The Archers Monday 23rd July 2012
- Tracey pulls her punches
- Fallon and Harry return to go to Edinburgh
- Even Susan thinks Emma’s lying
Tracey pulls her punches
She went for purely verbal assaults instead.
[Tracey] “You can knock some sense into that spiteful daughter of yours!”
Seems Keith is at home, near suicidal with depression.
[Susan] “I can’t bear it, my daughter against my brother, what can I do?”
[Tracey] “She’s mad!”
Tracey reckons everyone knows Keith is innocent.
[Tracey] “Everyone knows it expect that vindictive daughter of yours.”
When Tracey later goes round to see Emma, to tell her to stop lying.
[Tracey] “You’ve built up this great big fantasy, it’s you that needs locking up, not Keith … what a spiteful cow you are. Spiteful and malicious!”
Blimey. With an Aunt like that …
Fallon and Harry return to go to Edinburgh
How very odd.
We hadn’t heard from Harry nor Fallon for an age.
But up they pop today (right next to the secret microphones).
Harry’s bemoaning that everyone seems to have gone off on holiday. Though Fallon suggests he also heads off for a wee trip to the Milk Bottle Museum, he thinks he’ll just end up taking a holiday to watch the Olympics on telly.
Fallon’s next suggestion:
[Fallon] “A caravan in West super Mare and a bag full of 10 pence pieces, holiday sorted!”
Harry reckons he’s too skint to even afford that.
Then Fallon remembers she owns a camper van. Big enough for two …
[Harry] “Weston super Mare, here we come!”
Then they check what’s on:
[Harry] “Music and beer fest.”
[Fallon] “No thanks, potbellied blokes holding their pints up to the light … I get enough of that here.”
They want to go somewhere with life, music, culture … so they ask Kenton (!).
He suggest Edinburgh. He once went there with a mate:
[Kenton] “Yeah, and I think we left our mark!”
(he thankfully didn’t go into details)
So – they’ll be off to The Fringe. (The Fringe still strikes terror into my heart when it’s uttered … I survived 17 years of it as a local)
[Kenton] “Hmm Hmmm … you and Harry in a camper van, eh?”
Well spotted Kenton … Fallon might get her man after all!
Even Susan thinks Emma’s lying
After suffering the tirade from Tracey, Emma goes to tirade at Susan.
[Emma] “So, you still haven’t made up your mind, me or Keith?”
[Susan] “You can’t want Keith to go to prison love … It was someone who looked like Keith, maybe … I think you’ve built it up ... and now it’s a cast iron certainty … I know it’s a hard thing to admit, but can’t you accept the possibility that you could have got it wrong … it’s Keith’s future at stake … I’m sure in your heart you don’t want it to be him … the thing is, you’ve been wrong before … you swore blind that Ed was George’s father … you had us all going.”
[Emma] “This is nothing like that,. I saw him mum!”
[Susan] “You saw someone … maybe you just persuaded yourself it was Keith …”
Oh – Susan was cheeky to mention George’s paternity!
But she has a point.
Emma’s very good at convincing herself, then convincing everyone else …
- Tom still has hope
- Fallon still wants Harry
- Nigel’s making Elizabeth redundant
- How long before Lily and Freddie go postal?
- “That main thing now is to have a jolly good time tonight and on Sunday”
- The cows enjoyed their footspa
- That yard tractor …
- Nigel finally unveils his brooch
- Too many couples being nice to each other
Tom still has hope … kinda
Talking to Brenda about still having hope that Helen will go to Bridge Farm for New Year, Tom isn’t going to let the idea go of his family making. But, Brenda is all doom and gloom:
[Brenda] “Helen is not going to budge … she and you’re dad are just stuck now and the rest of us are going to have to put up with it”
[Tom] “I’m not going to give up”
[Brenda] “You are lovely …”
(yuk!)
Later on, Tom suggests to Tony that he and Pat should also turn up at The Bull – while Helen is there with Tom and co.
But Tony reckons it’ll be too complicated (Pat will be making food), and tells Tom to leave it.
[Tom] “All this stuff with damn Helen has been a bit of a downer … Things have got to be better by next year”
Hmmm.
Fallon still wants Harry
[Brenda] “I wasn’t the only one who noticed …. Tristram’s review … saying something about genuine warmth between the two one leads … Vicky’s been predicting orange blossom by the end of the year”
(after looking it up, it seems Orange Blossoms are a traditional flower for a bride’s hair – ‘to gather orange blossoms’ means ‘to seek a wife’)
[Brenda] “You sure you haven’t got something to tell me?”
[Fallon] “Well, nothing you want to hear”
Later on, as Brenda and Fallon have lunch, Brenda’s bursting with curiosity. To be fair to Brenda, she can’t have a very exciting life with Tom ….
“So … you and Harry!”
Swearing Brenda to secrecy, Fallon reveals that she does really like Harry and that “there was definitely something there” when they had their first kiss, and had hoped it would be the start of her and Harry.
But after that … when we did the kiss … it was just a Panto kiss. So I started to think he just didn’t want it to be obvious to the rest of the cast. So last week, I invited him over to run our lines, just him and me … but on the nigh …t we ran our lines. And not even upstairs. He didn’t even come up to my room. He just said down here is fine, so we sat in a corner of the bar!”
Poor Fallon had even got a CD and some aromatherapy candles at the ready. But it wasn’t to be.
[Fallon] “Seems the guys I like over ever see me as a mate. Ed, and now Harry as well”
[Brenda] “Maybe he’s just shy? We don’t know what experience of women he had before he came to Ambridge …”
[Fallon] “It’s finished. I’m not doing anything more”
Oh dear.
But it is probably for the best. There’s something not quite right with Saint Harry …
Nigel’s making Elizabeth redundant
Well, not literally. He’s just been so busy sorting everything out at Lower Loxley, she doesn’t have anything to do. Hence, Elizabeth feels she is redundant.
[Nigel] “Come to Lizzie, you could never be that”
Hmmmm. Is this proof that Nigel could cope without Elizabeth if she was no longer around …
How long before Lily and Freddie go postal?
Not content with ruining their Christmas holidays with extra homework, Elizabeth is now making the twins angry again by making them sort out their schoolbags. There’s just no let up!
Even Nigel remembers how depressing it was to get ready for going back to school. He seemingly was depressed when it was time to sharpen his pencils …
“That main thing now is to have a jolly good time tonight and on Sunday”
It’s difficult to not read into everything and anything that’s said ahead of Sunday’s anniversary special, but the odds are high that the Archer gathering at Lower Loxley will end in disaster.
The cows enjoyed their footspa
Aw, that’s a nice way for them to end their 2010.
That yard tractor …
Just leave it be, Tony. Especially when it’s cold and dark.
I don’t think the family could cope with a repeat of John’s death.
Nigel finally unveils his brooch
Over which Elizabeth sounds suitably stunned. Even though it was “mummy’s”
Not sure what the whole point of this brooch is (how it was found, cleaned etc), and it could just be another red herring.
Or not.
Could it be something for Elizabeth to remember Nigel by?
Too many couples being nice to each other
Tom and Brenda – with Brenda saying: “I’m just glad I’ve got you”
Nigel and Elizabeth – with Nigel again saying “I’m a one woman man” (that’s twice he’s said that now in as many days) and “I wanted you to wear it and know how much you mean to me”, the both declaring their love for each other.
Ooooh. Ominous indeed.
- Emma’s jealous as well as lazy …
- Kenton made Page 13
- Is that because of the snow?
- Are Kenton and Nigel on drugs?
- “It’s never too young to introduce the young to the performing arts”
- Helen needs Lynda and Robert
- “I’m afraid he’ll be gently steaming all through his Chinese meal tonight”
- What’s Nigel on about?
=
Emma’s jealous as well as lazy …
[Kenton] “Emma had a face as long as a fiddle when I jumped out at her from behind the wheelie bin”
[Elizabeth] “I heard her moaning to Pip … something about Nic being Clarrie’s blue eyed girl”
So can we now look forward to Emma having a go at Nic, as well as Will casting his hooks into Ed?
Either way – if Emma’s put out that Clarrie is singing Nic’s praises – maybe Emma should try and help out more.
Quite simple, really
Kenton made Page 13
While he, Nigel and Elizabeth seem quite delighted about.
That’s a funny thing.
Being quite a connoisseur of local papers myself, I know that the latter pages are great for the WRI and Rotary roundups – but a bit of a cemetery for ‘news’.
Is that because of the snow?
I am getting obsessed about the lack of snow and freezing temperatures in Ambridge.
I thought Elizabeth was about to mention that Lily’s present was late to be delivered because of the weather but … no … no reason at all.
What’s going on?
Even if it’s perfect weather in Ambridge, why isn’t the fact that the rest of the UK is falling apart even merit a mention?
Even Lynda wasn’t worried about how Oscar and co were going to get to Ambridge.
Odd.
Hmmm …
Are Kenton and Nigel on drugs?
What on earth were Nigel and Kenton thinking?
So Elizabeth needs to relax. Delegate a bit better. Have fun. Break a smile …
And the solution is obvious.
All Elizabeth needs is for her husband and brother to dress up as highwaymen, switching place to make her think she’s seeing double (‘but he’s down there, when he was just over there’).
But of course!
(eh???)
There was a nearly funny moment when Elizabeth couldn’t get Kenton to come out (!), but then got a bit weird:
[Elizabeth] “It’s the first time I ever found a highway man in my bed”
Thankfully, it was Nigel in bed with her.
Nope. I’m sorry to say that it just didn’t work, chaps.
Both dressing as Rick Turnip to confuse Elizabeth was a prank of sorts, but I don’t get how it really made Elizabeth realise that she needs to relax more often.
I guess the proof will be in the (Christmas) pudding.
“It’s never too young to introduce the young to the performing arts”
So says Lynda.
Though I think more adult men would be more suitable for stroking “the cat’s lovely fur coat …”
Helen needs Lynda and Robert
Well, to be more exact, Helen needs her child to have grandparents like Lynda and Robert.
As she watches Lynda dotting over baby Oscar (and does seem genuinely grateful for Coriander’s baby cast-offs), it hits home that her child might never experience such unconditional love.
So what to do?
Accept that Tony will be Tony, and try to make amends in the hope that he will melt eventually?
Keep cutting Tony out, to concentrate on the genuinely supportive Grandma Pat?
Difficult.
And a shame that Ian wasn’t on hand to advise and comfort.
Phew! The baby hasn’t even been born yet, but Helen already seems to be struggling alone.
“I’m afraid he’ll be gently steaming all through his Chinese meal tonight”
I like Lewis.
He has a rather nifty turn of phrase, and is a decent sort of a chap.
What’s Nigel on about?
[Nigel] “I’ve been watching Fallon and Harry … I just wondered … they’re behaving like very good friends … after that kiss, I thought there might be something more …”
Well we all did, and were left just as confused about Harry, but why is Nigel so interested?
Has he sniffed out the real reason for Harry?!?
- Poop to Nigel!
- Harry’s hairdryer
- The kiss
- Freddie has a friend in Jill
Poop to Nigel!
I said it the other day – but you’re being a very rubbish dad at the moment, Nigel.
Lily and Freddie get home from school, but have to get back to working again rather than use the skating rink.
Goodness me – how to ruin an utterly wonderful time, and potentially scar his kids for life.
Harry’s hairdryer
Harry was annoyed that he’d found his hairdryer in Jazzer’s bedroom.
What was Harry doing in Jazzer’s bedroom? Surely one of the basic rules of flat sharing is never (eve) go into your flatmate’s room?
The hairdryer was in Jazzer’s room because his current lady friend Jackie had been using it. (so that’s okay then).
But Harry does use a hairdryer.
Blokes using hairdryers is obviously quite normal and fine – but it does suggest Harry has a flowing mane of hair.
Interesting. I imagined him with a fastidious crew cut.
The kiss
After sounding incredibly nervous while practising his kiss scene with Fallon, Harry was no more confident when it come to the moment itself.
Jazzer’s winding him up couldn’t have helped:
“Tell the truth, have you ever snogged anyone before?”
(though Jazzer’s offer to do a demonstration with Fallon was probably quite heartfelt)
At the rehearsal itself, the kiss scene is on – then off – then on again. Giving Harry even more time to get even more uptight.
And make no mistake that not having the kiss scene is even a remote option:
[Lynda] “The kiss is a key moment in the arc of the development of the dramatic tensions within the narrative”
(so there!)
Just when I was beginning to wonder if Harry had actually ever kissed anyone before, Fallon takes matters in hand, calms him down, and they kiss.
And kiss.
And keep kissing (actually, by this point, it sounded like tongues might be involved).
[Nigel] “Gosh!”
Once the steam had cleared, Nigel felt it proper to congratulate Harry. And have a good nosey into what that rather involved ‘acting’ was all about.
[Nigel] “I say, bravo! That was quite a kiss … very convincing … Fallon looked quite pink and breathless by the time you’d finished. So, just good friends?”
[Harry] “Get real! Fallon is … she’s way out of my league. I really like her, but anything else … forget it!”
My oh my!
Has Harry’s reluctance to notice Fallon’s signals just been due to a lack of confidence?
Is Harry actually just a really nice chap, who doesn’t realise that he is attractive?
Hmmm. I still think Harry is too good to be true, but it does seem like there’s real possibility he’s simply just a good ‘un.
Freddie has a friend in Jill
He doesn’t know it yet, but Jill is going to be a very important champion for wee Freddie.
Jill is quite perturbed when she hears that Lily and Freddie are working on extra homework, rather than enjoying Deck that Halls:
[Jill] “Surely you could give them a break over the Christmas holidays!”
What’s more, Jill also believes there’d be nothing wrong with Freddie going to a local state school. And, she also thinks Nigel and Elizabeth are actually going to do Freddie more harm than good by their efforts:
[Jill] “ … there’re nothing wrong with Borchester Green … he might even be happier there”
Quite right. And Jill was also right when she pointed out that it doesn’t bode well if Freddie has to be pushed so hard even to just get into the school. How on earth will be cope with work once he gets there?!?
Elizabeth explains that they don’t want Freddie and Lily to be split. As Lily has the brains, Freddie has to work even harder to reach her level.
[Jill] “So why not send them both to Borchester Green?”
Which makes sense.
But Nigel’s determination to get his kids to Public schools isn’t about sense – it’s about proprietary and pride.
Without causing too much of an argument, Jill agrees to differ with Nigel and Elizabeth.
But I’m sure Jill’s not going to leave it at that.
