🍾 Archers thread 123: Goodbye & good riddance to 2020 – to Philip too? The Archers is 70 on New Year’s Day – celebrate or vent about it 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 wish we heard more from Shula, 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.)

So! 2021 beckons. Big anniversary next Friday, 1.1.21 (and to mark that we have episodes Tuesday-Friday next week). What would we like to see happen? I may be in a minority of one, but I'd like a nice gentle character-driven episode. I don't think we'll get that, but I really, really hope they don't kill someone else off, just for the headlines.

[Title edited by MNHQ at OP'S request]

I don't know because by the time I had been polorized I had missed it.

@AskingQuestionsAllTheTime

There are often glaring wrong spellings of words in the BBC synopses, as well as grammatical howlers, but complaining about it gets you nowhere: they ignore any criticism without turning a hair.

A pet hate of mine at the moment is how some newsreaders subtly mangle the bulletin they are reading . Stresses in the wrong place, pauses in the middle of clauses which subdivide them and thus sometimes distort their meaning. It gets me shouting at the radio.

Detective Peggy Marple, oh to have her insight.

Must be a relief to Christopher to have someone to talk to ...

Is this the big episode?

I have been enjoying the Death of Nuance - it's 15 mins every day this week.

So, Tracy and Jazzer, how contrived...

I've got something in my eye 😭

I don't mind about Tracy and Jazzer - they're both at a loose end, Home Brew consumed ... They'll think better of it in the morning.

Worse, I mean. Worse!

@MrsGrindah

Is this the big episode?

Tomorrow ...

Mark my words, come September there'll be a little Trazzer.

Do you think tomorrow will be Alice related then? That is if they're going for a shocking one? A night of behaving well might send her over the edge.

Ah thanks @PoulePouletteEternellement ..I’m confused with it being back on a Friday this week

Tomorrow night could eithe be w continuation of tonight (what happens when Alice and Chris get home?) or the aftermath tomorrow. The whole idea of NYE is making me well up this year, plus reading how awful things are in London hospitals....

My guess for New Year is that Freddie will get a message from Bernard saying that, on the basis of one Christmas production, they have decided that he has grown up and he will get control of the Estate sans Trustees.
It will be a neat book-end to finish the 10 year misery following The Scream. It will be nice to have a bit of happiness for a change.

Oh yes @R4 I think you might be along the right lines

I was speculating on exactly that outcome on the Spoilers thread this morning, R4! It wound be a nice tribute to Nigel. (And no other story needed Bernard ...)

It will be nice to have a bit of happiness for a change

Things going well for Freddie won't make quite a lot of listeners happy at all.

Alert, alert! Shula losing her virginity! Lost episode recovered! From 8.47am on Today, R4. David Blunkett's choice.

Happy New Year, my lovelies!

(Right. That's my full annual quota of '!!!')

Just heard Shula on Today too, PoulePouletteEternellement. It was interesting hearing David Blunkett saying how it was radical at the time.

I say good for Tracy and Jazzer. They are not hurting anyone else and I personally thought Tracy has given more thought to Brad and Chelsea than Helen ever did to Henry and Jack.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Farming Today celebrates The Archers. (It's even older - 83 years old!)

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000qmql

The T and J scene was a bit teenage but given how uneventful New Year was this year, it was very welcome. I am worried about the future of their romance. While I want it to work, neither has any prospect of money or financing a place of their own so I fear the practicalities will get in the way and it will have no longevity - in spite of how well-suited they are.

Peggy used that stupid over-exaggerated delivery people put on to read poetry aloud. Why do people do that? So irritating and always ruins an excellent poem...

Please don’t let tonight’s highlight be Freddie-related!

Am I completely deranged to be wishing it was Susan Carter presenting Woman's Hour this morning?

Strictly in character, of course...

Happy New Year everyone. I really enjoyed yesterday's episode. I thought Peggy was very restrained in not telling Chris to stop patronising her and lying to her!

I really thought Jim was going to pop his clogs at the beginning of the episode, all that “haven’t we had a lovely time, but I’m too tired to go out”. I assumed Jazzer would go out to the bonfire and come back to Jim asleep for ever. Big relief to have a lighter denouement.