Emmerdale Farm

Emmerdale Farm (Emmerdale since 1989) is the best soap on TV and has been for a number of years; I am still puzzled as to why it doesn't get the credit it deserves.

I usually watch this soap at my girlfriend's house and it is a great way to unwind after a hard day's work. It's set in Yorkshire (probably the most beautiful county in England)and follows the trials and tribulations of a small village. The villagers can usually be found in local pub The Woolpack or the village shop. However, unlike other soaps, there's several scenes set outside with the beautiful Yorkshire scenery.

Unlike other soaps, Emmerdale is a character driven soap. Every now and again it has a big drama such as the 1993 plane crash or the 2002 lorry crash but it doesn't need to have such big events often because it focuses more on the characters. Since it started in 1972 the writers have done a wonderful job.

Another ingredient to Emmerdale's success is the balance between humour and tragedy. Some soaps such as Eastenders and Brookside are far too gloomy with no comedic scenes at all but Emmerdale balances the tragedy out with comedy scenes involving the likes of the Dingle Family or the dodgy Eric Pollard. Comedy has always been one of Emmerdale's strong points.

The characters themselves are great. Obviously, I would love to go into detail but there wouldn't be enough space when you consider 30 years worth of shows. The 70's focused mainly on the Sugden Family who were always interesting. The 80's saw the likes of Rachel Hughes and the debut of the immoral Eric Pollard. The 90's was a great time for the likes of millionaire Frank Tate, his heartless son Chris, his evil wife Kim Tate and lesbian vet Zoe Tate. Here in the 21st century, Emmerdale continues to be good with characters like the romeo Rodney Blackstock, the crazy Dingle Family and gangster Ray Mullan.

I have actually lived in a village for a period and this is quite true to life. Okay, soaps could never really be considered reality but when I lived in a village I found that the small community really did stick together through thick and thin and the same happens in this programme. The only thing that isn't realistic is the amount of time the characters spend in the pub-one of these days Emmerdale is going to suffer from a mass outbreak of alcohol poisoning.

All in all, Emmerdale has been consistently good and recently celebrated it's 30th birthday with some great episodes. Here's to the next 30 years.

Emmerdale is a good old British soap.

Although the stars in this are changing all the while, I still enjoy watching it.

Some of the best stars in this are Betty and Edna. They bring comedy relief, which it needs at times as there have been several tragedies over the years, including a plane crash and minibus crash, where several characters were killed off.

Unfortunately, Stan Richards who played Seth died earlier this year (2005) and Emmerdale won't be the same without him.

Some of the story lines in Emmerdale at present are rather silly, especially the affair between Viv and Paddy. Looks like yet another marriage breaking up (Emily and Paddy). For some reason, scriptwriters seem against people being happily married. There won't be any married couples left in Emmerdale the way things are going. You would not get this many marriage and relationship break ups in such a small community in real life.

Despite all this, Emmerdale is an excellent soap and I still watch it.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5.

Emmerdale, shown by the UK viewing figures, is extremely popular, and rightly so. It perfectly creates the right atmosphere existing in country villages to this day (I should know). The highlight of it all is Samantha Giles, who plays the colourful and quite humorous Bernice Thomas, the landlady of the village's boozer, the Woolpack. Where you want humour, a scene springs up with the antics of the Dingle family. Where you want some drama, there are scenes on the Emmerdale Farm and in the nearby Home Farm: It gives a wide special spectrum, entertaining all in the process.

Don't miss it!

Having just seen it after probably over 10 years gap, I can only but echo the comments by another poster sleepin dragon.

It now appears to look like a hollyoaks episode, with a range of overmade up women, many with hilariously swollen lips. Rather than being in emmerdale, it just focuses on the minutiae of people's relationships, with no actual storyline.

The scenes remind me oddly of a low budget version of Acorralada.

Emmerdale is a great show. I watch every episode and it never gets boring. There's always something new happening there. And yet it doesn't get unreal. They have every kind you can relate to. My favourites must be the Dingles. They are so funny. Otherwise I don't have any particular favourite. Anyway, the show really is worth watching every day, and I want people to know that!