Wednesday 17 June 2009

Things about me [4]

I like watching soaps.

Only British ones though, and not all of them though. Whittling down even more I like to watch Emmerdale, [originally Emmerdale Farm'] and Coronation Street. I sometimes watch Eastenders as well, but it can be a bit dismal at times, and I'm sorry, but I watch TV to be cheered up, not depressed.
Most of the British soaps have a certain "formula" that needs to be followed. There has to be at least two families, a pub, a shop, and a cafe. There can be places of employment that are local as well. That is about as close as it gets to real life, as if two characters ever meet and fancy a chat, they go to the pub, or the cafe, they rarely, if ever go back to their own house for a coffee and a natter.
Have just realised they all have garages that fix cars but don't sell fuel as well.
In Emmerdale there is a "rogue-ish" family, who sometimes get up to no good, but never mess on their own doorstep. If one of the family breaks this rule they are told to put things right straight away. And the fact that this family is also a source of many comedy moments tells the watchers they are not complete "baddies".
Emmerdale more accurately, to me shadows current events, as one of the businesses has gone bankrupt due to the recession, and they had a local council election when they were going on all over the UK.
There is one thing that puzzles me though. Did the Kings have all their suits repossessed when they went bankrupt? As you rarely see them in anything other than casual clothes these days.
I could go on for ages about things that amuse me in the soaps, perhaps I might pick it up another time.

1 comment:

Michael Gradwell said...

I don't know if you have seen the French film Amelie, but she likes film (among many other things) and she likes to pick out the minor details that most people miss. You reminded me of Amelie when writing about the Kings' suits.