The Archers - It's not about the money, money, money, think about Jill's honey, honey, honey, Justin wants to farm by satnav, forget about the prize tag.

[PseudoBadger]

Will The Dopeys have buggered off by the end of this thread?
Will Tom finally reach home, after weeks of trekking through the tundra?

Of course, the Troughtons are an acting dynasty. Patrick played The Doctor in Doctor Who - David is his son, and one of his other sons, Michael, is also an actor. Patrick's acting grandsons include Sam and Will (David's sons) and Henry Melling (who played Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter films).

At least, that's what Wikipedia tells me.

And yet it is apparently an elite from private schools and Oxbridge that dominate the acting world....

Anyway, so far I hae been unimpressed by new Tom, new pip and new josh because they're not very good radio actors. I'm sure they will learn but why bother when the old actors were doing a good job?

Pc plot is terrible but Charlie and johnny are ok. Johnny is the most natural and obviously gets radio acting

BYOS totally agree.

I have a game I play on the laptop when the tv is on. I Google people who appear, and see how many either:
a) went to a famous public school, or,
b) if they appear on Wikipedia, one of their parents is also in Wikipedia, or
c) went to Oxbridge
You would be amazed at how many people this applies to - even random people who appear on BBC Breakfast as a news item (being interviewed by Old Etonian Bill Turnbull)

Tom's reappearance just confirms that it's not what you know, but who you know. (Do we know if SoC already knew new Tom?) I wonder if there was an audition?

The blog mimsy linked to suggested 'he was the best they heard'. Is that at the Xmas party held at bbc hq for famous offspring?

B leads to a in your list in a lot of cases so I don't think the fact they went to public school is so relevant!

Yes, they had an audition for a new actor to play David Troughton's fictional son, according to that blog, but William Troughton (his own son!) was the best they heard. What are the odds on that happening?

I wonder how many actors are attracted to being a main part in TA? The work is irregular - how does it work if you're doing a theatre run or something and they need you for recording for 2 days next week?

If the audition involved reading a scene together, then it might really be that it was the best.

In the real world there is no way a relative would be in on the interview process. They would have got him to read with Helen or pat if they needed him to. Talk about an unfair advantage otherwise!!

I don't get why it's considered cute to have relatives playing parts together on tv. I wouldn't find it cute if my dentist had his son as his dental assistant or my bank managers son was suddenly my new account manager.

But I'm quite cynical about the acting class who seem the epitome of 'do as I say not as I do' second only (or perhaps joint with) politicians

I don't think many actors are in a position to pick and choose their work. There are far more actors than parts. I've worked occasionally with temps in admin jobs who spend 90%+ of their lives doing similar humdrum temping jobs, but they self-identify as 'actors' or 'performers' because that is the interesting, glamorous bit of their lives - their vocation. On TA lots of the main actors have juggled their TA work with ordinary jobs - Robert Snell is a GP, Susan is a research psychologist, Roy has run a pub or a hotel or something like that. I always rather liked that.

"B leads to a in your list in a lot of cases so I don't think the fact they went to public school is so relevant!"
Strangely, there have been several category a who are not category b - including a head teacher and a vicar who both just happened to have been to Eton .

I just wish that I could register my protest somewhere, and get the editor replaced...

You can point to point hire cars. The hire company get them at nearest brach. Probably B'ham. But under the circs that is probably not his main concern.
Although a text or call.

Is this because a) they forgot about Tom until they read this thread and had to come up with a plausible excuse for why he was not there b) they thought his delay would add extra tendion and mystery but forgot to think it through?
Either way -fail.

i wonder if they sacked old Tom because at the point they asked him to record this he said it was a pile of out of character twaddle that did not make sense

Sorry *although you would think a text or call would be (rather than turning up unannounced)

Well obviously he's been hidden in a safe house perfecting his legend ever since he landed from the sub.

Log cabin is a euphemism because it fits the Canadian cover story dreamed up at short notice by his handler, Rob, when old Tom got engaged and his fiancé began to suspect he was not really Tom Archer, the man she had first met as an eco-warrior.

Moscow Centre has now sent in a new Tom whose task is, first, to eliminate Rob who has proved himself too distracted by his personal affairs to advance higher in the management structure of BL where he was supposed to be a well-placed mole watching renegade Justin Elliott.

New Tom's main task, however, is to bring about the integration of all farms in the Ambridge area in order to secure permanent unrestricted access to the sink hole wherein lies..........

Tom not telling anyone he was on tbe way back-bollocks. Tom not going straight to hospital- double bollocks. Tom seeing his sister for the first time in months after a dramatic departure, their father is critically ill and they are a family that has had its share of tragedy-to sound a bit sort of "Hi Sis" chuckly and express surprise that Johnny was "taking it hard"- he and Helen would surely have broken down sobbing the moment he arrived. As someone who has had to travel across the world due to sudden critical illness of a parent,total utter ridiculous and badly written plot. New Tom's voice is bland, undistinguishable,from Charlie etc, and his acting is crap. PoorTom Grajam, what a nepotostic kick in the teeth.

JessieMcJessie, I totally agree. What a crap episode. Utter rubbish.

Wherein lies ....

?????????????????????????

Another Troughton?

Seriously?

But point to point car hire tends to be expensive

Anyway, I think we are all agreed that the Tom part if this story is outrageously implausible!

It's come to something when unitarian's version is much more amusing and plausible than what's going out on Radio 4.

The BBC announced it online yesterday, more or less as the episode was going out, Araminta. Tom Graham let the cat out of the bag weeks ago but didn't mention the Troughton element, possibly because he didn't know (although I doubt that - his erstwhile castmates would surely have known by then).

I suppose nepotism isn't the right word given that David Troughton is not making casting decisions, but it does all look very fishy. Could they really not see that it does look very much as if DT said to SO'C 'Well, cards on the table, Sean. I'm a successful actor with no shortage of work but I've got two sons just starting out in the business. I'll take the part if you can throw in one for one of my boys - I'm not fussy which....'

Sorry but Tom's introductory comment "Hi it's me" just didn't work when being made by a totally unrecognisable voice. I couldn't help thinking how much better and more dramatic that scene would have been if played by the original Tom. Bad enough that it's an implausible plot, but I think the real Tom would have had a much better chance of carrying it off. Really don't understand why they sacked Tom - he was a great actor with a distinctive voice.

I must admit I wanted to like NewTom, a search through old threads will reveal that we found old Tom very irritating! But that was his character, not his voice!!! Radio drama relies on a distinguishable and instantly recognisable voice...this one sounded like Charlie/Todd/The Waiter, no accent or country lilt, no character or distinguishing trait, but let's give the boy a chance, they have to act through their voice, so let's see if he can give it some welt....it all seems tone change for change sake and frankly the 'nepotism' does stink. He seems to be obliterating the charm and individuality and I think it is about time he faced his critics and tried to explain his 'rationale' for character changes and strange plots!

Welt???
Welly........*

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