Archers thread #181: Panto Week's behind you! Was that the nadir? 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 enjoy playing badminton with Derek Fletcher, 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.)

Will it be onwards and upwards for TA now, or do we fear even more of these special weeks (Martin and a Christmas Carol, Scam Week, Panto Week) and sudden reinventions of long-established characters (Neil)? I for one have had enough of all that. I want a quiet period of change counting in the village shop, farming talk with suitable sound effects and village gossip over coffee at Terum or a pint in The Bull. Slowly developing storylines featuring the full cast, not a subset for a few weeks with no mention of the others, and all behaving in character. Not holding my breath we'll get any of that, though!

Over to you.

I think we have to be interested in the private lives of teenagers @Gonners because they are going to grow up to be the next generation in TA. It's because I followed the private lives of existing middle aged characters when they were young that I feel I know them so well now - or did until the Foundling SL.

@Godesstobe - I think we have to be interested in the private lives of teenagers

Oy! Less of the "we", please! 😆

I agree with @Godesstobe. And its important because, for example, how Chelsea views herself ( much of which at the moment involves the experience with Ben and the abortion) and whether she does anything to change it will affect the development of her character going forward.
Anyway Ben's in his early 20s and surely Chelsea must be 20 by now so no longer teenagers. Elizabeth can't have been much older when she got pregnant and had an abortion so it's not a new thing.

Yeah, I get that. But parroting all the misogynistic claptrap about leading Brad on was weird and completely out of character.

I feel sorry for both Brad and Chelsea tbh. They appear to lead quite small, limited lives and never go anywhere outside of the village. Well Brad did the Maths course somewhere up North (Manchester?) that Oliver paid for but it was a whole drama with Brad tying himself into knots over taking a train and staying in a ‘strange city’ on his own.

I can easily see both of them still living with Tracey well into their late 20s/30s.

Bruisername
when did Chelsea run away?

During the interminable weeks when she was havering and wavering and in effect making it less and less likely she would be able to have a termination at all (even though since she took the morning after pill as soon as she realised what she had done, she knew perfectly well that she didn't want to have a baby), she ran away from home because that would make her inability to make up her stupid mind ever so much better, and took refuge with of all people Blake.

Thanks. I missed the start of that SL and only started listening when Ben and Beth found out or just after

Ben didn't exactly find out; Chelsea set up a rendezvous with him in a car-park and told him. As you do.

And then Ben told Beth, for some utterly inexplicable reason, and Beth went crying to Daddy Vince about how horrible Ben was to have had sex with another girl after Beth had chucked him in no uncertain terms because her sister Steph had made a heavy pass at him. That whole family are seriously bad news.

Well he found out when she told him! I didn’t hear that but heard the Beth bit and I was really confused because I didn’t know who she or Vince were!!

I suspect Zainab is being set up to be either the first asexual (disregarding Freddie) or the third lesbian (or maybe the fourth ... the Tregorran daughter?) in the village. In a fit of being cool, maybe they will even trans- her? I don’t agree. I thought Zainab was going to say she was waiting for her parents to find her a suitable partner or similar.

Tbh I wasn't listening that carefully I might have missed that.

I've got a hopeful feeling that Harrison is going to get dedded in the North.

Well that would be lovely, except that we’d have to put up with Fallon being Bereaved all over the place. Remember what a fuss Jolene made when Sid carked it?

Oh gosh I read this as ‘Beveared’ and thought it was a v funny reference both to the beaver rewilding but also Fallon having lots of rebound sex as a newly single woman

I thought Zanib was quite nasty to Chelsea and as Chelsea said a bit looking down her nose. I also thought Zanib was waiting for an arranged marriage.
I wished Chelsea would not interfere with Brad's love life, and I do believe she fancys Ben.
Fallon and Harrison are so cartoonist. " oh Harrison is so funny I laughed so much the waiter came over with the defibrillator in case I had a heart attack".
You know your marriage is in trouble when you have to write a list of things to remind yourself what to do.
Fallon' s talking like Harrison is going away to war. He is only a train journey away for crumbs sake.

I think them talking about how they must look a lot like an Instagram couple said it all. Try so hard to be cute and funny but there’s no substance behind it

Chelsea fancies Ben. Ben fancies Zainab.

I could not care less. He's boring and the other 2 are awful.

Apart from the occasional mention of a riding lesson, cricket and Am Dram, nobody in Ambridge seems to have any hobbies?

Leonard was allowed to cycle for a fortnight and it transformed him into a doddering old man.

Where are all the New Years Resolution people?

I think they just sit at home on standby until there’s a village event to turn out to en masse.
Seven teams for the pub quiz is certainly more than we ever get in my very Ambridge-like village.
See also: huge turnout for Cinderella.
Denise's dance class might be very busy with reso’s..?

I really DO NOT like New Robert. I've tried. But he's just so irritable and querulous. Old Robert would never have interrupted Lindy's cricket plotting and insisted on being taken home...

Wasn’t Robert’s crashing Lynda’s date a compare and contrast with Alice at the pub quiz? He feeling just the slightest bit unnerved by her new friendship, Alice feeling decidedly territorial about Chris.

Hobbies, it’s true, have often provided listeners with legitimate entertainment …

Caroline and Oliver, IIRC, were having Italian lessons at one point.

Usha and Ruth used to attend a salsa class in Borchester, didn’t they?

There was the book club.

Tony restored - was it tractors or old cars or both?

The Grundys’ Cider Club?

Lee’s - damn what was it? - not Judo classes.

What happened to the life drawing?

I give up - apologies - probably all wrong!

Usha and Ruth used to attend a salsa class in Borchester, didn’t they?

Curse you, I can never un-see that in my imagination! I shall retaliate by asking "Was it Joy who stripped off for the life drawing?"

Oh and I couldn't sit in Tee-Rum with that awful jazz music in the back ground.

I can see past the new voice, but the complete personality change baffles me... I miss old Robert and the wonderful partnership he made with Lindy.

Same. They were proper relationship goals and some of the scenes after her accident were just so beautifully acted - real tenderness. Now we've got Fallon and Arrison and needing a defibrillator 🙄

I do agree that Ben and Josh are very uninteresting and that Zainab, her brother and Henry are both very boring and very irritating, but I'm prepared to give them a chance and see how they develop because they are the future of TA.

There's always a bit of confusion and hiatus while the younger characters move from silent childhood to awkward adolescence and eventually become a fully fledged personality with a backstory who engages our sympathy and interest. It doesn't always work - as Pip demonstrates - and there may be a few false starts (as often happens IRL too) but it has to be attempted because otherwise TA is doomed.

Of course, TA may well be doomed for other reasons, as we have discussed at length.