World Cup Tournament World Cup of Soap Operas - The Matches

James from London

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Match One

I always knew Brookside was gonna cause me problems somewhere along the line. Do I vote for the series of the '80s that blew my mind (the passionate, political writing [they had Jimmy McGovern on staff, for Christ's sake!]) and got under my skin (the Grant family dynamic; Billy and Sheila's romance) and haunted my dreams (Petra's disappearance; Bobby and Sheila's breakup) and broke my heart (Damon's death) and kinda sorta changed my life (when I looked at those people and realised that's the kind of actor I wanted to be, and still do today), or do I vote against the series of the' 90s that betrayed everything that had come before and become instead a shrill, bland, dishonest example of how crap a soap can be? (Obviously, I stopped watching at some point, so maybe the Nat and Georgia years were great. I'd like to think so.)

Then there's Corrie, which has been way more reliable over the decades and is full of wonderful, brilliant characters and eras, but which has never quite rocked my world in the way that early Brookie did, and which I eventually lost touch with.

So long as it's absolutely clear I'm voting for Bobby and Sheila and Barry and Karen and Damon and Petra and Gavin and Marie and George and Gary and Little George and Cindy the dog and Roger and Heather and Nick the heroin-addicted architect and Paul and Annabelle and Lucy and the first Gordon and Billy and Doreen and Rod and Tracey and Harry and Edna and not, I repeat not Jimmy and Jackie Corkhill or Anna Friel or Ron Dixon or Claire Sweeney or any of that lot, then Brookside it is.

(If by some fluke, Brookie gets through to the next round, I'll probably vote against it, cos it'll be quicker than writing out all those names again).


Match Two

Easy peasy Peyton Placey.
 
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Angela Channing

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Match 1
As I said in the previous round I never could get into Coronation Street despite watching it on many occasions whereas I was a regular viewer of Brookside for many years. Coronation Street is dishing up annoying characters like Fiz Brown and Brookside gave us the wonderful Sheila Grant, Harry Cross and Annabel Collins. While Coronation Street is recycling storylines of serial killers (yet again!), Brookside gave us the siege, the body under the patio and Damon being stabbed to death while running off with Debbie. Easy choice for me, my vote is for Brookside.

Match 2
Two giants of US soap opera and I could make a case for either to go through. However, it's hard to look back on the history of soap opera and not appreciate the significant part that Peyton Place played in popularising continuing drama, especially at prime time. Peyton Place is also a really well made, well written show with high production values that is still very watchable today. I've only ever watched a few episodes and it's easy to see why it was such a phenomenon in the 1960s. My vote is for Peyton Place.
 

Ome

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Two of my all-time favourites battle that I would only have loved had this been the final, where I would be thrilled with either winner. Another thought would be that Corrie winning could potentially upset a Dallas or Dynasty victory whereas Brookie would kinda slip out without a second thought.


I know for a fact that I have watched more episodes of Corrie than I have for all Brookside, Crossroads, EastEnders and Emmerdale combined, but that isn’t enough for me to vote Corrie.

Corrie has created some of my favourite soap characters and even more entertaining, are all the various pairings Corrie created. From Stan & Hilda, Jack & Vera, Ivy & Vera, David & Gail, Alf & Audrey, Percy & Phillis, Bet & Alec, Derek & Mavis, Rita & Mavis, Ken & Deidre, Sally & Tim, Johnny & Jenny, Steve & Tracy, Norris & Mary, Roy and Haley and I could go on, however, it’s not enough for me to vote for Corrie.

To add to all those brilliant characters in Brookie that @James from London listed, I wanted to shout out about those wonderful recurring characters like Annabelle’s mother Mona (did she once stay at Harry & Ralph’s, claiming they were selling chocolate on the black market?) as well as Madge (Shirley Stelfox). The hilarious Julia Brogan (Doreen’s mum), Marie’s friend Betty and her 2 gormless sons. Jimmy’s bit on the side Kathy Roach. Throw in Debbie and her possessive father, Matty and his tragic wife Teresa (I still shiver at the thought of her yellow cardigan floating in the Mersey). The gorgeous Sam (Dinah May), Alan’s girlfriend, not forgetting the menacing Tommy McArdle and John Clarke. From the early 90s, I had lots of fun with stories such as the cult where Simon preyed on the weak, the Jordache abuse story, mainly Trevor and Mandy. Max, Patricia and Susannah as well as Susannah killing her two children. The characters Bev White (and her chickens) and Anna Wolska. Which brings me to this…

Match 1 = Brookside

Match 2 = Peyton Place
 

Ome

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Coronation Street is dishing up annoying characters like Fiz Brown and Brookside gave us the wonderful Sheila Grant, Harry Cross and Annabel Collins.


Alternatively, you could say Brookside was dishing up annoying characters like Pat Hancock, Frank Rogers and Ron Dixon and Coronation Street gave us the wonderful Bet Gilroy, Hilda Ogden and Jack Duckworth.


:D
 

Canon

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Match 1: Emmerdale is the English soap that holds my heart and as great as its early episodes were, I still have to admit that there's nothing quite like 80s Brookside. Some would argue that Brookside gets too much flak for what it changed into in the 90s given what the other English soaps are doing today but I don't believe the other soaps have ever become as soulless as Brookside. As silly as Corrie, Emmerdale and EastEnders can now be, their characters, for the most part, react and are impacted by the ludicrous things that happen to them, I don't think 90s Brookside handled the more sensational side of soap with quite the same depth. Still Brookside in the beginning was so good, so well cast, so well written, just so perfectly realised that it more than cancels out what came after. So Brookside gets my vote all day long.

Hit it Dana!



Match 2: I'm currently caught up in an old daytime soap so I feel like I should at least throw some affection towards this form of soap. I've always been fascinated by their long and complicated histories, both on and off screen. I've dipped into General Hospital twice, once when James Franco joined and later again when Abby Ewing rocked up. I didn't get very far either time. The current daytime soaps seem different to the ones I've had success with - early 90s Another World, early Ryan's Hope.

So I am voting for Peyton Place. It's been a few years since I've even watched a clip, is it as glorious as I remember...


God yeah, yeah it is.
 

Angela Channing

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Alternatively, you could say Brookside was dishing up annoying characters like Pat Hancock, Frank Rogers and Ron Dixon and Coronation Street gave us the wonderful Bet Gilroy, Hilda Ogden and Jack Duckworth.

:D
For me Fiz takes annoying to a different level, even worse than Charley St James in Falcon Crest and as bad as Laurel Elis in Dallas and Beverley Grice in Crossroads. In comparison, Ron Dixon is almost loveable. :D
 

Jock Og

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Quarter Final Game 1 - BROOKSIDE: Even though CORONATION STREET has been a global success and will undoubtedly continue to be I'm voting for the Liverpool folks. Channel 4 needed a flagship show which would take both sides of the water by storm and the residents of the Close certainly did that, throughout the eighties. 'Brookie' was quite the mixture of down to earth realism, often dark stories and humour to provide a balance. While the fall of the show was quite bad in the early noughties I still feel it could have been saved. IMHO a much missed programme, from the area of the Mersey.




Quarter Final Game 2 - PEYTON PLACE: The godfather of the soap opera genre. PP set the tone for others and does have a lot of appeal, to this very day.
 
K

Karin Schill

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Ugh. I am not fond of which shows are up against each other. This week I don't care enough to vote since I have only watched about a month of Coronation Street and I didn't really like it enough to stick with it. Somehow a plot about a missing cat didn't seem all that exciting to a 17 year old. :lol: It was too everyday/grounded/down to earth for my taste.

The other three shows in this week's competition I have never watched at all. I might be able to vote for General Hospital because of Elizabeth Taylor' s guest stint. But it feels wrong to do so based on 10 minutes worth of youtube clips.

So no voting from me this week.

But this still sucks since next week three of my favorite shows will be in the same competition Dallas, Knots Landing and Dynasty.
This means that one of these shows will be eliminated next week. :yikey: Too bad as I had hoped they all would have stayed in the competition until the finals. :(
 
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Daniel Avery

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I might be able to vote for General Hospital because of Elizabeth Taylor' s guest stint. But it feels wrong to do so based on 10 minutes worth of youtube clips.
Well, how about some of GH's other alumni? Richard Dean Anderson, Rick Springfield, John Stamos, Doug Sheehan, Demi Moore, Sam Behrens and Jack Wagner were all on the show around the same time (early/mid-1980s) and of course went on to other, bigger things. Yes, two of Val Ewing's other husbands, Uncle Jesse, Peter Burns, and MacGyver!
 

James from London

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Angela Channing

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Coronation Street's Dierdre Barlow is correct, the poll to choose which soaps you want to win this week's matches does end at midday on Tuesday. You are choosing between Coronation Street and Brookside and between Peyton Place and General Hospital.
 

Carrie Fairchild

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Match 1 - in three years time, Coronation Street will have been on air three times longer than Brookside's run. The show has been in rag order for years now, something which may soil it's reputation but thankfully doesn't ruin our memories of the great characters from it's early years through to the 90's. However, I'm going to give Brookside my vote here, as it packed a greater punch over the course of it's tempestuous 21 years. Corrie did kitchen sink back in the 60's but Brookie did social commentary in the 80's, giving it's characters a more politicised voice than any of the soaps before it. It dived headlong into stunt and plot madness as time wore on, something which was bemoaned at the time but it in fact set a template which, for good or for bad, all soaps now use.

Match 2 - as I mentioned in another round, General Hospital never drew my interest whereas Peyton Place is a source of intrigue 60+ years after it's debut as a novel followed by movie, primetime soap, daytime soap and TV movies. On the subject of GH, it's spinoff Port Charles actually interests me more than the parent show but it's not enough to take my vote away from Peyton Place.
 
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