I’ve always been amazed by how soap operas manage to pull off spectacular stunt sequences on a shoestring budget; scenes like the tram crash on Coronation Street and the highway pile-up on Emmerdale are scenes straight out of a Hollywood production.
This week, EastEnders tried something new: a nightclub crowd crush. It sounds risky and would have been challenging to pull off. But what they accomplished made for very realistic and suspenseful television, making me writhe with just the appropriate amount of unease—being crushed in a throng is something that completely worries me.
A few years ago at a New Year street event, I was caught in a claustrophic mob, separated from family and friends and barely able to breathe. The area was fenced in far too tightly and tickets had clearly been oversold in comparison to the available space.
Watching EastEnders’ nightclub be packed tighter and tighter with bustling and jostling people re-ignited a bit of that panicky feeling I had – and one thing that EastEnders did that made it so successful sets it apart from a complaint I have had about other soaps recently.
It hasn’t escaped the notice of most that sets and communities in some of the shows feel distinctly quieter these days.
The Rovers in Coronation Street feels dead compared to its former thriving days where it was teeming with supporting artists and various characters just enjoying their casual chats, not just populated by those needed for the plot.
And over in Hollyoaks, an enduring criticism has been the lack of interactions between character groups, with everyone caught in their own bubbles and even family relationships and friendships forgotten for long periods of time.
Over the past couple of years, EastEnders has been getting a lot right, but what I have enjoyed the most is the emphasis on community.
Nods to the past and strong continuity have been a breath of fresh air, with many scenes feeling more character driven.
The Vic is generally full of different characters and we are treated to plenty of interactions between those who don’t always cross paths. The Square itself, particularly the market, still seems as lively as ever.
It’s this element of cast utilisation that was essential to make a plotline like a club crush work.
Perhaps suspending disbelief somewhat that a nightclub would attract so many on a Monday – maybe, I’m just old – the atmosphere was forebodingly chaotic.
Knowing what it was building up to made it all the more intense, so when it did all fly out of control, the jeopardy was truly real.
The combination of characters involved was varied perfectly, with the young teens finding themselves injured while older characters like Kim – played brilliantly by Tameka Empson in these scenes – got some much-needed focus, revisiting her battles with PTSD.
Zack, Penny and Lauren’s growing horror and urgency over what was happening was palpable and, while a very topical story, it was blended well with the more soapy element, which was cheating Cindy and Junior caught in the office, momentarily torn over whether to let the struggling crowds in.
There was a lot at stake and the engineering of the stunts themselves was brilliantly choreographed and directed.
A mass of bodies, with so many cast, supporting artists and stuntpersons to rely on both in performance and technical elements, is no easy feat to pull off in a soap which demands four weekly episodes on a very fast turnaround.
The fact that an event episode of high intensity landed in August – what summer slump? – was a testament to how EastEnders is upping the ante in good time ahead of Christmas and that big 40th anniversary.
Very welcomingly, it has opened the gates to a much-overdue storyline for Zaraah Abrahams – one of TV’s strongest actresses.
The aftermath for Chelsea Fox promises to be highly impactful, as she wrestles with the guilt over her part in it.
This also gives Scott Maslen plenty to do as well; Jack Branning’s panic and terror at going between Penny and Amy was delivered impeccably.
It didn’t just prove once more that when it gets it right, EastEnders is unstoppable. It also set the stage for months of storyline to come and gave plenty of cast their time to shine outside of the longer-running high octane storyline arcs such as the Six and Reiss’ betrayal of Sonia.
But, to me, what was most striking of all was how it vindicated the view of just how vital supporting artists and mixing up of cast is to a soap, which is, at its soul, a genre all about community.
Had EastEnders not been doing this properly, the club crush scenes would have been a notable flop.
Stunts are fantastic bells and whistles but it just goes to show that no matter what a soap is tackling, getting those fundamentals spot on is essential.
