Surprise

It's pleasant - but uncomfortable - to be so surprised on a Sunday afternoon: full of roast chicken, parsnips and Chablis, you settle down in front of the telly, intent on a half hour of aimless channel-hopping and tut-tutting, and instead find yourself surprisingly moved by a programme that you never actually watch, of course, but which you somehow know the plot and main characters of nevertheless. I speak, of course, of EastEnders, and of the Nana Moon historical flashback sequence. I don't know how often they do this kind of thing on 'Enders (I've certainly never seen it before) but I thought it worked really well; I must confess that every time Nana Moon opens her mouth I can't help but think of her as Shirl's (??) mum in Citizen Smith, but this sequence transcended that connection. Likewise Shane Richie: he's indelibly Saturday Night Variety Show man and Soap powder advertiser, but he carried off the 'confused, unable to accept the death of his relative' part well. An additional factor here was the the appearance of an actor incredibly typecast (the "no no no no no" bloke from Vicar of Dibley) as a war veteran. And yet...it worked. I was moved. Great work, scriptwriters and actors - the way they made those words on a page come to life and touch me: I love it when that magic happens. Thank you.