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Is this the beginning of the end for Eastenders?


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Old 25-11-2016, 09:28
DelicateKitten
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I remember when Brookside was coming to an end it was very much like Eastenders is now - boring storylines, no consistency in characters etc
Also the shaky camera work reminds me of how they started filming in The Bill - and that ended as well.
Both were long time successful 'soaps' that just started going really downhill.
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Old 25-11-2016, 09:30
Reserved
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Haven't they just built a brand new set costing about £25m?
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Old 25-11-2016, 09:33
DelicateKitten
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Haven't they just built a brand new set costing about £25m?
Doesn't mean anything if you aren't getting viewers.
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Old 25-11-2016, 09:34
NoughtiesMusic
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Doubt it, EE seems to be going through an odd patch. If SOC doesn't deliver at Christmas and New Year, then I'll probably support a move to get rid of him. But he could defy the odds and deliver absolutely brilliant moments then.

It survived 2004 and 2011-2013...both of which were worse than it is now.
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Old 25-11-2016, 09:35
Adam_Burke1
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I think EE will be around 30 years for now. The Beeb has built this amazing aura around it and it's a brand to them which as rubbish as the show is is a cash cow with global rights, etc.

It perhaps should be binned but I don't think it will be. It's a pale shadow of what it was in the 80s and 90s.
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Old 25-11-2016, 09:40
Reserved
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Doesn't mean anything if you aren't getting viewers.
It's one of the cheapest shows that the BBC has. Doesn't it only cost them about £600,000 a year to produce? It fills two hours a week in the schedule and averages six million viewers.

I don't watch it much these days but I don't see it going anywhere any time soon.
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Old 25-11-2016, 10:08
Ten_Ben
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I remember when Brookside was coming to an end it was very much like Eastenders is now - boring storylines, no consistency in characters etc
Also the shaky camera work reminds me of how they started filming in The Bill - and that ended as well.
Both were long time successful 'soaps' that just started going really downhill.
Just how many more of these threads do we need?

EE is doing fine.

"No consistency in characters" - where the heck does that come from? It was a huge problem a year ago but not anymore. The characters are now acting very consistently, very plausibly and with realism. Last year, they would do and say anything. Not now. Yesterday's scenes between Stacey/Martin/Kyle were superb. Even complex characters like Ian are acting more believably and again his scenes with Kyle last night were excellent. In the recent past we might have expected Ian to explode with rage and have a strop when Kyle told him he was leaving and dropping him in it but no, this was the real Ian. He's not that one-dimensional. Ditto Kathy, she was appallingly written under DTC but now we're seeing 'proper' Kathy and she's a much, much better character as a result.

So much is in the dialogue, which is now far more realistic. The cast is acting more, rather than just appearing to deliver lines. It's in their eyes, their body language, a look here and and an facial expression there. Characters are doing two or three things at once, just like people do in real life. It's a huge improvement.

Yes, storywise it's a bit slow and we have to assume (hope?) that it will pick up now that Christmas is approaching but there's a lot more to enjoy without there having to be 'action' at every turn. I'm liking it. A bit more pace and some new characters in time will help no end.
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Old 25-11-2016, 10:12
Ten_Ben
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It's one of the cheapest shows that the BBC has. Doesn't it only cost them about £600,000 a year to produce? It fills two hours a week in the schedule and averages six million viewers.

I don't watch it much these days but I don't see it going anywhere any time soon.
No! The last figures for 2009/10 were £30m a year or around £150k an episode.
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Old 25-11-2016, 10:14
Adrian_Ward1
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No Eastendes is safe
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Old 25-11-2016, 10:26
xTonix
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EE will be here for another 100 year's yet.
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Old 25-11-2016, 10:32
xcom
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EE is fine the soap which needs to go first is Hollyoaks, which is a shadow of its former self.
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Old 25-11-2016, 10:54
vaslav37
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EastEnders will not be axed.
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Old 25-11-2016, 11:10
bass55
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You know, I think EastEnders will be just fine.
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Old 25-11-2016, 11:14
Stupid_Head
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They'll just try again with another producer if this one doesn't work out, I doubt they'll give up this easily.
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Old 25-11-2016, 12:26
Heanor_Man31
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I think part of the problem is the fact there aren't really any dramatic storylines at the moment-yes we have Lee with his financial worries and Phil and the fact he may/may not die.

I don't know about anyone else but we're that used to different dramas/stunts each week and now things have calmed down since DTC left... Personally I think SOC will have a few surprises lined up at Christmas/New Year.
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Old 25-11-2016, 12:30
david_leeward
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EE is fine the soap which needs to go first is Hollyoaks, which is a shadow of its former self.
So is eastenders . Actually hollyoaks has had a good year aoart from a few dud episodes
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Old 25-11-2016, 12:39
SuperSoaper
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At least Hollyoaks is always entertaining, even if it's implausible.

EastEnders' problem is that it's ridiculously slow paced. It's fine to have realistic dialogue, but this is a TV soap and people would rather be entertained and suspend their sense of disbelief. Coronation Street is the soap everybody is talking about now what with Phelan's recent antics.
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Old 25-11-2016, 12:40
sorcha_healy27
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At least Hollyoaks is always entertaining, even if it's implausible.

EastEnders' problem is that it's ridiculously slow paced. It's fine to have realistic dialogue, but this is a TV soap and people would rather be entertained and suspend their sense of disbelief. Coronation Street is the soap everybody is talking about now what with Phelan's recent antics .
Bib true but let's not forget how bad corrie had been in the previous 4 years and even up to Phelan and Michael it's been pretty dire.

Brookside was an actual parody of its former self when it ended. The stories on screen were absolutely ridiculous
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Old 25-11-2016, 12:41
david_leeward
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At least Hollyoaks is always entertaining, even if it's implausible.

EastEnders' problem is that it's ridiculously slow paced. It's fine to have realistic dialogue, but this is a TV soap and people would rather be entertained and suspend their sense of disbelief. Coronation Streetyouve hit the nail is the soap everybody is talking about now what with Phelan's recent antics.
You've hit the nail on the head!
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Old 25-11-2016, 13:07
Jimmy Connors
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Doesn't mean anything if you aren't getting viewers.
But it is getting viewers.
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Old 25-11-2016, 13:25
ArthurJBear
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Considering it is the best it has been in the past few years - and that there is greater emphasis on consistency and characterisation of the residents of the Square and less OTT sensationalism needing ret-conning and sudden unexpected changes in character I#d say the opposite.
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Old 25-11-2016, 13:41
sexy_princess
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Eastenders is incredibly value for money....for scripted content. However if the BBC is struggling with costs and budget overruns then axing EE might be a viable decision. I can't see that happening yet though. It's more likely EE will get budget cut after budget cut reducing the show to a terrible state.

A magazine style type show would be undoubtedly cheaper. As would commissioning a new UK soap in a cheaper area.

Realistically with the license few curbed, expect to see less characters or high profile actors and minimal location shooting.
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Old 25-11-2016, 13:50
MissingMitchell
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Just how many more of these threads do we need?

EE is doing fine.

"No consistency in characters" - where the heck does that come from? It was a huge problem a year ago but not anymore. The characters are now acting very consistently, very plausibly and with realism. Last year, they would do and say anything. Not now. Yesterday's scenes between Stacey/Martin/Kyle were superb. Even complex characters like Ian are acting more believably and again his scenes with Kyle last night were excellent. In the recent past we might have expected Ian to explode with rage and have a strop when Kyle told him he was leaving and dropping him in it but no, this was the real Ian. He's not that one-dimensional. Ditto Kathy, she was appallingly written under DTC but now we're seeing 'proper' Kathy and she's a much, much better character as a result.

So much is in the dialogue, which is now far more realistic. The cast is acting more, rather than just appearing to deliver lines. It's in their eyes, their body language, a look here and and an facial expression there. Characters are doing two or three things at once, just like people do in real life. It's a huge improvement.

Yes, storywise it's a bit slow and we have to assume (hope?) that it will pick up now that Christmas is approaching but there's a lot more to enjoy without there having to be 'action' at every turn. I'm liking it. A bit more pace and some new characters in time will help no end.
I'm a huge EE fan, have been for many many years and I'm desperately hoping things will improve.

IMO EE is definitely not doing fine.

In terms of the actors acting - great, more of this please! Huge improvement? Martin eating an apple while talking for example? Not so much.

In terms of consistency of characters - agreed that some appear more consistent and not as flip-flop, but without interesting storylines, they become boring extremely quickly as with Carmel and her bin crusade.

In terms of characterisation and Ian last night - disagree. Ian's reaction to Kyle leaving wasn't him 'being himself', it was a necessary story beat to allow Kyle to leave the job and the square. If this exchange took place in a different context and time (and not one ep before Kyle leaves presumably) Ian's reaction would have once again been back to default strop/rage.

Dialogue, realistic? Where's the spark? Look at Holby for example and how crisp each line is. Where is the use of metaphor? Humour? Subversion? Subtext? The lines are flat most of the time.

If this is EE at fine, us viewers are expecting far too little.
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Old 25-11-2016, 13:50
Danny_Francis
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You would've thought that EE is on its knees the way it's talked about by some, I think some have got caught up in the idea that a soap has to always carry big and gripping stories in order for it to make interesting viewing. There's enough going on for me to be convinced that the show is on the mend after imo many poor years. CS is the leading soap at the moment I think, however as an above poster pointed out it was a gradual process after many below par years. The nature of soaps is there are ups and downs, my favourite Emmerdale is in decline atm but for me that can be overlooked because of the overall consistency it's enjoyed for the past 6 years. And finally, those complaining there must be something keeping you watching or you would've likely have switched off by now
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Old 25-11-2016, 13:53
Superstar99
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Eastenders is incredibly value for money....for scripted content. However if the BBC is struggling with costs and budget overruns then axing EE might be a viable decision. I can't see that happening yet though. It's more likely EE will get budget cut after budget cut reducing the show to a terrible state.

A magazine style type show would be undoubtedly cheaper. As would commissioning a new UK soap in a cheaper area.

Realistically with the license few curbed, expect to see less characters or high profile actors and minimal location shooting.
Yes I think people really underestimate the fact that filming in London is incredibly expensive. With the cost of living likely to rise sharply over the coming years, with the BBC budget already stretched and no room to manoeuvre due to government freezing the licence fee, its going to be harder than ever to get the necessary quality from cast and crew as many will start looking elsewhere for work.

I think we can already see the budget cuts affecting the show, working with a smaller cast has obviously been forced as there are no signs of any new actors being cast on a permanent basis. The show is heading into unchartered territories and with CS and ED always used as a comparison, its going to really struggle next year and beyond.

If as likely the viewing figures do go into decline then the BBC will have a decision to make on its future. People who think EE is completely safe are in denial.
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