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Why is Eastenders still considered the "trendy" soap to watch?


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Old 13-10-2005, 01:51
Drifter
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Whilst Corrie and especially Emmerdale are seen as being kind of embarrassing to watch among youngsters? How the hell does this stigma exist? I doubt most 14/15 year olds even know of it's "Farm" days (in fact they wouldn't even have been born when it changed!) and of course Corrie is still the most watched show on TV, so that doesn't make sense either.

I'm not trying to stereotype all teenagers, I know plenty around here prefer Corrie and E/Dale to EE, but you have to admit there are a hell of a lot more young people who favour EE and only post in those topics. And everyone says EE is always the one people talk about in school etc. It was the same when I was in school about 6 or 7 years ago.

Is it the London setting that grabs people's attention, whilst a country village doesn't seem half as exciting by comparison?

Emmerdale didn't start getting really popular until about 10 years ago, but it's consistantly pulled in the viewers since then, so quite why kids never talk about it I'm not sure. Teenagers are also happy to talk about Neighbours and Home & Away too, but they are slightly more teen-orientated to me anyway. How on Earth is EE any more appealing to youngsters than Corrie and E/Dale? Is it the "comedy" storylines in the Northern soaps that put them off?

I don't know why I posted this other than for a late-night rambling really, but I'd like to know if this will ever change. As hilariously up itself as that phrase is, the "Everyone's talking about it" slogan is unfortunately true, at least among the youth..
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Old 13-10-2005, 02:03
billfan19
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I think EE seems like the 'cool' soap to watch because they keep it up to date! It's more real to life, and I don't just mean with the storylines, I mean with the surroundings! It's a little of everywhere that people live! You always have your Dot Cotton and your Pauline Fowler! I know that my family often refer to my aunty as Pauline, because she works in a launderette!

I must say my interest in soaps has happened more as I left school, although I watched them at school, we focused more on Friends, ER and Dawson's Creek! Real teeny bopper programmes!
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Old 13-10-2005, 02:10
Drifter
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So real to life that Phil Mitchell, the man caught red-handed robbing some place, is going to walk straight back into the Square, whilst on other days people return from the dead.

LOL, come on, is it really any more real than Corrie or E/Dale? Okay those two soaps like their pantomine characters and stories, but it isn't all like that. They have realistic characters too.

You have a point with the surroundings, and this is what I say about a village perhaps alienating some people (although that is surely stupidity on their part). It's not enough to hold a show together though.
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Old 13-10-2005, 02:15
billfan19
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Personally, I would rather watch Eastenders than the other two, but that's because I always have! I've never been as interested with the others as I have with EE, even through it's rough patch!

I didn't so much mean real to life with storylines, sometimes they can be silly and far fetched, but when you think, the majority of people live in the busy suburbs rather than a village!

Maybe people prefer EE because it has no breaks, let's face it kids lose interest quickly!
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Old 13-10-2005, 02:26
Drifter
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It's a shame if people really ARE put off by the village. The countryside allows scope for different storylines. It's feasible that Emmerdale could build up into a larger village/small town over the years, if the show runs for long enough.
Anyway, Corrie is set in an urban location, though I must admit the set doesn't quite look real to me, it reminds me of a doll house (except a whole street) blown up to real life size.

The lack of breaks in EE do help and stop channel hopping.

I think the pantomine and sometimes cartoonish element of Corrie and E/Dale is the main thing really, plus the fact they have normal day-to-day storylines that just flesh an episode out, whereas EE seem to prefer big, dramatic storylines going on or nothing at all.

Anyway, I am off to bed :yawn:
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Old 13-10-2005, 06:12
Emerican Idol
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Well Eastenders is the only British Soap they play in Texas so that's why I think it's Cool and Martin is cute!
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Old 13-10-2005, 06:54
piinkie25
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Originally Posted by Emerican Idol
Well Eastenders is the only British Soap they play in Texas so that's why I think it's Cool and Martin is cute!
I'm from Texas and I didn't know they aired EE here. What channel do they air it on?
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Old 13-10-2005, 07:54
Lena LaVern
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Unfortunately we cant watch Corronation Street in Sweden (I've heard so much about it and that it is more for a grown up audience; so I would have wanted to see at least one episode). Emmerdale is on early daytime television but running two years behind; episodes from 2003. Those I know of who has seen it are all quite positive about it.

EE is on at BBC Prime Europe and one can watch it through cabel net work together with Classic EE episodes from 1991. The Classic EE is very popular; this is EE at its best a quite realistic working class drama more than a far-fetched soap primarily directed at kids like the show today. I doubt however that the very youngest EE fans of today would find the classic episodes particularly interesting but rather quite boring). Considering how old the episodes really are and that things in society has changed it still, surprisingly enough, outdo todays show totally in uniqueness and catch viewers of all ages interest here because of the high quality and the realism.

The contemporary episodes have declined so much in credebility both in storylines/characters and along with it beginning to remind more and more of the traditional American soaps viewers are beginning to drop off. The male viewers first; as they thought the men appeared and sounded more like old ladies, middle-class women and/or children in their language and behaviour, the grown up women after that; for the same reason plus they felt the women were portrayed as very stale, old-fashion and stupid, the young-ish girls/teenagers were next as they were disappointed and more or less offended by the way the women were portrayed and didnt feel they could relate to it at all as modern young women.

The developement in the show has the last years been pretty much what happened to our nationally produced soaps about 10 years ago; i.e. along with the dumbing down and infantilisation more and more grown-up viewers got fed up with soaps altogether and in the end it was more or less children television. Finally, when the reality shows appeard, the kids got bored as well and soaps were 'put to sleep' as a genre. The trend is going towards drama series now as people want realistic dramas rather than far-fetched rubbish or the even more rubbish reality 'soaps' that only are about sensationalism, viewers are rejecting them as well and want to 'go back to basics' and quality drama.
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Old 13-10-2005, 08:54
Caramel
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I have read various opinions on this board regarding the location of Eastenders and I agree with them. If Eastenders was not set in London/the south east, it would have long ago died a death. Move the terrible continuity, holey plots and actors with over inflated egos elsewhere and it would be scrapped within a week.

The producers have sat back on their laurels for far too long, because they are part of the BBC. Eastenders is so poor, it amazes me that so many viewers just don't notice.
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Old 13-10-2005, 09:08
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It is because it is the youngest soap and is the one people can best remember great stuff from. I don't know how it works but that is what it is.
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Old 13-10-2005, 09:26
\/\/alford []re
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Simple Eastenders has had MASSIVE stoyrliness and when the were young thas what they remember, ever since they were birn EE has always been talked about its only recently that Corrie E'dale has become good, but they cant shed the 'old grannies' only watch it comments, so if a young person did watch it there unlikly to admit it.
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Old 13-10-2005, 10:00
Jo Dean
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Because EastEnders makes viewers what ever age like all the characters in the show. Younger people love Dot and Pat yet with Corrie no younger people really care about Emily or Rita.

Simple.
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Old 13-10-2005, 10:19
Drifter
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Which is inexplicable. Apart from the fact EE has a tiny cast. And they certainly don't make people like all the cast, a fair few are always slated...
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Old 13-10-2005, 11:35
*Winterberry*
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My favourite soaps are Eastenders and Family Affairs..... I won't ramble on about why is the best ETC because it proberbly isn't to other people.
The reason I prefer these to soaps is they always have at least one Character who i think is fantastic, with EE i used to love Paul very underated IMO and i also like Pauline Dot and especially Jim and Patrick

With Family Affairs i have in the past taken a shine to Pete<r.i.p> sean,lucy and most recently conrad and thanks to a link to a fantasic website i now remember serge and clive who i loved.
For me it's all about the characters and how the actors portray them, and i'm drawn to them it's as simple as that.

I'm looking forward to Grants return i adored his character first time round, but we shall see how it goes
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Old 13-10-2005, 12:24
Charly_Honey
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Personally, Emmerdale is my favourite. I am 14, and my friends don't think that my favourite soap is 'uncool'.
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Old 13-10-2005, 12:47
dingledangle
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I think the coolness thing is changing, I used to live in Brighton and still have a lot of friends down there, all fairly self-conciously metrosexual types. None of them used to watch it when I lived there but now many of them do. Wierdly this pretty much coincided with the advent of the Kings, which regular viewers took some time to accept. Don't know the reason though, and I've no idea about kids tastes.
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Old 13-10-2005, 12:49
Charly_Honey
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I definitely prefer Emmerdale since all the Kings arrived. They totally rock! And I think they symbolise the fact that there is Yorkshire-Dale-life outside farming, too, with all the business stuff etc. They're much more urban and much more realistic, IMO.
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Old 13-10-2005, 12:50
Evannah
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Originally Posted by Charly_Honey
Personally, Emmerdale is my favourite. I am 14, and my friends don't think that my favourite soap is 'uncool'.
It's mine too. Nothing can beat Emmerdale. As for EastEnders, I'm starting to get bored with it. I don't care if I miss a few episodes of it.
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Old 13-10-2005, 12:59
dingledangle
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Originally Posted by Charly_Honey
I definitely prefer Emmerdale since all the Kings arrived. They totally rock! And I think they symbolise the fact that there is Yorkshire-Dale-life outside farming, too, with all the business stuff etc. They're much more urban and much more realistic, IMO.
I watched it before but I like it much better since the Kings brought the Town/Country conflicts in. Also it good to see the tortured suffering of the rich and corrupt. And how come I find Jimmy sympathetic? Careful writing and character creation I guess but it really works and I miss them when they're not on now.
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Old 13-10-2005, 13:26
CharityDingle
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Most people I know don't watch soaps at all (I'm at uni)
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Old 13-10-2005, 13:29
iloveeastenders
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Simple fact is teenage don't like corrie because it is not cool, that beacuse its something your granma or grandad would watch and secondly its full of old people who have been there for years and years, long before most teenages where born. Also the music at the start of the show which is very 50s and boring/dull does not help the show image toward teenage as it makes it feel old and boring.

I'm 16 and in college now, and as far as I can remember at school people talk about what happens in EE as if it is cool to watch it. But when I tell people for the first time I watch corrie they normal go "You watch corrie, why?, that boring and full of old people" So, I did't really like telling others at school I watch corrie because people will laugh.

Whereas EE has alway been cool untill the start of 2004, when it became boring, no one talked about it but moments like the arrive of Jonny got people talking again but stop till Den's body was found.
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Old 13-10-2005, 14:30
Sinbazro_05
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I'm sure it started around the time they brought in Paul Nicholls to play Joe Wicks. He was plastered all over the front covers of the girlie magazines and got all the girls talking. Then Jack Ryder came in and he was the same. I think younger boys probably tuned in for the Mitchell punch-ups and more recently, Zoe Slater and Kelly Taylor etc.
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Old 13-10-2005, 14:54
SULLA
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Dot, Pat and Pauline are very trendy.
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Old 13-10-2005, 14:58
AntsINyourPANTS
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EastEnders is considered the trendy soap because it's far fetched and poor quality - the exact type of thing mindless "trendy" tweenies go for. You'll also find these same tweenies will happily sit and watch Hollyoaks and OC because they aren't educated enough to realise what drivel they are watching.

Also they'll like EastEnders due to the fact their cast for some strange reason are plastered across the front pages of many of these dire magazines that people with sad lives read religiously.
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Old 13-10-2005, 15:03
Lippincote
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My 17 year old nephew thinks all soaps are 'sad' but Corrie is probably 'saddest' of them all. I agree with other posters that it is because the perception is that it is watched by your grandma. The theme music and the title scenes with the cobbles don't do much to change that impression.

I agree with tina that what hooks you into a soap is the characters - I started watching FA because of the Costellos (well, alright, NOT Mel!), also loved Lucy, Trish was very good although that all got a bit out of hand - and Pete was the best bad guy ever in a soap IMO.

However for me that is Easties' weakness rather than its strength - there are very few characters in EE that I care about at all. Probably just Dot, Ian, Pat, Stacey and Kat (about to leave). I agree about the fantastic Paul, and Janine, but they are now long-gone. Whereas in Corrie I am spoilt for choice, they have so many great characters, there are very few that bore me.
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