🎭 Archers thread 125: Ambridge Mysteries! The Case Of The Missing Pandemic. Where Is Pat? What Is Lynda Snell's Kompromat? Follow the clues and 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 love to be in the Mysteries, 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 for thread title ideas to @Roysnewshirt and @Witchwife. Apologies if I’ve forgotten anyone else.

Do we think the Mysteries replace the usual fun storylines around giving things up for Lent? Light relief while we wait to see if the SWs go for realism and tragedy when Alice’s baby is born, or bottle out (as it were) and go for everything being fine? Will Jazzer and Tracy get back together again? (No bookie in the land would take money for that, of course they will.)

Over to you!

@DeusEx I agree. I didn't mind so much when for example the play rehearsals were a forum for Kirsty's dislike of Rob to surface, but when the play is the storyline and requires distortion of characters (Clarrie at the moment - would she give a damn about her part in the play, really?) it's tedious and irritating. Even more baffling is that it's not clearly identifiable as an issue-led storyline or an attempt to get younger listeners, which are the usual two reasons for implausible or character-distorting plot.

@DeusEx I agree. I didn't mind so much when for example the play rehearsals were a forum for Kirsty's dislike of Rob to surface, but when the play is the storyline and requires distortion of characters (Clarrie at the moment - would she give a damn about her part in the play, really?) it's tedious and irritating. Even more baffling is that it's not clearly identifiable as an issue-led storyline or an attempt to get younger listeners, which are the usual two reasons for implausible or character-distorting plot.

I am confused by Kirsty atm. To my ear she doesn't sound like Annabelle Dowler acting Kirsty, the intonations are all wrong. She sounds like Kirsty acting somebody else, as if Lynda has set her some "fake it til you make it" role-play therapy.

@WheresThatCatGoneNow

Where is Jennifer these days?

It seems wrong that we haven't heard her going into overdrive about this latest grandchild!

She was on the phone about the baby "half the night" according to Brian the day after the birth, and she then relayed the baby's names to him from someone by phone, so she's still alive.

Alistair is playing the journalist lead in R4 play 'Eastern Star' about the 1988 Burmese unrest - on now

I started late on it, he sounds quite different to Alistair apart from the voice.

The mystery play story line is complete rubbish. Do the scriptwriters not listen to the Archers?.

For the first time ever, I found myself respecting Eddie today. Good on him for boycotting Lynda and Kirsty. I hope the rest of Ambridge follows suit and that they never venture into the world of Am Dram again. Although I don’t need Bore’s mystic ball to predict that there will be a big fall out, ‘Mary’ will drop out too along with half of Ambridge in protest before Lynda and Kirsty apologise and the whole yawn fest goes ahead.

Did anyone not predict the two cakes jape?

I’m surprised even Eddie didn’t see the cake trick coming...
I enjoyed today’s episode though.

Who was the woman cackling at Ben's present?

That woman was Josh.

@AskingQuestionsAllTheTime

That woman was Josh.

No, I think there was someone called Evie there too? She sounded as awful as the awful Jade.

No, there wasn't someone called Evie.The only female tonight was the moron Clarrie, laughing like a drain at the totally unforeseeable Great Cake Prank.
Ben. Josh. Eddie. Clarrie. And creepy Leonard.creepy
Evie was mentioned. So was Nurse Syrah, in the little propaganda insert at the end. Syrah smiles behind her mask because although she's not paid much, she's making a difference. To which the only possible response is ODFOD.

@AskingQuestionsAllTheTime

Did anyone not predict the two cakes jape?

I could see it coming from the start. Hohoho. Yawn.

@AskingQuestionsAllTheTime

That woman was Josh.

I thought there was a woman there too.

Very contrived to hear 19-year-old Ben going all dewy-eyed over Leonard’s vaccine experience. The only thing he is likely to really want from Leonard is Nurse Syrah’s phone number. He seems to be a walking hormone.

I wonder if they will make Mia, or may be Kate, an anti-vaxxer. It would help counter the over-sentimentalised view of vaccinations we had last night. I’m not one myself but my sister is and ‘to vax or not to vax’ is a very real debate in some households.

I was glad to see Eddie drop out of the play in solidarity with ClarrieLuv, but it was a lot out of character.

Did anybody else think Mia's rainbow cake is her way of coming out? Or am I overthinking things as usual?

I wondered whether all the stuff about the wonderful nurse was going to lead Ben to decide to become one.

I was hoping Ben's enthusiasm for the time capsule was going to encourage him to become TA new archivist . I also thought there was a woman there last night laughing at Leonard.

It's true Josh sounded disturbingly unfamiliar last night.

I was equally annoyed by the over-evident cheapness of last night's casting. I'm sure other other episodes have managed with just five characters - but yesterday sounded so thin and unconvincing.

As for the time capsule - I'm seeing the emergence of a BBC-wide 'How we will memorialise the pandemic' project'.

Interesting composite 'Spring At Last!' R4 trailer yesterday - hearing Shula and, IIRC Ruth, it took a while to realise they were actually representing TA, not acting in some other soon to be broadcast show.

Definitely no woman present during the conversations involving Ben and Leonard. Angus Imrie's voice is quite light so maybe that's the issue. I like hearing Ben and Josh together. One of the more believable relationships at Brookfield, and I can also tell them apart. The Ben actor's voice is quite a bit deeper.

Bit of hagiography going on there at the end in re vaccinations. They must have been praying that the vaccination programme would go to plan so that scene would be credible. It's actually gone so incredibly well that it's odd to hear someone as old as Leonard still enthusing about it as people of his age were actually vaccinated weeks ago now. My parents are due their second one in just over three weeks.

(I assume he's a similar age to Jill. She's late 80s, I think, same as my parents.)

@DoctorTwo

I was glad to see Eddie drop out of the play in solidarity with ClarrieLuv, but it was a lot out of character.

Did anybody else think Mia's rainbow cake is her way of coming out? Or am I overthinking things as usual?

Sometimes a rainbow is just a rainbow. In fact it is most of the time.

Rainbows are also associated with the NHS now, aren't they?

I have never tasted a rainbow cake that wasn't nasty.