Out, damned SOC! Out I say! When will Ambridge be free? Discuss The Archers here

[PseudoBadger]

A once-great soap is going down the Beverley drain.

I listened and enjoyed it as pantomime, which as a long term listener felt bizarre. OTOH TA has often been annoyingly ridiculous (Lent, Christmas shows, the Grundies get-rich-quick schemes), so perhaps I have found a suitable post-modernist stance to enjoy it from, now that it has stopped being the Rob-Hel show.

All of it is way OTT.

Ok. So what has Toby done wrong? (Apart from being secretly married in Brighton. Which I suspect is the reason he can't afford to become entangled elsewhere.) Both he and Pip are apparently single. I know he suggested to his bro that being heiress to a thriving farm made her all the more interesting - but they do seem to actually like each other. And he's equally happy to exploit a business relationship with Josh. And she's really not interested in Rex.

Surely you can't all have forgotten your early twenties?

He encouraged Josh to do the dirty on Neil. He "went up Lakey Hill" with a girl he knows his brother fancies.

He has just generally been a tit and a flake about the egg business.

And he is old enough to know better. I hate man-children.

...maybe there will be some "Rita and Sue and Bob too"-style discussion about rubber johnnies!

Yes - he was very wrong over the hens, but that has nothing to do with Pip.

She isn't interested in Rex! Toby has been throwing them together for months to no avail.

I can't help it. He has such a restless brain - I know I'd like him in RL. And he's such a contrast to utterly lovely but slow-witted Ed.

What Bertrand said. I know Pip is not interested in Rex but Toby knows his brother really likes her - and then he asks REX for money to buy condoms to have sex with Pip. I'm sorry but that is a shitty thing to do. He is very welcome to ask Rex if he can be friends with benefits with Pip etc but he didn't and of course never will.

And before anyone thinks I'm saying Rex gets to say who Pip gets with, OF COURSE I AM NOT. But if you don't get why Toby's behaviour is appalling on that issue (along with everything else), then frankly you are a strange individual.

So is pip going to get pregnant due to Toby getting an out of date condom from the cobwebby machine at the bull?

When Rex says 'you knew I liked her' he will respond with 'you had plenty of time - it's not my fault you didn't take your chance'. I personally think that shows a lack of brotherly solidarity as tobes has not been unlucky with conquests of his own

Accepting that he is a long term bullying arse and they all go along with it takes a suspension of disbelief.

I really don't think it does. You only have to have a quick read of the Relationships board to realise that the world is full of controlling men who make their partners' lives utter hell, and the partners are effectively paralysed into staying where they are.

I also don't think Ursula can conceivably say she's not coming back, because Bruce will certainly have complete control of the purse strings.

But Toby actually did tell Pip that he's not renowned for his faithfulness. He's grown on me a bit Obviously GIB

Spot on, Judy. In the interests of balance, I suppose I should add that there appear to be plenty of controlling women too, but possibly not as many with the financial control, given what often happen to women's career prospects when children come along.

Re Toby - I'm with Bert and glowfrog on this, especially the bit about his scrotum. Thinking back to my 20s (i.e. well over half my lifetime ago ), I might well have enjoyed a drink with him as part of a large group, but I can't imagine wanting any closer contact. He is a user.

True Gaspode about both sexes being into CC. IMO it's down to how controlling our own caregivers were. You only have to read some of the threads on here to realise that soo many parents think that if you don't 'force' your children to e.g. eat, then you're not bringing them up correctly.

Just imagine all the Brookfield Archers disappear down the sink-hole except Pip and she inherits the farm and marries Toby. Could you see Toby getting up at dawn to milk cows or attend lambing in the middle of the night?

He's a gold digger. Will sponge off Pip for all sorts of escapades. IMO

he says bro and homie! Do you really need anything else?

And he's 27, ffs, not 19!

Did I say that I hate man children?

You might just have mentioned it, Bert! In the interests of balance again (must remember to pick those splinters out of my rear at some point ), I am no fonder of the female version than the male.

Told ya!

What a boring episode...zzzzZZZZ

Oh, I quite liked it. I'm always amused when the SW takes the agricultural briefing the Ag Ed provides and just turns it into dialogue by giving two characters alternate sentences.

Also, good for Josh. About time somebody told Toby some home truths.

Loved that.

All rather stilted (because only Rob and Helen have had any chance to actually act recently) but lovely to focus on farming and family again.

I quite liked it too. I liked the Josh,Rex, Toby dynamic, Josh is shaping up and it's good to hear Storyline for the younger end.

I liked the way Jenny knew what she was talking about but B and A were surprised.

I thought it was rather good. I enjoyed JD totally taking the wind out of Brine's sails about his new toy, and I enjoyed the way Adam saw straight through Josh's sudden lack of interest in university. And did anyone else start wondering whether the SW shared our view about Pip's acting ability when Josh said she was no Emma Watson?