[JAS84]

There was a handful of stories which were stripped and stranded over a week, every weeknight. I think the helicopter crash relaunch was the last such attempt, and before that there was a 'whodunnit' tied with Suzanne's departure.

I can only guess these were attempts to see if a daily soap was viable.

Well the answer to that was yes... it just didn't end up being Brookside.

[James2001]

I think one thing that helped Hollyoaks to survive when Brookside didn't is that it's aimed at a different audience and on in a different timeslot than the other soaps, so it's not competing with them in the way Brookside was.

[WillPS]

I think one thing that helped Hollyoaks to survive when Brookside didn't is that it's aimed at a different audience and on in a different timeslot than the other soaps, so it's not competing with them in the way Brookside was.

I think Brookside just made a string of poor storyline decisions in the mid-to-late 90s, trying to follow up the body-under-the-patio storyline with something equally shocking. There were a lot of writing staff changes and it showed, and when things went badly they just knee-jerked their way out of it. 

Continuity was shocking too. The 'who raped Nicky' saga's outcome was a complete insult to anyone who had invested in that storyline, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. Characters went from broke to successful with little on screen explanation. Businesses and houses were sold and then seemingly unsold months later.

Characters new and old disappeared suddenly - some didn't even get a proper exit, most notably Barry Grant (the last original castmember) who's exit is represented by a disembodied hand hastily packing a bag. It's difficult to invest in characters and stories when those things are so frequently screwed up. It was a real two fingers to existing viewers as they desperately tried to find new ones.

And this is before they tried to make it all cinematic towards the end.

[Brekkie]

Probably the best story in the final years was the Anthony Murray (Ray Quinn) killing his school bully storyline, but of course that was all about grabbing headlines. I do think it picked up a bit in it's last few months with each week basically being a 90 minute mini-movie with just a few characaters in each episode but the horse had well and truly bolted by then - and ultimately that format wasn't really viable long term for a soap.

[Blubatt]

Considering that the popularity of streaming brought back Waterloo Road, could a successful run on STV Player get them to consider reviving Brookside in the not too distant future? Whether they should or not is another matter, but I do feel that it would be interesting to see a modern revival of the show. They couldn't film on the original close, even if the houses were still owned by Lime Pictures, because they knocked some of it down in the show. Would it be more like it was in the early 80s, or go straight for the 90's peak and excess of shocking stories and tabloid fodder? Would Brookside even be relevant for today's audience?

[James2001]

Would it even be worth it? Even if they came up with some convoluted story about the close not getting demolished (and they'd have to build a replica close somewhere), you'd just have a show with completely different characters just happening to live in the same houses with no real connection to the old show (unless you came up with a really implausible story about some of the old residents buying their houses back). At that point you may as well start a new soap entirely, at least it wouldn't have the expectations or baggage of bringing an old show back.

There aren't too many characters in these earlier episodes either. With the show only starting with two houses occupied, the third moving in during the first episode and the 4th a few episodes later. Looking at things, it's actually quite a while until 5th house gets occupied, and one of the existing characters dies before then.

Though we do have a fair amount set in locations away from the close with other characters in these early episodes, I don't think that was really the case during the last few months in 2003.

[James2001]

The regular End of part one/Part Two captions start to appear from episode 11.

[WillPS]

Though we do have a fair amount set in locations away from the close with other characters in these early episodes, I don't think that was really the case during the last few months in 2003.

Perhaps more than you might imagine. I think there were whole 90 minute editions which didn't feature the Close or Parade at all, or hardly at all - by this point the interiors of both were being used by Hollyoaks, which continued for some time after Brookside finished (hence the Close only turning up on the market 5 years or so later). It's possible there's still some Parade heritage in some of Hollyoaks sets? I believe La Luz/Bar Brookie became some sort of student union bar?

[James2001]

This storyline about Gavin with all those cookers on his lawn, wouldn't they be ruined after weeks out in the elements? Who'd want to buy them?

[WillPS]

This storyline about Gavin with all those cookers on his lawn, wouldn't they be ruined after weeks out in the elements? Who'd want to buy them?

Nah, probably not. They're not particularly complex devices. I remember growing up there were shops which always had an army of white goods blocking up the pavements. Presumably they dragged them in at night but they would still be out in all weathers.

You'd think he'd throw a tarp or something over but I suppose that would reduce the impact of the visual gag.