Thread 99 (yes, 99!): Join us for spirited discussions of The Archers and its Top Blokes, whether you're Team Elizabeth (low spirits), Team Kate (Spiritual Home) or Team Toby (spirits =gin)

[Bittermints]

Thanks due to @PseudoBadger for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads and to @DadDadDad for being our resident statistician and keeping the ball rolling when Pseudo stepped back a bit. Thanks also to all those who contributed to the thread title.

All views on The Archers welcome here! New blood welcomed. We don't all agree on all points and most of us are posting tongue in cheek a lot of the time, so don't worry about revealing that you'd like to be Susan's best friend or other odd unusual views.

Spoilers: not on this thread, please. We don't wait for the omnibus to discuss the weeknight episodes, but we do try our best to avoid cross-contamination from www.mumsnet.com/Talk/radio_addicts/3439443-keep-it-to-yourself-the-archers-spoilers-thread-4, where spoilers are positively welcomed!

So, to business. What a fantastic two-hander. Massive BOOP points to Alison Dowling, the scriptwriter and director (and the therapist). I had more than a small tear in my eye listening to that.

I'm another one with a vote of thanks to chemenger for all that information on the last thread about distilling. I should know some of that because I went on a tour of the whisky distillery near where my parents live but I've forgotten most of it except how delicious the end product is.

Was Will's name on the card? I'm thinking not and it was intended for Mia.

I hope that Lee's ex dumped him over something minor.

However, the 100,000th post is a bit further off (it will be on thread 103) - in May, I reckon.

Oh I'd forgotten about the threads not all being full.

The card will be from Mia to Will I bet.

God Lee is gauche. (Or is that a painting medium?)

Lee is gauche. (Or is that a painting medium?) - are you thinking of ganache (or is that an ingredient in fancy chocolates?)

Loving your certainty DadDadDad - I know: foolish of me to be so confident that Brexit will actually happen at end of March.

Poor you, thislido! But I do like a nice lido too* so you've made a good choice.

*as long as it's heated and the ambient temperature is 30°C or above

Not ganache, gouache.

the Hindu elephant god?

Ganesh?

Hello, long term lurker here. Hope you don’t mind me butting in. Isn’t the point of Lee that he’s the antithesis of Knob the smoothie and his violence smothered in charm/custard? It gives Helen back her confidence and a ‘nice’ break-up that shows she’s matured when they realise just how different they are. Has she ever had a serious relationship that hasn’t ended in blood being spilt (had a long break between subconscious childhood listening and a few years ago so not sure)?

The card will be from Mia to Will I bet.

I fear you're right. Poor kid.

I use the podcasts - they include a précis of the episode which is handy if you really don't have time to listen or want a reminder of something. Downside is the lack of the continuity announcer gems - please do share the good 'uns!

Lee thought he’d been a bit of a bad ‘un by neglecting to spend time with his family - how’s he going to react when he hears about Rob? That surely is where we’re heading isn’t it? Helen sounds close to confiding in him.

Then when he starts to learn about the stabbing and the trial, will he stay or run a mile?

Maybe Lee knows, and in his ham-fisted way is trying to get her to feel less scared to open up?

Hmm, maybe. It felt more to me that Lee was being shown to us to be blithely unaware of Helen’s past (even if, as others have said before it seems far-fetched that he hasn’t heard the story).

Lol @DadDadDad !

That was for the Br€!£t comment not the more recent on.

Hello Tuesday, and welcome! Yes, Lee is very different from Rob, thank goodness.

Has Helen ever had a long-term relationship that hasn't ended in blood being spilt? That's stopped me in my tracks because I think the answer is no. Greg killed himself, that vile Australian man raped Greg's daughter and left her pregnant and then there was Rob. If I were Lee, I'd run a mile on learning about Helen's past, I'm afraid.

Even that brief episode when she was drinking heavily and knocked Mike Tucker off in the car, forcing Tom to take the blame because he hadn't been drinking - wasn't the time when she also started stalking a journalist?

Over, not off!

Wow! I only got influenced the Archers with the Rob storyline... I had no idea about those Skeletons in her closet!

I think Lee's confessional was to show us that she's going to get close to telling him several times and not quite, and then he'll hear it from somewhere else probably Susan and be upset she didn't tell him.

Mike Tucker being knocked off in the car carries somewhat different connotations 😂

Again with my compare&contrast, Lizzie talked about her dating history: she was a mess so kept choosing unsuitable men but then saw the light and ended up with the ultimate Mr NiceButDim. Is Helen going down the same path?
(Can't believe that I've typed that. Lee is not worthy of comparison to Nigel)

The barman who got Annette pregnant was a slime ball but I don’t think he raped Annette.

It sounded to me as if the card had come from Tracy who was otherwise shoe-horned in with that nonsense in the tearoom for no apparent reason having been silent for months.
Likewise, a big deal is being made of Lee's innocence, honesty and ignorance over Helen's past - I can't believe it will result in an "Oh well, never mind, moving swiftly on..."
Big BOOP for Emma and Will though - it almost made up for the excruciating scene between David and Ruth.

Lee is not worthy of comparison to Nigel it's not just that, it's more that we know next to nothing about him - only what he himself has told us. It comes back to what I was saying the best characters, in plot terms, having a real hinterland.

I think the Tracy scene was to provide a plausible suspect for the card, I'm guessing Will will confront her at some point about the inappropriateness of it, within Mia's earshot. (Unless the poor kid heard Wills reaction last night.)

Lillian... I think the rest of us were maintaining dignified silence around scenes at Brookfield yesterday. (I suppose that lot have a hinterland, but mainly they just have land)

Nigel wasn't 'nice but dim' - he was lovely, and 'dim' is the wrong word entirely.