Mac-148
I used to watch Emmerdale Farm between shifts at the Charlie Chester Casino in Archer Street and loved it. That would be November 1976 and it starred a Scottish lad who used to be in Dr Who. My point is, anyone who watches it now, with Patrick Mower, has to read "Central Casting" by Jimmy McTee (http://stores.lulu.com/aroundthepeak), in which there is a Patrick Mower look-alike competition in Sri Lanka and he is given a chance to explain why he didn't become James Bond... Apparently he nearly made it, but lost out to Roger Moore for reasons not entirely satisfactory. But then in his CV he has Callan, which makes him a star straight away. Target I am not so sure about...
ShadeGrenade
History is continually being rewritten. The accepted myth is that from 1972-93, Kevin Laffan's 'Emmerdale Farm' consisted entirely of Annie Sugden making tea while Matt and Joe ate doorstep sandwiches and discussed how to fix a broken tractor. Even I.T.V.-1 has perpetuated this myth in its 'Emmerdale Family Album' programmes. Had it been like that, it would have been cancelled - and rightly so.'mathewowen' describes 'Emmerdale Farm' as 'having shed its image as a boring drama'. I think he has confused 'boring' with 'believable'. From 1972-93, 'Emmerdale Farm' was a well-written, well-produced and well-acted serial, with interesting characters ( 'Amos Brierly' and 'Mr.Wilkes' spring to mind ) and it did not insult the intelligence of viewers. But something dreadful happened. 'Brookside' maestro Phil Redmond was brought in to fix something that wasn't broken. In one of the most tasteless soap story lines of all time, a plane crashed on Beckendale, mirroring the real-life Lockerbie disaster of a few years earlier. More than just a few minor characters died. So did the show's spirit, its soul, its individuality. These days, 'Emmerdale' rivals 'Eastenders' in terms of sheer stupidity, with shouting in lieu of acting, and formulaic plots about adultery, adultery, and, oh yes, adultery. Don't get me started on the Dingles! There're like something out of 'Viz'! The ridiculous title sequence sets the tone for the show, featuring an over-orchestrated arrangement of Tony Hatch's theme, and pictures of people not in the actual programme, as 'Harry Hill's T.V. Burp' pointed out. I've recently submitted a script to the 'Emmerdale' production office. It begins with a nuclear explosion in 'The Woolpack' and the radiation unleashed causes the beer in the pumps to mutate into a sentient life form. Think they'll use it?Rather than continually sneer at this show's beginnings, I.T.V.-1 should study the episodes held in the archives to see what it was they were once so good at!
Chris Gaskin
Emmerdale is a good old British soap.Although the stars in this are changing all the while, I still enjoy watching it.Some of the best stars in this are Betty and Edna. They bring comedy relief, which it needs at times as there have been several tragedies over the years, including a plane crash and minibus crash, where several characters were killed off.Unfortunately, Stan Richards who played Seth died earlier this year (2005) and Emmerdale won't be the same without him.Some of the story lines in Emmerdale at present are rather silly, especially the affair between Viv and Paddy. Looks like yet another marriage breaking up (Emily and Paddy). For some reason, scriptwriters seem against people being happily married. There won't be any married couples left in Emmerdale the way things are going. You would not get this many marriage and relationship break ups in such a small community in real life.Despite all this, Emmerdale is an excellent soap and I still watch it.Rating: 4 stars out of 5.
K.E.E.
Emmerdale is a great show. I watch every episode and it never gets boring. There's always something new happening there. And yet it doesn't get unreal. They have every kind you can relate to. My favourites must be the Dingles. They are so funny. Otherwise I don't have any particular favourite. Anyway, the show really is worth watching every day, and I want people to know that!
