Forum Topic

Eastenders and Other Soaps

Just wondered if anyone watched Eastenders, which has reached its 40th anniversary or any other soap operas? I don’t and am amazed that people still do as there’s so much choice of viewing these days.

Martine Guy ● 418d18 Comments

"It proves the Malcolm Gladwell theory that genius is just doing the same thing 10,000 times."I don't think this is quite right: Gladwell claimed that it takes 10,000 hours of deliberate practice before you could master a skill. But he pinched this idea from work by the psychologist Anders Ericsson, and anyway it's been largely debunked: the 10,000 hour rule is arbitrary, for example.I'm not sure how many hours the Coronation Steet team have been working on it....

Richard Carter ● 416d

I think you can really devote yourself properly to one soap and its Coronation Street all the way for me. The writing can be brilliant tackling more serious subject but particularly in its comic moments. The quality is evidenced by the calibre of actors that are keen to appear such as Sir Ian Mckellan and currently the amazing Maureen Lipman as Eveline Plummer. It clearly has an international reputation as Robert Vaughn was in it a few years ago. It proves the Malcolm Gladwell theory that genius is just doing the same thing 10,000 times.

Barry Elms ● 416d

I just had a look at the listener figures for The Archers and it’s over 5 million, which is pretty impressive.  The storylines must be very good, as it’s been going for such a long time.

Martine Guy ● 418d

Martine, inheritance tax hasn't reached Ambridge yet but apparently will be dealt with in future episodes. I expect Brian Aldridge will be against and Kirsty for it? Just guessing! We have listened to it for a while, we started when the husband of a friend wrote some episodes back in the 1980s and another friend also knew the previous actor who played Richard Snell, who sadly died several years ago.

Michael Ixer ● 418d

Thanks, I just wondered as it is supposedly set in that region.  Have you listened to it a long time?  Have they brought the IHT farming issue into the storyline? Wondering if anyone’s an Eastenders fan?

Martine Guy ● 418d

Yes Dallas - I stopped watching when it got ridiculous and they brought Bobby Ewing back from the "dead" - only it had all been a dream :-(

Michael Ixer ● 418d

That's a good question, Martine. There seems to be a mixture of accents, some quite posh.

Michael Ixer ● 418d

Ed, I think that basing a soap on a motel was a brilliant idea because of the changing story lines of the guests.  Remember Carlos and Huey(?) McPhee.  And Sandy and Jill.

Martine Guy ● 418d

Miss Diane - getout :)Oh yes I forgot about Dallas.Oddly enough I do not think people minded the long starts to the TV programmes back then if they had a decent tune.

Ed Robinson ● 418d

I looked up the Archers on Wikipedia and Ambridge is probably based on the West Midlands village of Cutnell Green and is set in the fictional county of Borsetshire, which is situated between the counties of Worcestershire and Warwickshire.  Do any characters have a Brummie/Black country accent?  Just curious Michael. We used to listen to the Archers back in the 1960s, but not for that long.

Martine Guy ● 418d

Thank you!!!

Ivonne Holliday ● 418d

Ivonne, the Archers' catch-up. If you click on  "show more" after selecting a date you'll get a text summary.  (Although sometimes it can take a few days for the text to be uploaded.)https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qpgr/episodes/player

Michael Ixer ● 418d

Oh, The Archers!!  I am not too sure I would call it a soap opera though.I used to love the Archers!!  We used to listen to the omnibus edition religiously every Sunday.  Sadly, I had a major hiccup and could no longer hear them...  I used to follow their catch up almost every day till they stopped it....  :-) :-) :-)Delighted they are doing them again and must get reacquainted to the Archers again!!!  :-) :-) :-)Thank you for this information Michael!!!

Ivonne Holliday ● 418d

I only watched it when my late mother came to stay at Christmas. Only soap I'm addicted to is the Archers and I  don't always listen, one can read the synopsis o the website. 

Michael Ixer ● 418d

Soap, from the USA, was great, very funny, we used to watch it. I’d forgotten Crossroads.  It was made in Birmingham and everyone used to watch it.  The Crossroads actors were the only celebrities you saw around the city.  I saw Miss Diane once.  Never saw Noelle Gordon, but other people told me they saw her about.  The recent drama on her was very good. If you can class “Dallas” as a soap. we loved it.

Martine Guy ● 418d

I never watched Eastenders or Coronation Street but I do remember my parents watching Cross Roads when I was a kid.I watched Neighbours when it first started.My favorite soap was Soap, the US comedy about the Tate family :)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap_(TV_series)Eastenders - the place where no one has to commute to work.

Ed Robinson ● 418d

Thanks Ivonne.  I did watch Coronation Street from the 1960s to the 1980s, but so did everyone else in those days.  I also watched Eastenders a bit in the early days but never really like it. My favourite was Brookside, but that finished in 2003 and I’ve never watched any soaps since.

Martine Guy ● 418d

Hello Martine,No, I never watched Eastenders; not my sort of thing.I did watch Neighbours all those years ago, but nor for long...

Ivonne Holliday ● 418d