I have created a questionnaire to look into the target audience of soap operas and how i can create my soap opera trailer to suit the preferences of my target audience.
After reading each question, please circle the answer that most applies to you.
1: What is your gender?
A: Male
B: Female
2: How old are you?
A: Under 18
B: 18-25
C: 25-50
D: 50+
3: What region are you from?
A: South East and London
B: South and South West
C: North and Scotland
4: What is your favourite soap opera?
A: Eastenders
B: Corronation Street
C: Emmerdale
D: Hollyoaks
E: Neighbours
5: Would a soap opera trailer influence you into watching a soap opera?
A: Yes
B: No
6: Do you prefer simple narratives or complex narratives?
A: Simple narratives
B: Complex narratives
7: Do you prefer soaps to be in real time or soaps with lots of flash backs and fracturednarratives?
A: Real Time
B: Fractured Narratives
8: What time do you watch soap operas?
A:12pm to 4pm
B:6pm to 7pm
C:7pm to 9pm
9: Do you like to watch storylines of a serious nature that involve real life serious issues that are not often brought to the public eye?
A: Yes
B: No
10: How often would you like your favourite soap opera to be broadcasted?
A: Daily
B: 2-3 times a week
C: Weekly
D: Fortnightly
Thank you for taking your time to complete this questionnaire :)
Results Summary:
I found that more females watch soap operas than men particuarly during the day time where many stay at home mums from the Category E audience are at home to watch the soaps. I also found that more male viewers watch soaps in the evening during primetime and this is most likely when people get home and settle down to watch their favourite TV programs, i found that an equal amount of males and females watch soaps during 7pm-9pm and this is most likely when couples watch TV together.
I also found that more males like to watch complex and fractured narratives as it keeps them
more interested in the soap, whereas women were found to prefer simple narratives that deal with everyday issues. This has support from the Hyperdermic Needle Theory and to attract more viewers to our soap opera we would like to use flashbacks and a complex narrative to attract more viewers and keep them interested.
I also found that Eastenders was the most popular soap and that many people in the under 18 and 18-25 age groups stated that Hollyoaks was their favourite soap and shows that the show is attracting its target audience that are mainly Catergory D and E students and young people. As this is my target audience i have focussed specifically on how Hollyoaks and Eastenders present their soap opera trailers as we want to structure our trailer to suit our audiences needs and expectations of our trailer. This is making use of Dennis McQuails Uses and Gratifications theory (1987) as our target audience will be actively seeking to watch our trailer if we cater it to suit their needs.
I also found it interesting that many people stated their favourite soap was a soap set in their region, which has helped me to set our soap opera in a region where all of our viewers will mainly be from as the viewers will be able to relate to the characters and their environment.
Soap operas use trailers for a number of reasons: it could be to advertise new characters coming into the show, the death of a character or a new storyline with a whodunnit theme. The trailer itself will provide the audience with a basic insight into the events happening in the soap but will leave out vital information which the viewer will want to find out and in order to find out they will want to watch the show. Trailers will also concentrate only on one event whereas the actual episode will be focusing on other storylines involved with other characters and progress in real time following plots and sub-plots. Trailers advertise the event without revealing the twists and excitement that an episode will have, the trailer will give you and insight into what will be happening and what time and what channel to watch it on. This is usually in the form of the channels ident being used at the end of the trailer.
A soap opera trailer will typically start by introducing characters from the soap, and will then progress onto introducing a new plot. It will then begin to reveal storylines and before the end, will have a tagline. For example: In the Mitchell Sister's trailer, the tagline is: The Square, Under New Management. Also: The strictly not for the faint hearted trailer has a narrator at the end saying "strictly not for the fainthearted" and this is playing on Calvin's actor's appearence in the BBC1 show as well as how the fainthearted should be aware of his death.
I have analysed 3 soap opera trailers and also a trailer that was made by last year's Year 13s. I have looked at and analysed these soaps to help me understand how my trailer should be and how the conventions should be used throughout my trailer, looking at these trailers has helped me understand how my trailer doesn't specifically have to be like a film trailer but instead it can have a quirky and individual style to introduce my soap opera, its characters and the story lines.
A particular convention i would like to use is by making use of the Male Gaze Theory to sexualize the female characters in my trailer in order to attract male audience members from Caetegory C1, C2, D and E. I would also like to include stereotypical characters such as: feisty female, jack the lad and power couple. This is so audience members in Category D and E can emphasize with the characters and by using verisimilitude i am enabling my Category D and E audience members.
The trailer starts with a black screen and a non diegetic heart beat sound. It then switches to a wide shot of a man and woman in a front room lit by two lamps and the daylight streaming through the patio windows. The man is dressed in black and this has connotations that he is the antagonist. He is begging the female, Lucy, who is dressed casually to break off her wedding because he is in love with her. The use of Lucy being casually dressed is to relate to the audience because soap operas opt for a sense of realism to attract their audiences. There is then an over the shoulder shot from the male, Graham, looking at Lucy as she says “he loves me more than you” the over the shoulder shot is used to show the audience the impact of those words. The use of Graham saying the words “don’t make me do something ill regret” add a tense feeling for the audience and the suspense begins to build as the camera tracks Lucy as she walks out the door and a black screen appears saying “Two Choices”. The words “Two Choices” on the black screen are accompanied with another heartbeat and this is done to build the suspense within the audience.
There is then an establishing shot of a church and an amplified extra diegetic church bell sound can be heard, this is to establish to the audience that the wedding is about to take place. There is then a high shot of the church and we can see Lucy and her husband to be at the altar with friends and family in the pews. The camera then closes in onto a two shot of the couple and the vicar as the ceremony begins. As the vicar says each characters name, Lucy Anderson and Warren Coyle, the camera does a close up of each of them from the others point of view. These camera angles are used to highlight to the audience how special they day is for each character. After the close up of Warren Coyle, the camera transitions to a pair of bleeding fists scrunching into balls on the lap of Graham and the another heartbeat sound can be heard. The camera is in a point of view shot from Graham and the use of the heartbeat and his angry movement add to the suspense built in the audience.
Another black screen follows accompanied with a heartbeat and the words “One Outcome” is used, this again creates fear in the audience. Another point of view shot from Graham’s point of view is used to reveal him winding up a wire. Another heartbeat sound can be heard as the camera transitions from the wire in Graham’s hand to a close up of the wire bounding a pair of hands behind a persons back. This is followed by another heartbeat and a transition to a mid wide shot to reveal Lucy curled in a ball with her hands tied behind her back in a dark and dingy garage. The heart beat sound continues at the same pace as the camera transitions to an establishing shot of the front room to reveal Warren running through the door and the room as he calls for Lucy. The camera then switches to his point of view and the heart beat speeds up as Warren runs up the stairs and checks the house for Lucy frantically. The camera then closes in on Lucy who is crying as she is tied up and then the screen goes back and a loud scream can be heard. A final heartbeat is heard and the words “Will he find her?” appear on the black screen and then the title Court Road as a female whisper says the title, then the Channel 7 logo and the whisper accompanies this and finally the words Don’t Miss Out. The use of the whisper is eerie and adds to the terror and suspense that has been built up in the audience.
Overall, the trailer has worked well. The editing has been smooth and the use of the heartbeat and black screens has built up suspense and terror in the audience which will attract them into wanting to know what has happened to Lucy and made them intrigued to watch the soap opera. The settings and characters are believable and similar to that of real life and the storyline is exciting and tense which will attract audiences of all ages easily. Although the camera is shaky in some shots, its is used as a compliment when Warren is running around the house trying to find Lucy as it portrays his fear as he is trying to find her.
I have researched into the viewing figures of soap opera's for this week (6th September to 12th September) and i have got my information from http://www.barb.co.uk/. I have mainly looked at BBC1, ITV and Channel 4 because the mainstream soap operas in the UK are mainly broadcast on these channels.
I found the top viewed program of the week was X Factor on ITV which had 11,776,000 viewers in total. In second place was Eastenders on BBC1 with 10,087,000 viewers, this shows that Eastenders attracts more of the population and even had more viewers than the last ever Big Brother Final, in fact it had doubled the Channel 4's 4,082,000 viewers. Which shows that soap operas are not being taken over by reality tv.
The camera pans to a midshot of an older character, Mo, sitting in the pub about to take a sip of her wine but she lowers her glass slowly in shock, the camera then closes in on another older character, Shirley who was looking down and then her eyes move up slowly and suspiciously to the object of attention. The shock and suspicion on the characters' faces denotes that the object of attention is foreign and suspicious to them. The camera then closes in on a couple, Billy and Honey who are standing and Honey looks at Billy who shrugs his shoulders. The camera then closes in onto Minty and Gary, two men holding pints of beer in the middle of a crowd looking up intrigued to this new and foreign object that is confusing the locals. There is a dance song playing and the camera then closes in on two girls dancing and laughing in the crowd. Each character has been dressed up in party wear and there is a dance track playing loudly which implies that the trailer is aimed at a younger Category E audience.. The camera then closes back in on Billy and Honey who look confused and are still looking towards the new sight. Then back to Shirley who is looking suspicious, a red disco light spotlights Shirley’s face and this denotes that there is a party in the Queen Vic. The camera pans back to Mo who still looks confused and back to Gary and Minty who are smiling and then to the two dancing girls who are still laughing. The audience can now see a crowd around the centre of attention and the smiling and laughing characters seem to be part of the party and are enjoying themselves as opposed to the older confused characters which further attracts the younger Category E audience members.
The camera then pans to the bar which is lit with white ropes lights to a blonde woman in a red top with red lipstick. The red denotes sexiness and is used to attract male audience members from Category C1, C2, D and E. The song "the girls" by Calvin Harris starts and this suggests that the trailer is aimed at men as well as younger audience memebers because the song is about how Calvin Harris gets all the girls and likes all types of girls, this song accompanied with the seductive red top on the attractive blonde female which stands out with the dark bar and dance floor would be appealing to a male audience. The blonde female is dancing with a bottle in her hand and the audience can assume she is a new character and the trailer is advertising this. The camera then goes to a low angle of the blonde women, the low angle could be a key angle used in the male gaze theory where women are sexualised to appeal to a male audience. The blonde lady then reaches for a note in a customers hand and a Vegas style cha-ching non diegetic sound can be heard. There is a freezeframe as she grabs the money and the lighting on this freeze-frame is a neon blue shade which could connote how the character is new and cool and attracts to a new younger audience. The words "Ronnie Mitchell" are next to her on the screen which denotes her name to the audience and how she is part of the Mitchell family who own the pub. The title of the trailer is also called Mitchell Sisters, which the audience is now aware that Ronnie Mitchell is one of the Mitchell sisters. The use of the cha-ching is a positive sound which could not only be a cha-ching of the money she is now holding and making for the pub but also a cha-ching for the young audience and male audience who will be watching the show.
The next camera shot is of Ronnie under a spotlight dancing and having fun, which is used to reveal how fun the show will now be with her in, she is also pointing towards something which the camera now tracks as another blonde lady in a white cowgirl hat jumps up, as she jumps the camera then freezes and the words Roxy Mitchell appear. This denotes that she’s also part of the Mitchell family, the use of the white hat connotes her innocent but the cowgirl hat teamed with the neon orange vest top connotes a fun party girl image which attracts to a young audience. The dot on the "I" of Mitchell sparkles and a sparkle non diegetic sound is heard, the use of the sparkle and sound suggests she is new and also a dazzling object of desire for the audience. The two girls join the centre of the crowd and dance in the middle under the spotlight, the men are smiling and a point of view shot from the men reveals Roxy smiling at them. The characters in the crowd are all dancing and enjoying the party whereas the older characters on the outside are covering there eyes in shame. This suggests that the trailer is being specifically aimed at younger audiences. The trailer ends as the girls spray a fire extinguisher on the men who laugh and jeer and then are dancing together in the middle when the words "the square under new management" this highlights that the girls are new characters and connotes that they will cause controversy in the square. The Eastenders logo and BBC ident then appears on a black screen and the iconic duff duffs can be heard. The trailer is advertising how the two Mitchell sisters are now joining the show and the use of the party attracts a younger audience into watching the show. The trailer makes use of Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze Theory and the camera angles are shot as if from a male's perspective to sexualise the women.
There is a slow zoom into a magazine cover which has the blue and pink Hollyoaks logo at the top, 3 pictures - 1 of Nancy, 1 of Kris and 1 of Ravvi under the logo and the words "love triangle" in bold underneath, the title is also called Love Triangle and the audience are now aware that the 3 characters are involved in a love triangle. There is also a blue circle underneath which you can partially see which says "exclusive." In the background of the magazine behind the title and images is a picture of Nancy and Kris and the audience can assume there is another underneath of Ravvi, this reminds the audience of the characters involved. The images on the magazine cover are laid out like a comic strip and the first image is of Kris which is placed on the right hand side of the cover, the image is a video of Kris saying "I want us to be together" it then pauses and Ravvi's image which is in the middle then plays and Ravvi says "everyone keeps things to themselves sometimes" connoting that he has a secret, then Nancy’s video plays after Ravvi had finished and says "argh this is such a big mess" all characters are in the same room which is apparent to the audience as the walls are green in each picture/video. The use of the videos starting from right to left as opposed to left to right could be to connote how the situation is backwards and ‘messed up. After Nancy says the line "argh this is such a big mess" the page spirals and the song chorus "girls and boys" by blur begins loudly.
The audience then sees a close up of a new page in the magazine which reads like a comic book strip, the first box in the strip is a box of Ravvi kissing Nancy on the head, both are wearing their dressing gowns in the room with the green walls which the audience can assume is either Nancy’s or Ravvi’s house. The use of them in dressing gowns establishes their relationship. The camera then darts to the next box is Ravvi hugging Nancy and there is a close up of his face and a comic book speech bubble from him saying "I cant stop thinking about Kris" the camera then darts to the next window which shows the hug from Nancy’s side and a close up of Nancy’s face wear comic book thought bubbles join Ravvi’s. This establishes to the audience that Ravvi and Nancy both like Kris. The camera then darts to a box which has been broken into 4 and the use of the broken boxes reveals the broken relationship. The four boxes show: Ravvi with his hands on Kris’s shoulder, a close up of Kris crying, Nancy angry and Kris grabbing Ravvi's face and kissing him. After each video ends the next plays quickly. The camera then darts to the next boxes where there is and over the shoulder shot of Nancy opening a door to reveal Ravvi and Kris kissing, it then darts down the page to another box which reveals a camera pan around where Kris, Nancy and Ravvi are sitting, in the bottom left corner of the box is a white caption box which says "share the love" this denotes in the literal sense that all 3 are sharing each other, the next box is of Nancy looking at Kris and again there is caption box which says "feel the pain" which implies that all the characters feel pain not only in the fact that they are being cheated on and are themselves cheating, but also the confusing and stressful situation they are in is causing them pain.the final box is of an over the shoulder shot of Nancy looking at Kris and the channel 4 ident then appears. The editing in this trailer has been continuous and the camera has darted to each box in time with the music which has the lyrics:
Girls who are boys, Who like boys to be girls, Who do boys like they’re girls, Who do girls like they’re boys, always should be someone you really love.
The use of this song and these lyrics is to make a joke of how Nancy’s boyfriend is cheating on her with a man and the man who he is cheating with is also cheating on Ravvi with Nancy. The use of the magazine cover and the comic book layout is to appeal to the shows target audience who are young adults. The scandalous gossip on the front cover is similar to that of popular gossip magazines for young adults and therefore the gimmick is used to attract audience members. The storyline is made obvious and the audience will then be intrigued to watch the show to see how the love triangle is resolved.
The trailer starts with a mid shot of Calvin wearing a white shirt in a dark room that has no natural lighting and is illuminated by spot lights. The audience are immediately aware that the trailer is about Calvin who is being put on the spot, his white shirt connoting his innocence. Calvin slides sideways and then we see a wide shot of Kris, Sasha and Leo sitting on a judging panel. The song, Heads Will Roll by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is playing in the background loudly.
We then see Calvin dancing with his new wife Carmel which denotes a first dance, the camera then looks from Calvin’s point of view to show him looking at Jacqui and Des who are dancing together and giving evils to Calvin which denotes their anger at Calvin as Jacqui knows about his affair with her other sister. The camera then shows a mid shot of Calvin and Carmel and Calvin’s reaction to the dirty looks where he looks confused. The couple are then bumped into by Mercedes and Malachi and the camera reveals a close up of Mercedes and Malachi’s face in Calvin’s point of view, this again denotes their anger at Calvin because he is having an affair with Mercedes who is hurt that he is still marrying Carmel and also Malachi (who is the best man) who knows about the affair and feels hurt by Calvin. We then see Jake and Theresa in a wide shot and then a high shot of Jake’s foot stamping on Calvin’s, the camera then pans up to Calvin holding his foot in a wide shot where we can see Carmel, Jake and Theresa standing near him.
The non-diegetic music is in time with the editing and the speed that the camera angles focus on each character. The audience are then shown a long shot of the dance floor where Michaela and Zach can be seen dancing and Michaela who has her back to Calvin is kicking behind to kick him. The camera then reveals Calvin’s reaction and then a point of view shot to show a close up of Michaela and Zach to reveal the two laughing. All characters are dressed smartly in wedding attire and this again connotes to the audience that it is Calvin and Carmel’s wedding day. After the camera shows Calvin’s reaction shot, we then see a two shot of Reece dancing with Carmel and Calving looking confused. The camera then shows a mid shot of Calvin’s torso and white shirt which could connote his innocence. A glass of red wine is then thrown over the white shirt around his heart and the camera then pans up to a close up of Jacqui’s face from Calvin’s point of view and she begins to walk away whilst still looking behind her at him. The audience then see a mid shot of the judges each holding up a white hand card with a number 9 on in time with each other. Each judge is dressed in dark colours which could connote how they – like the rest of the characters involved in the trailer have all be hurt by Calvin and now are angry at him.
The camera then reverses back to a low shot of Calvin looking at his hand which is covered in the red wine, the red wine connotes blood and the use of a low shot reminds the audience that the trailer is focused on Calvin and the event which causes him to be covered in blood. The music then ends on an echo of the word “Dead”. The channel 4 ident then comes up and a narrator can be heard saying “Strictly Not for the Faint Hearted”. The narration is of the title and the name not only connotes how faint hearts will be broken when Calvin is hurt, but also who Calvin’s actor was starring in the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing. The audience are reminded of the BBC show by the characters all dancing and the judging panel.
Soap Operas producers aim to advertise their soaps using trailers to as many audience members as possible. This is done on the TV, radio and Internet. The main times soap opera trailers are shown is during prime time which is around 8 and 9pm. This is because a large proportion of TV viewers watch their favourite programmes around this time and therefore the trailers and adverts will be viewed at this time. Trailers are also shown throughout the day during daytime television and this is aimed at many mums and housewives as well as the unemployed from Category E audiences.
Television schedule:
10:00: Emmerdale trailer on ITV, taget audience: Category E, stay at home mums and the unemployed. 13:00: Eastenders trailer on BBC1, target audience: Category C1 and C2, junior managers and skilled tradesmen. Category D and E unemployed, stay at home mums and students. 18.45: Hollyoaks trailer on Channel 4, target audience: Category D and E, students. 19:25: Eastenders trailer on BBC1, target audience: Catergory C1, C2, D and E. Families watching television in the evening. Commuters coming home. 20:30: Neighbours trailer on BBC1, target audience: Category C1, C2, D and E. Primetime. 21:00: Eastenders trailer on BBC1, target audience: Catergory C1, C2, D and E. Primetime. 21:30: Hollyoaks trailer on Channel 4, target audience: Category C1, C2, D and E. Students and adults. 22:00: Hollyoaks trailer on Channel 4, target audience: Catergoy D and E. Students and adults.
Radio Schedule:
08:30: Eastenders trailer on Heart fm, target audience: Category B, C1, C2 and D. Commuters driving to work. 17:00: Eastenders trailer on Radio One, target audience: Category B, C1, C2 and D. Commuters coming home from work.
Trailers are used to advertise a film or television programme, they are one of the most strategic marketing techniques because they enable the audience to have an insight into the film and its plot. Trailers are exciting and are used to attract the audience into watching the film or programme, they can be shown in the cinema in the trailers shown before other films and this attracts a large audience that go to the cinema. They can also be shown on TV, either on film channels or in the adverts of other TV programmes. If it is a film trailer it will generally be shown in the cinema, on TV, radio and Internet. TV channels promote their new programmes using trailers and these are cleverly shown at prime time to attract the most viewers into watching their shows. Prime time is around 8 and 9 when most young people and adults from Category C1, C2, D and E audiences are watching popular soap operas , reality shows and other TV series. Showing a trailer in prime time will in effect attract a huge audience to the show. The first movie trailer came from the Loews Cinemas company in 1913 for a film called "The Pleasure Seekers." Since then trailers have evolved and are used in a variety of ways and in different styles. Soap opera trailers in particular are now using many different styles to attract audiences. Eastenders and Hollyoaks have trailers that are used to appeal specifically to all audiences and there are some trailers that are targeted specifically at younger audiences. For example, the Mitchell Sisters trailer that was used by Eastenders to promote the two new characters Ronnie and Roxy, it didn’t promote any story lines or even use any real footage from the show, instead it showed a party in the Queen Vic with Ronnie and Roxy being the new barmaids and made use of Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory in order to sexualise the female Mitchell sisters and attract a male audience.
Similarly, as Hollyoaks is aimed at a younger Category D and Catergory E audience, its trailers are quirky and unique in order to attract younger people, particularly students. For example, many trailers have popular songs on them which a younger audience can relate with, the trailer for the death of Calvin Valentine featured the song Heads Will Roll by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs which is a popular song and the unique trailer would appeal to a younger audience. The trailer was also a tie-in to promote how the actor who plays Calvin was starring in the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing and this would also attract audiences from the BBC show particularly members from C1 and C2, middle class families.
We created a video about the key conventions commonly found in a soap opera, we did research on existing soap operas and the similar conventions they all share.
Characters: A large cast of characters of all ages and backgrounds and who are all familiar with each other.
1. Rowdy teenager - GazBennet, Hollyoaks
2. Couples - Charlene Robinson and Scott Robinson, Neighbours
3. The Boss - Johnny Allen, Eastenders
4. Gossiping older women - Dot Cotton, Eastenders
5. Feisty young female - Mercedes McQueen, Hollyoaks
6. Jack the lad - Alfie Moon, Eastenders 7. Powerful elder - Pat Butcher, Eastenders
Plots:
The story lines are often based around real life situations like relationship troubles, family issues, violence, homosexuality, teenage pregnancy and alcohol and drug abuse. The story lines are made to be as believable as possible by using characters that the audience can relate to. Story lines are continuous and could last from a week to a year. Soap opera's are often filmed in real time and aim for verisimilitude so that audience members, particularly Category D and E, can relate and emphasize with the characters. The most successful soap opera storyline in British TV History is the Den and Angie Watts divorce in Eastenders, this particular storyline had 30.15 million viewers on the 1986 Christmas special. This suggests that divorce, although seen as a controversial issue, can be a situation that is easily related to audience members that feel empathy for the characters.
Another key convention that soap operas share could be how they make sure of Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze Theory, a lot of camera angles focus on the women in soap operas to gain a wider male audience. Ann Gray's gender theory would suggest that females are more likely to watch a soap opera due to the domestic story lines that they can relate to, the male gaze theory is used to attract the male viewers. Soap operas also abide to the Uses and Gratifications Theory which suggests that audience members use media for a personnal gain such as pleasure, an escape from reality or emotional release. Many soap operas bring many controversial issues to the public eye and this enlightens viewers and gives them the chance to emphasize with those who are involved with issues such as child abuse, homosexuality, mental disorders etc. When a controversial storyline is involved in a soap, while the end credits are being shown there is often a narrator speaking of helplines which viewers can contact if they themselves have been affected with these issues and if they need emotional support.
In 1951 the UK’s first soap opera, The Archers’, was broadcast on Radio 4. It was the first soap opera to be broad casted to the UK audience and is now the world's longest running radio soap opera. There have been over 16 000 since it began on January 1st 1951. Each episode is roughly 15 minutes and there are 6 episodes a week shown at 7pm from Sunday to Friday. There is a Sunday morning omnibus at 10am.
It is set in a fictional village called Ambrige, set in the west midlands and focuses on the lives of its residents. The Archers website provides its audience with time lines of the show to remind them of previous story lines and also provides family tree's: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/archers/ Below is an extract from BBC Radio 4:
In 1960 was the first broadcast of the UK’s longest running soap opera, Coronation Street on ITV. It is set in the fictional, Weatherfield, which is situated in Salford, England. It's website offers its audience chances to watch missed episodes, watch exclusive video's and get behind the scenes news: http://www.itv.com/soaps/coronationstreet/ Below is an extract from the very first episode:
In 1964 was the first broadcast of Crossroads on ITV. It is set in a fictional motel in Birmingham and showed 4928 episodes since it began in 1964. Each episode is approximately 19 minutes and episodes were shown 5 days a week. Below is an extract of the very first episode:
In 1972 was the first broadcast of Emmerdale Farm on ITV. It became known as Emmerdale in 1989 and is set in the fictional village called Emmerdale, West Yorkshire. There have been 5734 episodes which last approximately 22 minutes. Each episode is broad casted Monday to Friday at 19:00 and on Thursday there is an extra episode at 20:00. Its website offers its viewers second chances to watch missed episodes, as well as news and gossip from the show: http://www.itv.com/Soaps/emmerdale/?intcmp=NAV_2004aa Below is an extract of the very first episode:
-In 1982 was the first broadcast of Channel 4’s Brookside.
-In 1985 was the first broadcast of Eastenders on BBC1. It has since then broad casted 4086 episodes that last approximately 30 minutes. It is set in the fictional town of Walford, East End London and its viewers can watch the show Monday at 20:00, Tuesday at 19:30, Thursday at 19:30 and Friday at 20:00. Each episode is repeated on BBC3 at 22:00 and there is an omnibus on BBC1 on Sunday afternoon. Its website offers gossip about the soap, character profiles and information about the spin off, E20, that focuses on the younger residents of Albert Square and is aimed at a younger audience, mainly students, teenagers and young adults: http://www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders/
Below is an extract from the very first episode:
-In 1986, the Australian soap Neighbours started on BBC1. It was first shown in the UK on the 27th October 1986 after it had been broadcasted for a year in Australia. It is set in Ramsey Street, a small cul-de-sac in Melbourne, Australia. It started off with just three families, the Ramsey's, the Robinson's and the Clarke's. Each episode is roughly 22 minutes and there have been over 6025 episodes. The show is the only television show to have its whole cast flown over to the UK for the Royal Variety Show. Its viral website provides its viewers with the latest behind the scenes gossip and story lines and offers the chance to catch up on missed episodes: http://www.neighbours.com/
Here is an extract from the very first episode:
-In 1989 Australian soap Home and Away begins on ITV. It was mainly focused on the character Tom Fletcher, his wife Pippa and their four foster children and the caravan park that the bought. Its most famous characters include: Heath Ledger, DanniiMinogue, Isla Fisher, Guy Pearce and Noami Watts. It has broad casted 5185 episodes that last approximately 22 minutes.
Here is an extract from the very first episode:
-In 1995 Channel 4 launches Hollyoaks. It is set in Chester, Hollyoaks and mainly centres around the local college. It is shown at 6 30pm to attract its target audience of students and young adults. There have been 2930 episodes that last approximately 25 minutes. Its website reveals spoilers, has character profiles and offers the audience gossip and the chance to catch up with missed episodes: http://www.e4.com/hollyoaks/index.html
Here is the launch trailer:
In 2005, the British Film Institute compiled a list of programmes with the biggest audience since 1955. The top 10 are:
Rank Show Episode Number of Viewers Date Network 1 1966 World Cup Final 32.30 million 30 July 1966 BBC/ITV 2 Funeral of Princess Diana 32.10 million 6 September 1997 BBC1/ITV 3 British Royal Family documentary 30.69 million 1969 BBC1/ITV 4EastEnders Den divorces Angie 30.15 million 25 December 1986 BBC1 5 Apollo 13 splashdown 28.60 million 17 April 1970 BBC1/ITV 6 FA Cup replay: Chelsea vs. Leeds 28.49 million 29 April 1970 BBC1/ITV 7 Royal Wedding of Charles & Diana 28.40 million 29 July 1981 BBC1/ITV 8 Wedding of Princess Anne and Mark Phillips 27.60 million 14 November 1973 BBC1 9 Coronation Street Alan Bradley killed by tram 26.93 million 8 December 1989 ITV 10 Coronation Street Hilda Ogden leaves 26.00+ million[41] 25 December 1987 ITV
Soap opera storylines such as the divorce of Eastenders power couple has ranked in the same league as the worldwide broadcast of Princess Diana's funeral, this particular storyline has had the most viewings for any soap opera storyline in the UK and these viewings might suggest that this storyline is a particularly controversial situation that many audience members can relate to and emphasize with.
Award totals for soap operas as awarded by the British Soap Awards:
1.EastEnders - 72 2.Coronation Street - 52 3.Emmerdale - 19 4.Hollyoaks - 16 5.Doctors - 9 6.Brookside - 7 7.Family Affairs - 2 8.Night and Day - 1
It can be seen here that Eastenders can be titled the nations favourite soap opera and this is primarily down to the realistic storylines that audience members can relate to and emphasize with. It displays constant realism and verisimilitude and involves storylines that deal with domestic situations that members of the real world face day to day. Ann Gray's gender theory suggests that females are more likely to watch a soap opera than a male because they prefer open-ended narratives, this could be because soap operas provide a sense of escapism to viewers and offers the chance to emphasize with characters that are experiencing similar situations.
