Archers thread #193: Christmas in Ambridge! Don't expect any wise men (or women). 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 love a couple of acquaintances to clean and tidy your house without your permission, 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/5457344-the-archers-spoilers-thread-11-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.)

What do we think - best Christmas ever followed by a nice quiet New Year? No, me neither. We have the tractor run to look forward to , and then whatever they've got lined up for the 75th anniversary of the first ever episode - New Year's Day 1951. I can't imagine that anybody involved with the programme then expected it would still be on the air 75 years later. I wonder what they would make of the current direction. The lack of farming content would be a surprise, given that was the whole reason for devising the programme in the first place.

Over to you!

Psaw. Once again we are deprived of the important bit of dialogue. On any other thread I would type FFS but not on TA.

Kenton is to be congratulated on helping to set up a major explosion between two volatile men with bad tempers and little or no self-control, isn't he.

Gosh, that will make Fallon so happy! Well done her employer. Ok, her employer's husband/nephew/semi-step-fatherish. Whatever Kenton is in relation to the shareholders in The Bull.

George excelled himself tonight. Setting a dog on a man who is still struggling after a dog attack was a horrible thing to do. God knows what Amber sees in him. I'm amazed she's back.

She's back for Christmas drama

A) Well played, George. Holly is an unlikely double for a slavering Bollockhound, but one works with the materials available
B) Do any of you remember the scene in early Line of Duty in which Jackie Lavery gets her throat cut? I find flashbacks of that help me through the times bloody Joy is on air.

I'm just listening again to Sunday's episode. Ruiari is starting to irritate me. He's doing that annoying thing that Tom does with words that end with a t (anyone know what I mean?). And he's sounding quite camp too. Like Paul.

And I know George is an odious little scrote but Fallon sounded quite sanctimonious when speaking to him. Do we reckon Harrison is going to clobber him and lose his job?

Can anyone remember which breed Holly is? I thought she was a spaniel but her bark sounds just like every Labrador I know. Plus the attempted pie snaffling is bloody typical. But as someone who was approached by youths asking if my Lab puppy was a Rottweiler...

She’s not a spaniel, I don’t think; Baz the Dedded was. Vague idea she’s some kind of collie.

I got the impression that George turned up with dog deliberately after he'd been reminded on Kenton's dog attack experience. Which was remarkably shitty, though very much in character. George holds grudges and make strategic, spiteful and really stupid attacks on those he thinks have slighted him.

He probably deliberately didn't feed that poor dog so that she was forced to forget her manners and grab at food, after all, no canine would do such a thing otherwise (that said, why was Kenton clutching food outdoors at the end of December?)

Holly the dog was a Christmas present for George in 2013 (just googled the BBC forum, full of complaints about the irresponsible storyline and the expense of a puppy for a cash-strapped family).

I know a fair few elderly dogs of that sort of age and most would slump in a heap having walked to the pub, only moving to procure a dog treat.

Anyway, Merry Christmas and let’s hope the SW’s come up with some decent scripts in 2026!

It’s escalating fast with George. Amber being back before Christmas took me by surprise. I thought she would be back but maybe not before Christmas.

Is the Harrison actor still in Coronation Street…? I don’t watch it… if so they need to keep him in the police force with an excuse to not be in Ambridge or he will have to be deaded by George. A one punch storyline. I think that would be a disappointing end to all the build up in the George storyline.

Hannah winds me up. Anyone would put the vintage tractor at the front. Who cares about the order on a tractor run for charity?! For once I nodded along with Joy when she said it was her decision and all for charity anyway.

I thought Joy was going to tell Hannah that she was letting Tony lead the parade as a tribute to John, who was killed by a bloody Fergie.

SPOILER ALERT (not The Archers)

@muddyford , I think she's a border collie cross with some retriever in the mix.

@PatChaunceysFruitCake , the character 'Arrison plays in Corrie has been dedded.

Yes, @Choccyp1gthat is another good reason why it’s fitting. Hannah needs to chill out… the man lost his son and it would have been John’s 50th birthday next week. Let him lead the tractor run if it puts a smile on his face.

I’ve always wondered if Hannah set George up with the sausage roll wrapper. It is so believable that George would breach bio security rules that it would be very easy to get away with it. I can’t remember George ever admitting it was him… also in keeping with the character though. Mind you, George was so unpleasant to Hannah that you could understand why she wanted him gone.

Could have made a bit more effort with the spoiler warning (made it a bit more explicit what you were referring to). Last I saw (Monday), the odious Theo was still alive & I didn't know there was a plan to kill him.

@emsiewill , which part of Spoiler Alert were you struggling with?

I got it on the search wotsit so it might not be true. The character isn't popular, so it might be wishful thinking on the AI part.

Just listening to today's repeat of yesterday's episode. Why is Hannah being such a biatch about the running order? It's a frigging tractor run!

Because (Spoiler Alert), the order is going to be meaningful.
A sinkhole will appear and the first tractor will go on a journey to the middle of the earth.

Oh. I was hoping it would be the last one 😆

Harrison doing ‘Dangerously Threatening’ is absolutely hilarious!

Might be the last one.
I think that Holly was after the pie too.

Woo hoo just heard the repeat of last night.

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g
Setting a dog on a man who is still struggling after a dog attack was a horrible thing to do.

The idea of anyone being able to set a twelve-year-old collie-labrador cross on anyone was more improbable than it was horrible, honestly.

PatChaunceysFruitCake
I’ve always wondered if Hannah set George up with the sausage roll wrapper. It is so believable that George would breach bio security rules that it would be very easy to get away with it. I can’t remember George ever admitting it was him…

I was uncertain until he told Brad that they couldn't prove it was him. Innocent people generally don't say "you can't prove it!" as their only defence. I almost expected him to come out, in true Brad Simpson fashion, with "I didn't do it, nobody saw me do it, there's no way you can prove anything".

Why is Hannah being such a bitch? And why does it matter which individual tractor gets the most donations - how would that work anyway?

I think it was an attempt to bring some life to an episode which made a pancake look like the Andes.