Soaps were more like this to start. Kitchen sink dramas don't tend to have plane crashes, explosions, pyschotic murderers, etc. If you took all the sensational stuff out of soaps and just concentrated on the mundane stuff, they'd be more like kitchen sink dramas.
I suppose the sitcom version would be The Royle Family; though it's more heartwarming than most KSDs.
Not really, soap operas are rarely reality based, certainly not anymore. Dallas is a soap opera.
And the term applies to those kind of plays films of the time. It is true to say that Coronation Street in it's early/original incarnation was to some extent influenced by it, or perceived as such, but in reality it was based around an area/demographic that had already been long gone.
Quote: Marc P @ October 16 2008, 2:17 PM BSTNot really, soap operas are rarely reality based, certainly not anymore. Dallas is a soap opera.
And the term applies to those kind of plays films of the time. It is true to say that Coronation Street in it's early/original incarnation was to some extent influenced by it, or perceived as such, but in reality it was based around an area/demographic that had already been long gone.
I knew we kept you around for a reason, Marc.
Ahhh I seeeeeeeee. Ok. Thanks. 
All you really need to know Aaron is when some calls it a classic sixties Kitchen Sink drama you need to reach for your remote control as quickly as possible and change channels.
Quote: Marc P @ October 16 2008, 2:25 PM BSTAll you really need to know Aaron is when some calls it a classic sixties Kitchen Sink drama you need to reach for your remote control as quickly as possible and change channels.
I'm no expert, but weren't they really just examples of the Angry Young Men flexing their creative muscles. Many of whom went on to write much better stuff.
Quote: Marc P @ October 16 2008, 2:25 PM BSTAll you really need to know Aaron is when some calls it a classic sixties Kitchen Sink drama you need to reach for your remote control as quickly as possible and change channels.
I gathered that, yes! 
Quote: chipolata @ October 16 2008, 2:26 PM BSTI'm no expert, but weren't they really just examples of the Angry Young Men flexing their creative muscles. Many of whom went on to write much better stuff.
I think it was a case of a lot of them watching On the Waterfront and thinking 'f**k me I'll have some of that. Unfortunately Tennesee Williams didn't come from Streatham though, and a working class man in a vest shouting at his wife is kind of different set in Barnsley somehow.
Boys From The Blackstuff was gritty, Northern, realistic, etc; would it be classed as a kitchen-sink drama?
I don't think so. I think the KSDs are coming from a period in time where old lower-class life is changing and being challenged by new ideas and changes in society. At a certain point, during the 1960s, I'd say the KSD tag wouldn't apply any more.
Quote: Nigel Kelly @ October 16 2008, 2:44 PM BSTBoys From The Blackstuff was gritty, Northern, realistic, etc; would it be classed as a kitchen-sink drama?
I think it's definitely in that tradition. And if a recession does kick in, we might get more dramas like that.
According to Wikipedia that certain point was when the old fashioned ceramic sinks were replaced with the new American stainless steel types that audiences had already been seeing in shows like Bewitched.