The Archers #109: Pulp Fiction! Hammer Horror (Tracy), Carry On (Brian & Neil), Call the Midwife (Adam, Ian, Lexi) - but no political thrillers, Ambridge remains Brexit-free. Nitpick here!

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Thank you, @PseudoBadger, for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads.

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 unusual views. grin

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!

For newer listeners, lurkers or those who just have no idea what we're talking about, @DadDadDad has created this useful thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/radio_addicts/3557323-For-Archers-fans-a-guide-to-acronyms-on-the-long-running-discussion-threads-and-any-other-meta-thread-questions-you-may-have BOOP point for him! (See thread for explanation.)

Thanks to Bucking Frolics and LillianGish for the title ideas, which I had to edit down a bit to get under the character limit.

I wonder if Lily will have gone back to Manchester by the time we've filled this thread.

I find the scriptwriters complete neglect of the moral, political, psychological and ethical issues surrounding surrogacy to be both distasteful and unbelievable, frankly.

I see what you mean BertrandRussell - when you consider the care and concern there was about the coercive control storyline and getting it absolutely right in relation to women's welfare, the comparative flippancy with which the surrogacy storyline is being treated is quite shocking.

Adam is a besotted and capable father. Ian isn't. Cue conflict. Yawn.

I find the scriptwriters complete neglect of the moral, political, psychological and ethical issues surrounding surrogacy to be both distasteful and unbelievable, frankly.

^This

Along with the lack of any grasp about Lexi's feelings or well being, despite having apparently read every baby book under the sun about the whole process.

I didn’t like Ian’s line about whether to call the baby Jekyll or Hyde - reminiscent of that awful case of child abuse and murder where one of the dads had referred to the child as Satan. And poor Lexi. Shut out as she must be tired. Hmm yes - and emotional and in need of support and thanks and love I should think.

Bertrand I couldn’t agree more.

The Lexi actress is very good, I was nearly crying with her last night. She NEEDS her baby and her baby NEEDS her.

Lexi’s hormones are basically those of a bereaved mother. Separation from the baby must be awful.

If we’re supposed to be charmed by the bumbling efforts of Adam and Ian to look after the baby, I’m not. Hmmm. The baby’s crying. “Does he want to be put down?” Er, no, he probably wants his mummy. Or at least a cuddle.

Why isn't Eddie worried about the impact on Will if he does stop being a gamekeeper?

Why aren't more people horrified by the idea of Will having access to guns? He's proven that he's not safe to be around them. Better a rough bump out of the job and cottage with support than a dead Will and/or others.

I didn't like the Jekyll and Hyde reference either. Roy is so nice isn't he.

“I didn't like the Jekyll and Hyde reference either.“

I thought that was funny!

I hope the 2 Dads are reading mumsnet and or good a baby book, calling a tiny baby Jekyll and Hyde ,even as a joke, is not good.

Once again I fell asleep ruminating on Archers matters ...

And last night seemed to confirm what I thought before: the reason they made poor Ian insufficiently fertile must be a long term plan to split Adam and Ian up - leaving the latter out in the cold and childless, while Adam carries off the child to be absorbed into the First Family clan. (I hope it won’t happen for years, though ...)

calling a tiny baby Jekyll and Hyde ,even as a joke, is not good. But it's not evidence of bad parenting either.

... as a one-off joke, no problem. It's a way of coping with the extreme emotions of looking after a small baby, the feelings of frustration and impotence with this small being who is basically saying "there's something wrong and it's your job to put it right" without being able to give any clues as to what the problem is. But a bit unwise as so many people will find it upsetting. Clearly routinely talking about the child in derogatory tones, and especially to it or in its hearing, is a different matter altogether, indicating a breakdown of the parent-child bond and liable to lead to self fulfilling behaviour.

Why isn’t Lexi visiting the baby as much as she wants? The current arrangement seems cruel. Also I’m sick of hearing the Grundies. Let’s choose a name for the baby! I suggest Fred or Ted

Seriously? Would anyone be genuinely upset by the Jekyll and Hyde joke? In real life?

I'm in the harmless joke camp: it was just a humorous way of dealing with the reality of a newborn.

I agree that if they are still telling young Jekyll that he's an evil monster when he's five, that is damaging parenting, but it's quite an extrapolation to think they will end up doing that.

I doubt Lexi and Roy will get together again. I suspect her instinct will be to get back to her children in Hungary.

As for the Jekyll and Hide thing - practically every parent I know has made similar dark jokes when sleep deprived and slightly delirious. Absolutely no-one gets upset about it in real life.

@MabelChiltern1 I think they should call him Alexander as a nod to Lexi.

I think they should call the baby Brian as a nod to Adam's stepfather.

Easy ain’t it. Levy will stay as babies nanny after Iain runs back to cheffing having found fatherhood awful and the replacement chef being terrible too.

The Jekyll and Hyde part was one of the few things which didn't bother me. Its a lot milder than some of the names I used when sleep deprived.

Not after 2 days fgs, that's just what babies do. Nobody made the blokes have one. Give it to Lexi !!!!!