The name 'Soap Opera' originated all the way back in the thirties in America. In the early thirties, drama series were broadcasted on afternoon radio, aimed at female audiences. The shows were broadcast in between soap powder commercials - mostly sponsored by large companies such as Procter & Gamble.

The first British radio soap opera began in 1942, it was called Front Line Family. From the 1950's, soaps took over television, with the very first soap launched on BBC in 1954 running until 1957. ITV launched in 1956, By 1960 it flag shipped the very first mass-watched drama, which realistically reflected real life. It is still running today. BBC finally learnt in 1984, when it launched Eastenders. Eastenders is also still running today.

The soap world has witnessed a number of failures. For example, BBC

The good thing about having multiple characters is that the soaps can have the usually array of stereotypes, for example, the good guy, the bad guy, the idiot, the nosey neighbour, and the landlord or landlady. This also means there are always people to relate to- whatever your age.

The 1960's saw a cultural revolution in British drama and media. Not only was Coronation Street introduced but Britain saw its first daily TV soap, namely Crossroads. It was low budget and poorly acted out - but managed a plethora of viewers by the time it was killed in 1988.

Soaps also have a place in real life. An example of this is how they are depicted in the popular press. For example, papers like the Daily Star and The Sun have regular stories reporting on recent events in the soaps, usually Coronation Street or Eastenders. In January 14th's edition, The Daily Star has a page reporting on the latest happening with the Eastenders bad guy Steve Owen. It's funny how soaps get reports in the press - but it gets readers, people want to know what's happening in Eastenders over the next month.

There have been soaps based in other countries - take Eldorado for example. It seems British viewers only like soaps from their home country, or ones that are relevant to the way they live. To tell you the truth, Eldorado was badly acted out - but still, British viewers prefer a soap they can relate to in some way.

the dramatic storylines. For example, Eastenders uses funny scenes with Billy or Robbie. Robbie's funny character trivialises the day-to-day rigmaroles of a growing young man. Eastenders uses these 'funny scenes' to balance the serious stories and let the major ones build up.

All these characters are interlinked, the bad guy commits a crime, the nosey neighbour hears about it, the landlord tells everyone, the good guy tries to sort it and the idiot is the last to find out, and usually gets a frown or two.=

Some topics in this essay:
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