Archers thread #180: Burgeoning backstories! Continuity, what’s that? 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 it's a great idea for Helen and the boys to lodge with Tom, Natasha, Seren and Dippity*, 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 www.mumsnet.com/talk/radio_addicts/5244480-the-archers-spoilers-thread-10-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.)

*Can't remember who coined this, but it's genius.

I was strongly tempted to use one or both of the posts suggested for the title of this thread on the last thread, but went for something a bit briefer. However, they're brilliant and will kickstart this thread very nicely, so here they are:

@Sidebeforeself: Beavers, bridge, bunny boilers and busybodies - it's all a load of bollocks!

(I couldn't agree more!)

@DeanElderberry: I don't usually speculate much on the appearance of characters, but do wonder what it is about Miranda that is bringing out the chest-thumping silverback in Brian and Justin? One little bridge game and the course of Ambridge rewilding is set. The face that launched a thousand beavers.

Over to you!

Are the SWs staging some sort of undeclared mutiny - each week one of them gets to write the very silliest thing they can possibly think of until the BBC admits defeat and accedes to their demands?

It's ok my chums (if I can call you that) It's so bad I'm enjoying it.

A summary, Mick will be Buttons. Lynda and Lilian were holding a "Dame Off" tonight to cast the second ugly sister. (I can't remember who the first one is)

Mick couldn't be at the auditions so Lil substituted. Leonard and Tony had a long conversation where Leonard recounted he once played a superhero called Mr Cufflinks. I can't remember why beyond Leonard had to step in in a children's entertainer related emergency. I can't remember what the superpower was except that Leonard started to believe in it.

The Dame Off involved the hopefuls being rude to Buttons. Leonard failed miserably to be rude, despite being in costume in Jill's dressing gown.

Tony wasn't much better as he couldn't be rude to Buttons because Buttons is his sister. But Tony was transformed into a horribly rude "Lady Antonia" once he put on Jill's dressing gown.

Evil Vince was skulking around throughout the day complaining to anyone who was interested (aka Jazzer who wasn't remotely interested) that bringing in, and paying, a ringer wasn't fair.

Leonard was relegated to backstage staff and with the help of Jazzer (?) found Cinderella's golden coach from the last panto in sore need of a lick of paint in the cellar (?)

Evil Sir Vince was still lurking and complaining to Lynda and Lil outside the hall at midnight.

Lynda and Lil haven't booked the village hall as "it's always available" but we know from Rochelle's "well mess" event that it is booked.

To be continued....

Who is responsible for the village hall?

It was basically Ru Paul's Drag Race but in Ambridge tonight. I lost the will to live when the 'Dame-Off' candidates were all to be heard going 'OOOH' competitively in the background while Leonard was discussing the finer points of Mr. Cufflinks' performance. Then Tony (sorry, Antonia) finding his inner queen sent the shark sailing over several double-decker buses.

SOMEONE. MAKE. IT. STOP. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.

Do these actors have no love for their character? Do they really read the script and think ‘yep, that’s exactly what Tony would do?’

I honestly don’t think anyone involved in TA at the moment is aiming for verisimilitude. Something is surely afoot. It can’t be by accident that we’ve had week after week of utter nonsense and absurdity recently - Justin’s turn to the light; Ambridge as the centre of the holiday universe, retconned Neil, Vince wandering about spouting oaths and imprecations … It’s concerted.

(What is Vince even doing in Ambridge? He doesn’t live there, Elizabeth doesn’t live there, his business isn’t there, he isn’t related to anyone there …)

Surely they’re not dismantling Ambridge As We Know It just to give the fecking podcast something to talk about???

I’m sure I remember that in all previous years Lynda has had to cajole and manipulate people into participating in her performances but now they are fighting over parts? Or is this the power of Bewick kaler or whatever he is called? And even so, wouldn’t you just go and watch (and hope he’d be in the pub afterwards) rather than risk embarrassing yourself in front of him having had 5 minutes and a quick rehearsal in which to learn your lines…

Yes it’s all odd - remember when Justin bumped into khalil and Henry at the shop and then again at joys house - why was he there?

I thought that around 6 months ago when it had got really bad. I had no idea just how bad it would get. I cannot see it improving and think it will lose a couple of episodes soon and then be removed altogether.

Why is Vince so bothered with it all. He is a serious business man and in a nice relationship with to the manor born.
Why is he wanting to be Captain my Captain of the cricket team, when he had no interest before. I don't think he had been to any cricket matches on a Sunday.
Why is he being so nasty about the pantomime and why to be honest would he give a fuxk!.
They seem to be trying to turn him into Harrison in a way, sulking baby man.

Do these actors have no love for their character?

Nor even basic self-respect

Are they going to find the missing bunting under the stage?

I'm sure we've had dull and pointless storylines before, but this is quite something.

There were too many pantomime touches in the actual script last night for my liking - Vince has been transformed into the villain, Leonard was like Cinderella, forced to go back under the stage to hunt for props by Lynda and Lillian who seemed to be channeling the ugly sisters. We even had the church clock chiming midnight (or whatever) as they all left the rehearsal. The idea that Paul,who has a full-time job as vet nurse, would have time to sort out a full set of costumes (with not just one, but two pantomime dames) before Friday or that Stella would have the time (or inclination) to learn her part as principal boy in the next two days is just fanciful (or would require the intervention of a real-life fairy godmother). No one had the time or inclination to put on a show in the run-up to Christmas yet suddenly, with only three days to go, there’s a ‘let’s put on the show right here’ zeal of a bunch of professional actors (go figure!). It almost feels like a paid for promotion by regional theatres to remind listeners that pantomimes are still being performed right through January.

I’m a little confused about the felpersham panto - is that an amateur one too?

As @ThoroughlyModernNotMillie suggests, I’ve thought for some time now that R4 wants to get rid of TA.

So many aspects of it (older listeners, rural middle class setting etc) seems to embarrass them. I don’t know whether to turn the damn thing off these days or keep listening through sheer bloody mindedness.

How do the BBC obtain listening figures? I've never been asked about my viewing or listening habits.

‘Embarrassed’ is definitely how they feel about the whole inheritance story at LL.

I wonder if we’ll ever be told what has caused this ineffable strangeness. If not mutiny, then perhaps it’s mass creative boredom - which is worse.

I have! For a week I had to keep a diary saying when I listened and to what channel and on what type of device

It feels like each week they have a different stand alone SL that would be better suited to an afternoon player but perhaps the sw aren’t good at creating characters so have to steal the existing ones

I wonder if the actors are ever embarrassed to say their lines? If they aren't they should be.

Vince having a go at Joy for something out of her control. I wonder if Elizabeth heard him she would finally realise how horrid he is. Remember what he said to Ben that helped to precipitate his breakdown and near suicide attempt.

And Mick's sulking. Joy should kick him out. And how is asking an actor to act in a pantomime interfering in their life. Really!

The script writing and plots are just so ridiculous.

What is Vince even doing in Ambridge? He doesn’t live there, Elizabeth doesn’t live there, his business isn’t there, he isn’t related to anyone there …

This is a very good point. And weren’t his girls his ‘princesses’? So where’s the school-age daughter while he’s propping up the bar at the Bull and snarling bad-temperedly at women?

It's all very 'meta" isn it? They re enact Cinderella in real life just like the Christmas Carol episodes, it's just terrible! The Dames all oohing was embarrassing to listen to, elderly rural gentlemen queuing to drag up was entirely unbelievable in every sense. It's like fanfiction written by 14 year olds from a prompt: "Imagine The Archers but the men are all pantomime dames and the sensible middle aged lesbian is wearing glittery tights and cross dressing, teehee!"

Delurking again to say that I have had enough and want to put a complaint in to BBC sounds - is this the right way to do it?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/help/contact-sounds-help/#/Need%20more%20help?
It rather looks like as if it is a place to ask about technical issues, rather than feedback.
I’m sure others here have gone ahead of me on this one and will know the procedure - I want to make sure they actually see it…

I have. I complete YouGov surveys and am often asked what I watched/listened to the day before.

@Ketchupmunchies
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