"It's not a day out at Alton Towers, you know"

Each week I sit down in front of the telly, Tivo remote in hand, ready to immerse myself in my little bit of heaven, Eastenders.

Eastenders is a prime time British soap opera produced by the BBC. Now over 20 years old, Eastenders first aired February 19th, 1985, and to this day continues to be one of the highest-rated programmes in the UK, consistently viewed by 50% of the country's population, spawning numerous spin-offs and much water-cooler talk.

When I moved from DC I was concerned as to whether or not I would continue to get my weekly Eastenders fix. Thankfully here in LA! the local PBS affiliate, KOCE, airs two episodes a week, Friday nights at 7:00 and 7:30pm (with repeats in the early hours on Sunday mornings).

Set in the fictional London borough of Walford (complete with Tube station, Walford East, and postal code, E20), Eastenders centers on the strong, matriarch lead and seemingly incestuously interwoven families who inhabit Albert Square and frequent the local pub, The Queen Vic.

Now Eastenders may not be as flashy and sophisticated as some US shows (I’m thinking Battlestar Galactica and Heroes in particular), but it blows your common-or-garden melodramas, like Brothers & Sisters, Grey’s Anatomy and ER, out of the water.

Eastenders was conceived a a social realist drama. Yes there is still murder, arson, marital infidelity, young love and much gossiping (it is after all still a populist kitchen sink drama), but over the years the programme has dealt with the likes of domestic and child abuse, euthanasia, teenage pregnancy, racial prejudice, drunk driving, mental health issues and abortion among other issues.

A recent episode serves as an example of the programmes power, featuring only four of the characters and juxtapositioning their two stories. One of a son (former Spandau Ballet member Martin Kemp) confronting his dieing mother with the abuse she put him through as a child. The second that of a young wife, unable to cope with her new pregnancy, telling her husband that she plans on aborting their child. Great powerful televsion!