This is about when shit goes pear shaped...

Without wishing to sound too much like a wanker, I don't do much 'light entertainment' television... in fact I'd rather gnaw my own arm off than watch anything with David Jason, Nick Berry or Leslie 'trout pout' Ash in it. (Unless I'm poorly, when I'll watch anything except So Graham Norton).

But I make an exception for a few things, most notably EastEnders, which I think is, on the whole, brilliant. I have often waxed lyrical about the skill of EastEnders scriptwriters, and there have been times in my life (fortunately not that many, but there are bound to be more) when the only thing that has kept me sane is the fact that for two hours a week I can immerse myself in a world where more shit happens.

Okay, there's the odd duff storyline, and a lot of stuff that would never really happen. And nobody watches television, and nobody goes to university except Michelle and she only got a third and how come she hasn't visited in ten years, and nobody has their own washing machine and everyone buys their wine from the pub instead of the Minute Mart, but hey, the characters are ace and the dialogue is unmatched.

But what I really love is the soundtrack. I love the way that in key moments the Queen Vic jukebox or the radio in the launderette become part of the script. You might easily miss it, but it's there if you want to pick it up, like the occasional self referential piss take or surreal moment -- like Jim taking the dead budgie back to the pet shop and the staff doing the Parrot Sketch and him not getting it.

Sometimes I think it's postmodern television in populist disguise, but then it only happens once in a blue moon, in fact seldom enough to be a surprise every time.

And tonight's was great. Tariq, motherless bastard half brother rejected by Ferreira family who have only just found out their dad was a dirty shagger, goes back to bedsit, puts on record by The Streets.

So far so good. There lies Tariq listening to Weak Become Heroes. Nice touch, I think to myself, (he is about to donate his kidney to Ronny Ferreira having run off from the fight where Ronny got stabbed in the first place thereby requiring a new kidney).

And *then* we close in on the line

Me and you are the same, known you all my life never known your name

EastEnders Music Moment! Very good, very good.

AND THEN he sits up, full of anger and pain, and pushes the needle down to gouge a groove in the record.

It jumps over and over again on the Weak Become Heroes refrain as he puts his head in his hands. But not on the whole line, just a second or two from the middle, so it sounds like

I'm here (scratch) I'm here (scratch) I'm here (scratch)

Bam Bam Bam Bamadamabambam!

Awesome

joella