Welcome to the fourth in a series of 10 posts, written for a university assignment last year (I write this disclaimer in Nov 19), which required blogging about current issues in television. As a result, the material is rather dated/irrelevant now, and the tone a little more formal than I prefer, but I thought I'd publish it on here anyway as I put a lot of work into it. I hope you enjoy/find it insightful!...
09/09/19
Looking back over the past couple of years, it certainly feels like the end of this decade is losing its identity somewhat. It seems, wherever you look, everyone is wrapped up in nostalgia and old trends of yesteryear. Double denim is back, ‘Three Lions’ has again topped the charts, music videos are plastered with fake VHS tape effects, and the wave of 80s-themed media is still riding high with films such as Netflix’s Bandersnatch (2018) jumping on this trend. However, what does this have to do with soaps staying relevant in a sea of current issues, you may ask?
The official lyric video for Calvin Harris and Sam Smith's 2018 track, 'Promises', which easily feels like it could have come straight out of the late 20th Century (SME, 2018).
Well, it seems that, despite their efforts to stay relevant with several social media accounts and other types of media, the soaps have also joined the pining party. In late 2017, Classic Coronation Street, i.e. repeated episodes of Coronation Street from 1986 onwards, began airing on weekday afternoons on ITV3. Then, in mid-2018, Classic EastEnders, repeating EastEnders from the beginning, began on UKTV’s Drama channel. Now, in the last week we have had the announcement that old episodes of Emmerdale are to be repeated, starting this month on ITV3. Whilst all three of these soaps have been repeated at some point, this has not occurred for a long time.
Now, to be a soap fan is something of a blessing and a curse - your favourite shows are on television several times a week and show little signs of being cancelled, but at the same time, due to the sheer number of episodes in a soap’s history, it is very rare that past episodes are made available. It would simply cost too much for, say, ITV to transfer every Coronation Street episode to DVD or a streaming service, when there are almost 10,000 episodes, which date back to 1960. Moreover, although soaps have big fan bases, it is unlikely that the effort and cost of making old episodes available for home viewing would be met by a suitable amount of demand. For example, several old episodes of EastEnders were made available on the online BBC Store to buy. However, the store closed after just two years- it seems it just was not sustainable. In the past, some soap DVDs have been released, but these have mostly just contained certain iconic episodes.
So, being a soap fan can be tricky as, unlike with other television programmes, you can rarely watch a soap from the beginning in order to ‘catch up’ or simply enjoy previous eras of the programme. Some soap fans have done something about this, such as those who successfully petitioned for a DVD release containing some memorable moments from Channel 4’s Brookside (1982-2003), however, this is an extraordinary case. Therefore, you can imagine the delight of soap fans across the country at the announcements of the 3 main soaps in Britain finally opening up their archives to modern audiences.
However, is there a danger that this is a backwards step for soap opera as a genre? After all, one of its main principles is that it is relevant, current and moves with the times. Of course, one could say that repeating old episodes brings in new revenue to broadcasters in the cheapest way possible. Additionally, it could potentially encourage younger soap viewers to become more interested in soaps, or coax older viewers, whom have long since switched off the soaps, back into investing in soaps and possibly modern-day episodes. However, I must admit that I am somewhat sceptical.
I follow a large variety of fellow soap fans on social media and, whilst their voices do not necessarily reflect public opinion, I can’t help but noticing that a lot of fans moan about how current episodes of soap simply do not live up to the old repeats that are now so accessible to view. Whilst their opinions are valid, it is worth noting that people do tend to look back on the past with rose-tinted spectacles. Could it be that nostalgia is actually a fiend, rather than a friend, and one which is causing an increasing distaste and frustration with contemporary soap offerings?
It now seems that this venture into classic soap is seeping into modern episodes. Two main characters featuring currently in Classic EastEnders are Mary Smith and Lofty Holloway. Since these repeats began airing, both of these characters have been announced as returnees to the show this year, despite having not appeared since the late 1980s. They are only back for one episode, the funeral of a fellow original character, but still, one has to question whether this would have occurred if current viewers had not been reminded of Mary and Lofty via UKTV’s repeats. After all, many original characters in the programme have died, or experienced similarly big life events since Mary and Lofty left, and yet they have not returned for these instances. Although it is exciting that these characters will be back, it is a shame that it is for such a short period of time. It feels like the BBC are just making a cheap move by jumping on the nostalgia bandwagon, and also looking to draw in viewers of Classic EastEnders.
Nostalgia is a powerful tool, but the soaps should not get carried away with it. Whilst returning characters are a staple of the genre, it is imperative that past storylines and relationships are left to rest unless they still have some potential to create compelling and exciting storytelling.
This may seem unnecessarily harsh, but soap fans deserve for their shows to keep evolving and moving on; not only so that they remain interesting to watch, but also so that they stay relevant amongst the ocean of television choices available in our day and age. Furthermore, although old episodes of soap are now far more available than they used to be, this does not guarantee that younger soap viewers are tuning in to see what happened in their favourite soaps before they were born. It is important not to alienate new and young viewers by constantly referring to past events and reintroducing old characters.
Although nostalgia for decades gone by is rife at the moment in television, with 80s-based Stranger Things (2016-) enjoying huge success, and revivals of old programmes being seen everywhere, such as The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018-) and Fuller House (2016-), based upon Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996-2003) and Full House (1987-1995) respectively, soaps simply cannot afford to join in with the fun. There is simply far too much working against the genre at the moment, such as online streaming and globalisation (both of which are arguably difficult for the soaps to delve into), for them to stay in the past. Viewers look to their soaps to enjoy an entertaining slice of modern life through the eyes of fictional versions of the population, not to simply see the same stories and characters recycled for the sake of reliving past glory and hiking up the ratings temporarily.
Furthermore, they expect to be able to dip in and out of soaps without much confusion. Therefore, stories should be able to appeal to everyone and not require a large amount of background knowledge on the show. The only way this can be achieved is if soaps continue to move forward through new eras and do not get stuck in the past. Of course, older viewers may feel rewarded for sticking by a soap when they finally see their favourite character from decades ago return, however, young people are perhaps the most fickle of viewers, and soaps must do all they can to hold on to them, before they are lost to online streaming and other entertainment outlets for ever.
-ASIS
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