I Turned 40 So Here's An 1985 Post

Yeah, turned 40 as of today and I thought a fun way of passing that milestone would be a blog talking about media events that happened in 1985.

Thinking of it as my less serious take on Reeling In The Years. 

Seeing as I talk about DC Comics quite a lot on this blog, of course one of things that sprang to mind was that this month also marked the 40th anniversary of Vertigo/Black Label/DC bad boy bisexual occult detective John Constantine. The character debuted properly in Issue #37 of Saga Of The Swamp Thing and became so popular, he ended up having 300 issues of his own comics from 1988-2013. Since then, he's had other runs for both the Black Label and mainstream DC, been on the Justice League Dark team and popped up in other characters and groups books, including Birds Of Prey recently. In live action, we've had the likes of Keanu Reeves, Matt Ryan and Jenna Coleman provide different takes, Taron Egerton through audio and we've had animated movies and shows too. Not too shabby for the character, eh?

Debut a few months before my birthday and the only soap that I consistently watch nowadays would be EastEnders. I start watching this around the mid 90s and I have been since then. Like all soaps, it has definitely had it's highs and lows but it's the one soap that I always find myself the most drawn to. I enjoyed the 40th anniversary celebrations back in February and the aftermath to that has been mostly entertaining since then. On the other side of the world, Neighbours also debuted the same year and will be ending for good towards the end of this year.

Are you really a gay man if you haven't watched The Golden Girls at some point in your life? Again, caught some of it as a kid and have rewatched it over the years as an adult. As a show, it never fails to make me laugh with Dorothy (Bea Arthur), Sophia (Estelle Getty), Blanche (Rue McClanahan) and Rose (Betty White) being the most entertaining foursome on the planet. Later in the year, to line up with this show's 40th anniversary, I'll do a blog about the show and it's short-lived spinoff, The Golden Palace.

1985 was also a very interesting time for Doctor Who. It was the proper debut season of Colin Baker's Sixth Doctor, paired with Peri Brown (Nicola Bryant). In their debut year, they'd face Daleks and Davros (Terry Molloy), the Master (Anthony Ainley) and the Rani (Kate O'Mara), Cybermen, Sontarans and the odious Sil (Nabil Shabam). Oh and there would be a rather nice team up with the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines) but that wasn't all. The show's future would be in doubt, following a hiatus for the next season and the unforgettable (for all the wrong reasons) charity single, Doctor In Distress. Go and listen to it, I dare you. Also, 2025 Doctor Who looks like it could be heading down a similar path.

And then there were movies. 1985 gave Disney fans, The Black Cauldron (tomorrow's blog) and horror fans such sequels as A Nightmare On Elm Street: Freddy's Revenge and Friday The 13th: A New Beginning. It also gave audiences Back To The Future with Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd as Marty McFly and Doc Brown respectively. One of my favourite childhood movies includes Return To Oz while other movies from this year include The Breakfast Club, Desperately Seeking Susan, The Goonies, Cocoon, St. Elmo's Fire, Fright Night, Teen Wolf, Santa Clause: The Movie, Clue and Legend to name but a few. Most of these I've seen, some I've reviewed and others I need to catch up on.

As for music, 1985 was a good year for it. A list of some of the best songs from that year, so to speak.

• Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)
• Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants To Rule The World
• Eurythmics - There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)
• Madonna - Into The Groove 
• Wham! - I'm Your Man
• Dead or Alive - You Spin Me Around (Like A Record)
• David Bowie/Mick Jaggar - Dancing In The Street
• Whitney Houston - Saving All My Love For You
• Bronski Beat - I Feel Love 
• Lionel Ritchie - Say You, Say Me

Well, that's a brief-ish on some noteworthy media things in the year of my birth that pertain to my interests. Hope you enjoyed reading it.

My Review of EastEnders 40th Anniversary Week (February 17th-20th 2025)

In 1985, BBC1 launched a soap called EastEnders, created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland. Forty years later, it gave us one hell of an explosive week.

Written by Bryan Kirkwood And Simon Ashdown And Kevin Rundle And Lauren Klee

Directed by Lance Kneeshaw

Sonia: "Welcome to the world, Julia. It's all about to begin."

In the space of four episodes, which included an hour long Wednesday episode on the actual anniversary itself and a live episode on Thursday, there was a lot of plots to cover. Stories that have building up for months but within these episodes, we got plenty of resolutions. Let's break them down.

Phil's Mental Health: Steve McFadden who plays Phil Mitchell has been given plenty of heavy stories in the thirty plus years he's been on the show but the character's battle with depression might be the best one yet. Over the last few months, Phil's isolated himself from everyone, had hallucinations of his mother, Peggy (Jamie Winstone) and during this week, he came close to ending it all. Had it not been for the interventions of Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) and Nigel Bates (Paul Bradley), Phil could've taken his own life. This story also involved Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean) and Grant Mitchell (Ross Kemp), though the latter struggled to effectively help his younger brother. Easily the best story of the week.

Who Whacked Cindy?: It was Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth). She was sick of her treacherous daughter in law (Michelle Collins) constantly making a fool out of Ian (Adam Woodyatt) and had Cindy not gotten a little gun happy, Kathy might have kept that secret to herself. Cindy not only shot Ian but she also pushed him in front of a certain car and her antics ended up causing said car to crash into the Queen Victoria pub. In a funny twist of events, Kathy ended up saving Cindy's life, though she wasn't particularly grateful about the save. I had convinced myself the last few days that Peter Beale (Thomas Law) who committed the act and I'm really mixed on it being Kathy. Saying that, I'm actually relieved that Elaine Peacock (Harriett Thorpe), George Knight (Colin Salmon) or any of the Knights did the deed. Now where will Cindy go as a character, considering she's burned every bridge, except for Junior (Micah Balfour) of course?

The Death Of Martin Fowler: A lot of people on social media actually called this one. I certainly didn't. I genuinely thought the show wouldn't have the balls to kill off a legacy character and even when it became apparent that Martin Fowler (James Bye) was a goner, I still thought there was going to be a last minute save for the character. Just when the live triangle between Martin and two of his big love interests Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner) and Ruby Allen (Louisa Lytton) was about to be resolved, he had to go and die. His death certainly packed an emotional punch with James Bye proving to be one of the most successful soap recasts in the eleven years he played the fruit and veg family man. While the show can survive without Martin, there's something rather sad about the last of the original Fowlers no longer being on the show. I mean there's still Hope and Roman to carry on Martin's legacy though.

Julia or Toni?: It wasn't just deciding on a certain outcome for a love triangle that viewers had to do their due diligence but also the naming of Sonia Fowler's (Natalie Cassidy) baby girl. In the end Julia won out as Sonia had to give birth to her daughter in a crumbling pub with both Bianca Jackson (Patsy Palmer) and Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa) as her midwives. Oh and the troublesome baby daddy/wife killer/sister kidnapper Reiss Colwell (Jonny Freeman) getting his just desserts, courtesy of a bathtub crashing down on him. I think we were all happy to see Reiss get a rather brutal but campy death but Sonia will also be departing soon after this anniversary week. Who will end up in her house once she leaves with Bianca and Julia?

The Viewers Decided: Oh, they certainly did. For weeks, UK viewers has a choice in which Denise Fox (Diane Parish) could reunite with estranged husband Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) or continue her relationship with bad boy Ravi Gulati (Aaron Thiara). Personally, there should've been a throuple option but at the start of the live episode, it was made clear that Denise had in fact chosen Jack over Ravi. The viewers might have decided Jack but a lot of social media were Team Ravi. Can Denise and Jack work for a third time or will they fall into the same patterns that have broken them up over the last few years?

There Was A Wedding: It wasn't all misery on the Square. There was the wedding of Billy (Perry Fenwick) and Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton) and while it wasn't the first time those two went down the aisle, it was a bright spot in a very explosive week. In terms of plots, it might not be the most compelling but Billy and Honey have always been a likeable pairing and giving them the anniversary wedding was a nice touch. The second wedding of the year, following the similarly disastrous one between Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) and Eve Unwin (Heather Pearce) on New Year's Day. Weddings in Walford are not off to a good start in 2025.

- It only took thirty seven years but wasn't it brilliant that Anita Dobson briefly appeared as Angie Watts to give Sharon the strength to fight to survive?

- The title sequence was made to nearly mirror the original one but the river was red. Rubies are associated with 40th anniversaries.

- I got the impression that Linda herself will get a new love interest towards the second half of the year given her conversation with Denise.

- BBC3 hosted a lock in with the cast on Tuesday, presented by Joe Swash (who played Mickey Miller) while the theme's creator appeared on Wednesday's episode of The One Show on BBC1. Ross Kemp also hosted 40 Years On The Square documentary and Lacey Turner had Anita Dobson on her podcast.

- Lacey Turner was pregnant while filming the first three episodes of the week but came back from maternity leave to film the live episode.

- Chronology: February 19th 2025.

The 40th Anniversary Week of EastEnders was certainly a triumph with all the episodes certainly packing a punch and keeping audiences entertained. Overall, while I think I might have preferred the 20th and 30th Anniversaries, this 40th had plenty in its favour. Here's to the next decade of the show. Chris Clenshaw helped to deliver a brilliant week along with the cast and crew.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

EastEnders Does Pride But There's A Misstep

Last month I did a blog about the show pairing up Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) and Callum Highway (Tony Clay) and while this won't be an ongoing thing, here's a little blog on last night's Pride themed episode of EastEnders.

Actually, I'm just going to break this down into what worked and overall didn't work. Your mileage may vary as they would say.

- The Taylor/Baker/Atkins Family (and Ted): It's incredible that a little over two years since their arrival, the Taylors went from looking like a family who would even less popular than the Millers and be quickly written out have turned out to be one of the most successful elements of the show in the last year and a half. As a unit, they've become one of the best in the show's history.
- Bernie's journey to self acceptance. She's gotten to the place where Callum desperately needs to get to and it thankfully hasn't been rushed. It was wonderful to see Bernie's family support her at Pride, her own awe at the event was completely endearing and I loved the pep talk she had with Tina. Now the show just needs to give her a girlfriend.
- Keegan, Keanu and Gray. Yeah they're not gay but showing straight men comfortable enough in their own sexuality enjoying Pride while supporting Bernie was a lovely bit of character moment as well. Even Mitch sort of got into the spirit when he wasn't reminding us that he doesn't actually like Gray.
- Tina Carter. This show has often been shambolic in the writing for the character but making her a manager of The Prince Albert and that lovely scene she had with Bernie really does highlight that she can be a great character when the show actually makes an effort with her.
- The square has never looked as vibrant as it did for Pride.

Of course with the positives do come some concerning negatives though.

- The obvious one: we get a Pride episode that ends with a gay character getting gay bashed? Yes, we need to highlight that homophobia still exists but I'm not sure this was the episode to do that. That moment felt misjudged to me.
- Of course Stuart (Ricky Champ) would be the one to batter Ben. Never mind that we had this storyline with Ben three years ago that resulted in his then boyfriend Paul dying.  You know some plotlines are not worth repeating.
- This show isn't entirely convincing me of Ballum yet. Yes, Bowden and Clay have chemistry, but Ben seems to enjoy toying with Callum more than having any real feelings for him. I'm sure that will change eventually but right now, it does somewhat make it hard to root for them as a future couple.
- Does Tiffany actually have feelings for Bernie or not? I wish the show would clarify this or not and preferably sooner than later.
- Bored shitless of the Kat/Kush vs. Stacey/Martin storyline with Arthur and the less said about Habiba/Adam, the better. Another dull storyline, even if it seems that Adam has some dirt on Iqra.

Overall, points to the show for doing this sort of episode and I wouldn't be surprised if the likes of Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks are planning similar themed episodes for 2020 but they do need to improve the Ballum storyline over the next few weeks and make sure that the Prince Albert set doesn't suffer the same fate that the Albert itself suffered. Oh and continue the good work they're doing with Tina and Bernie as well.

Happy Pride, everyone🌈🌈

EastEnders Gets It's Gay On Again

Okay, bit of a loaded headline there and in the first of a few LGBT themed blogs for the Month of Pride, it's time to have a look at the UK soaps and LGBT coverage over the last while, in particular with EastEnders.

You have to give Kate Oates her due. When she likes a storyline, she'll do it again and again and here she's only gone and done it on EastEnders. It was obviously that Ben Mitchell No 6 (Max Bowden) in between laughably stupid wannabe gangster storylines was going to get with an established male character on the show instead of a new one and the guy in question has turned out to be Callum 'Halfway' Highway (Tony Clay) and while I don't think this relationship will ever hit the social media popularity of Robron or Kana, it does manage to feel surprisingly believable. Halfway is probably the only male character currently on the show they could've done this with and while we're in the early stages of this particular pairing, including Halfway's own denial about his sexuality, it's off to an interesting enough start, story wise. Add to the fact that Halfway and Stuart's (Rick Champ) own father will be joining the show soon (and he seems like a right bastard, going by the summer trailer), not to mention a budding wedding with Whitney Dean (Shona McCarthy), this is going to get very peak soap fairly soon.

Halfway and Ben's budding relationship also comes around the same time that Walford managed to get itself a gay bar. Well, Ben's mother, Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) came into some money, bought the Albert and renamed it the Prince Albert with Tina Carter (Luisa Bradshaw-White) being appointed as manager, getting her out of the Queen Vic for good measure too. For Tina, this should be a good venture as the show's treatment of the character over the last few years has been rather appalling from time to time. It's also nice that Oates seems determined to try and modernise the show as she did with both Emmerdale and Coronation Street and it's good to see the BBC not try and stop her either.

In terms of LGBT characters and stories, it's nice to see in a short space of time, how much of a positive impact Oates has made. Yes, we have the Halfway/Ben pairing, the arrival of a new gay bar and purpose for Tina, the show due to celebrate Pride and even Bernadette Taylor (Clair Norris) getting a brief love interest with Brooke (Ria Lopez), even if she still has feelings for best mate, Tiffany (Maisie Smith). Aside from the increased prominence in LGBT storytelling, the writing overall has taken a turn for the better and the show feels as exciting as when Dominic Treadwell-Collins had the reigns from 2013-2016. Hopefully this renewed quality will be around for a while to come.

Of course, it's not just the Square that's been prominent with LGBT storytelling for the last while. Coronation Street has had a slew of LGBT characters, storylines and relationships and the current stories are a mixed bag. Earlier this year, we saw the death of Rana Habeeb (Bhavna Limbachia) and it seems her partner, Kate Connor (Faye Brookes) will be exiting the soap soon while Sophie (Brooke Vincent) has had her own relationship ups and downs with lawyer, Paula Martin (Stirling Gallacher), not to mention Billy (Daniel Brocklebank) getting together with former jailbird Paul Foreman (Peter Ash). Elsewhere Sean (Anthony Cotton) has had a brief storyline concerning homelessness that was a bit rushed while a new family arriving this month - the Baileys will have a gay footballer son, James (Nathan Graham) who befriends Bethany Platt (Lucy Fallon). Either way, it's nice to have another new family on the cobbles and the issue of homophobia will also be explored with James.

Moving over to the most dangerous village in the land of soaps, there's still the power couple of Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) and Aaron Livesy (Danny Miller) in Emmerdale. Yeah, I've never been a fan of this pairing and while I'm more lukewarm on them nowadays, I do keep wishing the show would give us another gay/bi male character and for said guy not to be a plot device or spare part but I think I'll be waiting a while there. There's also Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) and Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick), who are enjoyable enough while the show has furthered explored Matty Barton's (Ash Palmisciano) transitioning in a respectful manner.

Last but by no means least, there's also Hollyoaks, who have always been varied with their LGBT characters and storylines. In recent months we've had departures from Kim Butterfield (Daisy Wood-Davis) and Farrah Maalik (Krupa Pattani) as the latter was also involved with Grace Black (Tamara Wall). The strongest characters aside from Farrah have been the show's school principal, Sally St. Claire (Annie Wallace), a transwoman whose relationship with Myra McQueen (Nicole Barber Lane) ended, even though they still have a son with John Paul (James Sutton). Sally has been one of the strongest characters on the show along with gay lawyer, James Nightingale (Gregory Finnegan) while Scott Drinkwell (Ross Adams) and Kyle Kelly (Adam Rickett) have had hit and miss storylines as well as Harry Thompson (Parry Glasspool) in recent times. Currently the show is exploring a far right storyline with long term regular Ste Hay (Kieron Richardson) being groomed by Jonny Baxter (Ray Quinn) and Staurt Sumner (Chris Simmons) that has definitely had the desired effect in being both compelling and uncomfortable viewing as we've seen them terrorise the Maalik family over the last few weeks to the disgust of everyone in the village.  Of all the UK soaps, this has always been the one with the most eclectic and diverse of storylines.

Well, that's a round up of the current soap goings on for LGBT storylines and characters. Any of these stories that you're enjoying/not enjoying? Anything you wish these soaps would cover or do less of too?

Eastenders - Ben Mitchell Regenerates (Again)

Ah, it's been a while since I've done a soap blog and once again, it's an EastEnders one. This time, it seems we've got another character returning in Kate Oates's era but not one I was particularly keen on seeing again to be candid.

Despite departing in January 2018 with Harry Reid in the role after four years, it seems that Ben Mitchell will be back in the Spring of 2019, this time around played by Max Bowden (Waterloo Road). Going by the press release, it seems Ben's return will coincide with Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold) and daughter Lexi as Kate Oates seems determined to rebuild/expand upon some family units in Albert Square as her tenure takes place from next month onwards, with executive producer Jon Sen. Other returns include a brief stint for Sean Slater (Robert Kazinsky) as well as the introduction of Masood's (Nitin Ganatra) nieces, Habiba Ahmed (Rukku Nahar) and Iqra Ahmed (Priya Davdra) next month.

In the space of 23 years and now taking Bowden's casting into account, the character of Ben Mitchell has been played by six different actors with Matthew Silver and Morgan Whittle playing him as a baby and an infant while Charlie Jones (2006-2010) and Joshua Pascoe (2010-2012) played the character as a kid/teenager before Harry Reid (2014-2018) assumed the role as adult Ben.

I've got to admit that I think Ben Mitchell is one of the worst gay characters ever to befall a soap with some of the most dreadful storylines (coming out and going back into the closet, relationship with Abi, killing Heather, his general sociopathic tendencies etc) and his last two significant relationships - Paul Coker (Jonny Labey) and Luke Browning (Adam Astill) both left a lot to be desired. A recast is one thing but in order for Ben to possibly work as a character, a serious overhaul of the character in general is somewhat needed.

Going by some of the statements in the press release, perhaps we might finally get a version of Ben that audiences can actually root. Kate Oates has a good record with LGBT characters, being somewhat responsible for Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) and Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) in Emmerdale and Kate Connor (Faye Brooks) and Rana  Habeeb (Bhavna Limbachia) in Coronation Street and EastEnders has been sorely lacking in some decent LGBT content in a long while. Maybe just maybe along with her plans to have a gay bar on Albert Square, Ben's imminent return as well as Bernadette Taylor (Clair Norris) recently coming out and both Sonia Jackson (Natalie Cassidy) and Tina Carter (Luisa Bradshaw-White), this might be the turnaround we need.

Still, though Max Bowden's casting must set a record for the amount of recasts one soap character can actually have. Here's hoping this time, the show can finally get the character right.

Press Release: https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-46947232

Thoughts on the recast, anyone?

EastEnders - Can Kate Oates Bring The Magic Back?

In the last few days, it was reported that Kate Oates will be overseeing EastEnders along with both Casualty and Holby City for the BBC. For a lot of fans, this is hopefully a sign of good times.

In the last few years, Kate Oates has done wonders for rival soaps, Emmerdale and Coronation Street, generating some provocative and exciting storylines as well as popular romantic pairings that when news came that she was stepping down from the latter soap, fans were hoping the BBC would tempt her in order to give EastEnders a much needed shot in the arm and given the hatchet job that both Sean O'Connor and John Yorke have managed between them in the last two and a half years, Kate certainly can't do any worse but here are a few suggestions/things I'd like to see happen within Oates's upcoming era of the soap.

Axings: I don't think Kate will make too many major axings, not early into her tenure to be honest. There isn't much deadwood on the show at the moment for her to get rid of such, except maybe Stuart and I wouldn't be surprised if he's gone before her era even kicks off to be honest.

Rebuilding Families: In particular the Beales, Masoods and maybe the Mitchells as well. Also possibly the Foxes too. Also do more with the existing families like the Slaters/Fowlers and Taylors as well.

Spread The Love: Instead of overly focusing on particular sets of characters, the show does need to spread out the storylines so that everyone is getting something worthwhile to do. This was something DTC did excel at as well, so hopefully Oates will follow suit. Given her previous track record, I think she will do her best to make sure the show doesn't overly depend too much on certain characters.

LGBT Characters: I actually don't want Ben and Johnny back. Ben has had some of the worst, borderline homophobic writing we've ever seen on the show and he's just too divisive as a character who seems to be played by very inconsistent actors to boot. Similarly Johnny's potential was long drained away that he became such a non entity of a character. No, right now we need new gay/bi male characters to boot. Give them decent links to the square and build a relationship organically rather than trying to recapture a RobRon or Kana type of thing. Oh and make them likeable/interesting. It shouldn't be hard to do.

Better Baddies:  The Willmott-Browns, Aidan and Stuart all had the potential to be compelling baddies but all have failed big time as characters. I'm hoping the show can break the bad trend with Ray and make him a credible antagonist because they've got a really talented actor with Sean Mahon, so let's not waste his talents.

Returns: I'd love Janine back but only if she's still rich and they have enough storylines to justify a proper return. Likely returns though should be the likes of Jane, Peter and Zainab in order to rebuild the Beales and Masood families.

The Vic: We could get new owners for the place and I wouldn't be against that as such but at the same I'm indifferent as to whether or not the Carters stay in the Vic. Saying that though, the show does need to dial things back a little bit with them as well.

A Sense Of Excitement: Kate did this effortlessly with both ITV soaps and fired up the viewing public's anticipation for storylines. I really want her to do that with this show, especially as the show hasn't really had that wow factor since it's 30th anniversary in 2015.

Press Release: http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/eastenders/news/a863452/eastenders-casualty-holby-city-new-producer-kate-oates/

What would you like to see happen with EastEnders under Kate Oates run?

EastEnders - Ronnie & Roxy Mitchell: 2007-2017

Yeah, it's been a while since I've done an EastEnders related post but with the departure of two characters on New Year's Day, I thought it was time to fix that.

In July 2007, the Mitchell family found themselves getting expanded when two cousins by the names of Ronnie (Samantha Womack) and Roxy (Rita Simons) rocked up in Walford for one of cousin Phil's (Steve McFadden) many weddings over the years. Months before that, upon Womack and Simons respective casting for the show, the BBC launched a series of trailers to promote the characters, including one that show Ronnie as the Ice to Roxy's fire and the pair of them stirring up the Vic while dancing to Calvin Harris's The Girls.

Aside from the girls both being members of the Mitchell clan, there was certainly a level of confidence aimed at the characters to bolster the show a little and within nine and a half years, this has happened and then some. Between both sisters, we've had several weddings, children, death of children, the girls controlling father Archie (Larry Lamb) - one of the show's best villains, drug addictions, baby swaps. The one thing that cannot be said that the characters were ever boring but saying that, things do come to an end.

In late 2016 after weeks of current producer Sean O'Connor taking over the show (and dividing viewers with his approach to storytelling), it was announced that both Ronnie and Roxy would be leaving the show in early 2017. Weeks later, it was announced exactly how they would depart the series and it genuinely sounded ludicrous. On screen though, the depiction was something a little more baroque but still ludicrous. After nine and a half years and more drama that you can throw at a pairing of siblings from a family as volatile as the Mitchells, Ronnie and Roxy were killed by drowning in a pool at the stroke at midnight. Yup, that apparently is how you write out these characters after so long on the show.

New Year's Day has always been somewhat chaotic for the Mitchell sisters. In the past, Ronnie has had to save Roxy from nearly drowning in a frozen lake and we've seen Ronnie lose both her and Jack (Scott Maslan) son, James on that day, leading to the controversial baby swap storyline with Kat (Jessie Wallace) and Alfie (Shane Ritchie) along with Ronnie's murder of gangster Carl White (Daniel Coonan) and almost being killed herself on her own wedding to Charlie Cotton (Declan Bennett). This time around, she was marrying Jack for the second time and despite some initial hiccups between her and Roxy and a deeper look into their co-dependent relationship, it finally seemed like things were on happy ground for the dark character and her hedonistic sister. Then they got drunk and died in a freak accident.

I'm not strictly against killing off big characters and the final episode for both Womack and Simons certainly had a lot of lovely motifs and nods to their past. Recreating their trailer for the wedding reception was a genius move along with both of them discussing opening up another nightclub along with the selfie moment they had with Phil in the episode earlier. I even loved that not remotely use of Cinderella as Jack read slowly to Amy, Ricky and Matthew while Ronnie and Roxy's last moments played out and the show of the two of them in the pool was certainly eerie and one of the darkest images the show has done.

However saying that and watching the aftermath in the next two episodes, I can't help thinking that Sean O'Connor was somewhat hasty in his decision to kill off both characters. I don't think resting Ronnie and Roxy in itself was strictly a bad idea. Certain characters on soaps work with being written out for a bit and some characters do have a shelf life. While there was a danger of Ronnie and Roxy forever repeating the same habits, I do think that in the long run killing both of them off in the way they were on Sunday's episode wasn't the best decision though.

That said, a special thanks to both Samantha Womack and Rita Simons for their work over the years and especially for the last episode. Walford won't be the same without the Mitchell sisters.

EastEnders - 30th Anniversary Live Week

Well, that was some week. Never have I been that gripped by a soap but between February 17th-20th 2015 and in the space six episodes (regular/flashback/live inserts), BBC1's EastEnders celebrated it's 30th anniversary with a slew of unforgettable episodes with revelations coming thick and fast.

First of all - Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater). We've waited 10 months and have had various clues, elements of misdirection and secrets being spilled out by various characters as her death became all consuming and factored in nearly every character going. After initially making it look like Jane (Laurie Brett) in the hour long episode on Thursday, the accompanying flashback episode recalled Lucy's last moments - which involved being robbed by Ben, thumped by Jake, slapped by Abi and tackled to the ground by Denise, it turned out that while she did indeed die at home (which Lauren cryptically revealed through a card and a later discussion with Peter), it wasn't Jane who delivered the killer blow.

Instead that honour went to Bobby (Eliot Carrington) who hit his sister with a music box while Jane then placed the body to be found at the commons instead. While I can understand that some people were not happy with this reveal (I was certain it was Abi until Tuesday's episode ruled her out), I actually think it's pretty satisfying. Whether it's sign that Bobby is a future sociopath or it was a horrible accident, I don't know but it confirmed that current showrunner Dominic Treadwell-Collins wasn't joking when he said that it was going to be devastating on the Beales - and it truly was as Ian painfully pieced things together and realised that instead of murdering his daughter that new wife Jane was instead trying to protect her adopted son.

I've seen this show do some amazing moments of television beforehand and throughout the week, it was relentlessly good and grim stuff with the Beales but Friday's episode certainly took the show to a whole new level. The arguments between Ian, Jane, Cindy and Peter upon learning that Bobby killed Lucy were superb and the letter that Lucy had written was utterly heartbreaking when Cindy read it out to Ian. Lucy was a nightmare and not the nicest of people but the loss of the character and the revelation of Bobby's role in her death (as well as Jane's role in concealing it) undoubtedly changes things forever for the Beales. Ian might have forgiven Jane but he certainly won't forget and Peter's inability to accept things will only facilitate Ben Hardy's exit from the show. DTC was telling the truth about this story being a changer for the show. I just didn't realise how right he was going to be after all.

Of course to keep with the Beales for a moment, another thing happened - Kathy came home for all of a minute. Yes, despite the fact that the character was killed off back in 2006 off screen and we've been stuck with Ben ever since, I was genuinely surprised to see Gillian Taylforth back on the show (last seen in Hollyoaks) and her little moment with Phil certainly has me curious as to how Kathy can rejoin the Square but it was one in a series of shocking moments. Others included Lauren's swift exit, the live bloopers ("how's Adam?"), Mick nearly killing Dean, Dot being arrested for Nick's death, Ronnie finally waking up from her coma, the arrival of Richard Blackwood's mysterious Vincent, Kim giving birth prematurely in the ladies of the Queen Vic and Linda proposing to Mick as well as Ian and Jane's second eventful wedding. This certainly was not been a dull week in the slightest for the soap.

Creatively, the show has never been better and with the returns of characters like Martin, Kathy, Peggy, Tanya and Christian, a recreation of the opening scene from the first episode in the anniversary episode and other glorious little nods, this whole week managed to honour the show's rich thirty year history along with signalling various plot points for the future. Aside from the slew of impressive episodes, we've also had the Gogglebox style Back To Ours series in which 13 former/current cast members got to rewatch some of their highlights, an after party special that could rival Doctor Who's 50th one (possibly), a feature on the whole Lucy Beale storyline, a Graham Norton special and a chance to rewatch the first ever episode, courtesy of the Red Button service.

It's been thirty years and the show has gone from strength to strength but in terms of anniversary stories, this truly represented a golden age in storytelling for the show and both the cast and crew, as well as current EP Dominic Treadwell-Collins really should take a bow. An utterly wonderful week of episodes. Here's to the next thirty years.

EastEnders - Who/What Killed Lucy Beale?

Last night's episode of EastEnders, interestingly aired on Good Friday saw the death of long term character, Lucy Beale and after weeks of knowing that the character wasn't long for the world, the episode ended with her body left in the Walford Common in mysterious circumstances.

The character played by several actresses over the 20 years she's been on the show and recently by Hetti Bywater has had something of a few interesting weeks in the time leading to her death. We've seen her this year going into some kind of business with best mate Lauren Branning while sleeping with both Max Branning and Lee Carter in the last month, coming to blows with her father, Ian Beale after young sister Cindy tipped him off about some of her past antics in Devon and her recent use of cocaine. But who or what actually done in Lucy Beale in last night's episode? Some suspects.

Cindy Williams (Mimi Keene): The younger sister jealous of Lucy and one of three people who left a voice message for her at the end of last night's episode. It's probably a long shot and as unlikely as Peter/Ian too but like Peter, Cindy was seen recently to be put out by the way Ian seems to prefer Lucy over the rest of the Beale kids. However with the teenage pregnancy plot, would they really make Cindy into a killer?

Danny Pennant (Gary Lucy): They were lovers and business partners but Lucy was also part of Danny's downfall and saw him exit the Square back in February. Perhaps he came back to get revenge on the aspiring businesswoman? Whoever bumped Lucy will be facing jail time and I can't see a major character being sent down, so Danny is a likelihood. As is Jake Stone (Jamie Lomas) and his creepy staring at Lucy in Thursday's episode when she was with Lee at the restaurant.

Lauren Branning (Jacqueline Jossa): Okay, while I don't actually believe that it will be Lauren, I do believe that she's going to be one of many obvious suspects questioned/possibly framed or falsely arrested over the next few months and it's likely that she might have become privy to her best mate sleeping with her father and snapped. After all, someone knew about Lucy/Max and sent the latter a suggestive photo of them. Even Jossa herself wants to be the killer and it wouldn't be the first time Lauren has snapped in relation to her father's clandestine activities.

Lee Carter (Danny-Boy Hatchard): The recent love interest of Lucy and guaranteed to be one of the first people to be suspected of her death. Lee is only a character we've known for about a fortnight and there certainly seems to be more to him than meets the eye. Is he capable of murder? I rather hope not but you can never tell really, can you?

Max Branning (Jake Wood): Not only was his deeply annoyed when Lucy finally ended their rather implausible affair, but he certainly seemed to take great exception to the much needed dressing down she gave him as well (citing his desperation). Could Max have snapped and killed Lucy? There's blood in the car lot from her fall the other day and he's definitely going to be one of the main suspects but even I can't see Max capable of murder. I mean the guy has a skewered moral compass at times but murder would be extreme, even for him.

Then again, there is the possibility that Lucy wasn't killed by someone but instead something. The bump on her head, a reaction to some dodgy drugs or other unknown health problems perhaps? Either way, we will have to wait until February 2015 before it's properly revealed who or what caused Lucy's death and the next couple of months are going to have a ripple effect on the Beales and the Square as a whole. The trailer released by the BBC after last night's episode had a wonderful Twin Peaks vibe to it (with a great use of Lana Del Rey's Gods & Monsters) and it will be interesting to see if the various twists and turns and reveals about Lucy will be able to sustain the story organically until next year. So far though, this does look like a genuinely gripping storyline for the show which has improved over the last few months.

There's A Killer Among Them Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADNwkxrCtd4

EastEnders continues to air Mondays/Fridays at 8pm and Tuesdays/Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC1.

Soap Discussion - October 2013

Last blog of the month so here's a look at the month in soaps folks.

Coronation Street: A great month for the show. It was nice to see David get a bit of a comeuppance for nearly killing Nick and to finally have all of that stuff out in the open. Of course, Roy and Hayley were still the highlight of the month and their story continues to be poignant and heartbreaking to watch. As for the return of Liz and the rivalry between Tina and Tracey, not bad plot wise but not overly compelling to watch either if I'm being honest.

EastEnders: A dull month, except for Michael and Alice's ludicrous scheming to bump off Janine, which will thankfully be done with by tonight's episode. Aside from that, Jack left Ronnie, Roxy and Alfie continue to be unconvincing as a couple, Sharon's demon child Denny is annoying and to be honest, I just struggled to care about any real plot this month. I suppose David's return has been entertaining though.

Emmerdale: I think this was a great month for the show. With Cameron's whole siege at the Woolpack, it's no wonder that this show is beating other soaps in the ratings at the moment. Those episodes alone were the show at it's best and some of the other subplots came together nicely as well. The recent tribute to Alan Turner as well was another great moment for the soap that seems to be flying high at the moment.

Hollyoaks: I like a good death as much as the next person but between the week of the explosion and Hollyoaks Later itself, perhaps too many characters were killed off too quickly though. On the plus side, at least most of this month was great to watch. However I do feel the show needs to lay off the sensationalism just a tiny bit though. At the moment the show is awash with it.

Soap Discussion - September 2013

Penultimate blog of the month, so here goes ...

Coronation Street: The show is in a great place at the moment with it's storylines. Hayley's ongoing battle with cancer and her determination to complete a bucket list of things (including getting Roy to drive) has been both touching and amusing in parts. Other great storylines this month has included wrapping up Karl's general plot as he was finally exposed (September seemed to be a month for this in soaps) and David having to deal with the consequences of nearly trying to kill Nick. Overall, a great month for the show.

EastEnders: Not the worst month going but hardly the show at it's best either. Ronnie's return, Peggy's brief appearance and David Wicks showing up to interrupt both Carol and Masood were the highlights because honestly, everything else sucked here. I don't care about Alfie, it's hard to be bothered about Tamwar and Alice and Carl continues to be a rather unconvincing baddie as well. Maybe the critics are reveling a bit too much in taking the show down a notch but it's hard to deny that it's in need of an overall. Various axings and characters returns aren't enough - it's better writing/plotting that is overall needed here.

Emmerdale: I liked this month but mainly Cameron finally being exposed as a murderer and getting his comeuppance and as for Steve being exposed as a creep and having to leave the village after he caused devastation with Bernice, Nicola and Jimmy - good stuff, though I think they could've gotten a bit more mileage with the character. Also the fallout of Rhona's pill addiction and Amy reuniting with her son by deceiving his adopted grandmother had it's moments as well.

Hollyoaks: An okay month here - Will killing Anna, Fraser getting more prominent, the Darren reveal and Browning getting his comeuppance all had their hit and miss moments. The show is still great but there are too many moments where it can feel like whiplash at times, especially given the recent fire set by Freddie and the obvious connection made between Fraser and Clare as well. The Roscoes and the Osbournes did seem to be the dominating families of the month and there has been some good fallout with them as well.

Soap Discussion - August 2013

Coronation Street: A very strong month for this show. Trust David to take his vendetta towards Nick to extreme levels and put his brother in the hospital. It still made for some great drama as did Kylie giving birth during the week as well. Without a doubt the strongest storylines this month along with the bits we got with Hayley's condition and Karl's determination to keep Craig on side as well. Unfortunately we still had the race storyline with Paul and Lloyd, which was a complete dud to watch along with Anna vs. Sally as well. As soap rivalries go, it wasn't an interesting one to watch.

EastEnders: Um, a bit of a hit and miss month. Tyler's speedy exit, Lauren's speedy recovery, the brisk introductions of Jake, Sadie, Tara and Cindy Jr are all well and good but the Max/Kirsty/Carl scenes are enough to put audiences in a coma. Surely, the writers must realise by now that none of us care about these three individuals, right? Even the Janine/Michael/Danny stuff wasn't that particularly riveting this month and the camping trip with Lola, Peter (who had an interesting enough secret), Jay, Abi, Dexter and Cindy Jr has been a little hit and miss as well. At least next month looks more exciting.

Emmerdale: Rhona's addiction to prescription pills has definitely been the better handled compared to soap rivals Nancy Osbourne and Sharon Rickman but the subplot with her and Vanessa did seem a tad tacked on though, right? I'm all for Vanessa's sexuality being confirmed but I don't think I'm alone in wishing it had been done in far less dubious. Still the storyline was more enjoyable than the overextending of Cameron's murdering antics. Come on, show, it's time to expose him as the killer of Carl/Alex/Gennie and now. We've waited long enough at this rate.

Hollyoaks: What a crazy month. Even for this show, the twists kept coming a bit too fast, didn't they? We've had Browning trying and failing to kill both Myra and Cindy, Sienna successfully driving Nancy out of the Dog and into an institution, John Paul's boyfriend being Ste's dad (who also had to kill his mother), Trevor still being a general menace, Sandy bouncing between Dodger and Frazer, I'm surprised the writers haven't burned themselves out. Arguably too much happened this month and some of the plots have worked better than others but either the whole Six Weeks Of Summer has managed to mostly work in the show's favour for the time being.