👩‍🌾 The Archers spoilers thread #5: Can't wait for 7.02pm? Join us here!

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Spoiler thread for The Archers. Please keep all spoiler-related discussion in this thread and do not spill the beans on the main Archers Thread. Last thread here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/radio_addicts/3439443-keep-it-to-yourself-the-archers-spoilers-thread-4

Pondering, as TA ambles ever closer to the rest of the world - does anyone important live alone in Ambridge? How will we know the difference if 99% of the cast will still have someone to talk to at home throughout lockdown?

Joy - notably. I pray they'll save us from her unadulterated thoughts ...

Lee, presumably, except when he has his daughters. But he's minor and I care nothing for his thoughts.

I daresay Debbie has someone around, in Hungary. Wouldn't she make a fantastic monologuist?

Neville Booth. Carole Tregorran. Hilary Noakes. The Great Maurice. Jakob.

I'd pay my entire licence fee all over again to hear a monologue from Debbie. I'm experiencing slight cognitive dissonance watching Belgravia, in which Tamsin Grieg has the leading role.

I thought Hilary Noakes had a partner? Or is she alone with her cockatoo?

It's Friday, and I'm not really organised at all this week.

BBC one-liners 12-16 April
12 Apr Harrison attempts to get to the bottom of recent events and Freddie has something on his mind.
13 Apr Robert faces friction at the B&B and Shula proves a bad influence.
14 Apr Roy receives some interesting information and Tracy tries to get her own way.
15 Apr Alistair makes an unusual offer, and Tracy wants the big scoop.
16 Apr Ed gets a wake-up call, and has Lynda found her voice again?

Credits
(Sun 12/4/2020 and Mon 13/4/2020 written by Naylah Ahmed and left over from this week)
Sun 12/4/2020, Mon 13/4/2020, Tue 14/4/2020, Wed 15/4/2020, Thu 16/4/2020
Writer: Naylah Ahmed (12, 13) & Nick Warburton (14, 15, 16)
Director: Dave Payne & Jeremy Howe (same days as above)
Editor: Jeremy Howe
Phoebe Aldridge: Lucy Morris
Kenton Archer: Richard Attlee
Lilian Bellamy: Sunny Ormonde
Harrison Burns: James Cartwright
Chris Carter: Wilf Scolding
Alan Franks: John Telfer
Ed Grundy: Barry Farrimond
Emma Grundy: Emerald O’Hanrahan
Shula Hebden Lloyd: Judy Bennett
Tracy Horrobin: Susie Riddell
Alistair Lloyd: Michael Lumsden
Jazzer McCreary: Ryan Kelly
Kirsty Miller: Annabelle Dowler
Freddie Pargetter: Toby Laurence
Leonie Snell: Jasmine Hyde
Lynda Snell: Carole Boyd
Robert Snell: Graham Blockey
Oliver Sterling: Michael Cochrane
Roy Tucker: Ian Pepperell

Radio Times Ambridge Diary April 12-16
After last week’s disclosures, Roy is adamant that Philip shouldn’t be blamed for the Grey Gables explosion and is on a mission to support his friend - only to be surprised by what he finds. Philip is forced to answer some difficult questions and a confrontation with the Snells puts him under even greater pressure.
Tracy has the bit between her teeth with the fitness levels of the cricket team and devises a plan to turn them into champions. Her session goes surprisingly well, but she’s irritated when Harrison puts his foot down about a potential new recruit. And Ambridge pulls together for the Easter festival, which has an appearance by a very special guest.
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I am dreading the Special Guest; they are always cringemaking. I am also interested about which day he or she will actually appear on, given that the original Easter Sunday broadcast would now be going out days later.

Might the special guest be Lynda?

I'd forgotten about Philip living at Willow Farm for a while.

That would be a relief! Celebrities very rarely give good value.

Thanks, Asking! I think that bit about last week's disclosures is actually a sneak preview of something that's going to happen this week, unless I've utterly forgotten something earthshaking that happened this last week. What with the TA rejigging and the general lack of ordinary routines I'm completely at sea now keeping track of days!

Today's Mail is interesting, because it implies the BBC may have furpled with the order of episodes.

Daily Mail Weekend Magazine Archers Update April 12-16
Let’s walk down to Ambridge as spring wafts over Lakey Hill, children hunt for Easter eggs, and the bells ring out from St Stephen’s, calling the faithful to come and sing their hallelujahs. They don’t yet know what we know, so lets just enjoy their rural idyll; soon they too will be living under the same cloud as us.
Tracy is on a fitness campaign for the cricket team - which doesn’t involve doing PE lessons in front of a screen - while Kenton comperes the village Easter festival - and the ‘rewilders’, having drunk Justin’s champagne, now find it has a bitter aftertaste.
Ed, despite Jazzer’s advice, sticks by his decision, while Philip finds himself under his own terrible cloud.
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Unless, I suppose, Easter Egg hunts and St Stephen's bells calling to service will be happening on (counts on fingers) Tuesday. Or possibly Wednesday. Argh.

I have been trying to get the episodes as-they-were fixed to when they are now being broadcast (unless they move some to get Easter Sunday on the right day) and by my reckoning this is how it goes:

Friday, 27th March -> Sunday, 29th March 2020
Sunday, 29th March -> Monday, 30th March 2020
Monday, 30th March 2020 -> Tuesday, 31st March 2020
Tuesday, 31st March -> Wednesday, 1st April 2020
Wednesday, 1st April - >Thursday, 2nd April 2020

Thursday, 2nd April -> Sunday, 5th April 2020
Friday, 3rd April -> Monday, 6th April 2020
Sunday, 5th April -> Tuesday, 7th April 2020
Monday, 6th April ->Wednesday, 8th April 2020
Tuesday, 7th April -> Thursday, 9th April 2020

Wednesday, 9th April -> Sunday, 12th April 2020
Thursday, 9th April -> Monday, 13th April 2020
Friday, 10th April -> Tuesday, 14th April 2020
Sunday, 12th April -> Wednesday, 15th April 2020
Monday, 13th April -> Thursday, 16th April 2020

Tuesday, 14th April -> Sunday, 19th April 2020
Wednesday, 15th April -> Monday, 20th April 2020
Thursday, 16th April -> Tuesday, 21st April 2020
Friday, 17th April -> Wednesday, 22nd April 2020
Sunday, 19th April -> Thursday, 23rd April 2020

Monday, 20th April -> Sunday, 26th April 2020
Tuesday, 21st -> Monday, 27th April 2020
Wednesday, 22nd -> Tuesday, 28th April 2020
Thursday, 23rd -> Wednesday, 29th April 2020
Friday, 24th -> Thursday, 30th April 2020

Then the new episodes, four a week, start on 3rd May.

Oops, sorry; they are going to stop Sunday evening broadcasts at that point, so the new-style four-day weeks will begin on Monday 4th May.

Thanks Asking ref. yesterday's afternoon repeat; I even had a little weep at Linda's arrival home and her having a good cry. She's a bloody good actress.

Will enquiries into Philip's business discover the truth? Or will M. Plod miss the clues?

Thinking about formal innovation - I'm wondering why the four days couldn't have been spread across the week. Perhaps they're planning to use the episodes squashed together, not just to provide micro dramas that take four days (as someone has already suggested) but to run one monologue or phone conversation across two or more days. (I know they've sometime run the events of a single day across more than one episode.)

Do hope some of the SWs are thinking of Cocteau & Poulenc on 'The Human Voice'.

Oooh! Perhaps they'll try a sung week - à la Buffy.

I find it hard to believe that with all the highly qualified expert sound technicians they have at the BBC they wouldn't be able to manage what science fiction fans have known how to do for years -- record people talking on their home computers with a link over the network, and then splice it together into conversations which sound as if everyone were in the same room. I have heard it done with eight or nine at a time, and actual scenes in TA are rarely between more than four people.

Well ... Other than within a house or hospital I'm not anticipating they'll use many conversations between four or more people to reflect the lockdown situation.

If four people meet in a farmyard they'll need to sound quite far apart from each other!

Yes and there may well be a shortage of technicians, many of whom could be self isolating and\or be too ill to work from home.

None of the people I know who can do this job is a professional techie. They do it from home.

My point is that they do not have to have this hideous "soliloquy" template, which on previous form they do very badly.

Too much Shula really, I suppose it's the Bishop's weekend or whatever it was she was talking about the other day.

We can tell the bishop about how Shula deliberately broke Bernard the Easter Bunny and led Kirsty into temptation to eat him. She also painted children’s Easter eggs while drunk. Ok, ok I know it didn’t really happen like that but is she being lined up to take over St Stephen’s?

Way too much bloody Shula. What was Al thinking offering to help her swot up on the gospels? She chucked you, you don’t need to listen to her anymore - now if only we could be so lucky.

We could have Brian and Shula having chats.
JennyDarling phoning Debbie.
Carol Toboggan soliloquising to her herbs.

Maybe William phoning Mike Tucker for something or Tony and Tom having a discussion about the farm.

Agricultural workers would still be working and could easily be 2 metres apart.

The shop and post office would probably still be open.

20 Apr: Shula faces some home truths,

I hope Lynda gives her a bollocking for setting her up as Surprise Guest at the Easter Thing.

That'll be Big Al quizzing her, I expect.

Here is next week's stuff this week:

BBC Spoilers
19 Apr Roy has a revealing encounter and Lilian takes charge.
20 Apr Shula faces some home truths, and Philip feels spontaneous.
21 Apr Will Phoebe get the better of Justin Elliott? Tracy offers new blood to the cricket team.
22 Apr Mild mannered Robert forgets himself, and Gavin Moss is struggling to keep control.
23 Apr Jim offers support to a friend, and Shula has come through an almighty challenge.

Credits
Sun 19/4/2020, Mon 20/4/2020, Tue 21/4/2020, Wed 22/4/2020, Thu 23/4/2020
Writers: Nick Warburton (19, 20, 21, 22) & Liz John (23)
Directors: Peter Leslie Wild & Kim Greengrass (dates as above)
Editor: Jeremy Howe
Phoebe Aldridge: Lucy Morris
Jolene Archer: Buffy Davis
Helen Archer: Louiza Patikas
Kenton Archer: Richard Attlee
Lilian Bellamy: Sunny Ormonde
Lee Bryce: Ryan Early
Harrison Burns: James Cartwright
Justin Elliott: Simon Williams
Geoff: Greg Hobbs
Shula Hebden Lloyd: Judy Bennett
Tracy Horrobin: Susie Riddell
Alistair Lloyd: Michael Lumsden
Jim Lloyd: John Rowe
Kirsty Miller: Annabelle Dowler
Gavin Moss: Gareth Pierce
Philip Moss: Andy Hockley
Lynda Snell: Carole Boyd
Robert Snell: Graham Blockey
Roman Trench: Ewan Bailey
Roy Tucker: Ian Pepperell
(the actual actors for the first four episodes may come out of last week's cast-list not this/next week's)

Radio Times Ambridge Diary April 19-23
The impact of coronavirus will soon be felt in Ambridge, with listeners noticing a change in the style of episodes. Instead of characters interacting, the drama will feature villagers sharing private thoughts with the audience, as actors record down the line from their own homes. This calls for storylines written right up to the wire, which means that the production team won’t always have time to provide plot teasers in advance. So please excuse us if Ambridge Diary becomes sporadic.
For the week ahead, though, it’s business as usual, with Shula facing some home truths, Philip feeling spontaneous, and Phoebe trying to get the better of Justin Elliott.

Thanks Asking.

The Archers has been going for decades. I don't want it changed.

villagers sharing private thoughts with the audience,

Please God, let it never be David ...

Thanks!

Well Mike I fear that your wish is not their command. IMO it is already changed beyond repair. Majoring on DRAMA not character. As I have complained about before. I'm cutting down on my listening and not really missing it (apart from sentimental feelings for the main characters).

If you remember the Mustardland days, I was the WrongSortOfListener,

PerditaProvokesEnmity
Please God, let it never be David

I'm really sorry. Tim Bentinck did a podcast or something about how they were setting up a recording studio in his shed, so I'm afraid we're lumbered.