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Archers thread #184: It’s a shambles! And we don’t mean Casey Meats. Discuss The Archers here.

992 replies

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 14/04/2025 12:03

Thank you, @PseudoBadger, for kicking off this long, long series of Archers threads.

Archers 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're looking forward to Morris dancing on the radio, or other unusual views. Grin

Archers 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!

Archers 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.)

Right, to business. I can't say I'm delighted that the focus is on Rochelle and Casey Meats at the moment, because I'm not. All far too peripheral to Ambridge and too new. As I say ad nauseam, more farming storylines please, and where are all the long-standing members of the cast? The discussion about inheritance tax in The Bull the other night was a bit clunky, but what a refreshing change to hear two familiar voices, both farmers, talking about farming-related stuff, even if BBC balance meant they had to be challenged by two non-farmers, and even if it is months after the Budget introduced these changes. Ah well.

I was tempted to put one of my Dad's terrible jokes into the thread title as an oblique reference to George's coffin-making idea, but it wouldn't have made sense to anyone else. He loved referring to the cemetery as the Dead Centre of the island, so I was pondering something about Grange Farm becoming the Dead Centre of Ambridge. It could happen yet. Emma and Ed could provide willow branches and Clarrie could sit in the kitchen weaving them. Surely it must be similar to knitting?

Finally, if the SWs are lurking and looking for new storylines, it's been very dry recently and there have been lots of wildfires in rural areas. There was a bad one on Gaspmother Island a few days ago. Many farmers are very worried about this at the moment, as reported on Farming Today last week. But what am I thinking! This is a story that only works in a rural setting, so in the current incarnation of TA, it's not soapy enough. Hmm

Over to you!

OP posts:
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DeanElderberry · 25/04/2025 17:44

I promise I'll stop posting images now. It's just - David the dealer of death.

Bruisername · 25/04/2025 18:07

Maybe it’s David who has been starting all the anti dog posts on here lately

and we haven’t heard from Ruth for a while, just saying…

AskingQuestionsAllTheTime · 25/04/2025 18:13

TottersBlithely
In truth I rather like the fact that Helen and Rex talked. It’s good to be reminded - simply through the fact the conversation occurred - that he’s not just Archer-adjacent (as Rosie’s uncle) and loosely family to Helen, but also a Fairbrother, with as good an Ambridge Royalty heritage as Helen herself.

That is a seriously furkled backstory emphasised/brought to the fore by Sean O'Connor so he'd have an excuse to introduce the Brainless Brothers to the village and get people to recognise the surname, so it was to the fore when he produced his play vilifying Godfrey Basely about Grace Fairbrother's death being a feud with her actor. Rex's grandfather bought a farm in Ambridge and lived in the village for eight years, and Rex's father was born there but left the village with his parents when he was six. Set this against the Archer family having lived and farmed there for many generations.

DeanElderberry · 25/04/2025 19:44

40 seconds on Google tells me that Neospora transmission to cattle is mainly via birds including sparrows, magpies and buzzards, though foxes and dogs also carry it. Daft Dave.

AskingQuestionsAllTheTime · 25/04/2025 19:49

At least (unlike Ed) he hasn't shot anyone's dog in a fit of temper about it.

DeanElderberry · 25/04/2025 20:03

yet

rodents carry it too, so that will give him some sporting fun

Godesstobe · 25/04/2025 20:28

What on earth does Rex see in Rochelle? Their relationship feels very contrived. Or is Rex just so desperate that any random woman will do?

AskingQuestionsAllTheTime · 25/04/2025 20:28

At the time of Ed's outbreak of illegal shooting, he'd been repeatedly told by Alistair (the vet, in case anyone has forgotten about his existence and I wouldn't blame anyone who has) that it was extremely unlikely that the case of neospora in his herd had been caused by a dog. Didn't stop him.

Bruisername · 25/04/2025 20:31

There are plenty of reasons why dogs shouldn’t be off lead in fields so why go with the tenuous reason

maybe a dog walker will be trampled

PassivAggressivHaus · 25/04/2025 20:33

@Godesstobe , he fell for Pip, which should give an indication of his taste.

@DeanElderberry , Keep beavering way with your badgering. You know you otter.

Gonners · 25/04/2025 21:10

Rex strikes me as the sort of nice-enough-but-no-personality chap who wants to be "managed" (unsubtly) by a rather unpleasant woman.

Trivium4all · 25/04/2025 21:37

Bruisername · 25/04/2025 20:31

There are plenty of reasons why dogs shouldn’t be off lead in fields so why go with the tenuous reason

maybe a dog walker will be trampled

To be fair, among cattle farmers of my acquaintance, the issue of dog poo causing cows to abort, and being thereafter infertile, is raised frequently, and the signage around fields can get quite...vehement. So to me, the dog poo/angry scary sign thing rings really true.

LillianGish · 25/04/2025 21:47

Rex's obsession with Rochelle feels as contrived as every other part of this story. Helen had some contrived meeting with Saskia and has now had a heart-to-heart with Rex during a contrived taxi ride - the SWs are moving all the chess pieces round in preparation for a spectacular denouement at the abattoir. Hopefully they'll get it all over with quickly and then we can never speak of it again. On a positive note, I loved the walk up Lakey Hill and all the animal noises and birdsong. I love Leonard - I'd be happy for him to appear in every scene. He sounds so natural and he has fitted in so well at Brookfield - he would have been the obvious candidate to fix Helen's windscreen wiper. What's slightly less realistic is that Jill has now completely disappeared. I'm fully expecting the death of Peggy for VE day, maybe the shock of it will finish off Jill and we can have two for the price of one.

BeatriceBatchelor · 25/04/2025 23:09

Oh I was cringing at the Rexelle anog.

echt · 25/04/2025 23:26

BeatriceBatchelor · 25/04/2025 23:09

Oh I was cringing at the Rexelle anog.

Put me right off my morning cuppa.

TottersBlithely · 25/04/2025 23:44

You missed the ‘h’, @BeatriceBatchelor!

TottersBlithely · 25/04/2025 23:58

But yes, it was cringy and unbelievable. It’s radio - how do the creative team expect us to believe Rochelle is worth snogging / obsessing over if they’ve never, ever shown us - through the power of sound - that she has a single attractive quality? We’ve heard her scamming, stropping, sulking, nagging, negging, whining and vomiting. Has anyone said she dresses well? No. Has she baked anyone a cake? No. Has she done anything that wasn’t entirely based on neediness and self interest? No. By trying to convince us that Rex is crazy about her, they make him look an enormous fool.

IHaveAlwaysLivedintheCastle · 26/04/2025 01:15

Rex sounded deranged. Rochelle was perfectly sensible.

Bruisername · 26/04/2025 06:28

Deranged or sex starved?

OverArmourer · 26/04/2025 06:33

We’ve had two episodes about the dangers of dog poo (although I’m sure that anyone leaving dog poo around is unlikely to give a, er, shit) but encouragement from Leonard to enter farmer’s fields as cows aren’t ever dangerous.. hmm.

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 26/04/2025 06:37

The SWs have decided Rex is a bad picker.

OP posts:
LillianGish · 26/04/2025 08:10

How do the creative team expect us to believe Rochelle is worth snogging / obsessing over if they’ve never, ever shown us - through the power of sound - that she has a single attractive quality? This is it in a nutshell @TottersBlithely It feels like they are going through the motions because they need Rex to be in some way drawn into the abattoir sabotage plot - sounding the alarm, getting a confession from Rochelle, whatever. Apart from anything else, what would Rochelle - an avowed vegan who is facilitating an attack on the abattoir - be doing with a pig farmer? Is she also planning to liberate some pigs?

BeatriceBatchelor · 26/04/2025 08:26

Bruisername · 26/04/2025 06:28

Deranged or sex starved?

He needs to get himself on Hinge or Plenty of Fish because it sounded like he hasn't had a - ahem - romantic encounter since Anisha and that was YEARS ago.

He does have a very attractive voice. What about him and Helen?

Patcherdog · 26/04/2025 08:31

It is possible Joy could have run a successful business or earned a lot of money through her career. Why shouldn't she have a bit of money?

IHaveAlwaysLivedintheCastle · 26/04/2025 08:49

TottersBlithely · 25/04/2025 23:58

But yes, it was cringy and unbelievable. It’s radio - how do the creative team expect us to believe Rochelle is worth snogging / obsessing over if they’ve never, ever shown us - through the power of sound - that she has a single attractive quality? We’ve heard her scamming, stropping, sulking, nagging, negging, whining and vomiting. Has anyone said she dresses well? No. Has she baked anyone a cake? No. Has she done anything that wasn’t entirely based on neediness and self interest? No. By trying to convince us that Rex is crazy about her, they make him look an enormous fool.

But that's not the case. We've heard her arguing, shouting, and crying with her mother. We've heard her being unhappy when speaking to Mick. So far as Vince, Rex, Freddy, the cricket team, people in the Bull she's been keen to work, to get invilved with the cricket team and village life.

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