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!

😁

Not the first time I've wondered whether the SWs are taking bets on what they can smuggle in.

😁😁😁

@nauticant! A BOOP for your return!

(I listened to the Grace Archer play when it was first broadcast, and have forgotten it, so have nothing to contribute there.)

Loving the Christmas Carol prognostications - though the best TA Christmas present would be Justin clutching his chest and collapsing - his last words being Everything to … Lilian … Lawyer … Martyn was … right …

Back at you TottersBlanklyTopplesOver! A flying visit for me. I still have TA love but it goes back to how it was decades ago (the current incarnation doesn't work for me) so the play was right up my street.

Whaaaat was that. More Scrooge? Is Miranda his ghost of Christmas past?

and why was he so rude to Brad, didn’t he literally just employ him to do the drone videos? I missed the start so was v confused.

What on earth was all that about?

He was rude to Brad because that is what he does, be rude to people for no reason if he thinks they are beneath him.

Classic circular definition of an Evil Overlord.

"How do we know he is an Evil Overlord?"
"Because he does Evil Things."
"But why does he do Evil Things?"
"Because he's an Evil Overlord."

Why? are we meant to care that Justin wears the chain he forged in life, he made it link by link? Why now, it isn't even Christmas? Is he going to read Dickens to the assembled villagers on December 24th as a special treat?

No! Stoppit!! Go Away!!!

If it was even a character we'd spent much time with, and might care about a teeny tiny bit, but marginal nasty Justin-come-lately? Why?

😂 a special treat indeed

That sounds so heart-felt... Nice cup of tea be any help? Or maybe rum?

Too late in the evening for tea and I'm off alcohol for November, you betcha it's heartfelt - tell me WHY ARE THEY DOING THIS TO US?

Justin's sole purpose seems to be to provide a character who combines being unpleasant, pointless and stupid beyond belief. Because obviously they don't have anyone else in Ambridge who is like that.

I think the programme has plumbed new depths, the storylines are just ridiculous, the characters seem to have changed personality completely and it is just so disappointing.

Have been listening for around 55 years and keep listening in the hope that it will improve.

I was sooo annoyed at the backstory fill-in by the brothers at the start of this episode. And why is Will so bloody thick? And yet more confusion, resentment and anger inevitable by their not telling Emma.

I can see why George held Brad to silence, that's quite another thing.

The only good thing was Brad's comedy turn as waiter.

Urgh. I’m really struggling with this. I don’t hold myself up as a very intelligent person but am constantly in awe of writers who can use subtle character traits and plot twists to take a story to places you never expected it to go, whilst keeping it real. Why are we having characters spelt out for us (Justin’s ‘ruthless business acumen’ - does anyone really talk about themselves like that?!), and this stupid Scrooge storyline I could see coming the moment the car broke down. I really hope there’s a fantastic twist ahead and the scriptwriters are just messing with us because at the moment, my 7year old is writing better stories. If it’s supposed to be lighthearted balancing of the prison storyline, that isn’t exactly getting my emotions running wild either. Maybe the MP can get a buddy bench put in prison for George and all the other poor bullied innocents. Jelly and ice cream for all new inmates…. Who do they think prison is populated by 🤷🏻‍♀️. He’s lucky this is as bad as it’s got.

And why on earth didn't the MP tell them to look at her constituency website for a list of her surgeries and get on with running (or was she just "starting" the race officially, I was confused?)

Clearly it's going to be the best Christmas ever for Lilian and Justin after all the misunderstandings are ironed out and Justin has bought a turkey for everyone in the village and a nut loaf for Mia. Apart from this last minute boost to their finances, worst Christmas ever for the Grundy clan, unless the MP performs a Christmas miracle and gets George moved to an open prison in Penny Hassett.

I'm not much of a one for conspiracy theories, but is it possible the Editor has been given secret instructions to destroy the ratings so TA can be cancelled? It's hard to make sense of the current abysmal storylines any other way.

This last week of episodes has really plumbed new depths. With the exception of a very few scenes involving Brad, the writing has been truly abysmal. This is particularly bad timing given the launch of the podcast, which is presumably designed to entice new listeners. I'd be too embarrassed to recommend TA to anyone now. It seems to be being written by SWs who have no understanding of or respect for the programme and who hold the listeners in contempt. They regard TA as a joke and write it accordingly.

Among other things, we are being asked to believe that the supposedly luxury Grey Gables has only one waiter and that Brad is able to take on this role without any training and combine it seamlessly with his work as the hotel's only porter. And for some reason people who have known Justin for years have all suddenly noticed in the space of a week that he is a pantomime villain and started urging him to see the error of his ways.

Perhaps @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g is right and there is a deliberate attempt to get TA cancelled, because it is difficult to understand what is happening otherwise.

It would be painful to stop listening to TA after 70 years but I can feel my brain cells dying at the moment and, unless it starts to improve, I don't think even the prospect of a revelation about Rochelle is going to be enough to persuade me to stay.

The only good thing was Brad's comedy turn as waiter.

It was. I'm warming to Brad. He's been excellent in his scenes with George, Pat and Helen.

I did wonder though, was the Brad actor in on some in joke we don't know about ? The whole scene at GG where Brad seemed to be the only member of staff in the entire building? And why was Miranda there on her own anyway?? And Brad going on about being a porter??? Is that a reference to Macbeth's porter???? It was surreal. Is Justin dead or dying?????

I was half expecting the Grundy brothers to be wrestled to the ground by security.

I suggest listening to TA while under the influence: it makes everything highly amusing! I attended a BBQ today that began at 4pm (3pm for you lot) with an Aperol Spritz, and proceeded to the logic of "if this prosecco doesn't get drunk, it'll go flat" at 9pm (8pm, translated). I found tonight's Pseudo-Scrooge vastly entertaining!

Srsly tho, I've quite liked Miranda previously, not having the semi-automatic hatred of vaguely posh accents of the British-Isles listeners on here, and am quite hopeful now that her relationship with Brian will actually prove to be harmless at worst, quite positive at best.

The thing about Miranda is that she always sounds half-strangled and one gets terribly distracted wondering why it is that, in the last seven decades or thereabouts, no one has seen fit to finish the job.

The disappointment is greater when contrasted with some of the excellent scenes such as with George and Emma, the nuances of the storylines over the years developing George’s character, the lifetime we have spent with the likes of Brian etc.

Wouldnt the MP have some sort of minder to keep people away seeing some MPs have been murdered or at least attacked.
I didnt know Miranda was aware of Rex and Kirsty and why would she be that bothered about the re-wilding, that made no sense at all.
I think they are trying to run TA into the ground. The podcast dosnt do it any favours either.