4 hours ago, AMCOLTLLover said:

Those returnees are not even worth to be excited about. Their storys were finished. Ugh!

 

As the matriarch of the decimated Sugden family, I would be happy to see Diane, especially if she was used to introduce significant flashbacks featuring beloved characters. (I know, I know, that's me dreaming in Technicolor. Sigh.)

The show seems to love Danny Miller/Aaron, so technically TPTB could create some new storyline fodder for him, but...would it be riveting and worth following?

 

4 hours ago, AMCOLTLLover said:

Emmerdale is the most dissapointing soap ever to have made it to 50 years! Maybe I’m just used to better anniversaries. Like Corries 50th! That was dope as hell

 

To me, the gold standard for anniversaries will always be the 30th anniversary celebration for As the World Turns. That was beautifully done. I loved the 10th anniversary of Another World too. I also grudgingly gave credit to TGL for putting on a good 70th anniversary episode (when they flashed back to the show's radio era), even though the overall show was painful to watch at that point. Even Search for Tomorrow's 35th anniversary satisfied me. More often than not, however, anniversary eps fall flat. (All My Children's 20th anniversary show was just weird.)

 

4 hours ago, AMCOLTLLover said:

I’m sorry. I love Guiding Light and don’t mean that as an insult but even Guiding Light’s weird new camera filming and writing for the final year was that worse or tiresome. Emmerdale is/was one of my favorites since I was 11 years old. But I think it’s time to end that [!@#$%^&*] or switch producers. But I don’t think anyone could save that garbage. Like Days of Our Lives! Just end this mess. 

 

 

I'm at the same point. My patience has run out, and with nothing but incompetent production for certain series in the forseeable future, the end needs to come sooner rather than later.

12 hours ago, AMCOLTLLover said:

Nate/Sam/Belle

(Intriguingly, the show's bosses hinted that the plot is one that couldn't be undertaken by the other soaps.)

The hell does that even mean?

Some sort of incestuous love triangle? After all, we are talking about Dingles here.... 

 

 

Edited August 27, 20223 yr by I Am A Swede

@I Am A Swedethe dingles annoy the [!@#$%^&*] out of me by now. I can’t believe they are THE main family of ED. That speaks for itself.

@vetsoapfan I love Diana but the way she left for Portugal last year just don’t give my hopes up tbh. They we have returnees that just left a year ago or in Robert’s a few seems like they couldn’t get anyone better.

I watched Atwt and their 30th anniversary and enjoyed it very much. 
Coronation Streets 50th will always be my favorite and from that German soap “GZSZ” the 10th anniversary. Hughe twists that no one saw coming back then. 
Oltl’s 7000th episode anniversary in 95 was amazing as well.

I haven’t watched Emmerdale for a whole week and I didn’t missed it  

11 hours ago, AMCOLTLLover said:

@I Am A Swedethe dingles annoy the [!@#$%^&*] out of me by now. I can’t believe they are THE main family of ED. That speaks for itself.

@vetsoapfan I love Diana but the way she left for Portugal last year just don’t give my hopes up tbh. They we have returnees that just left a year ago or in Robert’s a few seems like they couldn’t get anyone better.

I watched Atwt and their 30th anniversary and enjoyed it very much. 
Coronation Streets 50th will always be my favorite and from that German soap “GZSZ” the 10th anniversary. Hughe twists that no one saw coming back then. 
Oltl’s 7000th episode anniversary in 95 was amazing as well.

I haven’t watched Emmerdale for a whole week and I didn’t missed it  

The Dingles being the alleged new core of Emmerdale is as egregious as when the Shaynes became such a focal point of TGL in the 1980s. Or Sonny, Jason, Roger Howarth, and The Mob taking over and infecting General Hospital. Or the Rappadorks descending upon OLTL.VOMIT!!!🤢💩

I'd be happy to see Andy Sugden return for the anniversary. If we could have Diane, Andy, Victoria, and even Robert gather together, discuss the family history and share flashbacks, that would be a poignant gift for longtime fans. Of course, I'm not holding my breath. Over the years, TPTB have inexplicably slaughtered so many Sugdens, I doubt the clan can ever be rebuilt. How the show dealt with Annie's death shows they don't don't care about the original core family anymore, alas.

I hated a lot of Corrie's  50th, so I will probably have a higher opinion of this by default, but they have done nothing to make me care. Or much of anyone. This would be the perfect time to bring in another offshoot of the Sugdens, or ask Karl Davies if he might return for one episode, or even Kelvin for one episode, but it's a lot of nothing.

8 hours ago, DRW50 said:

I hated a lot of Corrie's  50th, so I will probably have a higher opinion of this by default, but they have done nothing to make me care. Or much of anyone. This would be the perfect time to bring in another offshoot of the Sugdens, or ask Karl Davies if he might return for one episode, or even Kelvin for one episode, but it's a lot of nothing.

Are any "offshoots" of the Sugden family even left alive out there, to bring in? (I'm not being sarcastic; I'm genuinely curious because as far as I can tell, the vast majority of the family has been killed off over the decades.)

I'll never stop scratching my head over the idiotic and gratuitously destructive decision to kill off the twins. I suppose the writers could weave an elaborate story to reveal that the children had actually survived, and been kidnapped way back when, by someone who was desperate to raise them. I hate this sort of revisionist plot, but the Finding Sabrina saga on ATWT was ultimately successful. And since Joe died off-screen, they could twist that around to bring him and/or some previously-unknown offspring back to town. I'd be willing to forgive creaky revisionist history to expand the family.

Are there any Sugdens, whom you can think of, who are SUPPOSED to still be alive and who could be woven into the current version of the show?

9 minutes ago, vetsoapfan said:

Are any "offshoots" of the Sugden family even left alive out there, to bring in? (I'm not being sarcastic; I'm genuinely curious because as far as I can tell, the vast majority of the family has been killed off over the decades.)

I'll never stop scratching my head over the idiotic and gratuitously destructive decision to kill off the twins. I suppose the writers could weave an elaborate story to reveal that the children had actually survived, and been kidnapped way back when, by someone who was desperate to raise them. I hate this sort of revisionist plot, but the Finding Sabrina saga on ATWT was ultimately successful. And since Joe died off-screen, they could twist that around to bring him and/or some previously-unknown offspring back to town. I'd be willing to forgive creaky revisionist history to expand the family.

Are there any Sugdens, whom you can think of, who are SUPPOSED to still be alive and who could be woven into the current version of the show?

There were the Crossthwaites, Annie's cousins (although I know Annie was not a blood Sugden).  I was thinking more along the lines  of bringing  in a long-lost  child for Joe or Jack. Saying that Marian's child was Jack's after all would be a good way to tie 50 years of history into present day. 

3 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

There were the Crossthwaites, Annie's cousins (although I know Annie was not a blood Sugden).  I was thinking more along the lines  of bringing  in a long-lost  child for Joe or Jack. Saying that Marian's child was Jack's after all would be a good way to tie 50 years of history into present day. 

 I'd be thrilled if TPTB managed to bring in more actual blood Sugdens. Having offspring sired by Jack or Joe would be ideal, and not totally outside the realm of possibility.

50 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

There were the Crossthwaites, Annie's cousins (although I know Annie was not a blood Sugden).  I was thinking more along the lines  of bringing  in a long-lost  child for Joe or Jack. Saying that Marian's child was Jack's after all would be a good way to tie 50 years of history into present day. 

Yes! And then he could come and rescue The Woolpack from the Dingles!  (I'm sure Henry and Amos are spinning in their graves right now)

A while ago we got that list of top 10 episodes people felt defined Emmerdale.  ()

Well, in honour of the show's upcoming 50th anniversary I thought I would choose the top 10, not episodes, but storylines, that I feel have been important during the years. I'm sure you all will have your own lists, but this is mine:

Spoiler

10. The murder of Sharon Crossthwaite (1973): Emmerdales first death. Although Sharon herself only appeared in 4 episodes, her disappearance haunted the village for months until her gruesome fate was revealed. The show even re-visited this storyline 18 years later when Sharon's murderer, Jim Latimer, was released and targeted Jack Sugden, who had been instrumental in his arrest, for revenge by kidnapping Sarah. She was eventually rescued and Jim sent back to prison.

9. Pencross Fell (1987): The government decided to use this site near Beckindale as a nuclear dump, which caused an uproar among the inhabitants. For months they protested and did everything to disturb these plans. Jack Sugden was even sent to prison for a few days for breaching a court order banning him (and many others) from going near Pencross Fell. Eventually the protests became too much and the plans were abandoned.

8. Baby switch / Daniel's death (2007-08): In 2007 Ashley and Laurel welcomed a baby boy. While in hospital Laurel had befriended another new mother, Melanie Doland, who had recently moved to the village with her husband Greg. Tragedy struck however and Ashley's and Laurel's baby, Daniel, died shortly thereafter. Soon after that they had another shock, when it was revealed that it wasn't their son who had died. There had been a mix up at the hospital and Laurel's and Melanie's babies had been switched. At first Laurel had trouble accepting this, she felt that she betrayed baby Daniel. But eventually she came around and she and Ashley were reunited with their son.

7. Jackie Merrick's paternity reveal (1982): During the 1960s, teenagers Jack Sugden and Pat/Ruth Harker had been sweethearts. But Jack left Beckindale suddenly and only after he was gone did Pat realize she was pregnant. To give her baby a father she hurriedly married Tom Merrick and pretended he was the father. He didn't question this, but many people had their suspicions. When Pat returned to Beckindale in the early 1980s Jack had also returned, and they rekindled their romance. This development lead to Pat finally revealing the truth which so many had already guessed, that Jack was Jackie's father. Jackie didn't take the news well at all, and it took him a long time to forgive his mother and accept Jack as his father.

6. Serial killer Cameron Murray (2012-13): Probably one of the most evil characters on Emmerdale over the years. Cameron claimed three victims during his reign of terror, Carl King, Alex Moss and Gennie Walker. Not a personal favourite of mine by a long shot, this story centered too much on the worst Emmerdale character ever, Debbie Dingle.

5. NY Estates pulls out of Beckindale (1988): Maybe a bit surprising that this ends up this high, but the decision of NY Estates to sell up and pull out of Beckindale really meant the end of an era, and it paved the way for the constant battles for control of Home Farm, which became a key part of the show for years.

4. The Bus Crash (2000): This could have been just one in a long line of catastrophies and disasters which has plagued Emmerdale for the last 30 years. But when a lorry from Tate Haulage crashed into a bus right outside of The Woolpack one of the victims was Butch Dingle. That in itself was more a reason for cheers than tears, however.... his death and subsequent funeral served as an introduction for Cain and Charity Dingle. Two characters that has (unfortunately) dominated the show since then.

3. The King's River Showhome Explosion / Tom King's murder (2006): When the newly built housing development was opened in July 2006 it ended in tragedy. The showhome had been sabotaged by Cain Dingle and exploded, leading to three deaths, including that of Dawn Woods. The repercussions of this disaster played out during the rest of the year, leading to, among other things, the departures of Sadie King and Cain Dingle, the discovery of Terence Turner's dead body and culminating in the murder of Tom King at Christmas.

2. Robert Sugden vs Andy Sugden (2001-05, 2014-16): Tensions had already begun to rise between adopted brothers Robert and Andy, but when Robert found out that Andy was responsible for their mother Sarah's death and that their father Jack had covered up for him his growing resentment turned to hate. Their feud tore the family apart, and had disastrous consequences. When Andy found out that Robert had been sleeping with his fiancee Katie he tried to shoot him, but ended up shooting Jack instead. When their feud lead to the death of innocent bystander Max King, Jack had enough and banished Robert. He didn't return until 9 years later, but time hadn't healed the wounds. The feud flared up again, and this time it lead to the death of Katie, who had just married Andy. This time though, it was Andy who fled the village after being framed for shooting Lawrence White, Robert's ex-father-in-law. But since Robert helped Andy escape it's possible that, at long last, this feud is over.

1. The Plane Crash (1993-94): It couldn't really be anything else, could it? New Year's Eve 1993 ended in disaster, when a jetplane exploded and crashed in Beckindale. Hundreds of people on the plane died, and in the village the accident claimed the lives of Elizabeth Pollard, Mark Hughes, Archie Brooks and Leonard Kempinski, and left Chris Tate paralyzed. In an effort to distance itself from the tragedy the village changed its name later in 1994, from Beckindale to Emmerdale in honour of the Sugden family. This story gave the show its highest ratings ever, and watching it now it actually still holds up well. The major downside is that this story has become something of a Holy Grail, which producer after producer since then has tried to replicate.

 

Honourable mentions:

• NY Estates enters the village with its purchase of Miffield Hall, later re-named Home Farm (1978)
• New Year's Storm (2003-04)
• The Post Office Robbery (1994)
• Amos retires and sells The Woolpack (1991)
• A fire kills Viv Hope and Terry Woods (2011)

The podcast Distinct Nostalgia is continuing interviewing Past Emmerdale Stars for the upcoming 50th anniversary of the show. And soon they will be talking with Jane Hutcheson who played Sandie Merrick from 1980-1989. @I Am A Swede @DRW50

 

 

It's so strange how they never even mentioned something about Sandie keeping in touch with Robert. He is her half-brother after all. She's only been mentioned two times or something like that in the last 30+ years.

Thanks @Forever8 On a better show Sandie would be back for the anniversary.

1 hour ago, DRW50 said:

Thanks @Forever8 On a better show Sandie would be back for the anniversary.

This! And Samuel Skillbeck would be back with a family of his own. Sigh... 

12 hours ago, Forever8 said:

This! And Samuel Skillbeck would be back with a family of his own. Sigh... 

I used to dream about that, re-introducing the Skilbecks....       But not anymore. Not unless this show is rebooted from top to bottom and 90% of the current cast removed.