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Old 05-03-2016, 19:17
BBKINGREALITY
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I don't about u but modern soaps have made me really disconnected as a viewer. How can they expect us to sit there & take in all this farcical drama?. We should expect more grounded realism from our soaps, they're supposed to reflect our society after all. They use to be grounded like This is England or the early Shameless series. The writers are so caught up in sensationalism that they've completely forgotten the gritty realism that these soaps were known for.
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Old 05-03-2016, 20:23
inverness1967
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I don't about u but modern soaps have made me really disconnected as a viewer. How can they expect us to sit there & take in all this farcical drama?. We should expect more grounded realism from our soaps, they're supposed to reflect our society after all. They use to be grounded like This is England or the early Shameless series. The writers are so caught up in sensationalism that they've completely forgotten the gritty realism that these soaps were known for.
The two main urban soaps dont reflect unemployment. Count on one hand, if any, characters who are unemployed or unemployed for long.
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Old 06-03-2016, 07:32
little-monster
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Soaps have always been ridiculous
Did you ever watch Dallas and Dynasty? Now they were mad.
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Old 06-03-2016, 07:37
Ouroboros
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No I would much prefer it if they went down the realms of fantasy route and introduced much more comedy rather than becoming depression riddled social commentaries already have more than enough real life to cope with without seeing it on the TV.
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Old 06-03-2016, 09:20
Janet43
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Sorry if this sounds like a lecture, but I've been watching soaps for a very long time and am sad at where they seem to be going..

"Soaps operas" originated in the USA aimed at housewives, sponsored by soap manufacturers and used to reflect real life with a bit of fantasy for women while doing housework.

There were a couple of war time/post war time radio soaps, but the the first long running one in this country, "The Archers" on the radio, was described as "an everyday story of country folk" and was a way of giving information to farmers during post WW2 rationing and food shortages in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. When that was no longer needed it continued as a general continuing drama. I used to listen to it, even though I lived in the east end of London and had only seen a cow while on holiday.

The long-running TV ones started with "Coronation Street" in 1960 and did portray life in a northern town. The sets were all indoors and the actors had learned their craft in theatres, unlike modern soap sets and actors. There wasn't much humour.

Emmerdale (originally Emmerdale Farm) started in 1972 almost as a TV version of "The Archers", "Pobol y Cwm" in 1974, "Eastenders" (grim and stayed grim) not until 1985.

People travel freely, which they didn't do that much before soaps (we didn't own a car until 1964) and relied more on TV to find out what went on elsewhere. We now have all sorts of programmes from the USA and get glimpses of what life is like elsewhere, even though it's greatly distorted, and I'm sure soaps wouldn't get the ratings which is all they're concerned with, because people are now used to slick, fast moving action.

They no longer reflect everyday life and when they try, they frequently make a mess of it on the grounds that it isn't real life but a drama, even though viewers get very annoyed when they condense a serious issue into a few weeks, making it seem far simpler and easier than it really is, even getting some bits wrong, and then forget about it as f it never happened.

I only watch "Coronation Street", partly because I've watched it since the first episode. partly because I never got into any of the others and partly because it can still be entertaining. I agree with the OP, but I don't think there enough of us who would watch to keep the ratings up if we couldn't criticise content sometimes.
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Old 06-03-2016, 09:30
davejc64
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Keep the comedy elements of a soap in fact increase them and lose the box ticking of real life issues, we all already know enough about what happens in real life so don't need to be informed about it in soaps which should be entertaining and fun to watch.
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Old 06-03-2016, 09:37
Alex_Sullivan
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No, you're right, they don't reflect the way things are, and it's a good point that they could do worse than look at other contemporary drama and try to learn something.
I don't expect hard-boiled reality and relentless gloom, but a bit of realism wouldn't go amiss. Increasingly it seems to be mistaken with low-level propaganda such as the call to ban soap characters from eating unhealthy food.
We're not back at school.
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Old 06-03-2016, 10:18
Sunnydays
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No I would much prefer it if they went down the realms of fantasy route and introduced much more comedy rather than becoming depression riddled social commentaries already have more than enough real life to cope with without seeing it on the TV.
I agree, it depends on why you watch soaps. For me it is escapism from the dire news and sadness which we see every day, at least I know the soaps are unreal whereas the news is real life.....
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Old 06-03-2016, 10:27
Zeus89
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Soaps have always been ridiculous
Did you ever watch Dallas and Dynasty? Now they were mad.
They was mad😅😅
But so fun and dallas especially very gritty
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Old 06-03-2016, 10:59
BBKINGREALITY
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Go youtube an old Corrie or ED episode with Jack Duckworth being a layabout or Jack Sugden. Its like a completely different show. They felt so down to earth & the kitchen sink drama had real weight behind it. Now its just 1 ridiculous plot after another after another after another.. Its not that I hate soaps as I watch the main 3 religiously. I'm just telling it as it is because as a long term viewer I have that right.
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Old 06-03-2016, 13:34
Noxy
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Corrie has really gone downhill since the tram crash, and EastEnders hasn't been unmissable really since the Stax reveal in 2007. The only soaps I really like now are Pobol y Cwm and Red Rock.
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Old 06-03-2016, 18:22
SegaGamer
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Keep the comedy elements of a soap in fact increase them and lose the box ticking of real life issues, we all already know enough about what happens in real life so don't need to be informed about it in soaps which should be entertaining and fun to watch.
This is why Emmerdale is my favourite these days. It's a mix of everything. I think they have the best actors and actresses out of all of the soaps too.
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Old 06-03-2016, 22:37
BBKINGREALITY
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I actually think Corrie for all its faults is the most grounded. Eastenders & Emmerdale are way too OTT. Its ridiculous how people get shot, run over, lose a baby etc on a week to week basis. That just doesn't happen in any community, maybe 1ce in a blue moon there'll be a travesty but not on such a relentless basis.
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Old 06-03-2016, 23:33
EssexJosh96
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Personally i don't watched soaps to be reminded of real life, i have watched old episodes of Coronation Street from the 70's and 80's on YouTube and it was like watching Last Of the Summer Wine with a more serious edge
Eastenders episodes from the same era felt more modern and in touch with the time, Corrie for a while seemed to be stuck in the 1960's XD
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Old 06-03-2016, 23:48
Hollo and Gonch
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I completely agree with the OP.

The soaps are digging their own graves by going down the sensationalist route. It's so rare these days that storylines develop from the characters - it's more that the characters have to be malleable enough to fit in with the storylines, lessening the audience's connection with them.
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Old 07-03-2016, 02:47
Aaronwy
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Why would anyone watch a TV show if they want an accurate portray of real life - unless it's a documentary? Here's a suggestion - if you want to see what real life is like, go outside and see it for yourself.

I mean, honestly - a TV show portraying what life is really like in a small village in the Yorkshire Dales would be unrelentingly dull. Isn't the whole point of watching TV to escape reality for half an hour?
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Old 07-03-2016, 07:52
sorcha_healy27
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It depends on the storyline. If they are tackling issues such as sexual abuse or domestic violence they should be as realistic as possible. If it's something such as a disaster like the plane crash in Emmerdale I don't mind a bit of sensationalism.
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Old 07-03-2016, 08:02
Ouroboros
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All the real life stuff soaps do is just box ticking anyway they have a list of real life issues and will look at it to decide what they are going to cover next it might be something new or it might be a recycled one they have covered before but they want to rehash it and do it again if they think it's a 'fashionable' subject.
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Old 07-03-2016, 13:51
Andybear
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No I would much prefer it if they went down the realms of fantasy route and introduced much more comedy rather than becoming depression riddled social commentaries already have more than enough real life to cope with without seeing it on the TV.
I agree. I watch soaps for entertainment, an escape from real life, so would definitely like more comedy.
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Old 07-03-2016, 13:55
Danny_Francis
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I don't about u but modern soaps have made me really disconnected as a viewer. How can they expect us to sit there & take in all this farcical drama?. We should expect more grounded realism from our soaps, they're supposed to reflect our society after all. They use to be grounded like This is England or the early Shameless series. The writers are so caught up in sensationalism that they've completely forgotten the gritty realism that these soaps were known for.
The soap that has that middle ground currently functioning well is Neighbours
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Old 07-03-2016, 14:37
Mark_Washingto1
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The soap that has that middle ground currently functioning well is Neighbours
I find Neighbours to be childish, poorly acted and written its like Knots Landing or Desperate Housewives written for Nickelodeon. It really did bad in the US it was on Hulu for maybe a year before they took it off where as Coronation Street and Hollyoaks are among Hulu's most popular shows. IMHO Hollyoaks at its worst is miles ahead of Neighbours.

As for the OP's comments I disagree about soaps needing to be realistic. The US soaps reached their highest ratings in the 80's when they had the super couples and action adventure stories like Luke and Laura on General Hospital stopping the Cassidines from freezing the world. Also in the early 90's Days of Our Lives ratings were in the toilet until Jim Riley was brought in as head writer and is crazy stories like Marlena's possession and Kristen and all her look-a-likes grabbed viewers attention and Days rose to #2 in the ratings. I think the thing soaps need to do is stay fresh and current giving the audience new exciting stories while at the same time remaining true to the characters, which IMHO is where the US soaps went wrong, they began to ignore the characters history and do stories that were out of character and ignored and at times altered the show's history.
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Old 07-03-2016, 15:22
davejc64
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All the real life stuff soaps do is just box ticking anyway they have a list of real life issues and will look at it to decide what they are going to cover next it might be something new or it might be a recycled one they have covered before but they want to rehash it and do it again if they think it's a 'fashionable' subject.
Agree and add it's always one eye on the prize for winning awards and gaining viewers based on being seen to cover real issues and not afraid to tackle taboo subjects brownie points.
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Old 07-03-2016, 15:32
Danny_Francis
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I find Neighbours to be childish, poorly acted and written its like Knots Landing or Desperate Housewives written for Nickelodeon. It really did bad in the US it was on Hulu for maybe a year before they took it off where as Coronation Street and Hollyoaks are among Hulu's most popular shows. IMHO Hollyoaks at its worst is miles ahead of Neighbours.

As for the OP's comments I disagree about soaps needing to be realistic. The US soaps reached their highest ratings in the 80's when they had the super couples and action adventure stories like Luke and Laura on General Hospital stopping the Cassidines from freezing the world. Also in the early 90's Days of Our Lives ratings were in the toilet until Jim Riley was brought in as head writer and is crazy stories like Marlena's possession and Kristen and all her look-a-likes grabbed viewers attention and Days rose to #2 in the ratings. I think the thing soaps need to do is stay fresh and current giving the audience new exciting stories while at the same time remaining true to the characters, which IMHO is where the US soaps went wrong, they began to ignore the characters history and do stories that were out of character and ignored and at times altered the show's history.
Fair enough, I used to think that way about Neighbours too maybe it was the time you tuned in. I think it is everything the UK soaps are currently not bar Emmerdale, down to earth (likeable characters) despite it being a 'family' TV show PG in content at times it still tackles issues in a more elegant and mature way than HO for example. Of course far less sensationalism, better use of language, better scenery, far more intelligent writing than HO, it is character driven so the acting quality is not always blatantly obvious with it but once you invest in the characters its far better. Of course, Neighbours is far more realistic than most of the Brit ones, there is a political undertone in amongst all of storylines such is what society is about arguably. Plus, the element of social class is better represented more professionals and aspirational people in Erinsborough IMO. Better portrayal of relationships too (families and friends)
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Old 07-03-2016, 15:46
Mark_Washingto1
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Fair enough, I used to think that way about Neighbours too maybe it was the time you tuned in. I think it is everything the UK soaps are currently not bar Emmerdale, down to earth (likeable characters) despite it being a 'family' TV show PG in content at times it still tackles issues in a more elegant and mature way than HO for example. Of course far less sensationalism, better use of language, better scenery, far more intelligent writing than HO, it is character driven so the acting quality is not always blatantly obvious with it but once you invest in the characters its far better. Of course, Neighbours is far more realistic than most of the Brit ones, there is a political undertone in amongst all of storylines such is what society is about arguably. Plus, the element of social class is better represented more professionals and aspirational people in Erinsborough IMO. Better portrayal of relationships too (families and friends)
I can kind of see your point, Neighbours is more everyday type stuff than the US and UK soaps but it just comes off as childish to me. There was once scene I remember where Lauren, Paige and Amber were trying to cheer up Bailey by doing a sock puppet show for him, the boy was a teenager. That was one of the most stupid and ridiculous things I've ever seen on a soap. I also found the Dainel/Amber romance annoying, there were very few characters I found likable, but I think it was really childish writing that turned me off. I will say this though, Neighbours hands down has the best opening out off all the soaps.
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Old 07-03-2016, 16:26
SS_Summer
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I dont entirely agree. I think soaps should imitate reality, but not replicate it. How boring would it be to watch a show that only exists in the confines of reality? Most of the characters would never talk or form friendships/relationships. It would be watch them get on the bus and go to work, come home, make dinner, maybe go to the pub and chat to a couple regulars? It needs to be a more glamorous version of real life. All of the stuff that happens doesn't really happen in real life to one set of people/one town/one street...BUT each event on its own could, hypothetically, happen. That is the measure for reality I want to see in soaps. I don't want to see totally unreasonable events like an asteroid hitting a soap community...but I allow that they need to stretch stories beyond what is typical or completely ordinary.
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