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!

I think my money is on one of Marky’s goons exacting a revenge.

I wondered if each interview was the personal fear of each interviewee

I quite liked the all in George or Emma's head theory but both Clive and Harrison spoke of things they wouldn't have known.

That’s why I keep coming back to it only making sense if it’s an associate of Markie. Or there being a twist that somehow makes it an accident.

We’ve had so many characters go to prison in the past ten years. I quoted three up thread but I hadn’t counted Gavin and Philip Moss in addition to Helen, Freddie and George.

Personal fear of each interviewee you say?

So a kind of AIC meets 1984 merger?

Madcats
Isn’t it a “damp squib”? Not to be confused with a “squab”.

https://ambridgereporter.org.uk/nicknames.html has a list of nicknames and such from the BBC boards and others, and in that I find

"damp squid, a: the rest of the world calls it a damp squib (originally a typo by annakist)"

We might be speculating for quite a while yet - Hannah's actor said in the podcast that she doesn't know who did it yet. Don't they record episodes 3-6 weeks in advance?

(they didn't elaborate on whether actors receive scripts for episodes/scenes they're not in)

(Edited for weeks not months, says the Archers FAQ)

I met David, Shula & Brian shorty after Nigel's fall. At that point the actors were only told if they were needed or not and then given their own scripts and recording schedule. They were as much in the dark about what happens next as everyone else.

Amber was mentioned though- in the interview with Brad
= George only thinks of Amber as something he owns, so she features in the 'dream sequence' only in respect of has she or hasn't she had sex with Brad

Meanwhile, the portrayal of Brad is a snivelling weakling, which is how George sees him

Brian would surely not really address the Chief Inspector thus
'Now look here young lady'
but George might imagine him doing that

I'm getting Life on Mars vibes.

I’m hoping it was Amber who smacked George over the head…no loss if she gets sent off to prison

I feel rather protective of Ed, so I don’t want any more shit to happen to his little branch of the Grundy’s. Though I don’t mind if George dies

Really irritated about a couple of things, tonight.

1. The continuity announcer said there was a "hospital vigil" that people would be at. Thanks for the spoiler, dude!

2. A wine bottle would not shatter if it hit a human skull. Other way around.

It might have shattered after hitting the ground after shattering George's skull.

A wine bottle is going to shatter in the woods? I don't think so.

A full bottle that we were taking as a present broke after rolling off the back seat of our car onto the carpeted floor.

All the talk of wine bottles got me thinking. I bet champagne bottle, with its heavy bottom. would do the trick. Anyhoo, here's some research:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11003884/#:~:text=Although%20some%20studies%20have%20concluded,bones%20%5B5%2C%2017%5D.

Bloody undead.

If it was Keira, would she go to prison at 15 (assuming George lives)?

I wonder if it was Harrison as he has sort of left anyway, but if he suspects Fallon and/or she suspects him, their marriage isn’t going to fair well, before any revelations of the woman up north

Thanks @echt, that is some detailed research. 🔎😀

My sentiments precisely. I reckon it was a suicide attempt, botched in true Grundy fashion.

Can you commit suicide by bashing yourself on the head with a bottle?

Well, it's not something I've ever tried, but I suspect it's something that would tend to be botched!

I really can't imagine it.

I'm sure if you're drunk enough you can fall over and land on a bottle.

You could harm yourself with a broken bottle but that's not what seems to have happened.

My money's on Jazzer knowing who did it, or thinking he does, but quietly approving/understanding. I think it unlikely that he did it himself.

Jazzer could be protecting Brad or Amber

I don't care who did it, I just wish they'd done it much harder. And it's pretty pathetic after all the build-up. No even an induced coma.

I still can't see any if the suspects being the right psychological profile to wallop George with a bottle in cold blood.

Why does so much happen off-air, these days ? So lazy.