🎭 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!

@MadameButterface

I remember jim being horrible to shula, but I can’t hate him for it 😁 given that they have a very sweet relationship now, mutually respectful despite their differences etc, i think it was a good set up - it’s very satisfying that their relationship has developed in this way. The archers is great when it does these unlikely friendships. It’s not so great when it does cardboard cutouts of villains. I’ve noticed something as well - male villains get a lot more light and shade than the female ones. Matt, justin, vince all developed from cartoon stereotypes into something more. Hazel, hannah, jade - not so much.

True I was thinking the same. If a Bad Person enters and she’s a woman she stays mean as hell and is then dissolved. (Where is Hannah? And how does she still have a job?)

Isn’t that a bit weird considering they live next door and aren’t that far apart in age (although obviously a few years would have been a big difference when they were kids it isn’t now they’re both adults).

Ruairi's hardly an 'adult'! He's 18 (born Nov 2002) and still, technically, at school/sixth form college. Phoebe was born June 1998. I know for a fact that our similarly aged teen boy would be scared of someone like Phoebe.

It's true, we never hear them interact. In other families it might perhaps be an awkward familial relationship - but those are the Aldridge clan's Specialist Subject. So I suspect it's just that the creative team haven't yet come up with a reason for them to talk to each other.

Ruairi is funny on the subject of Phoebe's mother though! I loved his imitation, a while ago, of Kate flouncing about complaining that no one took her seriously.

I expect the SWs have forgotten that Phoebe and Ruari are neighbours. Given the amount of time we have all been told to "stay at home" in the past 12 months it is somewhat surprising that there haven't been "conversations over the back fence".

Didn't we find out that the walls were really thin shortly after the Aldridges moved in (and Kirsty still lodged with Roy).

Tracey? OK not a villain, but pretty bad news, her character's really developed in the last couple of years.

Oh yes let's have a bit more Hazel she was fun!

Yes i thought of Tracey actually, but i put her in the ‘not a villain just a bit of a nobhead’ category like joe and eddie grundy and tobeee. God, they even allowed the appalling russ to redeem himself slightly when he looked after elizabeth when she was panicking. I’m trying to think now of truly awful male characters who had no redeeming features (i’m talking about in archers reality, not our reality, before @theThreeofWeevils jumps in with a list as long as my arm of all the many characters male and female who have no redeeming features as far as this thread is concerned btw 😂😂😂) , i can only think of goldenpip’s ex fella jude, he was pretty awful.

...and rob of course, but if they’ve managed to fool the gen pop they don’t count, philip had us all going that he was a total dullard

Philip came across as nice but a bit dull.

I have relistened to yesterday's episode and don't think that Jim was rude. When I listened yesterday I thought had Jade been a guest here at ILoveTheStables, I would have asked her to leave.

When she started moaning about the salad i could have smacked her, you never moan about free food ffs, and WHO EVEN DOES THAT anyway, what with that and eddie’s ‘hilarious’ reaction to lentils the other night it sounded like TA is sponsored by greggs this week

Ruairi is funny on the subject of Phoebe's mother though! I loved his imitation, a while ago, of Kate flouncing about complaining that no one took her seriously.
When he called her 'Clown trousers' I had a complete picture of her in my mind.

I think Eddie is going out of his way to be understanding of Mia considering producing meat and dairy is his raison d'etre.

Very funny hearing Ian crying poverty and acting like they are on the breadline and then Adam casually says he has just remembered he has a few thousand in an old savings account.

I wouldn’t call pork belly an unfashionable cut of meat these days. It has been on every gastro-pub menu I have seen for the past decade.

But in spite of these inconsistencies tonight saw a definite improvement on last night’s terrible script but it’s all still feeling very flat at the moment though...

Last night's script was by Naylah Ahmed; tonight's was by Keri Davies.

Always darkest before dawn, we've a cracker coming up no doubt.

Yes Rob didn't have redeeming features or character development, just unveiling of dark traits.

Thinking about Phillip, I have to admit I was completely taken in by him. I remember when he first appeared mending the Hunt's runs or whatever, I sensed that he was very definitely placed, and some on the BBC TA Fb Page were immediately wary and disliked him, but I didn't.

Whereas I sussed Rob out way before anyone else I've ever heard commenting. Probably because I recognised the MO.

He first appeared on 6th January 2013, moving into Bloody Hell Cottage and trying to identify a melon baller, didn't he? That was when he was intended to be a replacement of Brian, before Sean O'Connor decided to use him for a bit of vicarious abuse of women.

Helen didn't actually meet him until 13th June, 2013, when he came into her shop looking for food advice for the meal he was giving Adam and Ian that evening, and invited her to come along too. By that time he had interrogated everyone in the village about everything, and presumably knew she was a suitable victim for his particular style of relationship.

I had him down as a bit of a wrong'un during the interrogation period, and a definite wrong'un on the day he was unpleasantly stereotyping about gays, which would be on the second or third time he met Helen. At the time she took him to task for it, pointing out that her best friend Ian was gay, but she seemed to forget it immediately on account of she fancied the pants off Rob.

Wow had forgotten some of that, thanks @AskingQuestionsAllTheTime

I think Eddie is going out of his way to be understanding of Mia considering producing meat and dairy is his raison d'etre.

Oh yes, he’s being absolutely lovely, no question of that (he’s a much better dad, grandad and step grandad than he is a husband or employee), i just can’t take another ‘comedy’ storyline where he has to pretend to be delighted about vegan cake, or wherever it is they’re going with this daft nonsense.

I just groaned when I heard Adam back tonight, I really can't stand the actor's intonation, he always sounds so stilted and unconvincing.

Very funny hearing Ian crying poverty and acting like they are on the breadline and then Adam casually says he has just remembered he has a few thousand in an old savings account.
They were very strange scenes. Who gets the house rewired and then thinks "have we got the money?" Adam's 'old savings account' sounded like a feeble white lie, as if he had the money all along but didn't want to embarrass Ian by paying his half. But what was that your-half / my-half business all about? - they're married so it should be a joint finances.

Eddie might not have to pretend to like vegan cake. I've had some bloody excellent vegan cake.

And also, if Phoebe is earning a full time wage from it It hasn't generated any income for anyone to "earn" a full time wage from. If anyone's getting any wage from it, it must be coming out of Peggy's money.

But what was that your-half / my-half business all about? - they're married so it should be a joint finances. Yes that was weird. Even if you're not married, you look after the parent of your child. I know there are plenty of real life examples on MN of people not doing that, but neither Adam nor Ian are being portrayed as baddies

Eddie might not have to pretend to like vegan cake. I've had some bloody excellent vegan cake.

I had a vegan cinnamon bun the other week and it was so good i had tears in my eyes because I didn’t realise how much i’d missed cinnamon buns (or it was the lockdown talking).

@EBearhug

Eddie might not have to pretend to like vegan cake. I've had some bloody excellent vegan cake.

Vegan cake is oftn excellent. What I find depressing is enforced vegan cake -- and if Mia is proposing to do all the cooking, an enforced vegan diet for Eddie and Clarrie.

They probably ought to take supplementary vitamin D, which is good against respiratory diseases like Covid and is mostly to be found in red meat, offal, fatty fish and dairy produce including eggs. There is some in mushrooms, but you need to eat an awful lot of them to meet the requirement. There is not enough sun in Britain in winter for them to be able to get it that way either.

I suppose Mia might manage to give them fortified tofu, or almond milk. I do hope she will think of it.

@Roysnewshirt

Very funny hearing Ian crying poverty and acting like they are on the breadline and then Adam casually says he has just remembered he has a few thousand in an old savings account.

I wouldn’t call pork belly an unfashionable cut of meat these days. It has been on every gastro-pub menu I have seen for the past decade.

But in spite of these inconsistencies tonight saw a definite improvement on last night’s terrible script but it’s all still feeling very flat at the moment though...

I laughed at Adam’s banking arrangements too - utterly bizarre to have thousands of pounds you’ve forgotten about it. Doesn’t he have online banking? Maybe he’s buried it under the frog tanks or whatever it is jazzer looks after.

It was lockdown talking, MadameButterface - there is nothing good about cinnamon, be it a vegan recipe or otherwise.

AQATT, I thought B12 was advised for vegans. Eddie (less so Clarrie) is probably one of the few people in Britain who spends enough time outside that he does get vit D from the sun.