one of the award shows changed soap to "on-going drama"
Maybe that's a better description of them? From what I see of them (don't watch them but my mum buys Soaplife magazine and its often lying around in the house) the storylines seem more suited to drama, IMO soap suits lighter-hearted storylines.
Maybe that's a better description of them? From what I see of them (don't watch them but my mum buys Soaplife magazine and its often lying around in the house) the storylines seem more suited to drama, IMO soap suits lighter-hearted storylines.
The BBC used to, and I think still do, refer to its soaps (EE, Holby, Casualty, Doctors etc) as `Continuing drama`.
Still whatver the soap or channel, its the same story lines trotted out time and time again, (Oh no!! Not another person on remand in prison due to a misuderstanding...will they go down? Nope!) ,just with different actors playing slightly different characters.
At the end of the day, its cheap tat for the hard of thinking.;)
Maybe that's a better description of them? From what I see of them (don't watch them but my mum buys Soaplife magazine and its often lying around in the house) the storylines seem more suited to drama, IMO soap suits lighter-hearted storylines.
it depends on how you define soap, no question that if you took all the worlds soaps and put them on some sort of scale, Eastenders would be much closer to the drama then than pretty much all of them, but for me ive always seen it as a soap, just a better soap than most.
I would however say (as I always have) that individual episodes, can be good bits of short form drama.
I think everything in my post speaks for itself, its amazing how this storyline has impacted so positively on the lives of the women involved.
Actors Shona McGarty (Whitney Dean) & Tony King (Chris Coghill), as well as exec producer Diederick Santer, as well as the writers of the key episodes in this storyline, have helped transformed lives, should all feel very proud of that.
This clearly shows that when its at its best EastEnders is a massive force for good, and something that impacts on society in a positive fashion.
Amazing how a soap opera deliberately following a salacious and ratings-grabbing storyline (as they all do, because they're all as bad as each other) suddenly becomes "a massive force for good". (And the hundreds of complaints that it got, as well as its lack of suitability for a family audience can all be conveniently ignored.)
Am I the only person who finds it somewhat distasteful to see people (and the BBC itself, going by the quotes in one of those reports) taking these terrible cases of people's abuse and waving them around like some kind of victory for the BBC and proof of their "PBS" credentials? It strikes me as rather desperate and mawkish, if you don't mind my saying so.
Next up - Man beats testicular cancer thanks to hands-on early detection during late-night viewing of Babestation.
for the record I have seen no BBC reporting on either story, so the BBC is not trying to big this up. I think a "Eastenders Changed My Life Show" would have fitted in with the 25th Celebrations earlier this year, but I agree it could look like the BBC showing off.
As for the complaints, I saw this storyline play out, I can understand some people making those complaints, certainly towards the end when Tony started to groom Lauren it became more uncomfortable viewing, but the storyline (as has been shown) was worth doing, and when something is worth doing, its worth doing right, and part of "doing right" is not airing the storyline at 9pm, when the auidence who can gain the most from it (children) can not watch it.
On the over all topic of "Is EastEnders PSB?" clearly its something we are not ever going to find an answer to, but that to me suggests that you cant claim 100% that it is not, if that were the case, the argument would be a very short one. The fact there are people to argue both sides, suggests it has some PSB value.
I don't deny that soaps can't have public service elements to them, but I don't see that there's any glory to be had in these kind of storylines. All soaps just go after the stories that get them the biggest headlines and the most shock and outrage. Any "public service" effect is entirely coincidental.
For me, a public service soap opera would have to have no rapes, no murders, no paedophiles under every rock, no implausible diseases, no ongoing court cases (because all of these things are extremely rare in everyday life) and the ongoing tide of misery and depression reflected in soaps generally would be the exception rather than the rule. All conceived babies would be properly given birth to with no problems and no heartbreak, etc etc etc. People get a distorted view of the world when all they see on soaps is things going wrong at every opportunity - and the real world just is not like that. But this probably makes me sound as crazy as Martin Lewis when he suggested that the BBC try covering "Good News" instead..
true enough, but its not like the BBC are making a big deal of this, ive not seen the story be given specail treatment on the BBC News or EastEnders website, infact I never saw the stories on the BBC website.
For me, a public service soap opera would have to have no rapes, no murders, no paedophiles under every rock, no implausible diseases, no ongoing court cases (because all of these things are extremely rare in everyday life) and the ongoing tide of misery and depression reflected in soaps generally would be the exception rather than the rule. All conceived babies would be properly given birth to with no problems and no heartbreak, etc etc etc. People get a distorted view of the world when all they see on soaps is things going wrong at every opportunity - and the real world just is not like that. But this probably makes me sound as crazy as Martin Lewis when he suggested that the BBC try covering "Good News" instead..
but how would that soap then be helpful to people, no question things that happen in EastEnders do not happen in the same amount in real life, but those storylines are often based on real life things. I dont see how those things happening makes EE more PSB than it already is.
Comments
Maybe that's a better description of them? From what I see of them (don't watch them but my mum buys Soaplife magazine and its often lying around in the house) the storylines seem more suited to drama, IMO soap suits lighter-hearted storylines.
The BBC used to, and I think still do, refer to its soaps (EE, Holby, Casualty, Doctors etc) as `Continuing drama`.
Still whatver the soap or channel, its the same story lines trotted out time and time again, (Oh no!! Not another person on remand in prison due to a misuderstanding...will they go down? Nope!) ,just with different actors playing slightly different characters.
At the end of the day, its cheap tat for the hard of thinking.;)
I would however say (as I always have) that individual episodes, can be good bits of short form drama.
http://www.pbs.org/search/search_contacts_e.html
Sorted.
Very good slo!:D
Do you have an opinion on the original point though?
I just thought i'd try to get him to actually answer a question!:)
Am I the only person who finds it somewhat distasteful to see people (and the BBC itself, going by the quotes in one of those reports) taking these terrible cases of people's abuse and waving them around like some kind of victory for the BBC and proof of their "PBS" credentials? It strikes me as rather desperate and mawkish, if you don't mind my saying so.
Next up - Man beats testicular cancer thanks to hands-on early detection during late-night viewing of Babestation.
As for the complaints, I saw this storyline play out, I can understand some people making those complaints, certainly towards the end when Tony started to groom Lauren it became more uncomfortable viewing, but the storyline (as has been shown) was worth doing, and when something is worth doing, its worth doing right, and part of "doing right" is not airing the storyline at 9pm, when the auidence who can gain the most from it (children) can not watch it.
On the over all topic of "Is EastEnders PSB?" clearly its something we are not ever going to find an answer to, but that to me suggests that you cant claim 100% that it is not, if that were the case, the argument would be a very short one. The fact there are people to argue both sides, suggests it has some PSB value.
I don't deny that soaps can't have public service elements to them, but I don't see that there's any glory to be had in these kind of storylines. All soaps just go after the stories that get them the biggest headlines and the most shock and outrage. Any "public service" effect is entirely coincidental.
For me, a public service soap opera would have to have no rapes, no murders, no paedophiles under every rock, no implausible diseases, no ongoing court cases (because all of these things are extremely rare in everyday life) and the ongoing tide of misery and depression reflected in soaps generally would be the exception rather than the rule. All conceived babies would be properly given birth to with no problems and no heartbreak, etc etc etc. People get a distorted view of the world when all they see on soaps is things going wrong at every opportunity - and the real world just is not like that. But this probably makes me sound as crazy as Martin Lewis when he suggested that the BBC try covering "Good News" instead..
but how would that soap then be helpful to people, no question things that happen in EastEnders do not happen in the same amount in real life, but those storylines are often based on real life things. I dont see how those things happening makes EE more PSB than it already is.