People just don't seem to grasp that Emmerdale isn't just airing one stunt, but a chain of events throughout the week. It only kicked off in the last 30 seconds of last nights show so how can you critique it yet?

Emmerdale do create some great stunts, the house collapse being one of the greatest in british soap.

The ratings will climb for ED - in that sense the structure of the episodes is perfect with the disaster starting in the closing moments of last night's show. All the hype and word of mouth will draw viewers in to tonight's un-clashing episode.

"Casual" viewers or "stunt-loving" viewers aren't going to get their fill till tonight and tomorrow when it's much more about carnage and disaster; the soap's loyal fans were treated to character driven drama last night.

Much like the Coronation Street tram disaster, the actual impact was average CGI but the ensuing disaster is all real. Like CS Emmerdale have got a "real" chopper in the roof from tonight's eps onwards. I think tonight and tomorrow will get some decent ratings. I gather tonight's episode will be fires, explosions and pyrotechnics with a big cliffhanger into tomorrow's show. We know a fairground ride will be destroyed so there are more stunts to come and Emmerdale have a proven record with "real" stunts.

I think this helicopter disaster will be remembered, not for the CGI crash but for the rest of what the disaster causes.

You're the one not posting constructively. You're being incredibly selective with your responses. So I made a presumption. Hardly a crime worthy of you getting personal and blaming me for the demise of the thread.

You know one of the worst things about this thread nowadays? The constant moaning about how it's gone downhill. If you're not happy then feel free to leave.

Good rating for Emmerdale, it's best since March apparently.

If an explosion and crash happened we can discuss it very easily, same as with the Corrie tram crash or the EastEnders New Year's Day car crash or Sherlock jumping from a roof.

It's a moment and it happened.

I enjoy watching Emmerdale but when things are wrong, I do criticize it and have every right to, as do others whether a casual viewer or a regular viewer. The stunts are designed to bring in extra viewers who should hopefully stick around, and bring to a head storylines which many have sat for weeks or months waiting for a conclusion to. Fans/viewers when they feel that things are wrong, should be vocal and listened to.

But some are implying the whole budget was spent on that moment which is clearly not the case. Some are implying that the stunt is over which is not the case.

BBC 1
13:45: Doctors - 1.45m (20.1%)
18:00: BBC News at Six - 4.67m (32.0%)
18:30: BBC Regional News - 5.20m (32.0%)
19:00: Rip Off Britain: Food - 3.60m (20.2%)
19:30: EastEnders - 4.27m (20.8%)
20:00: Holby City - 4.01m (20.6%)
21:00: New Tricks - 5.37m (25.5%)
22:00: BBC News at Ten - 4.48m (26.0%)

BBC 2
19:30: Great British Menu - 1.73m (8.4%)
20:00: The House That £100k Built - 1.70m (8.7%)
21:00: Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School - 1.82m (8.6%)

ITV
19:00: Emmerdale - 6.37m (33.2%), +1 - 292k (1.5%)
*6.42m (31.3%) during 30 minute clash
20:00: Love Your Garden - 3.16m (16.2%), +1 - 186k (0.9%)
21:00: The One and Only Cilla Black - 3.35m (15.8%), +1 - 249k (1.6%)
22:40: Cilla - 1.23m (11.7%), +1 - 106k (2.0%)

Channel 4
18:30: Hollyoaks - 728k (4.5%), +1 - 118k (0.6%)
20:00: The Three Day Nanny - 960k (4.9%), +1 - 124k (0.6%)
21:00: Hunt for the Arctic Ghost Ship - 1.45m (6.9%), +1 - 248k (1.6%)

Channel 5
13:15: Home and Away - 223k (3.0%)
13:45: Neighbours - 646k (8.9%)
17:30: Neighbours - 640k (5.3%)
18:00: Home and Away - 548k (3.7%)
20:00: The Dog Rescuers with Alan Davies - 1.13m (5.8%)
21:00: Can’t Pay? Benefits Special - 1.45m (6.9%), +1 - 109k (0.7%)
22:00: Botched Up Bodies - 785k (5.0%), +1 - 57k (0.7%)

BBC 3
20:00: Don’t Tell the Bride - 498k (2.6%)
22:00: EastEnders - 720k (4.1%)
23:00: Family Guy - 590k (6.1%)
23:25: Family Guy - 533k (7.0%)

BBC 4
20:00: Great British Railway Journeys - 558k (3.0%)

ITV 2
22:00: Hell’s Kitchen - 462k (3.0%)

ITV 3
20:00: Midsomer Murders - 512k (2.5%)

E4
19:00: Hollyoaks - 503k (2.8%), +1 - 129k (0.7%)
20:00: Film: Night at the Museum 2 - 481k (2.4%)
22:00: Tattoo Fixers - 549k (3.6%)

5*
18:30: Home and Away - 329k (2.1%)

Sources - DS, ITV Media

That's fantastic for Cilla (the drama), especially at the time of night.

The arguments about the ED stunt are the same as ever. There are those who will not allow any criticism and those that want to criticise for the sake of it. It was ever thus.

I didn't even know there were more stunts. So when is the biggest stunt in soap history actually happening? I'm confused.

Good rating but it should have been promoted to 8pm.

ITV above 3 million all evening on a Tuesday?

A stable 20% share there for BBC One from 7pm through to 9pm.

The benefits porn programmes still doing the business for Channel 5 as well.

Now thats something that I definately agree with !!

The description of "laughable" I do think was uncalled for. Just because Brookside was better, doesn't mean ED's was bad. I'm disappointed that the character driven drama which is what Kate Oates promised (to many people's disbelief) and delivered has been largely ignored in favour of a bit of unnecessary criticism. Just my opinion.

It is a week of stunts. The description of "biggest stunt in soap history" isn't an official line, just one the director posted on Twitter. There is still the explosion of the village hall to come.

If that was aimed at me personally, then I can assure you that I am not going anywhere.

Have you seen it? Only you seem pretty confident that what's to come will blow us all away.

My issue with the helicopter crash is that the episodes would've been dramatic enough without it because of the affair reveal. I don't mind a stunt if creates the drama and is the focal point of the episodes but here it's just an add-on to the existing drama. I'm sure they could've found another way to kill off



I mean EastEnders didn't feel the need to have a plane crash into the side of the Vic during the fall out of Carol/Dan/Bianca or Sharongate. The episodes were strong enough without it.

Well I didn't see ED so obviously don't have an opinion of it one way or the other.
I saw on the Daily Mirror website last night that some liked and others were highly critical that it looked cheap.
People are always going to have different opinions and thats surely what this forum is for.
To air them. There is no right or wrong.

Look how weak Holby City looks. I wish ITV would compete on Tuesday because the audience will turn up if they make an effort. Look at the rise for LYG when its not given a lead in of sub 2m. With a figure of 3.35m (17%) that its highest figure this series.


BBC 2 had a great night.

The Cilla tributes did well for ITV. And for ITV I think with these new dramas for ITV Encore. Once they been shown on this channel they should rpt these dramas In the Tuesday 9pm slot where they have nothing to loose. The majority of the audience will not have seen them, so should get a good audience on the main channel for a new drama and give ITV a Tuesday boost with something that isn't factual.

Ch5 and its reliance of Benefits series is really sad. Every week now it has a new benefits series and viewers are still watching.

Maybe that is the biggest stunt in soap history? A week of explosions? I thought it was just one big one then the aftermath.

To answer your first point, no I haven't seen it. If anything I'd rather everyone focused on the week as a whole including stunts and character driven drama. I'm far from confident it will blow people away as this thread is incredibly picky .

I get your point with the second part of your post, however a stunt only works when the character driven drama is good enough to build up the suspense. It sends the drama off in an unexpected direction. It's the reason why Corrie's tram crash was such a success but the recent minibus crash was a complete failure.

We've seen ED do the standard affair reveal just a couple of weeks ago with Robert and Aaron. It was done so well with such a simple yet effective reveal. ED can do character driven drama without a stunt, but in this case the stunt provides a more interesting dynamic. How will the fact that Debbie nearly died affect Pete's feelings towards her? Will Cain save the child that up until now he has shown no interest in? The stunt isn't just a contrived set piece that looks good. It sets up storylines that wouldn't have happened otherwise and enhances current ones.

I think that's fine for Emmerdale. Not many soaps get their highest ratings since March in July, and the rating grew over the hour (6.32m from 7-7.30pm and 6.42m from 7.30-8pm)

I thought it was a brilliant episode. Remember in the last huge week, the siege in 2013, the rating peaked on Wednesday and Thursday, and the same could happen here.

EastEnders held up well.

I have a critical eye for special effects. People can slate Brookside but the helicopter crash looked much more spectacular as it was a physical prop rather than a CGI one. Even the gas canister flying up in the air looked a bit ropey. It looked decent but also looked like some of the effects an amateur does and posts on You Tube.

Effective, decent but I wasn't wowed by it.

Re-posting this from mid June.