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!

Fallon and Harrison going for a shag was alluded to recently, apropos of nothing - so yeah she’s probably pregnant because why would anything in the Archers happen if not to move the plot along?!

I have thought this for a while. I originally thought something might happen with his boss but now I’m thinking Alice and her ready made family unit.

Now that really would shake Ambridge to its core.

Could be. The madonna and child and damsel in distress.

I'm sure (though don't have a great memory) tom said the sausage twins were planned/they had been acctively ttc once they found out but not sure how long they had been trying

@WitcheryDivine I agree, I thought exactly that this afternoon when I was listening to that phone call...

I think I remember either Tom or Natasha saying they’d been trying for ages, and weren’t sure it was going to happen…

Oof, caught up. Thanks for the new thread, Gaspode.

I love Harrison but WHY can’t he keep his mouth shut? That conversation with Chris was the equivalent of saying “Might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb”.

And poor old Alice. She did not deserve Chris going the full banana last night, he behaved like an absolute arse.

They did. I wasn't interested enough to make notes, but I remember thinking that wqas a change from Natasha's stating early in the relationship that she didn't want to have children and Trevor wanting them was why she threw him over.

Ooof, Chris was harsh. The fact that she dumped him straight away should surely count in her favour.

but to my ear that scene suggested he would like to be back together with her. Perhaps this is going to go round the houses but they will end up together after all

on the ttc, has Lynda been open about the fact she wanted kids but couldn’t? I feel like she has been?

Yes, she has at one time and another; more when they had first arrived in the village. I seem to remember her using the phrase "but it was not to be" on one occasion!

Right on to tonight’s episode

George was on horrible form. He has a point - I think Will is potentially making a mistake. But he was vile. Maybe the tree surgery will succeed because of will

i don’t know why but ed makes me think of ralf little

Chris could do with some counselling to talk through his feelings. Is that something you can get as the partner of an addict?

I liked the echoeyness of the forge and the squeaky door

I heard that in her voice when I read it! Very Lynda!

Poor Lynda. Her experience of being a stepmother to Robert's daughters wasn't uncomplicated, either. Long time since we heard from/about Coriander, isn't it? At we know Leonie is married to Lilian's son James and has issue, as they say in the Bible - the gloriously named Mungo.

It was quite funny to hear Will acting as if he is in Dragon’s Den. Now the tree surgery business seems to be his to leave his son and heir. It’s a double bind for EdandEm.

George was vile about his mother and step-dad.

I’m sad to say it’s not the first time I’ve heard teens / young adults bite the hand that fed them …

George is a horrid little scrote. His “hilarious” joke about his mother’s relationship with his father and uncle is, as ever, utterly crass much as the Emma/Will/Ed situation is as vulgar as all hell.

But clearly EdandEmma have got a crap business plan which doesn’t at all surprise me. Any Grundy enterprise is doomed to failure by their own hubris.

I do wonder how much they've discussed Will's involvement - they're expecting him to be a hands-off source of finance; he wants to be actively involved. Not unreasonable if he's putting up thr money, but they need to set it out clearly.

In Friday's or Sunday's episode, Chris had to correct himself from saying "you're my wife" to ex-wife.

I don’t agree with the way he voiced his opinion but I think George is 100% right.

I'm inclined to agree... only trouble is that there's already one affair storyline going already (I'm not sure there have ever been two affairs going on at once, but there's always a first time?!) ...Perhaps it'll be a slow burner?

@Bruisername Al-Anon have family groups to offer support, would be good if this were referenced at some point for Chris.

Yea George is a nasty little so and so, but he is right what he said. I hope Ed And Em find another way to start the business.
I think Chris will always be in love with Alice (dont know why).
I hope he finds some one who is lovely and gets over it. I dont want Chris and princess Alice to get back together as she was drinking when she was with him so it couldn't have been that great and she dosnt drink,( though she has had a lot of support), now she is not with him.

Chris could do with some counselling to talk through his feelings. Is that something you can get as the partner of an addict?
They're not partners.

ok ex partner and co parent

coparent probably being the most important

A bit late to the new thread, but love the Title. Of course as a Sheltie owner I am slightly prejudiced.

I hope Ed and Em polish up their business plan and take it back to the bank. George is right - Will shouldn't stake his house on it. And after yesterday's discussions Ed and Em should see that going into business with Will is a terrible idea. Frankly it just feels like an attempt by the SWs to ramp up the animosity between the brothers again. I definitely got the same vibes as @WitcheryDivine about Harrison and Alice (and Martha!). I now wonder if Harrison's declarations of love were a red herring designed to throw us off the scent. Harrison and Chris are supposed to be best mates though so it would be a double betrayal. I don't see Chris and Alice ever getting back together - it feels like that boat has very much sailed as much as Chris would like to turn the clock back. One final point, I noticed Chris shared Harry's drinking history with Emma last night who will no doubt tell Susan so by the time Harrison's hearing happens everyone in the village will know.