Archers thread #197: Runs, Ambridge, runs! 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 find it credible that Kate, who changed continents twice to get away from her own children, has now morphed into Grandmother of the Year, 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.)

Well, Finlay may have made good his escape, but we're all still stuck inside the Borsetshire forcefield. The cricket team is rising phoenix-like from the ashes but will now be The Bull's team, not Ambridge's. Will Alice and Rex make a go of things? Will George cope with a month off the booze? Will the real Brian Aldridge re-appear? Will we hear a bit more about farming? We did get a lambing scene the other night, which was good.

Over to you!

P. S. The pointless new AI title generator MN has introduced in spite of absolutely nobody ever asking for it wanted to call this thread something like Discuss The Archers here, no spoilers. I won't be following its suggestions.

Thanks for the new thread @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g. I loved tonight’s episode - I loved being at the forge and in The Bull with lots of recognisable voices and characters talking about villagey stuff. No big drama, no one behaving out of character to force a storyline, just interacting naturally as if we were listening in on their real conversations. It’s the Archers at its best for me - switching on and dropping into Ambridge for 13 minutes with some familiar voices.

How was Chris when Alice was seeing Harry the alcoholic? Did he know? Rex is a good bet in comparison.

Chris still loves Alice. Seeing her with one of his best friends is bound to be hard. I don’t think his reaction is surprising - he’s trying not to mind or show he minds, but it’s not easy for him. Who among us, if a partner had ended the relationship, would be happy for them to then take up with our best friend or indeed with the friend for moving in?

I enjoyed that episode too. Very realistic.

Excellent, @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g ! 👏

I’m already bored with Alice + Rex. I’d be hoping it’s just a device to put the starter marriage back together - but I fear Fairbrethren are fated to fulfil their destinies, so poor Christopher may not get his heart’s desire until little Mary Fairbrother has scribbled all over her big sister’s Certificate for Wrecking the School.

Thank you Gasp0de

Chris is being a bit childish, its not as if he has had a dabble in the game of luv.

Hello and thanks @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g for the shiny new thread.

I always think the SW got the Fairbrethen names the wrong way round. Rex seems to me to be the racier, more flighty name and Toby much more stolidly reliable. I have to think it through in my head every time.

I could have slapped Chris with all the needling of Rex, including the family photo of Star of the Week. And the unnecessary hammering. What's the betting he doesn't wear ear protection? He's playing (quite beautifully) the rôle of dog in the manger - perhaps was what he was making.

Thanks for the new thread @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

I also enjoyed last night’s episode. Loved the scene at the forge.

Thanks Gasp.

Thanks Gasp!

I do actually feel a bit sorry for Chris. The Alice he divorced was the alcoholic who was making life unbearable and putting his child at risk. But this Alice is the fun and lovely woman he fell in love with who now is in the running for mum-of-the-year baking cakes with their child. Still an alcoholic, yes, but totally sorted and happy with just a glass of juice. I can see why he is struggling. It’s nicely done. He will never ever be able to move on.

Thanks for the thread @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

I hope the cricket team use the name I suggested may years ago on the BBC board.

The Bull's Hitters.

Thanks GaspOde
I think Chris sounds like a dick, sorry I've never liked him!

I also think that if Chris and Alice got back together she would turn to drink, because there must have been something wrong in thier marriage that didnt help her.

Thanks @Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g . I agree about the pleasure in just listening in to conversations rather than “ scenes” . That’s how I stumbled across The Archers in the first place and got hooked.

Oh, @JoelenesParrot … this is why I can’t stop listening, and why I can’t leave the thread. Your post was so well observed, and so beautifully expressed.

I don’t think it matters whether listeners like him or not - in fact it’s good there is nuance otherwise it wouldn’t make sense that they got divorced in the first place. The important thing is that he is a good character, consistently played - it’s why his reaction is believable. Chris has always loved Alice more than she loves him, was never able to believe his luck. He is the product of a very strong marriage while Alice comes from much shakier foundations. He is protective of Martha and desperate not to rock the boat for her, Alice finds blended families the most natural thing in the world. I think they are better apart than together because while ever they are apart, Alice is on her best behaviour - Chris just hasn’t realised that yet.

For most of their marriage, both drank like fishes, so the person Chris ‘lurves’ is actually DrinkingAlice. He’d get tired of WithTheProgrammeAlice pretty quickly because she’s a prig and a bore and a colossal MeBeast.
If they do get back together, I sincerely hope it’s the car crash (Mighty Am optional) that it would be in real life.

Alice ditched Chris because she thought she had to let him go. I suspect the alcoholic in her doesn’t believe she deserves him.

I think they will get back together and poor Rex will be left to lick his wounds once again. I’m hoping Kirsty will be there at the right time, because they seems to have something pretty real.

Oh I get the title now! Thanks Gasp

Love the idea of the Bull's Hitters. I thought Rex couldn't play last year because he had to be out taxi-ing?

I'd love to hear from Elizabeth and Freddie.

Nice new thread, but a shame about the AI.

A pub cricket team isn’t that unusual. They tend to play far less, so that’s a blessing…BUT… a skittles or boules team would be far more believable.

I’m not sure how widely this case was reported, but it wasn’t too far from Ambridge (and not so long after the Ambridge storyline of a similar nature):

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgkj148p7no

I always wonder what rational Jakob sees in Kate, but they come across as a really believable couple...that was rather sweet.