Tuesday, 4 January 2011

I'm over Eastenders!

I got hooked on the show about three years ago and though there isn't one handsome man or genuinely nice person in it, the amount of melodrama and murder kept me watching. But not any more. The latest plot twist involving the baby switch is just too horrid and too much.

It makes me think that the scriptwriters get together and, amidst goulish laughs, see who can come up with the most outrageous plot lines, with no regard whatsoever for the characters, or the feelings of the viewing audience. I find myself feeling sorry for the actors who have these storylines thrust upon them. How often, I wonder, do they cringe, or think, 'that's just not fair!' Yet, if they want to go on in the show and get paid their regular fee, there's sod all they can do about it.

It wasn't that long ago that poor Ronnie was reunited with the daughter she had as a teenager and was told by her wicked dad was dead, only to see her mown down by a car in front of her eyes. A few months later, she had a miscarriage, then at last got pregnant again, married Jack, with whom she'd been in love for years (the most wooden actor I have ever seen; who, when paralysed after being shot in the head looked no different from when he was normal), and finally had a baby at the same time as Cat had hers.

The lousy scriptwriters then decided that Ronnie's baby had to die. Not only that, but, while she was temporarily demented, and Cat was rushed to hospital with near-fatal bleeding, and Alfie, Cat's hubby was pissing it up in the pub, Ronnie took Cat's baby that was lying unattended in a room in the pub and left her own dead newborn son in its place.

For a short while, she pretended Cat's baby was hers, but then reason returned and she went to take it back, only to be stopped in her tracks by Jack, in one of the most contrived moments in a show chock-full of them. Jack thinks the baby is his and Ronnie is unable to take it back, so poor Cat and Alfie think their baby is dead.

I couldn't bear to watch last night's episode - especially as our friend down the road has gone into labour today. I hate the writers for using poor Ronnie, who was abused by her dad, who later left his millions to her spendthrift, featherbrained, bling-queen sister, Roxy, as their eternal punchbag. For once, I should like to have seen something go well for Ronnie in a series that specialises in having unlikeable characters commit ghastly crimes and get away with them.

So that's it. I'm not watching any more and it won't matter if Eastenders characters are wearing my clothes. (Mind you, that lilac top has still gone into the charity shop bag!)

5 comments:

Jackie Sayle said...

I gave up on Eastenders very early on in its early episodes, due to all the misery and the shouting in it. I always preferred Emmerdale Farm and Coronation Street. I haven't regularly watched any of the soaps for about 6 years now - they all seem much the same and follow each other's plots.

The only good thing in Eastenders is/was the wonderful June Brown as Dot Cotton.

Teresa Ashby said...

All that unrelenting misery - I'm glad I don't watch it any more!

Haz1558 said...

It's ghoulish rather than goulish. Feel free to correct and delete the comment! And Happy New Year.

hydra said...

Thank you, Has, you're quite right! And I shall leave the comment in. My fingers flew away with me on FB recently and I was hauled up by a friend for putting 'heals' instead of 'heels'. That was a really bad one and that time I DID delete both the post and the comment, as it reflected so badly on my skills as a proof-reader. We all have our off days!

Haz1558 said...

No problem, glad you're not annoyed! I don't follow Eastenders either but the plot sounds horrible. Lots of other people have complained, so you're not alone in feeling disgusted.