Archers thread #170: The scriptwriters have cast a Paul on proceedings! 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'd like to hear more of Drunk Alistair, 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 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/radioaddicts/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/radioaddicts/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 to @OverArmour for the title. I was tempted to try some sort of complex riff on chocolate names, given @PedantScorner's lightbulb moment - Paul's sister is Cara Mack! - and all the nonsense in last night's episode about coffee creams, but I couldn't be bothered, beyond thinking we must all be Cadbury's Fruit and Nutcases for listening at the moment. Let's hope the SWs take a walk along Quality Street or we'll have to put a Bounty on their heads!

And over to you ...

Poor Emma this is ripping her apart

emma is a good actress. Will was a bit weird.

be interesting to find out what will does

Really setting Emma up for potential perjury. Character witness for Alice, being cross examined.

potential to end up as some on here feared, truth dragged out in court.

Lets hope it doesn’t come to that.

If George wasn’t an incel before he will be after this. Tell his mum a secret, get her to swear not to tell, and she blabs to his father before the week is out. I think Will will say they have to go to the police

I quite liked the litter chat as it is quite a problem around here, although no mention of: dog poo bags, pants or other unmentionables. David last week and Harrison this, maybe they'll do a proper story on it.

Clearly George is too stupid to comprehend the danger he has put his mother in through the promise he forced her into.

I simply could not bear to see Emma convicted of anything because of him. Not after the burden of experience she’s had to live with since her childhood.

I think the litter was there for a reason. Harrison was more interested in litter than in Fallon's hopes for her own business.

He isn’t really interested in Fallon as a person

litter has been mentioned quite a bit lately - perhaps if Lynda takes on litter duty she will start a massive campaign

I must say as soon as the littered country lanes came up I thought of David Sedaris and his one-man litter-picking.

Back to tonight's (this morning's for me) episode - excellent acting by Emma. George too, but this was her turn.

Ultimately he has taken weight off his shoulders and put it on Emma’s

I'm not sure he's taken any weight off his own shoulders - in this case, weight appears to expand to fill the shoulders available.

Saves me fingernails…
Chris will now - or rather, eventually - know she knew. I doubt the Alish-struck mutt will be forgiving. Ed’s going to be well ticked off that she told Will, not him, paternity notwithstanding.

He was very uninterested in her career plans, far more invested in moping over his lost heir and loathing of Alice. Doesn’t the patio need an overhaul, Fallon? We’ll give you an alibi.

As for litter in the countryside, I’m all for highlighting it. Leaving litter - especially a little bag of dog shit on a tree - should be an offence punishable by hanging, drawing, quartering and then some more hanging to make sure they’ve got the message.

Bastinado first, and then a forced five-mile march. Or in their case, a five-mile hobble.

They do that in cities too. You have gone to the effort of picking the shit up - is it really that hard to put it in a bin/take it home to the bin? Why do they think hanging it on a tree is any better than just leaving the poo where it was

Brilliantly tense episode. I really enjoyed that!

The strain in Emma’s voice as she feigned surprise was painful.

I agree that Will is going to insist they go to the police.

And I really hope it stops now before it gets to court.

Yes I hope it comes out soon and not in court. I think it would be in character for Will to dither but to ultimately do the right thing.

perhaps we will have an episode where they basically tell him they are going to the police and it would be better for him to go with them

Post therapy Will is so different - I’m sure we’re due some “Come on, George. We will face this together”.

Kudos to all the actresses and actors; that was a difficult one, well delivered. George bullying his mum was rather unpleasant...but I tend to think that he's not just misled or disadvantaged, but fundamentally unpleasant. Though I agree that's hard to distinguish. I'm not among the Haters-Of-Alice: it seems to me that she at least tries to do what she thinks is right, even if she's quite wrong about that, from an outside perspective. I suspect if I knew her, I'd want to slap her with a wet fish, but for George, I'd imagine a Wile-E-Coyote moment involving a random anvil, instead. As for Emma, mostly it's wet fish alternating with anvils, but I felt rather sorry for her, tonight. What a way to have a big birthday wrecked. I hope the ornamental plate with squirrels on is nice.

Will speaks to, and about, Ed as if he's a dim toddler. Patronising git.

Once more SW have the terrible conversation behind the scenes.

I hope the ornamental plate with squirrels on is nice

Will was weirdly excited about giving Emma the ornamental plate. At first I thought he had made it himself but then George said he had bought it. Of course, I was waiting for Emma to hurl it at the wall and smash it out of frustration at having to go to the party.

I’m so glad we didn’t have to sit through Ed’s dance routine.

I didn’t realise Emma was such a fan of squirrels

Thought it was a tray.
Im getting a bit fed up with all the talk about the bridge and what happened that night. It seems its going round in circles on here I usually skip all that because we heard it all before. Be glad when they have done with this story.
I wish for more farming and Natasha being self centered and bossy, you know someone to really dislike oh and stupid Tom, just something to get your teeth into. I think I will give all of it a miss for a while.

Is Emma going to suggest George takes himself off to Usha to ask for legal advice about how to confess?

The bridge sl needs wrapping up. I didn’t need to hear Emma telling will so was glad that was off air

in terms of sl we have at the moment - the only one I feel any interest in is Fallon leaving both terum and Harrison

she was unreasonable to have a go at him about Alice because it was pretty obvious he still isn’t over it and then refusing to go litter picking with him (although I’m not sure if she’d ever said she would) but he was extremely petty to be dismissive of her career discussion. He really is a terrible husband. In itself ‘it’s your decision’ isn’t a bad answer as long as it’s couple with ‘we’ll make the finances work’ and is said in a supportive way.

so they separate - he will get extremely petty about the house so she will move in to the pub and then we will have a morose Harrison rotting in the house until he bumps into George and beats him up for ruining his life. And then he goes to prison and goes back to wherever he came from when he comes out