Emmerdale Farm

He tries but you need subtitles can't hear a word he says

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.

People may complain about Emmerdale having become 'urbane' in recent years and moving away from it's so-called rural charm...

But these clips showing a racist attack in Leeds from December 1992, will show you just how modern and urbane the show had already become as the 90s kicked in...

...and to think that people thought that before the plane crash of 1993, all the show consisted of was Annie making tea and baking bread, and Jack & Joe milking a cow and sheepdipping... definitely not so...! :)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2zfkam

Made in the largest studios of Britain, Emmerdale is a soap combining the daily lives of colourful characters of all varieties. Now called Emmerdale, the soap has shed its image of a boring drama set on a farm in the Yorkshire Dales. From the vindictive and orally vicious Viv in the shop to the friendly and funny Bernice in the Woolpack, Emmerdale's bar, you'll become addicted and transfixed on the superb acting and memorable storylines.

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.