Hollyoaks Generic Characters
Scott Collins
All character info was found from the E4 website.
The Bad Boy
'Warren always puts himself first, and will do anything to get what he wants - be it money, women or business opportunities.' Warren is the typical bad boy character found in soups. He is sexy, tough, disobeys all the rules and gets what he wants.
This clip highlights the mind of these ‘bad boys’. They respect the rules of being ‘even’. They get whatever girl they want, even if it is forbidden such as Calvin’s girlfriend, Louise.
Bad boys are rare; they fit in both the roles off protagonist and antagonists; widening their value as they can take on twice as many storylines. In some cases the bad boys can be seen as a protagonist and antagonist during the same storyline depending on the individual audience member perception.
The Villain
'Having wreaked havoc throughout the village Clare eventually departed in dramatic fashion when she kidnapped Katy Fox and drove the car they were in over a steep cliff.' Clare was the typical villain character found in not just soaps but other forms of media. She was clever and planned ahead, what she lacked in physical strength was shadowed by her pure insanity. She was a hated character and would often gain allies with seduction.
Clare is the most evil villain imaginable. Capable of murder and abusing a small child, Tom, she was the most shocking character in Hollyoaks history.
Villains are limited with their roles. They usually have a big storyline but the fame is short lived, audiences’ always want to see the villain punished and this usually results in the character leaving the show.
The Old Person/ The Wise One
Hollyoaks targets audiences of younger generations and as a result it has a lack of old people casted within the show. This woman is the oldest and the wisest of the characters.
‘Myra. The McQueen Bee. A sovereign lady, with a penchant for sovereign rings; she sits at the head of perhaps the village's most fearsome tribe.’
This sarcastic video to the generic characters of the old/wise shows Hollyoaks breaks the conventions of the older cast. Myra could be seen as the typical lower class British woman and to the common person, would be seen as stupid.
Yet in the show she remains the eldest and the wisest, often giving advice to younger characters (no matter how bad the advice is).
These type of characters can features as vladimir propp’s helper or dispatcher and can be featured in near to all storylines. They are nearly always liked by the audience, as well as being liked by the cast.
The Strong Woman
‘If there is a female equivalent to short-man syndrome, then Nancy's a certified sufferer. With a temper as short as is her stature, many a man (and woman) has fallen to the wrath of Miss Hayton. ‘
Nancy the sweet looking girl who’s been in the soap for many years appears to be harmless, yet she has a feisty tongue and a stubborn attitude that would belittle both men and women. Afraid of no one she uses a mixture of petty come backs and genius observations to win every argument.
The clip is of Nancy when she was a child, yet it still shows a glimmer of courage/confidence that will mould her into the strong character she becomes.
These strong woman characters quickly become fan favourites, epically by the female viewers. They stand up for woman power and often will battle with the villains. These characters can appear in many storylines as the protector, advice giver, helper, confronter of the victim who eventually rise to power.
The Boss Figure
‘If Christopher Walken and Heath Ledger’s ‘The Joker’ were to give birth to a love child (yes, we realise that’s beyond the realms of possibility) the end product would probably come out something like Brendan Brady. A fine blend of sarcasm, twitchiness and violence.’
Brendan, former owner of the club has all the typical conventional characteristics of British soap opera bosses; including being accused of murder, being violent and powerful, having a mixture of calmness and aggression and wealth.
These characters usually take on many forms of roles but all will include the bosses’ power being threatened.
Brendan breaks the convention of the boss having a feisty wife or being a ladies’ man who attracts gold diggers; this is because Brendan is the first powerful boss figure who is gay; opening a new window to gays being physically violent, an unknown convention of soap operas
The Joker
Hollyoaks being overly dramatic has a lack of characters (like the joker) to calm the audience and to give realise of tension by humouring the viewer.
Thankfully, though not a joker, Carmel is lacking so much common sense she creates the needed humours’ moments to eject the tension. These jokers or ‘tension removing’ characters are used to make moments seem funnier or happier than what they actually are. This is achieved by the audience having sympathetic feelings towards this brand of character.
The Homosexual
John Paul had the typical role to play for a gay soap star. He’s in denial, finally realises he’s gay and has (like all other soaps) an opposing family member who disagrees to his attractions. Yet the John Paul case had a twist, John Paul was gay for his best friend and had a girlfriend of his own. He also was still a teenager at school, possibly pushing the boundaries what is acceptable to exploit on television before water shed hours.
The Gold Digger
'This WAG-supreme' called Mitzee is the typical gold digger found in soaps. Traits which coincide with this brand of character include selfishness, evil, scheming and all seem to have an attraction to the older wealthy men. They usually are seen as an antagonist and appear in storylines involving ‘gold digging’. They nearly always will go for men already in a relationship, they thrive from being bitches.
This clip highlights how Mitzee like most over gold diggers love themselves. They usually look extremely fake; covered in makeup. Another convention involves them being up to date with fashion and often are seen wearing the newest trends.
The Couple
'Hollyoaks couple Carmel and Calvin give their marriage another try as they renew their vows in 'flash forward' episode'
After numerous conflicts including cheating with another family member Carmel and Calvin decide to get their relationship a second chance. They follow the normal conventional traits of soap opera couples which include being young (usually only the younger couples follow this list of traits), having a second chance, cheating, arguments and a wedding disaster; the wedding disaster in this instance is Calvin’s death. This generic brand always has plots that include their traits.
The Pregnant Woman
Married to Dominic Reilly, the most sensible girl out of the McQueen clan shocked her family when she announced that Russ Owen was the real father of her baby.
Following typical soap opera story conventions the plot of a family member or a close friend carrying a siblings or friends baby is expected from each soap opera at least once.
This story follows Todorov’s theory of narrative.
Step one: Equilibrium exists; the part of the plot which coincides with this step is the agreement of carrying someone’s child.
Step two: A disturbance is caused, usually by the carrier of the child deciding she wants to keep the baby or by the waiting un-pregnant mother deciding she doesn’t want it.
Step three: Realization of the problem, this step was shown in the clip above; the carrier admits she wants to keep the child.
Step four: Dealing with the problem, a solution is concluded leaving one member of the plot in step 5: equilibrium once again being restored.
This story is usually concluded in soap operas and this character can perform in many plots, all usually questioning the baby’s father or putting the child’s health into question (E.G. mother may drink, father may be violent and so forth.)
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