Loxfest is over. Locket-gate is upon us. Discuss Mowgli, Rob's new secret and of course the new road here with other Archers fans.

[PseudoBadger]

New thread for hopefully an exciting Sunday episode. Poor Hayley.

Xpost Polly

It's not the affair but the way he is behaving around that that I feel is unbelievable given his character

I don't think phoebe would move - I'm sure granny and grandad would let her move in.

I agree that Pheebs will stay. She, Angry Freddie, New Posh Josh and RichFitzJohn are shaping up to be the next generation of interest. And possibly Lily if she ever comes out of exile in the attic or wherever.

It is Roy's complete lack of thought for his children that is bothering me. He has spared them not one second's guilt.

IMO his 'offhandedness' is his,typically masculine and insensitive way of dealing with his guilt, (thinking that if he behaves badly then his family won't want him anyway).

I read somewhere that some fathers get soo upset when they see their original dcs (after they've set up home elsewhere). That they think it's better if they don't see them at all. [anger] My father was one of those.

sorry to hear that ppeatfuit.

I honestly think Roy's just got a one track mind at the moment. Don't forget his unlikely sounding relationship with Kate, who is similarly self-absorbed and flighty. He probably pictured a seamless move into being lord of the manor alongside Lady Chatterley Lizzie, and has conveniently written out his wife and children.

Thanks Humphrey.

I agree pollycazalet He fancied being the new Lord of Loxley

I didn't think I could dislike anyone as much as I dislike Will but Roy is getting to be a strong contender. He sounds just sooooo unfanciable.

I also think he's rationalising it that Lizzie and her kids (or Freddie at least) "need" him - thus his heavy handed attempt to parent Freddie - whilst Hayley and co and more self sufficient. He's living in a fantasy world probably where, if he thinks of her at all, he imagines Hayley will accept what's happened and they'll happily fall into a co-parenting relationship. the fact he hadn't even considered that Hayley also works at LL last night shows how far he's lost touch with reality.

i wonder what's happened to Hayley - she seems such a doormat and she never used to be. She will definitely talk to Lizzie though - she's got recent form for getting involved in Roy's work issues.

That would be a interesting confrontation polly. I wonder if Hayley is sitting tight to see if it blows over, for the dcs sake

I don't think Hayley can believe it. I mean it is a ludicrous proposition when you look at the impact it will have.

Once she knows for sure I think she will tear him a new one!

she also might not have realised (or allowed herself to contemplate) how far it's gone. she knows something is going on between them, and she knows about the locket and that elizabeth has sent it (or sent it back) to roy. as far as she knows it may be that elizabeth has propositioned roy, he's turned her down and elizabeth is now making things awkward. or vice versa. she may not have allowed herself to go down the road of suspecting anything beyond emotional stuff

I just caught last night's repeat...

The script was terrible in Liz-Roy scene. Elizabeth-actress didn't believe the lines & she read them very woodenly. Roy was full of passion, at least he can act. Maybe the actor is frantically looking for another job because he knows which way this storyline is going!!

Hayley & Roy always were naive in lots of ways, (so were Mike + Vicky with Beth pregnancy). I find it credible that H. doesn't know how to confront Roy & can't make herself believe the evidence.

i hate the way roy says "elizabeth"

Hello - I've lurked on these Archer threads for a while now, and today my nerdy curiosity got the better of me: I started looking back for the previous threads in this chain (the ones with 900+ posts each).

Surprisingly, this phenomenon only began in April last year (I had assumed it was a longstanding MN institution). It took a while to catch on: four threads filled up by the start of this year. Since then, they typically run at around a thread a month.

But there's more to it than that.

In the list below, I shown "date thread started" next to "average number of posts per day" (I warned you this was nerdy!). I'm sure you all know why there was such a spike in late April, and if the rate truly measures levels of "drama" in TA, then it appears we are living through another period that has got you all talking.

10 Jan 43 ppd
2 Feb 60
18 Feb 47
11 Mar 70
25 Mar 34
23 Apr 120
1 May 25
9 Jun 34
8 Jul 37
3 Aug 35
31 Aug 72

Wow DadDadDad nice analysis!

DadDadDad are you a man? :) It is so great to have real live males on some of these threads. I hope nobody here is offended by my saying this, btw, not dissing us women.

And you're right, this ongoing thread started by accident, I started an exasperated thread about Paul (gawd rest 'is soul) and Fag Ash, and for some reason it turned into an ongoing chat thread.

to Pseudo

Love the stats, DadDadDad!

I've said a number of times now I am expecting the entire Tucker family will go, except for Phoebe because she is an Archer by blood. I believe the new Editor wants to prune the cast right back. The number of speaking characters has grown a lot over the last 20 years and I think personally it's too big. There are any number of them we hardly ever hear from - remember how when Caroline and Oliver had a storyline last year there were people posting who'd been listening to TA for a few years and didn't recognise them? They are both core characters from way back, but there has just not been space for all the core people to get a word in in recent years.

People I think will survive as speaking characters:

Archers
Peggy, Christine, Jill - until the actresses die or become too unwell to continue

David and Ruth; Pip if they re-cast; Josh - given that they have just re-cast; Ben (possibly not speaking for a few years)

Kenton, Jolene, Fallon - will Jamie speak again? I rather doubt it, and I live in hope that Kathy has also lost her voice.

Shula - not sure about Alistair - I wouldn't be at all surprised if we were in for a divorce storyline ending in Alistair leaving the village; Daniel will be an occasional visitor, and perhaps will come back to Ambridge in a couple of decades when he leaves the army

Elizabeth, Freddie, Lily - I doubt we will ever hear Lewis again

Pat, Tony, Helen, Henry; Rob - who knows?

Brian, Jennifer, Ruairidh, Adam, Alice, Phoebe - I wonder if we will ever hear Kate again except on fleeting visits; Ian seems to speak all too rarely; Debbie ditto; Chris ditto.

Lilian, Matt - occasional visits from James and Leonie

Token other extended family
Susan, Neil, Emma, Ed, Will, Nic, Clarrie, Eddie (and in due course George, Keira and possibly Jake and Mia)

Others
Lynda, Robert, Jim, Jazzer, Vicar, possibly Usha, Charlie?

It wouldn't particularly surprise me if Oliver and Caroline get a storyline soon designed to mark their official departure from the series. They will sell GG and maybe go to live abroad.

No more Horrobins except for Susan. No more HWMNBN and his family. No more Tom or Kirsty and no more Tuckers.

Mystic Mimsy has spoken!

But the Tuckers are a longstanding proper Ambridge family - like the Grundys and the Carters. Getting rid of the whole lot seems too drastic. Still, at least they didn't have a plane crash on their house while they were all having dinner.

Mike and Betty arrived in Ambridge in 1973, which must have been around the time Neil arrived, so they're just blow ins really. The Grundys have been there forever. I suspect the Horrobins have too.

I believe there were a couple of plane crashes in the 60s.

OMG dead! was, iirc, how I introduced myself on the beautiful first thread....

Poor Pat must be keening with longing for her (more recently) lost boy. I hope the SWs will give her a trip to Canada for Christmas.

Suerly they won't get rid of fairly major characters without bringing in new people? it would all become so incestuous otherwise.

Yes, I'm a man. Was it my use of statistics or something in my username that gave it away?

I'm an intermittent listener to TA (if it's on when I'm driving home), but I have to admit I've been sucked in by a few storylines, and I enjoy reading your analyses. So, I'm back to lurking and can always update my results in the future on request. (I have a spreadsheet, of course ).

I do hope they don't get rid of Oliver, he's just a Good Guy