Get Johnny Week

"Get Johnny Week" was a week-long storyline in the popular BBC soap opera "EastEnders", which occurred at the end of March 2006. The storyline involved the characters of Johnny and Ruby Allen, Grant and Phil Mitchell, and Jake and Danny Moon.

toryline development

"Get Johnny Week" was an "EastEnders" storyline that reunited the popular characters Phil and Grant Mitchell (aka the Mitchell brothers) in 2006. Actor Ross Kemp who played Grant continuously from 1990-1999 was persuaded to return to "EastEnders" for a three month period in the Spring of 2006 and "Get Johnny Week" was the storyline that marked his return." [http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2005/05_may/22/kemp.shtml Ross Kemp signs to EastEnders] ", "BBC". URL last accessed on 2007-02-24.]

The storyline saw the Mitchell brothers embroiled in a revenge bid against the gangster Johnny Allen (Billy Murray)." [http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2001330006-2006130451,00.html EASTENDERS] ", "The Sun". URL last accessed on 2007-08-19.] It was dubbed "Get Johnny Week" by the programme makers, and the storyline was featured heavily in a BBC advertising campaign before and during the airing of the storyline.

The beginning of the storyline saw a stark personality change in the character of Grant." [http://www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders/backstage/cast/interviews/interview_content/interview_ross_k_n2.shtml Ross Kemp] ", "BBC". URL last accessed on 2007-07-17.] Typically the more volatile and aggressive of the two brothers, in his absence from the show Grant had become a more diplomatic "peacemaker"; traits that were previously seen more commonly in the character Phil (Steve McFadden). Actor Ross Kemp has commented on his character's personality change: "Grant tells Phil that, while he was in Brazil, he had therapy, so he becomes an amateur psychiatrist for a couple of episodes. Then, he reverts to his true form of thumping everyone!...Grant's like Phil and Phil's like Grant this week. Grant becomes the more careful and meticulous one, while Phil's the hot-headed brother for a change."

Grant's personality change prompted criticism, with one reviewer branding the character's "new touchy feely attitude to life" as "implausible"." [http://www.020magazine.com/webs/02005/showArticle.cfm?id=441 Return of The Mitchell Brothers...] ", "020magazine.com". URL last accessed on 2007-03-02.] Another commented "This new unimproved family-friendly "come on give me a hug" Grant gives me the creeps. In just one crazed week the demented EastEnders scriptwriters undermined TV's top tough guy to such a profound extent that I can't see how he'll ever recover. With Phil and Grant reunited for the first time in six months, we were all looking forward to some classic Mitchell mayhem. In fact we had a right to expect carnage from the terrible twins. But what did we get?Grant's nauseating revelation that he underwent therapy to stop being so violent and antisocial."" [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20060402/ai_n16206347 GRANT'S TURN FOR THE WUSS] ", "Sunday Mirror". URL last accessed on 2007-08-19.]

The storyline was also criticised heavily—branded a "farce", "explosively silly" and "the dreadful EastEnders week that was".

Plot

Phil and Grant's day out

The day began when Phil woke up from a nightmare in which he has blood on his hands, and soon realised that he was seeing images of the recent murder of Dennis Rickman. Phil and his brother Grant decided to go and play a round of golf, but stopped at a roadside café in Essex where they sat and discussed their problems, namely Phil's struggle to avoid a relapse in his alcoholism, over lunch. A strange man walked into the café and made a sarcastic joke about Phil and Grant's bald heads, remarking: "Right Said Fred have reformed."

The stranger followed Phil into the toilets and started singing "I'm Too Sexy". Phil reacted by punching the stranger and knocking him out.

When they left the café, Grant told Phil that he had been seeing a therapist in a bid to confront his demons. They passed a large house in the countryside and Phil ordered Grant to stop. Phil announced that he was ready to confront his demons and that they had arrived at Johnny Allen's house.

Phil demands a confession

Phil scoured Johnny's house in a bid to break in, while Grant begged him to stop being stupid. Phil explained that he was keeping the promise that he made with Sharon to avenge Johnny Allen for Dennis's murder, which Johnny had ordered.

Johnny spotted Phil on his CCTV system and quickly found him before beating him up. Grant soon arrived on the scene and found Phil being threatened by Johnny and his accomplice, Danny Moon. Grant beat up Danny, while Johnny re-entered his office and started arguing with his daughter Ruby, who was angry with him for being an alcoholic. Phil finally intimidated Johnny into admitting his involvement in Dennis's death, and gave him a beating for it.

The Mitchells at war

Phil's anger towards Johnny got more intense and he threatened to shoot him, but Grant stopped him from pulling the trigger just in time. Danny once again tried to defend Johnny but received another beating from Phil, and stayed at the house while Johnny fled in his car. Phil and Grant gave chase to Johnny and followed him to a deserted goods yard, where Phil almost ran him over. Johnny escaped and then Grant and Phil got into an argument. Grant insulted Phil for being a bad father and almost got run over himself, but Phil smashed the car into a pile of skips instead. The skips collapsed on Phil's car but he was unscathed. Johnny returned from where he had left the Mitchells and held them at gunpoint.

Johnny reaches the end of the road

Armed with a gun, Johnny frogmarched Phil and Grant to a soundproofed cell back at his house. Grant soon established that Johnny was intent on killing them both. His fears were confirmed when Johnny later ordered Danny to lead them away into the nearby woods, and vowed to kill them both. Phil heard a gunshot and opened his eyes to see Danny lying dead on the floor.

Phil turned his head to see Jake (Danny's brother) standing there with a gun. Jake was devastated at killing his brother, as he only wanted to stop him from killing someone. After the Mitchells left, Jake buried Danny's body in the woods.

Meanwhile, Ruby discovered mobile phone footage of Dennis's murder. She announced that she had informed the police about Johnny's crimes and that they were on their way to the house. Johnny was arrested and immediately confessed to the police that he murdered Andy Hunter and ordered Danny Moon to kill Dennis Rickman.

Johnny was eventually convicted of killing Andy Hunter and ordering the murder of Dennis Rickman. He received a sentence of life imprisonment and the judge recommended that he should spend at least 27 years behind bars before being considered for release, but he suffered a heart attack in prison and died in hospital the next day, just six months into his sentence after taunts from Sean Slater

References

ee also

*Storylines of EastEnders