"EastEnders" (1985) TV series 1985-????

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Directors:

Indra Bhose
Dermot Boyd

Writers:

Colin Brake (writer)
Andrew Collins (writer)

Seasons:

1 | unknown

Release Date:

19 February 1985 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The everyday lives of the inhabitants of Albert Square in the East-End of London.

Plot Keywords:

East End | Famous Opening Theme | Social Realism | Working Class | Soap Opera

Awards:

112 wins & 136 nominations

Cast

Steve McFadden	...	Phil (1,821 episodes, 1990-2009)
Adam Woodyatt	...	Ian / ... (1,790 episodes, 1985-2009)
Pam St. Clement	...	Pat / ... (1,541 episodes, 1986-2009)
Wendy Richard	...	Pauline / ... (1,405 episodes, 1985-2006)
Barbara Windsor	...	Peggy (1,320 episodes, 1994-2009)
June Brown	...	Dot / ... (1,261 episodes, 1985-2009)
Todd Carty	...	Mark (986 episodes, 1990-2003)
Ross Kemp	...	Grant (971 episodes, 1990-2006)
Sid Owen	...	Ricky (954 episodes, 1990-2009)
Letitia Dean	...	Sharon / ... (928 episodes, 1985-2006)
Natalie Cassidy	...	Sonia (881 episodes, 1993-2007)
Perry Fenwick	...	Billy (846 episodes, 1998-2009)
John Bardon	...	Jim (777 episodes, 1996-2008)
Gillian Taylforth	...	Kathy / ... (745 episodes, 1985-2000)

Also Known As:

"East 8" (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (1985-1991) | Stereo (1991-)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Canada:PG | USA:TV-PG

Filming Locations:

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

In May 2007 a storyline involving the kidnapping of the newborn baby of Dawn Swann (Kara Tointon) was scrapped because of similarities to the much-publicised abduction of 4-year-old Madeleine McCann in the Algarve, Portugal on 3 May 2007.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Phil and Grant are in the woods with Danny, the camera's shadow is visible several times.

Quotes:

Jamie: [about to have sex] Shouldn't we... take precautions?
Janine: You mean lock the door?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Verity Lambert: Drama Queen (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Theme

Utterly painful to watch

I've never been sure if soaps are supposed to simulate real-life. If they are meant for this purpose, that's got to be the biggest waste of time in history. Why simulate real-life? We can all admit that most of our lives are repetitive and dull, so why would anyone want to watch a simulation of that, played out by people who don't even exist?

Eastenders is unconvincing to the extreme. Nobody seems to own a computer, washing machine or car. People seem to buy shares in local businesses within a matter seconds, with someone owning "half the Arches" or "half the Vic". Sam walks around with "the books", which really are books! Most business managers have computers and accountants to do that for them. Those who run stalls on the market like to leave their livelihoods with friends, simply handing over their money pouches. They're the lucky ones - a lot of the cast don't have jobs at all so how they manage to survive in east London is beyond me.

The "gangsters" are so unrealistic it's hard to watch. The scripts are terrible, mainly down to watershed restrictions, so the writers cannot include most swear-words and are forced to use words like "moron", "idiot" and "wally" which don't really work on the same scale.

Strangely enough, soaps are the shows that are watched the most in the UK, and I don't understand this. Numerous soap magazines are on the shelves, and these tell us what's going to happen in the coming weeks, so nobody really needs to watch at all.

I don't understand the concept of soaps, why anyone feels the need to watch and why there are so many.