Archers thread #112: Quelle beau de lollox! And yet we stick with it. Discuss The Archers 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 Alf to stay around, or other 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!

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 @DoctorTwo for the thread title! I was strongly tempted by R4's suggestion of Wildlife on Four: Jonneh is wild at Lily, Phoebe rewilds by Occam, Joy is in the wilderness and David is bewildered by a marriage proposal.

So we did make it past Joe's funeral at last. Are we heading for a Christmas octogenarian wedding now?

Phoebe is Phoebe Aldridge, although she referred to herself as Phoebe Tucker once and I was .

@SurpriseSparDay, I rather like the idea of a rewinding story. Could we rewind to before SATTC?

Oh, good lord - didn’t even notice that one!

The luvvie who plays Martin is rather good , I could hear the venom in his voice when he disparaged "butterflies" . I would 've thought that there was an opening there for Feebs to to do a Greta Thunberg, she caved in, she' s a waste of space. (as are the Sws).

Actually, I'd be quite pleased if the trio realised that Phoebe is rubbish at this and they promoted Rex to be their spokesperson/figurehead. He needs to find his meaning in life. Feebs can be relegated to being the brains behind the scenes and go off and run an ethical hedge fund.
(That would be brilliant - a hedge fund that invests in hedges. )

I'd hedge my bets on the Ethical Hedge hedge fund.

Maybe not all at once, it would depend what the meat was. I think even my aged non-cooking father could manage a Christmas dinner if he didn't have to do it all at once!

Go Jim!

Oh, fuck’s sake!

Oh FFS! Who is writing this tripe?

The man is leaving. They’ve had plenty of time to acclimatise to his entirely alien and never-before met cultural background.

And - As If Lynda - having undertaken research - would come back with plate smashing!

Really exceptionally poor.

Who does Elizabeth think she is?
Is Jim getting paid for this???

Cringeworthy from start to finish

Jim is being / will be paid for his LL gig.

And ... Tracy has sent two children to school and had access to TV (if not books and radio and museums etc) for her whole life. She may not have had a great education but she’s perfectly mentally sharp. Why then are we being encouraged to believe she is entirely ignorant of even the existence of Greek mythology???

It was complete bollocks. Why doesn’t Jim just walk? And what is Russ playing at? What’s in it for him?

CMR is a tosser.

I had the feeling Russ had set out to make life so impossible for Jim that he would refuse to perform - at which point Russ would step in and gallantly offer to run the whole show.

On the contrary, I think it’s entirely consistent with CMR’s character that he’d be up for that.

He gets to exercise his artistic genius (no one else is as deep-thinking as he is), feel important (boss around his intellectual superior), and feel needed (they couldn’t possibly manage without him).

I had the feeling Russ had set out to make life so impossible for Jim that he would refuse to perform - at which point Russ would step in and gallantly offer to run the whole show.

Ooh I think you might be onto something there!

What the hell was that supposed to be? Utter tripe.

Honestly, I think I've had it.

That was SUCH utter rubbish. CMR is so transparently a wanker and Elizabeth is in thrall to him.

Never was a thread title more prescient.

I loved Jim's assessment of CMR not being an academic.:o

Agree that Russ, who didn't want to do this in the first place, is manoeuvring to get Jim out. His emotional blackmailing of Jim foreshadows just how horrible the eventual split with Lily will pan out. He is a shit of the first water. Jim should stage an epic flounce.

Lynda is in danger of offending the man who's leaving by coarse cultural stereotyping.

Oh FFS! Who is writing this tripe?

Why are Lynda and Tracey so obsessed about the leaving party of a character we've never heard of.

And what a load of rubbish re the ghost story. And Elizabeth suggesting that CMR is an academic- fgs. Is the woman dim ?

Still do many unresolved storylines-and they introduce new rubbish ones. And apart from anything else, what does Russ know about performance?

That was the worst episode since, well the last episode we decreed was the worst episode ever.

Fuming at CMR! I really hate him. ( Respect Jim) Wake up LL ... lock him in the cereal cupboard .

The 🔮 is discusted!

It says what's the friffing point?

It says how can it be expected to prognosticate when it's given nothing to work with?!?