🎄Archers thread #122: Deck the Hall with Eddie, Freddie 🎵 'Tis the Season to be jolly (but orange juice for you, Alice)

[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 love Bert Fry’s poetry (as I do), 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/3853783--The-Archers-spoilers-thread-5-Cant-wait-for-7-02pm-Join-us-here, 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 @C8H10N4O2 for requesting an annoyingly cheerful thread title which might take us up to Christmas and to @Prestissimo for the title suggestion. I was strongly tempted by @LillianGish’s suggestion: Eddie’s turkeys, Freddie’s show, village green with lights aglow, Stir Up Sunday, Deck the Hall, Merry Christmas one and all - with apologies to Bert Fry and @R4’s suggestion Wassail to the Ambridge Not-A-Panto where Freddie gets nine LESSONS in directing from CAROLe Lynda. Top work, all!

Three days to go until we can return to Ambridge.

My list for Father Christmas

In the next few weeks I’d like:

• Freddie’s show to be a huge success

• Philip and Gavin to be driven out of the village with pitchforks into the waiting arms of the police, and the three ‘horses’ rescued and taken in by kind people who will help them turn their lives around

• Pip to take a perpetual vow of silence and leave for a nunnery

• a terrific Grundy Christmas (although the travails of Alice and Chris will overshadow things)

• Alice to lose the baby, as this seems the least grim option for us listeners; she leaves Chris and makes a fresh start of some kind

What do you all want for Christmas from The Archers?

@EarringsandLipstick

he told Blake he was going to be taking over?

That's currently the plan, isn't it? When Philip & Kirstie retire to their Welsh cottage?

Nevertheless I doubt Phillip would be happy that Gavin has told Blake about the proposed retirement.

Extraordinary that they've picked an apparently terrible radio actor to play ... a stage professional.

Or maybe it's the lines they've written for him. Dire.

Will actually behaving like a sensible parent. Well I never.

It really isn't difficult to have more sense than Eddie, is it.

I agree he’s terrible - but isn’t the point that he’s a rubbish actor?

I would have thought approximately 0.3% of the UK population is involved in Christmas amateur dramatics in some way or another. I don’t know why the SWs persist in thinking it’s a valid and relevant storyline. Year after year it must drive other regular (avid, some might say) listeners (like myself) to go part-time.

Today's episode was a ket down, I thought we were getting somewhere with the Philip /Gavin story.

Let down.

Just so you know, CMC: you can edit a post to eliminate a typo, so long as it says you can:

I am going mad. That was not meant to be posted, because I realised that no you can't! Argh!

Certainly was a let down.

@CaptainMyCaptain

Today's episode was a ket down, I thought we were getting somewhere with the Philip /Gavin story.

I agree. Eddie & the treasure seeking is also driving me mad, so boring.

While mostly agreeing about tonight's episode, I am awarding a BOOP for William's world weary reasoning with his father.

Agree re tonight. CA said something or other about Chris tmrw though.

@PoulePouletteEternellement

Extraordinary that they've picked an apparently terrible radio actor to play ... a stage professional.

Or maybe it's the lines they've written for him. Dire.

I thought that too. I'm puzzling over the accent; can't decide between bad cockney and bad brummie.

@TheSilveryPussycat

While mostly agreeing about tonight's episode, I am awarding a BOOP for William's world weary reasoning with his father.

I was thinking how realistic and normal- like an actual real parent- Will sounded.

Much as I enjoy TA the cast sounding like real people doesn't actually happen that often.

Can someone (armed treasure hunter, perhaps) please put David out of his misery and shoot him?

When you've got two heavy duty dramatic storylines going (Alice and the horses) I'm quite happy with an episode where nothing much happens. Though I did feel someone needed to slap David about.

To be fair to David (what am I saying?) I'd have been pretty miffed if I'd taken an hour out of my working day or my relaxation time after a busy day and found myself sitting in the village hall playing Truth or Lie? with Oliver and Roman. It wasn't riveting listening, though.

Roman sounds like truly shit actor doesn’t he? That tickles me.

I’m part bored and part intrigued by the metal detectorist storyline. Apart from being able to mobilise a crack team of student archaeologists at short notice (even without the pandemic this was ridiculous) its been done well so far. There are absolute crooks out there, their Facebook groups are very locked down and secret, and responsible detectorists are ejected from some. There have been some high profile convictions in the last couple of years so I do welcome the exposure. I just hope that someone can get through Eddie’s thick skull that he’s no better than the rest!

I have watched all three Seasons and the Christmas Special of Detectorists - so am An Expert on treasure hunting. I'm afraid Eddie needs to be called away on urgent business, and his long lost brother, played by Toby Jones, along with his mate, Mackenzie Crook, need to turn up to help Clarrie with turkey prep in the run up to Christmas. Inevitably they'll be followed by a pair of illegal hangers on. Hilarity, tragedy, and triumph will ensue in a stately and melodic fashion, just in time for Christmas. Nothing else else can save this story from terminal tedium.

Being an Expert Detectorist like yourself, Poule, I most heartily concur!

And perhaps Johnny Flynn and/or The Unthanks could provide the theme music.

Haha that would be amazing.

Detectorists was one of the most perfect TV series ever.