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.

Another voice saying the ACT plot line is ridiculous as well as boring. What are they thinking??

Where the heck did Jazzer deciding to move out come from?

I didn't see that coming

It has to be the shortest jeopardy/resolution SL in TA ever, doesn't it?

what about the surrogacy? Lexie could deliver any day now, is she having second thoughts? I do hope so.

I fear that I wasn't listening closely enough tonight. Are the SW suggesting that nobody needs therapy any more after major trauma - just pop along to quiznight at your local pub and you will be well on your way to recovery.

Could Elizabeth lend them a bit of LL ground or is that too far from Ambridge? If it was even possible? It’s the kind of enterprise Nigel would have liked.

Surely Lexi isn’t going to keep the baby. It’s not even got a genetic link to her family. Maybe Roy would be happy to impregnate her some time next year. (not a serious suggestion BTW)

Where is mystic bore? What are the chances of Pip getting hold of some of Brookfield for this?

The 🔮 is sulking - it says it has to have something to work with. Maybe the land Spiritual Home is on? It grudgingly suggests Daddy Bearfrother might help in some way.

It also thinks someone will come up with a local abattoir/visiting slaughter scheme - possibly a joint enterprise between WillanEd.

@R4, all I took from it was that Grundys senior have no idea what happened/was said when William saw GP, fair enough as he’s an adult- but sadly that leaves us in the dark too. More later presumably.

I was just this morning saying to DH that I wondered about spiritual home land but that I cba signing into Mumsnet to suggest it and no doubt someone would suggest it anyway. I wondered where that would leave the relationship between Phoebe and Kate.

Are the SWs all on something? Where on earth did the Jazzer leaving scenario come from?

That was quite a sweet scene with Jim and Jazzer- it’s good to know Jazzer has a conscience about overstepping things.

And while I'm in a grump; they are bang out of order not to have laid Joe to rest yet feels very disrespectful to the actor.

And while I'm in a grump; they are bang out of order not to have laid Joe to rest yetfeels very disrespectful to the actor

It really does.

Are the SW suggesting that nobody needs therapy any more after major trauma - just pop along to quiznight at your local pub and you will be well on your way to recovery.

I think if they allow the ambridge health fairy to visit Will on the basis of a bit of covering up with menaces and a GP appt which Eddie assume did not result in Will saying a word to her I will finally stop listening. It would be a fucking disgrace.

And while I'm in a grump; they are bang out of order not to have laid Joe to rest yet sad feels very disrespectful to the actor

Also in a grump and agree entirely.

I'm not an Eddie fan, but finally someone has twigged that Will in his current state of mind should not be near firearms, good for him for saying that out loud - and typical enabler Clarrie only bleating in response that he loves his job & not seeing the bigger picture.

You’re all wrong! Let Will keep the gun and carry out a mass shooting to clear out all the characters we can’t abide!

A mass shooting would be really crass.

I hope they are not holding back Joe's death for that. That would be really vile. But as they could have easily inserted a "elderly man passes away peacefully in his sleep" storyline weeks ago so I'm getting suspicious.

Thank you for the new thread @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g. Lots of nonsense at the moment.

I wonder if the trouble with Joe dying at the moment is that they already have the Grundy family involved in a major storyline with pain and trauma all round. It would be difficult to add a family death into that mix and have it tasted respectfully, or keep up the momentum with the rest of it, one or the other would have to give. So I'm guessing Joe won't die until all this is resolved/ dies down, or it might be the final blow which resolves it and unites the family in mourning. The latter would seem unlikely IRL but you never know with TA at the moment.

I agree, Fink. This SL was probably all mapped out when Edward Kelsey died. I did notice Eddie saying last night when they arrived at The Bull something like 'All right, Dad?' So he's meant to be still out and about with the rest of the clan, and no doubt would have been involved in this SL had Mr Kelsey still been with us. I want Joe's death to be a big deal in Ambridge, not a footnote to another storyline, so I can contain myself for a bit.

Are the SW suggesting that nobody needs therapy any more after major trauma - just pop along to quiznight at your local pub and you will be well on your way to recovery

I didn't hear it that way. I think it was Eddie's well-meaning attempt to get Will out of the house as an alternative to sitting indoors brooding, and afterwards it was pretty clear that it hadn't really made much difference.

Can anyone suggest any alternative careers for Will?

Joe’s death will be linked to the move from Grange Farm.
I’m not sure Will Grundy could do anything else - Clarrie is right, losing his shotgun licence would be the final straw (not saying that’s a reason he should keep it). Actually it’s a very serious storyline - unfortunately the tension is entirely undermined by the fact that The Archers has already had a gamekeeper killing himself so I feel it’s unlikely they’d do it a second time (another example of seeing the nuts and bolts rather than being able to lose myself in the plot).

The quiznight-as-therapy theory wasn't just for Will. It applied to Jim too.

I don't think that they need to hurry the Joe storyline. IIRC, Phil died quite a while after Norman Painting did.

Can anyone suggest any alternative careers for Will?

The 🔮 thinks Will and Ed will set up the Ambridge Abattoir, bringing about rapprochement between the brothers and improving finances.

Joe will peacefully pop his clogs in his own bed just before the move, everyone will agree that it's What He Would Have Wanted

MeanEd will eventually get back together.