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.

If this was eastenders kirsty would have hired natasha to stand Tom up at the altar

Can I BOOP a comment?! 😂😂😂😂

No, Lee's posters are definitely blu tacked to the wall.

ooh I quite like a boop.
Tom is consistently unpleasant to johnny so I hope Johnny doesn't agree to be best man if asked.

Don't forget Lee was married and has children- he's not that wet behind the ears. And the posters are definitely framed- he wears white shoes, as if his flat isn't all single man minimalist and smart.
Johnny isn't just Tom's nephew, he's his housemate-the obvious second best man I would have thought..
Is it just me who gets a very Meghan Merkel vibe off Natasha? Foreign interloper, successful in connected field (being famous) and lots of distrust due to her success and the way the wayward bachelor has fallen so hard?

I’m of the blu tacked school of thought. I thought the white trainers were to sinal hopeless townie rather than hipster. I imagine his flat to be sparse rather than minimalist, and furnished from Argos.

Well ... they got there in the end.

Nother hasty rewrite

And in his marriage with children he admitted he was useless. I wonder what story his ex wife would tell.

Well, Tom really is a thoughtless clod, isn't he? Getting married without having sorted out his living arrangements. Disaster looms.

Tony's worries aren't out of place, and he'll have conniption fit when he finds out about the happy couple's house share.

I'm with the framed posters crowd. Helen was very complimentary about the furnishing of his flat, so I hardly think it's chipped paintwork and mismatching furniture. He quoted Bruce Lee's poetry, so he's devoted to the guy, and would meticulously frame his prized posters.

If this was eastenders kirsty would have hired natasha to stand Tom up at the altar. If we get to the next thread before Thursday we could weave that into the title. It deserves to be remembered for at least a little while.

As to advice being doled out recently, don't forget Joe's to Brian. As to his change to a more philosophical outlook on life, he is coming to terms with the fact that his life is nearing the end, plus the fact that of course he didn't expect to outlive Nic.

Hannah almost came out with the three little words in her heart to heart with Johnny about Tom, didn't she?

You don't think it's possible do you? I mean being stood up at the altar not kirsty planning it!. I just get a really weird feeling about this wedding.

We all know those 3 little words are 'what a knobber'.

There might be some potential for ‘Gallic shrug’ in the title too.

Can anyone who has an opinion about our request for a 100,000 posts celebratory emoticon pop over here and make their case: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/radio_addicts/3510091-ONE-HUNDRED-NOT-OUT-come-here-to-mark-The-Archers-threads-a-MN-phenomenon

Well this is ridiculous. The notion that one attractive, successful woman would have fallen for Tom is unbelievable but now there are two fighting for the useless, jumped up little man. Hannah has seen how pathetic he is over Natasha - from his tattoo that he can't pronounce to all the giggling schoolgirl antics and jumping whenever Natasha says to (the app, the field, the trees.) His behaviour has not been remotely attractive. In the real world, it would only have turned Hannah off Tom and she would be seeing the shotgun marriage as both a joke and a lucky escape for her.

I am afraid it's perfectly possible to fall for someone, even if you know he's a knobber. Especially if he's good at hiding the sausage

Can’t I report your post for deletion on the grounds that it conjures up images of Tom’s penis?

Did anyone else think that Hannah might be pregnant with her feeling sick and being very tired references? I know she said she’d had a heavy night with a new squeeze, but adding a baby into the house share would be entertaining ......
On the other hand, probably not due another unplanned pregnancy story line for a while.
I do love Jonny, what a wise, kind hearted and thoughtful character, so unlike his uncle and aunt. I want great things and happiness for him. And all of Bridge Farm to come his way.

@thislido, you could try, I suppose. But it's your image...

This should help:-

Can MNHQ delete mental images? I hope so. Still, at least it didn’t happen over breakfast. Bad luck, morning readers.

That episode was a bit meuh

"I do love Jonny, what a wise, kind hearted and thoughtful character, so unlike his uncle and aunt " (or his father, as I remember, John was another selfish, thoughtless, quite nasty piece of work). "I want great things and happiness for him. And all of Bridge Farm to come his way." I really do wish for the last bit in particular, UsingMyIndoorVoice!

I'm fond of Johnny too but his humbleness and self-deprecation are starting to grate.

When pompous Tom asked him to be best man "blimey I'm really made up that you've asked me. Do you really think I'm up to it? " I wanted to point out that Uncle Tom was only asking his nephew because he had no actual friends to ask.

I've not listened to last night's epi yet, Ethel, but are you suggesting that Johnny should be re-christened the Uriah Heep of Ambridge?

I know what you mean Ethel, but he is still quite young, only 20ish so I’m hoping he grows out of that lack of self belief.
I like the way the SWs use him to show his kind nature, without making him ‘sappy’ a perfect foil to the self centredness going on around him.