This is my TV Drama Case Study of the popular BBC1 show, EastEnders.

1. TV drama case study:

2. Information about EastEnders:
EastEnders was created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland.
Some cast members include Letitia Dean (Sharon Watts), Adam Woodyatt (Ian Beale), June Brown
(Dot Cotton) , Steve McFadden (Phil Mitchell) and Barbara Windsor (Peggy Mitchel).
As of 10th October 2014 there has been 4940 episodes of EastEnders.
Each episode costs roughly £250,000 per episode.
EastEnders is shown on BBC 1 on Mondays 8pm-8.30pm, Tuesday 7.30pm-8pm, Thursday 7.30pm-
8pm and Fridays 8pm-8.30pm.
The first broadcast was in the United Kingdom on BBC 1 on 19th February 1985 and it’s still shown
today.

3. Ratings
An average EastEnders episode attracts a total audience share between 35 and 40%. Aside from
that, the 10pm repeat showing on BBC Three attracts an average of 500,000 viewers, whilst the
Sunday omnibus generally attracts 3 million. EastEnders is one of the more popular programmes
on British television and regularly attracts between 8 and 12 million viewers in official ratings.
 The launch show in 1985 attracted around 17 million viewers. The Christmas Day 1986 episode
attracted a combined 30.15 million viewers who tuned into either the original or omnibus repeat
transmission to see Den Watts hand over divorce papers to wife Angie. This remains the highest
rated episode of a soap in British television history.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcqqJc4xYxQ

4. Critical Acclaim
 EastEnders is the most complained about programme on the BBC. It has received both praise and criticism for most of its
storylines, which have dealt with difficult themes, such as violence, rape, murder and child abuse.
 Mary Whitehouse argued at the time that EastEnders represented a violation of "family viewing time" and that it
undermined the watershed policy. She regarded EastEnders as a fundamental assault on the family and morality itself.
She made reference to representation of family life and emphasis on psychological and emotional violence within the
show.
 In 1997, several episodes were shot and set in Ireland, resulting in criticisms for portraying the Irish in a negatively
stereotypical way. Ted Barrington, the Irish Ambassador to the UK at the time, described the portrayal of Ireland as an
"unrepresentative caricature", stating he was worried by the negative stereotypes and the images of drunkenness,
backwardness and isolation.
 The long-running storyline of Mark Fowler's HIV was so successful in raising awareness that in 1999, a survey by the
National Aids Trust found teenagers got most of their information about HIV from the soap, though one campaigner
noted that in some ways the storyline was not reflective of what was happening at the time as the condition was more
common among the gay community.

5.  The child abuse storyline with Kat Slater and her uncle Harry saw calls to the National Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) go up by 60%. The chief executive of the NSPCC
praised the storyline for covering the subject in a direct and sensitive way, coming to the
conclusion that people were more likely to report any issues relating to child protection because
of it. In 2002, EastEnders also won an award from the Mental Health Media Awards held at BAFTA
for this storyline.
EastEnders is often criticised for being too violent, most notably during a domestic violence
storyline between Little Mo Morgan and her husband Trevor. As EastEnders is shown pre-watershed,
there were worries that some scenes in this storyline were too graphic for its
audience
The BBC was accused of anti-religious bias by a House of Lords committee, who cited EastEnders
as an example. Dr. Indarjit Singh, editor of the Sikh Messenger and patron of the World Congress
of Faiths, said: "EastEnders' Dot Cotton is an example. She quotes endlessly from the Bible and it
ridicules religion to some extent.“
 The birth of Billy and Honey Mitchell's baby, Janet, diagnosed with Down's syndrome, was
criticised by the Royal College of Midwives for being inaccurate and unrealistic.

6. In 2008, the show was criticised for stereotyping their Asian and Black characters, by having a
black single mum, Denise Wicks, and an Asian shopkeeper, Zainab Masood.
 In October 2012, a storyline involving Lola Pearce, forced to hand over her baby Lexi, was
criticised by the charity The Who Cares? Trust, who called the storyline an "unhelpful portrayal"
and said it had already received calls from members of the public who were "distressed about the
EastEnders scene where a social worker snatches a baby from its mother's arms“
 In October 2014, the BBC defended a storyline, after receiving 278 complaints about the 6
October 2014 episode where pub landlady Linda Carter was raped.

7. Camera techniques/shots
• EastEnders use a layout which enables them to save time when editing as
the scenes will be shot from different angles an there’s no need for re-lighting
so shots will be filmed much quicker. However in certain shots they
have to be careful that the audience can’t see another camera in the
background. EastEnders doesn’t film live but there has been circumstances
where it has and there’s been various problems with making sure the
actor/actress speaking can be seen, whether they forget their lines or
whether there’s no cameras in the background.
• EastEnders visual style is often long shots if they need to display to the
audience the bigger picture of what's going on. A midshot if the audience
needs to concentrate on a certain object and they use close ups when an
important conversation is taking place.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqaXrToCFhA&index=23&list=PL0CA09
4302E11DBBB – example of a scene in EastEnders where midshot is used.

8. Mise-en-scene
• In the homes they represent they can be quite realistic. They don't
replicate interior design developments and the latest trends and
gadgets you can get within the home. Although not much technology
is seen within the soap such as laptops, this could be because it's
showing a lower/working class society.
• Around the market the retail outlets are not showing any window
displays or signs about the recession, nor is there any emphasis on
the economic deprivation. The society of EastEnders doesn't change
often, the dynamics remain the same. There maybe a few indications
of the recession within dialogue or one narrative strand. It doesn't
keep up to date with a true reality. It shows a very small world that is
stuck in its ways.
• In homes you can see dirty plates in the sink and beside the basin.
This can be a realistic representation showing people do actually live
there. It's showing a certain lifestyle, people of a middle class may
have a dishwasher. It also shows characteristics of characters, they
show the characters to not be particularly house proud. This does
differ amongst other characters, not everyone is shown to be living
like this. EastEnders is very good at giving impressions of diverse living
styles.

9. Sound and editing techniques
Steve Owen goes out with a car chase and a bang - EastEnders - BBC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og_AsF4W4RA
(analysis of the clip on following slide)

10. • Diegetic Sounds play a big part in building suspense and tension in this clip. Right from the start the
sounds of the road and cars signify danger, the car revving and skidding noises build the suspense and
feature more heavily at the end of the clip leading up to the crash. Certain moments are highlighted by
sound, like the key in the ignition and the car door slamming. Also, the phone ringing almost sounds like an
alarm, signifying danger. This also sets of alarm bells off in the audiences heads, as we know its dangerous
to drive and answer the phone. Both cars in the chase use their horns showing the tension and anger
between the characters. The horns are also used when the cars avoid passers-by, creating tension as the
audience wonders if they will knock them down. When the audience hears the school children near the
end of the clip the suspense levels reach a high as the audience is almost on the edge of their seat
wondering if anything could happen to one of the children. It is almost a relief when the vehicle crashes
and shortly after we hear the explosion which marks the end of the clip.
• The editing in this clip contributes hugely to the feeling of suspense and tension. The duration of each shot
is usually short and the clip is fast paced giving a sense of urgency. There are many cut-away shots which
allow the audience to glimpse at the potential danger and then back at Steve in the car. There is linear
narrative and continuity editing because events happen chronologically, this builds up the story and gives
meaning to each shot. The fast paced yet seamless editing makes the clip easy to watch, and seeing the
shots build in speed up to the crash creates a sense of suspension and tension building up to the
explosion.

11. How different groups are
represented
Women
• The young, single woman characters tend to conform to the mannequin
image, being tall, slim, conventionally beautiful, and usually they are
portrayed as being the 'girl next door' type character, friendly, happy, not
very intelligent, and rarely aim high in a career. Examples would include
Samantha - EastEnders.
• When these characters do try to further themselves in a career, they
always seem to fail; for example, Samantha Mitchell from EastEnders left
her husband Ricky Butcher to pursue a career in modelling, but was
unsuccessful. In this way, women are often punished for pursuing their
careers at the expense of their men. There is, however, a lot of images of
men and women working together to achieve things, usually a husband /
wife, girlfriend / boyfriend relationship. In fact, men and women in soaps
are probably more equal than in any other genre of television
programming. By playing down male domination, soap operas make the
family more palatable.

12. Muslims
• A Muslim called Syed Masood married Amira, but is
gay and having an affair with a man called Christian.
Syed’s otherwise liberal and nominal Muslim family are
less than impressed. When it was revealed at a family
party that Syed is gay, words like “abomination” were
thrown around. – link to clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQYG4O4fSyA
• The Masood’s attitude to homosexuality is very real. It
happens all over the place. In Islam, in Christianity, in
places where there is no religion at all. People are
forced into sham marriages because of attitudes to
homosexuality. This is a very real issue, and it is brave
of EastEnders to portray it.

13. Christians
• Part-time church pastor Lucas, who killed
his ex-wife in the allotment shed, is
threatening his daughter Chelsea with
judgement from “the scourge” if she has
her planned abortion, if she chooses not
to listen to him, god’s messenger.
• Sometimes there are people of religion
who stand by girls facing the abortion
decision, however Lucas' feelings are very
real and occur in every day life.

14. Young people
• In EastEnders Lauren Branning is represented as an alcoholic,
she’s often shown drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. When
she’s not drinking she's portrayed as innocent. Her addiction
stems from issues at home such as her mums cancer. Lauren is
portrayed negatively by EastEnders at first, however in later
episodes Lauren is able to overcome her addiction and move on
with her life, she gets a new boyfriend and starts up a business
with her best friend. This shows young people in a positive way
as Lauren had strong will power and could overcome alcoholism.
• Some more examples of teenagers and how they’re represented
in EastEnders are:
Whitney Dean- Prostitution, sexual abuse by her step father
Demi Miller- Pregnant at 13
Lucy Beale- Pregnancy and abortion, running away, pressure into
sex, truancy, cheating on exams, drinking, smoking etc.
Ben Mitchell - Child abuse (emotional) by step mother, youth
offenders unit, being bullied
Stacey Slater - Being a child carer to her mother jean, abortion,
mental health
Lola Mitchell – Pregnant at 16 after a one night stand