Soaps Bring Greater Awareness of Issues

Recent events in Neighbours have brought an important health issue into the public domain. With Susan Kennedy dealing with a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, viewers join her on her journey through shock, fear and acceptance.

It’s by no means the first time that a soap opera has dealt with a serious issue. In the past few years EastEnders has tackled adoption, child abuse and murder while Hollyoaks has run storylines on anorexia and self harm. Brookside aired the first pre-watershed lesbian kiss on British television in December 1993, and several soaps now feature openly gay characters. Topics like racial tensions and adolescent problems reflect what’s happening in society as well as in individual lives.

Soaps are some of the most-watched and best-loved programs on television today, and use their reach and advantage to bring society’s problems, ills and issues to a wider audience. Gone are the days when thorny or difficult topics were brushed under the carpet. This can be highly beneficial for people who may be experiencing similar difficulties. Viewers often admire, respect and identify with characters, especially since soaps appear so frequently in the television schedule. And since many soaps feature long running storylines and veteran characters, their day-to-day lives become intertwined with audiences’.

Often, soaps will provide a direct link at the end of the program informing viewers how to get help with similar issues, usually in the form of a phone help line or web address. Even if affected viewers don’t use this form of help, just the presence of their issue on television can be enough to start the recovery process.

It isn’t only people who suffer from the featured illness or problem that benefit. Television exposure can take the mystery or taboo out of an issue and lead to wider acceptance.

Critics often brand soaps as sensationalist for issue-driven storylines, but if greater awareness is raised and shame and secrecy are made things of the past, it’s surely a good thing.

For more information on MS, visit www.mstrust.org.uk

Harry Hill’s Tv Burp

Harry Hill is one of those comics that you either latch on to immediately, grow to enjoy his sense of humour or spend time in blissful ignorance wondering why something was funny. His live show is something to behold, where he sets up a lot of jokes, leaves you in bewilderment and then rattles off all of the punch lines one by one. His humour is formulaic in nature with in-jokes and references and it is easy to see why he and fellow comedian/writer, Al Murray got on so well.

Harry Hill’s TV Burp is the perfect show for Harry to demonstrate his humour as he looks back on a week in television and makes funny observations. The soaps, such as Coronation Street and Emmerdale are favourite candidates for him to rib, as the characters have a gift for stating the obvious or over-acting. Harry normally presents a clip and then provides his own observations in an off-camera way. There is usually a mock fight on the show such as that between a goose and a turkey in deciding which is best for Christmas. The show also has some sort of “TV highlight of the week” which is normally a highlight that has never taken place before and will not be repeated, such as, “TV High Voice of the week” . Harry himself is of fond of dressing up too.

The show is not for the feint hearted or easily offended – for example, the programme featured a Tiny Mother Theresa and the double act of Shane McGowan performing “Fairytale of New York” with a whale (which was in poor taste).
Harry Hill’s TV Burp has just started its 7th series and is well worth watching if you are a tv fan.

Torchwood

The second series of this Dr. Who spin off has been promoted from BBC3 to BBC2. The end of the first series featured the head of Torchwood, Captain Jack Harkness, almost dying after an encounter with aliens, but then leaving his team when he heard the noise of the TARDIS.

The opening credits said that the new series was punchier, pacier, funnier and it started off well , with Gwen from the team asking a lady who had just crossed the road “Have you seen a blowfish driving a car?” and the lady points and says “Bloody Torchwood”.

For those who have not seen it before, Torchwood was mentioned several times in Dr Who and has evolved into a team of people who are on the lookout for aliens. The programme is set in Cardiff, which is where a rift in the space time continuum has formed. The team consists of Toshiko ( Technician), Owen (a doctor), Gwen (an ex-cop) and Ianto (administrator), led by Captain Jack.

In this opening episode, Jack returned after the blowfish was getting nasty but he had to explain why he disappeared (he went to the Doctor). However, a man dressed in a red military jacket (like the ones worn in the 19th century) dropped a man off a multi-storey car park, headed to a bar and appeared in hologram form to Jack. Jack met him in the bar and they kissed passionately before fighting and ending up in a bar room brawl. Captain John Hart and Captain Jack Harkness knew each other from working in the Time Agency and from being lovers. John is similar in many ways to Jack in that he is multi-sexual.

John has come back apparently to find some radiation cluster canisters (he is actually in search of an Artesian diamond). Jack warns Gwen about him, but she is kissed by John and becomes completely paralysed as they try to find the canisters. John also injures Owen and pushes Jack off a tall building (believing that he has killed him).

When John thinks he is going to find the diamonds , he sees a hologram of the woman that he murdered and a tiny gadget is clamped onto him (with orders to blow up and kill the person that murdered her). However, John cufflinks himself to Gwen and the only option that they have is to find the rift and enter it. In the nick of time, Owen injects John with a mix of blood from the team (thus the DNA is not pure and the gadget can not latch on). When released from the cufflinks, Gwen land John with an almighty punch! A fabulous start to the new series of Torchwood!

Neighbours Round Up

Bridget successfully pleads her case to be discharged from hospital, but soon starts to feel suffocated by her parents’ excessive attention and offers of help. She reaches breaking point when Miranda and Steve start to discuss home care options. Determined not to live out life in a wheelchair, she tries to speed up her own recovery. Toadie breaks the news that Susan’s guilty plea at her committal hearing will most likely land her in prison driving a desperate Karl to plead with the Parkers. He tries to convince them to forgive Susan and to encourage her to change her plea to not guilty. Can Miranda be swayed?

Elsewhere, Declan refuses to accept his counsellor’s diagnosis of post-traumatic stress, and lies to Rebecca about how well he’s coping in the aftermath of his kidnapping. He returns to Nick and Laura’s caravan and attempts to burn it down. Oliver arrives in time to confront him and helps his brother face his demons.

Jake begins to make a full recovery, but Mickey continues to punish remorseful Janae for accidentally poisoning him. Despite Ned’s efforts to resolve the conflict Mickey remains unforgiving - until he unwittingly makes a mistake and realises how easy it is for accidents to happen.

Hollyoaks Round Up

This week it seems as if everybody’s got it in for Michaela. She is thrown out on the street by Amy, after an enormous row over some stolen money. With nowhere else to go, she is forced to return home to the McQueens and manages to get on the wrong side of a jealous Niall. Things get worse on the day of Niall’s party, when a drunken Michaela heads upstairs, only to be followed by Niall. Finding Michaela passed out on her bed, Niall secretly injects Michaela with heroin. The family panic when they find her unconscious, but have they found her too late?

Summer and O.B. are overcome with ambition this week, as they take in the sights and sounds of London. As they come out of the theatre, Summer is more determined than ever that this is where she is meant to be. She hatches a plan to stalk Lord Lloyd Webber and make him listen to her sing.

Elsewhere, Kieron is concerned about John Paul’s relationship with flirtatious Robin. When a depressed John Paul admits to Kieron that he was right about Robin’s promiscuous nature, he is shocked when Kieron has a revelation of his own and admits that he is gay. Will John Paul help the priest to keep his secret?

EastEnders Round Up

Tensions are simmering in this week’s visits to Walford. Roxy is determined to reveal Jack’s true colours, and shine a light on his behaviour. Ronnie and Jack’s relationship hits the skids, just as they are talking of moving in together. Will they split for good?

Minty can barely contain his joy about becoming a father, but Hazel looks uneasy after a doctor’s appointment. In his excitement, Minty fails to notice that Hazel has something on her mind. Zainab, meanwhile, is troubled by financial worries. The family are seriously in debt, but she attempts to keep the news to herself.

Elsewhere, Dot is increasingly isolated, trying to cope with recent developments. She sits at home alone, with her only her tape recorder for company.

Emmerdale Round Up

Things don’t get any better for Sam this week, as he comes under increasing pressure from the rest of the Dingle clan to take better care of Samson. After being told that Sam has been taking Samson to work on the farm, the concerned family intervenes. A huge family row ensues and Sam storms out. After Shadrach informs him that Zak and Lisa are considering temporary custody of Samson, Sam panics and decides to flee, taking his son with him. Shadrach supplies him with a gun for emergencies. Things soon escalate when David catches sight of Sam and the gun and informs the police. Has the Dingles interfering lead to them losing their both their son and grandson forever?

Attraction begins to blossom between Gray and Katie as they rearrange the house to make room for the coming baby. Relaxing at Mill Cottage, Gray admits how important she has become to him, and the Katie responds by kissing him. The moment ends in a confession from Gray, and Katie finally learns the truth about Perdy’s blackmail.

Elsewhere, Val is working herself up into a frenzy about her impending operation. As the day of reckoning approaches, she shocks everyone when she agrees to join Viv’s charity aerobics display. She later admits to Diane that her operation is the same day as the fundraiser. Will Val’s flight of fancy come back to haunt her?

Coronation Street Round Up

Jack is in a panic as the day of Vera’s funeral dawns in the Street. The grieving husband wants to do the right thing by Vera and make a speech at her funeral, but the thought of speaking in front of the whole congregation is giving him the shakes. Still, at least he’s got the ‘support’ of ne’er-do-well son Terry, who arrives back in Weatherfield for his mum’s funeral, promptly parks his car in the space reserved for the hearse, fails to recognise his own son Paul, and tries to talk Jack out of selling the house to Tyrone so that he can safeguard his own inheritance. As the locals gather for the funeral, can Jack put his nerves behind him to give Vera a fitting send-off?

Michelle is unable to stop thinking about biological son Alex, but feels guilty after going to meet him and introducing herself as his mum. Panicking after receiving a phone call saying he wants to see her, Michelle hurries the lad into the backroom of the Rovers on his arrival and although she knows she should tell him to go she’s transfixed by how much he looks like his dead father Dean. Michelle is terrified that Steve and Ryan are going to walk in any minute. How will Ryan feel when he finds out his mum has made contact with her biological son?

Elsewhere, Maria is delighted that Liam came home early from his business trip believing that he really couldn’t bear to be apart from her for one night. However, Maria soon lets her know that he didn’t return for the reason she thinks. And Jason is still feeling depressed about Sarah. Will he swallow his pride and go join her in Italy?

Mistresses

This was the second episode of the new drama series from the BBC called “Mistresses”. It follows the story of four 30/40-something female friends who are having or had affairs. It aims to give an alternative view of what it is like to be a mistress and the thought processes and reasons for doing so. It is almost like a British version of the popular “Sex in the City” series.

Katie is a Doctor who had an affair with a married man who died when she was with him. She treats the man’s family and knows them well. Sam Grey is her lover’s son and one of her patients. He has become obsessed with finding his father’s “other woman”. He has a piece of paper with the woman’s handwriting on and during the programme was convinced that Katie was the woman. He tried to trick her into signing his book (to compare the handwriting) and she managed to convince him that she was not the woman. Sam kissed her and asked her out. After deliberating on it all day, Katie turned up for dinner but left quickly.

Siobhan is one part of a married couple who have been trying for some time to have a baby. However even when she is dressed in sexy underwear, all her husband, Hari thought of was baby making. They decided that Hari would provide a sperm sample to see if there were concerns about fertility. Siobhan had slept with a work colleague and was racked with guilt and wondering whether to tell her husband. However her friend convinced her not too. Unfortunately, the test results showed that Hari had very little live sperm and it was unlikely that that Siobhan would get pregnant by him. After being shunned by Hari on a rare afternoon off from work, Siobhan returned to work and resumed the affair with Dominic.

Trudi’s husband had died not too long again as a result of the 9/11 bombings and she was still struggling to come to terms with that and look after her children. She received a million pounds as compensation and met Richard – the father of a girl who attended her daughter’s school. Her friends were suspicious that he appeared on the scene when she received the money. After a disastrous first date, they arranged to go out again but his baby sitter fell ill. Trudi cooked them both a meal at Richard’s house.

Jessica had sworn never to get married but had been helping to organise the civil partnership of two female clients. She had been having an affair with her married work colleague but had become intrigued by lesbianism. One of her female clients made a pass at her.

Mistresses is an interesting programme which portrays the guilt, despair and joy of being “the other woman”.

Extreme Dreams with Ben Fogle

Just as Ben Fogle’s programme Animal Park has finished, he popped back onto our screens with Extreme Dreams. He intended to take a team of people with him on an expedition and on a snowy day, asked 8 people to find him and meet him somewhere in the Brecon Beacons in Wales.

The 8 people were hardly prepared, as most had quite heavy suitcases and needed to trek through the snow to meet Ben. They were asked to work together as a team and eventually arrived an hour and a half later. All of the contestants wanted an “Extreme Dream” for differing reasons, such as being an underachiever, wanting to prove their love to a family member or feeling like a failure. When they met Ben, he explained that the snow of Wales was good training for the eventual trip, which was trekking through mountains in Nepal to a secret lake. However, only 4 of the 8 would go to Nepal.

Acouple of challenges were set for the group as they were split into two teams – yellow and red. The challenge was to collect red or yellow ribbons and was a race. However, the teams also needed to transport someone who was injured. One team carried the injured party and were slowed down by this action; whilst the other team dragged the person on a stretcher. They also faced a morale dilemma as a 4 x 4 car was placed at a roadside, with the keys in the ignition. One of the teams had no qualms about driving the car to the destination.

The second challenge was to build a wigwam frame and tent – but one of each team wore a blindfold, one had earphones and one was gagged. At the end of the challenges each of the 8 had to sell themselves and say why they should go to Nepal. Ben and his panel whittled down the 8 to 4 people.

← Previous Page — Next Page →