Just a quick post today. I'm finally in the mood for blogging, so thought I'd quickly jot down some of my thoughts on the shift currently happening in Classic EastEnders between Smith & Holland's original vision and the EastEnders we're more accustomed to now.
1988-89 saw something of a mass exile on the Square, with several original cast members departing around the same time as creators Julia Smith and Tony Holland (Anita Dobson, Leslie Grantham, Anna Wing, Linda Davidson, Nejdet Salih, Sandy Ratcliff, etc). However, there was evidently a conscious effort to balance this out with an onslaught of new arrivals into Walford. Although many didn't work (Paul Priestly, Marge Green, need I go on?), there were a couple that did.
Mo Butcher acted as a somewhat-successful squirt of Pollyfilla to plug a Lou Beale-shaped hole that threatened to engulf the Square. This reinforced the importance of an old-fashioned matriarchal character in the soap. Her grandson, the now infamous Ricky, took on a Nick Cotton-style racism story, which seems very out-of-character now, but I suppose it helped fulfil a light-hearted vision of villainy for the show. Finally, with Mary's exit and Donna's death, Cindy Beale was developed significantly by showcasing her manipulative, man-eating ways, thus paving the way for future 'soap bitches' (however, she somehow always managed to retain viewer sympathy in spite of this- being paired with Ian Beale has that effect...).
It seems that this period in the show cemented the workings of its future and reflects that way that many soaps operate; on a revolving door, rinse-and-repeat system. This is not a bad thing, by the way. Quite the contrary, in fact. One archetype leaves, and another character comes in to take its place. That's the beauty of soaps; none of its cast is bigger than the show. No matter how big of a loss a character is, a similar type will undoubtedly turn up sooner or later to feed the audience's appetite. Perhaps it's worth thinking about what this means in terms of whether the show is more character or issue-based in its roots? I would explore that further, but I wrote a whole 13,000 words on that for my dissertation, so I'd rather put that thought aside for the time being!
Soaps are supposed to reflect life, and rather magically, they do this both on-screen and off. Life has its ups and downs, its fulfilment and its emptiness. No other show can get away with the conveyor belt system in the way that soaps can. For example, the aforementioned Cindy was a fantastic character and played the role of resident soap bitch perfectly. However, although her death in 1998 was a huge loss to the show's future, her role was soon taken over by the likes of Louise Raymond, Janine Butcher and, of course, her own daughter, Lucy.
Then there's Ben Mitchell. Recently recast to the horror of many, however, Max Bowden's take on the character has seemingly won over viewers faster than many other recasts. This is likely because Ben is quite a different character compared to when we last saw him. Although this is, in a way, a shame, it was also an undeniably wise decision by TPTB. Ben's still the same man, but his characterisation is more mature and nuanced. Meanwhile, the hole left by the axing of his previous incarnations is easily filled by the likes of Hunter Owen, Bobby Beale and inevitable future angsty teens with daddy issues.
The handover from Smith & Holland to Mike Gibbon set the precedent for modern EastEnders. Okay, so the late '80s aren't fondly remembered by all of EastEnders' fans, but I'm certainly enjoying it. Admittedly, I miss such great firecrackers like Angie, Den and Lou, but it's refreshing to see some new stories and the impact of their exits upon others, especially Sharon and Michelle. No problem is too big to fix in soap, and that's why we stick by them, because we trust them and they have given us reason to do so!
Alright, waffling over! I'm off to do some ironing before tonight's double-bill of modern EE!
-ASIS
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