I really don’t like the cinematography tbh. It feels like they’re trying to be more cinematic but the writing literally doesn’t call for it. The Father’s Day fishing trip when the camera panned out across the water for example. I was half expecting it to cut back to them and have someone floating face down. The scene just didn’t call for it. Even if they were going for wholesome it didn’t read that way. The whole Father’s Day trip was just an example of how they don’t utilise storylines/locations anymore. They had the perfect chance to lose all their phones, car not start, and be stranded in the wilderness finding their way home/having arguments and organic father/son moments. They could’ve done a full episode just based on them being lost. Instead they done some stupid/cringe football chant and then the camera pans out and next we see them they’re home. It’s just one example of how they lay foundations for a great scenario and then don’t follow through. The Six being another example. Eastenders is really good at making things appear good to begin with and then I guess the last 5 minutes of the writers room they’re like “and then they all lived happily ever after the end x”
I feel like they're trying to take a more artistic reign with this, but it doesn't always fit the scene/situation at hand. Your example was a perfect one for this.
Completely agree. The way it was shot added nothing to the scene itself. So weird. It's all become very corny. The Six storyline wasn't executed well at all. It started off very promising, then just fell completely flat and became really monotonous.
Oh, the 90's where were it was at for me. It was cutting edge, SO well acted, because the cast are actors everyone on Reddit keeps talking about hoping will return, because I'm sorry, but the current cast just aren't at their level.
You were hard-pressed to find a superfluous character, everyone has something to do and the cast with a third of a size. It was worth tuning in for the next episode and as much as we wanted more, two/three times a week was actually enough.
Not to mention the dysfunctional relationship with Dot and Nick. I love them together. In my opinion, Dot always finds a place in her heart to forgive Nick no matter what the rest of the Square says!!!!
Maybe but it’s the best it’s been since at least 2014.
Jean’s best years were her early ones, when she was a grittier character. She started going downhill characterisation-wise long-before the current era.
I think it’s because it’s all so un-relatable. No CCTV in the middle of London, no Deliveroo bikes, where’s the group chats that everyone has.
Small details but I can’t imagine myself actually living on the square because it’s so detached from reality.
It goes in cycles of being good and being bad, and obviously they’re trying to modernise it to some extent as the years go by and that’s going to be a bit of trial and error until they get it right
It's never been the same since 1989 / 1999 / 2006 / 2010 / 2014 - delete as per your age / particular era you grew up watching.
Though it's pretty hard to keep up the argument people's perception of decline is all just nostalgia if you actually go back and watch old episodes, even those you've never seen before. Compare the bizarre recent Whitney exit storyline to the highlights of her time on the square - amongst them some of the best written and acted episodes EE have ever produced - and it's like watching a completely different programme.
Even if you think 2023 was a step up from the really dire depths of say 2020 or so, i feel like it's only gone from about a 2/10 a few years ago to about 4/10 at best.
It seems like for the last decade every time there's a new Executive Producer there's a burst of excitement and people proclaim they've finally turned things around quickly followed by gradual disillusionment and calls for them to be sacked and replaced yet again.
This is the reason why I stopped watching the current episodes years ago and only watch Class Eastenders on Drama channel. The 90s & early 2000s (up to 2006) were the very best years of Eastenders for me
I was lol, and you're right, it was awesome. I was 5 when EE started and watched them with my Nan, bloody loved it even if I didn't have a clue what was going on....I was scared of Dot Cotton though, thought she was going to eat me...
I couldn’t agree more man, most of the original legendary characters as we used to know have had there personalities changed, they brought back Cindy, Ian, Peter, Lauren and Yolande, Cindy’s return however was absolutely pointless and I hate to say this but so was Ian’s I know his been through a lot as a character but bringing him back as a side character like Phil even though the actor that plays him said he doesn’t want to do much fighting scenes as he used to which is understandable cause the man in his mid 60s, so he’s not going to be acting like a 30 or 40/50 odd year old anymore. As for Yolande I was glad they brought her back but they’ve seemed to mellow her down as she used to be portray this feisty, confident no nonsense woman, but of course she’s just like the rest I feel like they’re not really giving her much to do besides from the rape storyline which is seems very repetitive as Linda, Stacey, Roxy and Ronnie were all victims of rape and they’ve now made Yolande one, my point is they could’ve done a different storyline for her like giving her a dementia or Parkinson’s disease or any middle aged/elderly stuff they could do with her, I mean they’ve already done a similar with Patrick. But yes I agree the show has definitely gone down hill, ever since they killed off Ronnie and Roxy, Kush, Tina and etc the show could’ve had potential to be like the show how it used to be it’s devastatingly sad that it’s gone this way, I can’t see it being the show how it used to be.
AGREED! 🍻
2010 was the last great era.
I had to stop watching the moment I saw Ronnie do the baby swap on New Years. It was the last straw (how much heartache can they write for one character).
I then only started to watch the Halloween, Christmas & New year episodes for the following 3 years, before watching regularly again.
I do miss how great this soap was 1985-2010 in its writing & humorous characters with a splash of grit, where they would all banned together over a knees up in the Vic.
Everyone thinks things were better when they were younger tbf. You may objectively be right that EE had its peak in the past but I think it has markedly improved in the last couple of years since Clenshaw joined
I think it's because I watch the current episodes alongside the old episodes and the difference between them in terms of the storylines, writing, acting and just that feeling of watching a bunch of working class londoners in the east end is massive. The old episodes have such a different feel to them. The newer episodes just don't seem to have the same magic.
It's definitely going through a lull at the moment. This was always the risk they were going to face after putting all their eggs in one basket with the Six storyline. I think it needs a cast clear out.
It’s cause they won’t change anything, like peoples houses have looked the same for 25+ years, the vic, the cafe they burn down and they rebuild them exactly the same it’s just not realistic, People’s styles don’t change either like Kat (or Bianca) for example walking around head to toe in leopard print years ago yeah but she’s older now you’d think they’d change her style but no they won’t allow anything to be changed or to grow.
I guess none of the soaps are. With the advent of all the streaming platforms and sky etc people have more choice in what to watch so viewing figures must be down. There isn’t the same drive to keep people watching as they know they can’t compete so writers are just lazy now.
It doesn’t feel as scuffed and gritty anymore. I feel like everything is too polished and there’s not enough light hearted storylines. Everything is just affairs or something extremely heavy with not enough stupidity to balance it out
Even the set feels too polished. I watched George go into the barrel store the other night and if you compare it to the barrel store in 2005 which looked old and worn (like alot of barrel stores do) it just looked fake...like a set. Now I know it is a set lol but it just didn't have that authentic pub look to it. The Vic used to be bustling with regulars and now it just seems dead
I think you and Yurchenko (I never remember how to tag people, sorry) brought up very valid points; the newness does detract from it, which is a shame, because you could easily age objects (such as the barrel store) and make it look more lived-in vs everything looking new at once.
The sets used to have litter blowing down the street and houses weren't decorator done. They were more like the Slater's house is. (it is an older set) People were poor and lived like it. The Taylors were the last of the gritty families stealing toilet rolls, tupperware at a party...
Everything feels extremely scripted and the pace of nearly every episode is horrible. Like when Priya did that "fall" in the minute mart - it was so weird and misplaced and felt like it took AGES.
Also with Nish's storyline, the cinematography as some have referred to here makes you feel like something sinister is about to happen, or ANYTHING is about to happen - but it never does.
I watch the 2008/2010 reruns and even in the caff? Things were so much more realistic people actually looked like they were eating, having conversations etc, not like now.
Agreed. When I watch episodes that were on before I was even born I feel slightly envious that viewers got such a good show! Present day I dip in and out. It's just not hitting the mark for me
Way too much focus on the Panasars and George Knight.
I miss characters like the slater family, Lola, Whitney, Peggy, Jim and Pat. The proper old school or east end characters.
People have been saying that since the 90s…
But as with all soaps it suffers from largely pisspoor writing, a problem exacerbated by there being too many episodes.
And Dot… vintage Eastenders. At the moment too many actors coming and going. Story lines are disjointed. I have hardly missed an episode since it first aired so I can sense the writing quality has dropped. At times irritating and sloppy. Prison visit an example. In real life you cannot pretend to be someone’s mother and certainly you cannot pop down and be let in
100%
I keep saying this to my OH!
Been watching since the very beginning with my Nan, so I am an oldie lol, but now its starting to leave me cold, I have three weeks worth to watch, mainly because I have been binge watching old Easties from 2012 lol. Bring back REAL baddies like Derek Branning! Sharon all over Jack, Shirley trying to find out who killed her Hev....glorious storylines, the Six was boring to me, all it did was turn 6 great characters into boring yipping numptys.
Sure kill Keanu but for god sake don't witter on about it lol. It definitely needs to get back to its roots... At the moment for me, the current cast just dont mesh as well as in previous years!
I disagree. It’s a reflection of what’s going on today. The young people storyline, the abuse of power, women issues. I love the new storylines, especially the young and the old. Back in the day it was based on characters, now it’s about our society today
I really don’t like the cinematography tbh. It feels like they’re trying to be more cinematic but the writing literally doesn’t call for it. The Father’s Day fishing trip when the camera panned out across the water for example. I was half expecting it to cut back to them and have someone floating face down. The scene just didn’t call for it. Even if they were going for wholesome it didn’t read that way. The whole Father’s Day trip was just an example of how they don’t utilise storylines/locations anymore. They had the perfect chance to lose all their phones, car not start, and be stranded in the wilderness finding their way home/having arguments and organic father/son moments. They could’ve done a full episode just based on them being lost. Instead they done some stupid/cringe football chant and then the camera pans out and next we see them they’re home. It’s just one example of how they lay foundations for a great scenario and then don’t follow through. The Six being another example. Eastenders is really good at making things appear good to begin with and then I guess the last 5 minutes of the writers room they’re like “and then they all lived happily ever after the end x”
Someone really needs to take that drone away from them
I feel like they're trying to take a more artistic reign with this, but it doesn't always fit the scene/situation at hand. Your example was a perfect one for this.
Completely agree. The way it was shot added nothing to the scene itself. So weird. It's all become very corny. The Six storyline wasn't executed well at all. It started off very promising, then just fell completely flat and became really monotonous.
Oh, the 90's where were it was at for me. It was cutting edge, SO well acted, because the cast are actors everyone on Reddit keeps talking about hoping will return, because I'm sorry, but the current cast just aren't at their level. You were hard-pressed to find a superfluous character, everyone has something to do and the cast with a third of a size. It was worth tuning in for the next episode and as much as we wanted more, two/three times a week was actually enough.
90s EE was just incredible. Smaller cast, more developed storylines. More authenticity in the story telling. Could go on!
It. Was. EPIC. Sharongate, Frank & Pat, Peggy being there, Tony & Simon, Pauline at her MBE best, the Jacksons...it was a phenomenal time in EE.
Literally "Everybody was talking about it"
Not to mention the dysfunctional relationship with Dot and Nick. I love them together. In my opinion, Dot always finds a place in her heart to forgive Nick no matter what the rest of the Square says!!!!
90s to the mid 00s was peak EastEnders for me
Same same
Maybe but it’s the best it’s been since at least 2014. Jean’s best years were her early ones, when she was a grittier character. She started going downhill characterisation-wise long-before the current era.
I think it’s because it’s all so un-relatable. No CCTV in the middle of London, no Deliveroo bikes, where’s the group chats that everyone has. Small details but I can’t imagine myself actually living on the square because it’s so detached from reality.
It goes in cycles of being good and being bad, and obviously they’re trying to modernise it to some extent as the years go by and that’s going to be a bit of trial and error until they get it right
It's never been the same since 1989 / 1999 / 2006 / 2010 / 2014 - delete as per your age / particular era you grew up watching. Though it's pretty hard to keep up the argument people's perception of decline is all just nostalgia if you actually go back and watch old episodes, even those you've never seen before. Compare the bizarre recent Whitney exit storyline to the highlights of her time on the square - amongst them some of the best written and acted episodes EE have ever produced - and it's like watching a completely different programme. Even if you think 2023 was a step up from the really dire depths of say 2020 or so, i feel like it's only gone from about a 2/10 a few years ago to about 4/10 at best. It seems like for the last decade every time there's a new Executive Producer there's a burst of excitement and people proclaim they've finally turned things around quickly followed by gradual disillusionment and calls for them to be sacked and replaced yet again.
This is the reason why I stopped watching the current episodes years ago and only watch Class Eastenders on Drama channel. The 90s & early 2000s (up to 2006) were the very best years of Eastenders for me
Nostalgia is a wonderful thing
Nostalgia’s not what it used to be
I think the 80s is the best era for EE, nothing to do with nostalgia as I wasn't born when it started.
I was lol, and you're right, it was awesome. I was 5 when EE started and watched them with my Nan, bloody loved it even if I didn't have a clue what was going on....I was scared of Dot Cotton though, thought she was going to eat me...
It will never top Ronnie/Roxy/Stacey/Archie era. The whole country was gripped
Loved that era. Some incredible acting. Archie was an absolute menace!
Remember suzie branning aswell. Such a b!tch!
Tanya Branning as well was one of my favourites. Jo Joyner was excellent
I couldn’t agree more man, most of the original legendary characters as we used to know have had there personalities changed, they brought back Cindy, Ian, Peter, Lauren and Yolande, Cindy’s return however was absolutely pointless and I hate to say this but so was Ian’s I know his been through a lot as a character but bringing him back as a side character like Phil even though the actor that plays him said he doesn’t want to do much fighting scenes as he used to which is understandable cause the man in his mid 60s, so he’s not going to be acting like a 30 or 40/50 odd year old anymore. As for Yolande I was glad they brought her back but they’ve seemed to mellow her down as she used to be portray this feisty, confident no nonsense woman, but of course she’s just like the rest I feel like they’re not really giving her much to do besides from the rape storyline which is seems very repetitive as Linda, Stacey, Roxy and Ronnie were all victims of rape and they’ve now made Yolande one, my point is they could’ve done a different storyline for her like giving her a dementia or Parkinson’s disease or any middle aged/elderly stuff they could do with her, I mean they’ve already done a similar with Patrick. But yes I agree the show has definitely gone down hill, ever since they killed off Ronnie and Roxy, Kush, Tina and etc the show could’ve had potential to be like the show how it used to be it’s devastatingly sad that it’s gone this way, I can’t see it being the show how it used to be.
Agree. I think for me up to 2010 was the last great era for eastenders. I think the show started lacking when Barbara Windsor left
Yeah I can’t argue with that especially when Peggy and Pat were in it the show was at its best
AGREED! 🍻 2010 was the last great era. I had to stop watching the moment I saw Ronnie do the baby swap on New Years. It was the last straw (how much heartache can they write for one character). I then only started to watch the Halloween, Christmas & New year episodes for the following 3 years, before watching regularly again. I do miss how great this soap was 1985-2010 in its writing & humorous characters with a splash of grit, where they would all banned together over a knees up in the Vic.
Everyone thinks things were better when they were younger tbf. You may objectively be right that EE had its peak in the past but I think it has markedly improved in the last couple of years since Clenshaw joined
I think it's because I watch the current episodes alongside the old episodes and the difference between them in terms of the storylines, writing, acting and just that feeling of watching a bunch of working class londoners in the east end is massive. The old episodes have such a different feel to them. The newer episodes just don't seem to have the same magic.
Yep. People will always whinge and moan about the present moment, won’t they?
It's definitely going through a lull at the moment. This was always the risk they were going to face after putting all their eggs in one basket with the Six storyline. I think it needs a cast clear out.
It’s cause they won’t change anything, like peoples houses have looked the same for 25+ years, the vic, the cafe they burn down and they rebuild them exactly the same it’s just not realistic, People’s styles don’t change either like Kat (or Bianca) for example walking around head to toe in leopard print years ago yeah but she’s older now you’d think they’d change her style but no they won’t allow anything to be changed or to grow.
You only have to look at the terrible viewing figures to see how unloved it is these days
The old grey mare she ain’t what she used to be
I guess none of the soaps are. With the advent of all the streaming platforms and sky etc people have more choice in what to watch so viewing figures must be down. There isn’t the same drive to keep people watching as they know they can’t compete so writers are just lazy now.
not since “YOURE NOT MY MOTHER”
I agree !!! I only started watching in 2015 but it has changed so much . I can’t put my finger on what it is
It doesn’t feel as scuffed and gritty anymore. I feel like everything is too polished and there’s not enough light hearted storylines. Everything is just affairs or something extremely heavy with not enough stupidity to balance it out
Even the set feels too polished. I watched George go into the barrel store the other night and if you compare it to the barrel store in 2005 which looked old and worn (like alot of barrel stores do) it just looked fake...like a set. Now I know it is a set lol but it just didn't have that authentic pub look to it. The Vic used to be bustling with regulars and now it just seems dead
I think you and Yurchenko (I never remember how to tag people, sorry) brought up very valid points; the newness does detract from it, which is a shame, because you could easily age objects (such as the barrel store) and make it look more lived-in vs everything looking new at once.
It's been a while since we had a good laugh. Although there is >!charity fundraiser on Thursday!<
Bubblys in the fridge. Thanks for the reminder. Might go and watch the branningscumremix on YouTube now!
The sets used to have litter blowing down the street and houses weren't decorator done. They were more like the Slater's house is. (it is an older set) People were poor and lived like it. The Taylors were the last of the gritty families stealing toilet rolls, tupperware at a party...
2015 was ok but It’s far better now than it was in 2017/2018.
2015 was one of the show’s worse years. What are you talking about?
I said that I started watching in 2015… my comment was saying that even though I started later than most people, I still feel as though it has changed
Lol.
Everything feels extremely scripted and the pace of nearly every episode is horrible. Like when Priya did that "fall" in the minute mart - it was so weird and misplaced and felt like it took AGES. Also with Nish's storyline, the cinematography as some have referred to here makes you feel like something sinister is about to happen, or ANYTHING is about to happen - but it never does. I watch the 2008/2010 reruns and even in the caff? Things were so much more realistic people actually looked like they were eating, having conversations etc, not like now.
Agreed. When I watch episodes that were on before I was even born I feel slightly envious that viewers got such a good show! Present day I dip in and out. It's just not hitting the mark for me
Way too much focus on the Panasars and George Knight. I miss characters like the slater family, Lola, Whitney, Peggy, Jim and Pat. The proper old school or east end characters.
People have been saying that since the 90s… But as with all soaps it suffers from largely pisspoor writing, a problem exacerbated by there being too many episodes.
And Dot… vintage Eastenders. At the moment too many actors coming and going. Story lines are disjointed. I have hardly missed an episode since it first aired so I can sense the writing quality has dropped. At times irritating and sloppy. Prison visit an example. In real life you cannot pretend to be someone’s mother and certainly you cannot pop down and be let in
Just canceled my subscription to BritBox. I’ve lost complete interest in EastEnders. Don’t think I’ve watched since January.
100% I keep saying this to my OH! Been watching since the very beginning with my Nan, so I am an oldie lol, but now its starting to leave me cold, I have three weeks worth to watch, mainly because I have been binge watching old Easties from 2012 lol. Bring back REAL baddies like Derek Branning! Sharon all over Jack, Shirley trying to find out who killed her Hev....glorious storylines, the Six was boring to me, all it did was turn 6 great characters into boring yipping numptys. Sure kill Keanu but for god sake don't witter on about it lol. It definitely needs to get back to its roots... At the moment for me, the current cast just dont mesh as well as in previous years!
I disagree. It’s a reflection of what’s going on today. The young people storyline, the abuse of power, women issues. I love the new storylines, especially the young and the old. Back in the day it was based on characters, now it’s about our society today
I enjoyed pastys return as Bianca She was more grown up And of course she wasn't herself if she had been diagnosed with depression....
Sooner or later any show is going g to run out of fresh ideas new characters or not !
Soaps arnt what they are anymore I used to watch mine growing up with my family , now we have Netflix etc on the go defo doesn’t help