Just watched the first episodes of this and have to say Echo Beach is one of the cheesiest, tackiest soaps I have ever seen....

...but when combined with the excellent spoof documentary Moving Wallpaper it all makes sense! A great satire of the soap industry, and this shows in how bad 'Beach' is (the overuse of pop tunes to hide shambolic plots, the terrible acting due to last minute revisions of scripts to 'sex them up', and the terrible costumes to put an actress in her place - Martine's pink dress).

If you only saw Echo Beach, then you will probably not really 'get it'. The two need to be viewed together for it all to make sense. I'm looking forward to tomorrow night now (and Ben Miller as the producer was genius casting).

I loved it!! In fact I loved them both and I do agree you really do need to watch the two programmes in one sitting!!
I think it's going to be fun seeing how many things 'pop up' in Echo Beach that were first mentioned in Moving Wallpaper.
Let's just hope the "TV Snobs" don't put people off as has happened with programmes in the past!!:(

I was working so didn't catch it all but it looked to be a promising programme. Normally the fact it's on ITV makes me steer clear of most programmes.

Plus, they're bringing back "News at 10" on Monday.

I really enjoyed these two progs! Especially when things popped up in Echo Beach that were mentioned in Moving Wallpaper, like the little girl crying A LOT and that bad, bad dress. Definitely watching the next one tonight!

The idea sounded interesting at first, but then I found it was on ITV and the thought of going to all the trouble of lowering my intelligence to that of the average council-estate-dwelling knuckle-dragger didn't seem worth it.
Surprised to see Ben Miller lowering his standards to appearing in it as well; thought he'd got a bit more class.

/-\/-\-/=\-/

The idea sounded interesting at first, but then I found it was on ITV and the thought of going to all the trouble of lowering my intelligence to that of the average council-estate-dwelling knuckle-dragger didn't seem worth it.
Surprised to see Ben Miller lowering his standards to appearing in it as well; thought he'd got a bit more class.


Well...that's me told!!:hihi::hihi::hihi:
I personally can't wait for tonights programmes!! :P

I watched this too. I don't think I could have watched Echo Beach without the moving wallpaper. For some reason it reminded me of that awful soap eldorado (sp?). Echo Beach was very very tacky, but then that is how it is supposed to be, which you wouldn't grasp if you hadn't watched Moving Wallpaper.

I think the idea is good, not sure how long it could hold my interest for though. How many episodes are there?

I watched this too. I don't think I could have watched Echo Beach without the moving wallpaper. For some reason it reminded me of that awful soap eldorado (sp?). Echo Beach was very very tacky, but then that is how it is supposed to be, which you wouldn't grasp if you hadn't watched Moving Wallpaper.

I think the idea is good, not sure how long it could hold my interest for though. How many episodes are there?

I have no idea........I quite liked Eldorado too so I think this programme is probably for me!! :hihi::hihi:

It has been said that this programme will put Cornwall on the tourist map...well believe me..IT ALREADY IS!!! :roll:

the thought of going to all the trouble of lowering my intelligence to that of the average council-estate-dwelling knuckle-dragger

All poor people are unintelligent!

:roll:

I thought Ben Miller wrote it too.

For some reason it reminded me of that awful soap eldorado (sp?).

MW/EB has been created by Tony Jordan, who was one of the people responsible for Eldorado. He wasn't completely responsible for how terrible it turned out, as the initial plans were ruined by various behind the scenes diktats from BBC high command that guaranteed that the final product was a fiasco. I read a book about the entire history of the show, and the policy decisions forced on the production were eye-wateringly bad.

In fact it has probably been said to and by Tony Jordan that the backstage story was a better soap opera than Eldorado itself. Any passing resemblances to Eldorado can probably be taken literally given that history. I think he has probably enjoyed raiding those dreadful experiences for this (these) new series and is very sweet revenge!

ITV is trying to relaunch itself and MW/EB is the lynchpin of the new schedule. The cast of Moving Wallpaper has drawn on several names and faces who have quality reputations and a history in leftfield Channel 4/ BBC2 programming. I think this is deliberate, to attract viewers who never usually watch ITV, while the Echo Beach cast appeals to the more traditionally mainstream audience. By tying the two together they will be reaching for a much broader audience overall. I think it's a fascinating experiment and really hope they pull it off.

What a load of tosh! No one with a cornish accent, how desperate must Johnny Briggs if that is the only work he can get, and his 'west country' accent??? At least Doc Martin employed actors who could carry off a west country accent! I'll give it one series before its consigned to Room 101.

What a load of tosh! No one with a cornish accent, how desperate must Johnny Briggs if that is the only work he can get, and his 'west country' accent??? At least Doc Martin employed actors who could carry off a west country accent! I'll give it one series before its consigned to Room 101.

I think you've probably missed the point of the programme, to be honest. The whole thing is a pee-take of bad soap operas.

Wow! What's happened to the lovely (but annoying!) Martine McCutheon? She looked like a giant bottle of Pepto-Bismol in that pink dress!!!

At the risk of sounding thick, it confuses me! I realise that Moving Wallpaper is supposed to be the fictional making of, but I thought Echo Bay wouldn't actually be related to it in it's quality. So I was sat here last night wondering, is this being serious and is actually REALLY bad, is it a joke in relation to the programme before, or is it just being a general joke about soap operas. Reading what you guys have put, it's the latter 2, but I think in that case, it's gonna fail, cos although it's meant to be taken light hearted, it's rubbish-ness is going to get tiring...

I watched this too. I don't think I could have watched Echo Beach without the moving wallpaper. For some reason it reminded me of that awful soap eldorado (sp?). Echo Beach was very very tacky, but then that is how it is supposed to be, which you wouldn't grasp if you hadn't watched Moving Wallpaper.

I think the idea is good, not sure how long it could hold my interest for though. How many episodes are there?

12 episodes planned out for it. Just the right number I feel before the idea will start to get old. As it is I am loving it at the moment.

12 episodes planned out for it. Just the right number I feel before the idea will start to get old. As it is I am loving it at the moment.


Me too. It's fun and immensley watchable!!:thumbsup:

Just watched the first episodes of this and have to say Echo Beach is one of the cheesiest, tackiest soaps I have ever seen....

...but when combined with the excellent spoof documentary Moving Wallpaper it all makes sense! A great satire of the soap industry, and this shows in how bad 'Beach' is (the overuse of pop tunes to hide shambolic plots, the terrible acting due to last minute revisions of scripts to 'sex them up', and the terrible costumes to put an actress in her place - Martine's pink dress).

If you only saw Echo Beach, then you will probably not really 'get it'. The two need to be viewed together for it all to make sense. I'm looking forward to tomorrow night now (and Ben Miller as the producer was genius casting).

I enjoyed it and will continue to watch it . I love it to be honest as I watch soaps and this is a great spoof.. as in writers etc! I will continue to watch

Me too. It's fun and immensley watchable!!:thumbsup:

I had fun tonight spotting how many of the presents and odds and ends from Moving Wallpaper ended up in the show.....the panda made me chuckle!

As for "taking her up the beach hut"....that's one coffee stain that ain't shifting from my carpet!

They're available to watch again (or for the first time) here. (http://www.itv.com/Watchnow/CatchUp/default.html) You have to click the over 18 box first though. It's all very complicated...

Well I have got these two programmes on "My Favourites!!" :D

At least they haven't brought back Crossroads (again):hihi:

There were a couple of funny moments in Moving Wallpaper but on the whole it's utter pants. Sounds like a great idea - oh we can't get people to write decent programmes anymore, so we'll turn it into a spoof and it can be utter pants and we'll get away with it. It's a bit like the Emperor's New Clothes to me.

I looked at the MV/EB thread on Digital Spy last night and it's chaos. People just don't know what to make of it and are scrabbling about in a postmodern vortex of confusion. And I can't believe the number of people who don't get the basic point that EB is supposed to be terrible and needs watching with half an eye on MV. I think it is something that rewards close viewing and also repeat viewing to pick up the little details and get the most out of it. Also, the first two programmes were so busy introducing the set up and the characters that I think this is one (two) of those programmes that need to build up a head of steam regarding the backstory and injokes. Its main problem is that it's the sort of thing that would usually try out on BBC3 then go to BBC2, it's the fact that it's primetime ITV that's the big gamble.

I saw both programmes on Thurs and Fri and me and hubby thought Moving Wallpaper was hilarious and it ties up fantastically with Echo Beach - yes some crap acting but I don't think its seeing itself as anything else

I enjoyed both of the programmes and spotting things in EB that had been in MW was not too much of a distraction. :roll: