Buried Alive - too dark for Eastenders?

Once again the soap EastEnders has been at the receiving end of complaints from viewers.  There were scenes that have been declared as being ‘in breach of its decency rules’.  These scenes were broadcast in March this year and it showed a character being buried alive.  There were 167complaints made by members of the viewing public.  BBC’s attitude was quite different from Ofcom’s as they are of the opinion that the scenes were put together in a ‘responsible manner’.

Ofcom did not beat about the bush and found the scenes to have a ‘seriously disturbing element to them’.  These scenes were broadcast over Good Friday as well as Easter Monday.  The character of Max Branning was shown to be buried alive by his wife Tanya Branning.  The scenes included Max being drugged and placed into a coffin.  The BBC said they had considered the ‘sensitivity’ of the viewers at that time of the day.  But they did disclose that after the two pre-watershed airings the BBC had received over one hundred complaints from their viewers.

Viewers had watched episodes that had been about Max Branning and his daughter-in-law Stacy having an affair.  The live burial was planned and executed by his wife Tanya as revenge.  She was helped by Stacy’s violent and menacing brother.  The BBC’s explanation that this storey line was acceptable is because there was no ‘explicit violence’.  They are of the opinion that the ‘lead up’ to Max Branning being buried while alive was sufficient to indicate in which direction the story was going.

Ofcom has disagreed with the BBC and sided with viewers who were upset.  They believe there was insufficient information prior to programs this meant viewers did not know what was coming.  Ofcom called the scenes ‘distressing’ and ‘offensive and not justified by the context’.  They were of the opinion that this was more in keeping with a ‘dark psychological thriller’.

Are you an Eastenders fan?  Is the soap getting too dark, or is it all part of the appeal?