Nearly every episode in this set is in black and white and it suits Coronation Street down to a tee. This series, as it is in the 1960s is still living in the aftermath of the second world war, the women of the street rule the roost after learning how to survive whilst their husbands left the street to go and fight.
The black and white picture emphisises the dirt and soot from the chimneys of the terraced houses and factories, plus looking at it now the monochrome picture captures the views of everyday britain in a viseo technique that is now outdated..
The basic veiw of the people in this street can seem boring to those that watch today's program with multiple serial killers, explosions and car chases but over the course of the discs you start to treat the characters as members of the family or a close friend. Thats what made this program such a sucess, it seems that you are watching and listening to your mum and her friends or you and your workmates, you watch these programs as if they are your neighbours and you are the third person in the conversation.
The way the camera set up is means that this doesnt feel like you are watching a drama but you are in this street listening to the everyday conversations of your neighbours.
The nature of the program means there are no lead characters but some do stand out , these are the main ones everyone talks about: Ena Sharples, Elsie Tanner, Annie Walker and Hilda Ogden. These mainstay characters all originated in the 1960's amongst others that gre in popularity as the show went on: Ken Barlow, Bet Lynch, Emily Bishop and Rita (at this point Littlewood).
We all know what the popular opinion of the aformentioned characters and it is in this decade that we see exactly why they are like who they are.
Ena loses her daughter and throughout the decade has trouble with being an OAP in the 60's with the lack of care and money. she has always been tough but with her retirement years still being as hard as the rest of her life she has had to keep her guard up. Her good heart also means that she needs to protect those around her, Minnie Coldwell being a prime example.
Annie has worked hard and has always had a high goal but she understands that a woman of her age in the 1960s it's too late to acheive them, her place is by her husbands side. Her snooty attitude is purely because she has had to make do with what she has, but also because the things she does have she has worked hard to get.
Also making the best of what she has is Hilda Ogden, nothing worthwhile happens in her life so she takes a great intererst in the lives of others. In one episode though, a show of domestic abuse is played out as a comedy story with Hilda's daughter, Irma, joking about the fact her dad is beating her mum up upstairs. This is only done because of the time it was made but other serious issues are dealt with sincerly.
Elsie Tanner starts off the decade being a mother trying to make ends meet as well as trying to keep her looks. By the end of the decade her kids have moved away and her second marriage has fallen apart before becoming a widow.
No other decade of the soap is like this one, it was perfect for the time it was made as well as representing it, and today it stands up in terms of character and story telling.
The 1960s gets a full ten out of ten, every character has a purpose and every story tells the story of the decade.