lot lately on "Coronation Street," especially the stuff surrounding David Platt and his random acts of fucked-upness. I just have to say...wow, that kid is truly screwed up. And that's why I absolutely LOVE him! I watched a clip of he and Gail arguing before he pushes her down the stairs, and that was some really good stuff. Can anyone fill me in on the other current storylines going on, and are they any good? I don't have any way to watch the show, but I think I want to keep up with it through episode recaps, summaries, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Drew Posted April 7, 2008 Members Share Posted April 7, 2008 David Platt is an interesting one, thats for sure. We're about 8-9 months behind the UK here in Canada (Paul Connor just died within the last 2-3 weeks here), but so far he's set fire to an exam to get himself expelled from school, and sabotaged Bill and Jason's construction gigs. I know shortly he will start doing E which leads to his neice overdosing & nearly dying on some left out pills. I've seen some current episodes downloaded off a torrent site -- I cant wait for the babyswitch story with Michelle's son to start airing here, and the Carla/Liam/Maria triangle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JamesF Posted April 8, 2008 Members Share Posted April 8, 2008 Corrie's been annoying/boring me for weeks but tonight's was absolutely fantastic. Gail confronting David and then him going on a destructive rampage, smashing up the street was full of drama and even comedy. Particularly Blanche: "Oh she loves a drama, that Gail. LOVES a drama. Practically encourages it. Never happy unless she's got someone else's hands round her throat." A perfect Jonathan Harvey script. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted April 8, 2008 Members Share Posted April 8, 2008 James, sorry to be bugging you, but when you find the time, could you answer the writing process in the UK question? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JamesF Posted April 8, 2008 Members Share Posted April 8, 2008 Oh sorry I forgot to answer! The truth is, I really couldn't tell you. From what I gather, each show does things differently but the "headwriter" kind of role seems to rest with the Executive Producers of EastEnders, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks but the Series Producer of Emmerdale. These are the people who are trotted out to do the press and interviews and when John Yorke was at EE, it was all very much about the stories "he" was creating. I believe a lot of emphasis is placed upon long term story conferences every six months or so when all the producers and writers gather to thrash out ideas. I just don't know how that translates to the breakdown of weekly blocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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