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.

David contacted wassisname, King of Meat, and was sent off with a flea in his ear because he was small fry. After spending all afternoon phoning on behalf of the coop didn't he have the common sense to say, "hang on, I'm only one of many. Between us, in the coop, we do have a decent number of lambs. Do you want to deal".

But I'm still laughing at the idea of the King of Meat, the biggest thing in the Midlands, manning the sales line himself.

King of Meat is a stupid character. Totally unrealistic that anyone would be that rude and, as you say R4 , fielding his own business calls. It’s like Justin suddenly being in charge of sales at the affordable housing development when Emma asked for an extension to complete. Why do the SW constantly sacrifice realism for crap drama?

And YY to the fact that David has a mandate to represent the whole co-op, or at least to make enquiries on their behalf.

Does he have that mandate though? He was asking on behalf of Brookfield, he hasn't asked the others in the co op if they want to use the meat king has he? To be fair I did drift off in that bit .

Isn’t his mandate to explore options and report back? So he’d have mandate to ask the question to the Meat King in principle then see what the rest of the coop said?

Whilst I'm pleased the ghost of Grey Gables has finally been laid to rest that conversation between Tracey and Oliver was one of the worst pieces of writing in a very long time.

Yes, the kindly landowner explaining things to the credulous childlike yokel. Then telling her she only got the job because she was common.

Meat King sounded to me like Matt lite.

But the ghost storyline was only hilarious because Tracy is common and therefore stupid. What japes!

Shall I stop listening?

Shall I stop listening?
If we promise that Brookfield will suddenly & inexpicably go bankrupt and therefore Pip will have to go and find work in Brazil / Canada / Australia / AnywhereFarFarAway, would you stay?

But the ghost storyline was only hilariousbecause Tracy is common and therefore stupid. What japes!

Well yes of course but Oliver's explanation was equally dim and implausible- the guest who complained was a well known scammer. There isn't a real- life hotel who would entertain a complaint that a hotel is haunted for a minute. If you were going to do a scam about hotel quality wouldn't it be things like planting mouse droppings/ dead insects and the like as evidence of sloppy standards?

Apologies if someone has speculated on this before but I wonder if Joes passing will be the thing that brings MeanEd back together? He would be so upset at their split.

I've listened since the mid-80s, but I've decided to take a break after Joe has died. I did the same a few years ago when the then editor would concentrate relentlessly on one story to the exclusion of all others (e.g. Vicky and Mike's baby, MeanEd's rural poverty) for weeks at a time.

It's like it's the opposite now - a story is built up for a few weeks and then dropped and never mentioned again. Is Lily going back to Manchester? How is Freddie getting on? What about TomnTash's marriage? There are far too many characters and loose ends ATM.

Completely agree @StationView Good scriptwriters should be able to get a balance of both. And I understand the need for some lighter story lines if there’s a big serious one going on but that’s when they should use more farming/rural plots - not bloody sore necks, haunted hotels and missing bunting.

Do any of us on here actually enjoy TA?

Do any of us on here actually enjoy TA?

I can give it up any time.

Do any of us on here actually enjoy TA?

I love it! I just don't like most of the characters and most of the plots, but then I never have

It's been part of the fabric of my life for decades.

That sounds like a crack habit in both cases.

Shall I stop listening?

After 50 years, I stopped listening after the Helen storyline a couple of years ago.

I read this thread and if it comes on whilst I am driving I don't turn over- So I probably hear 2 a fortnight

I live in a community similar to Ambridge and basically it just does not reflect rural village life n 2019, whilst I felt that it has previously.

Belated thanks for the new thread and title!

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

Oh, I dunno. What Clarrie pointed out about the family now being distilled down to the core Grundy bunch at Grange Farm seemed very pertinent. (Though awfully sad, of course.) They do seem to be laying the groundwork for Joe - and it is kind of epic to have the five of them alone again in possession of their spiritual home.

I missed TA during the week but did catch at least two or three Radio 4 mentions of re-wilding - so it all seemed very deliberate. But now, having listened, I agree with Cockadoodle - it does sound as if there’s a possibility the Baby Re-wilders will lose the prize through inexperience and incompetence, with Brookfield’s ‘second best idea’ winning after all.

I would like Pip to do something so bad that she was never mentioned again. Maybe if she went on the rampage and killed Rosie, Toby and a few others, then herself...
Other 'Archers' could stay but Tom would be played by the Real Tom Archer, not just some actor who sounds like he could be Tony's son.

Could Pip run Joe over?

Sacrilege!

... witnessed by the entire Grundy clan.