The Death of Emmerdale.

As I write this I am aware that Emmerdale has been sick for quite some time. It took experts a while to diagnose that it was suffering from a lethal strain of the Ratings Virus. It has been confirmed that the virus was noticed soon after Emmerdale's parent, Yorkshire Television started working for Granada.

In all seriousness over few years I have seen my favourite soap opera and one of my favourite tv programs go down hill so much that I often cannot be bothered to watch it let alone maintain a website for it.

Why has it got so bad? Simply that a lot of tv companies believe that to sell a soap opera all you need is sex and disaster. Emmerdale, right from the day it was created by Kevin Laffan has never shied away from these subjects but never, in my opinion, did it merely to attract an audience.

Some might say that this is Emmerdale moving with the times. I dispute this, believing that Emmerdale is a VICTIM of our times with Granada's greed and mismanagement being the reason for Emmerdale contracting the Ratings Virus. The sponsors have been lost with the falling ratings which are a mere shadow of those not too many years ago and these poor ratings are only achieved due to Emmerdale's 7pm time slot.

Emmerdale is now no longer the sleepy, rural, agricultural village we saw in 1972. Instead it has grown beyond all recognition into a place where you are more likely to see a teenager dressed for clubbing leading his/her newly found partner of five minutes away for a session of thinly veiled sex and all happening on national tv just after 7pm. Storylines are becoming fantastic and unbelievable and are picked up or forgotten at will regardless of continuity or realism. I really feel sorry, not just for myself and other true fans, but also for the cast and crew who are trying their best DESPITE the producers treatment both of them and the show.

The other day another disgruntled Emmerdale viewer said publicly: "Stop production of all future episodes, send all the people involved, actors et al, to Drossroads and Deadenders. Then start showing the original Emmerdale Farm from episode one, back in the halcyon days of 1972. Result - viewing figures will go through the roof as there will be something worth watching at long last, pots and pots of money will be saved on outrageous actor's salaries, sets and production and last but not least, I would be very very happy!" Admit it, it's worth a thought.

In conclusion I honestly think that Emmerdale is beyond saving. In it's present format it is losing it's core audience and the young audience that it's producers have tried to attract has, on the whole, not materialised. Rather than lose the show I loved I would rather see it go back to two, quality, episodes per week even if this means losing it's current time slot. If this cannot be achieved then, for me at least, it's goodbye Emmerdale. I am a lover of Emmerdale though and intend to remain a fan-club member if only to remain in contact with the many friends that I have made over the years.

Bill Sands 5 June 2002