21 hours ago, I Am A Swede said:

Poor Kathy.       She must be one of the most tragic characters in Emmerdale Farm history. I hope that she finds some happiness away from Beckindale now. She deserves it.

And considering how much tragedy the second Kathy had to endure during her time in the village one must wonder if the writers had something against people named Kathy....  

There's always Cathy Hope, who has had a much happ...well, never mind.

9 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

There's always Cathy Hope, who has had a much happ...well, never mind.

   I didn't even remember that there is a new Cathy in the village now. I guess it shows how much (or should I say little) I care about the current show.

Some real world events influencing the show. Celebrations for Queen Elizabeth's silver jubilee and the whole village was there.   🥳

I know it was necessary, but seeing all the village scenes is really a stark reminder of how much atmosphere was lost when the show moved to a purpose built village set. It's only a fraction as big as the real village and frankly I've always though that it looks a bit fake. 

On 8/6/2025 at 4:49 PM, DRW50 said:

If you're in the US, Emmerdale is now available to watch for free on the show's Youtube channel.

This is a day I would have been happy for about 10 years ago. Not now, but given the cost cutting at ITV, they are smart to try to find whatever amounts of spare change they can.

Ooh, both this and Corie are also available in rest of the Europe (or at least in my country) as of June 30th episodes, from what I can see Interesting. I stopped watching EastEnders.. maybe I should go back to Emmerdale??

Just now, Manny said:

Ooh, both this and Corie are also available in rest of the Europe (or at least in my country) as of June 30th episodes, from what I can see Interesting. I stopped watching EastEnders.. maybe I should go back to Emmerdale??

I don't watch much now but you should try and see what you think.

I'm trying to get back into EE again.

I've been catching up on spoilers for the show and.....

There is absolutely nothing among those spoilers that make me want to watch. Nothing! To call it crap would be insulting to crap. 

Finished with 1977. It's been fantastic to finally see a year that has been so hard to find before. And I've discovered a massive re-write which I didn't know of before. Dolly's ex-fiance Richard showed up at the end of the year. I've always known about him, and the fact that he and Dolly had a child that she gave up for adoption. But in these episodes it's clearly stated that this happened a mere three years ago. But Dolly's child turns up in the mid-80s and is then a grown-up. So either she's had two children out of wedlock, or this birth is suddenly pushed back at least a decade. And here I was thinking that the worst re-write was the disappearance of Pat/Ruth Merrick's third child Tommy when she came back in 1980. But this is at least equally big.  

On 8/7/2025 at 11:09 PM, I Am A Swede said:

I've been catching up on spoilers for the show and.....

There is absolutely nothing among those spoilers that make me want to watch. Nothing! To call it crap would be insulting to crap. 

Yeah there is nothing exciting going on lately. But all British soaps are boring to me right now but Emmerdale and Hollyoaks are at their worst right now 

I just realized that I have watched almost 300 episodes of Emmerdale Farm since May! I probably need another hobby.      But it's so addictive. I say to myself, just one more episode, which turns into another and then another... But if I tried watching the current show I would probably struggle to get through a single episode.

1977 was a very good year for Emmerdale Farm. There were some stories I didn't particularly care for, like Sam's reunion with old friends from the trenches of the Great War. But everything with Joe and Kathy was spellbinding, even though Joe sometimes came off really bad. Kathy became a favourite of mine. I hadn't seen all that much of her before, since the majority of her stories came during 1976 and 1977, two years which up till now have been largely inaccessible. And then of course 1977 meant the introduction of Dolly. I have always loved her, especially as portrayed by Katharine Barker, and seeing her from the beginning has solidified those feelings. She has been such a bright spot on the show and energized everything. And I love her relationship with Amos. He didn't like her at first, but slowly he has warmed up to her, and the pure delight he showed when he played matchmaker for her and Matt made me grin like the Cheshire Cat.      He really is an old softie underneath his crusty exterior.      And I've said this before, but it does no harm to repeat it: Annie Sugden is the most perfect matriarch ever. She's not without faults, her weakness for Jack's shenanigans for instance, but she's also understanding and compassionate, however if you don't pay attention when she puts her foot down you do that at your own peril. And there's no question who the master of the house is. One look from Annie can make even Grandad hold his tongue.

On now to 1978. The year when we first meet Seth Armstrong....

Congratulations to Isabel Hodgins!   

Emmerdale star announces pregnancy with sweet photo

 

And on the subject of children, has Robert mentioned his son Sebastian since he came back to the village? I know that he went to live with a relative of his mother Rebecca after she died when Robert was still in prison. But now that he's out you'd think he would want his son to live with him. Or maybe he's too busy trying to expose John and get back into Aaron's pants?   

Back to 1978....

It's funny. Matt and Dolly aren't even married yet, but the issue that will eventually break them apart is already noticeable. Dolly is dropping hints that she may not want to stay at Emmerdale indefinitely but would like them to get a place of their own some day. Quite natural I would think. It can't really be easy for her living with the family of her husband's dead wife... But while I like Matt most of the time he is so phlegmatic and content with staying where he is that I don't think he understands how she feels. 

Grandad was adorable in his very brief courtship with Nellie Ratcliffe.     And thanks to Henry Dolly and Matt have resolved their differences, at least for now. 

I'm heading into the last 100 episodes from the 1970s now. I guess Aunt Jessie will turn up soon since we're approaching May 1978, and she will appear before Matt and Dolly's wedding in June. 

On 8/11/2025 at 9:06 AM, I Am A Swede said:

Congratulations to Isabel Hodgins!   

Emmerdale star announces pregnancy with sweet photo

And on the subject of children, has Robert mentioned his son Sebastian since he came back to the village? I know that he went to live with a relative of his mother Rebecca after she died when Robert was still in prison. But now that he's out you'd think he would want his son to live with him. Or maybe he's too busy trying to expose John and get back into Aaron's pants?   

Apparently he hasn't. Aaron mentioned him recently. Some Robert fans believe he hasn't mentioned Seb because he's too ashamed and doesn't think he can be a father. Who knows.

I've seen some fan speculation that Isabel won't return after she has her baby. I would hate to see Victoria go due to her being the only Sugden who has stayed around, along with them inventing another son of Jack's just to make him a serial killer, but I won't miss Victoria as her own character. I really wish they would bring in more Sugdens while Robert is still there. 

I saw that the old Emmerdale Farm channel is no longer putting up episodes due to them not being complete years. I respect their choice but I'm sorry for those scattered '80s episodes they had that we'll never get to see.

I saw that too. It's a shame. The mid-1980s is a period that very little has been available from and it seems like that is still the case. But you can watch some 1980s episodes here

https://archive.org/details/emmerdale-farmemmerdale-the-1980s

 

Episode 449, the first appearance of Seth Armstrong. He's clearly another character that mellows over time. I've seen a lot of episodes from this era before, and it will take some time before Seth becomes more lovable. I think it's his relationship with Jackie that really makes him more sympathetic. In my opinion he always worked best in a fatherly way with younger characters like Jackie and later Biff, but also with Kim. I much preferred him like that over the comic relief role he was often put in.

Aunt Jessie also makes her first appearance in this episode. Her appearances were much too few. A wonderful character, a very typical battle-axe persona with a heart of gold underneath the gruff exterior. Done right that is always a favourite character of mine, and Kathleen Helme did it very right.