http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m28nEw-1xm4&noredirect=1

Can't believe who sh*gged Kat wasn't even there
or Tyler and whitney blimey

Agreed about the two s/ls you mentioned.

Personally I see this year as a marginal improvement on the last, however the thing that really drags it down for me is the Shagger storyline. If we didn't have to put up with it, I'd probably enjoy EE a bit more.

Saying that I do agree with you - this year has largely been underwhelming.

Kat shagger is not just the worst storyline this year i genuinely think it is the worst storyline of all time

I'd agree with this. However there have been some highlights for me this year, in that I found several scenes laughable (not taking them seriously).

Last year just felt dead and hollow to me.

Defiantly.

I still can't believe it has gone on for this long. even fri's episode feels too far away

lol we kinda know who it is though which helps a lot. the only shock it will be is who alfie thinks it is

It hasn't been that bad. 2011 was much much worse.

I agree, although 2012 hasn't been the best year in EE history, it's been better than 2011 by a mile.

It's shocking that the two worst years in recent history have been one after the other really.

for me both years were equally good. some good s/ls and some bad ones

I think some people only think 2011 was worse because it was the start of the rot and 2010 had been so good but i personally think this year has been ALOT worse and they have had time to sort it out but it doesnt seem to be improving one bit.

Any year that has kat shagger as one of the main storylines throughout the year is definitely the worse for me!

As if it hasnt dragged on long enough as it is we still have the reaction / aftermath to "look forward" too

There have been glimmers of hope this year, compared to the almost consistently awful 2011. This year hasn't been great, but it hasn't been EastEnders' worst year either.

David's return, Ian's breakdown, Janine's wedding, Alfie & Roxy, and just having Sharon back in general have all been highlights. But there have been plenty of bad points too, ie Shaggerman and the Brannings being EVERYWHERE.

Absolutely this! Exactly what I would have said.

I disagree with lots of those in the video. In fact, it reminded me that we have had a fair few decent plots this year:

- Heather's murder- brilliant, EE at its gritty best, slowly dragging more and more characters into the mix
- Michael/Jean - Michael was horrible but we got some wonderful performances from Michael and Gillian
- Janine becoming a mum- Not given as much screentime as I hoped, but a wonderful development nonetheless
- Alfie/Roxy - dropped for too long but a fantastic pairing that make me smile whenever they're on-screen
- Ian's breakdown - awful aftermath, but brilliant while it lasted

I'd give it about a 5 out of 10.

The Michael and Jean stuff was by far my fav scenes of the year.
Imho, it's about time the actress who plays Jean gets some recognition.

It's a better year than last year but not by much. Two things that surprised me this year are the Kat affair storyline being strung out for so long and Sharon's comeback being so low key and inconsequential. The Heather murder storyline ended up being a damp squib when all is said and done but it had some good episodes. Other disappointments included Ian's offscreen recovery from his mental breakdown and the Branning family taking hold of the entire show. It's not a vintage year by any stretch of the imagination.

The only remotely compelling storyline this year IMO.

Heather's murder week was probably the best set of episodes this year (plus Pat's death and the immediate aftermath was fantastic).

I felt the Heather SL went downhill quite quickly though and the climax didn't really keep me hooked. Other than that I'd struggle to pick out anything that I've really enjoyed. The Kat story has been just dreadful and the fact they've dragged it out for so long hasn't helped.

And I still have no idea why they brought Sharon back as she's made very little impact since her return.

I think it's been 50/50 really. Some outstanding episodes and storylines but also some terrible episodes and dreadfull storylines.

Pats exit was fab but then things seemed to go quiet once David left and then BOOM was the Heather murder plot which i think is the best storyline so far this year

The Tuesday episode after Heathers murder was fantastic and Classic EastEnders.

The Syed/Danny storyline was terrible but i liked Christian and Syeds exit

The Tyler/Whitney episode where they got together was terrible also.

Not a classic year but imo not the worst year either.

Terribleimo everything felt flat and limb dull with no sparks except for micheal and jay who were the standouts that gave life to the scenes they were in

In years when we look back all that will be remembered is the kat shagger for all the wrong reasons imo like the ferreras kidney shambles s/l

There was no story where I thought i better watch it now they all had a eh i can wait till iv noting better to do vibe

Like last year xmas will pick up the pace and provide outstanding drama but FFS i want explosive drama inbetween then aswell EE not dull plodding along till the next xmas

Im not talking explosive drama every week now but tell stories at a natural progress dont string it along for the sake of building it out for 4-months then giving the actors there month long midterm break after the storyline has been climaxed in which then we get no fallout no aftermath it feels like a copout whats the point ofwatching when we dont even get to watch characters deal with the aftermath of these storys

Far too many Brannings clogging up the show...Kats shagging story so pathetic it's beyond words...Phil actually being taken seriously as a carer for Lolas baby despite his track record...the terrible family whos name escapes me...but David Essex was the father. And too many stupid meaningless scenes with younger cast members. All this made it the worst year for EE ever.

The only good bits of the whole year were Pats leaving storyline when David returned...and the Heather dying bit...even the aftermath of heathers death was boringly annoying.

David Essex left the show well over a year ago, in September of last year and the terrible family he was "the father" of that you're referring to are the Moons (agreed!). Pat's "leaving" was the character's natural death but presumably you knew that anyway??

I agree with all of them except Janine/Michael Wedding and Michael blackmailing Jean I actually enjoyed.

I went from detesting Michael and wanting him off the show for being dull to actually enjoying his partnership with Janine. Hopefully they are given some focus next year.

EE has been having underwhelming years since 2007 if you ask me. I wanna see the show go back to its gritty storytelling roots of the 90s and 2000. More fast-paced plots. Twists that actually shock people (Ben stalking Phil is not a shock). Slow-burn relationships (Joey and Lauren falling in love after one or two weeks stops me taking them seriously as a couple). And genuine drama that touches people like the EE of old once did..

Yes, I'm of the mind that 2012 EE was a marginal improvement on the dreadful predecessor (so to speak) that was 2011 but it certainly was no classic and still ran 2011 a close second - regardless of what is in store for us at Christmas still!

For me there were either too many badly paced storylines, a bewildering and constantly changing persona in some characters (Derek Branning being a classic example) - just like there was under Kirkwood - and the way the "biggest returnee of the year" Sharon had her return completely overshadowed by the Ben-Heather murder reveal was lamentable as well as puzzling! Although I have disagreed with some on this thread, the Kat shagger s/line really does take the biscuit as possibly one of the worst EE s/lines ever and I can't believe it STILL isn't over and done with and looks like it's going to rumble on with it's aftermath into the New Year now! That takes me back neatly to my complaint about bad pacing - and the fact that this futile and deeply uninteresting "Kat shagger" s/line is the longest running one of the year perhaps shows the bad pacing up as well as anything when you think how some of the better s/lines were rushed through in the end. I suppose some of this was probably down to actor's demands with this new fad of taking a sizeable amount of time off from the show for a few months at a time (Janine, Bianca et al) but some of it definitely wasn't!

What any floating viewers must think to the show if they so happened to tune in of late out of curiosity - say for the first time in six months, two years, five years, whatever....I don't know but I'm imagining that they probably wouldn't be too impressed!