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Should Pobol Y Cwm be reconised as a mainstream soap?
Simon Rodgers
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I can't help but notice that whenever people talk about soaps, etc, Pobol Y Cwm never gets a mention. Not at award shows, soap guides, previews, magazines, etc.
Long ago it was a little known programme with only people in Wales getting to see it, but now S4C is available all over the UK (I'm sure you can watch it online too), isn't about time people recognised it as more mainstream?
The only difference is that it is in Welsh, but English subtitles are available so there isn't really much excuse.
Long ago it was a little known programme with only people in Wales getting to see it, but now S4C is available all over the UK (I'm sure you can watch it online too), isn't about time people recognised it as more mainstream?
The only difference is that it is in Welsh, but English subtitles are available so there isn't really much excuse.
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:rolleyes:
Because Welsh is a first language of one of the constituent countries of the UK?
I have a lot of welsh friends and hardly any of them speak fluent welsh. The welsh language is dying. If this show was done in english it could establish a big following and put wales on the map and have to whole of UK watching wales every night. but they are spoiling it for themselves.
The acting/writing might be great but as its in welsh and I cant be bothered to sit through subtitles for half an hour (because I watch soaps for fun not to educate myself with a foreign language) and I bet your bottom dollar most think the same so no no point no bother.
Fair City on the other hand an Irish soap spoken in English should be and it should also be shown in the UK.
Ian.
Fair City is shockingly bad.
Thank you, that was the point I was trying to make. Yes it is in Welsh but English speakers can still follow it because of the subtitles. That's exactly what they are for!
I did mention the subtitles available. Why would anyone watch anything that isn't in their language then?
In some countries most stuff is English and they have most programmes subtitled as they can't afford to have a lot of dubbing done. A lot of people prefer that anyway.
It's not a UK soap though, is it? Pobol Y Cym is!
Slightly off topic, but why don't you contact the people who make Fair City and ask why it is not shown in the UK? Could be down to rights or something. Usually is.
Well I have a lot of Welsh friends who DO speak fluent Welsh. It's a brilliant show and is in no way a waste of time
EDIT: Wikipedia says it is on Sky and Virgin Media, but not Freeview outside of Wales. I wouldn't underestimate how many people pretty much still just watch the main terrestrial channels. Sad to say I wouldn't go out of my way to put S4C on even if I could access it anyway (which in London with BT Vision, it seems I can't).
As others have said, the soap is still going because it fulfills a language requirement. One problem is that I can't have it on in the background like I do with EastEnders for example because i need to watch the subtitles. Now I'll make the effort to keep an eye on words on-screen for Das Boot or The Killing or Three Colours: Red or something, but not for a soap! My understanding is that only half of Wales's population - about a million people - speak Welsh well enough to understand this programme without subtitles. That makes it inaccessible for many casual viewers even more so than something like River City.
No, it is not the first language . Only 20% of people in Wales speak Welsh, and they live predominately in North Wales. S4C is a ridiculous channel, forced on us by the pc brigade, it should be closed down as no one actually watches it, as has been proven.
S4C is on Sky channel 134 nationwide in the UK and you have a choice of English or Welsh subtitles.
Ian.
As I said in my post, I don't have Sky. A lot of people don't.
Ian.
No, the real difference is its on S4C not C4, and it's not going to be a mainstream soap when its not in English. It's made for Welsh people, not English, Scottish and Northern Irish people. Soaps like Corrie, Emmerdale, Hollyoaks and EastEnders all use an universal language that every constituent country in the United Kingdom will understand.
Oh i can imagine the ratings, it would be cancelled within a week its awful, Where use to how bad it is over here
I'm going to have to check out Fair City on youtube now - is it really bad? I love a bit of car crash telly:D
Ummm....I watch it. I'm a fluent Welsh speaker and I actually watch S4C more than I watch English television. I understand I may be in a small number but you can't say NO ONE watches it.
I'm glad it isn't considered "mainstream". I don't watch English soaps (can't stand them) but I'd hate to get storyline spoilers months and months in advance like Eastenders et al.
I don't think anyone meant that it is not a soap. I for one don't like watching subtitled programmes for the reason I stated above, and am not interested in learning Welsh, so I probably wouldn't watch it. I might watch a Welsh soap in English, with occasional Welsh lines, if I enjoyed the programme.