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Each of soaps' signature move?


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Old 06-06-2014, 04:01
MrJames
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Before anyone says anything I'm not pitting the soaps against each other, this is purely an observational thread.

But how do you distinguish between what each of soaps are best known for?

Coronation Street - Warm, comedy, community spirit, characters mixed in with drama.
Emmerdale - Big, epic, landscape, spectacular drama.
EastEnders - Shakespearean-esque, dark, gritty, epic, realsitic, issue-led drama.
Hollyoaks - Youth culture, sensational & issue-led, drama.

Also, I've been trying to think. Imagine EastEnders doing with Lucas what Emmerdale and Corrie did with Cameron and Tony. Getting caught, going to prison, escaping from prison, then holding a siege. I think EastEnders would get heavily criticized if they did that because it's not realistic, but it works better with the tone of Emmerdale and Corrie.

Furthermore, take the big reveals. Nobody does them quite as slickly and professionally as EastEnders do they? Quite a lot of their iconic moments have involved reveals of some sort. I can't imagine Corrie killing a character like Danielle as soon as Ronnie finds out she's her daughter.

Just thoughts, nothing more. What do you think?
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Old 06-06-2014, 04:35
Keller
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I think you've summed it up quite well, especially with EastEnders.

While EastEnders is still firmly in the soap genre, it can sometimes stand out from the other soaps with its style of storytelling and the overall tone of certain episodes, like you say it can be gritty and it often implies something very dark has or is about to happen without actually showing it.

EastEnders also loves to delve into its characters backstories, usually building a more interesting picture of what happened before they arrived than what's actually happening on screen. Prime examples are Stacey's backstory with Jean, the Slaters with Kat and Zoe, the Carters with Stan or Ronnie's twisted adolescence with Archie and Danielle.

While these usually lead to great storylines and some excellent episodes, EastEnders can never maintain the momentum and when it falls back into the cliche of soap style story telling, it's gets slated and that's kind of what's happened this week. The other soaps get away with everyday storylines and subplots because they do them so well while the very best of EastEnders is impossible to maintain every week, all year round.
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Old 06-06-2014, 08:33
unclekevo
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I agree, for example, I couldn't see a lot of Hollyoaks' successful plots working in Corrie. The anorexia storyline with Hannah Ashworth fitted Hollyoaks so well whereas I couldnt see Corrie doing it, same goes for plots like the Bus Crash and Esther being bullied, they work because Hollyoaks is so youth-centred.
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Old 06-06-2014, 09:48
Heathyheath_
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This thread is so excellently put that I actually had to bookmark it because it's spot on and I can't find one bit of the opening post that I don't agree with. Each of the four soaps have their own tone which distinguish them from the other, generally no matter what's going on in each individual episode. I think the difference in tone is the reason that I can't stand Emmerdale or Hollyoaks, the quiet village with lots going on contrast doesn't appeal to me yet on the flip side the youth driven and in my opinion fast paced Hollyoaks doesn't set right with me either. It's a case of different strokes for different folks so I'm always impressed when there's somebody who watches and enjoys at least three of the four major soaps.

One thing I would add to Eastenders is that the soap does have a strong focus of family as well as an often understated sense of community, especially during a crisis like the potential market closure. While family is integral to all soaps the fact that so many families link into each other in Eastenders deserves special mentioning in my opinion at least.
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Old 06-06-2014, 10:41
21stCenturyBoy
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Coronation Street- Cosy, warm, comedy, character led
EastEnders- Gritty, issue led, diverse
Emmerdale- Big, bold, explosive, poor characterisation
Hollyoaks- Glossy, colourful, interchangeable cast
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Old 06-06-2014, 10:45
J-B
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Eastenders does really well revealing Shirley's many assorted secret children. My source at Elstree tells me it's going to be a recurring monthly feature.

Shirley: "I need to see my boy "
Phil: "Wait... Shirl... that's not Dean that's Winston...... "
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Old 06-06-2014, 11:09
thejoyof_pat
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Coronation Street- Cosy, warm, comedy, character led
EastEnders- Gritty, issue led, diverse
Emmerdale- Big, bold, explosive, poor characterisation
Hollyoaks- Glossy, colourful, interchangeable cast
I think you're so wrong there. I think the characterisation is great in ED. I had a 10 year gap from watching the show, just tuning in on the odd 'bigger' episodes. However when I returned last year Many of the characters that were featured now were in it then and their personalities, for me, where still recognisable and that's quite true to life and those characters, that's one of the thing I liked and enjoy about soaps the familiar feeling.

Coronation Street - Community, Comedy, Character centric, Matriarchal.
EastEnders - Dark, Depressing, Issues, slow paced, Patriarchal.
Emmerdale - Big, Bold, fast paced, family oriented.
Hollyoaks - Teenagers, Post-Modern, Colourful, so fast paced.
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Old 06-06-2014, 11:20
Vodka_Drinka
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Coronation Street - Warm, friendly, humour, longevity, character driven, strong women.
Eastenders - Dark, gloomy, depressing, story driven, serious.
Emmerdale - Sensationalist, dramatic, plot driven.
Hollyoaks - Young, glossy, OTT
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Old 06-06-2014, 12:55
ewoodie
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I only watch Corrie and EE regularly. From what has been said here; EE meets it's brief. but I'm not sure that Corrie does any more.
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