DTC's reign has been the least enjoyable in at least 5 years IMO. I completely gave up for the first 3/4's of last year. Credit where it's due, the last 4/5 months have been OK on the whole but the way the Lucy's killer reveal has been handled concerns me. I'm indifferent to Kathy as I've never seen the character on-screen but the idea of bringing characters back from the dead is concerning. Despite a feather in his cap with the Lucy death SL, I won't be sad to see him go.
In the space of a few months in the winter of 2005/06, the show lost Chrissie, Sam, Kat, Alfie, Dennis and Sharon. Whatever people think about some of them now, they were huge characters at the time and the show never really recovered from losing them, or Pauline at the year's end.
The rot set in in the early 2000's, but under Santer is when the show was truly driven off the cliff. Crap, inconsistent characterisation, style over substance, hyped up episodes which everyone recalls as "brilliant" followed by months of nothing... it's no surprise that DTC, who worked under Santer has brought us back to the mire. He wasn't even able to devise his own anniversary plot, recycling instead the dreadful "Who Killed Archie" storyline that wrecked the the show for the first 6 months of that year.
Kirkwood wasn't brilliant but there was a period of a few months at the beginning of his direction where the show actually felt like "Eastenders". Those small bits of progress have been undone. There has been nothing that matched, for example, the Billy's death episode, since.
However, I've grown to accept that the current show, with its sloppy writing and consequence-free plot is now Eastenders, for better or for worse.
Sure there has been periods in where the show has been mostly rubbish (2006,2012/2013) but i've stuck with it. I've not missed an episode in many years and i don't intend too. It's on my series Link and i have Digital TV//I player so i have no need.
I am a fan when the show is at it's best and going strong. I am a fan and stick by it when it's down in the dumps.
Lots of ridiculous decisions - bringing Daniella Westbrook back as sam after Kim medcalf actually made the character credible was just bizarre. I couldn't bear to watch her. The death of Paul Trueman was wrong, it would be great to have him back now. And I thought jake moon being taken off to his death was silly too
I never stopped watching but I agree that it started its slippery slope when Danielle died - I was excited for the 25th anniversary as Carol was coming back with Billie but the Archie reveal while an exciting build up I didn't think much of Stacey being the one that did it - I may have been hyped up IVery the anniversary stuff but a lot of 2010 wasnt great but I never gave up on it and I never will!
That said I think it's greatly improved now - yes it's completely different to the 80s, 90's and early 00's eras but it's started its own new era that is the best it's been for quite some time
Kathleen Hutchison. Brought onboard to save the show and pretty much killed it for me, cementing the transformation of EastEnders into The Mitchell Show with constant comebacks by Panto Peggy and the viewer expected to sympathise with dull thug Phil, when the show had been trying to move on from them. It was the final straw at a time when I was struggling to find a single character I actually liked.
The first twenty years feel very much like EastEnders: Part One. The likes of Pauline, Den, Mark, Ehtel, Frank, Grant are irreplaceable in terms of the identity of the show.
Then Santer came along with his big, swanky era and took EastEnders in a new and exciting direction - that really worked for me. Then it all went a bit downhill for three years, and now it's back on top again.
It started going downhill with the baby swap storyline - that was too far for all the characters involved and the show. Then when the killed Pat off it damaged the show massively again. Then it was just downhill from then all the way until October 2013 with the Michael and Janine storyline when the quality finally picked up, and since then it's just been improving and improving.
Eddie Moon chatting up Carol. Basket weaving was more exciting. But before that it never felt the same after the mass exodus at the end of 2005. Some great characters went.
Yup, that truly was the end of an era. And the last year of proper Pauline before she got butchered ahead of her exit at the end of 2006. Also the last year Kathy could have waltzed back onto the Square without the small matter of her apparent death to contend with! Lotta things changed after 2005..
I fell out with Eastenders with the Moons, thingy that was on Dancing on Ice and the other one. They were utterly dire. I also hated Joey and Alice and thought Derek was wasted (they were seeing up an abuse storyline weren't they with Carol that never materialised??) I finally stopped watching altogether with the Lola/Lexi/Phil ridiculous social workers storyline. I watched on Boxing Day 2013 because Danny Dyer was going to be in and I've not missed many episodes since (although I missed episodes around the time of the fire last year and never watched those as I have a dislike of Alfie). 2011-2013 were basically awful but 2014 was very good on the whole esp the various Carters things, Carol and David, Carol's cancer and Lucy's murder.
Sure there has been periods in where the show has been mostly rubbish (2006,2012/2013) but i've stuck with it. I've not missed an episode in many years and i don't intend too. It's on my series Link and i have Digital TV//I player so i have no need.
I am a fan when the show is at it's best and going strong. I am a fan and stick by it when it's down in the dumps.
This basically. Eastenders to me is like a football team when your football team is not doing good you don't give up on them you support them no matter what happens.
Yup, that truly was the end of an era. And the last year of proper Pauline before she got butchered ahead of her exit at the end of 2006. Also the last year Kathy could have waltzed back onto the Square without the small matter of her apparent death to contend with! Lotta things changed after 2005..
I regard 2005 as the end of 'classic EastEnders'. The sheer quality of those first 20 years will never be matched.
I regard 2005 as the end of 'classic EastEnders'. The sheer quality of those first 20 years will never be matched.
Totally. Even during it's dire patches it was still proper EastEnders, with all the truly classic characters to signify that. The fact that Sharon and Kat, two of the greats of their days, were brought back into the 'new' EE without the writers having a single clue what to do with them is a testament to that distinction.
Totally. Even during it's dire patches it was still proper EastEnders, with all the truly classic characters to signify that. The fact that Sharon and Kat, two of the greats of their days, were brought back into the 'new' EE without the writers having a single clue what to do with them is a testament to that distinction.
Mass exodus at the end of 2005. For me, it didn't really improve until 2009 which was largely great. I didn't like Daniella back as Sam, but it wasn't really bad until Berkwood. Sam went from annoying to someone I never want to see again, and it was bad decision after bad decision: Kat and Alfie, Pat (underusing then killing.) For someone who seemed obsessed with the Moons, it was ridiculous how many bad decisions he made re: them.
It's improved with DTC but the Carter dominance drags it down for me and the fire and its aftermath was badly handled. He didn't need to make it quite so obvious it was a mere plot device to allow Nick Cotton to die there when it could have been a great storyline.
The baby swap was the start, this past year I think is probably going to be the final nail in the coffin. I still watch but I am a lot more critical these days. I think bringing Danniella Westbrook back as Sam didn't work and was a major mistake. Making Jack impregnate every Mitchell woman under 40 was just too much, Ronnie's transformation into a hard woman is also a joke when is she going to get her comeuppance for killing Carl. But the baby swap turned Ronnie from being a slightly damaged likeable character to someone I despised.
The current EP's obsession with babies is also getting boring, we have five and another on the way,he has split Kat and Alfie up so they can go around on their merry go round of misery once more, he also killed off Nick Cotton. I know people on here hate Nick Cotton but there was no harm in him disappearing again leaving the door open for him to come back later if John Altman or June Brown wanted him to. His descent in to Heroin addiction came out of no where, in the months he was in it he showed no signs that he was on the drug again.
Derek Branning! The most vile creature to ever grace EastEnders.
Agreed. Awful character, awful sl. I wouldn't have minded if Kat had a fling with Max, that would've had an echo of realism to it. But Derek was the worst kinda panto villain left over from the '90s. Also- I didnt watch during Jack Brannings tenure- sorry- don't rate the actor. As a result I missed all the Danielle business which means I don't feel esp sympathetic towards Ronnie.
I also missed those 2 brothers (names escape me) I guess that was a lucky escape.
The baby swap was the start, this past year I think is probably going to be the final nail in the coffin. I still watch but I am a lot more critical these days. I think bringing Danniella Westbrook back as Sam didn't work and was a major mistake. Making Jack impregnate every Mitchell woman under 40 was just too much, Ronnie's transformation into a hard woman is also a joke when is she going to get her comeuppance for killing Carl. But the baby swap turned Ronnie from being a slightly damaged likeable character to someone I despised.
The current EP's obsession with babies is also getting boring, we have five and another on the way,he has split Kat and Alfie up so they can go around on their merry go round of misery once more, he also killed off Nick Cotton. I know people on here hate Nick Cotton but there was no harm in him disappearing again leaving the door open for him to come back later if John Altman or June Brown wanted him to. His descent in to Heroin addiction came out of no where, in the months he was in it he showed no signs that he was on the drug again.
This. Since Nick didn't seem to do anything this stint (except for cut the brakes obviously), I really wanted Nick to get away and come back one final time, seeing the error of his ways, to save Dot from something. Agree also with the Kat and Alfie point. Kirkwood dented their popularity with bad decision after bad decision, but until this EP decided to take the fire down the sensationalised route, we were at last seeing them resembling the couple that left.
I really loved the baby swap storyline. I don't understand the criticism. We ask for good storylines and then complain when they give them to us. It wasn't because Ronnie had suddenly turned evil. She was out of her mind with grief and wasn't thinking straight. That was definitely my favourite storyline of that year, but I know a few people turned off because of it because they found it offensive.
Comments
In the space of a few months in the winter of 2005/06, the show lost Chrissie, Sam, Kat, Alfie, Dennis and Sharon. Whatever people think about some of them now, they were huge characters at the time and the show never really recovered from losing them, or Pauline at the year's end.
Kirkwood wasn't brilliant but there was a period of a few months at the beginning of his direction where the show actually felt like "Eastenders". Those small bits of progress have been undone. There has been nothing that matched, for example, the Billy's death episode, since.
However, I've grown to accept that the current show, with its sloppy writing and consequence-free plot is now Eastenders, for better or for worse.
Sure there has been periods in where the show has been mostly rubbish (2006,2012/2013) but i've stuck with it. I've not missed an episode in many years and i don't intend too. It's on my series Link and i have Digital TV//I player so i have no need.
I am a fan when the show is at it's best and going strong. I am a fan and stick by it when it's down in the dumps.
That said I think it's greatly improved now - yes it's completely different to the 80s, 90's and early 00's eras but it's started its own new era that is the best it's been for quite some time
Then Santer came along with his big, swanky era and took EastEnders in a new and exciting direction - that really worked for me. Then it all went a bit downhill for three years, and now it's back on top again.
Probably in the late 90's
Yup, that truly was the end of an era. And the last year of proper Pauline before she got butchered ahead of her exit at the end of 2006. Also the last year Kathy could have waltzed back onto the Square without the small matter of her apparent death to contend with! Lotta things changed after 2005..
Old EastEnders was lost for many years until Dom found it again. Santer's era was good, but good for new EastEnders, not a patch on the real thing.
This basically. Eastenders to me is like a football team when your football team is not doing good you don't give up on them you support them no matter what happens.
The characters in bold aren't deadwood to me.
Lauren deserves a break though after a big amount of screentime.
I regard 2005 as the end of 'classic EastEnders'. The sheer quality of those first 20 years will never be matched.
Totally. Even during it's dire patches it was still proper EastEnders, with all the truly classic characters to signify that. The fact that Sharon and Kat, two of the greats of their days, were brought back into the 'new' EE without the writers having a single clue what to do with them is a testament to that distinction.
Agree with you both.
It's improved with DTC but the Carter dominance drags it down for me and the fire and its aftermath was badly handled. He didn't need to make it quite so obvious it was a mere plot device to allow Nick Cotton to die there when it could have been a great storyline.
The current EP's obsession with babies is also getting boring, we have five and another on the way,he has split Kat and Alfie up so they can go around on their merry go round of misery once more, he also killed off Nick Cotton. I know people on here hate Nick Cotton but there was no harm in him disappearing again leaving the door open for him to come back later if John Altman or June Brown wanted him to. His descent in to Heroin addiction came out of no where, in the months he was in it he showed no signs that he was on the drug again.
Agreed. Awful character, awful sl. I wouldn't have minded if Kat had a fling with Max, that would've had an echo of realism to it. But Derek was the worst kinda panto villain left over from the '90s. Also- I didnt watch during Jack Brannings tenure- sorry- don't rate the actor. As a result I missed all the Danielle business which means I don't feel esp sympathetic towards Ronnie.
I also missed those 2 brothers (names escape me) I guess that was a lucky escape.
This. Since Nick didn't seem to do anything this stint (except for cut the brakes obviously), I really wanted Nick to get away and come back one final time, seeing the error of his ways, to save Dot from something. Agree also with the Kat and Alfie point. Kirkwood dented their popularity with bad decision after bad decision, but until this EP decided to take the fire down the sensationalised route, we were at last seeing them resembling the couple that left.