EastEnders Terminal Decline

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Andybear

28-12-2016

Originally Posted by Hollyoaks14:
“A murder a day? One or two a year will surffice Lol ”

I'm starting to get a bit worried about you with this liking for murder in soaps - you've mentioned it in a few threads

Aura101

28-12-2016

Actually 2006 is where I can pinpoint the last time it was truley unmissable. There were some great characters.
It all started to go tits up after the dirty den debacle and the show lost 3 huge characters Chrissie Zoe and Sam. Such an amazing time for the show.... It then descended into a farce, Santer wasn't too bad but he really started to lose the plot. Bringing back Daniella Westbrook?? Wtf. Turning Ronnie a great character into a 'tragic heroine' which then every producer afterwards ran with. Creating some.of the most ridiculous storylines ever (see Baby swap) This is probably part of the reason Ronnie is being killed off, as SOC thinks the character is exhausted. He's misguided (mainly because he's just another shit producer to add to the collection) but I see his trail of thought on it.
DTC managed to pick the show up somewhat after Newman and Birkwood just about seemed to wreck it beyond repair. But he's gone now (after some.more barmy storylines ) (see Kat's lost baby)
God knows where the shows at right now, a very small dull dreary cast with no direction whatsoever and about to kill off two.legacy characters probably 2 of the very few decent ones from a better era.
God help the show up shit creek without a paddle.

dantay24uk

28-12-2016

Originally Posted by RonSwanson92:
“bring back Robbie Jackson!”

Is that you Dean?

Keibro

28-12-2016

Originally Posted by Menime123:
“I don't think it's a decline - it's a literal regime change. The new producer is clearly trying to get the audience to a place where there is a clean slate, where we aren't demanding or expecting huge plots every week - you will never be as good if you keep up the sensationalism as audiences will always expect bigger and better.

The show is going back to basics and is attempting to re-acquaint the audience with the characters (and throw in some character development for good measure). Some really needed it - Jane is much more like her old self now (pre-Lucy death) and Lauren hasn't shouted at anyone in forever. This of course allows smaller background characters to take a step forward too, such as Honey, Denise etc, who haven't had much to do for the longest time, and allowed focus on smaller storylines such as Dot and her eyesight.

It feels as if the show has been ramping up slowly towards bigger drama, as granted, not a lot has been going on. But Phill seems to be reaching a conclusion, Lee is about to come undone, Denise isn't far off giving birth and we have had a few curveballs thrown at us like The Vic robbery and Michelle Fowler returning.

The show is not as bad as it was during Kat's affair storyline with Derek. That's the real benchmark for me. I know a lot of people are sick of waiting for something to happen, but the show is taking a breather and attempting to reset - and in the process letting characters have their moment without even having a real storyline.

It can be dull, but I am expecting a payoff. I do wonder if they're bringing everyone together as a community in order to tear them all apart with a big storyline, or to bring in a new family that'll rub the entire square up the wrong way. But I do love how Stacey has grown as a mother and wife, I love Jane being her old self again, it's nice to see Kathy fully integrated and making friends, it's nice to see Sharon have no idea if she's coming or going, I like the idea of building Phill Mitchell back up from scratch and I like that Ben is still feeling very lost after Paul's death, etc etc etc.”

I LOVE this post.

It's nice to see there are some posters who can give a constructive opinion.

I totally agree by the way.

cobwebsoup

29-12-2016

Originally Posted by RonSwanson92:
“Ever since 2006 EastEnders has been on the decline, year after year we are force fed crap storylines like Kathy's resurrection, Denise falling pregnant to Phil, Max's revenge on whoever tried to have him killed or arrested that week, Ronnie getting married again, Ronnie and Roxy falling into water again (I guess new year 08 has been far enough away that tptb can regurgitate that story point) Jack sleeping with another Mitchell, Dot being a loner and getting nostalgic for a little willie... I mean for gawd sake is it that difficult to make EastEnders feel fresh again, bring back Chrissie, bring back Kim Medcalf, bring back Robbie Jackson, bring back the life and soul of the square Little Mo!!!

Honestly EastEnders is barely on life support at this point, I wonder if Ian will go bankrupt or have another breakdown soon, he's due one!”

I agree with you that the show has been in decline for a long time and I'd love to see some returns from characters pre-2006. However, I always felt that EastEnders started to very slowly decline back in late 2002 and over 2003 rather than 2006. 2003 was a great year with some classic Eastenders moments in it, but they had lost a lot of popular and established characters over 2002 and 2003 and whereas Dennis Rickman and the Moon family were popular additions, characters like the Ferreira's were very unpopular. Storylines such as Mark's HIV medication stopping working, Andy blackmailing Kat and Alfie, Little Mo's second rape and Natalie's affair with Ricky (leading to Pat being homeless, Roy dying and Barry suffering a breakdown) were all rather cruel and unnecessary. That's when the rot started to set in, in my opinion, despite there still being some great storylines among the poor ones. Then 2006 happened and it became like a totally different show, it didn't feel like EastEnders for a long time after that.

soap-lea

29-12-2016

I have only just opened this thread, only read your post so far

But how is bringing back Chrissie, Robbie, Little mo and re-casting Sam Mitchell again going to make the show fresh?

They need new characters and new storylines not to keep regurtitating the same nonsense

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