Well to me it is firing on enjoyable character driven cylinders.

I agree

That's no what Eastenders is about at all

What I like about Soc is he doesn't seem to give a crap about social media and the likes. It's refreshing.

I bet if he comes on here he laughs out loud

The major problem with Emmerdale and Hollyoaks in particular is they cater far too much to the vocal social media brigade who despite what they may think do not represent the average viewer

I liked the change in tone at first but I am starting to get a little bored.

Im enjoy The Lee and Whitney stuff. Also more Denise is good

This, especially BIB. I'm even starting to like Kim (only a little bit, though )


Exactly!


Yes, this.

I'm also glad there are few spoilers. I'd rather wait for things to happen in the show, rather than know weeks beforehand!

I recall people saying the same thing about Lorraine Newman
No but seriously I thought last nights was decent, the stuff with Lee and Whitney was good.

I'm really enjoying the show. We have Ronnie and Rosy's exits coming up plus Phil's liver transplant. I also think there's going to be a few shocks this Christmas but it will be character driven. I would love Jean back for Christmas.

I like what SOC is doing re character driven episodes and it is a vast improvement on what went before but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a tiny bit bored with it the last couple of weeks.You can now watch it while reading a book or browsing the internet and not miss much.

I am looking forward to a bit more action, which I'm sure will come.

Not sure I agree with this BIB, there's lots of small references and clues to things that are building up which are only obvious if you're paying attention, such as Dot's eyesight which had been hinted at for a couple of weeks before being mentioned outright and Lee's job/non-job is perhaps another one. On face value nothing is happening and individual scenes don't tell you much but put them together and you get some intriguing mysteries to puzzle over......

Okay, you'll catch up eventually when everything is spelled out but where'e the fun in that?

As much as threads about EE producers annoy the hell out of me, not to mention the fickle nature of many posters on these forums when it comes to producers. I do have to agree- I have not had the motivation to actually watch an EE episode for the last week.... it's leaving me cold and a little bit bored to be honest.

I've watched EE since 1990 and it's had ups and downs of course but right now it's just boring me.

I kind of agree, I kind of don't.

He seems to have turned his back on the current soap formula which is a big risk, seeing as a generation have now grown up with the kind the sensationalism that's now imbedded into every single British soap around at the moment. On one hand this sucks, nothing of note is happening, the endings are hilariously low-key and some scenes are mind numbingly dull (anything to do with Kim's driving fiasco and "Bingate" must be stopped).

HOWEVER...

He's allowed for character development. There's seemingly random scenes where characters talk to one another and usually about things outside of plot relevance. This isn't really something we've seen in about 10-15 years and it's jarring but it's part of a long game. Actors and characters have to earn big moments, they have to earn our sympathy or dislike, they can't just have something dumped on them without there being groundwork laid out. I think he's playing a clever game with the show but he could have gone around it in a more engaging way.

BIB - totally agree with this. I think that's what put me off the Carters when they were first introduced. There was too much, too soon, no build up to it and I resented feeling like I was supposed to care about them. The contrary part of me went in the opposite direction. I like the toned down version of them much more but they still don't really float my boat. Then we had characters that I did care about such as Jay, Abi, Masood and Denise who were either sidelined or turned into horrible creatures.

I like SOC's approach much better but am finding the pace just too slow at the moment. And I really could not care less about bins being collected or Shakil getting his leg over.

I agree it is absolute rubbish tonight. How ridiculous that someone would be jealous of Dot for a start! If "Linda" gets any more pregnant she will pop, as for the driving lessons and the rubbish collection - YAWN. We all know Lee is leaving so stop dragging the story out for goodness sake!

Interesting coming from a viewer who has watched from the early days, as many people on here are claiming EE is reminiscent of its older days right now. I think character interaction wise, that is true. However, I'm finding it mundane for a soap in 2016. The 80's/90's and now are two very different eras.

Yeah the problem is the internet these days to be honest. Everyone expects constant action and quickly resolved storylines so soaps really are in a pickle.

God, it's tedious, it really is. Loved watching Les and Pam. They were well-written and loveable characters. Why axe them and replace them with the awful Shakil and Bex will-they-won't-they nonsense?

I've seen 2 or so episodes from the last fortnight. Both were about bin plots and Kim's driving test. No point catching up for another fortnight or so, as the exact same plots will be ongoing.

I don't understand the rose tinted glasses nostalgia for what people remember from 30 years ago.

This love-in which alot of the forum is having with the current state of the show really is quite bizarre, i thought i was going loopy till i went on the official Facebook page earlier and realized most are actually bored with the show.

I cant understand how anyone thinks whats been dished up over the last few weeks is watchable or interesting.
Fair enough DTC did come up with some crap, I even stopped watching during the Carter force feeding era, but it was never as mind numbing as it has been.

I enjoyed it tonight

I really did quit watching at the right time by all accounts.

Can the BBC terminate a contract early for the producer if they dont like the vision for the show?
My god its mundane beyond belief. I dont want stunts or high drama, just interesting stories and characters not this tripe.
I will probably stick around till the Ronnie Mitchell demise (still peeved shes being killed off), then will say goodbye, I watch too many soaps as it is anyway

LOL

Anyways, I think he's doing a good job laying the foundation for a new era.
Sometimes I like the cool down periods, not every episode at the very start need to be BANG! BOOM! 8 deaths!

He's doing well so far..which surprises me since I was loathing him for all the cuts but he's doing a swell job.

It's so poor, those who think it's great or find it good need to go specsavers.