LondonScribe

I know. With the axings of Holby City, Doctors, and now River City, the BBC’s soap/continuing serial drama output remains Eastenders and Casualty (though the latter’s budget is being stripped away, and they appear to be distancing themselves from the ‘soap’ tag with the boxset format introduced under Jon Sen a couple of years ago)

My wife and I don’t watch much of the same television. She long gave up on soaps. But I just found out that she’s all in on Beyond The Gates. Why? Because it’s showing black people not only surrounded by affluence, but being the creators of said wealth, driving the narrative and being leaders.

I decided to hold back on commenting until I caught 2 weeks worth of episodes, so I could take a view that I didn’t consider hasty for me 🤣 Plus, I knew the first week would be designed to be as exciting as possible to keep viewers, so waited till week 2 as the show settled into its rhythm. I love this show! It’s my American soap. The only one I watch now and will keep on watching. No show is perfect, but I can’t go back to any of the other soaps having watched Beyond The Gates for 2 weeks. Given the current television climate and the ongoing apprehension when it comes to fully embracing all things black, I don’t expect this to be a decades-long soap, so will enjoy this as long as it remains on air.

My tomfoolery and has worked and I’m watching the 1st episode now. Will then catch up with the thread 😅

Looking forward to not only the 1st episode, but also seeing how the show evolves. It looks like I’ll be conducting some tomfoolery to see the show for the time being, but I suspect it’ll be worth it ☺️

Just watched the live episode. Has Chris Clenshaw just had his Sean O’Connor moment? A watching nation is divided. I’ll say no more until I’m more sure everyone here who wants to watch the episode has seen it.

Apologies if this has been addressed, but so fast moving is this thread, I might have lost track. Has there been any news on international distribution? Wouldn’t want to get left behind. With me giving up on General Hospital’s return to ‘factory settings’, Beyond The Gates would be the only U.S. soap I watch. And as a black man, and a writer, I’d have a resonance with the show unlike the others.

Having not watched the show properly since about 2016-17, I didn’t even this had still been a thing, but I’ve read that the show has reintroduced full opening titles for the first time since 2010.

Indeed. Channel 5 started at the end of March 1997. Hollyoaks had been on the air nearly a year and a half at that point and even by 1998 when Mal Young left to join the BBC and Pearson (which became Talkback Thames) turned to Brian Park and Liz Lake, Hollyoaks had established not only it’s young fanbase, but Phil Redmond and long term series producer Jo Hallows had cultivated a beautiful, fun and largely carefree style that the said audience were responsive to- even if the acting was ropey.

Apropos of nothing (because it seems Jason Herbison has tight rein over the show) has there been any update on who’s taking over from Shane Isheev as Script Producer?

As well as other shows, especially Hollyoaks, with its embarrassing number of serial killers over the years- especially under Bryan Kirkwood, who I believe worked on Coronation Street during this period, so you could argue there is a through-line. It can’t be overstated the rescue job Kieran Roberts did on this show did after the very commendable if slightly controversial job he did on Emmerdale (from 1998-2001, taking it on a step after the ubiquitous Mervyn Watson tenure, but I digress). Jane McNaught had failed to compete with Eastenders on their patch with a proliferation dark, issue-led stories, such as Toyah’s attack and rape, and the show a husk (and of all the lessons recent producers have learned over the last decade, that heavy-handed approach was not the preferred takeaway for viewers), and this story, as well as the general show direction turned things around.

This popped up on my video options and I remember this like it was yesterday. Then it dawned on me it was roughly 22 YEARS AGO! The show had really rediscovered its feet and the nation was gripped by the Richard Hillman/Platts story.

This is amazing @DRW50 Thanks for tagging me in this thread and @Forever8 for the find.

It’s fascinating seeing the differences when it comes to who forum members like out of the Panesar/Gulati family.

So much of their story was tied into Dan, and what was going to be his murder and coverup, that when Dalip Tahil was deported that their meaning fell apart. And Louise Berridge and her team were unable to adapt.

The Ferreiras run them pretty close (or vice versa), I think.

Kate Brooks’ name has only just appeared on the credits as Producer, a few spoilers have appeared and somehow, a number of viewers are even more discouraged than before. Oh dear 🤦‍♂️

After watching this episode, it crystallised that things are back to how they were before, writing and character-wise… plus I’m getting a sense of where one or two plots may be going… I’m out. Life’s too short and I’m finalising my own literature for publishing so I’m dropping GH until something fundamentally changes. In the grand scheme of things, I’m nobody to make this ‘declaration’, but I really enjoyed the attempt at something different earlier this year- as imperfect as it was initially, so the return to Valentini ‘factory settings’ and my own personal situation was enough for me. And today sealed it for me. Here’s hoping Beyond The Gates starts well…

With all the talk about opening credits, I presume no-one is interested in U.K. style credits that, though distinctive, features no shots of characters. That goes for ‘continuing dramas’ such as Casualty and Waterloo Road as well. With the sheer number of characters and regular-ish cast turnover, more ‘generic’ openings are likely most easier to manage. The only exception is teen-aimed soap Hollyoaks.

Didn’t I read on here years ago that the studio sold the vast majority of the classic cues as part of a cost cutting drive?

A couple of thoughts crossed my mind. It’s a wild one, and has no basis in fact. I can’t shake the feeling that 1) as an 80 year old, this is possibly his last gig, and maybe sentimentally, he wants to go out improving/saving the show he loves the most, and/or 2) should we be keeping an eye out for a Melody Thomas Scott professional connection here? Or alternatively, it is as simple as somebody realises the show is where it is now and needs a jolt, or the writing could be on the wall for Josh Griffith, whether close or distant?

My mother has long since stopped watching Days of our Lives but when I told her today, she was genuinely upset, such is the mark John Black the character left on her. I remember her lovingly aping the way he used to exclaim ‘Doc!’ and I suspect she quite fancied him and his hero character. Whenever I saw John, I’d break out into an involuntary smile, maybe for that reason, but also because of the charisma and charm Drake Hogestyn brought to the role. I remember being quite annoyed when he was written out and got a kick out of RoboJohn, even knowing it couldn’t last forever. I, too, felt profound sadness when I read this news, not just for the actor, but also because he seemed to be a thoroughly decent and caring man. Rest In Peace.

I’ve tried to dip in to Hollyoaks just before and after the time jump, but very little in the 3 years that preceded it. So I’m no authority on it. What I do know is that Ben Wadey was a Channel 4 Commissioning Editor, so he oversaw a slate of shows, including Hollyoaks. He wasn’t a direct producer. As for Holby City, I know I’m in the minority when it comes to the last year, but the darker, nihilistic approach of Sean Gleeson spoke to me. My own writing is sometimes dark and cynical.

Just saw this now and as said, 3 years is usually the maximum (if the producer gets to leave on their own terms). So I’m not blindsided. The show is not perfect- no show is, but it’s the clear best of the 52-week British soaps (Casualty has been exceptional since, ironically, Jon Sen came in as EP and he changed the storytelling model, though I wish the depiction of the accidents were not scrapped, budget reasons notwithstanding). After being a continual, if not indifferent, Holby City viewer, I note it did tick up significantly in quality in its last year after Sean Gleason took over as producer. His Story Producer… Ben Wadey. Like Chris Clenshaw before he took over from Sen, I know very little about Ben Wadey so will take a ‘wait and see’ approach.

A variation of this happened recently, no?