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An omnibus (or omnibus edition) is a compilation of several television or radio episodes into a single instalment. An omnibus is similar to, but distinct from, what is called a marathon in other countries; In an omnibus, individual episodes are edited together (with the first episode having its closing credits removed, the final episode having the opening credits removed, and each episode in between lacking any credits whatsoever) into a single programme, whereas in a marathon the episodes are aired separately but in sequence. The term has been most frequently used in the United Kingdom, though it has also been used in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Brookside was the first television soap to have what was called an omnibus edition, in 1991; it continued until the series ended in 2003. EastEnders introduced the equivalent of an omnibus edition starting in the 1980s, but the term "omnibus" was not used until the 1990s.
In the United Kingdom, many soap operas have been regularly repeated in omnibus format; For example, both EastEnders [1] [2] and Hollyoaks [3] [4] air on weekends in an omnibus edition that compiles episodes previously aired during the week. Serials such as The Sarah Jane Adventures [5] and Dead Set [6] have been presented as complete storylines in this format.
Omnibus formatting has also been used on home video; for example, the first home video releases of Doctor Who from BBC Studios Distribution re-formatted each serial into a "feature-length adventure". [7] [8]
Programmes that are or have been transmitted in omnibus format in the UK include:
Television:
Programme | Years | Channel(s) |
---|---|---|
Brookside | 1991–2003 | Channel 4 |
Coronation Street | 2006–present | ITV2 |
Doctor Who | 1971–1977 2008 2013 2015 | BBC One Drama |
EastEnders | 1994–2015 2016–2018 | BBC One W |
Emmerdale | 2000–present 2004–present | ITV2 ITV3 |
Hollyoaks | 1995–present 2001–present | Channel 4 (part of T4) E4 |
Home and Away | 1999–2000 1999–2002 2001–2005 2006–present 2015 | ITV2 UK Living Channel 5 5Star Viva |
Neighbours | 1993–2001 2008–2022 2015 | UK Gold 5STAR Viva |
Radio:
Internet:
SoapNet in the United States also utilized the omnibus format for weekend re-airings of their major soap operas until its December 2013 demise; however, the term used in that case is as a marathon (the more common term for omnibus used by North American broadcasters) as all five weekday programmes aired by a soap per week were aired consecutively without editing them together. As all four current American soaps also carry their episodes either via Hulu or through network websites, omnibuses and marathons are no longer maintained for the format on any cable or broadcast network.
In the 2006–07 television season, the new network MyNetworkTV launched with four telenovelas, formatted with five episodes airing each weekday (two in the fall, two in the winter), then a 'highlights', or 'recap' omnibus episode on Saturday evenings. However, the entire debut format flopped, and by the time the network started its third cycle of telenovelas, they were reduced to weekly episodes, negating the need for an omnibus episode altogether.
Coronation Street is a British television soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced street in the fictional town of Weatherfield in Greater Manchester. The location was itself based on Salford, the hometown of the show's first screenwriter and creator, Tony Warren.
EastEnders is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the programme follows the stories of local residents and their families as they go about their daily lives. Within eight months of the show's original launch, it had reached the number one spot in BARB's television ratings, and has consistently remained among the top-rated series in Britain. Four EastEnders episodes are listed in the all-time top 10 most-watched programmes in the UK, including the number one spot, when over 30 million watched the 1986 Christmas Day episode. EastEnders has been important in the history of British television drama, tackling many subjects that are considered to be controversial or taboo in British culture, and portraying a social life previously unseen on UK mainstream television.
A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. The two types of reruns are those that occur during a hiatus and those that occur when a program is syndicated.
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Jesse Birdsall is an English actor, known for his roles as Marcus Tandy in the BBC1 soap opera Eldorado (1992–1993), Nick Beckett in the adventure series Bugs (1995–1999), football manager Roger Webb in Footballers' Wives (2003–2006), and Fraser Black in Hollyoaks (2013–2014) as well as for villain Ron Gregory in a few episodes of The Bill.
Dream Team is a British sports drama television series produced by Hewland International which aired on Sky One from 1997 to 2007; it chronicled the on-field and off-field affairs of the fictional Premier League football club Harchester United. Originally broadcast in a soap opera format with two twice-weekly episodes broadcast in the half-hour format. This continued for the first three seasons and 200 episodes, from which the show was reformatted into a prime-time one-hour drama weekly on Sunday nights where it remained for its next seven seasons until its final 419th episode.
Hollyoaks is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera Brookside. From 2005 to 2023, episodes have aired on sister channel E4 a day prior to their broadcast on Channel 4. In 2023, Hollyoaks was removed from Channel 4's early evening schedule, but remains on E4 and Channel 4's on demand service with episodes now uploaded to YouTube. At its inception, the soap was targeted towards an adolescent and young adult audience but it has since broadened its appeal to all age groups. Hollyoaks has covered various taboo subjects rarely seen on British television, for which it has received numerous awards. It has won the award for Best British Soap twice, in 2014 and 2019; its first win broke the 15-year tie between rival soap operas EastEnders and Coronation Street. Beginning with a cast of 15 characters, it now has 37 regular cast members. The longest-serving actor is Nick Pickard, who has portrayed Tony Hutchinson since the first episode.
Nikki Sanderson is an English actress and former glamour model who is known for playing Candice Stowe in the television soap opera Coronation Street, Dawn Bellamy in Heartbeat and Maxine Minniver in Hollyoaks. During her time at Coronation Street and since, she has also been a television presenter on programmes such as CD:UK, Junior Eurovision: The British Final and Ministry of Mayhem.
7de Laan is a South African Afrikaans soap opera created by Danie Odendaal and produced by Danie Odendaal Productions. The series focuses on the lives of residents in and around the community of 7de Laan, in the suburb of Hillside. The programme's dialogue is primarily in Afrikaans and was subtitled in English with some English and Zulu dialogue in between.
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Gemma Bissix is an English actress. She has been acting since the age of 9. Her most prominent roles have been in soap operas, as Clare Bates in EastEnders and Clare Devine in Hollyoaks ; she was awarded with two British Soap Awards for the latter role. Away from soap opera, Bissix has appeared in various television programmes and she competed in the 2009 series of Dancing on Ice. She has appeared in various pantomimes. Bissix returned to Hollyoaks in 2013.
The Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) is Gibraltar's public service broadcaster. It has provided the community with a radio and television service since 1962.
This is a list of British television-related events from 2003.
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A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines tele and novela. Similar drama genres around the world include dizi (Turkey), serial (India), teleserye (Philippines), lakorn (Thailand), teleromanzo (Italy), téléroman, K-drama, J-drama (Japan), C-drama (China) and sinetron (Indonesia).