Plots

 "An emphasis on family life, personal relationships, sexual dramas, emotional and moral conflicts; some coverage of typical issues; set in familiar domestic interiors with only occasional excursions into new locations"

      Characters from US soaps are more likely to be more attractive and wealthy than characters from Australian and British soaps. British soaps focus more around the idea of realism; are more likely to be set in working class environments and focus on everyday issues. Storylines are usually based around family issues, relationships or financial problems. Comedy is rare in US soaps whereas British and Australian soaps always feature some sort of comic element usually in the form of a character; this is usually done to put a lighter touch on the emotional issues.

     Romance, secret relationships, affairs and love have always been the basis of most soaps. Storylines generally weave intricate and sometimes confusing tales of characters who are having affairs or meet strangers and fall in love; all these keep the audiences hooked on the unfolding story twists. Crimes such as murder, kidnapping, rape and violence are also featured. In most soap opera storylines, un-known children, siblings or twins of established characters almost always emerge to meddle and upset other relationships. Unexpected pasts can disrupt families, friendships or even bigger things such as weddings or childbirth. Stunts and physical action isn’t really a main feature in Soaps, especially daytime serials. These events usually take place off-screen and are referred to through dialogue instead of actually being shown. A convincing fight scene usually takes up a lot of time and requires multiple camera angles and tasks.

     Many controversial issues such as drugs, underage pregnancies, incest, and racism are always covered; this stirs up public debate and also creates emotional responses from the audience. To carry on creating interest and to make sure that their ratings don’t go down, soaps always add in a birth, marriage or death as a lot of new storylines can stem from these. Illnesses are also used quite a lot in soaps; whether it’s used to create awareness of certain diseases or in order to get the audience to side with a certain character this is a good technique which also boosts ratings. 

Hollyoaks

     Throughout the soaps history, Hollyoaks has produced a number of different storylines which have covered various issues. Since it is directly aimed at teenagers, most people feel it is therefore the perfect platform to be used to show relevant issues which affect young teens. After each episode, a telephone helpline is always displayed if a strong issue has been shown that may have affected viewers; if they feel they need someone to talk to then they can just ring the number shown.

     In 2007, there was a certain episode in which there was a party going on in student halls, and many of the characters had fallen ill; they discovered that they had carbon monoxide poisoning. Interestingly, this episode helped a view to realize that she also was experience the same symptoms due to a carbon monoxide leak in her house. Having watched this episode she was able to act in time and saved her own life by receiving correct medical treatment. Storylines that the soap has dealt with include drug addiction, murder, abortions, suicide, racism, religion, rape, cancer, child abuse, teenage pregnancy, miscarriage, relationships, surrogacy, brain aneurysm, self harm and more.

     Hollyoaks will become the first sop ever in British soap opera history to have a “non-linear” week. Commencing the week of 14^th September 200, viewers will watch episodes and storylines being played out in non-chronological order; this has never been dealt with in the past.