Eldorado was an ill-fated British soap opera that aired for only one year, from 6 July 1992 to 9 July 1993. Set in a Spanish resort and based around the lives of British expats, the BBC hoped it would be as successful as EastEnders and replicate some of the sunshine and glamour of imported Australian soaps such as Home and Away and Neighbours. It was produced as a co-production between the BBC and independent production company Cinema Verity, and aired three times a week in a high-profile evening slot on the mainstream BBC One network. It replaced Terry Wogan's chat show on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7.00 pm. The first TIME cover devoted to soap operas: Dated January 12, 1976, Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes of Days of Our Lives are featured with the headline Soap Operas: Sex and suffering in the afternoon. A soap opera is an ongoing, episodic work of fiction, usually broadcast on television... July 6 is the 187th day of the year (188th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 178 days remaining. ... 1992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 9 is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 175 days remaining. ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... An expatriate (in abbreviated form expat) is someone temporarily or permanently in a country and culture other than that of their upbringing and/or legal residence. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the national publicly funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. ... EastEnders is a popular BBC television soap opera which was first broadcast on February 19, 1985. ... Secrets and the City DVD cover Home and Away is a weeknightly half-hour television soap opera produced in Australia. ... Neighbours is a long-running Australian television soap opera, running daily episodes of 25 minutes, time excluding commercials. ... Cinema Verity is a British independent television and film production company, founded in 1986 by Verity Lambert, a well-known and highly successful television producer, who named the company after herself and as a pun on the expression cinéma vérité. The companys first major venture was the... BBC One (or BBC1 as it was formerly styled) is the oldest television station in the world. ... Michael Terence Terry Wogan, KBE (born 3 August 1938) is a popular radio and television broadcaster on the BBC in the United Kingdom. ...

In spite of — or perhaps as a reaction to — a huge marketing campaign on television, radio and in the press preceding the launch ('Are you ready for Eldorado?'), the programme was not a popular hit with viewers and critics.

Although the show contained many professional actors (such as Patricia Brake and Jesse Birdsall), much of the cast were inexperienced actors whose limitations were clearly exposed on such a new and ambitious project. Prior to filming some the cast didn't even know what a read-through was. The acting was derided as amateurish, while the attempt to appear more 'European' by having people speaking other languages without subtitles was met with incomprehension. Jesse Birdsall (born February 13, 1963 in Highbury, London) is a British actor, known in the UK for his starring roles in several high-profile, popular television programmes. ... In the context of film production, the read-through is an organized table reading of the screenplay by the actors with speaking parts. ... Production of teletext subtitles A subtitle can refer to one of two things: textual versions of a film or television programs dialogue that appear onscreen, or an explanatory or alternate title, in addition to the main title of a work. ...

As a result of filming in bare-walled villas rather than a studio, there were many sound production problems, that was mockingly called Eldorado-Sound. Possibly in a bid to court media attention, the show opened with the controversial story of middle-aged man (Bunny) returning from the UK with a 17-year-old bride (Fizz). Many viewers felt this storyline was implausible and seedy. On top of this, ITV decided to air a special one-hour Coronation Street on its debut evening to "strangle it at birth", as network executives described it. Independent Television (ITV) is the name given to the original network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up to provide competition to the BBC. In England and Wales the channel was recently rebranded ITV1 by ITV plc who own the regional broadcasting licences for the regions. ... The opening title of Coronation Street, since 2002. ...

The series was produced by Verity Lambert who had made her reputation as an in-house producer for the BBC — as a result the costly production, although not exorbitant by contemporary TV standards, was used by critics of the BBC licence fee to argue that the corporation was feathering the nest of former employees. Although ratings did improve over the course of the show's run, it was not enough to justify its continued production, and incoming Controller of BBC One Alan Yentob cancelled the programme, which had been commissioned by his predecessor Jonathan Powell. In the UK it is remembered as an embarrassing failure for the Corporation, and is sometimes used as a byword for any unsuccessful, poorly-received or over-hyped television programme. Verity Lambert (born November 27, 1935 in London, England, UK) is a British television and film producer, best known for producing the science-fiction series Doctor Who for the BBC for its first two years, from 1963 to 1965. ... Alan Yentob (born March 11, 1947) is a British television executive. ... Jonathan Powell (born 1947) is a British television producer and executive. ...

The show ended with one of the show's star characters, Marcus Tandy (played by Jesse Birdsall), escaping an attempt on his life by his car being blown up, and sailing off into the distance on a boat with his girlfriend. The final words were: "You can't trust anyone these days." Jesse Birdsall (born February 13, 1963 in Highbury, London) is a British actor, known in the UK for his starring roles in several high-profile, popular television programmes. ...

The character Vanessa Lockhead was played by Julie Fernandez, who later appeared in The Office. Julie Fernandez Julie Fernandez (born April 20, 1974) is a British actress, television presenter and journalist. ... Ricky Gervais as David Brent in The Office The Office is a British and American television comedy series. ...

The theme tune was composed by Simon May. Lyrics were written for the closing credits of the final episode; the song, called "When You Go Away", was performed by Johnny Griggs. Simon May (born in Devizes, Wiltshire) has composed some of British televisions best known theme tunes, including Eastenders and Howards Way. ...

External links

• Eldorado Fan Site