Tis the season to be jolly, Fallon, Alan, Helen, Lillian; Deck the Hall with boughs of Holly, Lily, Will and Jill, Tilly Button. Celebrate Christmas with The Archers!

[PseudoBadger]

Thanks to SmallLegsOrSmallEggs for this thread title way back in November!

BYOS I was just thinking along the same lines. Don't the actors ever read they scripts and say My character would never say that or do they say I need a good pay rise as I've just lost my integrity
either way its a pile of manure

That episode was horrible. I really thought he was about to hit her

Agree with whoever said about the Limoncello dessert! Why on earth would you make that for your pregnant wife... unless... either a) she eats it, in which case you start putting it about that she's ingesting alcohol or b) she doesn't eat it, in which case you throw a massive paddy in order to reassert your control. The whole meal was a total set up.

When is Hellin going to get on Mumsnet and be signposted to Women's Aid?

I think the incident with Shula/horse was meant to show us Rob's controlling nature (cos we didn't already know ) - doesn't matter if they're human or equine, Rob will have them cowering and obedient.

As I said earlier- I think SoC and Stephen Moffat are the same person

Adam, Ruairi and Ian all have Irish relatives -'bout time one of them finds their way to Ambridge.

Probably right Bertrand

Both also incredibly smug about how clever they are when actually, they're not really

am still that the nation (well, a bit of it) is listening to a woman being abused purely for entertainment

To be fair, that could apply to an awful lot of films, plays and TV shows. After all, every detective series relies on people being attacked and killed purely for entertainment. As for the likes of Othello, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet ...

What doe Stephen Moffat write?

Pretty convinced Knob orchestrated the whole absurd Shula incident. He needs to keep her sweet given what she saw of his assault of the hunt saboteur. Working hard (and, depressingly, effectively) to portray himself as selfless hero, only to keen to help those in need blah blah. Seriously - we need a denouement fast. And physical violence is surely next.

Yes please to Andrew Scott! I can hear him now as Rhuari's long lost uncle. Did you hear the afternoon play he was in a while ago?

Olivia Sherlock and Dr Who!
Hence the references to the superb Andrew Scott who plays the insane villain Moriarty !

redshoeblueshoe Hell talked about 'savings' quite recently, so one would assume that they have some as well as Peggy's gift.

Yes Gruntledone There would hardly be any 'entertainment' without some form of abuse or another, being done to someone.

Sherlock, in which Benedict Cumberbatch kindly mansplained feminism to a room full of Victorian feminists (it means killing men, obvs), and Dr Who, in which the Bechdel Scores must surely be in the negative since Russell T. Davies left...

It was quite painful watching

To be fair, that was Sherlock in fantasy mode: as he pointed out to himself via the fantasy Moriarty, the reality is that master criminals don't go round in fancy dress.

To be fair, that could apply to an awful lot of films, plays and TV shows

yy, I get this, I do

but these days there's usually a helpline number or somesuch afterwards- and I haven't heard one after ta (mind you, that's because I rarely listen to the end now)

they could use this storyline as a means to reach and help people- go beyond the teatime penny dreadful

Gruntled I know, but I think they were having their cake and eating it too, in that episode - yes, it was all meta and clever and indicative of Sherlock's megalomania and all that, but there was still, as a sort of extra, a traditional Victorian-Christmas-Detective story for us. I get that it was so silly we were supposed to realise retrospectively that this was a sign it was all a dream, but .... Stephen Moffat is still an arse.

I do agree (even though I'm guilty of it too) that there's something a bit not quite right about this SL and the tweeters, in particular, hoping that tonight will be the night Helen gets a smack or a miscarriage. And they are clearly playing on that and drawing it out, because they know everyone's hanging on for it. As I say - including me

....imagine if RUSSELL T DAVIES got hold of TA

[need a wistful emoticon]

It's typical Sherlock writing though - thinking they are cleverer than they are

But I think the reason we are all hanging out for it is that we hope that will force some sort of resolution. Make the wretched woman come to her senses. We want his comeuppance. I don't think we are just being 'entertained' by listening to this abuse.

But quite agree it is high time they started putting some help line trails on after the dum de dum music.

The one about the prosthetic eye maker Pseudo? He has the most twistiest, most enticing voice.

(And I have tickets for "The Dazzle"!)

(Just twistiest without the most ...)

Christ Hellin is obtuse ...

why on earth doesn't she just say sorry?

poor Helen