It was soon regretted, particularly when Michelle discovered that she was pregnant as a result of the one-night stand. She only told her brother Mark the true father of the baby (hence her son being named Mark Junior), and she moved to Alabama, United States when a job was offered to her there.

Michelle has since married (her current surname is unknown), and is living happily in Florida with her husband and children Vicki and Mark Junior (who has never been seen on screen).

Wikipedia knows everything.

I haven't watched Eastenders since Den and Angie ran the Queen Vic and Michelle was about to marry Lofty.

Likewise, Coronation Street. Last time I saw that, Len Fairclough and Ena Sharples were still in it.

And the last time I saw Emmerdale it was called Emmerdale Farm and was actually about farming, not lesbian glamour models and terrorists like it is now. In those days, a gripping plotline was whether or not Joe Sugden would rescue the sheep that was stuck on the ledge in the snow.

Did he rescue it? Did he?

Always. But it was usually - literally - a cliffhanger. I expect they probably ate the sheep once he got it safely back to t'farmhouse.

I still miss the mighty Brookside. Especially since I saw Jaqui Dixon and Rachel Jordache in Doctors the other week:

≡ Click to see image ≡

(I can't believe I just admitted to watching Doctors in a public forum.)

(I can't believe I just admitted to watching Doctors in a public forum.)
DOM DOM DOM, [begins eastender rolling credit theme tune]

Brookside was wonderful when it first started. I confess I had a big crush on Barry Grant. But after the 'body under the patio' business, it all started to get very, very silly and I stopped watching it.

anyone ever hear "pat n' peg," osymyso's remix of the eastenders theme from a few years ago? it was centered around a dynasty-style catfight between, well, pat n' peg. it's fookin' brilliant.

link

i loved the fact that i got the eastenders reference from the first season of the office, where a temp named ricky comes to work and david brent grabs him by the shirt and does a bad frank butcher impression - "ricky, nooooo!" - following it up with a nice strident "RICKAYYYY!" a la bianca.

you know what else is fun? finding the same satellite image from the intro on google earth, panning to the right while imitating those cheesy simmons pads from the theme song.

(eastenders fan over here too)

a nice strident "RICKAYYYY!" a la bianca

Heh. I know the woman who played Bianca and a few years ago when I had my old cat (now deceased), she came round to see me, along with some other friends. The cat was out, but we all made her call him in. His name was Ricky. Heee.

e/j. Check your email.

Wow, cmonkey. It didn't even occur to me to look on Wikipedia. Thanks! A storyline like that would never just be left hanging on American TV.

We get a more current run of Eastenders on BBC America, but it just doesn't interest me anymore. What did interest me, however, was the delicious awfulness of Footballers' Wives. Babies slathered with self tanner?!? Ballooning into lion enclosures?!? What is WRONG with you people over there?

jrossi, I live in a 'Footballer's Wives' area - lots of Spurs, Arsenal and West Ham players live round here, as well as a fair few soap stars. Just about all the women are perma-tanned, with expensively streaked hair, acrylic nails, designer clothes, driving bloody great SUVs (Hummers are starting to get popular round here now).Ugh!

essexjan: You think that's bad? I'm from Orange County, Calif., which we DO NOT EVER NOR HAVE WE EVER CALLED IT "THE OC," THANKYOUVERYMUCHYOUSTUPIDHOLLYWOODFOLK.

In addition to "that show" we also have to deal with this one: The Real Housewives of Orange County (Season 2)

Ya wanna see a real Orange County housewife? Come on back to my crib in the early '80s, when my mom made me macaroni and cheese and I watch cartoons on an old Zenith TV which had a broken knob. That's right, a knob to change the channels with.

My sister is also an Orange County housewife and she does not cruise around and get her nails done all day. She does have an SUV, but that's because she's got two kids and a chocolate Labrador retriever. She's also got a masters in education and was a kindergarten teacher before she decided to take care of my nieces full time.

*rolls eyes*

TrishaLynn, there was a series called "Essex Wives" a couple of years ago which featured the worst of the type. One of the women featured lives a mile from me. She and her husband bought this gorgeous old house and ripped out every original feature.

Whenever I walk past I hear them and their bratty kids yelling. Not arguing, but instead of going into the next room to speak to the person they want to talk to, they just yell from wherever else they are in the house.

I'd be surprised if there's a book in the house. I know there's a massive plasma screen TV, because you can see it when you walk past. It's always on, usually showing cartoons.