Nacktschnecken omlet Cube

[Olly]

Any other Ambridge addicts out there? I'm planning a special dinner with an Archerphile friend, as it's the extended edition tonight which is apparently going to Shake Ambridge to The Core. We have been collecting lists of the five characters most likely to be killed or suffer some major trauma tonight, but as they've already had arson, a siege and various other nasty events it's hard to see what this is going to be.

 

My favourite theory is that Lizzie goes mad and torches the entire village ....

[Purplemaniacs]

OH is a fan, I must remind him.

 

Chrissie

[Egluntyne]

I plan to tackle my ironing and listen to the anniversary edition.

 

I used to be a regular listener, but haven't listened since the Brian and Siobhan thingy finished, which is a few years ago now.

[Groovychook]

I can't wait for tonight's episode- only an hour to go!!

I'll be glued to the radio!

 

I've been racking my brains trying to think what's going to 'shake Ambridge to the core'

It's sort of been building up to something happening to Helen... or possibly Lizzie?!

I'm not overly fond of either of those two but they'd better not do anything to Joe Grundy

 

Whatever happens, it's been a very well kept secret!

Roll on 7pm

[alih]

Am listening now...love The Archers and have no idea what is in store...

[Groovychook]

Nigel!!

[Olly]

How could they! He might not be dead, of course.

[Egluntyne]

It all seemed a bit of a damp squib to me.

[Groovychook]

It all seemed a bit of a damp squib to me.

It was a bit after all the hype!

The repeated mention of 'the banner' throughout the episode sort of set the scene fairly early on!

Poor Nigel though... can't think he'll have survived the drop

[Miss Millies Chicken]

All a bit disapointing after the big build up. Shame about Nigel

[chickencam]

I grew up with the Archers and we listened regularly same as Egluntyne until after the Brian affair and then on and off but haven't really listened for over a year now. We read in the paper this morning about tonights episode so we then listened to the Sunday omnibus and pretty much worked out that it had to be Nigel. We think that he will be in a coma for many years and that the estate will be in limbo. I have always had a soft spot for Nigel. It is horrible listening knowing that something awful is going to happen.

[sari]

I was a bit disappointed, to be honest..I din't feel shocked to the core...the accident was telegraphed far too heavily, and Helen's PE was cleared up far too quickly...PE remains a risk to Mum, after delivery. So.....I wonder if Nigel will be paralysed, and life will change horrendously for the Pargetters. Or perhaps he dies, and Lower Loxley is willed to some distant cousin.....

 

I love the ARchers, and have indoctrinated OH and children ( 9 and 12) and my 12 year old is still waiting for Brian to get his come uppance following his presenting Jennifer with Ruairdh. She thinks Jennifer should have kicjed hime out....We all sat glued to the radio....me clutching a handkie just in case...

[Olly]

Well, Vanessa Whitburn (editor) was interviewed on the Today programme this morning, and more or less admitted it's a death. Query - who will inherit - did Nigel make a will? Lizzie will never forgive David, that's for sure!

 

I think tonight's episode might actually be more exciting, hearing the aftermath.

[WitchHazel]

As soon as Nigel asked David to give him a hand, we knew what was going to happen.

 

I then had a few flashbacks about Nigel's scenes over the past few weeks, and realised it was going to be him not David.

 

Would much rather Helen had died (it is a soap, so I don't feel too awful saying that) and left Tony and Pat raising the baby.

 

I can imagine the repercussions will be awful, especially as it was David who insisted they did it that night, and callenging NIgel. I imagine that will come out at some point and cause a rift between him and Lizzie.

 

I wish they hadn't hyped it up so much.

 

The promotions dept do seem to have a track record of spoiling things. Phil's death was publicised - and I wish they hadn't done that. It would have been much more effective for us to discover Phil was dead at the same time as Jill did.

 

For the anniversary episode, it would have been better to say that it was 60th anniversary so there is a double episode.... and to not mention "shaking Ambridge to the Core" bit at all. They could have said there was going to be some drama and we would have listened in, hearing the bit about Helen was it - and then NIgel's death would have come as a complete surprise and shock.

 

I can't see that all this advanced publicity is goign to do any good. Yes, it may get some people who aren't normally listeners to tune in - but would they bother tuning in again after so much promise and so little delivery? I don't think so,

[Leicester_H]

Given scream lasted approx 3s, it means he fell approx 40m - even on the Archers people can't survive that, can they??

[Egluntyne]

He might have landed on a conveniently positioned haystack/bouncy castle/discarded mattress.

[Olly]

... or landed on Freddie, as someone meanly suggested on the BBC Forum! (yes, I have been sad enough to go and look on there).

 

I see there's an Arena programme tonight on BBC 4 about The Archers.

[WitchHazel]

He might have landed on a conveniently positioned haystack/bouncy castle/discarded mattress.

 

Ooh, he mght have landed on Brenda! She was leaving the house at around the time they were on the roof.

[Daphne]

Well I'd been listening to the marathon Archerfest on BBC Radio 7 since about 11.30 yesterday morning till 6.00pm. An hour off and then 'the' episode

 

I totally agree with you WitchHazel - damp squid, over-hyped, shouldn't have bothered, listener numbers will go down. And I'd add dreadful lazy writing to the list of complaint. Talk about telegraphing the next move. It was ridculous that the 2 of them would have suggested scrabbling about on a dark frosty roof in the wind, because the women would spend so much time gossiping before they managed to get the champagne out; Amy being at the party didn't ring true and the saccherine reuniting of Helen and Tony defied belief. GRRRRR.

 

On a lighter note, we browsed twitters (not the official BBC ones) and I think the public should become the writers, some of their suggestions and comments were priceless. OH had thought that David would die in a fight with the man who sold them their own stolen hay, and I thought David and Pip would die in a driving disaster. I have predicted not very seriously (slight wishful thinking here) that Elizabeth will now have a heart attack. SATTC indeed. *Hurrumphing off*

[Olly]

My friends and I had a 'hit list' - my money was actually on the Grundy brothers shooting each other - but the whole thing was so bloomin' obvious, it had to be happening at Lower Loxley. It was, I agree, pretty awful scriptwriting, the only question was whether it was going to be David as well as Nigel falling off the roof! Amy hasn't been around for weeks (and am I imagining it, or has her voice changed since the last visit home? ) so it's amazing that she just happened to be at the party.

 

I'd hate to be a woman in Ambridge - you're destined to be abused, downtrodden, or suffer some serious loss or trauma (think Shula, Lizzie, Ruth, Kathy, Jolene, Helen, Pat, Susan, Hayley ... and that's just in the last few years!). Gotta love it though - I've been listening on and off all my life, thanks to my mum's addiction to the programme, and I still enjoy it.

[Daphne]

Gotta love it though - I've been listening on and off all my life, thanks to my mum's addiction to the programme, and I still enjoy it.

 

Me too - been listening since I was 18 and first away from home; it used to remind me of the village I grew up in. And no doubt I will continue despite my ranting disappointment

 

And I notice I wrote 'damp squid' when I meant to write 'damp squib' so I won't be invited onto any writing parties

[Egluntyne]

 

And I notice I wrote 'damp squid' when I meant to write 'damp squib' so I won't be invited onto any writing parties

 

Oh, I don't know. A damp squid might have livened things up a bit.

[Olly]

Maybe it was a damp squid on the roof that caused Nigel's foot to slip?

[Groovychook]

He might have landed on a conveniently positioned haystack/bouncy castle/discarded mattress.

 

Ooh, he mght have landed on Brenda! She was leaving the house at around the time they were on the roof.

I was half hoping that David might've been tangled up in the other end of 'the banner' and landed on top of him!

[Daphne]

A-ha - Nigel slipped on the damp squid, and then the damp squid spread one tentacle out and grabbed David by the ankle and tonight we'll hear that David has fallen off as well Then the Archer women will all come out to see what the commotion is about, Elizabeth will have a heart attack and swoon on top of Jill. Ruth will be watching and say 'Oh nooooh' a lot, Freddie and Lily are too young/in bed/being ill from too much cake to call the emergency services and so the damp squid, in a fit of conscience, extends one tentacle in through a window and dials 999. Sorted