Hello fellow DS'ers, hope you're all well. I was thinking just how brilliant Eastenders has been in the past compared to more recent years. There were times when it was the best show on TV - the 80's era with Den and Angie, Mark Fower's HIV, Sharongate, Steve Owen vs Matthew Rose, the early 00's with the Slater family, Alfie and Nana Moon's trip to Normandy, Ronnie and Danielle, anything to do with Dennis Rickman and Michael Moon, and even more recent stuff like the 30th anniversary episodes. But the show seems to have been gradually declining in quality and popularity since around 2003/2004 and I'm starting to think that Sean O'Connor's new direction could cause a much further decline if it carries on like this. Eastenders is also facing tough competition from Coronation Street and Emmerdale Farm - which are both really good at the moment.

I'm hoping that the coming months will see Sean O'Connor do the following:

- Give an interview and let people know his thoughts and plans for the show.

- Introduce a new family and some decent, interesting and likable characters.

- Bring back some big names that will get people talking. As nice as it was to see Ryan, Derek and Colin, none of them were really high profile characters.

- Introduce a new villain or two. Eastenders has had some fantastic villains in the past like Steve Owen, Trevor Morgan, Johnny Allen, Archie Mitchell ect but it is really lacking these days.

- Don't let directors near the show who like that awful shaky camera work and incidental music.

- Bring back the edge of your seat kind of storylines and duff duffs that leave you excited for the next episode. I want to see feuds, fights, car chases, brawls, gangsters, action and excitement that Eastenders used to do so well (particularly in the late 90's and early 00's.) Sensationalism that doesn't go too over the top.

- (If the budget allows it) Have more on-location filming, spin offs, two handers and special episodes. This used to be common in the past but isn't so much nowadays, with the exception of the upcoming Kat and Alfie spin off.

- Bring in a few older characters. I wasn't a fan of DTC but I liked that he built up the older cast for a time with Les, Pam, Babe, Dot, Patrick, Stan ect.

- Don't kill off Ronnie and Roxy! (Although it may be too late for that )

Would anyone else like to see any of that happen? And what are your views on Sean's work so far? What would make Eastenders great again for you? I know it's still early days and I'm willing to give the guy a chance, but it's been a slow start so far.

(I've included a poll which should be up shortly...)

I agree 100% with what you say, especially point 3 and 6.

I loved eastenders back in the 90s. I used to think it was the best thing on tv.

I'm enjoying the new EP, but I'd like to see just two things:

1. New exciting actors joining the show.

DTC signed the likes of Danny Dyer, Kellie Bright, Annette Badland and Tim West almost instantly. All good performers with good credits to their names. I'd like O'Connor to bring in similar.

2. Keep tackling taboo stories that no-one else wants wants to tell.

This is EE at it's best when it does this. The paedophile story, Stacey being sectioned and Little Mo and Trevor were fantastic and it showed you don't need constant murders and parody to make the show gripping.

Other than that, I'm enjoying the dialogue, the likeable characters and the patient and realistic storytelling. A criticism would be the bin stuff (we get it) and maybe stronger 'duff duffs'.

A massive improvement on Treadwell-Collins, Newman and Kirkwood though.

I'm enjoying it and I think the recent changes are a step in the right direction. However, I'm not completely blown away by this era just yet.

Good points:

- the show has taken a breather from the OTT drama of the DTC era.
- much greater emphasis on character, family, and community.
- the writing is great. So many characters have gone up vastly in my estimations, including the likes of Vincent and Tina.
- everyone is getting a look in. It feels like a genuine ensemble cast for the first time in about 20 years.
- disposing of deadwood characters like Ronnie & Roxy.

Bad points:

- lack of dramatic stories. I'm enjoying both Lee and Dot's storylines, however there is very little else going on.
- as yet, a complete lack of casting news.


Absolutely agree on this.

Yes and no, it is okay, but there is still room for improvement

Re-introduce Mel and Lisa. Mel could even work in The Albert and watch Kim get jealous over her flirting with Vincent. Lisa would obviously work with the likes of Louise and Phil maybe Louise goes through a phase (Drugs or just generally smoking due to the stress of her dad dying)

Mel,Sharon,Lisa would be an amazing friendship group.

I haven't watched enough to judge. I have enjoyed what I have watched but it has not left me wanting more.

From what I have seen, the Mitchells seem to be the strongest set of characters right now - except Louise. Even tired Roxy is still amusing with her utter stupidity. Trouble is I can't invest in the Phil story as I am 99% certain he won't be killed off. There is no way that they are writing out 3 big Mitchells.

Lee being the other big story at the moment isn't helpful to the show. Lee has been the weakest link in the Carter family - a family I mostly dislike - from his introduction, so his exit can't come soon enough. With Lee I have gone from indifference, to boredom, to dislike. Even though I suffer from depression, I cannot relate to him at all, for example the lies and stealing lost any sympathy from me. I don't care how desperate he is, there is no justification for stealing. Whitney and awful Linda are many things, but they aren't ogres.

It was right to axe Les & Pam IMHO. Their characters were story based rather than character driven and their stories were all told. By getting rid of them they have opened up a whole new world for Jay and Billy - and clearly cuts had to be made sonewhere.

This isn't EastEnders in the 1980s, but it may or may not be a re-positioning of the show? Only time will tell. By 1st February Christmas will have been done, exits of major characters will have happened, along with their aftermaths. Most of all this producer will have been there 6 months. It took DTC 3 months to introduce the Carters and make his mark. So 1st February is more than generous on my part.

BIB is a good point. Also these producer handovers take a good few months of planning prior to them taking over anyway. I bet it was about this time last year SOC was asked about taking on the job. So all in all he probably had 3-6 months of preparing for taking over, plenty of time to plan some ideas and storylines and what direction he wanted to take the show in.

Its been pretty much his show and all his input since about June and his first proper episodes aired in late August I think it, that is plenty of time to make your mark and be rated on your performance.

Personally I just don't see the show being any different, sure there will be the odd week or two where they might have an interesting and dare I say it big storyline, but I think in the middle of it will be lots of mundane everyday stuff going round in circles. I hope I'm wrong for the shows sake because if Xmas is a flop and fails to make an impact, I really do see viewing figures hitting some record lows next year.

PROS:

The storylines of Lee and Dot. I'm glad they've highlighted workplace bullying and being one of the first soaps to focus on it. It's not going to end well for Lee. Using Dot and building with her friendship she has with Patrick has been a positive. It's nice that she is getting the airtime after being criminally underused with DTC.

Characters becoming more human - we're seeing the human side to the characters, even Phil!

Billy's fortune changing - About time. Him and Honey are a well-suited couple and it's about time he has some good news in his life.

CONS:

The production - wobbly camera angles, poor picture quality and incidential music. It's like a daytime soap instead of BBC's banker!
Panto / Bin Gate / Kim - I know every EP has had filler storylines, but come on.....
Lack of Drama - I like character building and character based storylines, but I do want some meat to go with my spuds thank you! We're approaching Christmas, and this is akin to summer.
Lack of new signings - I'd want at least one newbie on the Square or even recruit internally with Shrimpy or Tracey getting a bigger role.

In the poll I have voted Yes and no. It's okay but there is room for improvement. I think if things don't start picking up after the New Year and viewing figures are bad, and what I mean is a big distance behind CS/ED and just either scraping or even missing the Top 10 on Christmas Day then I would start rethinking the shows future.