It seems the dull storylines, wobbly cameras and now bad music overlays oh yes sorry I forgot the BINS (which seems to be the most interesting thing in EE atm) are becoming the norm for SOC!

Is he out to ruin EE? or is he just a really really bad producer?

BRING BACK DTC or Deidreck Santer PLEASE

Hello, forum police here : http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2186177

SOC has been dreadful so far, DTC was pretty shite at times aswell though, however i would prefer DTC to still be on the show if needs be!

yes DTC messed up some of the time but it was never this bad

Christmas will be the real telling point for me.

totally agree but his set up of the show already has proven he doesn't know what EE fan's want he wants to turn into some crap radio soap

I'm honestly at lost with what the direction the show is going.

It's not great.

I personally think it's better than it has been for a while, although the Ben and Jay kidnap story was hard to watch.

Agreed

The character driven storylines are far more interesting than the constant spectacle weeks with no substance behind them, imho.

You need to care about the characters first before you can invest in the bigger stories.

To be honest, I am getting a bit sick of hearing this same old thing trotted out over and over.
The storylines are dull and inspiring as are the characters. The opposite of what you are saying is happening. People are probably going to start caring even LESS about someone like Stacey for example than a year ago. Because she's been turned into a wet blanket!!

Its just absolutely woeful and a handful of forum members lauding the show during this woeful period really isn't going to help.

I honestly think BBC should just cut his contract short now, a soap first?

I agree totally i think people on here are in denial, i also think this should be nipped in the bud and SOC needs to go because this is awful, he's changed the structure of the show completely it just feels like a dull afternoon tv soap. People say wait until christmas but nothing will change dramatically because this is how he wants it, his ideas are totally out of touch for 2016, this aint the 80's ma man!

You need to care for the characters and have good stories. Ultimately you cannot have one without the other.

The odd episode I have seen has not bored me but neither has it inspired me to watch the next episode.

The real test will be December and January. By February 1st it will be obvious how the wind is blowing as he will of had 6 months, his first Christmas and some major exits.

Who is the head storyline producer now? Perhaps they are out of their depth? Especially if this SOC fella ripped up stories without having others in place.

The show isn't being helped by the fact that uninspiring characters are headlining the main running storylines at present. Then there is Phil whose story is hard to get behind as it is obvious he will get his transplant. Perhaps it wouldn't be so obvious if we didn't know Ronnie & Roxy were leaving but sadly a number of us do.

Whether Phil gets one of his cousins' livers or not, the simple truth is that they are not going to write out Phil, Ronnie and Roxy within months of each other and within months of killing off Peggy. I love Jay and Ben but they are not ready to lead the Mitchell family. Also they need to either bring a new family or build some families up before they continue to dismantle the Mitchells. Even the awful Carters are depleting. So no way is Phil going unless this producer is a total fool.

No, I think Bryan Kirkwood was the one who set out to ruin EE.

With SOC I'll give him until the New Year. He's got that and Christmas to really prove his worth. Still holding out hope that this is a big "quiet before the storm" set up. Max's return should be good, as should Lee's exit and what happens to Phil.

If these end up being a damp squib I guess I'll join the chorus of frustration.

This is my 2 cents into this convo.

I am split and torn down the middle if i like the new format with the new producer, But i contradict myself because we get more character building and longer scenes, some scenes do last a bit too long though. but I do agree that i think the xmas and new year week will be make or break for this producer. I know there is that shock or not spoiler shock exit for roxy and ronnie at xmas or new year too. So we will just have to wait and see. but i also agree that bin story-line is just over the top bonkers. LOL maybe its just a bit of fun, to drag a story-line out about bins. But it is a bit of fun though hehe. but yeah I am split down the middle either-way, and i like the new camera shots too. from distance and so on. some don't but i do

At the moment, I'm not really impressed with what I have seen so far. First, I'd like to start by saying most of the character interactions have improved greatly, Kathy in particular has been much better handled under SOC. However, the episodes themselves have been rather uninteresting for a while now. They're not really engaging enough for me to watch the next episodes with anticipation. They mostly range from below average to poor quality. There will be a few small or minor scenes that I enjoy but the rest of the episode sticks out like a sore thumb as "average" with only a few good sprinkled bits. I don't want to see this trend continue. I'd prefer if it was the other way around where the good bits make up the majority of the episode. It's come to the point where I wouldn't care if I missed an episode, I wouldn't necessarily be in a hurry to catch up with what I have missed because it's guaranteed to be just average and nothing more beyond. It's still too early for me to give a more in depth opinion but right now, I'm just not satisfied with what I am seeing right now. I don't really have much of an interest in the bin stuff, Kim's driving or the Christmas play. There needs to be more of a balance. Really hope things improve soon.

Regarding Phil's storyline, I think it's pretty certain that he won't die. There's no way they would kill him off, especially since it's been months after Peggy died. They just wouldn't do it, he'll survive somehow and fight to live another day, although this draws me to another concern, Ronnie and Roxy. I don't have a problem with both of them leaving the show but I am against the potential idea of them being killed off just for Phil to survive another day which leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. If this is really how they will be bowing out of the show, then I'll be very disappointed. I'm not sure if I could forgive them for doing this to them.

So yeah regarding the SOC situation, I'm torn. There's the small good stuff but I remain a bit concerned and uninterested.

Maybe Sean still thinks he's working on the Archers? A lot of plotlines may sound great on the radio, but they might not work so well on TV. Just a thought.

Correction. He doesn't do what ds wants. Meaning he's apparently the worst producer ever

Even though it's only been 5 minutes since that accolade belonged to DTC

I'm hope it picks up soon.

The strangest thing is that after six months we have heard absolutely nothing from the Man himself!!

Nope that accolade still belongs to The last producer!
I like what the new one is doing he is having to wrap up the last producers stories. I wonder if it was his intent to kill phil.

But Soc is at last restoring characters into being characters instead of folk that change to suit the storyline. Billy at last being given development. Denise being given a good story and air time. The trash has been axed.

Lots of stories and characters being built up right now which in my opinion is a good thing

Why? Since when is he accountable to the public.

As long as his staff have heard from him and his bosses are pleased with what he is doing that's actually all he needs to do.

I am all for him keeping quiet and getting on with the job in hand

I'm absolutely gutted at the state of the show at the moment. It's been dreadful ever since Les and Pam left. In fact I'd say they were carrying the show in the whole of 2016. It had been pretty rubbish for most of the year but those two saved it.

Carmel epitomises the utter dross these days. Stacey's frown which is almost off the bottom of her jaw, Denise reading her bloody classics on the Mini Mart whilst pilfering meat pies, Kush is a spare part, Billy goes on a rant kicking the driggie Jay out and goes grovelling to give him his job back for the umpteenth time when he needs cover, Kathy's doing bugger all other than fighting about a pointless panto and Regards working in the cafe as career progression.

It's all a little terrible mess. Gave Lady Di a bigger part FFS.

I am thoroughly enjoying the greater emphasis on character, and I think the 'back to basics' approach was necessary after three years of OTT drama under DTC.

However...

As much as I do enjoy the episodes when I watch them, I'm not feeling massively compelled to tune in for the next one. I've missed a few episodes over the last couple of weeks and haven't bothered to catch up on them. At the moment, EastEnders is something I watch if I happen to be at home when it's on. I remain hopeful that we've got some dramatic plots coming up.

EastEnders needs low-key stories like Dot's sight problems, Kim learning to drive, etc. But it also needs drama, and that is slightly lacking at the moment.

I still think the proof of the pudding will be when the new storyline producer starts. I have said this again but it bears repeating: why would SOC want to give any big storyline ideas to Alex Lamb who was on his way out during the stories they're currently filming?

I think the new year will likely see the new storyline producer in place, the introduction of new characters and better utilisation of the characters we already have.