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"Brookside" (1982)

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13 comments in total

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Gimmicks And Quick Fixes Over Characterization, 12 December 2002
Author: Big Movie Fan from England

I started watching Brookside in 1982. I last watched it at the end of 2001. I don't know what is has been like in 2002 but I can tell you how I felt about it from 1982-2001.

My favourite soap was always Emmerdale Farm (now Emmerdale). I liked it because it didn't need fancy gimmicks to gain temporary ratings increases. Emmerdale had good characters which made the soap what it was.

Brookside was a different kettle of fish. To be fair, some of the characters were good but Brookside preferred gimmicks such as explosions and shootings.

In it's favour, there were some good stories for Brookside. Two of my favourite ever characters were Sinbad (real name Thomas Sweeney) and Mick Johnson. Sinbad left the show a couple of years ago. His last storyline had him accused of child abuse and it was powerful stuff. Mick Johnson also had some great stories, particularly one where he was in court for euthanasia.

Jimmy Corkhill was also a good character but by the time I stopped watching Brookside, he had lost all credibility. He had been a drug addict, a schizophrenic, a crook and a fake teacher-there was nowhere else for him to go really.

A couple of things I didn't like about Brookside were it's long drawn out stories and gimmicks. Some storylines lasted for an eternity, especially the one where Nikki Shadwick was raped by a mystery suspect. It lasted just over a year. As I stated earlier, Brookside seemed at times to rely on gimmicks such as explosions, plagues and the like. I feel it could have done more to develop characters because in a lot of cases, some characters became caricatures after awhile.

As I write this, Brookside may be axed in 2003. I know the show has a lot of fans and I thank Brookside for providing some entertainment and addressing a lot of taboo issues but maybe it has run it's course and 2003 will be the right time to lay it to rest.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Started good, ended good, but bad in between, 4 November 2003
Author: tdavies75 from Liverpool, England

The (not so) everyday life of the residents of a Liverpool Close. Brookside has been known to break the 'taboos' of life and include stories that no other soap had been brave enough to do before. Throughout the 80's and early 90's, stories of rape, domestic violence, homosexuality, incest and murder earned the soap high ratings. This was because Brookside wasn't afraid to push the barriers of soap stories. In fact, most people would say that Brookside helped pave the way for other soaps to be so extreme.

In it's heyday 10 million viewers regularly tuned in. This was in 1993, with one of the most controversial storylines to be on TV at the time. From that point on things began to go downhill. Though remaining popular, the 10 million viewers gradually decreased to around 1.5 million. Thus, in 2002, Brookside was moved to a Saturday afternoon slot, then to a late night Tuesday slot. It was eventually axed, and the last episode runs tonight.

So what went wrong? I was a fan up until around 2000. Up until this point the stories had been as exciting and controversial as ever, but maybe it was so exciting that it was unbelievable?

Most soaps have long, drawn out stories that gradually develop, and these are few and far between. While this is dull for some, it can at least relate with the everyday life of people. These long stories allow for character development, so people will become familiar with people on screen and feel as if they 'know' them. Brookside had none of this. Within the space of a few years we had a virus that killed off half the cast, the incestuous relationship of a brother and sister, a man killing his mother-in-law to get rid of her cancer pain, a drug-rape (which did drag for over a year, but became boring), a man purchasing a shotgun and killing a burglar, a couple of bombs/explosions, racist thugs that came from nowhere, a schoolboy killing and, to top it all off, a seige that trapped the close for three weeks.

Whilst these all sound good on paper, most of these characters and stories came and went in the space of a year, hauling tonnes of emotional baggage (that we hadn't seen develop) with them. Viewers didn't feel as though they knew the characters.

There was also no continuity. With other soaps, they all have at least one character that has been there all along, and most have lasted the majority of the show's life. Brookside has just one remaining character that has made it past the fifteen year mark. The rest have came and gone in very little time. Other soaps have familiar pubs and shops (ie the Cabin, Queen Vic, Woolpac, Rovers Return) Brookside has no familiar 'mascot' as such.

So it ends tonight. The thing is, since it was moved to a late night slot, it has became brilliant viewing. I have since heard that this was the way it was supposed to be as of last year, but the movement to an afternoon slot made it impossible to show what they wanted to.

I'll be watching tonight, as will the 1.5 million left. Maybe more since the final episode has had some surprisingly good news coverage.

"Brookie"-1982-2003

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
It had its good sides, 2 July 2005
Author: Reverend_Summerisle from Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.

When I think of Brookside, I think of when I was little and exciting Friday nights back in the mid 1990's. That's exactly what Brookside provided me and my family with – exciting Friday nights filled with the most unexpected/unrealistic story lines ever! Set in a working-class area of Liverpool, soap set in the fictional area of Brookside Close.

It just lacked reality and was obviously just to claim a large amount of viewers. Quite a shame really as it had great potential. The story lines just got too unrealistic to enjoy anymore. I stopped watching it in about 2000, but got back into it just before it finished. I do miss Brookside but it had its good sides – very good fun ways of spending your Friday night and made stars of some of TV's treasures including Amanda Burton and Claire Sweeney. I can't honestly say I can picture Amanda Burton (who I know from Silent Witness and the Commander amongst several other well-made TV programs) in soap in Liverpool. Anyone who has any information about Heather Haversham – PM me please! It'd be nice for Living TV or something to start repeating the episodes or something but it just wouldn't last on TV again.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
A Fantastic Soap but a Poor TV Slot, 5 September 2006

Author: Izzit249 from London, England

Brookside was one of Britains best soaps/shows before it was axed in the 21st Century......izzit, izzit? Yes it was. Having story lines that were equal to Corrie or an (up to 2003) Eastenders. Unfortunately, Channel 4 did not see it this way. Putting it on at completely the wrong time of day proved to be the death of what could have been Britain's bestest hit soap. Whilst Brookside was equally as good as what today are known as Britains's most popular, they hired fantastic actors, story lines that one can easily compare with, and is sorely missed to this day. I would love for this soap to be brought back by c4, ditching crappy hollyoaks for some real story lines worth watching.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
A soap that fell victim to sensationalism, 6 November 2005
Author: walfordqueen

Brookside was a classic soap opera that was brilliant at character building however things started to go wrong in the late 1990s. Whilst the real rot didn't set in until about 2001 onwards things were starting to go wrong for a period of time before then. The final straw for me was when they had the lesbian storyline involving Jackie Corkhill and Lindsey Corkhill. Jackie Corkhill was one of the most believable characters ever to grace a soap before that plot line. Her and Jimmy were so believable with their fighting and arguing however the character of Jimmy was eventually exhausted as well. It's a shame really but the show just fell foul to sensationalism, gone were the nitty, gritty dramatic days that were good drama yet true to the characters. There was a great friendship going on between the delightful Jacqui Dixon, Rachel Jordache and Katie Rogers for instance that focused on character building over the years. I loved Brookside in it's heyday but it should have been axed before the rot really had a chance to set in. I blame Phil Redmond and Channel 4 for letting the show go down the pan though, Phil Redmond just had to be in charge of his show, nobody else could have touched Brookside. Channel 4 showed no support whatsoever for what was once the most popular programme airing on the channel. I stuck with Brookside up until the end out of loyalty and it still had some great characters like the wonderful Bev however all the time shifting before it's demise was disgusting, you just didn't know when the programme was on half the time.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
an ex-fan, 27 November 2001
Author: chuffnobbler from United Kingdom

Once upon a time, Brookie was the best thing on telly. It had deep, believable, real characters. Motivations were drawn out over years, stories not rushed through and integrity on show. In the mid-nineties, attempts for each storyline to out-do the previous one and characters arriving with masses of emotional baggage to unload before we even knew who they were, all managed to undermine Brookie's place as the most controversial, and the ultimate soap.

Later on, the need to shock, married to tacky stories and two-dimensional characters turned the series into self-parody.

One of the best things on British TV, until approx. 1995.

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4 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Goodbye Brookside, 31 October 2003
Author: ross robinson from england

Well Brookside has had it's 21 years on Channel 4 and sadly it had to end because of the less viewers they had with it. Who knows, it could be on the sky channels showing old episodes. It's last ever episode will hire on 4th November 2003. So that brings it to the end for good. I'm sure there will be a few more viewers paying their last respects to Brookside. Well Goodbye then Brookside

RIP: 16th October 1982 - 4th November 2003

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1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
A shadow of its former self, 1 March 2002
Author: HurtsDonut

Up until early 2001 I was prepared to give this show the benefit of the doubt. I defended it to my friends who said it was past its best and tried to convince me to watch EastEnders instead. But no more; this show is utter drivel now compared to the relevant and dramatic storylines that were being effortlessly pumped out in its late 80s/early 90s heyday. Now it's all about sex, sensationalism and whiny Scouse angst. What a shame. Channel 4 should cancel it now and leave the show with some shred of dignity.

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0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Everything that has a beginning must have an end, 29 October 2003
Author: davideo-2 from Birmingham,England

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

And this show's end is next week,hah hah hah hah.

Well,it's had a pretty long run.I must confess,I've only really started watching it and showing an interest in it these last few weeks as it tick tocks toward it's final episode.Bloody hell,they don't half overact in this show though,don't they?That and some utterly sensationalist storylines make it a show I don't think I could ever have made a permanent fixture in my life,i.e. East Enders or,more regrettably nowadays,Coronation Street.

Having said that,weirdly enough,a lot of the characters are pretty believable for a Liverpool set soap,with names like Sinbad,Bazza and Jordache,as well as an impressive regional dialect.From what I've seen of it it's never been a brilliant show in my eyes but I'd certainly watch it over Emmerdale or,perish the thought,Hollyoaks.**

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0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Compulsive viewing, 6 September 1999
Author: JayeB

Yes I know I'm bias because I am British myself but truly this is a superb show!! Yes its slightly far fetched, yes its very depressing at times (no one can be happy for more than one episode I think that the quota) but who cares when you have excitement and good acting?? I mean Sunset Beach is ridiculous and how many of you watch it (me included and I'm not ashamed!!). For those in America comprehension of what the characters are saying may be impossible as they speak in a 'scouse' accent (think the Beatles multiplied by one hundred)so for viewing subtitles may be needed (ho-hum!!). May I also add that Liverpool is not in the North of England but the North West of England, there is a huge difference between the North and North West of England, I just want to add this because I am a Northern lass myself.. erm sorry. Watch out for excellent performance by Alexander Fletcher who plays Jacqui Dixon.

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