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!

Urgh! What happened?

I am hoping the website synopsis will explain what I was supposed to hear.

Hmm, was that you, Harrison?

I just relistened - I think someone hit him with a glass bottle.
possibly one of the bottles Tracey was talking about?

Amber made a play for Brad when still involved with George. She's a piece of work.

It'll be another anticlimax. He'll be fine.

I'm between Keira & Harrison

How far did the SL about George being useful to Kenton in jail re Mikey? Could it be him seeking revenge? This all hinges on what happened in jail, of course.

Have just listened . It seems like George is the one that has been injured / killed perhaps .
I played it again on iPlayer and you do hear a clunk / clink of glass . He was drunk , so might have been carrying a bottle .
Yes so many suspects . Could also be the criminal ( or his associates ) who he helped to get tracked down . But if so , think they may have spoken to him . So I think on balance I would rule him out .
If he has been assaulted / killed - think it is likely to be someone he has hurt / a member of his family . We heard that most of the Grundies are out looking for Keira . So could be anyone .
The fireworks going off are a good distraction - someone could slip out and then come back . Or have I read / watched too much Agatha Christie ?

Not quite a falling off a roof

Thank goodness.

My money is on Kiera to have done something to George.

I hope not. It’s quite possible, but how would Keira’s future develop after that? I like her.

Several people are out - on their own? - looking for Keira. How about one of them being shot but not by George although it would look very much like it was?

Ed and Kiera both love George.

Brad isn’t a stealth killer.

not sure Amber has a motive to kill - you can’t slaughter your exes.

My money is on Harrison - he’s a character in search of an exit, we know he has a temper, and the Fallon and Kenton baiting could have proved too much for him, despite the ‘work’ he has done on himself.

Jolene would be a fun choice - she hasn’t always made good decisions (I’m still scarred by the Jolene & Sid Perks shower scene <shudder>) but I think she’s too sensible these days. Could be Fallon, of course . . . But the last dose of horrific violence was perpetrated by a woman so I reckon it’s a bloke this time.

I’ll be disappointed if it is Keira - but I thought Emma, Will and Ed all suddenly turning on George, when all they’ve done lately is twist themselves into pretzel shapes to defend him, was poor storytelling. It was out of character, especially for Emma. The writers, I am sure, can do better, so it’s the producers I’m disappointed with.

My money is currently on Ed. He was, in that moment, absolutely furious at George beyond anything we've heard from him before. I think Ed was out by himself looking for Kiera, came across George, and thumped him.

I think it's just possible that George heard a pheasant in a bush, wrongly thought it was a person, stumbled, dropped his bottle, and hit his head.

He was also calling out "Mum, I'm sorry"... so perhaps there is a chance that it is Emmur who saw him, and gave him a shove in anger? She would have had plenty to say though.

I don't think George is dead.

I also heard glass breaking. Great way to introduce voices for Poppy and Kiera if that’s on the cards.

Kiera has put herself right in the middle of this with that note.

I wonder how long this thread will last.

Kiera and Ed recent behaviour seem like classic magician ‘watch the birdie’ - the action is elsewhere, you’re being misdirected (I hope, lol).

I forgot to say how good I thought Alice was to speak to George so openly and without rancour. It's real change of direction in terms of so many people rejecting George (not without cause). Of course it's these changes of direction that destabilise George: he really is sorry then he really is angry and hits out.

I agree with @Fretfulagain in criticising the handling of the Grundys turning on him. It doesn't listen right.

That was considerably less dramatic than I was expecting it to be 🤔

Agree. Nowhere near the demise of Grace Archer in the burning stable - or even Susan being sent down just before Christmas. I remember one of those events. I wasn’t around when ITV started (and Grace Archer was sacrificed by the BBC).

I do however agree with echt that the interaction with Alice was good. She knew how to get through to him. Pity she hadn’t talked more to him earlier.

While I'm here, Happy New Year to all you TA threadsters. It's 2026 where I am, a sunny day, if rather fresh. Morning cuppa done and ruminating on TA before taking the dogs for a walk.

Rather underwhelming again.
Don't forget that Tracey had taken a load of bottles up to her house, so maybe one of them hit him over the head with a bottle.

was that it?

the nearest we got to a falling off the roof moment was the car that seemed to sustain unusually loud and long speed for a road in a small village. Maybe it was Markie out looking for George.

Also, there seemed to be way too much scope for confusion with Alice's orange juice order in between all the others.

Sort of agree that the ‘Alice the alcoholic’ and her performative empathy was in character but the timing was rather neon- lit signposting ‘the tragedy was, he was on his way to make amends’.

if he is dead - did he die in grace as he had repented? Wot a tragedy - much soul searching when Alice reveals tragic George’s last known intentions. That will trigger the guilt which will cause the perp to . . . Confess/flee/commit a sacrificial act.

poor Fallon. The men in her life do let her down, rather.