59 minutes ago, j swift said:

Whenever I encourage someone to watch Emmerdale, I usually compare it to Falcon Crest.  They're both agrarian based stories that explore the lives of families from different social classes.  And they both have killer opening themes. 

That being said, I would never recommend that a first time viewer watches anything before the plane crash re-set in 1993. 

  Why? Those are the best years.

59 minutes ago, j swift said:

 Just stay away from the Dingles, until you're really hooked into the plot.  until you're ready to torture yourself.

Fixed.   

LOL, @I Am A Swede but don't you think a first time viewer would find the pre-1993 stuff to be too slow paced for modern viewing?

4 minutes ago, j swift said:

LOL, @I Am A Swede but don't you think a first time viewer would find the pre-1993 stuff to be too slow paced for modern viewing?

You're absolutely right. That is quite possible. Especially the very first years. When you get to the eighties the change has begun, but it's still a very different show from what you get nowadays.

I'm officially 3 months into watching the recent show (not that fervently) and I certainly want Cain GONE! He's such a mess but still has the goat to be an homophobic 

1 hour ago, Joseph said:

I'm officially 3 months into watching the recent show (not that fervently) and I certainly want Cain GONE! He's such a mess but still has the goat to be an homophobic 

Which scenes have had him as homophobic recently?

16 hours ago, I Am A Swede said:

You're absolutely right. That is quite possible. Especially the very first years. When you get to the eighties the change has begun, but it's still a very different show from what you get nowadays.

All of the '80s content I've seen doesn't seem far off what you could watch on television today (just more thoughtful and better written and acted). I think only some of the '70s episodes have that marked difference.

On 1/20/2023 at 12:36 AM, DRW50 said:

All of the '80s content I've seen doesn't seem far off what you could watch on television today (just more thoughtful and better written and acted). I think only some of the '70s episodes have that marked difference.

I think the pace is slower than you'd get now, both when it comes to storylines and how the episodes play out. Nowadays you get quicker cuts, more scenes, more characters in every episode compared to how it was, even during the 80s. I do agree though that the difference is even more noticeable when you look at episodes from the 70s. But back then it felt like you actually watched people living their lives, now you watch characters playing out their storylines.

On 1/19/2023 at 12:06 AM, Vee said:

I'm familiar with the different stages of the show. I have a specific interest in the Farm era because of it.

Yes, absolutely 100% watch the Farm era lol no disrespect to j swift, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone dismiss the early years like that. It’s slow-moving soap and super mundane - one of the early storylines focuses on a road running through the farm - but it’s very filling, if that makes sense. Not much “happens,” but you will easily get pulled into that village over the course of maybe the first five episodes.

Unfortunately, it’s literally just the first 20. The following episodes may or may not be on YT at the moment - it feels like they pop up and disappear a lot.

 

I remember I was lucky enough to watch the first 50 or so episodes when they were uploaded to YouTube. By episode 4, I was hooked. 

Or buy the show on dvd? The whole 1972- July 1974 are officially on dvd in 5 volumes

 

On 1/20/2023 at 5:30 PM, All My Shadows said:

Unfortunately, it’s literally just the first 20. The following episodes may or may not be on YT at the moment - it feels like they pop up and disappear a lot.

If the first 20 are just up like that, I'm willing to bet the rest will turn up commercially as well. It wouldn't shock me if Kanopy, the free nationwide public library streaming service, got them (though I haven't looked) as they did with Bill Gunn's wonderful avant-garde soap Personal Problems, which I think only went out to PBS affiliates in the early '80s (and then migrated to local radio).

Even Jeff Hordley is tired of the writing for Cain.

Emmerdale star Jeff Hordley calls for Cain Dingle changes after death storyline

 

I have the perfect storyline for Cain:

Spoiler

He leaves Emmerdale in a body bag!

I would most definitely tune in for that!  

I wonder if we're supposed to feel sorry for Cain and think that he's doing something noble giving up Kyle?

Because if it is....

Why do they turned Mackenzie into such a jerk. He worked so hard to built up a relationship with Charity and now he went astray and stuff.

UK Soaps are more unbalanced and inconsistent as the US ones. Holy [!@#$%^&*]

I've not been paying that much attention to Emmerdale recently, but apparently they just had a major "twist".... it turns out that Caleb, the never-before-heard-of half-brother to Cain and Chas is the long-lost illegitimate son to Frank Tate. And now he's here to claim what he sees is his birthright: Home Farm. 

*sigh*

I guess one should be happy that they're using the show's history (in a way) but this "twist" just feels tired and uninspired. I have a hard time picturing the Frank Tate I knew giving Faith Dingle the time of day. Sure, he had a drinking problem, so I guess something might have happened if he was drunk out of his mind... But that doesn't explain why Caleb would see Home Farm as his birthright. Frank only owned it for about 9 years, and it has had several owners since then. It's just a flimsy excuse to pit him against Kim.

It would have made a little more sense, and used even more Emmerdale history, if Caleb had been a product of an affair between Faith and Gerald Verney. The Verney's owned Home Farm (or Miffield Hall as it was known back then) for centuries. They lost it when Gerald had to sell up after the death of his uncle George, the last Verney who lived at Miffield Hall back when the show began in 1972. That would have made his claim about "birthright" seem a little more plausible. But I seriously doubt that many people involved in Emmerdale today even know this piece of history.

Caleb being Frank Tate's son was totally unnecessary. 

The show will stop at nothing to avoid bringing on characters such as Joe, Jamie, and Jean; and having all three of them driving story. Such wasted opportunity.