Eldorado

In 1992 when Eldorado first aired on the BBC I watched it avidly. Yes, some of the characters seemed a little "outrageous" and maybe some of the acting could have been better. However, I was hooked, especially as we were off to Spain on holiday in the August. Sadly the BBC axed the show, which was a pity.

Three and half years ago, we retired to Spain and now live in a very mixed community of Europeans, ex-pats included. Oh brother! Believe me I have met virtually every character featured in Eldorado, as outrageous as some of them appeared. Whoever researched the program originally did a pretty good job, how sad that it wasn't appreciated at the time. So real is it that our community has now been re-titled Eldorado by our visiting family. Wish the episodes were available on DVD!

This series should have done better, it could have done better, but was never given the chance. It was a soap based around British ex-pats that had found a haven and mixed with the locals. The storylines were ok, but some of the early acting was poor, but as time went on the production changed beyond recognition. However, after all the effort the cast and crew put into the series, the BBC bosses pulled the plug and watched £10million pounds waste away instead of trying to help it out. Viewing figures were up and the series was selling well around Europe, but all there is left now is an empty studio village and repeats. Nothing more...

The axing of this show was purely a political decision. The show was doomed from the offset. The BBC pumped loads of money into the show and expected to make immediate profits which was not going to happen no matter how good the show was. As for the show itself. I loved it. It was a little slow to start with but it was a soap opera and for anyone to be able to get to know the characters right away was asking a bit too much. It was to take time and the BBC were not prepared to give it this required time. The most memorable character was of course Marcus (Jesse Birdsall) who fitted the "bad boy" image perfectly. The man with a hard exterior but a soft centre. Most of the actors played their parts magnificently but there were a few exceptions at the start but those actors were soon axed. I'd love to see the whole series again as I can now find myself in a similar position as most of the characters in the show - I'm an expat myself now and socialise with an expat community. It's a pity it was axed just as the show was becoming popular and the plots were becoming more interesting. Thank you BBC :(

Watching recent repeats of Eldorado on cable tv brings back great memories. How many of us looked forward to our twice weekly transportation to the sunshine of Los Barcos? I did. Yes, it had some teething problems. (Tho' looking back, it doesn't seem half as bad as at the time!). And it got better. The storylines and the characters were good, if not always entirely believable. But hey, this is soapland! The Beeb made a big mistake by listening too closely to those telling them that they had a made a big mistake comissioning the programme in the first place, (work that one out!). What say they get back to Los Barcos, pick up where they left off and give us our winter sunshine back?

Not a bad soap. However, the BBC, in its wisdom, decided to pull the plug when it seemed to be getting off the ground. This decision has always seemed a puzzle when programmes of questionable quality are screened by the same organization. It was sad to lose this programme, and how much public money was thrown away?