Archers thread #115: Johnny's in the gym, Josh is in a jam, Rex is riled, Kate's with child - 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 to share a camomile tea with Kate, 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 @LillianGish for the excellent Bert Fry tribute title!

I don't think this thread will get us to Easter, but we should be well into Lent before we need a new title. I wonder if St Stephen's will have a new oh-so-interesting Lent initiative this year. When did we last hear from Alan?

I don't know how old Ben's actor is, but I too was thinking that his deep voice does make him sound older than Josh. I don't think he is, though. Angus Imrie is 26, i.e. several years older than Josh.

I felt for Jakob. They are an unlikely pair and I’m relieved that this isn’t a baby storyline but I could see him doing his utmost to be a good dad.

I wonder if it’s perimenopause for Kate?

I think Kate has some sort of health problem, not sure what buT I don't think its the menopause. ki

Hmm... the 🔮 is of the opinion that this might be an ovarian cancer SL. Is there an OC day/week/month on the horizon?

Or - KaKob decide that in fact they love each other truly, madly, deeply and decide to make a baby.

Cue Yakult with temperature charts and cervical mucus monitoring (eww, sorry)

Cervical / ovarian cancer d’you mean?

The fact she didn’t take a test suggests she might also have been neglecting GP health checks.

It would be ironic if such an advocate for spiritual health should be struck down by prosaic human illness.

(It’s also ironic that her tears tonight seemed moving to new ears ... Kate generally means well, Graphista, but she really is pretty much exactly as SaffyRosie described her.)

Have I mentioned that I don't like Pip?

I do like Kate. Always have. She's dreadful.
I love, love, love Jakob. I hope he becomes one of the Archers clan.

I’m another listener with a bald spouse - since midway through his forties. It bothers him a bit but he more or less accepts the situation. No other option really. He did once get annoyed when I joked about his head being on upside down - he’s had a very full beard for a while now. Oops. Our son also has thinning hair - since about 24 (now late 20s). He’d prefer it wasn’t happening but is kind of accepting of it. I feel sad for Johnny as clearly he’s very distressed. I hope his granny or Freddie pick up on the distress and encourages him to talk to somebody GP-ish as he sounds quite depressed really.

In other news, I like Jakob. He was really sweet over the not-pregnancy even while it seemed true, very kind to Kate in her upset. I’m somewhat surprised he hasn’t already got an expectant fatherhood spreadsheet of activities he should be involved in - in the circs maybe it’s just as well.

Saffy got Kate down to a tee. I did experience schadenfreude when she was blubbing, sorry, not sorry. I just hope Yakult doesn't suggest TTC. It could be peri, not sure about cervical cancer, I have that, and until I had radiotherapy, I was still having my periods. The awareness campaign was back in January.
Did anybody notice Yakult mentioning buying her a new bed?

I should add that I’m not mocking the spreadsheet oblique spreadshit. I’m aware some of our number love a spreadshit and make a living from using them (that’s possibly the round way around but I know what I mean). I’m simply gently teasing Jakob’s geekiness. We have geekiness in our household too.

I think it’s more likely to be Kate entering the menopause than having some kind of serious illness. With many gynae cancers heavy bleeding rather than the cessation of periods seem to be a more prominent feature. I’m not sure the writers are up to a story like that anyway. What age is Kate anyway? I know I’ve been told but ..... blame my menopausal brain.

Thanks for the welcome.

I’m housebound by illness and don’t have a lot to do in the day so plenty of time to read up so will dip into the suggested resources and start listening regularly and hopefully catch up.

It seems an overwhelming idea, but then I remember that when I watched tv soaps, Corrie and emmerdale started before I was born/when I was a baby but I must have started watching properly at some point when I wouldn’t have known the full history but you gradually catch on.

And dd was the same with newer soaps.

But I stopped watching tv ones as I got annoyed at certain sensationalist and insensitive storylines and also got fed up of the same storylines being repeatedly rehashed and also sometimes character history would get messed up and the characters would be changed completely especially if they were recast.

Maybe similar issues with archers? I’m hoping not.

@madcats I may check that out. I keep wanting to try podcasts but nobody as yet has been able to tell me if listening to them means they take up memory on my device (which I don’t want to risk) keep meaning to call apple/Amazon about this.

@surprisesparday - yes I was moved at the time but looked up the character after posting here and she seems to pop out babies but not bother raising them! Are the fathers raising them?

Very odd for someone to declare themselves pregnant before even taking a test!

I’ve had 3 pregnancies and even with really obvious symptoms I’ve still double checked as has everyone else I know.

I have the very odd situation where I’m occasionally able to produce a false positive, has happened to me twice, definitely wasn’t pregnant (or it would have been the 2nd coming!) so now I know I need to have blood tests to confirm/refute.

Interesting the comments about possible ovarian cancer.

Have a history of female cancers in the family. March is the month for it so it could tie in with that.

Don't worry, @UnholyStramash, as someone whose eyes were caught by the combination of "fatherhood" and "spreadsheet", I didn't read it as mocking.

Anyway, it's true, I do more or less make a good living from creating and using spreadsheets. Microsoft Excel is one of mankind's greatest tools.

Ben's actor Ben Norris is 27, I think. Josh's actor Angus Imrie is 25.

Graphista, I am really sorry, but "sometimes character history would get messed up and the characters would be changed completely especially if they were recast."
" Maybe similar issues with archers? I’m hoping not. "

I'm afraid that is exactly what a lot of people complain is happening in TA, with Jakob as a classic case. Jakob has only been in the programme for lass than a year, and has already manifested about three different personalities.

Ugh that's so annoying and totally unnecessary! I understand the need for recasting at times but no reason to change the character.

A good actor will be able to portray the same character faithfully.

As a "wannabe" writer myself (far too many half finished books!) I feel a writer should know their character well enough to know how they think and feel and will react to certain things.

it’s more likely to be Kate entering the menopause than having some kind of serious illness

Sadly, I think you are right. A serious illness would be nice, though, so long as isn't caught in time to be cured.

Tonight I was sorely disappointed that Jakob didn't suggest that it was probably Kate's age that was the problem, with all the bluntness at his disposal.

While I agree a lot of TA characters have had annoying personality changes in recent years, I don’t agree about Jakob. I think his development as a character has been quite gentle. Possibly it’s too short a time for personality change anyway - he arrived as a newish worker in the area, with certain features that might suggest high functioning autism. He settled into his new role, got to know some of the villagers and their animals, they got used to him. Chris and Alistair might even be in the friends category - they’re certainly colleagues he gets on well with now. He began a relationship with a local woman and that’s developed quite normally, especially considering they’ve both got ‘unusual’ personalities. He had a blip when he heard from Chris that Kate was pregnant. Sleeping badly and being a bit absentminded and tetchy the following day is quite normal too in the circs. I like that he sometimes sounds like he might be on the autistic spectrum and sometimes doesn’t. IME that’s normal in someone who’s an adult, is clearly high functioning and has adapted to the world around him. I think he’s developing rather nicely all in all.

@theThreeofWeevils, I don’t know about Jakob suggesting that to Kate. He’s possibly had experiences in the past of saying the wrong thing, being thought tactless and too up front. Maybe he’s had the thought (!) but is waiting for Kate to think it too. In the immediate situation of Kate doing the test and being upset he probably had enough to deal with and was right to not bring up her age or anything related.

right to not bring up her age
He might have been right/prudent, but there was no fun in it. Whereas there would have been in Kate being reminded she is past her use-by date.

The problem here is that there are arguably too many scriptwriters with too little in depth knowledge of Archers characters.

Until a few years ago the programme maintained an official Archivist who could oversee storyline continuity and advise writers. (At least I assume that’s what she did.) But she’s long gone, not replaced. I know new writers are expected to have some knowledge of the show - but it’s too often glaringly inadequate. And week to week they don’t always seem clear about what their fellow writers have set up. This situation is not helped by the bewilderingly rapid turnover of Editors in the past four or five years since SOC (Sean O’Conner left for EastEnders.)

Apart from the origins of the First Family and the Four Houses of Ambridge + the Grundys, some of the main things you need to know about are:

John’s death
Mark’s death
Nigel’s death
Kate’s children
The Grundys and Meadow Rise
Emma & Will + Emma & Ed
Ruairi
Helen and Rob (whom you may have read about anyway).

(Apologies again, typing intermittently. Above obviously meant for Graphista and any other new listeners!)

I would like to hear about Kate's other children. Abandoning those kids must be having a huge impact on their mental health. Nolly seemed pretty together when she visited, but had a reasonable measure of Kate, as I recall.

I wonder with age, will Nolly become angrier? Sipho is about 13 so this might be a really tricky time for him. And Nolly will presumably feel protective about him.

It's treated as a frippery in the Archers, with Phoebe rolling her radio eyes at Kate's flakiness, but it's actually an horrible ongoing betrayal. Those chickens need to come home to roost.

A good actor will be able to portray the same character faithfully.

That is unfair, as it is more the writer and producer's responsibility than the actor.

The archivist was replaced by a computer database - but they then went on to move on the producers who knew the Archers and the database.

Thanks for the tips will check thread and crack on with boning up tomorrow