Soap Operas - History and Conventions

What is a Soap Opera? Historical and Cultural background

Soap opera

Noun

Plural noun: soap operas

“A television or radio drama serial dealing typically with daily events in the lives of the same group of character”.

Soap operas generally focus on a group of characters and their everyday lives focusing particularly on their emotional relationships to the point of melodrama. They get their name soap operas due to the fact that many of the producers and sponsors of the original serials which were broadcast on radio were actually soap manufacturers.

The first soap that was considered a ‘soap opera’ was a programme called Painted Dreams which debuted in Chicago. Programmes such as painted dreams were broadcast in weekday time slots, usually five days a week due to most of the listeners being housewives and one of the main reasons why they were aimed at and consumed by a predominantly female audience.

What are the main features/conventions of a soap opera?

One of the main features of a soap opera is the fact that the narrative is never complete and is always left open-ended with the storyline running over several episodes and the length can range from a few days to months later. The audience know that once one episode ends they are reassured that there will be another one to follow meaning that they are never left without the soap.

Soap opera storylines run concurrently intersect and lead into further developments. An individual episode of a soap opera will generally switch between several different concurrent narrative threads that may at times interconnect and affect one another or may run entirely independent of each other. Each episode may feature some of the show's current storylines but not always all of them. Especially in daytime serials and those that are screened each weekday, there is some rotation of both storyline and actors so any given storyline or actor will appear in some but usually not all of a week's worth of episodes. Soap operas rarely bring all the current storylines to a conclusion at the same time. When one storyline ends there are several other story threads at differing stages of development. Soap opera episodes typically end on some sort of cliff-hanger.

How do ‘soaps’ differ from other genres?

The main characteristics that define a soap opera and make them different to other genres are:

• There is an emphasis on family life, personal relationships, sexual dramas and emotional and moral conflicts all of which are usually exaggerated to make the programme more entertaining and also to slightly differ from real life yet still allowing the audience to relate to the characters and their situation and create verisimilitude.
• All soap operas are set in a familiar domestic location that appears in each episode with very few new locations introduced throughout the duration of the soaps life. This fits with the verisimilitude that the producers are trying to create and fits with the characteristics of each character as the soap follows their lives. All the characters live and work together/in the same area and the familiar location allows us to focus on them and also their extended family.

In many soap operas, in particular daytime serials in the United States, the characters are frequently attractive, seductive, glamorous and wealthy. Soap operas from the United Kingdom and Australia tend to focus on more everyday characters and situations, and are frequently set in working class environments. Many Australian and UK soap operas explore social realist storylines such as family discord, marriage breakdown, or financial problems. Both UK and Australian soap operas feature comedy elements, often by way of affectionate comic stereotypes such as the gossip or the grumpy old man, presented as a sort of comic foil to the emotional turmoil that surrounds them. This diverges from US soap operas where such comedy is rare. UK soap operas frequently make a claim to presenting "reality" or purport to have a "realistic" style.UK soap operas also frequently foreground their geographic location as a key defining feature of the show while depicting and capitalising on the exotic appeal of the stereotypes connected to the location. So EastEnders focuses on the tough and grim life in London's east end; Coronation Street invokes Manchester and its characters exhibit the stereotypical characteristic of "Northern straight talking".

Audience- who watches soaps, how do we know? How do they attract their audience?

The UK’s most popular genre of television is Soap operas with most of them being broadcast during prime-time television. Most UK soaps focus on more everyday working class communities compared to those shown in America which frequently portray romantic storylines in glamorous locations. Coronation Street, EastEnders and Emmerdale are amongst the highest rated shows on British television showing just how popular soap operas are in the UK.

Soap operas advertise up and coming storylines of the channel they are to be shown on with the use of trailers. These trailers enable the audience/potential audience to see what is happening in the coming episodes and entices them to watch the storyline unfold. Soap operas are easy to dip in and out of so the use of these trailers gives audiences the little background information they may need to know what has happened leading up to the large event. Trailers used when a storyline is coming to a climax, a new major storyline have been introduced or during a public holiday such a Christmas when all the soaps battle for the highest ratings.  

Soaps also rely on word of mouth to attract their audience; their wide range of audience ages means that all sorts of people are able to talk about and discuss what has occurred in the soap that week whether they are at work, school or at home with other family members. Soap operas contain a wide range of characters from all different backgrounds and all different ages, this is supposed to represent the diverse culture in which we live in allowing all sorts of people to watch from different socio economic groups. It is clear to see just how many people watch the soap operas from the large viewing numbers which the genre attracts with many people watching more than one soap.

“The 1986 Christmas Day episode of EastEnders is often given as the highest-rated UK soap opera episode ever, with 30.15 million viewers (in 2007, the UK had approximately 54 million viewers). The figure of 30.15 million was actually a combination of the original broadcast which had just over 19 million viewers, and the Sunday omnibus edition with 10 million viewers”- Wikipedia

[Alice]

Realism – How realistic are soaps? What issues are raised? What type of verisimilitude is created?

Realism in soaps is an important convention for making the soap attractive to their audience. It is clear that for soaps to be successful they have to address narratives which audiences can relate to, linking to the codes and conventions of personal identity on behalf of the audience. If they can relate to a character or a narrative, they would be most likely to enjoy the soap as well as increasing viewing hours to find out how they would resolve the situation that the characters may be in.

For example, Hollyoaks saw ratings increase the Hollyoaks Blast occurred in October 2013. Killing many in the cast. The narrative viewed the deaths of Clare, Doug, Ash and Leanne, reaching the total of 1.19 million viewers for that episode as well as the aftermath, staggering over the episode before which reached only 813 thousand viewers. [Source: http://metro.co.uk/2013/10/16/hollyoaks-blast-soaps-ratings-soar-as-dodger-ash-and-doug-are-killed-off-4149202/]

Soaps often stick to current affairs that are in the news, however some have brought in complaints and bad reviews for tasteless storylines. An example of this includes the baby swapping incident in EastEnders that viewed Ronnie swapping her lifeless child with Kat’s own. This was viewed as insensitive as the story of Madeleine Mccann which was still being bought in to perspective on the news, years after her disappearance in 2007.

Verisimilitude is present in soaps through the narrative, although for entertainment they are often emphasised. It is not an everyday occurrence that two murders happen on the same road by two different people on the same night along with a fire happening all at once, however all these narrative separately do represent verisimilitude, as deaths and murder do happen and fires also occur. To keep the audience entertained with the soap the narrative is often emphasised to reach this objective and increase ratings.

[Henry]

Subject matter and style – issues, storylines etc.

Storylines represent their soaps along with the portrayal of characters, linking to their roles in narrative, for example Dot Branning’s role as the matriarch in ‘EastEnders’. Subject matters in soaps are often from the “perspective of the real world” [Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Soap_Operas] however create tension in order to keep audiences interested in the narrative.

A recent storyline by Coronation Street showed death of “girl next door” Tina, who was pushed off of a building by Rob due to the recent affair she had with his sister’s husband. The story touched upon an event which occurs regularly in some people’s lives, the affair and cheating, however bought suspense when she was kept alive in the hospital for a few days until passing. It bought in 8.2 million viewers on her death and the week that the story continued bought a constant increase, with audiences wanting to know what actually happened to her. This presented dramatic irony as the audience was aware of the murderer whereas the characters are not, dissimilar to other murder storylines, such as Lucy in ‘EastEnders’ where no one is aware on the murderer.

Stereotypes and Characters

Stereotypes are often present in soaps, however it is clear that many try to break stereotypes and modernise narratives. For example, mothers are stereotyped to be loving and supportive, however in soaps we see neglect from mothers and sometimes even violence, such as Jean in ‘EastEnders’ who’s illness meant that she was unfit to look after her daughter, Stacy, often lashing out at her and becoming angry. This creates not only entertainment, but educates audiences with factors that not everyone fits in to their stereotypical role, as many families may suffer from a member with bipolar, like Jean and Stacy. Family units are often stereotyped as being a strong and together however in many soap operas the family unit is broken with many parents being divorced or separated as is the case for Lomaxes in Hollyoaks who were recently torn apart by the devastating news that Danny has been cheating on his wife with a number of other men. This challenges the stereotypical view of a family as the Lomaxes are now separated and no living together, this is sometimes blamed as the reason for the children becoming a wayward youth. 

When was the first British Soap Televised?

The first British soap was 'The Grove Family' televised in 1954. It was the first adult Soap Opera on TV and presented a story of a family, focusing on family life. It its first year it had already drawn a quarter of the population in Britain in with television and was so popular that the queen even watched it, quoting "so English, so real!".

[Kira]

Soap Opera Trailers

Soap operas all use trailers to attract large amounts of viewers to the soap especially during the lead up to a major story line/event. Trailers are used to attract a wider audience to watch a particular episode of a soap or a certain storyline with most of these trailers being shown in between programmes who attract a similar audience or around a similar time that the episode is being scheduled for. This is known as prime time and enables a mass audience to become aware of the episode, this allows people of all ages, both genders and demographic groups between B-E mainly to see the trailer.

How does analysing trailers help?

When looking at these trailers it is interesting to see when the trailers are being shown on television, in-between which programmes and also how many times a day they are being shown. By looking at all of these things and taking them into consideration when we create our own trailer it allows us to obtain a better understanding of how the advertisement of soap operas can affect the viewer ratings and also allows us to see what successful soaps use within their own trailers that attract so many viewers. By analysing a range of soap trailers it enables us to see what conventions are used within trailers and also if there is any particular technique/convention that we all would like to include that we feel would add to our piece.

Eastenders- 

This trailer allows the audience to see what is going to be happening in EastEnders in the forthcoming week, we can clearly see that there are 4 different storylines that are going to be running alongside each other and may eventually give us some clues as to who really killed Lucy Beale. We see a number of characters within this trailer who all have something to hide and who are all telling some sort of lie, the tense, dramatic non-dietetic music that has been placed over the piece suggests that the lies they are telling are going to have devastating consequences. The sound also relates to the theme of the trailer. The piece also uses lots of fast paced cross cutting between different scenes to show that they are all in a sense of panic and there is also a sense of urgency. "A web of lies is closing in" also flashes up on screen suggesting to the audience that things may be troubled and more complicated than we first anticipated and for one or more members of Albert Square things may soon come to light and their lies may be found out. There is a lot of uncertainty and the trailer only adds to this creating more confusion leading to the viewer wanting to find out what is happening even if the do not necessarily like the soap. 

Coronation Street- 

This trailer is advertising the episode where Tina is murdered and gives us a series of suspects who may have pushed her to her death. The piece of footage showing these suspects is very jumpy and staggered suggesting that the footage may have been edited in some way to create artistic effect. We then see a series of short clips leading up to her death and also events that occurred in the weeks leading up to her death, these are also edited together using cross cutting and shown quickly to confuse and give the viewers lots of information at once forcing them to watch the trailer carefully and even watch the trailer more than once. The piece is accompanied with tense, dramatic non-dietetic music to help convey the emotion within the episode. The social media appeal at the end of this trailer also allows a wider audience to talk about Tina's death aswell as promotion Coronation Street without even realising it, the #WhoKillsTina means that people are able to interact with one another on Twitter and post their suggestions, with today's media concious generation this is extremely important and also something they do subconsciously whilst watching television.  

Emmerdale-

This trailer is to advertise Cain's Judgement Day and we see him walking through the village at night time with very dim lighting and only really focusing on the people he encounters along his walk. The piece has a very slow feel to it as everything has been put into slow motion to really emphasize every look and glare he gives to his fellow characters, this really makes us as a viewers focus on what he has put each individual through and all of the chaos he has caused. At the end of the piece we see Cain being followed by a hooded figure, this again intrigues us as an audience member as we want to know who it is and the reason behind them following him. We are also told that it is judgement day for Cain and want to know exactly what this means? 

Hollyoaks- 

"Some people have secrets" & "Some people can't see the truth" are two sentences that we see on screen integrated within the trailer. There are two main storylines that are being advertised in this trailer which involve the Lomaxes. The trailer presents to the audience the first major storyline which is linked to the Lomaxes, focusing on the affair which is introduced before the family eve arrives, between the father and colleague, John Paul. The narrative furthers introducing "child-snatcher", Sienna, believing that Perri,the youngest Lomax, is her daughter. The story includes cameos from popular UK band, The Vamps, which would attract the younger audience that are interested in the group, meeting Hollyoaks' aim to attract the audience between 16 and 24. The narrative could link to personal identity as it addresses a vast amount of storylines, including a divorcing family, an affair, family feuds and even kidnapping and covering narratives involving mental health. 

[Alice]

Senstive Story Lines: Are there some stories which are too sensitive for Soap Operas to cover?

Soap Operas include various functions in their narratives including the audience. These consist of;

• Escapism; the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy.In relation to Soap Operas, this includes audience members forgetting their own lives to focus on the opportunities and/or situations, both negative and positive, happening to characters involved in the soap.
• Diversion/ Entertainment; Keeps audiences interested in the story plots, providing enjoyment for those watching. This may include audience members finding entertainment in both positive and negative stories, such as the typical convention of providing a tense narrative, which could entertain the audience, therefore increasing show ratings. 
• Awareness; Including everyday events as well as current affairs recently highlighted that can educate audiences in the story plot. These narratives which raise awareness can be that that causes storylines to be too sensitive to some audiences which can then lead to complaints, for example the teen suicide story on Hollyoaks involving Newt which followed recent events in the news that stated a girl had committed suicide the same way in which Newt did on the Soap. This caused many complaints from audience members and loss of ratings.
• Identification/ Personal Identity; Identification involves audience members finding relation between themselves and other characters. If someone is in a situation, for example being cheated on, members of the audience which is going through the same can find relation with the character, and may even watch for advice. Others can also see what lives are like for some in soaps, which presents conventions of realism, and realise that their own lives are not as bad as those on the Soap.
• Personal Relationships; Personal Relationships involve audience members watching episodes in order to build social activity. This builds relationships outside the soap, which influences audience members to watch the soap more, increasing episode ratings. 

Issues can occur in relation to storylines and narrative if they touch on sensitive subjects, including those such as murder and kidnapping. Current affairs can have an effect on Soaps and their narrative, producing offense from viewers, leading to complaints, as well as decrease in ratings. Another factor which can occur is if people believe in the less realistic storylines, causing confusion on subjects such as a strange child birth that may occur. Controversial storylines often raise issues with their audiences if there is sensitive content or is handled incorrectly. Stories such as the baby swap occurrence in 2011 between Ronnie and Kat Moon's children issued many complaints, naming it "sick" and "twisted" due to their portrayal of how mothers may act after the death of their child. The severity of Ronnie's despair led to the incident of her stealing Kat's child, causing controversy with viewers who believed the incident to be handled incorrectly and did not portray the issue of cot death realistically. This led to many viewers being angry towards the soap and directors, losing the ratings and issuing over 8000 complaints. To make sure that viewers are satisfied with the narrative. especially if it is controversial, they need to make sure it is handled correctly and informatively in order to reduce complaints.

[Kira]

Hollyoaks - Controversial Story Lines

Finn rapes teacher

A boy named Finn, in denial of his sexuality, takes revenge on a gay male teacher for confiscating his phone by raping him. He bullies Mr McQueen for months before his final revenge!

Reactions: viewers were shocked by the episode saying the writers too the homophobic bullying “too far” using “#wrong” to sum up their disgust.

However the focus on the aftermath of John Paul’s events saw a realistic dealing with his rape. It portrayed him as distraught however the actor said “John Paul will be very strong and stoic. He’s got a baby son and wants to be strong for him”

There has been male rape stories in the past however this storyline does not link to any current affairs in the news. This continuation of the story line that was first introduced in the 90's has not changed over the years.

Cindy’s wedding

Cindy, marrying Tony, was having an affair with bungler Rhys to Tony’s full knowledge. Knowing that she was having an affair Tony still marries Cindy even though the actress said “the relationship was doomed from the start”.  At the reception, all was well until a group of teenagers heading to Ruby and Jono’s wedding had faulty brakes and crashed into the venue. Many died including Rhys and teens such as Maddie and Jono.

Reaction: fans were shocked by the sudden death of the characters and how fast paced the storyline was. Unlike other disasters, no-one was left in hospital. 

[Henry and Kira]

Eastenders: 'Explain how Billy Mitchell fits in the profile of a 'bungler' in this scene.

Billy Mitchell is represented as a bungler in 'Eastenders' due to his characteristics. He is shown at the beginning of the scene to be climbing out the bathroom window, to soon fall off the toilet seat in the process. This clumsy action on behalf of Billy links to his reputation as a bungler as, from the point of view of the audience, we laugh at him although we are aware that he is in a serious situation, trying to escape the toilet to attend his own wedding. This contrast of humour in a serious scene emphasises Billy's characteristics as a bungler.
Furthermore, Billy is trying to do the correct thing, however we see him as clumsy and weak in compairson to other characters, such as Phil. When trying to escape from the bathroom they have found themselves locked in, therefore it is down to Phil to get them out of the situation Billy has put himself in. The low camera angle when Billy is on the floor looking up at Phil when the toilet door opens connotes to the audience the lack of power and dominance Billy holds, emphasised also by the fact that he could not resolve the situation himself.

As well as this, it is clear that the other characters do not take him seriously, which influences the viewer's perceptions. When Billy is shouting at Phil, Phil says in return, "go drink a glass of water, take some deep breaths", presenting a sarcastic tone which makes us aware of how the other characters see Billy as the bungler and don't take him seriously. The treatment of other characters, paied with Billy's own portrayal of himself, flailing around trying to fight Phil, influences the audience to see Billy as the bungle that he is, as well as almost turning the scene in to "slapstick", which it should not be.

Towards the end of the extract, we see Billy jump on Phil and attempt to start a brawl, resulting on Billy on the floor. This has been represented to the audience through an upside down image from the point of view (pov shot) of Honey, his soon-to-be wife. This gives us the impression that he is clumsy as something that is supposed to be a serious event, placing a comical spin on the scene and proving that no one takes him seriously.

Therefore, it is clear that Billy portrays his role as the bungler in the popular soap opera, Eastenders, through his actions and characteristics portrayed by Billy during a serious situation. The juxtaposing of the character of Billy in the serious situation which should have gone correctly. It is clear that if Billy wasn't a bungler he wouldn't have been in the situation and would've ended up getting to his wedding on time and marrying Honey.

[Kira and Alice]

Social Realism

Social Realism is the Realistic Depiction in Art of Contemporary Life, as a Means of Social or Political Comment.

To give the soap opera a social realism feel there is minimal editing to give the sense of verisimilitude and allows the audience to feel as if they are there in the soap. Soap operas tend to have characters that are working class/ordinary everyday people allowing the audience to relate to the characters. This is one of the reasons why soap operas have such a wide appeal to people of all ages and also because they contain characters of all ages and backgrounds.

Soap Opera storylines-

Tragedy	The Woolpack Flood and Siege (Emmerdale)	Enjoy the Ride (Hollyoaks)	Kirsty’s Abuse of Tyrone (Coronation Street)	The Brannings deal with Tanya’s cancer diagnosis (Eastenders)	Lauren's struggle with alcohol (Eastenders)
Death	Sam's assisted suicide (Doctors)	Sienna plots to steal Nancy's life (Hollyoaks)	Lauren's murder (Doctors)	Hayley’s Cancer (Coronation Street)	Lucy’s death (Eastenders)
Danger	Jackson's choice (Emmerdale)	Carla's rape ordeal (Coronation Street)	Jas Stalking (Doctors)	Dr Browning's vengeance (Hollyoaks)	Cameron turns killer (Emmerdale)

Storylines in depth-

The Woolpack Flood and Siege (Emmerdale)-  This storyline included Debbie Dingle, Chas Dingle, Zak Dingle, Diane Sugden, Bernice Blackstock, Nicola King, Marlon Dingle, Priya Sharma, David Metcalfe, Alicia Gallagher, Ruby Haswell, Dan Spencer and Jack Sugden Jr.

The three-time killer was electrocuted in the flooded cellar of the Woolpack after being outmanoeuvred by the combined forces of Chas , Debbie and Marlon Dingle. At the start of this evening’s episodes, it looked like the writing was on the wall for Chas and Debbie as an increasingly deranged Cameron began to lose control. But pub chef Marlon – who had been knocked out earlier in the week – came to their rescue after regaining consciousness.

After smashing Cameron over the head with a bottle, Marlon turned the tables on the murderous hostage-taker. But it took a final battle in the Woolpack cellar before Cameron was overpowered. For a brief moment, it looked as though Debbie was going to die alongside her ex-lover after the pair of them slipped beneath the depths. But Debbie’s last-ditch effort to save her own life saw Cameron lose his as he reached out for a light fitting that had come into contact with the rising flood water. As Debbie fled the scene, Dingle patriarch Zak (Steve Halliwell) reassured his granddaughter with the words: “You’re safe. He’s where he belongs. In hell.”

Enjoy the Ride (Hollyoaks)- The storyline focuses on the double wedding of Tony Hutchinson and Cindy Cunningham alongside Ste Hay and Doug Carter. Jono and Ruby Button plan to elope to Gretna Green so Maddie Morrison steals a minibus. Bart McQueen and Esther Bloom plan to stop the wedding. They momentarily distract Maddie, causing her to swerve off the road. Maddie is unable to stop due to the minibus' faulty brakes and crashes into the venue of the double wedding, endangering the wedding party and the occupants of the minibus. The minibus later explodes, causing further danger for the characters. 

The first episode aired on E4's first look service and achieved the best Friday first-look ratings for Hollyoaks in over two months with 0.554 million viewers. When the episode aired on Channel 4 it was watched by 1.03 million viewers. E4's first look of the second episode achieved ratings of 0.567 million while it was watched by 1.06 million during the Channel 4 broadcast. The third episode of the week's E4 broadcast was watched by 0.684 million viewers while the Channel 4 broadcast was viewed by 1.05 million. The fourth episode's E4 broadcast which featured the deaths of three characters was viewed by 0.970 million. This was the highest E4 rating for Hollyoaks of 2012 and the most-watched multichannel programme of the day. When the fourth episode aired on Channel 4 it brought 1.04 million viewers. The final episode of the week was watched by 0.780 million viewers on E4. When the episode aired on Channel 4 it achieved 1.19 million viewers, which were the highest ratings for of the Enjoy the Ride storyline for Channel 4. As a result of the storyline, the E4 broadcast of the aftermath of the storyline continued to achieve high ratings for the serial

Hayley’s Cancer (Coronation Street)- In her final week alive, Tyrone takes Hayley to the salon for a makeover although Roy had told her to stay at home and rest. She then realises she wants to die soon and tells Roy. On 20 January 2014, she tells Roy she wants to die that day, leaving Roy distraught. Whilst Roy is in The Kabin, Hayley irons his best shirt for her funeral. Norris Cole  notices that Roy is even more unhappy than usual, and asks if he is alright, but he claims to be fine. Roy arrives back at the café and is confronted by Gloria Price with "customer feedback". Hayley begins to write out letters for Tyrone and Fiz's children, but stops as she realises that they will be worthless, because Hope and Ruby will not remember her anyway, as they are too young. Roy tries one final time to stop Hayley from going through with her plan, but Hayley is adamant. Roy makes sure that she is comfortable and selects a piece of music that they both like. Hayley tells Roy that whatever happens, he must not touch the glass containing the lethal cocktail. Prepared to drink the cocktail, Hayley is interrupted by Tyrone, who knocks on the door to ask Roy if he dropped Ruby's toy in their flat. Roy plays "The Lark Ascending" by Vaughan Williams, which is a mutual favourite of theirs, and then sits on the bed with Hayley. She drinks the cocktail quickly, killing her. Unaware that this has happened, Anna is sitting downstairs alone in the cafe after deciding to close early. Carla knocks on the door, demanding to see Hayley. Anna lets her in with a worried look on her face. Carla admits she has had a bad feeling about it over the past few days. Anna attempts to stop Carla from knocking on the flat door, but she does so anyway. There is no answer, so Anna eventually gives Carla the spare key and they both enter the flat together. To their shock, they find a deceased Hayley on the bed, with Roy's arm around her. Hayley is later cremated following a humanist funeral. A peak audience of 10.2 million people tuned in to watch her final moments.

The two-part story had an average audience of 9.6 million for the first episode at 19:30 GMT and 9.4 million at 20:30 GMT. The storyline created a wide range of opinions, many felt that the issue was handled in a sensitive way and dealt with correctly however others felt that the story was glamorised by being shown on TV and made light of assisted suicide.

Lauren's struggle with alcohol (Eastenders) – This storyline included Lauren, Tanya, Joey, Max Branning and Jake Stone.  Walford wild child Lauren Branning’s battle with the bottle has been one of the most harrowing soap storylines of 2013, as the feisty EastEnders party girl’s love of the booze escalated from binge drinking to full-blown alcoholism. Tortured teen Lauren started binge drinking while her mum Tanya was suffering from cancer, then continued to try to drink her worries away during a torrid fling with her own cousin, Joey.
However, as Lauren’s addiction spiralled out of control, parents Max (Jake Wood) and Tanya (Jo Joyner) resorted to locking her up in the house during a ‘cold turkey’ cure attempt. When that failed, Tanya finally forced Lauren to go to a rehab clinic. Although at times hard to watch, Lauren’s descent into addiction has been widely praised by viewers, critics and even charities who work with real-life alcoholics. 6.36m (34.3%) watched at 7.30pm on BBC One as Lauren arrived back on Albert Square, while BBC Three's repeat screening secured 346k (2.3%) at 10.30pm. The soap was also praised by the British Liver Trust for its portrayal of Lauren Branning's alcoholism.

[Alice]

Soap Opera - Key Terms

Arc Plot- A long running story line that appears in most episodes, sometimes in the background, and at other timers as the main storyline

Cliff-hanger- An incomplete storyline, left at the end of the episode in order to ensure the audience will tune into the next episode to see the conclusion

Docusoap- A 'reality TV' show which combines documentary and soap opera

Ensemble cast- A large cast where all the characters have an equal level of importance

Primetime- The timeslot on television in the early evening when it is considered the majority of audience members will be watching

Scheduling- Placing a television programme or radio broadcast into a particular slot for audience viewing

Social Class- a hierarchy in society based on education, occupation, income, background, etc.

Social Realism- An expression of what is deemed to be a realistic representation of society

Terrestrial television- Television available to everyone with access to a TV, due to the fact that it does not require satellite or cable transmission.

Watershed- Programmes and advertisements broadcast before 9pm on UK television channels are not permitted to show material deemed unsuitable for younger viewers

Archetypal Soap Opera Characters-

The Ultimate Power Couple-

Definition: A couple that have faced many difficult situations which for most couples would have lead to them separating however the Power Couple are strong and portrayed as being indestructible. They have usually been part of many main storylines often lasting a long time. The couple are popular both within the soap opera and with the audience, however many characters envy/are jealous towards the Power Couple because of their relationship with one another. The couple are usually married and not usually gay/lesbian therefore fitting the stereotypical image of a married couple. There is no closure for the pairing unless both characters leave the show together or one of them dies. It is because of this, that after the usual fairytale wedding, if the super couple remains on the series, writers do not allow the item to live happily ever after as a couple in a fairy tale would but rather subject them to a continual cycle of being separated and reunited. This factor has contributed to two characters of a super couple normally divorcing and remarrying each other a few or several times

Example: Kat and Alfie Moon (Eastenders)

The Underdog
Definition: No credit is ever given to this individual no matter what they achieve in life although they do usually get somewhere in life which shocks other characters within the soap opera. Character's don't always do the right thing and often rely on others to help them through life.
Example: (Ian Beale)



The Super Villain
Definition: Trouble appears to follow this character where ever they seem to go and affect anyone who associates themselves with this character. They commonly have few friends or family around often appearing on their own although this doesn't seem to affect them. The things they are involved with are evil and usually against the law however they always seem to get away with it.
Example: Patrick Blake (Hollyoaks)


The Girl Next Door
Definition: Everyday beauty who everyone gets on well with and enjoys watching on TV, they supposedly have no enemies and is always there to help if there is any trouble. People turn to her if they need a shoulder to cry on as they know she will always be there, she has never done anything she shouldn't and is a loyal friend to all.
Example: Tina McIntyre (Coronation Street)



The Wayward Youth
Definition: The troubled teen who goes from being a good person into someone who mixes with the wrong crowd and goes off the rails. This person is often disowned by their family and sees themselves go to prison for committing some sort of crime that affects other characters within the soap (often someone they were once close to/has helped them out in the past).
Example: Finn O'Connor (Hollyoaks)

The Rebel
Definition: Someone who goes against society and refuses to conform to what is seen as normal, they usually begin life as a wayward youth and develop into a rebellious nature after mixing with the wrong people and becoming rude and sometimes nasty to the people closest to them. As the character matures they often loose this personality trait and fit back into society/a particular even/storyline may change they way they act towards others.                                                                                                           Example: Lauren Branning (Eastenders)

The Straight Laced Good Guy
Definition: This a man who never does anything wrong and always tries to do the best for the people he cares about. He always tries to avoid trouble and doesn't get involved with any disputes that occur within the soap. He is there for anyone within the soap and they all know that they are able to rely on this man if they have any problems and a good shoulder to cry on. This man is usually older and seen as a fatherly figure to anyone who's father isn't present in their life or if they are just young and vulnerable.
Example: Roy Cropper (Coronation Street)

The Vamp
Definition: Mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. The vamp is usually female and she uses her sexual attraction to exploit men. Other women envy her as she attracts most of the males within the soap opera and is blamed for many affairs/cheating storylines.
Example: Mercedes McQueen (Holyoaks)




The Matriarch
Definition: Head of the family and the person who keeps everyone together. This person is stereotypically female and often older as they are a mother/grandmother. She cares about her family and will do anything to protect them and if anyone tries to harm them/interrupt the family unit she wont be happy. This character is well respected by all and everyone knows their place when they are around her.
Example: Lisa Dingle (Emmerdale)

The Bungler
Definition: A clumsy person who is overly stupid and never seems to get things right and is always making mistakes with everything they do in life. Other characters never trusts them and often avoids giving them work/things to do as they know it won't be done well. They are sometimes given pitty as other feel sorry for them and their stupidity.
Example: Billy Mitchell (Eastenders)

[Kira, Henry & Alice]