Brookside

Now no longer in production, although available via the Internet, Brookside is a British soap opera set in Liverpool, England.

In the Stone Age when Britain only had three television channels and the launch of a fourth was a matter of national celebration,the series began on the launch night of Channel 4 on November 2, 1982 as one of its flagship programmes. It ran for 21 years until 4 November 2003.

Originally intended to be called Meadowcroft, the series was produced by Mersey Television and it was originated by Phil Redmond. His other TV successes included the gritty kid's drama set in a sink London comprehensive school Grange Hill, and Channel Four's successor soap to Brookside, Hollyoaks.

Brookside was very successful for some time and is notable for its tackling of realistic and socially challenging storylines, as seen in the lives of a disparate group of people residing in a cul-de-sac called Brookside Close. It was at its most popular in the 1980's and the early 1990's.

From the mid-1990's it began raising more controversial subjects under the guidance of new producers such as Mal Young and Paul Marquess. It is especially well-known for broadcasting the first pre-watershed lesbian kiss on British television, as well as a powerful domestic abuse storyline resulting in murder.

The series caused an uproar from its fist night - conservative newspapers such as the Daily Mail denounced it for its use of demotic language and Liverpool street slang, citing this as evidence of the coarsening of British TV and the pernicious left-wing influences that were dragging this once-great nation down. The show featured a storyline about a consensual incestuous sexual relationship between two sibling characters during 1996. Brookside was also the first British soap to feature an openly gay character when (Gordon Collins) came out in 1985 (some years before Eastenders did the same), and it was also a pioneer in that it showed the results of serious drug addiction with a number of different characters.

The show also depicted mental illness in a character whose life had been blighted by the ruin of Liverpool under the Conservative government of the early eighties, and did not shy away from attributing Liverpool's decline and mass unemployment to deliberate government policy, another thing which endeared the show to the rabidly Thatcherite Daily Mail. (The show did come from a genuinely left-wing social perspective, and as such was not an example of unbiased TV, much to the disgust of perfectly unbiased British newspapers).

Although the series had a long and successful run, by 2000 its viewing figures were in terminal decline and low ratings eventually led to its cancellation in July 2003. The final episode was broadcast on 4 November 2003 and was watched by around 2 million viewers.

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Tropes featured include:

• Author Filibuster: When the show was canceled, the show's creator Phil Redmond had his final say in a rebellious scripted rant about how 'TV and society's not like it was' voiced by its longest-running character, Jimmy Corkhill.
• Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other: Although most couples on the show had their moments, Jimmy and Jackie Corkhill's marriage was a near-constant war peppered with the odd sentimental moment.
  • Harry and Edna Cross, although they may just have been that way after 40 years of marriage.
• Black Dude Dies First: In 1985, when Sandra, Pat and Kate were held at gunpoint, Sandra and Pat survived while Kate was shot before the (white) gunman killed himself.
  • Producers actually addressed this trope by having Kate's sister point out at the funeral that the only black resident died.
• Bourgeois Bohemian: Annabelle Collins, Jean Crosbie, Bel Simpson.
• Brainy Brunette: Heather the accountant.
• Break the Cutie: Loveable rogue Terry Sullivan was introduced as a happy-go-lucky mate of Barry Grant's. In the space of 15 years, Terry recieved brain injuries from a gangland beating (which he was only marginally involved in, through Barry); discovered his wife was having an affair (with Barry); had his wife and infant son murdered (by Barry); and had another fiancée leave him (for Barry) before she got deported (by Barry). Other non-Barry-related trauma includes his first fiancée sleeping with her dance instructor, finding out his wife decieved him into thinking her baby was his, and becoming indoctrinated into a cult. In his final storyline, Terry discovers his mother is not dead as he had presumed; it was a lie his father had told him.
  • After all that, though, Terry does get his Happy Ending by leaving with his newly-found mother.
• Breakout Character: Sinbad and Jimmy Corkhill were only brought in for guest stints, but both went on to become among the longest-running characters.
  • Initially just "Doreen Corkhill's ditzy mother", Julia Brogan became the staple comic relief and was still a regular presence on the Close a good six years after her daughter and grandchildren had moved on.

• Brother-Sister Incest: Nat and Georgia Simpson who engage in consensual incest and later split up without any direct or karmic punishment. They later get back together and are written out of the show by establishing that they'd moved to where no-one knew them and were living as a married couple.
  • Surprisngly, this topic was first touched on in 1989 when Annabelle Collins wanted to adopt a girl who was implied to have had a sexual relationship with her elder brother, although this was done mostly through suggestions than outright depictions.
• Catch Phrase:
  • Harry Cross's "I'm an old age pensioner!" and "This is my house!" (when dealing with his tenants)
  • Barry Grant's "Aw 'ey, Mam".
  • Mick Johnson's "God Almighty".
• Character Outlives Actor: Doreen Sloane died of breast cancer in April 1990, but as she had kept it quiet and remained working Annabelle Collins stayed onscreen until May. Sloane's death is what led producers to axe the Collins family and hastily move them to the Lake District, which was not a popular move among fans.
• Christianity is Catholic: Perhaps because of Liverpool's large Irish and Catholic communities, but every religion-based reference or storyline finds its way back to Catholicism, usually because some kids don't want to go to Mass.
  • The Grant family, especially Sheila, was the biggest offender for this - deeply ironic since they gave us Barry, who could be the show's God of Evil.
• Citizenship Marriage: Two examples:
  • Unlucky-in-love Terry and Anna Wolska, until she turns to prostitution and Barry Grant gets her deported.
  • Gobby Bev McLoughlin does her gay best friend Lance a favour by marrying his boyfriend, Fred Gonzalez, allowing him to remain in the country, although she goes on the run when authorities investigate and she backs out of being their surrogate. It all turns out to be for nought, as Fred gets deported anyway.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Julia Brogan.
• Complete Monster: Trevor Jordache, which is what led to his family deciding Murder Is the Best Solution.
  • Simon Howe too, who tried to kill his cult/religious followers by blowing up his house and took a teenager's virginity as "initiation"
• Crapsack World: The show was praised in its first decade for realistic portrayals of unemployment, crime, addiction, marital breakdowns, mental health issues and general day-to-day issues, when the real world itself was a Crapsack. This realism (and critical praise) ebbed away somewhat when they began focusing on cults, incest and bombs.
• Cult: Simon Howe and his cronies.
• December-December Romance: Ray Hilton and Jessie Shadwick are the most memorable (and most successful) - but Bing Crosbie had a fair few short-lived ones.
  • Harry Cross (long after Edna's death) and Betty Hunt
  • Annabelle's mother Mona and Gerald, a "toyboy" and fellow care home resident.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: Beth Jordache's remarkably sudden myocardial death after being imprisoned for her father's murder.
  • Not even four months into the programme, and Gavin Taylor died in his sleep of a brain hemorrhage after complaining once (that is, 1 time) about a headache.
• Drugs Are Bad: Jimmy Corkhill's coke habit got wildly out of hand, threatening his marriage and leading to him accidentally killing two of his neighbours in a car crash.
  • Jimmy's son, Little Jimmy (inventive!), was murdered by drug dealers after his release from prison
    • And before that, Little Jimmy sold a whole bunch of coke to an Australian, who OD'd and died
  • When Heather realised Nick would never give up heroin, she kicked him out the house and he died of pneumonia after overdosing in Sefton Park.
• Even Scallys Love Their Mams: Phil Redmond himself said "Sigmund Freud would have a field day" watching Barry Grant and his mum Sheila
  • Tommy McArdle was also oddly attached to his mother, for a middle-aged figurehead of Liverpool's criminal underworld
• Freudian Excuse: The Simpson family try to find one to explain Nat and Georgia, even attending family therapy, but there isn't one; all that happens is their father trashes the therapist's room, (rightfully) annoyed that his wife thinks he molested the kids.
• Functional Addict: Nobody guessed that Nicholas Black was a heroin addiction until well after his and Heather's wedding, when he had been on the show for about 8 months.
  • Edna Cross was addicted to betting on horses, although only her family saw this for what it was; others looked on it as "a bit of fun" for the old lady.
• Grumpy Old Man: Originally Harry Cross, but Paul Collins and Ron Dixon later grew to fit this role at different times.
• Happily Married: Paul and Annabelle Collins were the most stable couple on the Close during their tenure. Their issues revolved around either their children or from Annabelle's mother, and anything between them was often minor and settled amicably.
  • This was averted by Annabelle's uncharacteristic affair with fellow magistrate Brian Lawrence in 1988, although once that was over they made up and managed to move past it together - an unusual occurence in Brookside.
• Heterosexual Life Partners: Harry Cross and Ralph Hardwick, two elderly widowers who shacked up together in the bungalow to ward off loneliness (and money-hungry widows) for the duration of the 1980s.
  • Barry Grant and Terry Sullivan had this when Barry wasn't trying to cheat Terry for his benefit.
    • Terry and Pat Hancock filled this role too.
  • Mick Johnson and Sinbad took this over in the 1990s.
• Hollywood Drowning: Averted by Teresa Nolan's suicide in 1986. She simply, quietly jumps off the Mersey ferry... and her yellow cardigan is seen floating on the waters.
• Hostage Situation: In 2002, a gang of drug-dealers wound up in the Close trying to avoid a police chase and ended up taking everyone hostage at gunpoint in their respective homes (it was clear to all that by now, realism was well and truly out the window).
  • The situation was much better portrayed in 1985 when a mentally-disturbed gunman only held one household hostage.
• Hufflepuff House: The residents of 1-4 Brookaide Close don't ever get a look-in; in reality, they were used for the show's production and canteen facilities.
• I Want Grandkids: Harry Cross's greatest wish was to be a grandfather, and this could be why his son Kevin didn't visit very often.
• Kill the Cutie: Sue Sullivan and her infant son Daniel were pushed off scaffolding by Barry Grant. This was horrifying as, aside from Sue finally achieving some personal happiness, 1) infants are very very rarely murdered on British televsion, and 2) they were the wife and son of Barry's best friend, Terry. The friendship never really recovered from this setback.
• Kill the Dog: Taken literally a couple of times.
  • When Barry Grant was under orders to kill a gangster's dog, the show recieved a deluge of complaints and an inquiry from the censors - you may kill a man on television, but G'bid you touch his dog
• Landlord: A defining part of Harry Cross's identity income.
• Lipstick Lesbian: After her coming-out storyline, Beth was labeled as such by the British media, receiving equal attention from young women and young men.
• Lipstick Mark: When Paul found the ring in Annabelle's drawer.
• Long-Lost Relative: Ray Hilton and Helen Carey.
  • Averted, sort of, by Matty Nolan and Barry Grant, who had been family friends for decades before finding out they were father and son.
• Malaproper: For almost 14 years, Julia Brogan single-handedly mangled the English language.
• May-December Romance: Barry and Penny, Beth and her college tutor, and most famously Ron and Bev Dixon.
  • Billy Corkhill and Sheila Grant
• Miscarriage of Justice: The highly-publiscised 1980s storyline where fireman George Jackson was sent to prison for involvement in a burglary he knew nothing about. Despite the popularity of the storyline, and of the "Free George Jackson" campaign started by George's wife Marie, it had a Downer Ending when the appeal failed and George was transferred to another prison.
• Mam's Lad: Half-averted by having Barry Grant fill this.
  • But completed to a T by Roger Huntington, who was so spoilt and indulged by his mother that his father pulled him up on it and called him pathetic.
• Naughty Nurse Outfit: Pat Hancock had an actual nurse wear one as part of a strip-o-gram service. His two housemates - also both nurses - were displeased.
• Oireland: Subverted by Heather Huntington/Haversham/Black, an attractive and career-driven Irish accountant whose middle-class parents ran a hotel.
  • Although somewhat adhered to when a Wide-Eyed Idealist friend of Heather's came for a lengthy stay in 1984.
  • The Musgrove family, though, absolutely smashed this one.
• One Steve Limit: Averted by Jackie Corkhill and Jacqui Dixon, among others.
  • Averted as early as 1983, with George Jackson and his son Little George.
    • Again in the nineties with Jimmy Corkhill and his son Little Jimmy
  • In the late 80s there were several characters with similar names - Billy, Bobby, Barry, Harry, Terry, Tracy, Chrissy, Katie - which may have made things confusing to the occasional viewer.
• Only Known By Their Nickname: Sinbad (real name Thomas Sweeney), most famously. In the 1990s the show also had DD Dixon and David "Bing" Crosbie.
  • Ducksie and Gizzmo from the show's early days
  • Sizzler, a gangster nemesis of Barry Grant's.
  • Gregory "Jonah" Jones, a colleague of Bobby Grant's regarded as a jinx.
• Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Part of the joy of listening to the Dublin-born actress (Barbara Dreman) who played Niamh Musgrove was the way, like an Irish traveller on the road, her accent moved and wavered between the six counties of northern Ireland without once settling on any one, often in the same line of dialogue.
• Oop North: It's both set and filmed in Liverpool.
• Outliving One's Offspring: Sooo many examples.
  • Davey Jones, father of Petra Taylor, who turns up to claim her estate after Petra's suicide in 1984 (and evicting his two surviving daughters from the house).
  • Kevin Cross and Sally Haynes, whose premature daughter dies several hours after birth in 1986.
  • Bobby and Sheila Grant, whose son Damon was famously (and upsettingly) murdered in 1987.
  • Geoff and Dorothy Wright, after Geoff's faulty wiring electrocutes their daughter Laura Gordon-Davies in 1988.
  • Terry Sullivan, when his wife and son are murdered in 1991.
  • Ron and DD Dixon, whose son Tony dies in a car crash in 1994.
  • Mandy Jordache, after Beth's surprise heart attack in 1995.
  • Jimmy and Jackie Corkhill, when Little Jimmy is murdered by drug dealers in 1996.
  • Max and Susannah Farnham, after their kids Matthew and Emily die in a car crash in 1997.
  • Jessie Hilton, after her son Tommy Shadwick died in the club explosion in 2000.
    • Margi Shadwick (Tommy's wife) also, as her son Jason also cops it in the explosion - meaning Jessie outlived her offspring's offspring.
• Parental Abandonment: Josie Johnson continually pops in and out of her kids' lives, never staying for any substantial period of time.
  • Doreen Corkhill also upped and left, after Billy resorted to robbery in order to pay off her debts, and her departure made an already-depressing Tracy even more... well, depressed. That said, at least Doreen came back with an eye to undoing this, but Billy had already moved on to Sheila Grant.
  • Terry's mum Mary, who was long-thought to be dead, only to return from the grave in order to faciliate Terry's Happily Ever After.
    • Sinbad's mum too...
      • There's an alarming amount of parental abandonment on this street
• Parental Incest: Trevor Jordache
• Political Stereotype: Especially in the early days with militant socialist Bobby Grant, it seemed every character was steeped in strong political opinions.
• Prodigal Hero: Barry motherlovin' Grant, as far as his mother was concerned. He stole his father's identity to get a mortgage, got involved with Liverpool's gangland and was, all in all, quite unpleasant - but every time he came home, Sheila was thrilled and all was forgotten. It's a good job she had moved away by the time he murdered his best friend's wife and child.
• Put On a Bus: After their infamous incestuous escapades, Nat and Georgia Simpson get written off after a year as a result of negative publicity.
  • The entire Collins family got put on a bus to the Lake District in 1990, after the death of Doreen Sloane made it unfeasible for Annabelle to continue appearing. This exit was derided for casually writing off popular original characters amid a slew of cast changes.
• Rape as Drama: In 1986, lynchpin Sheila Grant was unprovokedly attacked and raped on her way home from evening school, last seen being dragged into the undergrowth. The storyline was greatly acclaimed for its realistic portrayal of victim-handling and for shaping the future of the character.
  • Similarly, Peter Harrison's date-rape of Diana Corkhill in 1991 was also acclaimed for it's realism.
  • The result was not the same when it was repeated for Nikki Shadwick in the 2000s, as this time it went round and round in circles.
• Running Gag: Roger Huntington's burglar alarm went off at inconvenient moments for roughly five years - four of which being after Heather divorced him.
• Self-Insert Fic: Throughout the 1990s characters would watch fictional soap opera Meadowcroft Park, which was also about the residents of a cul-de-sac on a newly-built housing estate... except this one was set in Cheshire. Channel 4 created specially-made theme tunes and scenes for the show to be seen on televisions, making this a very Affectionate Parody.
  • Meadowcroft Park was the original name for Brookside.
  • Jimmy Corkhill's final tirade turns slightly towards becoming this for Phil Redmond.
• Sexy Priest: Father Derek O'Farrell turned the head of soon-to-be-lesbian Anne when he arrived.
• Show Within a Show: Aside from Meadowcroft Park, the residents would often watch The Magic Rabbits (for children, or the immature).
• Spin-Off: Two in the 1980s:
  • Damon and Debbie in 1987, which took the Romeo + Juliet away to build a life in Yorkshire, but only wound up with Damon's murder
  • South in 1988, wherein Tracy Corkhill and her latest fling went on a jolly to London to find jobs there.
• Soap Opera Disease: In 1995, a mysterious killer virus infected the Close and killed a handful of minor and unseen characters. For two weeks the Close was quarantined by police and health authorities, before disappearing as quickly as it arrived and never being mentioned again.
• Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome: Unusually for a soap opera, Brookside's producers were pretty good at avoiding this. Some characters even had their birthdays repeated annually on the same date!
• Suddenly Sexuality: Gordon Collins, although to be fair he was never The Casanova
  • Although this was later handled not-too-badly in his Coming Out Story
• Sweeps Week Lesbian Kiss: Averted, largely because this is a British programme (no "sweeps" in the UK) and a soap opera (ratings aren't an issue), with the first pre-watershed lesbian kiss on British television between Beth Jordache and Anne Clemence.
• Token Minority: Ethnically-Ghanaian Kate in the 80s.
• Violent Glaswegian: Callum Finnegan.
  • Lightly touched upon (no pun intended) by a brief appearance from Sandra's abusive ex-husband in 1985.