Eastenders (Eastenders)

Member Name: adam171275

Product:	Eastenders
Date:	18/04/09 (209 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good storylines

Disadvantages: Need a new family

The popular soap Eastenders first graced our screens on the 19th of February 1985 and is now one of the best British soaps there is, it has been awarded 5 baftas as well as many other awards. The soap is aired on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday nights on BBC 1, with a repeat on each night on BBC Three and a full 4 episode repeat on Sunday. The soap is based around a fictional borough in the east end of London called Walford and especially focuses around the lives of people living in Albert Square.


I have watched Eastenders since it first screened and find it a great soap, the best in my opinion it has had many great storylines to keep you on the edge of your seat! And many great characters. The only two characters who have featured in it from the beginning are Dot cotton and Ian Beale. Ill start with Ian Beal played by Adam Woodyat, now to me Ian has always been a bit of a geek from the start. He is one of the many characters within the Fowler/Beale clan. They were always very family orientated, it was always family is family and many family conferences took place. Now his family values have changed slightly I feel he has turned out to be a penny pinching outcast who would do anything to make a buck. Ian has been through some tough times especially with his sham of a marriage to Cindy, who in my eyes was never really suited to him. Cindy went on to have an affair with wicksy which resulted in her having a baby called Steven who Ian thought was his but it turned out it was Wicksy's. I did feel rather sorry for him but in a lot of ways all he does bring it all on himself . He has had many relationships like his one with Melanie who again I feel were never really suited she was a bit to glam for him and fun. Ian is a bit of a bore and spends most of his days being as tight as he can and trying to make money. He has been a bit sleazy in the past like when he slept with Janine as she was prostituting at the time, this really made my stomach turn! He is a good father who does care for his children even though Lucy especially doesn't get on with him and mocks him a lot of the time. Think about it though wouldn't you, especially as now he is strutting around in a leather jacket in which he looks totally ridiculous!

Dot cotton is always well known for being a chain smoking hypochondriac with the rogue of a son called Nick (alright ma) who has been an absolute Bain for Dot who early on would do anything for him being her only son. Now since all he has done (murder, theft, drug addict) she no longer wants anything to do with him, Nick has just been introduced back into the soap with his daughter Dotty. Dot takes in Dotty but not Nick, but we all know unfortunately that they are trying to suck her in once a gain. Dot is very religious and often quotes from the bible which most people do mock almost. I recently saw in the paper that the actress June Brown says that as she is a very highly paid cast member her scenes have been cut as other younger cast members are cheaper. I feel this is a shame as Dot is a great character and long standing who has had some brilliant story lines. If you ask most people to name some characters in Eastendser most would say Dot cotton and Pauline Fowler.

Wendy Richards played Pauline fowler who has since passed away (R.I.P) due to her long battle with cancer. Pauline was a great character who no matter what tried to keep her family together as these were the most important people in her life. One of the greatest storylines was when Arthur had an affair (didn't know he had it in him) with Mrs Hewitt. This was a great storyline and I think a lot of people thought I don't blame him. Pauline as a character moaned a lot a tried to control people especially her children which in my opinion she drove away. Mark played by Todd Carty died of HIV which to me was an absolute brilliant story as it really made people aware of the disease and also educated a lot about the disease and the prejudice it held especially back then. In 2006 10.7 million people tuned in to watch the death of Pauline Fowler who died alone in the square which in my opinion was the way which she was destined to go and that was alone.

There have been loads of characters that have come and gone, far too many to write about, the other two that stick out in my mind that is Den and Angie Watts. They were the original landlord and lady of the local pub the Queen Vic. There relationship was certainly explosive with fights, affairs and break ups galore. Den was a womaniser and a bit of dodgy dealer. Angie was an up beat woman who loved to have fun who also plastered herself in make up. She eventually hit the bottle which went out of control especially when she announced she was dying! This was the type of characters they were very unpredictable and full of entertainment. They idolised there adoptive daughter Sharon and would often use Sharon to play each other off. The two storylines which stick out in my head is the who got Michelle fowler pregnant and when Den got shot. These were seat of the chair watching and you just wanted to know who done it I can remember being absolutely glued I think that Eastenders does give you that wanting to watch more viewing. This is great with it now being on 4 nights a week it used to be only 2.


The great thing about Eastenders is the variety; the topics they have covered are endless and also very controversial. Here are some they have covered:
Domestic violence
Rape
Murder
Teenage pregnancy
Alcoholism
Child abuse
Mental health issues
Death
Prostitution
Cot death
Racism
Drug addiction
HIV and aids
Homophobia
Abortion
There are many more probably that I haven't covered but this just shows how controversial the show can be.

One of the most controversial stories of late was the paedophile one involving Whitney and Tony. This showed you exactly how paedophiles work and how easy they can groom a child into doing things they want. Although some may have found the topic hard to watch I found it interesting and I think it's a very common thing these days so why not show what happens everyday. We can all be a bit naive to what happens all around the country and storylines like this gives you an in site it what does actually happen.

I cannot write this without mentioning the Mitchell family; these almost took over the Fowlers and Beales as the main family. Recently the two sisters Ronnie and Roxy have been introduced which I thought brought a bit of life back to the Mitchell's as they were running a bit thin on the ground with just Peggy, Phil and Billy left. I enjoyed it best when both Grant and Phil were in it, they were both complete rogues which would do anything for their family. I almost think that when they were introduced they were based around the notorious Kray twins which they done fairly well. Now Phil is on his own I think his character has gone down hill and not so much of hard man on his own. They definitely worked better together; maybe they need to bring Grant back? A lot of other characters have left and returned. The most recent being Bianca and Ricky who most of us remember the Rickeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey! The worst comeback I felt was Den Watts in my opinion like Phil just wasn't as good without Angie. He looked much older and didn't give the presence that he did when he was in it first. When he was in it when it started everyone knew Den and knew not to mess with him when he returned it was like he had outgrown his character.


Peggy played by Barbara Windsor and Pat butcher played by Pam Clements is two great characters who have a love hate relationship. This goes back years especially when Pat had an affair with Frank whilst Peggy was married to him and Pat was married to Roy. I will never forget the slap Peggy gave both Frank and Pat it was brilliant. Peggy's is not the little woman she looks she is very feisty and not one to mess with!


Another thing that I like about Eastenders is the characters are very mixed races and ethnics, I think this gives Eastenders the edge on soaps with this as soaps such as Emmerdale and Coronation street I feel you don't see a lot of this which as a viewer I find a little discouraging.

There are some characters that I feel are almost pointless if I'm totally honest. These in the past have been doctor Legg, what did he really do? Very unforgettable in my view. Recent characters which I feel have run there course is Charlie Slater I think without all the Slater sisters there just isn't a presence. When the Slater's first arrived they gave the whole square a lift and something to talk about but since they have all dwindled off I feel that there is a gap for a new family arrival. None of the families at the moment I feel have a big enough impact like the fowlers, Watts, Mitchells, Jackson's or the Slater's did. The families in it at the moment have either run there course or are simply not that interesting or is that just me?


The villains in Eastenders have been brilliant, I think if a character really makes you hate them and squirm they have succeed there attribute. The ones that I think have done this best were Nick Cotton, Wilmot Brown, and Janine Butcher. Watching these characters at their worst really made yo want to reach into the television and give them a slap. The one that in my views I hated the most was Mo Slater's husband Trevor he will be remembered as the wife beater who was eventually killed by Mo as she could take no more and snapped. This really made me hate him and think and wonder what a lot of women/men go through and how hard it can be to leave an abusive partner. I think the acting in this story was superb and very true to life, I sure the actor who played Trevor must of had some pretty bad looks when out on the street.


The last little niggles of the soap which I have to get off my chest are these:


No one has a washing machine
They all shop at the minute mart
They all work in the square
Every function is held at the Queen Vic
They all eat in the cafe
They drink in the Vic at lunchtime then go back to work!
They rarely go out of the square
The barmaid Tracy needs a storyline.

To sum up Eastenders, it is a great soap, and so much goes wrong in a small community but it makes great watching, and after all we all know that it isn't real, don't we? The storylines are up to date and move with the times. The characters are good past and present, especially past; I do feel they need to introduce a new focal family as the old have been out grown. In my opinion the best soap there is, you are guaranteed a laugh, great entertainment and seat gripping watching, one not to miss

Summary: The best soap around