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.

De lurking here, I also wonder if Hannah is pregnant.

Seam to have posted on wrong thread.
Here are my thoughts
With my devious mind I wondering if the whole wedding is a plot between Kirsty and Natasha for revenge. She will jolt him and Kirsty will fly away on her broomstick cackling( I hope). Kirsty and Natasha then hook up for the first lesbian partnership on the Archers.

How many months ago were Hannah and Tom friends with benefits? Actually scrap that, let’s pretend she is pregnant, I’d bet good money that Natasha might think Tom could be the father, because of their recent history.
Now that would be interesting. Especially all living in the same house.

the first lesbian partnership on the Archers

Wasn't that Anna Tregorran and Max?

Hello lovely Archers fans.

I dip in and out so can you please tell me why Helen is avoiding Lee (I know they went on a slightly odd walk in the woods and there my knowledge ends).thank you!

Hello Fazackerly (do you live there?). Helen eventually went on a smoochy date at Lee's, nice dinner at his place, moving in for the clinch on the sofa. Then she came over all PSTD at the sound of a particular track (can't recall it being related to the horror with Rob, but maybe it was) and fled the scene, leaving Lee aghast. Now, in classic Helen, is attempting to avoid him rather than say, look, I should explain and this is why I don't think I'm anywhere near ready for a relationship, despite your niceness and fitness and excellent framed Bruce Lee vintage poster art.

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

He stood up to Tom calmly but quite assertively about not buying the 10 acres.

'OK, Lee, since the SWs decided a month of avoiding you was as much as the listeners could stand I owe you an explanation.

[sfx of several deep breaths]

'You know you said your first marriage hadn't been great and with hindsight you'd gone to the gym a bit too often? Well, I've .... I've made a few mistakes of judgement too. The first man I was ever seriously involved with was a lot older than me and still on the rebound from a seriously nasty divorce. He had a terrible relationship with his two daughters who weren't that much younger than me. He became depressed and eventually .... he took his own life.'

'Oh Helen, I'm so sorry ..'

'Wait, Lee, there's more. A lot more ...'

[Several hours later, sfx of Lee running for the hills]

excellent framed Bruce Lee vintage poster art.

Good to see another poster rejecting the blu-tack poster heresy hypothesis.

Another team framed poster, nailing my colours to the wall. Actually, he uses that weird but cool 3M velcro sticky stuff because he's in rented and doesn't want to damage the walls but is too classy for blutack.

[Several hours later, sfx of Lee running for the hills]

Well, his white trainers were trashed anyway.

I'm another who is not keen on ever-so 'umble Johhny; he lays it on a bit thick. There was a point yesterday when he was asking "Grandad, do you think I can do this?" as if he was a 6 year old. I was waiting for Tony to pat him on the head and produce a Werthers Original.
Johhny's been at Bridge Farm for over 4 years now. The character needs to move on from the gaucheness.

I think Tony is going get unstuck over Jonny, who he clearly has more affinity for than Helen and Tom.

Lovely. Thank you!

re: Werther's Original!

I don't know though, it's nice to have a young thoroughly decent bloke in the cast for once. And it is I imagine a lot of responsibility having your own herd just out of college; especially a herd on which the future of Borchester Blue depends!

Cromercrab, before I changed my name, I posted this the other day about the song that set Helen off the other night:
"I see from elsewhere that the song playing was a cover of the Bob Marley song "Is This Love?", by Corinne Bailey Rae, which it is said was playing when Rob raped Helen and also, apparently, when Helen stabbed Rob. Interesting that the Continuity/Archives department swung into action for this but that other things are conveniently forgotten!"
That all led me down a rabbit hole where I listened to the end of the episode of 27th August 2015. Sure enough, that was the song playing in the background when Rob "gave Helen their son". I'm not convinced there is a case for rape, though, from the little I listened to (there may have been more earlier in the episode, but I wouldn't necessarily have said it was rape at the point I listened to it). I can't remember whether it was here I found the link to listen, but here it is, just in case anyone is interested.
Adrian Beal The Archers Omnibus is where I listened to it - the crucial episode starts at about 50 minutes into the Omnibus for 30th August 2015.
(Overinfested? Moi?)

I keep on wanting to shriek to the sky “Tom is thirty fucking eight, for fuck’s sake. 38!!!!!”

“Johhny's been at Bridge Farm for over 4 years now. The character needs to move on from the gaucheness.”
He’s still only 20. And he can stand up for himself when he needs to-he did with Tom over the land. And he would have over Natasha moving in if Hannah hadn’t overruled him. And he’s shown more sensitivity and emotional intelligence than anyone else!

I agree Bert. He actually sets out to learn things from a point of recognising that he doesn’t know then yet. It’s a strength.

Re the rape, what I remember, and I have no desire to re-listen, is that Helen had expressed no previous desire for unprotected sex and that we hear Rob plying her with alcohol when she is already drunk, before having sex with her and the noise she makes could be interpreted as objection or surprise but certainly not enthusiasm, and she isn’t in a fit stare to resist. On what planet is that not rape?

No question it was rape. Her behaviour over the subsequent few days strongly suggested it at the time and she stated unequivocally during the trial that it was.

Even Rob knows it’s rape. Why on earth would he refer to it as “the night I gave you our son” otherwise? At which point he also said something about possessing her completely if I remember rightly.

I must admit I felt a smidgeon of sympathy for Hannah, she even came clean to poor Johnny (who no doubt felt completely out of his depth) about her stupid games.

Well, as they say, she's made her own bed... in the soon to be overcrowded house

Rob got Helen drunk then forced her to have unprotected sex. That is rape. No question.

Hopefully not too overcrowded ; purleeese not another unplanned pregnancy

Framed Bruce Lee posters are worse than the blu-tacked variety- more nerdy obsessive.