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Archers thread #149: This is not a drill, it’s a plot device. Here’s hoping for Stella-r rows in Ambridge. Discuss The Archers here.

979 replies

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 06/06/2023 08:28

Thank you, @PseudoBadger, for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads.

Archers All views on The Archers welcome here! New blood welcomed, and of course we are always delighted to welcome back former or occasional listeners/posters. We don't all agree on all points, although we do mostly try to be civil about it. Most of us are posting tongue in cheek a lot of the time, so don't worry about revealing that you think George Grundy's bantz make him a great laugh and totally harmless to women, or other unusual views. Grin

Archers 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/4636789-the-archers-spoilers-thread-7-cant-wait-for-702pm-join-us-here, where spoilers are positively welcomed!

Archers 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 title suggestions - @FallonsNewCoat started us off with Drilling down OR What’s the drill?: So many jobs hanging in the balance - what’s planned for Adam, Stella, Freddie and horrible George?, @OverArmour's suggestion was ‘Drilling down on less than Stella-r performances and who will be a pig in muck’ and @TeenDivided contributed the laserdrill focussed Lets drill into plot holes and hope George gets his comeuppance. I went for a bit of all of that. The phrase at the back of my head, which I am very pleased to have tracked down, was from one of my favourite film franchises where the character Conklin says in Jason Bourne's memory This is not a drill, soldier. We clear on that? This is a live project. You are go. Training is over. Training is over. Well, that's us, troops. Training is over, discussing The Archers is a live project, and it's our job to drill down into all aspects of what we hear. Grin

On the last thread, people were discussing how unrealistic the portrayal of mental health problems is on TA. I wholeheartedly agree, but I suppose they don't feel they can tackle long-running slow burn storylines that often. They made a great effort with Jack Woolley's Alzheimer's. Other than that, I don't recall anybody having a recurring illness that's been portrayed realistically (and actually that goes for physical conditions as well). Most things clear up and are hardly mentioned again. Sticking just to mental illness, Pat had depression after John died, Mike Tucker had a bad bout of depression, so did Elizabeth. Helen's ED may or may not be about to re-appear, but nobody's mentioning it. Ben's rapid-onset depresssion recently led to a psychotic episode but now he's fine, not least because he got prompt, skilled and appropriate treatment on the NHS, unlike most of the UK. Hmm This is one area where I feel they shouldn't even attempt it if they can't do it in a way that reflects the reality of what most of us experience, for ourselves and our loved ones.

Anyway, with that off my chest - over to you!

OP posts:
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MrsBennetsPoorNerves · 11/07/2023 12:59

CountryCousin · 11/07/2023 11:00

last night's episode was better than other recent ones.

Fell asleep in the middle … Blush

Funnily enough, so did I... am going to have to re-listen later.

BerylBillings · 11/07/2023 14:08

George's nasty comments about Mia being as "hairy as a mammoth".

He really is an obnoxious little oik.

CountryCousin · 11/07/2023 14:20

But I must ask again - why did Joy move to Ambridge?

No family connection.
They didn’t even pretend she had any friends in the area.
No local work or study to move for.
No special interest in the landscape, nearest town or city, art, entertainment, history …
No location specific medical or cosmetic treatment.
Didn’t inherit a property there.
As far as we know didn’t win the house in a prize.

As I said at the start, the only explanation is Witness Protection. 🙄

Bubbylana · 11/07/2023 14:51

I love linda she isThe Archers for me. It was really exciting when she was in hospital and so was that boy and Phillip was trying to get him to play the game. Phillip was really horrible especially when he kept calling those boys Horses! The Archers was very good then. Whats gone wrong.

BeatriceBatchelor · 11/07/2023 16:41

<Psssst> @Bubbylana it's Lynda with a y not Linda with an i

😉

CountryCousin · 11/07/2023 17:28

Phillip was really horrible especially when he kept calling those boys Horses!

Yes. But more importantly you’ve reminded me that stressful times are generally eased by Narnia-immersion. I must dig out ‘The Horse and His Boy’ …

Bubbylana · 11/07/2023 17:40

Opps! I can just hear Lynda telling me off spelling her name wrong.

Eastie77Returns · 11/07/2023 18:20

Why does anyone even care if Brad and George get along. They are second cousins and polar opposites with nothing in common. They do not need to interact and can just tolerate each other at the odd family gathering. The whole thing is silly and contrived.

CountryCousin · 11/07/2023 19:00

Mmm … Not necessarily! I mean, sure - short of murder no one cares that two teenage boys don’t get along, but they’re each scions of close knit (potentially rival) Ambridge dynasties, and how they behave now will influence how we feel about each of them for decades to come. As well as, possibly, their life chances ‘going forward’.

Have the scars on Emma’s legs healed? Would Jazzer be a pig man if his brain hadn’t been fried by ketamine? How would Lily’s life have developed if she’d completed her degree in Manchester?

It’s possible that this rift might lead to one of them disappearing from Ambridge for years. (Guess which one I hope that will be?) Leaving the other to prosper and thrive (after a stellar academic career at Imperial or Cambridge or wherever). Where’s that 🔮…

BerylBillings · 11/07/2023 19:11

Have the scars on Emma’s legs healed?

Scars? Please explain.

BerylBillings · 11/07/2023 19:19

Goodness, that entire car crash storyline must have happened on an Archers hiatus for me.

Thanks for updating.

faffadoodledo · 11/07/2023 19:22

BerylBillings · 11/07/2023 14:08

George's nasty comments about Mia being as "hairy as a mammoth".

He really is an obnoxious little oik.

Yes, combined with his attitude towards Stella he's shaping up to be Ambridge's first incel

Ambridge · 11/07/2023 19:31

Well, George is going to be a delight when he gets home to Nanna, isn’t he?

Eastie77Returns · 11/07/2023 19:45

I’m almost certain George is telling the truth.

NetZeroZealot · 11/07/2023 20:31

Agree Eastie

It's so obvious.

CountryCousin · 11/07/2023 20:33

So, who took it in?

And what will be the consequences?

CountryCousin · 11/07/2023 20:39

Must say - I hadn’t realised cooked products counted in biosecurity concerns*. Vaguely thought it was just about live or dead animals and anything that came into contact with them, whether animate, like dogs and humans, or inanimate like mud and towels and gardening tools.

I clearly haven’t been paying close enough attention all these years …

(*I realise cooked food can be a whole different category of hazard, too.)

JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon · 11/07/2023 21:46

Why are the writers turning Harrison and Fallon into such blithering idiots?

Fallon was ridiculous tonight and as for Harrison, he knows the bridge farm archers have loads on their plate and that the tearoom isn't their number one priority so why is he having a word with the gaffer about going part time before Fallon has even got the go ahead? Why isn't he advocating a bit of caution? Why can't Fallon see that there might be some compromise required?

It is poor writing, especially as Harrison has previously been written as careful and risk averse about financial planning etc.

OverArmour · 11/07/2023 22:51

I’m surprised that Fallon would want to lock herself in for longer at so volatile a time. The lease is probably the biggest liability she’d have if she went out of business - and she’s doing herself out of the chance to exit or go to the charging station location.

I’m not so surprised that one event could be such a large part of a business after some difficult years. Good businesses are often seasonal with disproportionally big days.

I agree that the sausage roll wasn’t George’s - he’s just awful in every other way. They should have been writing up the prior warnings though.

OverArmour · 11/07/2023 22:52

*Food (hospitality) businesses

RegimentalSturgeon · 11/07/2023 23:20

Brad is 17, and Chelsea is older, not sure why either need to stay elsewhere.

Tracy doesn’t want Brad getting pregnant?

Kiwano · 11/07/2023 23:25

George deserves a formal disciplinary for the way he talks to Hannah, no need to do him for the sausage roll.

JanglyBeads · 12/07/2023 00:01

I wish there was more visible gap between Hannah and Stella - I realise they're one person in my head!