The Archers: The Crook, the Vet, His Wife & Her Lodger - discussion #80

[DadDadDad]

In full acknowledgement of PseudoBadger's great achievement in providing the previous 79 threads over the past 4 years (and credit to R4 for this thread's title)...

Discuss TA (The Archers). New posters encouraged - it's not (too) cliquey here and plenty of regulars are happy to answer questions.

One rule: no spoilers (ie no mentioning future plot teasers from Radio Times listings etc) - there's a separate thread for that.

So, is Phoebe pregnant? will Anisha dob in (dobbin - geddit?) Alistair?

PS I don't presume to take on PB's role permanently - hopefully the job of starting new threads will rotate among regulars until she returns

Emma is Susan at her worst and I struggle to find any redeeming features. Neil balances Susan in a way that Ed doesn't seem to be able to. All that whinging will take its toll eventually I should imagine. Emma's been angry and hard done by for years. Nothing's ever good enough and I wish she'd give it a rest!

Agree vango - ed needs some lessons from Neil!!

I am amazed that there are people who have no sympathy for Emma. She works so hard and never gets a lucky break. Chris and Will both got houses for free-she has to live with her in laws. I would have thought on Mumsnet that would give her positively saintly status!

And I don't see any similarity between Emma and Susan over this. Hearing her mum in the no riff raff camp must be really difficult.

Just posting to say hi, I'm a relatively new listener and still getting my head round a few of the character relationships. Hope you don't mind me joining in?

Everyone is welcome, and if you get stuck do ask questions (and we can tell you how George's Uncle is his Dad or is it Step Dad?).

Beaver - as the accidental host of this thread, let me welcome you. Can I get you a tea or coffee, glass of cider?

You'll find a number of people here who seem able to recall details of storylines from twenty years ago*, and always willing to answer questions.

*not me, my knowledge is very shallow, but I enjoy the banter here.

We even have our own MN smiley: [ archers ]

Haven't listened to Emma/Chris row, but I loved Emma besting Jennifer at the public meeting. Especially the 'marrying money' comment! I agree Emma often sounds envious and bitter, but that is what persistent hardship (compared to the windfall and good fortune of Will and Chris - I'm sorry, but a free house/lifechanging legacy is a massive leg-up compared to free childcare - which no-one seems to pay in Ambridge anyway! - and lower-than-market-rate rent) will often do to a person.

Both she and Ed work hard and try their best, and a home of their own with some security for their kids is not an unreasonable ambition. I really hope they get a break - maybe Lillian will hold a gun to Justin's head or something.

I agree, I have really warmed to Emma recently. The thought of her searching the internet and fixating on some self help "visualise the future you want" guru, pulled at my heartstrings.

Emma has ambition and Clarrie is a fantastic cook. I would love a storyline where Emma sets something up with Clarrie's support, such as selling cakes to Fallon for the tearoom.

Or if Fallon could offer Emma a partnership in her tearoom/ parties business. I bet Fallon would be stuck without her.

I love Emma. I think she's really developed as a character and she was right to stand up to Jennifer.

Don't get the Oliver being broke SL at all unless it's just to heap more misery on the Grundys

I listened to the argument again this morning. Chris said to Clarrie, at the outset, that it probably wasn't a good time to spread his news. Several times during the course of the visit he tried to get up and leave. Emma attacking him was totally one-sided - all he did at the end, in the force of her vile provocation, was remind her that she ought to be worrying about her immediate future.

Would Emma ever have said no to a free house or massive leg-up of any kind? I doubt it. Would she have expected everyone to resent her for it ever-after? I doubt that too. I've hated her character since the early days of her Ed/Will relationship. In my opinion she's become even worse over the years. She doesn't care about anyone else's misfortune, only her own. If she can't have exactly what she wants, exactly when she wants it, it's always someone else's fault.

In all seriousness I'd be grateful for an example of Emma having a good heart. To me, she's exactly the type of person who gets a thrill when she hears about another's misfortune. She's desperate to feel superior in some way. She should let that go and focus on the fact that she has a loyal and loving husband, two healthy children, supportive parents and in-laws and now the possibility of owning a home. The fact that she can never stop comparing herself to everyone else really gets on my nerves.

The only character with "principles and a good heart" who has never had "a lucky break" is Clarrie. But she isn't eaten alive with resentment of others and is a lovely person as a result. I'd like a bit of good luck to come her way for once.

Good point Officer. I see no signs of Emma wishing to feel superior (unlike Will, who seems to think that his enormous good luck in getting a fat inheritance makes him clever and deserving) nor can I recall any instances of schadenfreude (unlike her awful mother - I will never understand why no-one tells Susan her habits are malicious, ugly and she should shut the fuck up). I do see someone trying very hard to attain a bit of what other people have (secure home for their families - terrible thing to want!) and seeing it always out of reach. The nicest people get envious and can be soured by persistently missing out on their goals. Of course we all SHOULD count our blessings, but it wouldn't make for much of a character arc if everyone just sat around being content. Jenny's new kitchen, Lillian's new bathroom (and possible husband), Brian's new land - can we forget how happy we all were for these highly likeable and deserving souls to get their hearts' desires??! I'd be extremely happy if the storywriters could bestow the wherewithal for a mortgage on a house in the new development for Emma and Ed.

Who was the only person in the whole bloody village to stand up to Rob?

Kirsty.

Kirsten certainly supported Helen.

Do you not remember Emma being attacked by Rob in the pub?

My reply was to Bertrand who asked "who was the only person?*. That would have been Kirsty. Who knows what woul have happened to Helen if she hadnt come back? Certainly Emma would no longer have been considered a close friend at that time.

I do remember Emma's encounter in the pub. Long after the stabbing.

I also like how she stood up to Ed when he was being controlling and awful about her getting another job