Hollyoaks

It's only been the past 6 months or so that I've started watching Hollyoaks (finishing a-levels left me with free evenings after work until uni started) but I have to say it's pretty damn addictive! I think you just have to take it as it is - a lighthearted soap with a mix of serious and not-so-serious storylines. Great stuff!

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

Were it not for this Godawful shows cynical manipulation of it's naive teenage girl fanbase,I don't think there's anyway it's over-riding banality would have allowed it to run for nearly ten years.I myself have only ever really caught what you might call passing glances at it but I feel this has been more than enough.I honestly wonder at times whether the 'actors' are chosen on the grounds on any actual 'acting' merit they possess whatsoever as opposed to their viewer-attracting,ratings-assuring sex appeal and good looks.Unless,by the standards of the casting directors associated with this rubbish,'good-acting' consists of shouting very loudly in each other's faces all the time as well turning the most mundane situation in to an opportunity to turn in a master-stroke of thespian aspiration.Mind you,said opportunities are relatively numourous,with seemingly every plotline as contrieved and sensationalist as the next,making the show more detached from reality than it's outline as 'the everyday lives of' a group of people could ever possibly imagine.Unfortunately,as long as it continues to appeal to the lowest common denominator of it's naive audience,it seemingly has no end in sight.Oh well,no one's forcing you to watch,eh?*

I have been watching Hollyoaks since 2007 but lately it has been awful. The storylines are weak and even more far fetched than usual, and the background music and bad acting just make the whole experience unpleasant. I understand the pandemic has affected the way the show is now ran but if anything it has also made us realise Hollyoaks is nothing without big stunts. May I also add that the show is now becoming a haven for washed up celebs to get their last 15 minutes of fame.

My wife watches the omnibus every Sunday. Makes me question my life-choices.

Oh my god, can the acting seriously get much worse?!

I have to say that the acting has never reached Oscar-winning heights, but at the present moment it is so positively dire, that it is extremely laughable.

How the directors can possibly 'direct' these so-called actors, or pieces of wood as they have more in common with, with a straight face is unbelievable. How they can put them on air without seriously worrying about their credibility status as professional directors is beyond me. Because let's face it, these actors are so bad, that it has to reflect on the directors.

Okay, taking a breather from my rant, I have to say that NOT ALL of the Hollyoaks cast fits into the above mould. Most of the longer-serving cast members are perfectly adequate as soap actors. They will never be the recipient of a major award for outstanding acting achievement, but perfectly adequately fit the requirements for British soaps. Even some of the newer cast members, such as the Hunter family for example, can hold their own in this department.

But a lot of the influx of new members were so obviously chosen for either their looks or their connections, as the acting is so amateurish, it even lowers the (already rock bottom) standards of some British soaps.

"Hollyoaks" is marketed as an accurate portrayal of British teen life, but the acting and production is so embarrassingly awful that to compare it up against an American contemporary, for example, "Dawson's Creek", would bring shame on to the entire British nation. "Dawson's Creek" may be classed by some as hideously pretentious, but at least it can stand proud in the acting stakes.