Robbieeeee! It's meee, it's Jessieeee! I've come home. I'm so cold! Let me in-a-your window. The Archers pay homage to Wuthering Heights?

[PseudoBadger]

A new thread in time for the film this morning.

yep - route b really is boring

although we are assuming brookfield won't be sold and route b won't go ahead and it's all a damp squib

perhaps sean is planning to get rid of the archers after all and move justin elliott in and start some sort of footballers wives style spin off by building a luxury gated community for felpersham FC's finest

Thanks Mimsy and Shalli - I knew you Abc1 TA fans (as am I but sometimes have gaps in my education) would be able to help.

Congratulations Giraffe - Will it be called Frilly?

If Helen had any sense, she'd put on something she totally loathes and pretend to Knob that she's thrilled with it. Then when he tells her it's far too dowdy, she can act really humble and pretend to be reluctant to put on what she wanted to wear in the first place.

Did we clock Justin's intention to find a country home to move into? Was anyone else thinking that the idea is to drive down property prices by the road proposals. Betcha he's going to try for Brookfield.

Icimoi - I'm not sure that would have worked (Helen using a decoy dress trick), because in the actual scene, Rob picked the dress he wanted her to wear out of the wardrobe, so it wasn't just telling her to change the one she was already wearing.

Mimsy - you're right that the rate of posting has accelerated in the past few days, so the winning entry is looking more likely to be 5th November. Maybe it will calm down over the weekend and back to school next week?

Maybe I should contact BL to see if they will sponsor a prize for the comp?

I agree BYOS that it would ideally play out over a couple of years at least. I think they have done it well so far, starting with small things which individually could be explained away and from the outside don't look so bad, but when viewed as a whole... Because that's how many abusers work, with that sort of gas lighting

I just hope they don't overplay their hand with the Jess stuff

Congratulations giraffe!

perhaps sean is planning to get rid of the archers after all and move justin elliott in and start some sort of footballers wives style spin off by building a luxury gated community for felpersham FC's finest

BYOS, I was thinking something very similar. 'And now over to The Elliotts, an everyday story of townie folk...'

Or perhaps they will do an Emmerdale Farm and drop a word, so

Tonight on 'The', Justin finds Miranda in bed with his brothers dog

or

Tonight on 'The Arch' (name of new luxury housing estate) how will Charlie react to Felp FC's captains confession of love?

Farmers' Wives perhaps?

Ha! Suddenly there are dogs everywhere

I think he might criticise her for going on about the pheasants, accuse her of not understanding how to behave in smart company, reverting to type as an activist's daughter, surprised she didn't start banging on about (scoff) organic farming to Justin.

So was the HB a damp squib? (or squid)
It didn't have a major bust up, death by pheasant or suicide. Frilly didn't go on a silent rampage and Jess didn't go into labour.
Instead it was quite a bit disturbing on an emotional level, particularly Helen & Rob but also Charlie continuing to mess up Adam's well-being.
The fall out from it will go on for days!

I think she will have to get preggers soon. Then when it turns out J's baby is also Rob's she will be trapped and in a pick me and my baby dance. Thinking if he picks her baby she has won a prize (yuck)
DA usually escalates once dcs are involved to tie them to the abuser. He will threaten to take baby because she is flaky/annorexic/drunk driver/sahm/pick a reason she feels guilty about so she will stay and think herself lucky to have him.

The prospects aren't good for her. I never thought I would feel sorry for Helen Archer.

There was a moment when both Helen and Adam were left outside the library excluded from the manly coterie. They were repelled by it but also insulted that they were dismissed so off-handedly. The yeomanry being put in their place by the gentry.

If LH has a public entertainment licence then wouldn't cigar smoking on the premises be verboten?

Congratulation Giraffe - how lovely (I was pregnant when I watched my first and last episode of Greasybenders - Sonia giving birth on the settee. Soaps and pregnant emotions do not mix for sure!)

I am grumpy about the Adam and Charlie storyline. Adam knows Charlie is gay. The whole taking your sister and cannot keep it in your pants is lazy of the SWs. But Adam won't stray again unless he is leaving Ian. Perhaps it will be a mature coming out story-which could be ok (will reserve grumpiness for now)

Smoking in any substantially enclosed workplace is illegal, were they inside with cigars?

Congratulations Giraffe! DS was born just after Henry, DD was born just after Will and Nic's baby whose name I've forgotten as she is never mentioned.

The Knob storyline is horribly well done. They've done their homework.

Although I too find Route B deeply boring now, there has to be the odd significant external threat (not generated by characters' misdeeds or bad choices) and it has to affect the characters who are basically known to make good choices, like David and Ruth. It's always the external threats - or consequences of making good choices - that affect them. I'm trying to think if they ever bring it on themselves... She did the right thing re Sam the Mad Cow Man, didn't she, in the end? And D with old flame? He did kill a badger but that was to defend his herd, so we can't condemn it outright.

We've had TB, Foot and Mouth, cancer, baddies setting bulls loose... The threats to the children and the farm a couple of years ago happened because David identified thugs who beat up Adam. Whereas Elizabeth/Shula/Kenton's misfortunes are often brought about by bad choices... Dunno. Does this stand up? Do bad things happen to David and Ruth while the others make bad things happen?

Thanks all! My mc was just after Ruth's so I'd quite like it if Helen didn't get pregnant for a bit - I can't imagine hers will be a stress free pregnancy!

DadDad, the decoy dress scenario could work if Helen were bright enough. The point is that Knob was going to undermine her whatever she wore, and he basically picked out a dress that was as far as possible from what she had on. So if she started out with a sack there's a decent chance Knob would go for something really tarty - if she put the dress she wants to wear somewhere obvious he'd probably go for it.

On the other hand, she could wear what she wants in the first place and tell him to eff off if he doesn't like it.

The way she deferred to him "you choose" "you're better at this than me" was very well done. She is on the slippery slope to losing confidence in her own decisions and he framed it as looking after her "you always get cold"

Having persuaded myself that no Ambridge action will ever be character driven again I seem to have dissuaded myself from speculating on what might happen next.

We have the external threat, yes. But the reaction to it isn't going to be based on what characters would normally do - but on what can cause the most perturbation to the status quo.

We've had an internal threat - infidelity - but it's not being played for emotional fallout. It's being used as a way to get rid of characters and define who exactly counts as an Archer.

I don't what to write the words "I feel completely lost" but it's getting to that point. Not in the sense of not enjoying the drama; there have been some amazing episodes over the past few months. But it's beginning to seem pointless to try to guess ahead based on character. It's really rather taxing to have to think "what would cause the most distrurbance" and then remember that I have to factor in a perhaps random bias towards whatever was around in the 50s / 60s /70s and an appreciation of the drive to reduce the cast. It's exhausting....

So for the moment the Helen/ Rob story is just huggable. And I can't see why she won't walk into the village shop today to catch the tail end of a discussion on her unusual dowdiness last night.

I'm pleased with the hunt ball and lots of Rob and Helen on a low level but not any great "reveal" from Frilly/Jess etc. Keeps the sensational stuff away from every big event - let stuff bubble away and keep us interested SWs!

Icimoi - I'll definitely defer to your expertise on the dress thing. Occasionally, my DW will point out to me that what I'm wearing doesn't really "go", but I take it at face value, normally recognise that she may have a point, and put on something different. All these mind games are rather foreign to me.

They had their cigars in the library which I suppose is ok if LH is a private home but it isn't private if it's being hired for functions.

If another 'name' has been introduced to the cast is that the way the editor plans to go as a matter of policy, I wonder, though I have to say David Troughton has settled into the role of Tony very well.

That's an interesting theory, Lightroom. Brookfield does sort of represent the moral core of Ambridge. It would be an absolute travesty if Justin Elliot were to buy it - which is why David & Ruth will stay.

Loxley Hall OTOH is virtually Sodom & Gomorrah in comparison!