I'll never forget old Seth........... (Emmerdale)

Member Name: pmcds

Product:	Emmerdale
Date:	10/04/09 (77 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good acting and plots

Disadvantages: A bit tame at times

In terms of Britain's best loved and long running soaps, Emmerdale is right up there with them. Sadly for it, it always manages to get overlooked and overshadowed by the two main Brit soaps, Coronation Street and Eastenders, but I actually find many elements of the soap a lot more believable that those of the other two.

The soap is set in the fiction Yorkshire village of Emmerdale, known up until 1994 as Beckindale. The inhabitants have, by and large, changed somewhat over the years, but a few of them remain, and indeed it is often the case that the next generation of a family are the ones who carry on the mantle of the 'local' feel to the show. The show initially featured the Sugdens and their farm before the focus shifted onto the village.

The majority of the plots centre around the villagers, with the most familiar locations being the Woolpack (the pub), Home Farm (where the 'richer than thou' family live), and other sites such as the Post Office and the cafe. The characters are usually well developed, and the scandals often more direct and conniving than those of the other two main soaps.

For years, the main family were the Sugdens, who lived on and ran the main farm in the community. While there are still some of the family left, the majority have all been killed off or moved away. The Dingles seem to have taken over as the main family, while the local 'rich' family, who seem to want to run the place like a city, are the Kings, although they, too, are now dwindling in number. Eric Pollard is perhaps the most recognisable face in the soap. Others such as Seth and Alan have left for various reasons, and it is quite often the case that an actor feels he or she needs to leave the soap, or sadly passes away.

The community factor is the biggest pull for the soap, and it is what has drawn and attracted viewers since its first episode in 1972. The producers of the show know this, and quite often they attack this in the episodes, bringing their viewers to the boil as if they are attacking 'their' village, and not a fictional one. This can come in the form of the Kings and then the Wyldes in the past 10 years or so, and the Tates in the mid to late 90s.

Emmerdale is also well known for its outrageous disasters, with buildings exploding and planes crashing meaning that it always has people buzzing and talking about it up until the event. It draws in the viewers for the show and has done since its first major disaster in 1993 with a plane crashing in the community. There have also been a number of murders over the years, but this has nothing in terms of difference to other soaps such as Eastenders and Corrie.

Overall, I do enjoy watching the odd episode of Emmerdale. It has something different to other soaps in that it is set in a small rural community, and it has a bit more of a comedy element about it with some of the characters who are portrayed as rather simple. The cast all do very well, and it is rare that you get a poor actor that lasts a while.

In this respect, I cannot fail to rate Emmerdale rather highly. It does seem tame in comparison to a lot of the goings on in other soaps' storylines, but it is also more believable in many aspects, and this is what I find its appeal to be. Emmerdale currently airs weeknights at 7pm, and sometimes the episodes last longer than the usual half an hour. This usually happens on a Tuesday. Recommended.

Summary: Lovely rural alternative to the innercity soaps like Eastenders and Corrie