Archers thread #113: Who’ll find some Magic Time this Christmas in Ambridge? Share the glad tidings (and bad writing) in The Archers! Election-free zone so far ...

[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 Hannah 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 @SurpriseSparDay for the title. I haven't heard 12/12 yet so must catch up now, seeking relief from the outside world.

Thanks for the recommendation of Joe Grundy programme. It was lovely and brought a tear to my eye. I would have missed it without you lot. BBC Sounds didn’t suggest it,

I do apologise, Taswama, Helen and Greg didn't get married, did they (just lived together for several years and then she looked after Annette..who had an abortion and left... and then Helen decided she needed a baby herself...)?

Looking back, you would imagine that Brian and Helen would have been more proactive when Will Grundy lost his wife?

I dozed off listening to June Spencer last night:
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0005tpr

Listened to calendar girls - Lynda snells production from a few years ago. It was great

I don't believe for a moment Jim was drunk, I think he is suffering from a violent stomach bug. Even if I'm wrong and he was pissed as a newt, that was no way to end the last episode of the decade.
Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells.

Helen set her sights on Greg at the beginning of July 2001 or thenabouts, and I think had flirted with him a bit before that. He was made a dead set at by Siobhán later in July (he told her to sling her hook when she tried to drag him into sex while she was drunk) and Helen seemed a bit unhappy over the rumours about them, and then suddenly out of the blue at the end of August Helen and Greg seemed to have become an item when she secretively took up with him -- but didn't mention it to her parents for a month or so.

And then the wicked man prioritised seeing his children in January 2002 over going on a holiday with Helen and she was vile about it, but they stayed an item anyway. She finally moved in with him in September, 2002.

A combination of Brian sacking him and his ex-wife cutting off his contact with his daughters in France pushed Greg into resigning from his job and going into serious depression, which meant that Helen was unable to cope with being with him (and said a lot of the absolutely wrong things to him, one way and another) and she moved out again after he threw a saucepan full of spaghetti at her on 18th April, 2004. (She went to live with Kirsty, and Pat only found out the following week.) Greg killed himself on 7th May, 2004.

Annette turned up out of the blue in April, 2009, and sponged off Helen and lived in the flat over the village shop with her for several months before having sex with Helen's boyfriend and getting pregnant on 6th December; she had an abortion in spite of all Helen's protests that Helen wanted the baby because it would be Greg's grandchild, and left Ambridge on 5th February, 2010; by 17th February, 2010, Helen had researched the whole matter and decided to have a baby by herself by sperm donor.

Sorry to be gloomy, but Jim's out of character vomiting could indicate stomach cancer.

I'd hate that, Joe Me Old Pal Me Old Beauty, but that major plot development would indeed be an explanation for the otherwise extremely strange decision to end the decade on a sick note.

Yeah the Helen moment was just bizarre! All of it.

Didn’t Jim have a bar butty - isn’t it going to be food poisoning?

Hoping Phoebe and her gang are getting ready to apply for another award:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50958960

I do get the point that not every episode has to advance the plot but this was just bizarre and pointless.

The idea of Jim getting unexpectedly drunk to the point of throwing up was nonsense. The mini-drama about Robert and Lynda was nonsense stepping in was nonsense.

The logical plot follow up was whether the Black Widow was seen making her way homeward in the morning still in costume (in jeans and t- shirt borrowed from Lee) after her stop-out.

(or in jeans and t- shirt borrowed from Lee) after her stop-out

I didn't think Jim's throwing up was due to being drunk, nor from that sandwich, because Alistair also had a sandwich. I do get the feeling it's heralding a serious illness, because it's unusual to get to his age without starting to have health problems.

I get the horrible feeling that the entire Jim-being-sick story was just an excuse for the 'hilarious' 'comedy' of Robert being unable to read from a book without babbling, Lynda doing her farcical warm-up exercises, and then Jim finding that Dr Theatre had worked its magic and the show would go on after all.

I know; it's rubbish, but quite frankly those are the depths things have sunk to.

I agree, 5000! As for the episode ending on that particular sound effect, I often wonder if the team forgets that so many of listen episode by episode. The omnibus won't end that way.

Thanks also to whoever posted the link to the Ted Kelsey/Joe Grundy programme. Interesting that he was in favour of leaving some plot lines open to be revisited much later.

It's quite usual for people to get to a considerable age in the archers without health problems though.

I didn't think Jim's throwing up was due to being drunk, nor from that sandwich, because Alistair also had a sandwich. I do get the feeling it's heralding a serious illness

I didn't get that at all. That would need someone to plan a future storyline.

I did however get the horrible feeling that the entire Jim-being-sick story was just an excuse for the 'hilarious' 'comedy' of Robert being unable to read from a book without babbling

did ed's hangover cure play a part?

The Archers has never yet covered a sickness epidemic at Xmas. I reckon Jim's got norovirus.....

...apart from the ibr...

the 'hilarious' 'comedy' of Robert being unable to read from a book without babbling,
That was ridiculous, as if an intelligent, educated person like Robert couldn't read aloud in front of his wife and one other person. I could understand him not wanting to perform in public.

Mrs Grinda, to be fair there are some of us whose last line of every recent episode has been "I think I'm going to be sick again".

And mincepies yes I did - spent most of that show boring my nearest/dearest with my shocked surprise at Justin Eliot moonlighting in this way.

Re the Jim illness - my vote is also for creating the opportunity for the utterly side splitting piece about Robert and Linda.

Laugh? I nearly did.

Maybe the point of that SL was for Lynda to realise she actually likes being involved in acting and production and decide she'll do a Christmas Play next year after all.