Archers thread #176: In which Ian puts the I in PTA. 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 from Wesley the ashtray collector, 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 @DeanElderberry for the pithy phrase in the thread title and @CaptainMyCaptain for suggesting it should go in there. At least we've got the spooky disco out of the way for now. Plenty of wooden dialogue in the last few episodes that could go on the village bonfire next week. It's all been too dispiriting to discuss in greater depth. I'll just say that I don't hold out any great hopes that the production team will make a good job of reflecting concern in the farming community about the changes announced in the Budget to inheritance tax for farms. So often they get an expert to talk them through stuff like this but instead of ending up with a realistic storyline they pick out the bits they like the sound of and cobble them together in a totally unrealistic way. Maybe I'll be proved wrong this time. I hope so.

Over to you!

He’ll wake just in time to find George offering to drive him home (in return for the use of his car) and the whole thing has been but a dream…

Justin to Kirsty on Christmas morning, no doubt.

That was a very odd week.

Just read this in a report on that prisoner who escaped "because it was a silly idea to imprison someone with his skill set". In what world is this an acceptable response? (OK, I've led a sheltered life)

He attached a makeshift sling – made from kitchen trousers and carabiners (climbing-style clips) that inmates were given to keep their belongings safe from rats

🐀 😱
Sorry I haven’t been on here for a while - presumably you’ve already discussed how utterly ridiculous it is that Kirsty would have forgotten to renew the lease? Iirc they had to draw up a really serious business plan for the Rewilding Project. Surely that would have included submitting reports to Peggy and borchester land and scheduling in discussions or similar prior to lease renewal times

Oh poor Brad.

The Justin / Martin Gibson stuff was bizarre. Helen and Brad were well written and well acted.

I feel bad writing this because it's beyond the actor's control but I can hardly bear listening to Justin's voice any more. Was it this bad when he joined the cast?

I wonder how much of it is due to the character he plays. Jim has a similar gravelly voice but his scenes are a pleasure to listen to. And Jill's voice recently, affected by ageing, didn't bother me either. But Justin is such an odious and pointless character. He brings nothing to The Archers and I want him gone. And more Brian!

Yes Simon Williams isn't it. Always playing the suave and slightly callous cad. He had some slightly spicy anecdotes about the atmosphere on set with Peter Sellers in the flop the Prisoner of Zenda in a recent doc on PS

I’m also grasping for an explanation as to exactly what happened in that bizarre Justin/Martyn Gibson scene and the Dallas comparison sprang to my mind too - with a dash of Scrooge being shown what lies ahead. Are we being prepared for the utterly vile Justin to undergo a Damascene conversion now that even Martyn Gibson has prophesied his bleak future as a hard-hearted millionaire? At this point Justin's so relentlessly appalling that I’m seriously wondering whether there’s some neurological problem going on - surely that level of irritability isn’t normal?

Quick mention also for Hellin making Fallon's ridiculous leaving-party sound like an offer Harrison couldn’t refuse. Why does all of Ambridge seem obsessed with hugely elaborate surprise parties? Any why does everything Helen say sound like a threat? ‘Whatever we end up doing, YOU WILL HAVE TO BE THERE!' I almost felt sorry for the idiot Harrison.

So no-one else is shocked that the response of the authorities to a rat infestation is simply to issue carabiners to prisoners to keep their stuff off the floor? You all knew about it? I’m even more naive than I thought

I’d read about it before - I think that prison is notorious for the poor hygiene

I think rats are cleverer than that too!!

I felt for Harrison too. Why are they making such a big deal of Fallon leaving? To make her the focus of the village bonfire night celebrations is extreme.

Getting wicker man vibes

Both extreme and unrealistic, as it's unlikely the bridge farm brigade are on the bonfire committee and/or that they'd be allowed to take over the event like that even if they were?! Feels as though the scriptwriters have never lived in a village/bothered to research (what a surprise 🤦‍♀️)...

I didn't know about the carabiners specifically, but I knew that rat, mice, and other pest infestations are fairly continuous in prisons. They're large estates with a lot of waste so even if you manage to clear one section, you won't be able to eliminate them from the whole site at once and so inevitably they'll come back.

The Martyn/Justin thing was bonkers. I know two business owners, one of whom is insanely rich. Neither of them talk like that.

The Fallon farewell thing is bonkers. I want her to bake a "signature bake" (goes with the chef, not the establishment AFAIK unless there is a very good reason for it) and smush it in Helen and Natasha's faces.

I was shocked to read that I just didn't comment at the time.

As a foodbank volunteer I know this is what people living in tents in the woods do. Come to think about it, the man who told me this had been in prison so it might have been a skill he acquired there.

going against the grain slightly I enjoyed the Justin /Martin Marley’s ghost scenes! It’s about time characters had a spiritual awakening.

I'm always shocked about the state of our prisons but am not surprised because I've been following the stories of ex-cons for a while now.

Nobody seems to care, that's the biggest problem, i think. And those that do care don't have the authority to change things.

But the George being a snitch storyline is pathetically wrong. He. Is. A. Grundy. And. Grundys. Don't. Grass.

we know that because Eddie drove the point home.

Nobody seems to care, that's the biggest problem, i think. And those that do care don't have the authority to change things There aren't votes in caring. "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime" has wide currency.

But the George being a snitch storyline is pathetically wrong

Ed’s astonishment that George was being bullied was amusing: I was expecting him to say that couldn’t be right, George should be doing the bullying.

As for the carabiners, my first thought was ‘plenty of ligature points, then’.

I wonder: is the Martyn/Justin thing a foreshadowing to perhaps...the Christmas Carol being staged as this year's panto (with the usual 1-week rehearsal time), with Justin in playing Scrooge? If Harrison can have his Damascus moment playing Jesus, then why not Justin? I really hope I'm wrong!

Slight tangent - This afternoon's Drama on 4 looks interesting

Dead Girls Tell No Tales

"It's media folklore that the death of BBC soap opera heroine Grace Archer was a ploy to thwart the launch night of ITV on 22 September 1955.
But for the first time, this drama delves deep into The Archers' archives to reveal what really inspired 20 million people to tune in and left tens of thousands of listeners distraught.
Starring Simon Russell Beale, Eleanor Tomlinson and Ysanne Churchman.
Joanna Toye's drama explores the backstage story to a watershed moment in the history of broadcasting which became one of the defining cultural events of the 1950s"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06bcv9s

Didn't Fallon produce some signature bakes that not all of us found appealing? Things with kale and tofu and parsnips. It would be excellent if the Bridge Farm mob's jealous legalese forced her back to more traditional fare.

Don't blame Fallon for those! That was Tom forcing her to use his leftover farm produce in innovative ways. She did her best with what he foisted on her.