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Is Sean O'Connor out to ruin EE?


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Old 25-11-2016, 11:21
vaslav37
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The show needs to axe the deadwood like Tina, Sylvie & Shakil.
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Old 25-11-2016, 12:38
sorcha_healy27
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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.
Yeah this is exactly how I feel. The balance between High drama and characterisation is still missing but overall I like the characterisation and there are stories that I'd thought I'd hate but surprisingly I'm enjoying
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Old 25-11-2016, 13:17
Yoshi Fan
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I don't think he's deliberately setting out to ruin it.

His vision and plans...to make the characters more "real", more likeable and more human so you can invest in their storylines...sound solid enough on paper. Unfortunately, this has made for some very tedious viewing where interesting plotlines are being spread very thinly. Storylines like Phil's health problems, Lee's depression, Denise becoming an older mum, Bex sex are undoubtedly realistic and relatable...but they're pretty much the only storylines at the moment. They're not plots that are compelling viewers to go "oh wow I want to tune into the next episode!"

That's not to say the show needs to be high drama every week, but the other soaps seem to have it right at the moment...characters you can invest in and care about, plus there are big storylines happening alongside the more realistic plots. That's taking into account that two of them have also changed producers in recent months.

If/when SOC can get the balance right and inject some drama alongside the more realistic plots, I believe EE will be in a great place again. He's done a great job with the stabbing story...the victim and incident were both offscreen, but seeing the community impact, from the worried parents to the upset students and even the heartbreak of Billy and Jay arranging the funeral, it's been a surprisingly effective and even gripping story. Give him til February/March, if it's still more of the same dross it might be time to start looking again.
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Old 25-11-2016, 13:23
ArthurJBear
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Considering EE is better than it has been during the end of DTC's reign he is doing a piss poor job of ruining it
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Old 25-11-2016, 14:21
Damien_Johnson
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While the show is probably a little quiet atm, it surprises me everyone is claiming it's O'Connor "ruining" EastEnders out of all the other EPs.

Have we forgotten Treadwell-Collins and Alex Lamb already? Have we forgotten comedy Gavin running around a mansion? Have we forgotten Claudette being buried alive? Or half the square covering up for a 10-year-old murderer? Or the re-writing of established characters 30 year history?

What about Newman and Kirkwood, have we forgotten Dexter, Anthony and Tyler? Or Liam walking off to Little Mix?

O'Connor is doing fine in comparison. He storylined EE during some of its most popular periods and gave us critically acclaimed stories like Little Mo and Trevor as well as creating the Slaters. He also made The Archers one of the most talked about radio shows in the country with a powerful central storyline.

He absolutely did the right thing in bringing the show back to earth after DTC. The show was becoming a parody. He gave the community feel back, made dialogue more realistic, pushed the likes of Dot back to the forefront and calmed things down. I've cared about characters I'd never thought I'd care about, like Lee.

Perhaps it needs a little more oomph, but the overreaction is getting silly. For all those saying you're going to stop watching, you've been saying that for 2 months and continue to watch regardless. Slagging off episodes that haven't even aired yet is ridiculous (Like the Bex or R&R threads). Who knows where the Bex story is heading, maybe Shakil assualts her? How about we watch and find out. Isn't there an ounce of patience in you?

He also seems to be getting hate for not telling everyone his 'vision' and giving us spoliers. Why ruin the suspense and surprise?

He's not trying to 'ruin' it. He's taking the show seriously and treating the audience like adults again. I haven't seen the show like this since John Yorke left, and I mean that as a massive positive.

We've become too accustomed to Santer, Kirkwood and Treadwell-Collin's sensationalism the last decade. EastEnders 2.0 as it were. Even Sharon Marshall had a dig at what EastEnders had become on This Morning this week (which she says she never does) - and said she's enjoying the direction for the show.

I'm just glad we're getting glimpses of old school EE back.
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Old 25-11-2016, 16:27
Aura101
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While the show is probably a little quiet atm, it surprises me everyone is claiming it's O'Connor "ruining" EastEnders out of all the other EPs.

Have we forgotten Treadwell-Collins and Alex Lamb already? Have we forgotten comedy Gavin running around a mansion? Have we forgotten Claudette being buried alive? Or half the square covering up for a 10-year-old murderer? Or the re-writing of established characters 30 year history?

What about Newman and Kirkwood, have we forgotten Dexter, Anthony and Tyler? Or Liam walking off to Little Mix?

O'Connor is doing fine in comparison. He storylined EE during some of its most popular periods and gave us critically acclaimed stories like Little Mo and Trevor as well as creating the Slaters. He also made The Archers one of the most talked about radio shows in the country with a powerful central storyline.

He absolutely did the right thing in bringing the show back to earth after DTC. The show was becoming a parody. He gave the community feel back, made dialogue more realistic, pushed the likes of Dot back to the forefront and calmed things down. I've cared about characters I'd never thought I'd care about, like Lee.

Perhaps it needs a little more oomph, but the overreaction is getting silly. For all those saying you're going to stop watching, you've been saying that for 2 months and continue to watch regardless. Slagging off episodes that haven't even aired yet is ridiculous (Like the Bex or R&R threads). Who knows where the Bex story is heading, maybe Shakil assualts her? How about we watch and find out. Isn't there an ounce of patience in you?

He also seems to be getting hate for not telling everyone his 'vision' and giving us spoliers. Why ruin the suspense and surprise?

He's not trying to 'ruin' it. He's taking the show seriously and treating the audience like adults again. I haven't seen the show like this since John Yorke left, and I mean that as a massive positive.

We've become too accustomed to Santer, Kirkwood and Treadwell-Collin's sensationalism the last decade. EastEnders 2.0 as it were. Even Sharon Marshall had a dig at what EastEnders had become on This Morning this week (which she says she never does) - and said she's enjoying the direction for the show.

I'm just glad we're getting glimpses of old school EE back.
I have forgotten none of it, if you ask me EastEnders suffers from a long line of numpties at the helm. I do not think anyone will be worse than Birkwood though. Not even SOC.
oh and nobody would watch 'old school EE' now, so if thats where its going, god help the show.
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Old 25-11-2016, 16:44
Ten_Ben
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While the show is probably a little quiet atm, it surprises me everyone is claiming it's O'Connor "ruining" EastEnders out of all the other EPs.

Have we forgotten Treadwell-Collins and Alex Lamb already? Have we forgotten comedy Gavin running around a mansion? Have we forgotten Claudette being buried alive? Or half the square covering up for a 10-year-old murderer? Or the re-writing of established characters 30 year history?

What about Newman and Kirkwood, have we forgotten Dexter, Anthony and Tyler? Or Liam walking off to Little Mix?

O'Connor is doing fine in comparison. He storylined EE during some of its most popular periods and gave us critically acclaimed stories like Little Mo and Trevor as well as creating the Slaters. He also made The Archers one of the most talked about radio shows in the country with a powerful central storyline.

He absolutely did the right thing in bringing the show back to earth after DTC. The show was becoming a parody. He gave the community feel back, made dialogue more realistic, pushed the likes of Dot back to the forefront and calmed things down. I've cared about characters I'd never thought I'd care about, like Lee.

Perhaps it needs a little more oomph, but the overreaction is getting silly. For all those saying you're going to stop watching, you've been saying that for 2 months and continue to watch regardless. Slagging off episodes that haven't even aired yet is ridiculous (Like the Bex or R&R threads). Who knows where the Bex story is heading, maybe Shakil assualts her? How about we watch and find out. Isn't there an ounce of patience in you?

He also seems to be getting hate for not telling everyone his 'vision' and giving us spoliers. Why ruin the suspense and surprise?

He's not trying to 'ruin' it. He's taking the show seriously and treating the audience like adults again. I haven't seen the show like this since John Yorke left, and I mean that as a massive positive.

We've become too accustomed to Santer, Kirkwood and Treadwell-Collin's sensationalism the last decade. EastEnders 2.0 as it were. Even Sharon Marshall had a dig at what EastEnders had become on This Morning this week (which she says she never does) - and said she's enjoying the direction for the show.

I'm just glad we're getting glimpses of old school EE back.
^This. SOC has literally saved the show after the disastrous second half of DTC's reign where he got way too carried away. The first half of his tenure was great but the plaudits seemed to go to his head.

I'm sure part of the problem (if there is one) is simply that next to nothing has come out of Elstree in terms of meaningful visions or spoilers. It doesn't bother me one little bit, in fact I prefer it but it seems that people in general are no longer able to watch soaps as they happen without knowing what's coming up in advance. Logically that makes no sense - but rather than enjoy the anticipation, it seems to lead people to assume the worse and to slag off the things that have been teased but not yet aired. Bizarre or what? It's like saying "the BBC hasn't said what's happening, so obviously nothing's happening and therefore it can only be cr4p".

I don't care that there's been no new characters. I've been enjoying getting to know the existing ones again. I needed to, most had lost all sense of who they were. New ones will come along in time and I don't need to know who they are in advance to allow me to enjoy what's currently happening.

Do the people complaining about lack of vision or spoilers, go looking for the football results before settling down to watch Match of the Day or the cricket scores before that day's highlights? What's the difference?

EE couldn't carry on as it was. Luckily the BBC saw sense. And yes, a bit more oomph would be welcome, I wouldn't disagree with that.
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Old 25-11-2016, 16:47
Aura101
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^This. SOC has literally saved the show after the disastrous second half of DTC's reign where he got way too carried away. The first half of his tenure was great but the plaudits seemed to go to his head.

I'm sure part of the problem (if there is one) is simply that next to nothing has come out of Elstree in terms of meaningful visions or spoilers. It doesn't bother me one little bit, in fact I prefer it but it seems that people in general are no longer able to watch soaps as they happen without knowing what's coming up in advance. Logically that makes no sense - but rather than enjoy the anticipation, it seems to lead people to assume the worse and to slag off the things that have been teased but not yet aired. Bizarre or what? It's like saying "the BBC hasn't said what's happening, so obviously nothing's happening and therefore it can only be cr4p".

I don't care that there's been no new characters. I've been enjoying getting to know the existing ones again. I needed to, most had lost all sense of who they were. New ones will come along in time and I don't need to know who they are in advance to allow me to enjoy what's currently happening.

Do the people complaining about lack of vision or spoilers, go looking for the football results before settling down to watch Match of the Day or the cricket scores before that day's highlights? What's the difference?

EE couldn't carry on as it was. Luckily the BBC saw sense. And yes, a bit more oomph would be welcome, I wouldn't disagree with that.
You are saying all this as if there is something interesting coming up. Do you know something we dont?
And they hardly managed to keep Ronnie and Roxy's exit a secret, we know all the grisly details of their bizarre insulting to the actresses exit.
There have been more surprises on the other soaps.
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Old 25-11-2016, 16:53
jamesc_715
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I agree we need some sensationalism but I think low-key moments are important. Alex Lamb was the story producer when the episodes were plotted/filmed so O'Connor shouldn't be held accountable for everything, in my opinion. I can't wait for the new story producer's work onscreen. O'Connor was the story producer many years ago and I'm sure he know what he is doing and the BBC executives were obviously keen on his ideas during the interview for the executive producer's job. We need to be patient and I'm feeling very positive for the future.
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Old 25-11-2016, 17:11
Ten_Ben
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You are saying all this as if there is something interesting coming up. Do you know something we dont?
And they hardly managed to keep Ronnie and Roxy's exit a secret, we know all the grisly details of their bizarre insulting to the actresses exit.
There have been more surprises on the other soaps.
No, I don't know what's coming up other than the obvious: R&R leaving, Lee being found out and leaving, Phil's transplant, Jay's drug debts, whatever Steven is covering up, Denise's baby, Max's return etc. Why is none of that interesting just because we don't know anything about the storylines? The difference is that I'm not assuming the worst, and nor am I taking the Sun's assumptions as gospel.

I don't know if the Sun is right or wrong about R&R. I suspect there's more to it than they've guessed. if they're right, I don't know it's going to cr4p as I haven't seen it yet. If they're wrong, then it'll surely be much better (plus it's going to be absolutely hilarious on here! ).
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Old 25-11-2016, 17:18
Adam_Burke1
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I don't mind Ronnie staying on as she seems to be able to turn on her malevolence like a tap and has quite a convincing, sinister, psychopathic edge to her but perhaps Sam Womack thinks she's run her course in which case I don't think she has a future though.

Roxy is as congenitally vacuous, pathetic, irritating and useless a human being as Carmel
and Tina. Get shot as the character has been laughably poor this year.
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Old 25-11-2016, 17:46
Damien_Johnson
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I have forgotten none of it, if you ask me EastEnders suffers from a long line of numpties at the helm. I do not think anyone will be worse than Birkwood though. Not even SOC.
oh and nobody would watch 'old school EE' now, so if thats where its going, god help the show.
How do you know?
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Old 25-11-2016, 17:49
Damien_Johnson
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^
Do the people complaining about lack of vision or spoilers, go looking for the football results before settling down to watch Match of the Day or the cricket scores before that day's highlights? What's the difference?
Spot on in regards to the spoiler nonsense.

"It must be bad because no-one is telling me what's going to happen!!"
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Old 25-11-2016, 17:54
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While the show is probably a little quiet atm, it surprises me everyone is claiming it's O'Connor "ruining" EastEnders out of all the other EPs.

Have we forgotten Treadwell-Collins and Alex Lamb already? Have we forgotten comedy Gavin running around a mansion? Have we forgotten Claudette being buried alive? Or half the square covering up for a 10-year-old murderer? Or the re-writing of established characters 30 year history?

What about Newman and Kirkwood, have we forgotten Dexter, Anthony and Tyler? Or Liam walking off to Little Mix?

O'Connor is doing fine in comparison. He storylined EE during some of its most popular periods and gave us critically acclaimed stories like Little Mo and Trevor as well as creating the Slaters. He also made The Archers one of the most talked about radio shows in the country with a powerful central storyline.

He absolutely did the right thing in bringing the show back to earth after DTC. The show was becoming a parody. He gave the community feel back, made dialogue more realistic, pushed the likes of Dot back to the forefront and calmed things down. I've cared about characters I'd never thought I'd care about, like Lee.

Perhaps it needs a little more oomph, but the overreaction is getting silly. For all those saying you're going to stop watching, you've been saying that for 2 months and continue to watch regardless. Slagging off episodes that haven't even aired yet is ridiculous (Like the Bex or R&R threads). Who knows where the Bex story is heading, maybe Shakil assualts her? How about we watch and find out. Isn't there an ounce of patience in you?

He also seems to be getting hate for not telling everyone his 'vision' and giving us spoliers. Why ruin the suspense and surprise?

He's not trying to 'ruin' it. He's taking the show seriously and treating the audience like adults again. I haven't seen the show like this since John Yorke left, and I mean that as a massive positive.

We've become too accustomed to Santer, Kirkwood and Treadwell-Collin's sensationalism the last decade. EastEnders 2.0 as it were. Even Sharon Marshall had a dig at what EastEnders had become on This Morning this week (which she says she never does) - and said she's enjoying the direction for the show.

I'm just glad we're getting glimpses of old school EE back.
I think you are bang on. I like it like this, it's so much better than the over the top stuff we were getting under DTC. Eastenders was so all over the place and it was sometimes hard to follow what was going on for a few years, now things are much easier.
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Old 25-11-2016, 17:54
vaslav37
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Alex Lamb is still on the closing credits.
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Old 25-11-2016, 18:47
J-B
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The idea perpetuated on this forum that it has to be a binary choice between SOC's love and warmth and DTC's sensationalism is a falsehood.

Both are very shit producers in very different ways. Yes, Incompetent DTC was an awful producer and it was the right choice to sack him, but no, SOC making it duller than dishwater is not better.
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Old 25-11-2016, 18:59
Aura101
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The idea perpetuated on this forum that it has to be a binary choice between SOC's love and warmth and DTC's sensationalism is a falsehood.

Both are very shit producers in very different ways. Yes, Incompetent DTC was an awful producer and it was the right choice to sack him, but no, SOC making it duller than dishwater is not better.
He wasn't sacked though?
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Old 25-11-2016, 20:07
ArthurJBear
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You are saying all this as if there is something interesting coming up. Do you know something we dont?
And they hardly managed to keep Ronnie and Roxy's exit a secret, we know all the grisly details of their bizarre insulting to the actresses exit.
There have been more surprises on the other soaps.
Do we - it hasn't been confirmed yet and could still be false speculation
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Old 25-11-2016, 20:31
Milton Jones
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I wonder if Simon Ashdown could come in as Producer, all his episodes were good.
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Old 25-11-2016, 21:05
Damien_Johnson
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I wonder if Simon Ashdown could come in as Producer, all his episodes were good.
I miss Ashdown's writing. The Branning overload circa 2011-2013 was very tedious, but he did write excellent episodes and helped create good characters. Kierston Wareing was his idea, although the producer gave the character nothing to do.
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Old 25-11-2016, 21:16
Aura101
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Do we - it hasn't been confirmed yet and could still be false speculation
I am going by the fact The Sun tend to always be right when reporting on soap spoilers, the fact that nowhere has reported any other filmed ending other than the 'swimming pool' exit. The fact the BBC budget is stretched can they afford to do multiple endings?
The fact that this wet blanket ending fits in with the wet blanket producer.
And its blatantly obvious Phil will be getting Ronnies liver.

I may be wrong, however i am 99.9% sure i am right
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Old 25-11-2016, 21:51
MissingMitchell
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The idea perpetuated on this forum that it has to be a binary choice between SOC's love and warmth and DTC's sensationalism is a falsehood.

Both are very shit producers in very different ways. Yes, Incompetent DTC was an awful producer and it was the right choice to sack him, but no, SOC making it duller than dishwater is not better.
Extremely well put.

IMO the batch of coma-inducing storylines currently populating the show risks turning viewers away from the characters as they act out this drivel. The supposed plan to reorient and recentre the characters (and attain a deeper level of empathy for them) will be a redundant exercise, as if the balance doesn't shift soon (with next to nothing of note happening on screen) most of the audience will have left and be watching ITV instead.
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Old 25-11-2016, 22:31
NoughtiesMusic
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The complete lack of new characters has been annoying though. Not a single announcement so far. EE needs fresh blood under a new EP.

With all these departures, there's more than enough space.
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Old 25-11-2016, 22:32
sw2963
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While the show is probably a little quiet atm, it surprises me everyone is claiming it's O'Connor "ruining" EastEnders out of all the other EPs.

Have we forgotten Treadwell-Collins and Alex Lamb already? Have we forgotten comedy Gavin running around a mansion? Have we forgotten Claudette being buried alive? Or half the square covering up for a 10-year-old murderer? Or the re-writing of established characters 30 year history?

What about Newman and Kirkwood, have we forgotten Dexter, Anthony and Tyler? Or Liam walking off to Little Mix?

O'Connor is doing fine in comparison. He storylined EE during some of its most popular periods and gave us critically acclaimed stories like Little Mo and Trevor as well as creating the Slaters. He also made The Archers one of the most talked about radio shows in the country with a powerful central storyline.

He absolutely did the right thing in bringing the show back to earth after DTC. The show was becoming a parody. He gave the community feel back, made dialogue more realistic, pushed the likes of Dot back to the forefront and calmed things down. I've cared about characters I'd never thought I'd care about, like Lee.

Perhaps it needs a little more oomph, but the overreaction is getting silly. For all those saying you're going to stop watching, you've been saying that for 2 months and continue to watch regardless. Slagging off episodes that haven't even aired yet is ridiculous (Like the Bex or R&R threads). Who knows where the Bex story is heading, maybe Shakil assualts her? How about we watch and find out. Isn't there an ounce of patience in you?

He also seems to be getting hate for not telling everyone his 'vision' and giving us spoliers. Why ruin the suspense and surprise?

He's not trying to 'ruin' it. He's taking the show seriously and treating the audience like adults again. I haven't seen the show like this since John Yorke left, and I mean that as a massive positive.

We've become too accustomed to Santer, Kirkwood and Treadwell-Collin's sensationalism the last decade. EastEnders 2.0 as it were. Even Sharon Marshall had a dig at what EastEnders had become on This Morning this week (which she says she never does) - and said she's enjoying the direction for the show.

I'm just glad we're getting glimpses of old school EE back.
Is his strength story lining rather than Executive Producer?
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Old 25-11-2016, 23:17
emzi27
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I can't believe how underused Kathy is. She had a better part in Hollyoaks!
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