At Brookies peak and at Eastenders peak which show was the most groundbreaking or interesting to watch?

Who were the best families and characters?

Or maybe you think another soap was much better?

Brookside was better than EE at the mo. I think they were both at their peak in the 90's.

EastEnders= Phil/Sharon + Grant love triangle and the years just after that. Stacey's Bipolar.
Best character' Stacey Branning, Grant Mitchell (although I think Brendan Brady in Hollyoaks is a similar type of character, and perhaps better). Also Mandy, Bianca, Tiffany and Sam. However I do think currently the writers' are wasting good characters with poor material.

Brookside= The body under the patio. The incest storyline and the connecting family. Everything that involved Jimmy Corkhill. The story with the smuggled drugs in Thailand. The religious cult. Jaqui and Max, etc.
Best character= Jimmy Corkhill of cause

So you think Eastenders was better in the 90's rather than the 80's? How come?

Brendan Brady was always 50/50 with me. I believe making characters gay is a easy way to win a huge fan base. When Brendan killed someone or beat Ste Hay his fans would say "but he is complex because he is struggling with his sexuality". Plus I have to admit I liked Silas Blissett and Warren Fox (questionable acting skills from Jamie Lomss compared to Emmett Scanlan but I liked Foxy's character way more and his history) more.

Sam Mitchell, REALLY? Too many face changes meant too many personality transplant

I am currently watching the Brookside DVD that was released not so long ago. Domestic violence was highlighted because of the patio plot. Eastenders however did a fantastic job with Trevor Morgan and Little Mo Slater, the face in the food and her rape and her attack on him with the iron (which the wire was pulled out the socket she hit him that hard) and then the court case (Phil Mitchell was a nasty get during that trail looking back on it from Youtube).

I found it weird Max Farnham knew Jacqui Dixon as a child and then married her! That man never aged!

The incest plot - were they full brother and sister that had grown up together? Or was it more Sharon and Dennis Rickman, not blood related or born and bred together?

Jimmy Corkhill became the face of Brookside and he stuck it out to the end! I am glad he is on the DVD and he still wants a return and tried to buy the houses to make Brookside return!

Nice one for posting!

BIB: That's Hollyoaks isn't it? I thought this was about Brookside v EastEnders

The other user mentioned Brendan Brady saying he was a decent character like some that Eastenders had produced in the old days.

Plus if you look at my description for the thread I said users could mention any soap.

Feel free to apoligise anytime soon

I will apologise but not because you said: "Feel free to apoligise anytime soon" as there is nothing I hate more than someone telling me to do something. I saw the thread title and scim read through the posts so that was my fault for not paying attention

Brookside, hands down.

That is good enough for me but I was joking! I should have used another emoticon!

Tell me your opinion on the soaps?!


Why?

Both Brookside & EastEnders have had their hard hitting storylines. Sometimes during Brookside's later years I felt they did a storyline just for the sake of it and to try to get headlines and not because they truly believed in the storyline (e.g. incest storyline). But when Brookside was good, they were brilliant: the siege in the mid-80s, Sheila Grant's rape in 1986, who killed Sue & Danny in 1991, the body under the patio in 1993, the Anthony Murray bullying storyline in the early 00s.

But I much prefer EE overall as they have smaller storylines bubbling under the surface as well as the big headline grabbers (this is not based on this year). I think nearly every year of EastEnders life there has been a big major storyline whereas Brookside seemed to have a big one every few years or so.

To me EE seemed more consistent with the odd lull here and there

Both soaps excelled because they had a good mix of characters and character types - EE had old families like the Beales and the Fowlers who had lived there all their lives, contrasting with 'incomers' like Debs and Andy, Colin, Saeed and Naima, as well as drifters like Mary and Lofty. Added to this, there was Den and Angie - Angie wanting to escape Walford and move somewhere more upmarket, but Den wanting to stay close to his roots and remain the 'big fish in the small pond'.

Brookside had the conflict between the working-class Grants who had moved up the social ladder to live in Brookside Close, but still remained close to their working-class roots, and the upper-middle-class Collins family, who had moved down the social ladder, and hated having to live in Brookside. Then throw into the mix the brilliant Corkhill family, who moved to Brookside Close to escape their working-class background, but never quite managed it.

All these characters felt real and relevant to the Britain of the 1980s, as well as encapsulating the social change that was happening at the time. This was combined with some great, character-led drama that focused on human tragedy rather than sensationalism.

Eastenders was great when it first started, but it didn't last, Brookside lasted in greatness far longer than Eastenders, a lot of people got turned off Eastenders because it was depressing storyline after depressing storyline, some viewers want a balance of comedy in their soaps, Brookside had Harold Cross and Eastenders had Ethel, but it all changed and went totally morbid.

I know a lot of Enders fans will say that I am wrong and that there is comedy in Eastenders but I don't see it, Shane Richie is not a good actor either and should not really be at the heart of the soap which is the pub, but I think Peggy is coming back so will she take the reins back?

I just find Eastenders a bit daft, yes when Phil Mitchell first appeared he was believable as a hard man along with his brother, but now it is just silly, he would be taken down by a younger thug within 30 seconds, just one punch and he would be on the floor winded and crying.

There are a few great characters still left in the soap, I am glad Adam Woodyatt is still about, not really interested in Dot.

But is this what the East End is like? Full of plastic gangstas, I know it's not striving for realism before anyone says, but it should be watchable and too many miserable storylines do not a drama make in my opinion

Bib: I also thought this thread was about just Brookside and EastEnders because of the thread title. If you didn't want just these 2 soaps to be discussed perhaps you perhaps you shouldn't have named them in the title - you should have used a more general title. Regardless of what your first post said, the thread is entitled "Brookside Close VS Albert Square!?" I thought all thread titles were supposed to indicate what the discussion was to be about - silly me. So I'm with Brummy Girl on this and I think you're out of order asking her to apologise (even with a smiley) for something which is after all your own fault.

The situation has been resolved already so it is pointless you again bringing it up and again you're wrong, I neve rsaid I have a problem with any soaps being or not being discussed at all. Another user was the one who asked why Brendan Brady was mentioned

Stop acting the hero and just contribute to the thread about the SOAPS. :yawn:

Peggy Mitchell is back for ONE episode so I doubt it.

Barry Grant vs Phil Mitchell? Is Phil really pas it? I never understood how Barry was able to stay in the show as long as he had done seeing as he killed Danny and Sue. bearing in mind he murdered a child... how many people did he kill and leave to die?

Ian Beale is a wonderful character who was given a new lease of life after his break down, however they are now just reverting back to type with his repetitive plots. I bet he marries Denise Fox within the year.

Don't think I will be venturing the soap section much.

Thanks to all that replied though.

Albert Square.....Always
I did like Brookside though

brookeside, as it had the best beavers in it

Beavers?

If you think that was the peak of Brookside, you can't have watched the first ten years of it's existence. Most of the above was part of what turned it to absolute tosh.

Deffo Brookside

Barry Grant had that madness about him, Phil Mitchell doesn't in my opinion.

How many did Barry kill?

Phil has only killed one person.

Because I was born in 1982 and didn't start watching it until 1992, same with Brookside


Actually, I became a fan of Brendan much later than most people as well. I was a big fan of Lynsey, and when she died I started to warm towards Brendan. I think woman in all of the soaps are the most interesting characters anyway,


I just found her an exciting character


She was over 16 when he married her, and they were both consenting adults


The couple in Brookside were full brother & sister who had grown up together. Sharon and Dennis were not blood related so I don't consider that to be incest, personally.


I think he was a good actor. Brookside wouldn't have been the show it was without him, even though he was a bad guy. It would be nice if the show returned.

Brookside was original for its time. EastEnders tried to imitate it. No the real East End isn't like that. Real east enders do have humour and aren't as morbidly stupid as the characters portrayed on the show. It isn't a documentary

Dean Sullivan was the only one who really cared enough about the show to stay on as Jimmy.

Lynsey Nolan was different to the usually airheads HO potray. She was never going to live being so close to BB and having killers Simon Walker, Dr Paul Browning and Silas Blissett after her blood!


I actually find that London people are loud and abrupt in that manner that Eastenders approach. In my opinion of course.