Saturday 14 June 2008
The 1980s - Amos Brearly's Golden Decade
An e-mail from Lizzie:
I've just watched some Emmerdale Farm episodes from 1975 and 1978. Is it me, or was Amos more restrained in the 1970s? He seemed pretty potty but not half as potty and oddball as he did in some episodes I have from 1983! I loved this character, but I think the 1980s was probably his heyday.
I agree, Lizzie - Amos was always great, but the character was refined and honed to perfection by the early 1980s. Like a fine wine, the character was all the better for maturing. I always hail the 1980s as the golden era of Amos and Mr Wilks!
Friday 13 June 2008
You Love 1986
The results are:
1986 - 18 votes
1984 - 16 votes
1989 - 14 votes
1980 and 1987 - both had 8 votes
1988 - 6 votes
1985 - 5 votes
1982 - 4 votes
1981 and 1983 - 1 vote each!
Saturday 7 June 2008
Was Emmerdale Farm Really Modelled On The Riordans?
I've just read on Wikipedia that "Emmerdale Farm" was modelled on the Irish soap "The Riordans". This is not evident from any Emmerdale material I have from the 1970s or 1980s. Although the production team may have visited "The Riordans" set and location to gain insight into filming in a farming location, isn't "modelled on" a bit strong? After all, "The Archers", the BBC radio soap based on a farming family and a village, has been running since 1951. So the basic idea can hardly be said to have come about via "The Riordans".
I really don't know, Stu. I hadn't read that information until recent years on Wikipedia. If anybody has any further insights, please drop me a line and I'll pass it on to Stu.
Incidentally, I recall The Riordans being shown briefly in my ITV area years ago. I thoroughly enjoyed what I saw of it.
Wednesday 4 June 2008
Some Beckindale Cast And Characters - September 1984
Saturday 31 May 2008
The 1980s - Did Emmerdale Farm REALLY Become "Dallas With Dung" Or The "Dynasty Of The Dales"?
Anoymous is interested in the idea that Emmerdale Farm may have become rather "Dallas/Dynastified" in the 1980s. Surely, he/she asks, if Les Dawson was dubbing it "Dallas with dung" in 1984 and the Sunday People "The Dynasty of the Dales" in 1985, this is an indication that the show had gone '80s era American soap style glitzy/sensationalist?
Er, no, not really. You must remember that Les Dawson was a comedian - a champion of the witty remark! Story lines of 1984 included a water shortage, Mrs Bates beginning work at NY Estates and the shooting of her dog for sheep worrying, Amos being annoyed by Ernie Shuttleworth's attempts to put The Woolpack in the shade, and the death of Grandad Sam Pearson
Dallas and Dynasty did make their mark on the English soaps in the 1980s - and, indeed, the Scots soap Take The High Road: Alan Turner, Eric Pollard, Dirty Den and Davie Sneddon, amongst others, were all "bad guy" characters - clearly created on the back of the public's fascination with JR Ewing of Dallas.
But Emmerdale Farm stayed down-to-earth and was, in fact, at times very gritty in the 1980s.
In 1986, Eric Pollard entered the fray and proved to be a long-staying swine. Perhaps he wasn't just a swine, but he was certainly more of one than Alan had ever been and became Emmerdale Farm's enjoyable pantomime villain - deliciously camp, narrowing his eyes (one could almost imagine him twirling his moustache) and going after whatever he wanted, blackmailing, stealing and cheating along the way. Other 1980s villains included the terrifying Harry Mowlam and his sidekick (and later murderer) Derek Warner - far too gritty to be Dallas influenced, and hard hearted businessman Denis Rigg, who perhaps was a little.
So, whilst Emmerdale Farm was certainly influenced by the American soaps, it was actually simply fun to declare it "Dallas with dung" or "The Dynasty of the Dales". Tongues were firmly in cheeks. And when Hilary Kingsley described the character of Angela Channing in Falcon Crest as looking like an "upmarket Annie Sugden - but without the ironing board" I roared with laughter.
Hilary Kingsley also wrote about the "growing wealth and influence" of the Sugden family in 1988, but I'm not sure that this was actually reflected on screen at all. True, Joe worked for NY Estates for a time, but the financial situation at Emmerdale Farm never seemed that brilliant - and in 1989 Joe was talking to his mother about the difficulties of having Jack back living and working at the farm, and the fact that it must be regarded as a business if it was to continue to support the family. The place was undergoing some much needed refurbishment in 1989, after apparently "making do" since the start of the series!
The American soaps tended to have outrageously silly story lines. Remember Blake Carrington and the poisoned paint? Alexis posing as a nun? Pam's dream? The Moldavian Massacre? There were murders, plane crashes, fires and explosions galore.
Emmerdale Farm wasn't like that in the 1980s.
The English farming soap became grittier, the stories a little more explicit, but adultery, a security van robbery, a car accident, an accidental shooting, a couple of burglaries, a murder and a house fire (at Crossgill) can hardly be called OTT when spread over a period of ten years. The infamous badger baiting episodes were a fascinating glimpse into the underbelly of country life.
The soap also took on the issue of nuclear waste - a controversial modern day issue, and dealt with it admirably.
If anything, Emmerdale Farm was far more influenced by the new English soaps of the 1980s - Brookside and EastEnders - than the glossy American fantasy sagas.
We tuned in to see Archie the layabout and activist; Jackie the lovable clot with the disastrous love-life; Annie at her Aga; Matt and Dolly and lots of sheep; Amos, Mr Wilks and Walter at the Woolpack; Mrs Bates and Alan Turner; Seth (and occasionally Meg) Armstrong; and, later, Beckindale's very own Dick Dastardly, Eric Pollard.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Emmerdale has become more influenced by the 1980s era American soaps. Remember the plane crash of 1993? Kim Tate testing to see if her husband Frank was dead with her compact mirror in 1997 - and then pausing to repair her make up before leaving? So camp. Alexis would have been proud! There have been so many disasters - explosions, murders, shootings, rapes, a highly dramatic storm...
And a very bizarre (and ugly) story line about a coffin and a garbage crusher.
Was Emmerdale Farm in the 1980s the "Dynasty of the Dales"? I think this was said in response to some of the increasingly gritty story lines (although it was hardly appropriate to compare Dallas and Dynasty with grittier goings-on in Beckindale!) and mainly in fun. It was very amusing to compare Amos and co to Alexis and co! Certainly, Les Dawson made his "Dallas with dung" statement to make his audience laugh. Creating laughter was his trade.
Was/is Emmerdale in the 1990s and 21st Century the "Dynasty of the Dales"? I would say Definitely - and a whole more! And these days there isn't much dung, either!
Thursday 29 May 2008
Happy Birthday From Amos
Some years ago I received a birthday card from Mr Amos Brearly, proprietor of the Woolpack Inn, Beckindale. Well, actually, I received a birthday card from Mr Ronald Magill, the actor behind the Mr Brearly character but, as was his habit, he also signed it as Amos!
My wife organised the card with Mr Magill as a surprise - and it made that birthday particularly special. It remains a treasured souvenir of one of the all-time soap greats.
As Beckindale correspondent for the Hotten Courier, Amos was probably quite used to replying to fan mail!
Sunday 11 May 2008
1982 - Matt And Dolly On The Move (But Not Far!)
Sunday 4 May 2008
New Poll - What's Your Favourite 1980s Emmerdale Farm Year?
What was your favourite 1980s year of Emmerdale Farm action? Was it 1980, when Jack arrived back from Italy - and Pat Merrick brought Jackie and Sandie to the village?
Perhaps it was 1982 - a good year for Matt and Dolly - with the birth of their son, Sam.
1983 - Walter broke Seth's glasses...
And then there's 1984, when Jack was a bad lad with Karen Moore, Mrs Bates formed a fun working relationship with Alan Turner and dear old Grandad Pearson died...
Perhaps the gritty drama of 1986, with Harry Mowlam wreaking havoc before being brutally murdered, Eric Pollard first appearing at Hotten Market and Meg Armstrong imposing a strict regime at the Woolpack floats your boat?
1986: "I'm Eric Pollard!" - the devious one introduces himself; "That's quite enough out of you, poppet!" says Meg Armstrong; "I'm gonna break your bloody back!" says Harry Mowlam...
How about the struggle against a nuclear waste dump in 1987 - hailed as a major step forward in the politicisation of soap, or 1989 when Jackie died and the Tates arrived at Home Farm?
Lots of memories from a pivotal decade of Emmerdale history, which saw changes in pace, characters and name. The 1980s saw the serial celebrate ten years and was also the first full decade of the serial. Whichever 1980s year you choose, there was Emmerdale!
1987 - Say NO To The Beckindale Nuclear Dump!
1988 - Jackie and Kathy marry.
Eyes left for our Poll - hover your mouse over each year and you'll see a brief list of some of the events contained therein.
And then vote, vote, vote.
Talking of voting, remember when Amos wanted to become Member of Parliament for Halifax in 1982? Poor Halifax!
But what a great storyline...
1989 - the shock of the new - the Tates arrive at Home Farm...
Saturday 3 May 2008
Lindley Farm
Throughout the 1980s, Annie Sugden tended her Aga here. Jack came home in 1980, and soon brought a new bride to the house, Pat, in 1982.
Their son, Jackie, and Pat's daughter, Sandie, moved in and, in 1986, Pat gave birth to another child - Robert. The much-loved Grandad Pearson died peacefully here in November 1984, and his grandson, Joe, brought a new bride, Kate, and her two children, Rachel and Mark, to live here in 1989.
The house knew terrible tragedy in the 1980s, with the sudden deaths of Pat and Jackie.
A barn at the back of the house was converted into a cottage for Matt and Dolly Skilbeck in 1982 and the house showed every sign of outlasting several more generations of Sugdens.
But the 1990s put paid to that idea. Do you know what happened to the original Emmerdale farmhouse?
The Tates In 1989
From left to right they are: Frank Tate (Norman Bowler), Kim Tate (Claire King), Chris Tate (Peter Amory) and Zoe Tate (Leah Bracknell).
Note Kim's incredibly 1980s cardigan!