👑 Archers thread #139: Who’s the Daddy? No ceremonial required to join us – 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 like the sound of Lilian’s Cinnamon Chicken, 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/4197199--The-Archers-spoilers-thread-6-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.)

I'm often struck by the time a thread ends how irrelevant the previous title has become to what's currently going on in The Archers. The Queen's death has only been mentioned very briefly in TA, of course, but I suppose that was to be expected in a time of budget constraints. In a few weeks when this thread fills up I wonder if we will still be thinking that, and about Chelsea and her pregnancy. That depends on what she decides to do, which at the time of writing is still up in the air.

As usual, I asked for title ideas and for various reasons then didn't use them. Sorry. Lillian Gish's was very witty - Will Chelsea stay mum about dad? Muddler made a more controversial one - Horrobins thread #139. As a new Great House of Ambridge emerges, come swear your allegiance here.

That's about all I can face saying about TA at the moment. I am expecting to have to travel north soon as my Dad is in hospital and I have to be with my Mum. (They're the same sort of age as Jill Archer, and up to now have been like her and Peggy, very active, managing very well with no help, but this may all be about to change ). So apologies if I'm more absent than present for a while. Will pop in when I can.

What I'm missing atm is all the seasonal/farm driven gentle storylines,
summer fete, flower &produce show, harvest supper, lambing, cheese making, sheep shearing.

There's too much plot.

And far too much characters acting out of character for the sake of plot.

Was Chelsea drunk or high at the rave? We didn’t hear Ben’s reaction on Friday (it ended with “…and it’s yours!”) and I wonder if there’s scope for Ben to say “What? We had a snog but nothing else”. Then it transpires that Chelsea was drunk/high enough that she’s got confused about the sequence of events and it transpires that she doesn't know who the father is after all, but it’s not Ben.

I wouldn't past anything past the SWs at this point, @BrightYellowDaffodil. If they wrote in a scene where Chelsea eventually remembered boarding a spaceship and having passionate sex with a Martian, I'm not sure I'd even blink.

Accordingly, it had crossed my mind it could still turn out to be Josh.

There's nothing to indicate Chelsea was drunk or high. Chelsea was teasing Russ about not remembering what happened at the rave.

Ben disappeared for a while and when Josh found him he was doing a lot of self-pitying wailing about how much he really lurrrved Bore (post coital tristesse?)

I was thinking this morning, she wasn't particularly drunk or anything was she, was in a very positive confident mood.

Why would she have had sex with a drunken morose Archer boy who likes sheepdogs? Hardly her scene?

Or am I being naive?

Is this all to do with R4 trying to attract a younger audience? EastEnders on Cotswolds or summat?

The storyline stinks - way to ruin at least 3 young people's lives (Chelsea, Ben, Beth). I know people know teens who've had babies and everything's worked out, but, let's face it, stats aren't on their side.

I want Chelsea to become hairdresser to the stars and end up in Hollywood, Ben to finish his training and become a brilliant nurse, and he and Beth to be together, happily, for the rest of their lives and the scriptwriters to do one. And Tracey needs to keep her beak out. She knows how hard it is to raise kids alone.

Stamp, stamp, stamp.

She was very confident and positive on the night of the rave and in the immediate days afterward e.g as I've mentioned before, her teasing Russ about the rave.

One of the Archer boys split beer over her dress and she went off to change in to her spare dress. I can't remember which one but I can't honestly see how that would have led to a shagging situation- Ben has to accompany her ? Ben is overtaken by desire seeing her in her bra and knickers?? Ben breaks into full on weeping and wailing and Chelsea offers a pity shag???

Oh goodness, I'd be happy not to hear from Bore again. She has every possibility of turning into St. Smugula the Second.

I'm indifferent to Ben, although anything which wipes the smugness from Ruth and David is fine.

Chelsea is now so much just a plot device I'm struggling to care about her too.

The only part of this I liked was hearing the update on Blake and the meeting with Lynda. Lynda is 98% infuriating and then does something really kind - such as being the first person to have had confidence in Chelsea's ability as a hairdresser.

Thank you so much!! This all sounds familiar. I was definitely young enough that I didn’t know what exactly he had done to Debbie and found it all extremely horrible. This was back when I was a child passive listener.

I miss some of the “lovely” older characters that used to be around like Marjorie A and Nigel’s mum - and her boyfriend? Someone who ran a wine bar. Nelson possibly.

Wait, Sharon got pregnant at 17 to Chelsea’s uncle and had to drop out of a hairdressing course. Have they just picked up the scripts from 1989 and changed a few names?

Yup that was Nelson. Not sure he ever actually stepped out with the redoubtable Julia. Was it just that every conversation was flirtatious?

Tonight's episode is possibly the most important I'll have ever listened to....

Assuming they don't cut to a filler episode with something irrelevant like Pinky and Perky getting colic or Kirsty taking Ardil bird watching (although the latter would be lovely)

Or more fascinating entries from The Secret Diary of Kenton Archer aged 13 and 3/4.

Kenton's Diary can do one

Oh can't it just. What a waste of the available 13 minutes.

Yes, Josh, it is that bad.

How dare they make Ben still be so lovely, now I might have to keep on listening.....

Lovely? All I was thinking at the end during the blubbing self- pity was the often used MN mantra - if you don't want to be a father, keep it in your pants.

Chelsea is beginning to sound a bit more like Chelsea and was by far and away the adult in that scene.

Running away from Chelsea and breaking his word not to tell any one wasn't lovely.

Maybe Beth will accept that if you’ve dumped someone you can’t expect them to be celibate until such time as you decide not to dump them after all. But I expect not. Ben will go into a decline and mess up his nurse training, Beth will marry someone else, then they’ll keep having Brief Encounter style meetings for the next 40 years.

I think it was disgraceful of Ben to go back to Beth and continue having presumably pill-only sex with her without telling her that he had had unprotected sex with Chelsea, leaving Beth vulnerable to all manner of diseases. Sure, Beth wouldn’t have been happy about it but she had broken up with him so she couldn’t complain too loudly. Gambling with someone else’s health is despicable and as a bloody nursing student, Ben of all people should know that. Clearly both need to grow up a hell of a lot before they contemplate bringing a new life into the world.

I expect not. I think Bore was however entitled to know Ben had had unprotected sex with someone else, particularly if Ben and Bore's contraception method is non-barrier; unless Ben had an STD test, which he won't have.

I'm still amazed Ben didn't make any connection between the ONS and Chelsea's disappearance.

I found it quite upsetting to hear Ben crying like that. Much as I wanted to see the back of smug Beth, it really got to me.

It just struck me as very selfish and self- pitying. He's not the one who's pregnant.

Anyway totally unrealistic storyline #493

If Ben is still at Brookfield how on earth did he manage 2 days being ill in bed without Roooth and Jill fussing over him every 5 minutes offering cups of tea and flapjacks?

And #494 does Chelsea have no friends of her own age she could have confided in? Or a student welfare officer at college?

I'm mildly pleased that my completely unrealistic speculation about how the conception happened turned out be exactly what happened.