The AxeMan cometh. DTC has begun to wield. First, we had the news that Kirsty, Carl, Ajay and Poopy-La-Dim were for the chop, then we got told that The Magic Negro and Sam the Sham will be on their merry way.
Two-thirds of Treadwell-Collins's terminations are valid - Ajay was simply a casting to fill up an ethnic quota, Poopy was a ridiculous blend of caricature and passive-aggressive bullying, and Ava and Sam are characters without thought, history or direction.
But I'm a bit suspect about Kirsty and Carl, and I'm wondering if this is more of the actors, themselves, deciding to call it a day, rather than the fey Mr Treadwell-Collins calling time for them.
Keirston Wareing had and has a budding indie film career on the rise, and recently she has openly expressed a desire not to be a long-term commodity within a soap opera. Daniel Coonan is RSC;once again, he might want to return to his stage roots rather than risk becoming a staple in a "continuing drama." Still, I'll be sorry to see both go.
Kirsty was an interesting character, in whom the Executive Producer somehow lost interest along the way. The false pregnancy storyline, where there wasn't an episode for about four weeks where we didn't see Kirsty writhe around in bed was the death knell for the character. Carl was the most nuanced male character introduced into the soap since Max Branning. Add the fact that we met his mother and brother - both of whom were interesting (especially the mum) and we had the making of Phil's successor.
The rest, I could care less about. As for Alice, I think the actress has known for awhile that she was leaving. She became redundant the moment Michael Moon showed an interest, and that was after we knew Steve John Shepherd was leaving. Any viewer with a soupcon of nous could have figured out that Alice would figure in Michael's departure/demise and leave thereafter.
What amazes me is that the likes of David Witts still remains.
As for the face-saving lie EastEnders is promoting about Ava being hired expressly for this kidneygate reprise and Cornell S John being a "guest" character ... please, stop insulting our intelligence. Newman waxed lyrical about offering Claire Perkins a permanent position when the actress was only supposed to be a five-episode character, and Sam was brought in for one reason only - the Hartman-James contingent was really the much-lamented "new family."
I'm just amazed they've decided to keep that worthess piece of flesh known as DexTAAAAA on. I suppose now DTC will lunk him, Fatboy, the hapless Tamwar and Jay into some sort of Home for Unwed Men digs.
Move along. Plenty more he could have axed (especially in the young contingent), but I guess they're just too pretty.
The Mitchell Bitch.
I know it's fashionable for all the numpties on Digital Spy and that old irrelevant trout, vald, to pile on the Sharon hatred, but I've got some news for them: EastEnders didn't begin when John Yorke became EP, and Sharon was never the tragedy queen Berridge and the Shannis-shippers made her to be.
The problem with Sharon this time around comes from the writing and the fact that most long-term viewers are unfamiliar with seeing her as a mother.
For the record, Sharon never "longed" for motherhood. Like Peggy, her baby was the Vic. When Grant "decided" they'd have a family, Sharon balked, even took birth control pills on the sly, and when Grant found out, he ripped the Vic apart. (You surely didn't think Bradders and Stacey were the original of that storyline, did you?) She later aborted Grant's baby. She refused even to adopt a child with Phil, and never once mentioned regret at her "infertility" with Dennis.
The unrealistic pregnancy was a sop to Shannis-shippers as an apology for killing their idol off.
Unlike Bianca, Zainab and Kat, we never saw Sharon pregnant, never saw her give birth or nurture a small child, so to have her suddenly sprung on us as a mother is an uncertain sight.
RoNostril, on the other hand, is someone who thinks she is entitled to be a mother, but who really isn't capable, emotionally or common sensically. I mean, who the hell takes a day-old baby out in the cold of December and swans around with him? The kid still had his incubation cap on his little head. Or who puts a day-old infant down in one room, then falls asleep in another room all afternoon, waking to find him dead?
And here's another revelation: RoNostril owns jack shit. The fact that Phil asked her to "look after" the club doesn't mean she's "entitled" to his majority share. She owns nothing of that business. She sold her share of the club to Jack in 2009, who sold this onto Phil the following year. Roxy sold her interest to Janine, and Phil gifted 19% of his share to Sharon.
Sharon was in the right to upbraid that plastic-faced bitch and remind her that she was a share-holder. If anything, BotoxWoman should have been helping out with the cleaning. Sharon and Janine have managed that club for the most part, and Janine should really have been there, throwing her weight around the Ice Queen.
RoNostril is exactly what Michael Moon described her as being - a functioning psychopath. She derides Sharon because Sharon dared to become engaged to Jack. She was doing shit to run that club besides having a personal phonecall with Jack about their dinner plans when she should have been helping with the cleaning. She is there as long as Phil says she's there, and then she's gone. Her words to Sharon were out of order, and her giggling bitchy remark about Sharon to Kirsty showed her to be just as manipulative a bitch as she was shown to be with Roxy later.
And speaking of Roxy, how fucking unhealthy a co-dependency does she have with RoNostril? It's almost as if they were lovers instead of sisters. Once again ... Alfie never denied her seeing her sister, just not at the pub. Now we have her lying to the man she's supposed to love and whom she intends to marry. What does she expect? That he'll come around and be nice to RoNostril once they're married?
All of a sudden, RoNostril's crime is something trivial. She not only took a child and kept him for four months, she left a dead child in his place. There are two cases in the US at the moment, where children who were kidnapped from their parents for several years have been found with their kidnappers - both women who wanted children. Guess what? These women are going to prison for a long time. Line of the night actually goes to RoNostril:
You know, I shouldn't even be in Walford.
No, bitch, you shouldn't. Nor would you be allowed to be. Where is your probation officer? That person would certainly have made an appearance by now to see where she was living and if she were adhering to the terms of her licence; because make no mistake: RoNostril hasn't "done her time." She's out on licence. Just like Derek. Just like Carl. Just like Bianca.
Indeed, she only came back to Walford for Roxy (and, maybe, Jack). Of course, she did. She never wanted to see Jack until she found out he was getting married; and she certainly psychologically scotched that, didn't she? And, finding Roxy in what is probably her first adult relationship, she's setting about undermining that as well. Roxy can never have a relationship with RoNostril about. You think she'd realise that, but RoNostril's presence reduces Roxy to the emotional state of a 35 year-old child, incapable of making her own decisions. Remember how RoNostril wanted to "raise" Amy with Roxy? Creepy.
Making RoNostril chief Mitchell is like making Michael Moon the ideal husband.
My Sharona and Phil.
After reading various accounts from the ever-reliable Digital Spy numpties, I was pleasantly surprised at the scene between Sharon and Phil. I took it as a positive, and Phil - I thought - was actually showing concern for Sharon and her plight. But defending RoNostril as "family" was a joke, even patronising Sharon to the point of assuming that managing the club would put her under undue stress and bring about her addiction issues again. Worse, was him suggesting that she sell her shares of the club, sit back on her profit and "be a better mum" to Dennis - says the man who raised a killer, wouldn't accept his son's sexuality and then covered his crime, willing to see innocent people be punished for that.
The Mitchell hypocrisy never ceases to amaze me. Had the tables been turned and had it been Kat Moon who'd taken a Mitchell-Branning baby, there'd be no end of recriminations, and Kat would have been run out of town. But on this occasion, Ronnie's "done her time." Oh, so that's all right then.
The Ignorance of Youth.
Well, specifically Jay.
A couple of months back, and Jay was handing DexTAAA his arse about his attitude toward Sam, urging him to get to know and give his dad a chance. Now, when DexTAAAA wants to do something positive and, in effect, life-saving, for his father, Jay's all for DexTAAAA dropping him lie the proverbial hot potato - as well as exhibiting what a dumbass he was.
Fact: DexTAAAA will do quite well with one less kidney, thank you very much, as long as he doesn't do contact sports. The operation won't kill him at all, but Sam will have to live on anti-rejection drugs for the rest of his life. Jay's "read books" about kidney operations. As if.
That lie was borne out when he tried to get Abi to Google kidney horror stories to prove a point he was incapable of making. And the point? That Jay's mates aren't allowed to lay their lives on the line for their parents because Jay doesn't have any parents, himself? You know if that were Jase needing a kidney, Jay would be first in line to donate.
The rest of the youth brigade was boring as usual - poor pitiful Lauren's redemption as the Vic cleaner continues, exacerbated by Roxy's contempt at the fact that Alfie would even hire the kid whose father attempted to kill King Phil; but then, Roxy should realise this about the man she loves: he has compassion for people, something she should show more of. Still, the Gurning Girl was out in force tonight in her blow-off of Joey, so how long before the Vic has a new chef named Jake Stone? As well as a new love triangle (yawn).
FatAbi, well, the less said, the better.
The Newman Negroes: Kidneygate and Sharona.
Who cares? Really? All three are unlikeable. The most surprising thing about this episode was the fact that Ava the Rava was shown at work. A Deputy Head who teaches or did she get a demotion?
The scene with Sharon showed both of them as being as bad as the other. Sam visits Ava at her place of work, which he shouldn't do, on a personal manner, when she's awaiting a parent visit. They're enjoying a snog, when Sharon shows up early. Ava shows her annoyance - unprofessional.
Is Sharon delusional about Denny? Well, no more delusional than Dot was about Nick. She's a single parent, whose husband died violently before their son was born. She's been rejected by her birth family and literally all of her adoptive family are dead. Unlike other mothers of Walford terrors, she has no emotional support or no network of familial support. Sharon has Dennis and he has Sharon. Is the kid likeable? Nope.
Maybe a re-cast is on the cards, but a re-cast Denny should be seen sparingly. Sharon was unbearable in the scene with Ava, but Ava was equally unprofessional. Ava should know Dennis's background - living in a B and B, moving around, no male role model in his life, a peripatetic existence - all have an adverse affect on such a child, but Ava is only concerned with telling Sharon how much of a negative influence her child is on the class - something a teacher never does with a parent; nor do you admit you're having a bad day. Actually, if Ava were so upset about Sam, she should have cancelled the meeting.
Tales of the Unexpected.
Tamwar doesn't know how to ride a bike, yet he spent all of five minutes talking with the Walford Bike, Kat Moon. Actually, one of the better scenes in Monday's episode, was the interaction between Kat and Kirsty. I've always liked that potential friendship, more than the heckling and cacklefest with Bianca; but there's precious little scope for that now that Wareing is leaving.
But what's happened to Alice?
She goes to bed with a hangover and wakes up totally under the influence of Michael Moon. Tam described it as a cult-like dependence - all of a sudden? WTF? Moon speaks and she obeys. Like all of a sudden? One minute she's desperate for her and Tam to be an "item" and the next, she's Michael Moon's automaton.
I suppose that this is a cack-handed intimation that Alice really isn't all there. I'm predicting that she kills Michael with the sharp end of a comb and then goes catatonic, speechless and is sectioned immediately. Shame, her brother's staying.
Not a brilliant episode, but not as dire as some have been.
Two-thirds of Treadwell-Collins's terminations are valid - Ajay was simply a casting to fill up an ethnic quota, Poopy was a ridiculous blend of caricature and passive-aggressive bullying, and Ava and Sam are characters without thought, history or direction.
But I'm a bit suspect about Kirsty and Carl, and I'm wondering if this is more of the actors, themselves, deciding to call it a day, rather than the fey Mr Treadwell-Collins calling time for them.
Keirston Wareing had and has a budding indie film career on the rise, and recently she has openly expressed a desire not to be a long-term commodity within a soap opera. Daniel Coonan is RSC;once again, he might want to return to his stage roots rather than risk becoming a staple in a "continuing drama." Still, I'll be sorry to see both go.
Kirsty was an interesting character, in whom the Executive Producer somehow lost interest along the way. The false pregnancy storyline, where there wasn't an episode for about four weeks where we didn't see Kirsty writhe around in bed was the death knell for the character. Carl was the most nuanced male character introduced into the soap since Max Branning. Add the fact that we met his mother and brother - both of whom were interesting (especially the mum) and we had the making of Phil's successor.
The rest, I could care less about. As for Alice, I think the actress has known for awhile that she was leaving. She became redundant the moment Michael Moon showed an interest, and that was after we knew Steve John Shepherd was leaving. Any viewer with a soupcon of nous could have figured out that Alice would figure in Michael's departure/demise and leave thereafter.
What amazes me is that the likes of David Witts still remains.
As for the face-saving lie EastEnders is promoting about Ava being hired expressly for this kidneygate reprise and Cornell S John being a "guest" character ... please, stop insulting our intelligence. Newman waxed lyrical about offering Claire Perkins a permanent position when the actress was only supposed to be a five-episode character, and Sam was brought in for one reason only - the Hartman-James contingent was really the much-lamented "new family."
I'm just amazed they've decided to keep that worthess piece of flesh known as DexTAAAAA on. I suppose now DTC will lunk him, Fatboy, the hapless Tamwar and Jay into some sort of Home for Unwed Men digs.
Move along. Plenty more he could have axed (especially in the young contingent), but I guess they're just too pretty.
The Mitchell Bitch.
I know it's fashionable for all the numpties on Digital Spy and that old irrelevant trout, vald, to pile on the Sharon hatred, but I've got some news for them: EastEnders didn't begin when John Yorke became EP, and Sharon was never the tragedy queen Berridge and the Shannis-shippers made her to be.
The problem with Sharon this time around comes from the writing and the fact that most long-term viewers are unfamiliar with seeing her as a mother.
For the record, Sharon never "longed" for motherhood. Like Peggy, her baby was the Vic. When Grant "decided" they'd have a family, Sharon balked, even took birth control pills on the sly, and when Grant found out, he ripped the Vic apart. (You surely didn't think Bradders and Stacey were the original of that storyline, did you?) She later aborted Grant's baby. She refused even to adopt a child with Phil, and never once mentioned regret at her "infertility" with Dennis.
The unrealistic pregnancy was a sop to Shannis-shippers as an apology for killing their idol off.
Unlike Bianca, Zainab and Kat, we never saw Sharon pregnant, never saw her give birth or nurture a small child, so to have her suddenly sprung on us as a mother is an uncertain sight.
RoNostril, on the other hand, is someone who thinks she is entitled to be a mother, but who really isn't capable, emotionally or common sensically. I mean, who the hell takes a day-old baby out in the cold of December and swans around with him? The kid still had his incubation cap on his little head. Or who puts a day-old infant down in one room, then falls asleep in another room all afternoon, waking to find him dead?
And here's another revelation: RoNostril owns jack shit. The fact that Phil asked her to "look after" the club doesn't mean she's "entitled" to his majority share. She owns nothing of that business. She sold her share of the club to Jack in 2009, who sold this onto Phil the following year. Roxy sold her interest to Janine, and Phil gifted 19% of his share to Sharon.
Sharon was in the right to upbraid that plastic-faced bitch and remind her that she was a share-holder. If anything, BotoxWoman should have been helping out with the cleaning. Sharon and Janine have managed that club for the most part, and Janine should really have been there, throwing her weight around the Ice Queen.
RoNostril is exactly what Michael Moon described her as being - a functioning psychopath. She derides Sharon because Sharon dared to become engaged to Jack. She was doing shit to run that club besides having a personal phonecall with Jack about their dinner plans when she should have been helping with the cleaning. She is there as long as Phil says she's there, and then she's gone. Her words to Sharon were out of order, and her giggling bitchy remark about Sharon to Kirsty showed her to be just as manipulative a bitch as she was shown to be with Roxy later.
And speaking of Roxy, how fucking unhealthy a co-dependency does she have with RoNostril? It's almost as if they were lovers instead of sisters. Once again ... Alfie never denied her seeing her sister, just not at the pub. Now we have her lying to the man she's supposed to love and whom she intends to marry. What does she expect? That he'll come around and be nice to RoNostril once they're married?
All of a sudden, RoNostril's crime is something trivial. She not only took a child and kept him for four months, she left a dead child in his place. There are two cases in the US at the moment, where children who were kidnapped from their parents for several years have been found with their kidnappers - both women who wanted children. Guess what? These women are going to prison for a long time. Line of the night actually goes to RoNostril:
You know, I shouldn't even be in Walford.
No, bitch, you shouldn't. Nor would you be allowed to be. Where is your probation officer? That person would certainly have made an appearance by now to see where she was living and if she were adhering to the terms of her licence; because make no mistake: RoNostril hasn't "done her time." She's out on licence. Just like Derek. Just like Carl. Just like Bianca.
Indeed, she only came back to Walford for Roxy (and, maybe, Jack). Of course, she did. She never wanted to see Jack until she found out he was getting married; and she certainly psychologically scotched that, didn't she? And, finding Roxy in what is probably her first adult relationship, she's setting about undermining that as well. Roxy can never have a relationship with RoNostril about. You think she'd realise that, but RoNostril's presence reduces Roxy to the emotional state of a 35 year-old child, incapable of making her own decisions. Remember how RoNostril wanted to "raise" Amy with Roxy? Creepy.
Making RoNostril chief Mitchell is like making Michael Moon the ideal husband.
My Sharona and Phil.
After reading various accounts from the ever-reliable Digital Spy numpties, I was pleasantly surprised at the scene between Sharon and Phil. I took it as a positive, and Phil - I thought - was actually showing concern for Sharon and her plight. But defending RoNostril as "family" was a joke, even patronising Sharon to the point of assuming that managing the club would put her under undue stress and bring about her addiction issues again. Worse, was him suggesting that she sell her shares of the club, sit back on her profit and "be a better mum" to Dennis - says the man who raised a killer, wouldn't accept his son's sexuality and then covered his crime, willing to see innocent people be punished for that.
The Mitchell hypocrisy never ceases to amaze me. Had the tables been turned and had it been Kat Moon who'd taken a Mitchell-Branning baby, there'd be no end of recriminations, and Kat would have been run out of town. But on this occasion, Ronnie's "done her time." Oh, so that's all right then.
The Ignorance of Youth.
Well, specifically Jay.
A couple of months back, and Jay was handing DexTAAA his arse about his attitude toward Sam, urging him to get to know and give his dad a chance. Now, when DexTAAAA wants to do something positive and, in effect, life-saving, for his father, Jay's all for DexTAAAA dropping him lie the proverbial hot potato - as well as exhibiting what a dumbass he was.
Fact: DexTAAAA will do quite well with one less kidney, thank you very much, as long as he doesn't do contact sports. The operation won't kill him at all, but Sam will have to live on anti-rejection drugs for the rest of his life. Jay's "read books" about kidney operations. As if.
That lie was borne out when he tried to get Abi to Google kidney horror stories to prove a point he was incapable of making. And the point? That Jay's mates aren't allowed to lay their lives on the line for their parents because Jay doesn't have any parents, himself? You know if that were Jase needing a kidney, Jay would be first in line to donate.
The rest of the youth brigade was boring as usual - poor pitiful Lauren's redemption as the Vic cleaner continues, exacerbated by Roxy's contempt at the fact that Alfie would even hire the kid whose father attempted to kill King Phil; but then, Roxy should realise this about the man she loves: he has compassion for people, something she should show more of. Still, the Gurning Girl was out in force tonight in her blow-off of Joey, so how long before the Vic has a new chef named Jake Stone? As well as a new love triangle (yawn).
FatAbi, well, the less said, the better.
The Newman Negroes: Kidneygate and Sharona.
Who cares? Really? All three are unlikeable. The most surprising thing about this episode was the fact that Ava the Rava was shown at work. A Deputy Head who teaches or did she get a demotion?
The scene with Sharon showed both of them as being as bad as the other. Sam visits Ava at her place of work, which he shouldn't do, on a personal manner, when she's awaiting a parent visit. They're enjoying a snog, when Sharon shows up early. Ava shows her annoyance - unprofessional.
Is Sharon delusional about Denny? Well, no more delusional than Dot was about Nick. She's a single parent, whose husband died violently before their son was born. She's been rejected by her birth family and literally all of her adoptive family are dead. Unlike other mothers of Walford terrors, she has no emotional support or no network of familial support. Sharon has Dennis and he has Sharon. Is the kid likeable? Nope.
Maybe a re-cast is on the cards, but a re-cast Denny should be seen sparingly. Sharon was unbearable in the scene with Ava, but Ava was equally unprofessional. Ava should know Dennis's background - living in a B and B, moving around, no male role model in his life, a peripatetic existence - all have an adverse affect on such a child, but Ava is only concerned with telling Sharon how much of a negative influence her child is on the class - something a teacher never does with a parent; nor do you admit you're having a bad day. Actually, if Ava were so upset about Sam, she should have cancelled the meeting.
Tales of the Unexpected.
Tamwar doesn't know how to ride a bike, yet he spent all of five minutes talking with the Walford Bike, Kat Moon. Actually, one of the better scenes in Monday's episode, was the interaction between Kat and Kirsty. I've always liked that potential friendship, more than the heckling and cacklefest with Bianca; but there's precious little scope for that now that Wareing is leaving.
But what's happened to Alice?
I suppose that this is a cack-handed intimation that Alice really isn't all there. I'm predicting that she kills Michael with the sharp end of a comb and then goes catatonic, speechless and is sectioned immediately. Shame, her brother's staying.
Not a brilliant episode, but not as dire as some have been.
That vaslav37 called your blog a trolls paradise when someone told him the claims he was making about Letitia and Newman were liable in the Ronnie vs Sharon thread. Digital Spy removed all the posts. Did you get to see what was said?
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