- Awards
- 5
I’ve tried to get into it but it’s no where near as good as it was 12-15 years ago, it no longer feels at all familiar with me.
I feel the same way, there’s something missing from the show now.
I’ve tried to get into it but it’s no where near as good as it was 12-15 years ago, it no longer feels at all familiar with me.
I feel the same way, there’s something missing from the show now.
I've decided to wind the clock back 41 years and begin EE from the very beginning. Not being alive when the show started I want to see the storylines I've only ever heard about play out in their full glory and see the square and Walford change over the years. I'm hoping to one day catch up with the current show but that's a tall order given the sheer quantity of episodes awaiting me to watch to do that. My starting aim is to cover the 1980s and early 1990s up to the arrival of the Mitchell's. I'm going to give my thoughts on the show in roughly batches of 20 episodes - unless anything crops up that I think deserves a bit more going over as we go through the years.
Episode 1 - 20 - "Poor Old Reg Cox"
19th February 1985 - 25th April 1985
Original Cast of EastEnders- taken 1985
Every new continuing drama needs a hook - and death is always a solid hook - especially if there's a suspicion of murder about the whole affair. Thus EastEnders opens with three characters we know nothing about kicking in the door of a old geezer's room to find him barely conscious in his chair. Initially this is presented as a unsuspicious death; just an old boy dying in his own home when his time is up. Of course it soon transpires Reg has actually been murdered - the culprit for the murder being revealed eventually to be Nick Cotton - a character invented after every other character because the show creators felt none of the other characters could possibly be murderers. However Reg's death doesn't just serve as a hook - it serves as a tool - a tool for giving depth to other characters as they go rounding putting the world to rights about it and barbing at fellow members of the square.
The back drop of the murder introduces us to our characters - all of whom have some role to play in the square's dynamics. Even for a modern show the original cast of EastEnders would be considered unusually diverse and modern feeling. In 1985 this was a deliberate decision by the show-runners - although in a tint of realism that wouldn't fly in 21st Century Britain some of the characters are casually racist constantly and begrudging of the way the demographics in the area have changed in recent years. The key fact being this is done without glorifying the racism. Nethertheless to modern ears it's a bit jarring when Nick Cotton calls Ali "stupid Turk" or refers to the corner shop as "the Pakis" - the first would never have flew in my lifetime and the second went out of fashion when I was a child along with calling the local Chinese takeaway a "chinkies". Similarly Lou Beale telling Saeed "we look after our own" to warn him off following her to see what's going on with Reg despite the fact it's the fact Reg hasn't been in his shop for his milk that has alerted anyone he might be dying is something you'd not necessarily see in a 21st century soap. The big twist though is that despite these characters all blaming each other for not noticing his death the over-riding feeling is no-one really liked him with him described as "a cantankerous old man" and the question asked "would you go out of your way to see Reg?" - the rhetorical unspoken answer being no.
Alongside the murder life flies along for the residents - many of them getting their first doses of the unrelenting misery that will come to define EastEnders over the years. Nobody's allowed to be happy in Albert Square for too long - it simply won't do. All the characters have human, relatable flaws that are sometimes exaggerated for the purpose of story. We soon learn Den's an unrelenting adulterer, Ali Osman has a gambling problem, the later introduced Mary Smith is clearly suffering from mental health issues that affect her ability to care for her baby, Lofty's a dole fiddler who takes advantage of an elderly Ethel's generosity, Mark Fowler has a criminal record for childhood misdemeanours that puts him in the police's line of sight in the Reg Cox business - especially as it becomes clear he hangs around with Nick Cotton. All of these are presented as things everybody knows about but are willing to turn a blind eye too or even accept as part of the person's character. In some cases they're things residents actively try and aid the characters in overcoming their own flaws and troubles. The amount of support offered to Mary Smith by well-meaning neighbours an example of that which brings us a sad but well-acted scene where we learn Ethel was never able to have children - a fact that leads her to go overboard when baby-sitting by taking young Annie out despite being instructed by Mary not to leave the flat with her - it's not that Ethel is in any way acting maliciously, she simply wants to play mother in a way she hasn't been able to in her own life - somewhat explaining her excessive generosity towards Lofty at the same time. Of course Mary can't cope with this and flies off the handle at her - her overprotective instincts kicking in. Most importantly from a viewers perspective these revelations are made gradually but with enough regularity to maintain interest - for you want to find out what the next move is going to be for the characters involved.
Of course we've discussed character flaws above that are either not the fault of the character or not so serious as to mean an immediate hatred of the character. This isn't however true in one character's case. The more we learn about Nick Cotton the more of a complete scumbag he turns out to be, this is a character invented to be an out and out villain and figure of hate. After all he was invented to be someone you would buy murdered someone for the sake of a few war medals - not exactly the action's of a local hero . However it soon becomes clear that's not the only out of order behaviour he's up to - from supplying heroin to schoolkids, racially attacking the corner shop and ransacking it's cigarettes stock, picking fights with Ali Osman and eventually beating him up when he's come home from a shift cabbing. Nick isn't just flawed like the other characters - he's evil and the scripts are in no mood to underplay that fact. The sense of relief among the residents when it's announced he's been arrested and remanded in custody is palpable, of course even the most casual of EastEnders viewers knows that's not the end of the story as far as he's concerned but it does underline something that will later be respected - Nick only works in small doses - he's so evil he can't be a constant presence as no-one would stand for it. We also learn about Nick's mother Dot - as yet unseen - mentioned chiefly by Ethel who's keen to tell anyone who'll listen it's not Dot's fault Nick turned out the way he did - in a display of empathy that would make the Pope himself proud. Nick isn't a rebel or a bad boy, he's an out and out hate figure and no doubt it'll be refreshing when he does get his comeuppance - such as the group of residents attacking him after he goes too far in shaking Mark Fowler up. It's interesting how many people in Walford walk into doors, isn't it?
Of course there's other storylines I haven't touched upon in the above such as Pauline's pregnancy at the age of 40 and Arthur's job search but I don't want to ramble for too long. there's also the malicious phone calls to the Osman's café that leads to Sue breaking down at the wrong person in Debs. This set of episodes continues to the end in supplying us with questions that need answers soon. Where exactly has Mark Fowler disappeared off to with all the household's hidden rainy day money? Will Angie and Tony go over the line with Angie's interest in him due to her dissatisfaction at Den taking his side-piece on holiday to Spain? What will Lou's return from her Clacton holiday mean for the Fowlers? Are they actually going to knock those houses Ali, Sue and Mary live in down? All in all from watching these initial episodes it's clear to see why the show took off - characters with depth, storylines that intrigue you and enough drama to keep you on tender hooks - and a knack for making the exaggerated lives of the residents believable (note I didn't say realistic, no soap is realistic but that's a debate for another day) - certain more recent producers of the show could have learnt a thing or two from sitting down and watching these episodes and seeing the early blueprint for the show. Maybe we'll cover that one day.
Next: Episodes 21 - 40 (30th April 1985 - 4th July 1985)
19th February 1985 - 25th April 1985
Original Cast of EastEnders- taken 1985
Every new continuing drama needs a hook - and death is always a solid hook - especially if there's a suspicion of murder about the whole affair. Thus EastEnders opens with three characters we know nothing about kicking in the door of a old geezer's room to find him barely conscious in his chair. Initially this is presented as a unsuspicious death; just an old boy dying in his own home when his time is up. Of course it soon transpires Reg has actually been murdered - the culprit for the murder being revealed eventually to be Nick Cotton - a character invented after every other character because the show creators felt none of the other characters could possibly be murderers. However Reg's death doesn't just serve as a hook - it serves as a tool - a tool for giving depth to other characters as they go rounding putting the world to rights about it and barbing at fellow members of the square.
The back drop of the murder introduces us to our characters - all of whom have some role to play in the square's dynamics. Even for a modern show the original cast of EastEnders would be considered unusually diverse and modern feeling. In 1985 this was a deliberate decision by the show-runners - although in a tint of realism that wouldn't fly in 21st Century Britain some of the characters are casually racist constantly and begrudging of the way the demographics in the area have changed in recent years. The key fact being this is done without glorifying the racism. Nethertheless to modern ears it's a bit jarring when Nick Cotton calls Ali "stupid Turk" or refers to the corner shop as "the Pakis" - the first would never have flew in my lifetime and the second went out of fashion when I was a child along with calling the local Chinese takeaway a "chinkies". Similarly Lou Beale telling Saeed "we look after our own" to warn him off following her to see what's going on with Reg despite the fact it's the fact Reg hasn't been in his shop for his milk that has alerted anyone he might be dying is something you'd not necessarily see in a 21st century soap. The big twist though is that despite these characters all blaming each other for not noticing his death the over-riding feeling is no-one really liked him with him described as "a cantankerous old man" and the question asked "would you go out of your way to see Reg?" - the rhetorical unspoken answer being no.
Alongside the murder life flies along for the residents - many of them getting their first doses of the unrelenting misery that will come to define EastEnders over the years. Nobody's allowed to be happy in Albert Square for too long - it simply won't do. All the characters have human, relatable flaws that are sometimes exaggerated for the purpose of story. We soon learn Den's an unrelenting adulterer, Ali Osman has a gambling problem, the later introduced Mary Smith is clearly suffering from mental health issues that affect her ability to care for her baby, Lofty's a dole fiddler who takes advantage of an elderly Ethel's generosity, Mark Fowler has a criminal record for childhood misdemeanours that puts him in the police's line of sight in the Reg Cox business - especially as it becomes clear he hangs around with Nick Cotton. All of these are presented as things everybody knows about but are willing to turn a blind eye too or even accept as part of the person's character. In some cases they're things residents actively try and aid the characters in overcoming their own flaws and troubles. The amount of support offered to Mary Smith by well-meaning neighbours an example of that which brings us a sad but well-acted scene where we learn Ethel was never able to have children - a fact that leads her to go overboard when baby-sitting by taking young Annie out despite being instructed by Mary not to leave the flat with her - it's not that Ethel is in any way acting maliciously, she simply wants to play mother in a way she hasn't been able to in her own life - somewhat explaining her excessive generosity towards Lofty at the same time. Of course Mary can't cope with this and flies off the handle at her - her overprotective instincts kicking in. Most importantly from a viewers perspective these revelations are made gradually but with enough regularity to maintain interest - for you want to find out what the next move is going to be for the characters involved.
Of course we've discussed character flaws above that are either not the fault of the character or not so serious as to mean an immediate hatred of the character. This isn't however true in one character's case. The more we learn about Nick Cotton the more of a complete scumbag he turns out to be, this is a character invented to be an out and out villain and figure of hate. After all he was invented to be someone you would buy murdered someone for the sake of a few war medals - not exactly the action's of a local hero . However it soon becomes clear that's not the only out of order behaviour he's up to - from supplying heroin to schoolkids, racially attacking the corner shop and ransacking it's cigarettes stock, picking fights with Ali Osman and eventually beating him up when he's come home from a shift cabbing. Nick isn't just flawed like the other characters - he's evil and the scripts are in no mood to underplay that fact. The sense of relief among the residents when it's announced he's been arrested and remanded in custody is palpable, of course even the most casual of EastEnders viewers knows that's not the end of the story as far as he's concerned but it does underline something that will later be respected - Nick only works in small doses - he's so evil he can't be a constant presence as no-one would stand for it. We also learn about Nick's mother Dot - as yet unseen - mentioned chiefly by Ethel who's keen to tell anyone who'll listen it's not Dot's fault Nick turned out the way he did - in a display of empathy that would make the Pope himself proud. Nick isn't a rebel or a bad boy, he's an out and out hate figure and no doubt it'll be refreshing when he does get his comeuppance - such as the group of residents attacking him after he goes too far in shaking Mark Fowler up. It's interesting how many people in Walford walk into doors, isn't it?
Of course there's other storylines I haven't touched upon in the above such as Pauline's pregnancy at the age of 40 and Arthur's job search but I don't want to ramble for too long. there's also the malicious phone calls to the Osman's café that leads to Sue breaking down at the wrong person in Debs. This set of episodes continues to the end in supplying us with questions that need answers soon. Where exactly has Mark Fowler disappeared off to with all the household's hidden rainy day money? Will Angie and Tony go over the line with Angie's interest in him due to her dissatisfaction at Den taking his side-piece on holiday to Spain? What will Lou's return from her Clacton holiday mean for the Fowlers? Are they actually going to knock those houses Ali, Sue and Mary live in down? All in all from watching these initial episodes it's clear to see why the show took off - characters with depth, storylines that intrigue you and enough drama to keep you on tender hooks - and a knack for making the exaggerated lives of the residents believable (note I didn't say realistic, no soap is realistic but that's a debate for another day) - certain more recent producers of the show could have learnt a thing or two from sitting down and watching these episodes and seeing the early blueprint for the show. Maybe we'll cover that one day.
Next: Episodes 21 - 40 (30th April 1985 - 4th July 1985)
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Next: Episodes 21 - 36
30th April 1985 - 20 June 1985
Writing this one a few early as Episode 36 feels like a natural break point to write up my thoughts for reasons that will become clear towards the end of this post or for anyone familiar with these episodes and the plots. I'm not going to cover absolutely every character and plot point in detail as I'd be here a month of Sundays but hopefully I've covered my thoughts on the more interesting aspects of this set of episodes.
First though I'm going to focusing on the other episodes and plot-lines in the episode chunk between where we left the last set of episodes and the final episode in this set. The first thing to cover is the Fowler/Beale saga with matriarch Lou Beale taking ill with shingles and becoming a nuisance to her entire family to the point to the point that they eventually ship her off to Kathy and Pete's for a while. Her insistence that a heavily pregnant Pauline be at her beck and call much to the increasing frustration of Arthur provides a neat point of conflict between the two. There's other threads running through this family drama - the key one being that Mark Fowler remains missing. You have to commend the show for showing the real effect this is having on the family - yes they're carrying on as normal as much as they can but he's still alive in the conversation however many times they accidentally refer to him as if he's dead. The lack of help from the police feels insane to modern ears where half the police's time is spent chasing missing teenagers rather than fighting crime but I'm sure was realistic for a time when the police were more free to fight crime. The sheer length of time he's been missing is also done well, it could be so easy to bring him back after a few days but with weeks going by and no sign of contact from him let alone a reappearance the concern for his wellbeing as a viewer only grows deeper; especially suspecting even from behind bars Nick Cotton could be involved.
The other storylines that we looked at in the previous set of thoughts continue. Den and Angie give us the scene with the absolutely ludicrous preposition that Den telling Angie that he wants to have an affair but he'd prefer it if Angie remained faithful after her affair with Tony while he was in Spain. His reputation as publican too important for him to dare open the relationship on her side despite his determination to keep seeing Jan. They slowly go from that low point to a determination to play happy families for Sharon's sake. That's 15-year old Sharon who is desperate to go on the pill so she's a more attractive proposition to boys much to the frustration of Angie who sees it as she should wait like everyone else. That gives us a nice scene between Angie and Pauline backed up by another one between Dr Legg and Angie both of which try to convey the message that it could be a choice between allowing Sharon to go on the pill or her becoming pregnant if she is having sex.
On the note of different characters interacting with each other you get the sense at this point that everything is still very fluid in terms of who interacts with each other and who are friends - as if the writer's are still figuring it out. You've got the defined family unit and couplet relationships obviously with the initial design of the show. There's then several heavily defined friendships such as Lou and Ethel and Kathy and Angie that have obviously been primed from the beginning of the show and help to create a feel of a lived in community already existing. However there's also a number of new friendships being formed over time - for example Andy and Debs inviting the Neymar's round for tea despite not really knowing them.
There's also the friendship circle among the younger characters that are getting close to leaving school; obviously Michelle and Ian are cousins so will interact but there's also Kelvin and Sharon in that crew - and unnamed extras around the same age to pad out that feeling of full lives. There's also the new friendship between Mary and Lofty that deserves a mention here even if I haven't touched on it, the scene where they talk about not wanting much to do with their parents feels like a very early 20s zeitgeist when a lot of young people are trying to forge their own way in the world away from what they perceive as old fashioned parents and sets up nicely for the subsequent visits from Mary's father where she concedes some ground to him - of course concern for Mary's baby's welfare from health visitors and Dr Legg is a running thread through these episodes until she disappears for a bit. Then of course there's the need to interact with one another for plot reasons reasons that are still frequent.
All in all this level of detail and experimentation in who interacts with/remains friends with who allows a sense of characters who are living separate lives even when they live together - although I don't know about you but stating I was "going out" with no more information at Sharon/Michelle/Ian/Kelvin's age as they so often do would have resulted in my parents standing in front of the door until I told them where I was going rather than the casual "they'll be fine" acceptance that seems to greet such a vague statement among Walford parents, maybe there's a special handbook for Albert Square or it's the safest place to be a teenager in London. Although there is some boundaries especially when Pauline discovers a drunk Arthur hasn't noticed Michelle hasn't come back at 1am in the morning. Although a minor criticism is there's a complete overuse of the café and the pub as meeting spaces, in an area were lead to believe isn't overly affluent (quite a few characters on the dole, a lot working in low paid jobs or small business owners) it feels like the characters spend almost every lunchtime in the café and every evening in the pub. Whilst this is obviously necessary for getting characters to mingle and form relationships and grievances with others it does require a minor element of suspension of disbelief and there's a reason it's still the case in modern EastEnders as much as it was in the 80s though.
Moving on, the episode focussing on baby Hassan's death (E36) is the first episode I can remember focussing on a singular storyline without other scenes of different storylines interspersed. I think it's only right the production team treat it with that seriousness, it would have been odd to cut away to Lou Beale annoying Kathy and Pete, the latest row between Angie and Den or the latest saga of teenage love life among Michelle and Sharon that would normally pad out episodes when dealing with such a serious topic. It needed the episode to itself to breathe. Whilst I knew Hassan would die at some point from cot death I actually watched this episode not knowing it was coming so soon which certainly helped bring the shock of it that the characters were experiencing home a bit more. What should have been another normal day, even a happy one on the back of the winnings that they've managed to accrue soon turns into any parents nightmare.
The episode captures Sue and Ali's grief well - from the desperation of Ali running across the square to Andy begging him for any help he can get with the baby in sheer hope that something can be done to save Hassan through to the frankly obnoxious and insensitive police woman quizzing them as to whether it might be their fault and probing them with questions that could lie the blame at their feet rather than it being a natural tragedy. The open scene of the episode is particularly well done, with Sue just talking to Ali like she would any other morning and them preparing mentally for another day completely unaware what had happened to Hassan. It makes the sudden and fast realisation that something has gone horribly wrong all the more jarring and shocking. It'll be interesting to see how Ali and particularly Sue's grief plays out over the course of the next set of episodes, all the indications seem to be that unlike in modern day soap operas where the grieving process is often ignored the grief will be given space to breathe and we'll get to see the impact such a life-shattering event has on both of them.
30th April 1985 - 20 June 1985
Writing this one a few early as Episode 36 feels like a natural break point to write up my thoughts for reasons that will become clear towards the end of this post or for anyone familiar with these episodes and the plots. I'm not going to cover absolutely every character and plot point in detail as I'd be here a month of Sundays but hopefully I've covered my thoughts on the more interesting aspects of this set of episodes.
First though I'm going to focusing on the other episodes and plot-lines in the episode chunk between where we left the last set of episodes and the final episode in this set. The first thing to cover is the Fowler/Beale saga with matriarch Lou Beale taking ill with shingles and becoming a nuisance to her entire family to the point to the point that they eventually ship her off to Kathy and Pete's for a while. Her insistence that a heavily pregnant Pauline be at her beck and call much to the increasing frustration of Arthur provides a neat point of conflict between the two. There's other threads running through this family drama - the key one being that Mark Fowler remains missing. You have to commend the show for showing the real effect this is having on the family - yes they're carrying on as normal as much as they can but he's still alive in the conversation however many times they accidentally refer to him as if he's dead. The lack of help from the police feels insane to modern ears where half the police's time is spent chasing missing teenagers rather than fighting crime but I'm sure was realistic for a time when the police were more free to fight crime. The sheer length of time he's been missing is also done well, it could be so easy to bring him back after a few days but with weeks going by and no sign of contact from him let alone a reappearance the concern for his wellbeing as a viewer only grows deeper; especially suspecting even from behind bars Nick Cotton could be involved.
The other storylines that we looked at in the previous set of thoughts continue. Den and Angie give us the scene with the absolutely ludicrous preposition that Den telling Angie that he wants to have an affair but he'd prefer it if Angie remained faithful after her affair with Tony while he was in Spain. His reputation as publican too important for him to dare open the relationship on her side despite his determination to keep seeing Jan. They slowly go from that low point to a determination to play happy families for Sharon's sake. That's 15-year old Sharon who is desperate to go on the pill so she's a more attractive proposition to boys much to the frustration of Angie who sees it as she should wait like everyone else. That gives us a nice scene between Angie and Pauline backed up by another one between Dr Legg and Angie both of which try to convey the message that it could be a choice between allowing Sharon to go on the pill or her becoming pregnant if she is having sex.
On the note of different characters interacting with each other you get the sense at this point that everything is still very fluid in terms of who interacts with each other and who are friends - as if the writer's are still figuring it out. You've got the defined family unit and couplet relationships obviously with the initial design of the show. There's then several heavily defined friendships such as Lou and Ethel and Kathy and Angie that have obviously been primed from the beginning of the show and help to create a feel of a lived in community already existing. However there's also a number of new friendships being formed over time - for example Andy and Debs inviting the Neymar's round for tea despite not really knowing them.
There's also the friendship circle among the younger characters that are getting close to leaving school; obviously Michelle and Ian are cousins so will interact but there's also Kelvin and Sharon in that crew - and unnamed extras around the same age to pad out that feeling of full lives. There's also the new friendship between Mary and Lofty that deserves a mention here even if I haven't touched on it, the scene where they talk about not wanting much to do with their parents feels like a very early 20s zeitgeist when a lot of young people are trying to forge their own way in the world away from what they perceive as old fashioned parents and sets up nicely for the subsequent visits from Mary's father where she concedes some ground to him - of course concern for Mary's baby's welfare from health visitors and Dr Legg is a running thread through these episodes until she disappears for a bit. Then of course there's the need to interact with one another for plot reasons reasons that are still frequent.
All in all this level of detail and experimentation in who interacts with/remains friends with who allows a sense of characters who are living separate lives even when they live together - although I don't know about you but stating I was "going out" with no more information at Sharon/Michelle/Ian/Kelvin's age as they so often do would have resulted in my parents standing in front of the door until I told them where I was going rather than the casual "they'll be fine" acceptance that seems to greet such a vague statement among Walford parents, maybe there's a special handbook for Albert Square or it's the safest place to be a teenager in London. Although there is some boundaries especially when Pauline discovers a drunk Arthur hasn't noticed Michelle hasn't come back at 1am in the morning. Although a minor criticism is there's a complete overuse of the café and the pub as meeting spaces, in an area were lead to believe isn't overly affluent (quite a few characters on the dole, a lot working in low paid jobs or small business owners) it feels like the characters spend almost every lunchtime in the café and every evening in the pub. Whilst this is obviously necessary for getting characters to mingle and form relationships and grievances with others it does require a minor element of suspension of disbelief and there's a reason it's still the case in modern EastEnders as much as it was in the 80s though.
Moving on, the episode focussing on baby Hassan's death (E36) is the first episode I can remember focussing on a singular storyline without other scenes of different storylines interspersed. I think it's only right the production team treat it with that seriousness, it would have been odd to cut away to Lou Beale annoying Kathy and Pete, the latest row between Angie and Den or the latest saga of teenage love life among Michelle and Sharon that would normally pad out episodes when dealing with such a serious topic. It needed the episode to itself to breathe. Whilst I knew Hassan would die at some point from cot death I actually watched this episode not knowing it was coming so soon which certainly helped bring the shock of it that the characters were experiencing home a bit more. What should have been another normal day, even a happy one on the back of the winnings that they've managed to accrue soon turns into any parents nightmare.
The episode captures Sue and Ali's grief well - from the desperation of Ali running across the square to Andy begging him for any help he can get with the baby in sheer hope that something can be done to save Hassan through to the frankly obnoxious and insensitive police woman quizzing them as to whether it might be their fault and probing them with questions that could lie the blame at their feet rather than it being a natural tragedy. The open scene of the episode is particularly well done, with Sue just talking to Ali like she would any other morning and them preparing mentally for another day completely unaware what had happened to Hassan. It makes the sudden and fast realisation that something has gone horribly wrong all the more jarring and shocking. It'll be interesting to see how Ali and particularly Sue's grief plays out over the course of the next set of episodes, all the indications seem to be that unlike in modern day soap operas where the grieving process is often ignored the grief will be given space to breathe and we'll get to see the impact such a life-shattering event has on both of them.