EastEnders (TV Series 1985– )

EastEnders: Created by Tony Holland, Julia Smith. With Adam Woodyatt, Steve McFadden, Pam St. Clement, Letitia Dean. The everyday lives of working-class inhabitants of Albert Square, a traditional Victorian square of terrace houses surrounding a park in the East End of London’s Walford borough. The square includes the Queen Vic pub and a street market.

“Iu0026#39;m an American who has watched u0026quot;EastEndersu0026quot; on and off on my local PBS station over the last 15 years. I find the show fascinating and itu0026#39;s not because the plots are particularly original or the acting is so amazing. Itu0026#39;s not the u0026quot;exoticu0026quot; location either, Iu0026#39;ve been to London a couple of times. No, the reason I canu0026#39;t stop watching u0026quot;EastEndersu0026quot; is because itu0026#39;s the complete polar opposite of an American soap opera!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOn an American soap opera, everyone is attractive or at least above-average looking. On EastEnders, (although they will occasionally throw in an attractive person to confuse you, I mean is Rosieu0026#39;s older daughter a super-model for that neighborhood or what?) everyone is pretty much average to below-average looking. Thereu0026#39;s one character who always looks like heu0026#39;s in desperate need of a blood transfusion and another who is quite simply the ugliest human being Iu0026#39;ve ever seen on scripted television.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOn an AS, everyone is always fashionably dressed and impeccably groomed. I donu0026#39;t think you ever even see anyone in the same outfit twice. While watching EE, I sometimes wonder if the actors didnu0026#39;t do their own hair and makeup and bring clothes from home. On second thought, most of the actors would probably dress better than their characters.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOn an AS, everyone has a glamorous and/or high-profile and/or high-paying and/or highly- respected career, e.g. doctor, model, cosmetics tycoon, writer, chief of police (even if they only appear to be about 20 years-old!), etc. On EE, the characters work in stalls at the street market, in pubs, cafés, garages, and laundromats. The most successful guy in the neighborhood is the guy who owns the café.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eYou really canu0026#39;t help but feel pretty good about yourself and your life after watching EE.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere are some other characters on EE that you typically wouldnu0026#39;t see on an AS, like a 14 year- old (who looks like a 12 year-old) girl with a baby and a man who seems to be in at least his mid-forties who canu0026#39;t read or write. One nice thing is that the writers donu0026#39;t seem to consider people over the age of 40 too old for romance. People in their 40s, 50s, 60s and older are depicted dating and even getting married. Iu0026#39;ve laughed out loud at a few hilarious moments involving horny seniors Pat, Patrick and Big Mo.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMy favorite character is Dot Cotton/Brown, the church-lady type who gets some good lines. The actress who plays her is 88 years-old and itu0026#39;s pretty impressive that sheu0026#39;s still working a grueling soap schedule and memorizing tons of dialogue.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIs EE a great show? No. Is it even a very good show? No. Will I keep watching? Well, yeah. We only get 2 episodes a week in the States (weu0026#39;re 10 years behind the UK, episode-wise), thatu0026#39;s not enough to kill the novelty factor. I wouldnu0026#39;t watch u0026quot;Days of Our Livesu0026quot; but Iu0026#39;ll watch u0026quot;EastEndersu0026quot; and feel like a successful super-model when the end-credits roll!”