I must say the show is on a role again. The past two months worth of episodes have been positively brilliant. Everything from the sneaky going ons between Lucy & her troublemaking boyfriend to knowing the psychotic little toad owns a gun, Samantha Janus looking like she owns the Queen Vic, and then ultimately the fantastic scene where Rob Kazinsky acted his socks off as he dwelled on his time in the army. I've never been a fan of this actor because I never liked the character of Sean Slater however after seeing his face turn purple as he expressed how the adrenelin used to pump through his blood whilst on duty, I'll be sitting up and taking notice from now on. He hooked you into the scene in such a way that you actually could believe he was in the army.
I think the casting makes such a difference> The new guy for example is perfect in his role whereas a character like Sean just doesnt work for me. The actor isnt great and the character is cliched to the point of irritation.
But the storylines are currently working well, it feels like they removed the rust and now the wheels are beginning to turn. Finally.
I have to say I am enjoying it far more than any other soap at the moment and actually look forward to it. Even my Dad has discovered an interest in EE (the last time that peaked was around Den's comeback). The culmination of the (simply has to be a classic one day IMO) Stella storyline has bought with it great scripts, superb acting, a good balance of some much needed humour and an interesting debut for two new Mitchells.
I just hope they can keep this improvement up, as atm it all feels spot on!