The Archers - What’s your poison? Alice is legless, the fish are lifeless and Pip is clueless (Discussion #85)

[DadDadDad]

Even if you don't have a leg(?), a life or a clue, Welcome to the first ever 85th Archers thread!

Wild speculation and sensible questions always welcome - especially any newcomers.

A little game for the weekend, inspired by Timetogetup0630 and Gruach on the last thread:

Invent an explanation for how your username was the inspiration for an Archers storyline, character, etc - be creative!

My username is telling the story of Toby, Adam and Ian, although it probably needs some punctuation: Dad! Dad/Dad?

dairyfarmerswife - bit too easy for you, but as professional country folk maybe you could judge the winner?

Credit to MrsGrindah for the clever thread title

No vitriol from me. Just presenting an opposing view of Emma. I can never hear any evidence of the ‘good points’ that other listeners argue she has.

My idea of an entertaining 15 minutes isn’t necessarily going to chime with everyone else’s and it’s interesting to me that we interpret the characters so differently.

For me, the Archers needs more Nic/Ian characters. One Emma is enough.

Well they're not people - they're fictional characters

I find Emma small minded and selfish. She only sees things from her own perspective and can be quite vicious when people disagree. But she is a good character. So whilst I wouldn't want to be her friend I like her on the show and she is well written

Cross ref pip- she is small minded and selfish and walks off as soon as someone disagrees with her. She is not a good character though and I don't believe her. She's a cardboard cutout

Gaspode often seems to have encyclopaedic knowledge for instance

If I'd applied myself to anything else as rigorously as I have to TA trivia, I could have been ruling the world by now. However, I wasn't listening in the late 70s so have no memory of the waste disposal incident.

Emma's a fantastic character. I suspect I wouldn't like her much but she's consistently well written. I particularly like the way as she gets older she is more and more like Susan.

I hope Nic survives. She's a bit saccharine but I like her.

Brian did say he knew about it at first because he said he was PAID by the dumpers to dump ! Why there is so much righteous indignation on JD's side I don't know!.

I know people like Pip I don't think she's cardboard at all.

AntiBoop I agree re Emma and Pip (except I kind of like Emma, maybe because I'm not nice).
And I keep saying I think I remember those barrels. I would guess mid 80s ish but could have been earlier. But it could be my mind playing tricks.

I know people like Pip I don't think she's cardboard at all.

I have no problem with the character of Pip. I don’t like the character but she’s credible. What I find frustrating is the ‘acting’. I haven’t seen any of the actress’s television work but she just doesn’t work as an Archers character for me.

Listening to the Justin/Neil exchange the other day made me happy. Both brilliant actors, I believed that they were standing together (wherever they were supposed to be). Likewise when Neil complimented Susan - yes, I could see her dressed up ready to go out. Listening to Pip, I can only ever see her in a brightly lit studio, standing next to the mic with half an eye on a script that she sometimes seems to be reading for the first time.

Perhaps I find pip unbelievable because of the dreadful acting.

Glad I don't know anyone like her!!!

I have my phone in my hand waiting for an email. Have been passing the time intermittently googling ‘Nic Grundy’ and ‘Becky Wright’ (who plays her).

Nothing. Nothing indicating any excitement. It’s so frustrating. But actually rather brilliant. A good portion of my head is in Ambridge today.

Just as well you found nothing, Gruach, you're on the main thread, not the spoilers thread!

Has Olivia left MN? Time was, we'd have been cowering in fear of posting anything spoiler-related on the main thread.

I knew it! I knew Brine was aware of everything.... I could feel it in my bones....

(plus it was an obvious plot line lumbering over the horizon.....)

My wish to see him in jail and JD a prisoners wife might still come true!

(Too early to toast with so will have to do...)

That sounds like a massive spoiler outside the Mailbox

OliviaMn is probably on her way to Birmingham right now - looking very !

The Pip actress seems to be improving a bit (that scene with Ruth in the car). Maybe she reads this thread!

I thought it was Ruth who carried that scene!

I don’t mind Daisy Badger’s acting. I think she’s better than the Alice actress and the Shula one.
She’s annoying as a character but that is how the character is written. Agree unbelievable that nobody ever bitches about her behind her back, she strikes me as the type that a LOT of people would find insufferable.

Yes Bekabeech I is so a double take when I read from you at 06:43 today
I have a memory of worrying about those barrels then you speculating about whether the SW had found the archives, then two hours later......does anyone on here have a long enough memory to remember the waste disposal when it happened?

This thread moves so quickly and posts tend to be so dense that you can sometimes feel like you are just shouting into the wind...

Jessie - it's okay, but I don't think the colour of the barrels has been mentioned but in my mind they are blue (plastic ones).

Tweet from ‘Peggy Woolley’:

Update from Felpersham General: Will has lodged formal complaints against 3 nurses, moaned at 2 doctors, told everyone on the ward that he's really quite wealthy and sent Ed a text saying Emma is the village bike. Nic? Oh he forgot to ask. #thearchers

Well, I've checked out the spoilers thread and it's a total misnomer: no information about developments in key storylines at all. I thought it would be stuffed full of inside-track intel but no: it's just bits from the website such as "Shula is disappointed". Well, that's hardly a plot development for that martyred bore, is it?

But talking of Shula: I missed the episode with Mr & Mrs but have been entertaining myself with thoughts of Alistair turning to his wife, aghast, and asking, "Shula! when did you develop a taste for Game of Thrones, Call of Duty and erotic asphyxiation?" Also found the 'frozen steak' scene very funny, Alistair squeaking, "But it's a Tuesday!" Is Shula defrosting the steak a code similar to Susan's chilli?

Poor old Alistair and Shula. Even their efforts to revive the spark are chilly - the Norwegian ice hotel, the frozen steak.

Poor old Alistair and Shula. Even their efforts to revive the spark are chilly - the Norwegian ice hotel, the frozen steak.

Utterly excellent observation!

I think Peggy was trying to get into Christine’s account, not the other way round - I’m sure the password she read out to Brine started with CB..

’m sure the password she read out to Brine started with CB.. CA I think. I heard it as Cat... Then Peggy asked Brian if he'd remembered to use a 4 instead of an A and he started again C4 then some random assortment of letters quite different from the first attempt and she deemed him to be drunk in charge of a computer.

Was the account thing just a plot device to give Peggy and Brine a chat or actually a thing?

I thought Peggy's password was "Captain"?