Archers thread #162: ‘This is like talking to Lassie’ – how right you are, Fallon! 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, 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 cowhide-covered walls are a great idea for a cafe with vegan and vegetarian customers, 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/4636789-the-archers-spoilers-thread-7-cant-wait-for-702pm-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.)

Title comes from one of the better scripted conversations of recent weeks, when Fallon said ”Harrison, this is like talking to Lassie! Just TELL ME”. So true of so many conversations on TA where you just want to shake them and yell 'Just TELL US, and quickly, so you don't get interrupted before you can say the important bit', but of course they rarely do and days pass before the conversation resumes. @TheBell suggested putting it in the title, so thanks for that.

@OverArmour had a great if more obscure idea, paying tribute to a Peter Greenaway film: The Policeman, The Drunk, The Vet and his Lover. That will do very well as a starting point for the new thread. Will Alistair leave? Will Denise tell John she's leaving him? Will Paul learn to be less noisy? Do any of us care?

I do care a little about Harrison and Fallon. I want Harrison to get a grip and realise he needs a paying job more than the captaincy of the cricket team. I don't care at all about Harry but I think he's been brought in purely as a plot device so with any luck we can all forget about him very soon.

Over to you!

Did anyone else keep thinking the defense at Harrison's tribunal sounded just like Chris?

Yes, very much so.

Did anyone else keep thinking the defense at Harrison's tribunal sounded just like Chris?

Distractingly so, even down to the exact (quite distinctive) intonation he used to say Harrison‘s name.

It would have been ever so nice if they'd actually spoken to a lawyer about that hearing. I'll admit I've never been present at a police disciplinary, but I refuse to believe that it departs so much from what is universally accepted as normal and fair practice in all other similar contexts.

For instance, what was all that nonsense about the defence barrister having to ask leave to re-call Harry? The norm would be for him to have the standard opportunity to cross-examine immediately after he had given his main evidence. The way the police lawyer was asking leading questions and putting words into Harry's mouth was dreadful and would have been the subject of immediate objections from the defence which were bound to be upheld by the chair. Likewise no lawyer who knew the tiniest bit about normal procedure would have been constantly trying to interject whilst Harry was giving evidence for the defence - it was obvious that what he was saying was relevant and no-one had asked him any improper questions. I've heard lawyers laughing about amateur advocates going in for pointless aggression because it's always counter-productive, this was the epitome of pointless aggression.

I know they would say it's all dramatic licence yadda yadda but it's all so bloody lazy. Why assume the audience is too thick and/or too badly informed to notice these things? Don't they pride themselves on the trope that R4 audiences are a cut above?

The 🔮 has also found things somewhat tedious lately. However, it says that it's pretty sure the Ambridge Health Fairy is about to inflict liver failure upon Harry.

@Flamme IKR. My law experience is the GDL and even I knew that was just silly

Totally agree about the unbelievable way the hearing was conducted.

I had expected Harry was going to blacken Harrison's name at the hearing but he was very decent in the end. Although Alice refused to talk to him afterwards, I have a horrible feeling she might soften towards him after his performance. Really hope she doesn't get back with him but I suspect we have not seen the last of Harry.

I had no idea Corrie had switched to three one hour long episodes per week. Whoever thought that could be a good idea? It must be like being held prisoner for viewers.

I remember watching it when it was only on Mondays and Wednesdays for 30 minutes (less ads) at 7.30pm.

I too like Leonard and I think he should become friendly with Robert and both take up the same hobby then he could be in TA more.
I think they could have had Brian and Miranda having breakfast and Brian saying thanks for last night instead of them being in bed and giving everyone the ick🤮, It was like finding out what your mum and dad do to make babys.😱

The way the police lawyer was asking leading questions and putting words into Harry's mouth was dreadful and would have been the subject of immediate objections from the defence which were bound to be upheld by the chair

This amazed me too.

If there were a camera, they’d have turned towards it.

Did anyone else keep thinking the defense at Harrison's tribunal sounded just like Chris?

The police lawyer sounded like Denise to me and the Chair sounded like Miranda.

Just three 😂😂😂 in response to that.

Reading through the litany of issues here, I have to conclude that TA is badly written at the moment. If it were just one thing, I might be able to put it down to soapy dramatic licence, but the general approaches and behaviours of so many characters are so pantomime as to be completely unrealistic. Totally agree about the prosecution guy at Harrison’s hearing. I’m always surprised even in dramas that I assume are a tad more realistic that lawyers/barristers are allowed to be aggressive and ask leading questions (I always want the person on the stand to shout “Don’t you think that’s a leading question?” in response to that sort of line, and it’s the sort of thing that seems to be a hangover of an Old Boys/public school debating-type culture in the law, which I hope will evolve over time) but the characterisation last night was utterly ridiculous and surely (as a total non-lawyer here) the judge and defence counsel wouldn’t have stood for it. Add in Jolene’s behaviour and Emma’s apparent volte face in the face of George’s behaviour, and we have a totally ridiculous drama. Anyone else feel like the characterisation (not the actual plot content, obviously) is worthy of CBBC sometimes?

Ok, much to complain about at the moment but every now and again there’s something that causes a needle scratch, people stop talking silence in my head that flings me out of Ambridge and right now it’s CAMPING????? Fucking camping? Yes we know the tent was an excuse for Justin to talk to Miranda, but I absolutely point blank refuse to believe that they ever even had a tent. And the mere suggestion that Lilian - LILIAN!!! - would go camping at any age, but particularly at whatever age she is now, is just insulting. I really miss Keri Davies.

I also wish we hadn’t heard Brianda in bed. I just hope she is on the level. I want Justin written out forever, I don’t want him to be right about her and Brian ends up getting ripped off. Ooh never mind the south of France, maybe Justin and Lilian could go camping in Central Europe and get eaten by bears!

Listening to TA is the price we pay for being able to enjoy these threads - well put @MereDintofPandiculation There's no doubt in my mind that I enjoy these threads as much as (and indeed sometimes more than) TA! I enjoyed last night's hearing more than I thought I would (apart from the police barrister talking over Harry's evidence and not letting him get a word in!) Most importantly we got a realistic outcome - I can't remember which poster supplied that info but I used the thank button to thank them personally (I've often wondered what that button is for - I usually think people have hit it in error when anyone thanks me as I never imagine I've posted anything worthy of thanks). I got the feeling a line has now been drawn under Harry - he has served his purpose.

I think Harry is going to be in for a while

i use the thanks button more as in ‘I agree’

I have fond memories of a scene in Corrie where Rita and Bet were comparing Mavis and Derek to Heathcliff and Cathy - Mavis was Heathcliff. It was absolutely hilarious and was the sort of writing they seem absolutely incapable of producing now.

To be fair, leading questions are allowed in cross-examination, which is probably when you mostly get actor-barristers being aggressive. The problem last night was that the police barrister was leading her own witness to the extent of stopping him saying what he actually wanted to say.

So do I.

Do you think Harry and Harrison are going to become besties?

I like the Thanks button. I usually use it to show appreciation for the post.

Anyone know if there Is a reason people can’t see how many thanks a post has received?

Probably a typical MN fudge. They haven't introduced the facility to upvote or openly favourite posts, because every time somebody suggests it there's vociferous opposition. This seems to be a backdoor, low key, virtually unknown way of doing similar.

[Currently sitting in a train at Euston hoping to get a green signal so we can finally set off for Glasgow, 2.5 hours after my scheduled train. All hopes of getting the ferry today are gone. Sigh. No connection to TA, just wanted to vent.]

It was specifically set up so that only the poster who wrote the post can see the thanks it has received. If everyone could see the number of thanks for a particular post MN would just become a popularity contest, with too many people not posting themselves - just high fiving their besties.

Oh, @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g you poor thing! I had a vague plan to travel from Euston today, but have postponed until tomorrow in the hope things might be back to normal by then. Fingers crossed that you set off soon.