I've been binge-watching Emmerdale Farm from the beginning and wanted to share some thoughts. It's very clearly still a show trying to find its feet, but it's 1000 times better than what we're getting nowadays.

Annie is everything I picture a matriarch should be. A no-nonsense person who believes in minding one's own business, but when she speaks up about something you better listen. It's obvious though that, whatever she might think, she does have a soft spot for Jack, since he is her oldest child.

Jack and Matt are really the two least sympathetic characters early on. Jack is quite self-absorbed and his obstinate refusal to see the world for what it is, and not how it really is, is annoying. Matt on the other hand is so passive-aggressive in his whole attitude that it drives me crazy. This characteristic will soften over the years as well, but some of it will remain (very good consistent writing really) and it will play a major part in the breakdown of his later marriage to Dolly.

Peggy is the character I sympathize most with. Maybe because most of her frustration is directed towards Jack and Matt. It's notable that the issues she has with Matt are the exact same that Dolly will experience years later. Both Peggy and Dolly long for a home of their own, but Matt is happy to stay where he is, which causes friction in both marriages.

Grandad Sam and Amos are very much supporting characters early on. Amos will definitely benefit immensely from having Henry move in and share the Woolpack with him, opening up whole new storylines.

Henry will, like Annie, also mellow over the years. Like Amos he will benefit from their partnership. He has a much more stern personality early on.

I don't know if Gail Harrison (Marian) wanted to leave or not, but she does feel a little out of place. Whatever the reason I think it was the right thing to write the character out. She doesn't really seem to fit in the village.

I almost forgot Joe..... His role in these very early episodes is clearly to be the young, impulsive hothead. The conflicts between Jack and Joe, which will continue through the years, is established right away.

Looking ahead it's fascinating to see how much groundwork is done very early on for stories that will continue throughout the 1970s and the 1980s, and how each character, even this early, has some personality traits that will be consistent, even though they will all evolve and grow.

 

Edited August 17, 20241 yr by I Am A Swede

Great to hear your thoughts @I Am A Swede . I think the warm presence of Fredrick Pyne can mask how difficult Matt was and why Dolly later left him.

I can definitely see how much Henry mellowed as time passed and he was more of a comedic double act. That never would have been possible if Marian had stayed.

Jack is a very prickly character. He remains that all through his time on the show, but it is a better fit in the '70s because the Sugdens were not so depleted and he got more pushback. 

Matt is one of my favourite characters, but that doesn't make me blind to his faults. And I think it's a testament to Frederick Pyne's talent that he manages to infuse Matt with enough sympathetic qualities that you can still care for the character. And it's one of the things that makes me love Emmerdale Farm so much, the care that each character gets and the consistency in the writing. Such a little thing for example that Marian isn't forgotten when she moves away. She continues to be a part of the show in a way, long after her departure. And of course the long-running saga of Jackie's paternity. It's very clear even in these early episodes that there are doubts about the identity of his father, but it doesn't get resolved until over a decade later.

I do have to say that Jack kinda was driving the show early on tbh

He certainly was. But there is a noticeable shift after episode 26. The focus is still the Sugdens and Emmerdale Farm, but the village becomes more prominent, and more characters are introduced. The show was originally only supposed to be 26 episodes and that's how Kevin Laffan began to write it, but early on the network ordered more, so he had to expand the canvas.

15 minutes ago, I Am A Swede said:

He certainly was. But there is a noticeable shift after episode 26. The focus is still the Sugdens and Emmerdale Farm, but the village becomes more prominent, and more characters are introduced. The show was originally only supposed to be 26 episodes and that's how Kevin Laffan began to write it, but early on the network ordered more, so he had to expand the canvas.

I always thought of those early episodes as a televised „The Archers“..

I have to say I enjoyed those farm scenes and them working on animals and stuff. Felt so real. I remember that I watched those episodes when they were released on DVD.. Now I’m on a UK site with torrents who has nearly all episodes. I watched them so many years ago but I’m glad someone uploads them again

I've watched 40+ episodes of Emmerdale Farm in just a few days, and there has not been a Dingle in sight!

I stopped watching in January/February, I'd say... anyone know where I should pick back in?

9 minutes ago, Liberty City said:

I stopped watching in January/February, I'd say... anyone know where I should pick back in?

You shouldn't. 

5 minutes ago, Bright Eyes said:

You shouldn't. 

35 minutes ago, Bright Eyes said:

You shouldn't. 

B.b.but I want to, LOL! 🤣

3 hours ago, Liberty City said:

B.b.but I want to, LOL! 🤣

Just pick um from early August.. U really didn’t missed much tbh. BESIDES Tom-Belle. The only story worth watching tbh

19 minutes ago, AMCOLTLLover said:

Just pick um from early August.. U really didn’t missed much tbh. BESIDES Tom-Belle. The only story worth watching tbh

Haha will do!!

Watched it years ago here in Canada. When i watched it they had a rich lesbian who was in love with her Brother's Wife/GF?

13 minutes ago, jasonminer1974 said:

Watched it years ago here in Canada. When i watched it they had a rich lesbian who was in love with her Brother's Wife/GF?

Zoe Tate, Christopher Tate and Charity Dingle (🤢). That must be 22-23 years ago now.