Definition of Soap Opera: "A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on television or radio. The name "soap opera" stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, and Lever Brothers as sponsors and producers. These early radio serials were broadcast in weekday daytime slots when mostly housewives would be available to listen; thus the shows were aimed at and consumed by a predominantly female audience. "
History
The history of soap operas begins with the serialized radio dramas of the 1930s. Household cleaning products such as laundry soap, dish soap and various other 'cleaning soaps' commercially sponsored these shows, and is therefore how soap opera's got the name. These radio dramas were usually aired in 15 minute segments each day and provided housewives “background noise” while they cleaned the house whether it be washing, cooking, mending or sweeping.
At the end of these 15 minute segments, there would be a dangling thread at the end that would be picked up in the next day's episode (a cliffhanger). Each episode required a certain amount of knowledge of the previous one in order to understand and continue the storyline. These snippets of lives and realism allowed wives and 'stay at home mums' escapism of their own world with their problems because the dramatic problems of their radio counterparts would overshadow their own.
Clara, Lu and Em premiered in 1931 as the first soap opera and daytime drama to hit the airwaves. Before, daytime radio consisted of short, fifteen minute music shows and little tidbits of gossip and household hintery.
This soap opera was light and comedy, focusing (like present soaps) on the daily lives and tongue wagging of three Midwestern housewives. After one year of programming, the show became a popular five day a weekshow, with a large audience of housewives. I was created by 3 sorority sisters from the Northwestern University, Isabel Carothers, Louise Starkey and Helen king.
Soap operas began on radio and consequently were associated with the BBC. The BBC continues to broadcast the world's longest-running radio soap, The Archers, on BBC Radio 4.
The Archers has been running national since 1951. It continues to attract over 5 million listeners, or about 1/4 of of the radio listening population of the UK at that time of the evening. Billed as an "everyday story of country folk" set in the fictional village of Ambridge in the fictional county of Borsetshire.The Archers has had more than 15,800 episodes broadcast!
1950's 1980's 2000's
1960's, 70's & 80's
In the 1960s Coronation Street revolutionized UK television and quickly became a British institution. Other soap operas of the 1960s included Emergency Ward 10 and the Newcomers. However none of these came close to making the same impact as Coronation Street. Most of the soap operas produced by the BBC during the 1950s and 1960s are almost entirely missing in the archives; all 147 episodes of United! and the only upper-class themed soap 199 Park Lane are missing, as well as almost all of the runs of The Grove Family, Compact, and The Newcomers.
During the 1960s Coronation Street's main rival was Crossroads, a daily serial set in a Birmingham motel that began in 1964 and was broadcast by ITV in the early evening. While the series was popular, the technical standard was poor and the acting was 'terrible' and mocked. By the 1980s, its ratings had begun to decline and even though there were several attempts to improve the series through cast changes and changes of plot,Crossroads was cancelled in 1988. On a last attempt, the series was revived in a glossier format in 2001 by Carlton Television, but was finally axed in 2003. (Below: Original Cast of Coronation Street)
A later rival to Corrie was ITV's Emmerdale Farm (later renamed Emmerdale) which began in 1972 in a daytime slot and had a rural Yorkshire setting. In the 1980's Emmerdale moved to a prime-time slot as the viewing figures grew. When Channel 4 began in 1982 it launched its own soap, the Liverpool based Brookside, which over the next decade re-defined soap. In 1985, the BBC's London based soap opera EastEnders debuted and was a near instant success with viewers and critics alike, with the first episode attracting over 17 million viewers. Due to the large audience of Eastenders, critics spoke about the downfall of Coronation street, but this was only tested when in 1994 both shows were scheduled opposite each other. Coronation Street won with the higher audience.Apart from special episodes (hour long) both soaps are scheduled one behind the other . Eastenders and Coronation for 10 years have shared the number one position.
There was no such thing as daytime soap operas until the 1970s as there were virtually no daytime television in the UK. ITV introduced General Hospital, which later moved to a prime time slot, and Scottish Television had Take the High Road, which lasted for over twenty years. Later, daytime slots were filled older Australian soap operas such as The Young Doctors, The Sullivans, Sons and Daughters, A Country Practice, Richmond Hill and eventually, Neighbours and Home and Away. These achieved significant levels of popularity. Neighbours and Home and Away were moved to early-evening slots and the UK soap opera extravaganza began in the late 1980s.
( Above left to right) : Neighbours, Home and Away and Sons and Daughters (Below: Hollyoaks original cast)
1990's
BBC launched Eldorado in 1992 to alternate with EastEnders however it only lasted a year. In 1995 Channel 4 introduced Hollyoaks, a soap with a youth focus till this day . When Five began in March 1997 it came with its own soap opera, Family Affairs, which debuted as a five-days-a-week soap.
During the whole of the 90's the long-running successful soap operas in Britain continued to draw audiences and they all increased the number of weekly episodes by at least one. This movement defined soap opera as the leading genre in British television at the time.
2000's
Since 2000 new soap operas have come to the screen. Daytime drama Doctors began in the spring of 2000, appearing before Neighbours on BBC1. In 2002, as the ratings continued to fall for Scottish serial High Road, BBC Scotland launched River City. River City proved popular and effectively replaced High Road when it was cancelled in 2003. The long-running serial Brookside ended in November 2003 after 21 years on air, leaving Hollyoaks as Channel 4's big soap.
In 2001 ITV also launched a new early-evening serial entitled Night and Day. This series attracted low viewing figures and after being shifted to a late night time slot was cancelled in 2003 just like the revamped Crossroads. Family Affairs, which was broadcast opposite Hollyoaks, never achieved significantly high viewing figures which led to dramatic revamps of the cast, style and location which did gain the show a higher fan base. This successful change helped Family Affairs achieve its first awards in 2004, however it was still cancelled in 2005.
ITV launched the new soap opera The Royal Today in 2008. The Royal Today was a daily spin-off of popular sixties drama The Royal, which had been running in a primetime slot since 2002. Just days later soap opera parody series Echo Beach premiered alongside its sister series, the comedy Moving Wallpaper. Both Echo Beach and The Royal Today ended after their initial first season and due to poor viewing figures neither were picked up for a second run.
In 2004, BBC created a radio soap opera for the BBC Asian Network called Silver Street.
Even though there are still new soaps being brought to the scene, it seems that the long running Eastenders, Coronation Street and the Archers will be in the limelight for a long time. As people do always tend to stick with what they know.
