to think The Archers is a pile of poo

[WickedWitchofWatford]

Over the years I've come across numerous folks who rave about The Archers, and must say they tend to be the haw-hee-haw plummy voiced variety.

Anyway, the other day, having nothing better to do at 2pm, I tuned in. What a load of old s*!

Would some Archers fans kindly explain the attraction?

YAB so U!
The Archers is art of the rhythm of life; R4 provides the background for the day, the week.
I've been listening for nearly 45 years, I love it. I'm sure everyone has storylines they hate and times when they can't beat to miss it.
It's not confrontational all the time, people speak kindly to one another, families fall out and make up, there are so many good reasons to listen to the Archers.
You have to, as has been said up thread, give it time, to learn the characters and their back stories. DP was at first always saying, Who's That, why, what does that mean, but now she's addicted too.
Nothing like R4 while you are cooking or engaged in any task that at you do on semi automatic!

The Archers is art of the rhythm of life; R4 provides the background for the day, the week.

Absolutely. I don't even need a clock I know the schedule so bloomin' well. In fact, I'm listening to Feedback as I type .

i don't get it either, and have tried on and off, just too rural for me and middle class

rural farming community shannigans - rock n roll

i think people like soaps that relate more to their own life, this is why i miss eldorado and dallas to a certain extent

Radio 4 is truly wonderful apart from Count Arthur Strong - now I really loathe that.

at Southeastastra - the su-ellen of mn

I could take or leave most of the quizzes. Especially Round Britain Quiz.

YABVU

I download the omnibus every week and listen to it on my way to and from work cos I am invariably putting the kids to bed at 7

I think of it as my guilty secret!!!

I loved it until Nigel fell of the roof and the whole when-will-lizzie-go-ape-shit-at-David inevitability switched me off, particularly as David's part in the whole business was so out of character. I really miss it - everyone had to be silent for 12 minutes after the 7pm news or I'd go nuts at them but when I try to listen to it now it brings out the "meh" in me. I might just be reverting to my youth however as my dad was a farmer and loathed the Archers with a passion, the radio was practically thrown across the room the second the "rumpy-umpy-umpy-umm..." started...

My mum used to tape the omnibus and send it to me in Germany (pre-iPlayer and all that). I love the Archers. And I am always very happy to discover that someone I liked anyway is a fellow devotee, which happens more often than I expect. It does occasionally go a bit pants for a while but certain episodes are some of the best radio I've ever heard.

I'm a born and bred city girl but am absolutly addicted to the Archers (in fact I am addicted to R4 in general). My mum used to listen to it when I was little and it was 'silent time' in the house when we all had to creep around while it was on. I have had time out between then and now but I love the fact that there are still storylines I remember from when I was a kid that are working themselves out. I love the mundane and the ridiculous nature of it and the random things that seem to constitute a story. I adore disliking most of the characters and moaning about the bizarre accents and generally making outragous predictions about what will happen next. It's about 12 minutes of silliness in my day and I can't see how it can be doing any harm to anyone.

When we got together DP barely even listened to R4 but is now, after 5 years also an Archers addict. He even had Nigels dying scream as his ring tone for a while :o

Oh, and YABU. In fact judging a programme like the Archers based on one listen is beyond unreasonable. It requires at least a few years of dedication before you can possibly have any idea what is going on.