Soap Land

I set out to change the world, but ended up watching Coronation Street. I’m sure God would have understood and if there was an angel on my shoulder he’d have been watching too. I didn’t actually see the programme, but I read about it. 50 years of Coronation Street. The programme’s older than me. But soaps never get old. They harvest birth, deaths and marriages in the same way that hairstyles change; you just don’t notice at the time. Coronation Street dominated this week’s viewing time. BBC 4 even re-ran its drama about the making of the first episode by Tony Warren. Other soaps have been put in the shade. They’ll need to re-arm and have bigger better ironclad plots and dreadnought moments ready to explode onscreen. I’m sure the first dirty bomb will fall and then after that it’s the nuclear option. They’re going to use Ken Barlow.