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What was the problem with the Brannings in 2011-2013?
RandomPeter94
Posts: 4,935 Forum Member
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Some people on here are concerned about the amount of Carters coming on the show, and saying that the amount of Brannings were the problem in 2011-2013. Also, thinking the same problem will occur with the Carters. Personally, I'm not bothered as long as the characters stay likeable and not overused (they will be used a lot, but I don't think it will properly dominate the show like with the Mitchells in 2009)
What was the actual problem with the Brannings though. Was it just solely the amount of members? Unlikable characters? Overuse of characters? Or else more?
For me, some characters were just unlikable.
What was the actual problem with the Brannings though. Was it just solely the amount of members? Unlikable characters? Overuse of characters? Or else more?
For me, some characters were just unlikable.
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I also think people just got bored of the Max and Tanya merry go round. They should have been put back together as soon as Tanya returned in 2010. It was dragged out too long so then adding Kirsty into the mix just made it unbearable. Very little character development took place. Lauren is probably the only one of them who has come full circle.
I like Branning's. They are in my top 4 all time families but the use of them was over excessive. 2012 was the worst for it. However I don't think the 'Branning show' was anywhere near as bad as the 'Kat and Alfie show' of 2011. That was EE at its worst because Kat was just so unlikeable then it made you want to slit your wrists!
Jack did nothing but sleep with/get pregnant/marry/almost marry blonde women.
Max's storylines were always about women.
The same can be said for Joey as well.
It wasn't the number of family members that was the problem. If they had all been well written and had a variety of storylines they would have been far better as a family.
The same thing happened when Kat/ Aflie/ Sharon and Dennis completely dominated every single episode for a while
I completely agree with this. Plus the fact that the writing itself was rubbish, so not only were we getting bad storylines but the dialogue and the day-to-day execution of the story was bloody awful. BK's style of block storytelling didn't help either: cutting away from a story you were interested in to focus on the Brannings and some filler for 2 weeks was just annoying, and bound to make people dislike them even more.
The producers had a clear agenda to make the Brannings the 'central' family of the show by introducing hoards of them and making every story in some way about them. They were EVERYWHERE, it was beyond a joke. Even Pat's death became about Tanya.
This decision to shove the Brannings front and centre was a huge error of judgement, because the family was neither likeable or believable. How are viewers supposed to invest in a family that is totally devoid of any moral values? All they did was sleep with each others' wives and try to kill each other. And don't even get me started on Derek >:(
This.
What a lapse of judgement Pat's funeral was!
Pat had hardly passed the time of day with Tanya and yet she was there at the death-bed. A much loved character couldn't even have her final scenes without an infection of Brannings, as they had to be featured in every scene.
Mark my words - we'll be saying the same about the Carters six months down the line.
I know. Derek taunting her on her deathbed was sick. Even the funeral episode was about Derek's feud with David. Then you had Sharon, the Queen of the Vic, daughter of Den Watts and wife of Grant Mitchell (the two greatest landlords in EE history, by my reckoning), begging for friendship from Tanya.
Then you had the constant retcons of their family history, so much so that even history PHD students would have trouble working out their past.
I agree the intrusion into Pat's death was absolutely unforgivable and it really brought their domination (not in a good way) to the fore.
Plus, yes, generally they were really unlikeable, especially the ones that I think we were meant to root for like Tanya.
The Branning were okay when they first arrived and there were only a few of them - i'm thinking 06 when it was the nuclear family of Max, Tanya, the girls, bradley, Jim and Dot. It was when the multiple relatives turned up that the rot set in.