The secrets of making a good soap

[Cat]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/organgrind...ion-street-soap

The secrets of making a good soap

Prepare yourselves. Tonight will see the "terrible climax" to Coronation Street's murder storyline – with more than 10 million people expected to watch as Maria Sutherland takes revenge on the man she believes killed her husband. Not bad for a programme that will reach its 7,000th episode on Wednesday.

But at almost 50 years old, Corrie is not the only long-running show that still pulls in the punters. Next year EastEnders will celebrate 25 years on screen, and The Archers will mark 60 years since its pilot episode. Even relative newcomer Hollyoaks will be 15. Surely there can't be many storylines left for them to employ?

Steve Frost, the controller of continuing drama at ITV and the newly installed executive producer of Emmerdale, admits it is "extremely hard" to keep soaps fresh because of viewers' high expectations, but says it is vital to do so. "I can't overstate the importance of these shows," he says.

But while it's important to keep soaps fresh, doing so can be tricky. Viewers feel they own the shows, says Frost. "It is always a constant question of keeping them familiar. That is absolutely key. But they can't be too familiar, as you might as well just watch repeats. They need to have a constant new angle as well."

Although nothing too ridiculous. Long-running shows have often resorted to dramatic stunts, but the spectre of Brookside – the Channel 4 soap was axed after failing to top its infamous body under the patio storyline – means there has been a move away from the sensational. "Brookside is a fantastic example of something that outdid itself," Frost says. According to Johnathan Young, the executive producer of The Bill, at one time "all the shows tried to outdo themselves". Unfortunately, the audience "just becomes desensitised".

Vanessa Whitburn, the editor of The Archers, says it is important to mix big storylines with more gentle ones. "The danger of hyperinflation in storylines is simply the exhaustion of trying to fulfil that. If you do more and more, and bigger and bigger stories there must be a boom and bust because people can't take any more and switch off."

But publicity still matters. Most long-running dramas operate around quarterly storyline meetings – a time to "thrash out and argue about the key characters, what we are enjoying and what is missing," according to Diederick Santer, the executive producer of EastEnders. Down in Walford, Santer is currently overseeing plots for June. He says: "I am looking at the storylines for the week now and I am thinking what would make it on to the front of TV Quick."

But that doesn't need to involve a fire, plane crash or bodies under the patio. Despite an urge to relentlessly court controversy, it is the more everyday issues that keep viewers coming back for more. "There will be recurring themes – there will be a lot about parents and children and the difficulties of growing up," says Santer. "Love is a really good theme, sex and romance and issues around fidelity and betrayal."

For soaps' close relations, continuing dramas – including programmes such as the Bill, Casualty and Holby City – the central themes are slighly different. The fact they are based around professions makes them easier to keep from getting stale, says Young. "We get a lot of our stories from our guest characters who come in for a few episodes, while in the soaps it is about the families," he says.

"We are principally interested in how our characters relate to the guest characters rather than putting their own storylines at the forefront. We don't want our cops walking into a murder scene talking about their relationships."

Working out which plotlines will be well-received can be a difficult art – particularly in recent years. Audiences have changed, says Susan Bower, new executive producer of Neighbours. "People are more educated and very, very savvy now," she says. "We have changed the storylining, we have researched them a bit more thoroughly to just to keep up with the expectation of the audience.

"There are, however, some soap storylines that don't work. So how do shows deal with ideas that are stale before they even hit the screen? The lagtime between filming and transmission means that producers usually know early on if a storyline might not work, says Santer (for EastEnders it's eight weeks).

"Sometimes it is hard to be objective. We can put an episode and storyline out and think 'it is not really doing it for me, but maybe other people will like it', but then it falls a bit flat. If something seriously doesn't work, we can try and remedy it but what is glorious about this medium is that things move on pretty quickly."

But keeping a show engaging isn't just about scripts. When Tony McHale – Young's counterpart at Holby City – took over in 2006 he gave it a film effect to try to modernise it. "I thought it looked quite old-fashioned at the time," he says. And with the success of US imports such as The Wire and ER, homegrown series have had to adapt. "Everything was racing for pace at one point – we certainly were – but we have taken our foot off the pedal slightly," says Young.

A move to high definition filming will lead to further change. EastEnders could be one of the first, with speculation it could also soon move from its Elstree base – although Santer says it would involve most of the show's external sets being rebuilt. "If you get up close you can see the staples."

When Neighbours got an overhaul last year, having moved from BBC1 to Five, HD filming meant sets were remade. "It hadn't really been refreshed and refurbished for some time, but it was done with great love and affection," says Mark Fennessy, the chief executive of Neighbours producer FremantleMedia Australia. "There were no radical left hand turns taken. We really wanted to be respectful of heartland Neighbours and what had always made it so hugely popular."

Except, that popularity was in danger – the overhaul was prompted by Australian ratings beginning to "soften". But Bowen says the core of the show remains. "You can put all the whizz bang things in the world in …but they are not there just for that sake," she says. "If the audience love the characters and the story they won't care if sets wobble."

Bower says her workload since becoming exec producer has been "phenomenal". "It's like riding a tsunami every day to keep people buoyed and enthusiastic, because that reflects on the show. You see it and you can hear it and you look at a show that has been going for a long time and the boredom or the staleness comes off the screen."

Her UK counterparts agree that keeping their teams energised is crucial. "People talk about these shows as being sausage factories, but the trick is not to make it look like that and to make something special every day. You can't just sit back and think 'that was a mediocre episode.' Each episode has to have its own drive and bite," says McHale.

But being a boss on a long-running drama is also stressful. It is "relentless" says Whitburn. "The biggest strain is there is no downtime," she says. McHale is more blunt: "I am sure there is a point where your head bursts."

Santer adds: "It is one of those jobs where you think, 'I can't cope with going home and reading three scripts, I might have a little cry, I can't bear it', but the privilege of having this show and the audience enjoy it to the degree they do – a responsibility comes with that privilege."

[DavidEvanSmith]

Thanks for posting this, it was an interesting read. I'm intrigued that their challenges are more based in keeping the shows relevant to the audience, while American soaps are struggling to stay cost-efficient, while seemingly surrendering in the battle to stay relevant.

[JamesF]

I think Susan Bower's comment about a savvier audience is really the key here. While these producers are trying to keep up with the demands of the audience, American producers are generally happy to believe that the audience has got dumber and will take any [!@#$%^&*] they shovel up.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Absolutely, I totally agree.

[brimike]

But to be fair (Can't believe I'm defending the networks - somebody, smack me!), they're going off of what gets the ratings. And not for nothing - there's a lot of garbage aimed at people I'm convinced have an IQ about on a par with my age, that gets ridiculously high Nielsen ratings, and a lot of smart, savvy shows that get nothing.

Yes, I realize this is a Nielsen issue, and not an audience issue. But American television has been heading into the gutter across the board (daytime and primetime) for a reason. Because they're getting the numbers, as flawed as they are.

It makes me want to throttle someone - but it's tough to argue with it.

[quartermainefan]

One key they don't really talk about here is those shows tend to air in the early evening, so the audience is easier to find. That's all NBC has to do, is air DOOL every M/W/F at 8 pm. People will find it.

[Sylph]

But that garbage you're talking about is of the "temporary hit" kind: usually the ratings are good and all of a sudden they plummet like a train off the bridge. Those "smarter" shows usually need some time to build an audience and networks don't have the time, they want the money — and now.

[Cat]

I don't think NBC (or any network) would give up its 8pm Primetime slot to the daily soaps, unfortunately.

But the 5-6-7pm drivetime/dinnertime slot would gave "Daytime" a much-needed shot in the arm. I could definitely see Y&R, Days and GH airing against each other at 7pm.

Interestingly, Coronation Street and EastEnders -- the UK's biggest soaps -- are at great pains NOT to air against the other because they don't want to reduce their individual share of the audience. I wonder how the UK networks are anticipating a falling share of the audience as a whole as more people decide to watch on their computers, on their TiVo equivalents (Sky+), etc, at a time which suits them.

[brimike]

Absolutely.

I'm definitely one of those "ignorant Americans", so can you guys help me out with the rest of BBC? I'm a huge fan of Coupling, the original Life on Mars, Doctor Who, Torchwood, Red Dwarf (even sat through the full season of Primeval, even though I'm still not sold on it) -- but how is the rest of BBC primetime? It strikes me that there's a lot of really smart shows (doesn't matter if they're drama or comedy). But my access is purely through DVD's and BBC-America. Does BBC venture anywhere into "Bachelor-territory" or "Real Housewives-territory"?

[Cat]

This might be able to help you:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/tv/

Having lived there some years (and grown up there in part), I will say that BBC has two advantages. One, it has no ads because it is a brodcaster funded entirely by the taxpayer. So you get an entire show with no interruptions (only ads for other BBC programmes between shows).

Secondly is the variety on offer. BBC 1 is the main channel and it has everything. Not just dramas and comedies but reality shows like Strictly Come Dancing -- the original Dancing with the Stars -- which I, frankly, loved. They've had their share of Bachelors-type stuff (although other networks tend to pioneer that stuff) but they focus mostly on talent competitions, like auditioning unknowns for a major part in West End stage musicals.

Cooking shows are another genre the British cannot get enough of -- Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, Rick Stein, Gordon Ramsay and other chefs are big stars. Until recently, property and interior design shows were bigNews programmes and documentaries feature more prominently than in the US.

The website link I gave you shows that at least two shows on TV tonight in the UK will be docs which get decent ratings. One on elephants (the BBC is a nature documentary pioneer, thanks to David Attenborough) and the other on the current financial crisis (The City Uncovered). I don't know whether either of these kind of shows would be considered viable by a US network but, like I said, these shows both have 9pm slots and probably are proven to pull in some decent ratings.

I will see that the Brits I talk to are pretty clued up on current affairs and they are enthusiastic and sophisticated TV viewers. They watch it, they are unabashed fans of TV, they demand a lot from it.

BTW, US shows tend to be very popular, too. Heroes, Lost, 24, Mad Men, Desperate Housewives, Gosspi Girl, Ugly Betty... UK TV is in a position to pick and choose the best of our shows.

One last word. Dr Who and three soaps (Emmerdale, Coronation Street and EastEnders) regularly make the Top Ten ratings. Like, all the time. The three soaps are treated seriously, like another Primetime show would be. They are definitely not dismissed as a woman-only genre or anything like that.

[All My Shadows]

Oh, how I wish we could have something like that here. It could never be the current soaps of daytime, though. Sadly, they have a stigma on them that would be virtually impossible to get rid of. When one thinks As the World Turns, they immediately think of grandma sipping coffee at the kitchen table. There would have to be all-new shows in primetime for them to even work, and lord knows I don't mean something like "Dirty Sexy Money." Heavens no.

Question for you, Cat. Is there such a thing as syndication at all in the UK?

[BadBoy93]

If u think Eastenders are doing well then i advise you to go to this website.

http://altee.15.forumer.com/

Eastenders have been doing terrible since 2009 started.With the departure of Sean Slater and The Branning Family more screwed up than ever,Eastenders IMO is turning into an Us soap opera for example Lauren Branning trying to murder her dad after he stopped her going out with her boyfriend.Danielle Jones turning out to be Ronnie Mitchell`s Long Lost Daughter (I think they might be doing that storyline on GH) and a lot of other fiasco happening and oh yeah a 7 yr old little girl teaming up with her dad who is a con man and a soap veteran( if u haven`t gussed Nick Cotton) trying to kill Dot Cotton (Nick`s Mum) boy didn`t they do this before in 1993 with the same characters.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Not Cat, but...

What do you mean? In terms of British shows? In terms of soaps? In terms of American shows?

Lots of re-runs of American shows are shown for UK audiences on a variety of channels.

Currently, WATCH airs re-runs of EastEnders and Doctors in the UK.

[All My Shadows]

I mean time for local stations, like how from 3pm-7pm, ABC and CBS give time to their affiliates (except for the half-hour network news). I've read a little bit about it, and the way I'm understanding it is that BBC1 or ITV1 have several different stations (they call them franchises, though, right?) across the UK, and each one airs the programming from the network, but they have the choice as to when to air the programming, and they can also not air some stuff and air their own stuff. But the networks themselves, BBC1 or ITV1 or whoever, has a full 24-hour schedule that they supply to the regional stations to air, correct? So the answer to my question would be no? Or would it? LOL, it confuses me a little bit, but I want to know for curiosity's sake.

[Dan]

Can we please staple this to Guza's forehead?!