Eldorado

Last updated on September 13th, 2019 at 09:11 am.

Do you remember Eldorado? It might have been the worst Soap every recorded, but if you have chosen to make Spain your country as a British expat or even if you are just a visitor, it might still hold some level of fascination. 

Could it be the terrible film sets, the bad acting or the dodgy storylines that mean that 20 years on there are still those who would like to see its return? Set in Andalucia, the BBC publicised its arrival with enthusiasm but a year later it was axed. The film set of ‘Los Barcos’ still remains in the outskirts of Coin now as a hotel complex called Hotel Ciudad Del Cine.  

The enthusiasm for its return might have been fuelled by the success of Benidorm. Seeing Brits abroad at their worst does seem to hold some kind of attraction. So why did it fail first time round?

It is suggested that the number of inexperienced actors involved did not help. There were also difficulties with people speaking other languages without subtitles and some ‘unconvincing’ accents made scenes embarrassing to watch. 

Changes were made and the show experienced a significant overhaul during its short life. However, it wasn’t enough to justify the prime time slot it filled and it was cancelled. The final scene was of Marcus Tandy, the baddy, sailing off in the distance after a failed attempt to kill him when his car was blown up.

But would we really like it to return to our TV sets? A bit of nostalgia for what we were doing 20 years ago is allowed but having to face half-hourly slots of Eldorado three times a week? The jury is out on that one.