Skeinspotting

Eastenders Live Episode

Normally I can take or leave a soap but I was mesmerised by the last live episode of Eastenders..oooooh it was good wasn't it? The actors go in through the doors of the Queen Vic Pub, then camera cuts away and those poor actors have to get on a buggy and be transported to the studio for the Queen Vic interior.



Bradley manages to seamlessly shin up a drainpipe like 'e woz goin' up apples and pears, edge his way round, scream out from the roof and then fall backwards off the roof....it was a shocker to see it live! Once again, the production was amazing because they edit away, then put a stunt man in....but this is all totally live just like a theatre production.

None of the characters knew 'who dunnit' (killed Archie) until just before going live. There were a possible 10 murderers and they recorded 10 possible endings, for the actors to learn their bits etc and then none of them knew if it was going to be them

It was a good 'un. And I am not sure how they are going to have a pre-recorded episode ready for Monday, if the actors didn't know 'who dunnit' how could they have learned their lines and recorded an episode following the last live one?

Cor blimey guv'na, they is good! 'Appy Burfday 'Stenders!It's 25 yrs old. What was I doing 25 yrs ago? I was working on an arts magazine called EAR for short, or East End Arts Review and I remember inwardly rolling my eyes at a review my colleague had written on the new East End soap (this one of course).....he used the word iconclastic to describe a pint of Churchill's in the Queen Vic pub, so even in a down to earth TV review of a drama based on the common man, he had managed to be a total ponce!