Archers thread #175: Crime, punishment and kittens. 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 your current highlight is the kitten naming, 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.)

As I am posting this on Sunday morning at a point where some omnibus listeners won't have caught up with this week's events, I've kept the title less spoilerish than I might have done. Below this point, everything broadcast to date is of course fair game, so be warned!

Of course the main interest for most us at the moment is indeed the kitten naming competition. Isn't it? No?

Oh well, since you insist ...

How do we think George is going to cope now? Whither the Grundy and Horrobin clan? Will Lilian choke on her G&T (please)? Will Kenton get septicaemia from a kitten scratch? Will Alice die of sanctimoniousness? Will Fallon spend the rest of her life with the appalling Harrison and his unfulfulled longing for a behbeh? Will Adam and Will come to blows in the Bridge Farm packing shed?

Over to you!

How much longer will we have to endure the PTA?

I was so hoping Adam had mistakenly ordered a ton of sex toys.

Disappointed …

😁

Exchanges like this make wish they would release the synopsis after the evening broadcast, and not wait until after the repeat! So tantalising.

Totally my fault for though for consuming The Archers largely through this board, topped up with reading the summaries now and again I rarely actually listen anymore as so many of the voices annoy me. I realise this is perverse.

@BeatriceBatchelor , I'm only posting an opinion. Your post offended me.
As a pp said, it is in the eye of the beholder.

I liked tonight's offering. It suggested that there were some new SLs coming along . I didn't find Zainab endearing and Chelsea was at her worst but life's like that.

Some new SL with a broader selection of characters would be very welcome

That's a thought. Hair and Beauty unit for Chelsea? Pip goes to work in Australia after Stella dumps her?

It would be nice if some of them had been in the programme/village for more than a couple of years or a few weeks.

Yes true. I’m not a fan of the malik children so far

I have some sympathy for Zainab, who has been uprooted from her friends and the bright lights of Solihull and dumped in Ambridge with an irritating little brother (though I confess I rather like him). But she's old enough to be a bit more proactive about getting her arse in gear. Still, it's only been - what? 3 months? - since she left school, and less than that since she rolled up in Ambridge, so I hope some of Chelsea's go-getting attitude rubs off there.

Hi @AlanFranksDiary thanks for your comment. I appreciate you may have interpreted my post as subtle racism but I don't agree. I do know the Urdu and Arabic pronunciation of kh as I am an Arabic speaker. I have a child with an Arabic name and his father (native Arabic speaker with the kh sound in his name) was very keen than their name was easy for native English speakers to pronounce. We have a fair few friends who are Arabic speakers and it's a common factor in naming children who are going to be brought up in the uk that their names are easy to pronounce. Most people don't want to give their children more hassle than they need, especially people who experience 'subtle racism' (and overt racism) on a regular basis.
The 'subtle racism' I felt was on the part of the scriptwriters who seemed to be flagging up the family as Super and Observably Asian. I felt it was part of a wider SL they are pursuing with Lynda, unconscious bias and yes, subtle racism on the part of TA residents. I am interested to know where that SL goes.
I genuinely apologise for offending you. It's always difficult to make points about race/ethnicity/culture/racism on a talk board and I'm glad we can have open discussion.

Just catching up and feeling inspired to head back to the DW.

I thought it shocking how Alice painted a picture of Martha being damaged by the separation from her mother as a result of George's actions.
I mean yes it's essentially true but there was quite a lot of separation and issues that were in no way connected to George. She made it sound like it was all his fault.

Ah I was even later but this is much better put than my post

so I hope some of Chelsea's go-getting attitude rubs off there.

Zainab’ll be knocked up (possibly even by Ben) in two shakes of a duck’s tail*, then

*I know that’s not what causes it

Chelsea's "go getting attitude" seems to amount to dossing about in the village where she was brought up, working in a local tea-room (part time?) and occasionally cutting hair or painting nails or eyebrow threading to make use of her college course.

I feel that if she were really go getting she'd be working in a hair salon somewhere other than her home village (pop. 900) by now.

I for one wasn't aware that Chelsea had studied the 'and beauty' bit of hair and beauty until tonight. I thought she did a hairdressing course. The only previous indication otherwise was that she did mani-pedis/facials at the Ukrainian hen party, and I'm fairly sure no mention was made at the time of her having any qualifications to offer them. Is this news to anyone else or did you all know that Chelsea was the Ambridge one-stop shop for all beauty treatments?

I'd run a mile from someone offering to do eyebrow threading who openly admitted they'd be slow because they hadn't had much practice. I've spent months growing my eyebrows back from an over-enthusiastic threader, and she was qualified.

Not to mention the delightful prospect of having my eyebrows done with Bert Horrobin slobbed out next to me.

Grrrrr! You're all so mean about Chelsea!

I was only half-listening (situation normal) and mistook plucking eyebrows for dyeing eyelashes, which was much more concerning.

I think the ‘and beauty’ element of La Horrobin’s course had been mentioned, @Fink , but I couldn’t tell you when.

Ben/zainab/chelsea love triangle?

agree she seems a bit passive about the hair and beauty

Or Brad/Zainab/Miah?
I realise B & M have officially broken up but...

(Note, I was quite wrong about the Terum non-compete clause. I do not have a good track record.)

@CameronStrike , thanks. I feel that the SW are deliberately squeezing in 'diversity'. Par for the course with a soap, I suppose, as many characters seem to be stereotypes. It is meant to be "an everyday story of country folk" or "a contemporary drama in a rural setting", but it feels a bit like a box-ticking exercise.

I'll admit we did consider pronunciation when naming the DC but that was because the names get changed so they're barely recognisable, like we'd have ruled out Eleanor or Xavier.
As there wasn't a real child involved, the SW/editor could have picked names that weren't going to be said in different ways, so the issue is there. The actress who plays Azra is half-Pakistani, half-Austrian and grew up in the UK. The 'ya Allah' (and Khalil's 'baba') grated. She is an actor but the character may have had a traditional Pakistani or first generation British Pakistani upbringing. The accent suggest the latter.

It is quite a contrast between aspirational Susan and hapless Tracy as to how their sprogs are turning out.

Surely it’s too early to make such a comparison? I mean - Chris married into royalty; Tracy’s children aren’t fully fledged yet.

Is it too late for the Chelsea actress to change her delivery so she sounds less nasal and thick?

Well, Brad got over Mia pretty quick didn't he? Very out of character to be so forward with a girl he just met as well. I feel like the writing is all over the place at the moment.

Really not a fan of Zainab, she is so rude! Khalil seems harmless so far. I have a feeling if they stick around long term we will witness several personality transplants while the SW figure who they want these characters to be.

Speaking of personality transplant, wtf happened to Adam lately?