![\"radio](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/melodramaresearchgroup\/files\/2013\/06\/radio-soap-opera.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nTelevision soap operas are\u00a0popular in the UK, with soaps like Eastenders<\/em> and Coronation Street<\/em> continuing to top the ratings and to have a large presence in celebrity magazines. Soap operas also have an impressive history which spans several decades and a few different media.\u00a0For example,\u00a0Radio 4’s\u00a0The Archers<\/em> (an everyday story of country folk) has been going since 1950. Indeed, the very first soap operas were created for radio. This was during\u00a0American radio’s ‘golden age’ which roughly coincides with Hollywood’s Studio System – the 1920s\u00a0to the 1950s.<\/p>\n Much ‘old time radio’ was never recorded at the time, but transmitted live, and consequently not all that many copies exist. There are some episodes of well-known radio soap operas from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s\u00a0on archive.org. These include wonderfully-titled programmes such as The Romance of Helen Trent<\/em> <\/em><\/em>(1933-1960 – see picture on right), Big Sister<\/em> (1936-1952), The Guiding Light<\/em> (1937-1956), which inspired The Right to Happiness <\/em>(1939 -1960),\u00a0Hilltop House<\/em> (1937-1941,1948-1955 and 1956-1957), Joyce Jordan M.D.<\/em> <\/em>(1938-1948, 1951-1952, 1955) and\u00a0its offshoot The Brighter Day<\/em> (1948-1956), The Career of Alice Blair<\/em> (1939-1940) and\u00a0\u00a0Against the Storm <\/em>(1939-1942, 1949 and 1951-1952). (Information\u00a0for the above has been taken from John Dunning’s incredibly useful\u00a0\u00a0On the Air: The Encyclopaedia of Old Time Radio,<\/em> Oxford University Press, USA, 1998.)<\/p>\n I would especially recommend Big Sister<\/em> (http:\/\/archive.org\/details\/BigSister<\/a>), Joyce Jordan MD<\/em> (http:\/\/archive.org\/details\/JoyceJordonM.d<\/a>), Hilltop House<\/em> (http:\/\/archive.org\/details\/HilltopHouse_214<\/a>)\u00a0and The Romance of Helen Trent\u00a0<\/em>(http:\/\/archive.org\/details\/RomanceOfHelenTrent<\/a>).\u00a0\u00a0Several consecutive episodes are available for each of these\u00a0which gives a better view of the soap opera’s\u00a0serial nature. In addition, since the first 28 episodes of Big Sister<\/em> are on the archive it is possible to trace it from its beginnings. I have also uploaded the first 28 and later 4 consecutive episodes\u00a0of\u00a0Big Sister,\u00a0<\/em>the 2 sets of 5 episodes of Hilltop House, <\/em>the\u00a04 Joyce Jordan<\/em>\u00a0and 3 Helen Trent<\/em> mp3s to our additional blog so you can put them straight onto ipods and suchlike, should you wish: http:\/\/melodramaresearchgroupextra.wordpress.com\/2013\/06\/27\/radio-soap-operas\/<\/a><\/p>\n UPDATE: I’ve listened to some of the mp3s which I downloaded\u00a0(these are brilliantly melodramatic!) and it seems, as ever with OTR, there is some mislabelling! The 3 parts of Helen Trent<\/em> are probably in the right order, but I suspect there are episodes missing. Joyce Jordan’s<\/em> episodes of the 25th and 26th have been switched (so do listen to the 26th first!), and those listed for the 27th and 28th are the same episode; which appears to be totally unrelated to the other two. The first 5 episodes of Hilltop House<\/em>\u00a0are consecutive though.\u00a0I’ll update again if I notice any more…<\/strong><\/p>\n As ever, log in to comment, or email me on sp458@kent.ac.uk<\/a> to add your thoughts. And do get in touch if there is anything melodramatic you would like to post over the Summer Break…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Posted by Sarah I thought it might be useful over the Summer Break\u00a0to delve into two areas relating to melodrama which we have\u00a0yet to deal\u00a0with in detail. Radio is\u00a0a medium that we have not really discussed,\u00a0and likewise the\u00a0soap opera (with … Continue reading <\/a>The term ‘soap opera’ itself comes from the advertisers who sponsored the radio programmes – such as Proctor and Gamble and Lever Brothers (Rinso – see picture on left). They were designed for female audiences, and often written by female writers. In particular they were meant to appeal to\u00a0\u00a0housewives. The programmes were often 15 minutes long\u00a0and could either be listened to whilst undertaking chores or when enjoying a short break from the housework. They were\u00a0generally broadcast 5 days a week, had on-going storylines, constant cliff-hangers\u00a0and revolved around women. The main female characters often suffered and had\u00a0a special talent for self-sacrifice.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n