A soap opera, or soap for short, is a radio or television serial frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored by soap manufacturers. The term was preceded by “Horse opera”.
The Black and White Minstrel Show was a British light entertainment show that ran for twenty years on BBC prime-time television. Beginning in 1958, it was a weekly variety show that presented traditional American minstrel and country songs, as well as show tunes and music hall numbers, lavishly costumed. It was also a successful stage show that ran for ten years from 1962 to 1972 at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London. This was followed by tours of UK seaside resorts, together with Australia and New Zealand.
Bellbird is an Australian soap opera serial set in a small fictional Victorian rural township of the show's title. The series was produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation at its Ripponlea TV studios in Elsternwick, Melbourne, Victoria. The opening title sequence was filmed at Daylesford, Victoria.
Pop Idol was a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer in the UK based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast, one in 2001–2002 and a second in 2003. Pop Idol was subsequently put on an indefinite hiatus after series judge Simon Cowell announced the launch of The X Factor in the UK in April 2004.
Butlin's is a chain of large seaside resorts in the United Kingdom. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families.
Blue Heelers is an Australian police drama series that was produced by Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, the series generally depicted the everyday lives and relationships of the residents of Mount Thomas, a fictional small town in Victoria. The series was one of the highest-rated and most-awarded programs in the history of Australian television, having won 5 Logie awards, it is equal as the most awarded show in Logies history with The Don Lane Show. It is also noted for its two main stars Lisa McCune, a four-time recipient of the Gold Logie, and John Wood, who also won Gold.
Stingers (1998–2004) is an Australian police drama television series. It ran for eight seasons on the Nine Network before it was canceled in late 2004 due to declining ratings and the late timeslot Channel Nine gave the program. The series has also aired in 65 countries, including Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Gibraltar, Iran, Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and Papua New Guinea.
Marshall Law is an Australian television series, which aired on the Seven Network in 2002, starring Lisa McCune and Alison Whyte as lawyers and sisters.
Tom Oliver is a British-born Australian retired actor who started his career in theatre in his native country, before emigrating to Australia.
Sons and Daughters is an Australian Logie Award-winning soap opera/drama serial created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation between 1981 and 1987. The first episode aired on Monday 18 January 1982, during the Christmas/New Year non-ratings period in both Sydney and Melbourne, and the following week in Brisbane and Adelaide. The final episode was screened in Sydney on Sunday 27 December 1987 and in Melbourne on Sunday 10 January 1988. Adelaide station ADS7 was one of the first to complete the series, showing the final episodes in a two-hour special on Monday 16 November 1987.
The Flying Doctors is an Australian drama TV series produced by Crawford Productions that revolves around the everyday lifesaving efforts of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, starring Andrew McFarlane as the newly arrived Dr. Tom Callaghan. The popular series ran for nine seasons and was successfully screened internationally.
Holiday Island is an Australian television series made by Crawford Productions for Network Ten. The show aired twice weekly from 1981 to 1982, with the first episode going to air on 17 June 1981.
The World Game was an Australian football (soccer) television show broadcast on the SBS network, as well as a dedicated associated website. The show debuted in 2001 and was the only Australian TV programme dedicated to both football news and issues within Australia as well as around the world. Its popularity led to the launch of an associated website the following year. The TV show was dropped in 2019, whilst the website closed in 2021, and merged with the core SBS Sport website.
The Last Resort was an Australian television drama series which originally screened by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). The show premiered on 27 April 1988 and ended 13 December 1988 for a total of 30 weekly episodes of fifty minutes each. The series was created and co-written by Louis Nowra. The plot revolves around three adult sisters, Elizabeth Parker, Jennifer Shannon and Louise Shannon, who attempt to live together and help in the management of the dilapidated sea-side Hotel Isis. The series is set in Sydney's Bondi area and was "part of the initiative to increase the network's Australian drama output to 100 hours for [the year]." It featured original music by Martin Armiger.
Rock Me Baby is an American sitcom that aired on UPN from September 16, 2003 until May 25, 2004. Set in Denver, Colorado, Rock Me Baby stars actor and comedian Dan Cortese as Jimmy Cox, co-host of a popular Denver radio show with his best friend, Carl, played by Carl Anthony Payne II. Bianca Kajlich plays Beth Cox, Jimmy's wife, and the two have a baby named Otis. Tammy Townsend plays Beth's best friend, Pamela, who is obsessed with the glamorous life.
The thirteenth and final season of the Australian police drama Blue Heelers premiered on the Seven Network on 1 April 2006 and aired on Saturday nights at 8:30 pm. The 11-episode season concluded 4 June 2006, due to its cancellation by the Seven Network as a result of its sharp decline in ratings. When, in late 2005, the time came to renew Blue Heelers, Seven commissioned eleven further episodes to be produced, but its future after this was still undecided.
The World's Strictest Parents is an international television franchise reality series developed by Twenty Twenty with its original broadcast in the United Kingdom by BBC Three. There are also many other international foreign versions including an Australian version, a New Zealand version, and a German -version titled "Die strengsten Eltern der Welt". As well other locales to have locally produced adaptations include Scandinavia, Turkey, and Poland. The series won an International Emmy Award for best Non-Scripted Entertainment.
Paradise 5 is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.
7.30 is an Australian nightly television current affairs program which broadcasts on ABC and ABC News at 7:30 p.m. on Monday to Thursday nights. The program is currently hosted by Leigh Sales. The program is widely considered to be the most prestigious of its kind in Australian media.
Benidorm is a British sitcom written and created by Derren Litten and produced by Tiger Aspect for ITV that aired for ten series from 1 February 2007 until 2 May 2018. The series features an ensemble cast of holiday makers and staff at the Solana all-inclusive hotel in Benidorm, Spain over the course of a week each year.
