Great for a bit of drama (Eastenders)

Member Name: Emily_09

Product:	Eastenders
Date:	09/08/09 (84 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Varied characters, good storylines

Disadvantages: Can be a bit depressing!

Introduction
************************************************* ***********Unless you have been living under a very large rock for a very large amount of time you will have heard of Eastenders, the soap based in, surprise surprise, London's East end. However I have heard many people say that they have lost touch with the plot and characters of the soap over the years and so I thought I would provide a review of the current happenings in Albert Square.

The characters are constantly changing and it is therefore diffcult to provide an overview of the cast but here goes......

Who's Who?
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The Mitchell Family
Probably the most renowned family in Eastenders, consisting of:
Peggy: Played by Barbara Windsor, landlady of the Queen Vic, glamourous and looks nowhere near 72 years old!
Phil: Former thug, now more likely to talk about his problems over a large bottle of wine than turn to his crowbar.
Roxy: Peggy's niece/step daughter (It's complicated), very pretty in real life but is a walking advert for the local market clothing stalls in the soap
Ronnie: Roxy's sister, originally fiesty and independent but now spends most of hertime trying to dupe men into fathering her baby
Archie: Father of Roxy and Ronnie, was married to Peggy for all of five minutes before she discovered his evil ways.
Ben: Young son of Phil, very sweet and doesn't deserve to be part of such a disfunctional family.
Billy: Black sheep of the family, seems to be given the most depressing storylines when he isn't mysteriously absent from the square
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The Brannings
Consisting of:
Max: tries to be faithful to his wife but somehow can never manage it, women seem to find him irresistable although I can't see it myself
Tanya: long suffering wife of Max, so much so that she tried to bury her husband alive
Abi and Lauren: Children of Max and Tanya, Lauren tried to run her father over but this seems to have been forgotten
Bradley: Max's son, lost contact for a long time with his dad after discovering he had been having an affair with his wife
Stacey: Bradleys ex-wife. Is now currently battling mental illness
Jack: Max's brother, ex policeman who now is far from law abiding
Dot: Played by June Brown, Grandma of the street who always has time for her neighbours
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The Beale Family
Ian: Strict parent and local stingy businessman, would rather sell his wife than lose a penny
Jane: Wife of Ian, fiesty and independent but with a bizarre liekning for stand up comedy
Lucy, Peter and Bobby: The Beale Kids, under strict supervision from their father, not surprisingly, they rebel.
Christian: Not technically a Beale but is Jane's openly gay brother, gorgeous and a great actor
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The Butcher Family
Janine: recently returned after a few years away from the soap, interested only in herself, always trouble
Ricky: Long suffering brother of Janine, completely the opposite to her as he is actually nice
Liam: Ricky's son
Pat: the instigator of the famous Pat Butcher earrings trend, always has advice for her fellow square residents
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The Fox/Wicks family
Denise: Assertive and fiesty, although she has been known to let her heart rule her head
Chelsea: Daughter of Denise, Can be very selfish but has a caring side
Libby: extremely intelligent, potential Oxford student, very pretty in real life but is dulled down to suit her character's image
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The Jackson's
Bianca: Best known for her cries of 'Rickyyyy@ is a doting mum who will do anything for her kids
Whitney: Views Bianca as her second mum, has had lots of issues and seemed to fancy a random stranger until she found out he was her brother.
Ryan Malloy: Whitney's brother
Tiffany: Bianca's daughter, a great little actor with some very funny storylines
Morgan: Tiffany's younger brother, is too young to manage lines but will no doubt be a good little actor
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The Masood's
Masood: Father of the family who likes to think he is boss but is overshadowed by his wife, is also the local postie as even Albert Square needs a postman.
Zainab: Wife of Masood, comes across very harsh and rude but has a caring side
Tamwar: male version of Libby Fox, very clever and often dispairs of his family
Syed: Eldest son, tries very hard to please his family, not sure his feelings for Christian are part of this
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The Slaters:
Charlie: Local taxi driver and responsible for driving many characters to their exit.
Mo: Charlie's mother in law, most likely to be found flogging stolen gear at the market.
Jean: Mother of Stacy Branning, suffers from mental illness that makes her act irrationally
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The Miller family
Dawn: Once part of a larger family, Dawn and her brother are all that remains of the Millers. Although currently going out with Garry Hobbs, in true Eastenders style she is also sleeping with Phil
Darren: Young entrepreneur, boyfriend of Libby Fox
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And the rest.......
Patrick Trueman: Manager of the Minute mart, good hearted and generous
Garry Hobbs: Unsuspecting boyfriend of Dawn, local mechanic
Minty: Also a mechanic at the local garage, often gets into trouble without meaning to
Amanda Best: Girlfriend of Minty
Heather Trott: often the laughing stock of the square with her love of George Michael but is currently awaiting the arrival of her baby
Shirley Carter: Heather's best friend, tough exterior but has a sensitive side
Amira Shah: Syed's girlfriend, not particularly liked by his family but is favourable to Christian
Dr Al Jenkins: resident (hunky) doctor
Lucas Johnson: Boyfriend of Denise Wicks, bad boy turned priest
Jordan Johnson: son of Lucas
Dotty Cotton: grandaughter of Dot and daughter of nasty Nick Cotton
Jay Brown: Looked after by Billy after the death of his father, often in trouble but has a sensitive side
Cyd Chambers: Girlfriend of Bradley Branning
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Eastenders storylines have defintely improved over the last few years and i would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes al bit of drama. From people being buried under buildings, mysterious shootings and explosive fires there is never a dull moment on Albert Square. It can get a bit depressing however and if you are a fan of more light-hearted storylines I would stick to Corrie! Other than that, Eastenders is a great soap to get into.
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When is it on?
You can watch Eastenders on Mondays and Fridays at 8pm and Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7.30pm. If you miss an episode they are also repeated at 10pm on BBC3 or you can catch up with the whole week with the sunday omnibus. All episodes are also on the BBC Iplayer very soon after they are aired.

Overall I would really recommend eastenders for a bit of drama and to make you think that maybe your boring, non-eventful life is not so bad after all!

Summary: Great show