Emmerdale, not just a farm anymore (Emmerdale)

Member Name: Littledreamer

Product:	Emmerdale
Date:	27/07/08 (57 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good time slot, easy to pick up if you miss any, Omnibus edition on Saturdays

Disadvantages: Some of the light hearted story lines are a bit on the silly side

I've been watching Emmerdale for many years now. Not sure how I got into it, I think maybe my Mum used to watch it and I picked it up from there. It's the sort of soap that I can watch all week, but I'm not too bothered if I miss a couple of episodes as it's easy to get back into.

Emmerdale is a small village in Yorkshire. The show used to be called Emmerdale Farm, but over the years the farm part of the show has decreased and other aspects and businesses have crept in, leaving less attention on the farm. The show is pretty light hearted on the whole, not so depressing and serious as Eastenders, but saying that, it does cover some serious issues, the most recent one was such a hard hitting story line it had me in tears.

It revolved around two families who both had babies. One of the babies died and to cut a long story short, it was discovered that the babies had been mixed up at birth, so Laurel and Ashley had thought she had lost a son, when really it was the other couple whose baby had died,and they had to come to terms with giving up their child to the biological parents, knowing that they never got to know their biological son, and now having to face handing the baby boy who they regarded as their son over to another couple. It was a heartbreaking situation and I feel that the Emmerdale writers handled it beautifully, one of the most dramatic and sensitive issues that the show has ever tackled.

On the light hearted side, the Dingle family are the ones who are always looking for a scam, trying to get money without working for it, and being cheeky layabouts, but you can't help but love them. They are the heart of the village in some ways.

The local pub is called The Woolpack where everyone meets for a drink and a good old banter,along with the cafe which is run by Viv and Bob Hope who are strong characters. It amazes me how much time the locals spend in the cafe though,seeing as the village is so tiny,they must only live about 30 seconds or less away from the cafe, so why do they all spend money on tea and breakfast there?

Emmerdale is on at 7pm for half an hour Monday to Friday, with an omnibus on Saturday mornings. I think the main reason I watch it is for the humour, and the fact that it is on at 7pm which is usually around dinner time for me, so it's perfect to watch at this time.

Summary: A fun soap that does cover serious issues too.