Archers thread #174: God it's lame! But it still limps on. 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 Ben-meets-Zainab is on a par with Elizabeth-meets-Darcy, 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/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.)

Thanks to @Bruisername for the title inspiration. She said God it's lame and that seemed to strike a chord with many, for some reason.

I am terrified of wasps and live in fear of encountering a hornet, so that was a tricky episode. I hope that's the last we're going to hear of them, except for confirmation that they've been nuked. [shudder]

So what do we reckon - custodial or suspended sentence for George? Will Clarrie return from Great Yarmouth or will she realise that actually life as a carer for her (presumably disabled) sister is easier than the endless and thankless drudgery at Grange Farm? Will any more tables collapse at the Village Hall?

Over to you!

Telling deliberate lies in order to upset a stranger is being a live wire?

VoxPop
Did the brick go flying through the window or only thrown hard enough to hit it and stop?

It smashed the window and sent broken glass over a lot of the stock, which then had to be thrown away. Hence my suggestion the glass might have got into Susan's eyes, or the brick struck her on the head. If it had just bounced off, like a brick made of foam rubber designed to be thrown at the television as commentary on the programmes, those things would not have been possible.

Lots of birthdays

Yes I can’t see the defence of Alice yet we can’t give any leeway for George

is pip skipping work because of the kitten? Or because they’ve paid the Ben actor for this week?

nice to hear Brookfield getting in the mix a bit. Even if remotely

can’t say I’m keen on the Malik family kids so far. So she’s 18 and Ben is 23? I wonder how old khalil is. Being a bad influence on Henry would be good - at least khalil seems reasonably normal for a teenager

how does it work with GPs socialising with patients? Must be tricky in a village

’sorting out family matters’ - is that a second family? Could be a bit too eastenders!!

they really want us all to know about Asian hornets 🙄

I'm finding the way Alice talks quite fake somehow. I wonder what she sounds like irl.

I'm finding the Malik offspring very irritating at the moment. It's surely not normal - or nice - to tell lies to a total stranger. Are we supposed to find that amusing? And the fiesty daughter was just rude.

I also thought the discussion between Alice and Azra was inappropriate. Why would Alice assume Azra wants to hear about her alcohol issues when she is off duty? And Azra should surely maintain a clear line between social talk and medical talk when she meets her patients outside the surgery.

I used to socialise a lot with a neighbour who was a GP. I was horrified when he moved to work at the surgery where I was a patient. I always made sure that I didn't see him in a professional capacity. I couldn't imagine anything worse than sitting across the dinner table from someone who had recently had a close up view of my bits. Fortunately he has since moved so it is no longer a problem.

My mum rang this evening and we were talking about my BIL who keeps bees, and I said to her ‘what about that public service announcement about the Asian hornets at Brookfield’ and she replied ‘I don’t remember anything about hornets, I must have fallen asleep.’ Which pretty much summed it up!

David introducing himself to Khalil as Mr Archer made him sound very old fashioned. Most adults would use their first name when speaking to a teenager.

@BitOutOfPractice it’s like the SWs knew you were back!
(Ben said your name in the opening minute of tonight’s episode) BOOP!

Ha ha I didn’t imagine the brick had bounced off like in meet the Fockers.

I know the window was smashed, I was questioning if the momentum (anger) it was thrown with was enough to smash the window and go flying right into the shop, or if the bricks momentum was stopped by the resistance of the window as it smashed.

E=mc2* *

I’d imagine that shop windows should at least be made from safety glass. But of course none of that excuses throwing a brick through the window which of course is potentially dangerous regardless of if the brick was thrown half heartedly or not

Alice not only accepted full responsibility but immediately went into the shop to check Susan and Jim were OK, profusely apologised, Brian paid for the window to be replaced and for the clear up and Alice insisted she would pay it back. She also made it clear she thought she deserved to be punished for what she did. More like a moment of madness after being berated by Susan for being an unfit mother. Quite a far cry from fitting someone else up for your actions.

I believe it was some of the fresh produce that had to be chucked, I had the impression that that was displayed in front of the window When the shop was open.

The most ridiculous thing is that without fitting Alice up, the consequences would have been little if anything for George (if as seems he would not have been over the limit).

I found Azras kids are quite out of control one is a proper madam the other a liar. Compare with Tracy's two, their mum has always struggled and Chelsea and Brad know this and really appreciate their mum.
Azras two have most probley had an easy ride and both sound horrible.
Liked the farming stuff all the sheep bleating in the background nice and atmospheric.
Lets be fair all Alice cares about is Alice, dont know why she os surprised at Martha's behaviour, one minute she is a wonderful Mother (according to Jim) the next she has dissappeared so she can get pissed. She has only just come out of rehab and she is in charge once again with a three year old? I wouldnt trust her as far as I could throw her.

Martha is heading for very difficult behaviour in life. FAS and huge instability during her first 3 years. She could become quite an interesting character in thr village a decade from now.

I know there was speculation about FAS, but did we ever hear anything to suggest that she was actually affected by it?

Yes! So odd.

I thought Khalil sounded like Ben, so that’s going to be fun.

No, we didn’t. I seem to recall it being mentioned on air in a general sense, but I can’t remember by who(m?).

Did he? Omg I didn’t notice that! Going back to listen!

Yes he did. How funny! And well spotted!

Hahaha

I guarantee Khalil is about to become obsessed with farming and will be taken on as an apprentice at Brookfield as soon as humanly possible. (Either doing something they don’t yet do, or something vital that none of the family have sufficient time for.)

🔮

Really hope Khalil is not about to become our new "comedy" character.

@Godesstobe that is precisely my fear - unbearable!

nice to hear Brookfield getting in the mix a bit.

It actually took a while to sink in, but I am beyond relieved to hear David interacting with new people beyond the farm. It’s no wonder he appeared ‘old fashioned’ in introducing himself - he can’t have done it much for a decade.

As I said, I’m liking the Maliks so far - but if they’re also a route for Brookfield to be reintegrated into wider village life and regain at least some of their former First Family significance, well, I’ll be eternally grateful for their existence.

I dunno, I thought Azra's threat of punishment - a whole month without his console - was a trifle harsh, but seems to have worked and will ensure another appearance by K, this time at Brookfield, to wonder at the sheep etc. He could become either a farmer or a vegetarian. David will be impressed that he's come to apologiese. Ruth will take a shine to him.

K will come out with more ridiculous stories.

He'll probably be the one who ends up rescuing George's video legacy.

My 🔮never reliable.

Oh, and what is Alice going to say to George?

Place marking - I can’t believe how fast the thread is moving. I can’t keep up!

Maybe Khalil will go on to become the new vet. Alistair and Jakob can't go on forever. I gather that an essential criterion for admission to veterinary college is work experience, which is not always easy to get.

I was interested that Zainab is on what seems to be an unplanned gap year. What do we think that's about? Has she deferred her university place or did she not get the grades and is planning to re-apply, or is she re-thinking her future altogether? Perhaps she'd like to train to be a cheesemaker or a chef or run a hotel. Difficult to see what else she could do in Ambridge at one of the businesses we know about.

Of course, all the above applies to both K and Z. If they're going to become established characters there has to be some way to keep them in Ambridge, at least occasionally.

Oh, and farming, of course. So rarely mentioned on TA now it's easily forgotten.

Good point about Zainab being brought in to ease the recruitment crisis. She’ll be running terum by year end!

I can’t tell how old khalil is supposed to be but it would be good if he was a friend for Henry as he seems far more normal and might make Henry less odd

I was thinking maybe 16. He sounds as if his voice has broken. So quite a bit older than Henry.