John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme series 9

[Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g]

Just caught up with episode 1 on Sounds. Different format from normal, reflecting the lack of audience present at the recordings. I thought it worked very well.

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000vqr4

This is the one I found via Twitter last week. Looks like it's not been updated for last night yet.

bleedingcool.com/tv/four-episodes-in-to-john-finnemores-souvenir-programme-series-9/

I've just listened to 1-5 back to back to make the cleaning bearable. I love it; the language (it's beastly cold out there!), The characters, the way the stories are weaving in and out.

I'm glad that blog exists because I was seriously considering listening to them all again when the series ends, with a notebook and pen. I still might.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Yes, what a lovely thought.

I'm listening to them all again too...and finding something new and extra good each time I do. Just trying to work out how Vanessa fits in...might have to read that blog...

Ignore that, I remember now.

The blog is up to date with the most recent episode now.

bleedingcool.com/tv/five-episodes-in-to-john-finnemores-souvenir-programme-series-9/

@JeremyIronsBenFolds

It reminds me more of his Double Acts, more reflective and thoughtful. I didn’t realise he’d taken a different approach and listening to the first while doing something else, then realised I didn’t know what was going on! I do like it, but definitely hasn’t hit the spot of the normal JFSP, the previous 8 are my comfort listens and I’ve heard them over and over again (along with ISIHAC!).

I hated hated hated double acts!

Blimey! I thought it was genius. Takes all sorts etc.

Maybe I should give double acts another go then. I tend to listen to these things in the only 20 mins I have on my own in the day (walking to work from school run) and I like things to be easy and light-hearted. I found it dull.

Today's episode is just so gobsmackingly good.

I didn't understand the bit about the army and pregnancy? Can u please explain.

As I understand it:

Gally and Susannah are a couple at a time when that has to be concealed
Susannah invents a husband, Major Noone (i.e. No One), who she then says has gone to the front, and will shortly be killed, leaving her pregnant
Gally has persuaded her brother Newt to father the child. In the process she learns that her brother is not gay, as she had assumed; asexual is probably the label we'd use now. However, to please Gally and Susannah he steels himself to do what needs to be done, and Jerry's mother (whose name I've shamefully forgotten) is the result, and that's why she looks so like Gally.

We don't know if she ever knew the truth. She asked Newt if Gally was her biological mother and he truthfully said no, but I felt it was left unspoken between them whether she guessed the truth. She was an extremely intelligent and empathic person, so my guess would be, yes.

I absolutely loved this series. I plan to listen to all six episodes in one go as soon as I can.

Thank you. I was listening to it with my family in the room. I am going to listen all episodes again in peace.

A clever person on Twitter has produced a family tree which JF himself has confirmed is correct. Deborah's mother is referred to as Mutti which is the German for Mummy. JF says her name is actually Hilla. (This may well have been mentioned in the scene where she meets Jerry in Germany.)

Fabulous series.

Oh gosh I cried at the end, what a testament to family abd it's enduring madness and love

well, i heard this last night and couldn't really make head nor tail of it.
reading this thread, now feel like i 've stumbled into a club, a very exclusive club, to which i don't belong.
i didn't dislike the programme, but had no idea it was meant to be funny.
sounds even more complicated than the archers.
think i'll give it a miss next time. haven't got the energy or brain power.

@alexdgr8, you heard #6 in the series. This is a series that you really have to listen to in order to make sense of it. Rare for the 6.30 R4 comedy to work like that. It's also not laugh out loud funny and maybe a bit marmite. If you change your mind about listening I'd be happy to chat about it!

alexdgr8 - Have you listened to 'Cabin Pressure' at all? (You may have done if you're an Archers aficionado.) It requires much less concentration, though rewards careful listening, and is easily laugh out loud funny. Good way to get into the rhythms of JF's mind.

It's so strange to have something quite challenging at 6.30pm, though! I'm usually in and out of the kitchen, and someone always phones, (because they know not to call at 7pm) so I miss crucial bits.

(I want to say the Archers isn't complicated - but it's too early in the morning to argue persuasively.)

Thanks for the thread. I listened to the first three episodes without concentrating enough, and only got as far as realising that the same characters were occurring in each episode and that the song seemed to matter!

In fact listening to it was like coming into a radio play halfway through and trying to catch up.

On the basis of what you’ve all just said I shall go back to the start and listen again. It’s on BBC Sounds.

I hated hated hated double acts!

Definitely give them another go. I loved almost all of them but especially WYSINWYG, Penguin Diplomacy and Mercy Dash....and the one with Michael Palin and JF which is so touching.

I really enjoyed this series, especially after a second listen of episodes 1-5 as it was easy to get a bit lost if you weren't paying attention.

I feel it should have been series 1 of something new though rather than series 9 of JFSP, it didn't feel anything like JFSP even down to having a different theme tune.

Well I absolutely loved that. I'm glad though that I'd listened to 1-5 back to back before hearing 6.

I do agree that it felt like something different rather than series whatever of JFSP. In fact I think calling it JFSP maybe did it a disservice as people would have switched on not expecting to need to follow the threads through the episode never mind the series.

So, so good though.

I'm listening to 6 through to one again now (another slow Friday in the office). I think I am actually sad I won't hear any more from them.

I wouldn't be so sure we won't hear more. JF said on Twitter yesterday Also, having read and enjoyed a lot of tweets and theories this week, I feel I ought to warn some people that the sketch explaining Newt and Gally’s nicknames had to be cut for time. And even worse, I’m not going to tell you about it, in case I need it later... :)