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Eastenders- time to get back to dark and fast paced material?


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Old 10-12-2012, 20:08
dublintvfan
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Would anyone prefer if Ee went back to the way it was from 2000 to 2006

Dark storys ect abusive husbands gansters showdowns all fast paced gritty stuff ect

EE was always about the dark side of life but i cant help feel they lost the heart of the show and just became like every other soap with love affairs ect

Should they return to this format?
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Old 10-12-2012, 20:50
Sick Bullet
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I loved them years the last few when it was good also, I think they tried with Derek to but cocked it up.

Phil Grant Johnny and the Moons Jake and his bro forget his name, I miss the Lisa and Mark/Phil days to, these are the last times I really loved EE.
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Old 10-12-2012, 20:52
maurice45
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Yes but this isn't a popular opinion.
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Old 10-12-2012, 22:01
dublintvfan
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I loved them years the last few when it was good also, I think they tried with Derek to but cocked it up.

Phil Grant Johnny and the Moons Jake and his bro forget his name, I miss the Lisa and Mark/Phil days to, these are the last times I really loved EE.
yes , my favorite year was 2003 and 2004 , the return of den phil been set up lisa return ect there was drama every week all huge characters
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Old 10-12-2012, 22:09
vaslav37
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wasn't that the era of the Ferreira's...awful period
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Old 10-12-2012, 22:10
dublintvfan
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wasn't that the era of the Ferreira's...awful period
one bad family out of a strong era though
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Old 10-12-2012, 22:49
Pompeygeek
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wasn't that the era of the Ferreira's...awful period
What I always found baffling about that was that they changed the original storyline because of the actor's visa problems, even though his sudden disappearance would have fit with the whole 'killing the dad' story! They could have made that work! It always really bugged me:
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Old 10-12-2012, 23:43
Milton Jones
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wasn't that the era of the Ferreira's...awful period
If you mention a small bit characters like the ferreiras to represent a whole era then its like saying the fox's repreresent the 2006-2012 era.
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Old 10-12-2012, 23:53
rick182
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yes , my favorite year was 2003 and 2004 , the return of den phil been set up lisa return ect there was drama every week all huge characters
Fairground Disaster
Martins Stalker
The get Den whats line

It was all baloney
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Old 11-12-2012, 00:02
Broken_Arrow
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It's been too sanitized in recent years. It needs the gritty realism back.
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Old 11-12-2012, 00:43
T.K. Mazin
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It is dark though.
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Old 11-12-2012, 00:50
LiamBerryTea ~
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It is dark though.
It is?
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Old 11-12-2012, 00:55
dublintvfan
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It is dark though.
im pretty sure the past two years have been the least dark compared to 90s and early mid 2000s
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Old 11-12-2012, 01:09
T.K. Mazin
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So the Heather murder plot wasn't dark for you? I found that to be quite dark in relation to the nature of Heather's character. In most soaps, innocent characters like Heather get to go off and have a happy ending, but not in EE. In EE, your reward for being a good person is to get wacked to death with a photo frame lol.

The Yusef storyline was pretty dark too. I'm sure there are others I'm missing.

How much more dark you want?
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Old 11-12-2012, 01:12
T.K. Mazin
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im pretty sure the past two years have been the least dark compared to 90s and early mid 2000s
Maybe so, but when it has been quite dark when it's needed to be as mentioned in my previous post.

I think what the show is really missing is the gritty edge that it had in the 90s and early 00s. I miss that.
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Old 11-12-2012, 01:15
dublintvfan
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Maybe so, but when it has been quite dark when it's needed to be as mentioned in my previous post.

I think what the show is really missing is the gritty edge that it had in the 90s and early 00s. I miss that.
thats what i mean, remember when every doof doof had a huge revelation or left you shocked storys used to last most 3 months and even the long ones had developments they weren't dragged out
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Old 11-12-2012, 01:17
rick182
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The Lucas storyline was gripping and dark.. But for some reason it ended with a TV being thrown out of a window
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Old 11-12-2012, 01:28
T.K. Mazin
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thats what i mean, remember when every doof doof had a huge revelation or left you shocked storys used to last most 3 months and even the long ones had developments they weren't dragged out
I see what you're saying, dublin. But then, it's not really the tone of EE that needs changing, because the show is already dark. I mean this is a show that regularly gets blasted for being too dark!

I think what you want is a shift in storytelling style. So like you said, more fasted-paced plots with twists and turns. More thrilling drama. The 90s were full of that. Unfortunately, nowadays the writers seem obsessed with recycling the same plots. The Joey and Lauren tedium plot is a present day example of the writers trying to recreate a classic storyline (Shannis). They can't seem to think of new material anymore.
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Old 11-12-2012, 02:17
gavin shipman
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I love EastEnders for it's gritiness.

I feel the past two years has been very tame in respect to it's hard hitting and gritty scenes.

I would love Lorraine to keep EastEnders contreversial but also bring some gritness back and some fast paced storylines.

I would like her to use some of the under used characters more like Jay,Abi,Denise,Patrick,Mo,Jean,Micheal etc.

I think the comminty feel on the show is great now but all we need is solid storylines that we can connect to.
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Old 11-12-2012, 16:30
LiamBerryTea ~
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So the Heather murder plot wasn't dark for you? I found that to be quite dark in relation to the nature of Heather's character. In most soaps, innocent characters like Heather get to go off and have a happy ending, but not in EE. In EE, your reward for being a good person is to get wacked to death with a photo frame lol.

The Yusef storyline was pretty dark too. I'm sure there are others I'm missing.

How much more dark you want?
Problem is, the Heather week was good but it was a week, it wasn't enough because to have that then revert to normal straight after doesnt do much good

Yusef seemed so over the top and rather pantominish.. The whole story was weird, rather unbelievable to say the least and dragged out

I will admit its the darkest soap out there mixed with being the lightest, so it has both qualitys, however in the last few years I honestly watch and 'feel' its grit has gone.. The problem is everything is so forced, it's like "Cry now" "scream now". In the good old days you didn't need to be told what to feel.. Everything happened and you felt it naturally
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Old 11-12-2012, 16:41
JarkdeLuxe
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I've been watching a fair bit of stuff from 2001 on youtube lately. I just watched the episode where Mel and Steve come back from their honeymoon and the difference in the writing is unbelievable. Everything then was fast paced - lots of short and sharp scenes, rapid dialogue, characters milling all around the market and the square (the market is thriving), the Vic full of people (Steve remarks that it's dead in there out of spite after Peggy throws him out, which is funny considering how dead it actually is nowadays!). Everybody interacted with one another outside of their own family units. There was just a brilliant energy which is lost now.

That episode was actually written by Carey Andrews who still writes today, which really backs up my theory that it's not the writers at fault - it's the storyliners (and maybe budget cuts too). Newman needs to radically overhaul the story team and fast.
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Old 11-12-2012, 16:56
Hetal
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Back then even the filler episodes had life in them and had purpose. Now all they are voids to past the time for the big reveal around christmas.
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Old 11-12-2012, 17:07
hetty100
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So the Heather murder plot wasn't dark for you? I found that to be quite dark in relation to the nature of Heather's character. In most soaps, innocent characters like Heather get to go off and have a happy ending, but not in EE. In EE, your reward for being a good person is to get wacked to death with a photo frame lol.

The Yusef storyline was pretty dark too. I'm sure there are others I'm missing.

How much more dark you want?
The Yusef storyline wasn't Dark or gritty, IT WAS JUST STUPID:sleep:
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Old 11-12-2012, 17:19
Broken_Arrow
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It feels like it's just going through the motions. There's no sense of excitement or urgency. Nothing commands the attention. If the BBC don't have the funds or willingness to devote to EastEnders then maybe they should pass it to a channel who does. It's a great soap but it seems like no one in charge cares about it anymore.
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Old 11-12-2012, 18:35
TheGraduate2012
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I agree completely. Storylines that stick out for me over the years are -

- Trevor's and Mo's Domestic Abuse storyline
- Stacey and Jean Slaters' Mental Illness
- Johnny Allen
- Stella's Abuse of Ben
- Mad May (except when she came back)
- Whitney / Tony abuse storyline
- Whitney / Rob, Prostitute and the Pimp storyline

Now it's all 'whose hooking up with who' - who cares! I mean dragging out the 'whose shagging Kat' storyline over the best part of a year is ridiculous. I much preferred the fast-paced storylines.
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