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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Rewriting The Archers
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Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Barnabas62:
Tom will play an important role in the enfolding of the storyline. Watch this space.
You seem to be very well informed...
Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008
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jacobsen
seeker
# 14998
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Posted
She stabbed him! ![[Axe murder]](graemlins/lovedrops.gif)
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But God, holding a candle, looks for all who wander, all who search. - Shifra Alon
Beauty fades, dumb is forever-Judge Judy
The man who made time, made plenty.
Posts: 8040 | From: Æbleskiver country | Registered: Aug 2009
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Welease Woderwick
Sister Incubus Nightmare
# 10424
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by betjemaniac:
... And the return from bizarre Tuscan banishment of Oliver and Caroline...
Will Oliver return? Caroline has a history of husbands dying in mysterious circumstances and I'm sure she has enough put by to pay off the odd carabinieri or two!
[clarriety]
[ 05. April 2016, 14:10: Message edited by: Welease Woderwick ]
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I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
Fancy a break in South India?
Accessible Homestay Guesthouse in Central Kerala, contact me for details
What part of Matt. 7:1 don't you understand?
Posts: 48139 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
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Barnabas62
Shipmate
# 9110
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Albertus:
quote:
Originally posted by Barnabas62:
Tom will play an important role in the enfolding of the storyline. Watch this space.
You seem to be very well informed...
Just guessing. My wife thinks that Tom and Kirstie are not over, and that Kirstie will seek him out as an ally in the forthcoming credibility battle. And Charlie will reappear for similar reasons.
Rob can lie for England. So he'll want Helen sectioned, himself as victim of her irrationality, the children (Henry and the unborn) in danger from her madness etc, etc.
And I'm open to offers from the scriptwriting team ...
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Who is it that you seek? How then shall we live? How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
Posts: 21397 | From: Norfolk UK | Registered: Feb 2005
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Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
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Posted
And there was me thinking you might be Charles Collingwood or somebody.
There are, of course, victims of Helen's - longstanding- irrationality, but they are mainly herself and Henry (whose existence is entirely due to it).
[ 05. April 2016, 14:52: Message edited by: Albertus ]
Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008
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betjemaniac
Shipmate
# 17618
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Albertus:
And there was me thinking you might be Charles Collingwood or somebody.
some hope - I used to have good connections with 2 of the cast. Could we ever get any inside story? No we couldn't.
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And is it true? For if it is....
Posts: 1481 | From: behind the dreaming spires | Registered: Mar 2013
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Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
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Posted
How far in advance of broadcast did they know what was going to happen?
Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008
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betjemaniac
Shipmate
# 17618
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Albertus:
How far in advance of broadcast did they know what was going to happen?
about a month if they were involved in the storyline for the next month - each month's episodes used to be blasted through in a couple of days once a month. Didn't take long at all.
There were a couple of actors always on standby to come in a do some emergency lines if there was some sort of topical/national crisis - IIRC each episode has 2 mins or so of filler out of the 12 which can be cut out and the topical stuff dropped in without damaging the plot.
Can't remember when each month the recording is though so it's possible that this week's could have been recorded in the last week of March, and are the first of this month's cycle, or are anything up to 4 weeks old and are the last of the old cycle.
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And is it true? For if it is....
Posts: 1481 | From: behind the dreaming spires | Registered: Mar 2013
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Barnabas62
Shipmate
# 9110
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Posted
Some fairly obvious signs tonight that Helen's credibility is going to be subjected to a severe test. I'd say they are setting the scene for a trial.
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Who is it that you seek? How then shall we live? How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
Posts: 21397 | From: Norfolk UK | Registered: Feb 2005
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Welease Woderwick
Sister Incubus Nightmare
# 10424
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Posted
So we'll potentially have yet another Ambridge Jailbird!
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I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
Fancy a break in South India?
Accessible Homestay Guesthouse in Central Kerala, contact me for details
What part of Matt. 7:1 don't you understand?
Posts: 48139 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
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Barnabas62
Shipmate
# 9110
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Posted
Rob's dad and mum are out for vengeance. At least the dad is. Ursula appears to do what she's told. And there is certainly a case for the prosecution. Plenty of mileage in that storyline.
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Who is it that you seek? How then shall we live? How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
Posts: 21397 | From: Norfolk UK | Registered: Feb 2005
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Jemima the 9th
Shipmate
# 15106
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Posted
Ohhhhhhh nooooooooo! </Ruth>
I think they are building to a trial. Not the trial I was hoping for though. I was hoping Helen would get out & Rob would go to court for all the very bad things he's done.
The confrontation last night between Pat & Tony, and Rob's parents, was altogether silly.
I love the Shambridge soundcloud! They have Lynda's sniff to a T.
[ 07. April 2016, 10:56: Message edited by: Jemima the 9th ]
Posts: 801 | From: UK | Registered: Sep 2009
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Welease Woderwick
Sister Incubus Nightmare
# 10424
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Posted
Rob's father, whatever his name is, treats Poor Usrsula exactly like Rob was treating Helen - but isn't Male Headship one of the DH subjects?
I've now listened to 4 consecutive days and I think I shall drop out again to preserve my sanity - it must be 12 to 15 years since I was a devotee and I know that I could so easily get sucked back into it all. And after 12 to 15 years nothing has changed except the characters are even less connected to reality than they were before!
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I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
Fancy a break in South India?
Accessible Homestay Guesthouse in Central Kerala, contact me for details
What part of Matt. 7:1 don't you understand?
Posts: 48139 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
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Amika
Shipmate
# 15785
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jemima the 9th:
I think they are building to a trial. Not the trial I was hoping for though. I was hoping Helen would get out & Rob would go to court for all the very bad things he's done.
The confrontation last night between Pat & Tony, and Rob's parents, was altogether silly.
I agree. I wanted to see an end to it, Helen's release from Rob's grasp and nasty Rob off back to live with Ursula. This is far more messy and nasty and redolent of TV soaps that I don't watch because I get too involved. Although I don't like Helen as a character I don't think I can carry on listening to her suffering for another twelve months or more so I'm taking a break. I might keep up with the general story via Twitter instead.
Posts: 147 | From: Ingerland | Registered: Aug 2010
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Jemima the 9th
Shipmate
# 15106
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Posted
Before the stabbing, I had stopped listening & was just reading the Archers facebook group. Worked very nicely. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Posts: 801 | From: UK | Registered: Sep 2009
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Barnabas62
Shipmate
# 9110
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Posted
There's a deadly plausibility to the storyline. Helen is charged with attempted murder, Henry is now a material witness and is being taken into care to prevent his "evidence" being "tainted" by Helen's family. The forensics are consistent with an unprovoked attack. Evidence of Helen's historical and present instability is strong, there are credible witnesses (including Helen herself now) to her threat to kill him.
The clear impact of the storyline is that once you recognise you are subject to domestic abuse, get the hell out of the situation before it destabilises you, eats away at your ability to know who you are any more. So far as the stabbing is concerned, it seems to confirm the Duke of Wellington's advice. "It is inadvisable to drive any one beyond a certain point.
Tonight's episode will probably be about bail, or the possibility of bail. And somebody needs to take Peggy's pen away.
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Who is it that you seek? How then shall we live? How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
Posts: 21397 | From: Norfolk UK | Registered: Feb 2005
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Eirenist
Shipmate
# 13343
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Posted
According to The Times, the agony is set to continue for another year.
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'I think I think, therefore I think I am'
Posts: 486 | From: Darkest Metroland | Registered: Jan 2008
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Eirenist
Shipmate
# 13343
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Posted
Sorry, pressed submit too soon. Meant to add 'at least'. As someone has already said 'Oooooh Nooooo!'
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'I think I think, therefore I think I am'
Posts: 486 | From: Darkest Metroland | Registered: Jan 2008
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Curiosity killed ...
Ship's Mug
# 11770
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Barnabas62:
The clear impact of the storyline is that once you recognise you are subject to domestic abuse, get the hell out of the situation before it destabilises you, eats away at your ability to know who you are any more.
Is the moral really that? Isn't it that setting up a cosy dinner to negotiate leaving with a controlling partner is not a great idea? Going without discussion taking everything you might need would have been a lot wiser. Then any necessary negotiations can be held somewhere neutral with other witnesses and several exits to ensure a safe way out. Also only agreeing supervised access to any children.
The problem for Helen is that she had allowed Rob into every area of her life - her work, her house, her inheritance, her family, her bank account. Where was safe to run?
And I think that people are underestimating how destroying this controlling behaviour is really. This New Statesman story is from Helen Walmsley-Johnson comparing her own abuse to Helen's:
quote:
It’s the little things you notice first – the sulks, the sudden irritation, the criticism of your clothes, your weight, your hair, your friends, your family, your work, your slightly flabby upper arms, your A-cup breasts and why isn’t there a meal on the table at 6.30pm prompt when you know that upsets him...? But it’s dressed up as caring and you haven’t learned yet not to trust him. He wants you to wear that dress because you look so pretty in it. He only mentions you’ve put on a few pounds because he loves you. If only you’d let him take care of you... Slowly, slowly your confidence is eroded.
and a bit later:
quote:
You become compliant to such a nauseating degree, you sicken yourself.
Both of which twang visceral chords. She says it took her five years to put herself back together again, physically and emotionally. It probably took me as long.
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Mugs - Keep the Ship afloat
Posts: 13794 | From: outiside the outer ring road | Registered: Aug 2006
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Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
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Posted
Yes, this has to be condensed for dramatic purposes, I suppose. And actually if any woman were in a good position to get out, it's Helen- living near lots of friends and relations who would be supportive and with an abuser who is a relative newcomer in the community, and by no means universally trusted. But I'd imagine that few people who are being abused IRL are in such a fortunate position and so the demands of public service broadcasting quite understandably require that this be overlooked. It is, after all, fiction, albeit realist fiction with a purpose.
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My beard is a testament to my masculinity and virility, and demonstrates that I am a real man. Trouble is, bits of quiche sometimes get caught in it.
Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008
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Barnabas62
Shipmate
# 9110
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Curiosity killed ...:
quote:
Originally posted by Barnabas62:
The clear impact of the storyline is that once you recognise you are subject to domestic abuse, get the hell out of the situation before it destabilises you, eats away at your ability to know who you are any more.
Is the moral really that? Isn't it that setting up a cosy dinner to negotiate leaving with a controlling partner is not a great idea? Going without discussion taking everything you might need would have been a lot wiser.
I think it's both. As you say, given the extent to which Rob had eroded Helen's freedoms, family and friends relationships etc, it was hard to see where she should run to. (We supported the refuge movement for many years. It was a way of providing an option for women who found themselves in that desperate situation. I did wonder whether the refuge option might have been included in the storyline.)
The meal decision was an absolute disaster but it showed the extent to which even Helen's judgment about what was safe had been eroded by the abuse.
The New Statesman link was excellent, BTW. Many thanks.
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Who is it that you seek? How then shall we live? How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
Posts: 21397 | From: Norfolk UK | Registered: Feb 2005
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Eirenist
Shipmate
# 13343
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Posted
I see it all now! The Helen-Rob storyline is a blatant piece of Brexit propaganda - Rob the domineering, oppressive, ruthless EU; Helen poor deceived Britannia. Who would have thought it of the BBC?
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'I think I think, therefore I think I am'
Posts: 486 | From: Darkest Metroland | Registered: Jan 2008
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
The programme has now gone beyond anywhere susceptible to rewriting. Pat and Tony have taken Henry to see Rob, who has recovered mentally completely, in hospital, and Ursula has said she will take the child there without P&T in future. When he can't see Helen for fear of contaminating his evidence.
Regular listeners are giving up.
This needs to make use of the reboot, the other trouserleg of the Ambridgeverse, sharpish, or it will be shown to have descended into a complete slurry pit (though of less value). As for being of use to the victims of DV and coercion, it's more likely to help the abusers by making the victims see no way out, with their children being handed over to the control freaks.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Curiosity killed ...
Ship's Mug
# 11770
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Posted
This one is complicated: Rob has parental responsibility as Helen agreed this when he said he wanted to adopt Henry. He hasn't adopted Henry or obtained a court order as that meant being checked more than he wanted (DBS). Parental responsibility requires the consent of the mother, the birth certificate of the child and ID. With parental responsibility his rights trump those of a grandparent, even a blood relative.
No-one has told Pat and Tony that Henry is not allowed to see his legal parent, not the police, not the social workers. And that parental responsibility order can only be dissolved by a court. It's probably an oversight by the police and social workers, but there's not much Pat and Tony can do when Rob demands to see him.
Normally all the adults who have parental responsibilities have to agree what happens to the child, but with Helen in prison, Rob is in charge. The only way of preventing Rob doing what he wants with Henry is by application to the courts for a prohibited steps order or to dissolve his parental responsibility order.
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Mugs - Keep the Ship afloat
Posts: 13794 | From: outiside the outer ring road | Registered: Aug 2006
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Barnabas62
Shipmate
# 9110
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Posted
Which is I'm sure the point the scriptwriters want to bring out.
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Who is it that you seek? How then shall we live? How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
Posts: 21397 | From: Norfolk UK | Registered: Feb 2005
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Barnabas62
Shipmate
# 9110
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Posted
I'm not sure I'd want to rewrite the script at this point. The official scriptwriters seem to be handling this part of the storyline with skill and realism. But it remains painful to listen to.
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Who is it that you seek? How then shall we live? How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
Posts: 21397 | From: Norfolk UK | Registered: Feb 2005
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Curiosity killed ...
Ship's Mug
# 11770
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Posted
The tweet along mob are fairly unhappy about this line too, and the Archers twitter account has been joining in. The Archers twitter account has put up a blog explaining why Henry can live with Rob, because they are both witnesses for the prosecution and the parental rights situation above. They are getting advice on this story line, they haven't made anything up.
Someone is saying the school should be intervening, but in my experience, the school will be keeping an eye on the situation, but will not necessarily intervene. They will be monitoring, but will not necessarily involve social care unless there is a problem that indicates he is in present danger - and an incident that seems to be over and the child is back in safety is not a reason to involve social care.
Whether Henry's school will offer any intervention depends on the availability of school provision: if there are any mentors or counsellors, the child's behaviour and the needs of the other children. Five is really too young for mentoring so unless there's a child counsellor available and the child shows that he needs that support, it's unlikely.
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Mugs - Keep the Ship afloat
Posts: 13794 | From: outiside the outer ring road | Registered: Aug 2006
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Barnabas62
Shipmate
# 9110
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Posted
Why it is so uncomfortable is that we all know that Rob Tichner is a Grade A++ bastard because we've been allowed to eavesdrop on his bastardy. The net result is that the police and the law just look and feel wrong. But that's because we've been allowed to see what coercive control really looks like and what it does to victims. Painful and educational at the same time.
Where is Jess? Where is Charlie? They will be along at some point, that's for sure.
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Who is it that you seek? How then shall we live? How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
Posts: 21397 | From: Norfolk UK | Registered: Feb 2005
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
I do think that the change on collection, with Ursula telling the school, before the court hearing, that P&T would not be allowed to collect Henry would not have been accepted without paperwork. But I'm not sure whether a note from Rob, or Rob's Mum would be enough.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Barnabas62
Shipmate
# 9110
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Posted
I winced tonight. Would a judge really have denied bail to a heavily pregnant women, given the conditions Helen's counsel was prepared to agree to on her behalf? Coupled with Pat's complete stupidity in her police interview (which led to her being a prosecution witness), that really did seem to be piling on the agony for dramatic effect.
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Who is it that you seek? How then shall we live? How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
Posts: 21397 | From: Norfolk UK | Registered: Feb 2005
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Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
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Posted
Didn't hear this evening's, but on (was it?) Tuesday when Pat was wailing about feeling so stupid all I could say was 'that's because yyou are'. She used to be rather a shrewd and level-headed character, didn't she? But over the last few years she's turned increasingly into a Soil Association certificated version of Jennifer Aldridge. I do wish the writers wouldn't sod about with characters like that.
Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008
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Curiosity killed ...
Ship's Mug
# 11770
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Posted
Albertus - you and most of the Archers tweet along group. There's a lot of moaning about how little continuity there is - with us mostly pointing out inconsistencies. Pat was at Greenham. She'd know a whole lot more about police procedures from that experience that she's being given credit for now.
Barnabas62 - apparently the Archers have been consulting with Birth Companions a charity that works with mothers giving birth in prison. Also, because I looked, magistrates cannot give bail for murder and they can choose not to give bail for attempted murder if they think there are additional risks - pretty much as handed down. It's probably back down to the apparent viciousness of the attack. Although there have been suggestions that Rob might have made things worse deliberately - the wrist slash suggests him grabbing the knife. (Very ambiguous that incident in sound effects alone.)
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Mugs - Keep the Ship afloat
Posts: 13794 | From: outiside the outer ring road | Registered: Aug 2006
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Barnabas62
Shipmate
# 9110
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Posted
Yes, they have messed around with Pat's character for the sake of the story line. Also the arraignment was part of a preliminary hearing before a judge, not a magistrate. The judge has discretion over bail and was certainly within her rights to interpret the results the way she did. But the witness-tampering argument was very weak, given the bail conditions applied for. I just thought it unlikely.
(I note that folks are drawing some parallels with Tess of the D'Urbervilles; a bit of a stretch but I see where they are coming from.)
[ 06. May 2016, 00:46: Message edited by: Barnabas62 ]
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Who is it that you seek? How then shall we live? How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
Posts: 21397 | From: Norfolk UK | Registered: Feb 2005
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North East Quine
Curious beastie
# 13049
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Posted
Helen had a referral to a psychiatrist while she was pregnant; but now she's stabbed her husband, she appears to be being treated as though she has no psychiatric issues? How does that work?
I'm also cross that Pat has turning into a hapless, helpless hand-wringer.
Posts: 6414 | From: North East Scotland | Registered: Oct 2007
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Curiosity killed ...
Ship's Mug
# 11770
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Posted
Sean O'Connor, the current but soon departing script editor, said in an interview that this story line is based on Tess of the d'Urbevilles and Gaslighting and a Conrad, but mainly Tess.
Hardy's well known melodramatic streak seems to have passed him by, and bending the continuity of the characters to fit a Victorian melodrama with a different agenda has not endeared him to long term listeners. (Hardy was writing to chronicle a way of life in the countryside which was rapidly disappearing in his lifetime with the advent of machinery and the industrial revolution moving people from the countryside to the cities.)
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Mugs - Keep the Ship afloat
Posts: 13794 | From: outiside the outer ring road | Registered: Aug 2006
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Enoch
Shipmate
# 14322
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Posted
Is Helen going to end up being hanged then? To do that, not only has Rob got to die within a year and a day of the event, but there's got to be both the wrong result in the Brexit referendum, and a change in the law that is unlikely to happen.
I'm so glad I'm doing other things at 7pm every evening.
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Brexit wrexit - Sir Graham Watson
Posts: 7610 | From: Bristol UK(was European Green Capital 2015, now Ljubljana) | Registered: Nov 2008
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Barnabas62
Shipmate
# 9110
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by North East Quine:
Helen had a referral to a psychiatrist while she was pregnant; but now she's stabbed her husband, she appears to be being treated as though she has no psychiatric issues? How does that work?
It may not be known to the police. And unless I've missed something, it may not yet be known to Anna the defence lawyer. So far as I can make out, Helen has been quite unable in her conversations with Anna to see factors that work in her favour. (Like her conversation with Rob's ex-wife Jess for example.)
Anna observed to Tom and Tony that she just wasn't sure how much of Helen's normal thinking processes had been shut down by Rob's manipulation and dominance. And that strikes me as very realistic, based on my own experience of counselling victims of abuse. It's very hard to see things straight when someone you love has been mucking around with your understanding.
That part of the storyline I have no problem with, in fact it's one of the most insightful issues which has been portrayed.
(I missed tonight's episode, BTW.)
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Who is it that you seek? How then shall we live? How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
Posts: 21397 | From: Norfolk UK | Registered: Feb 2005
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Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
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Posted
Sorry, I know this is a serious storyline, but
quote:
Originally posted by Barnabas62:
.... Helen's normal thinking processes....
![[Killing me]](graemlins/killingme.gif)
When has she ever, ever, seriously thought about anything, as opposed to floundering around in a fog of wish-fulfilment and making up superficially coherent arguments to justify doing what she wants to do?
Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008
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Barnabas62
Shipmate
# 9110
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Posted
Fair enough. I suppose "normal for Helen" has often been a bit short on sensible, which makes "abnormal for Helen" even more likely to lead to her short-changing herself.
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Who is it that you seek? How then shall we live? How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
Posts: 21397 | From: Norfolk UK | Registered: Feb 2005
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Albertus
Shipmate
# 13356
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Posted
True, very true.
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My beard is a testament to my masculinity and virility, and demonstrates that I am a real man. Trouble is, bits of quiche sometimes get caught in it.
Posts: 6498 | From: Y Sowth | Registered: Jan 2008
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mark_in_manchester
not waving, but...
# 15978
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Posted
quote:
Is Helen going to end up being hanged then? To do that, not only has Rob got to die within a year and a day of the event, but there's got to be both the wrong result in the Brexit referendum, and a change in the law that is unlikely to happen.
Thanks. I was feeling a bit glum, and you really got me laughing!
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"We are punished by our sins, not for them" - Elbert Hubbard
(so good, I wanted to see it after my posts and not only after those of shipmate JBohn from whom I stole it)
Posts: 1596 | Registered: Oct 2010
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Barnabas62
Shipmate
# 9110
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Posted
Thought I'd bounce this. All in all, a pretty remarkable "non-everyday story of country folk".
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Who is it that you seek? How then shall we live? How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
Posts: 21397 | From: Norfolk UK | Registered: Feb 2005
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Curiosity killed ...
Ship's Mug
# 11770
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Posted
According to this Government research paper (pdf) 8.2% of women and 4% of men suffered domestic abuse in 2014/15 before the introduction of the offence of coercive abuse. It is a lot more common than is realised.
Not sure the jury deliberations worked as an Archers episode, but the trial through the week was interesting.
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Mugs - Keep the Ship afloat
Posts: 13794 | From: outiside the outer ring road | Registered: Aug 2006
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Jemima the 9th
Shipmate
# 15106
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Posted
I thought the trial was brilliantly done - though I haven't been in a courtroom, so I could be wildly wrong. I'm very, very glad indeed that Helen was found not guilty - I think there would have been outrage if she'd been sent dahn (even though that's what I was afraid would happen).
I listened to the mega-episode last night, and cried at the end. Then I listened again this afternoon, and cried all over again.
And it's also brought us the joy of Bruce, in all his moustache twirling evil.
Posts: 801 | From: UK | Registered: Sep 2009
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Barnabas62
Shipmate
# 9110
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Posted
The jury room discussion was, scarily, remarkably similar to the one jury I was on. Also an abuse with violence case. What surprised me was the numbers who were biased by their own strongly held views. It was very hard to get folks to look at the evidence. Made me wonder about the jury system.
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Who is it that you seek? How then shall we live? How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?
Posts: 21397 | From: Norfolk UK | Registered: Feb 2005
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mark_in_manchester
not waving, but...
# 15978
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Posted
My jury service left me with the opposite thoughts - a very un-sympathetic accused (due to the type of crime, and who he was), and a jury who on the face of it looked more likely to rush to judgement than your average 11 punters (I, the 12th, am a Guardian-reader with a bleeding heart, obviously).
He went down, but quite a while after I'd got bored of trying to think of reasons why he might not be lying. They gave him a really fair go.
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"We are punished by our sins, not for them" - Elbert Hubbard
(so good, I wanted to see it after my posts and not only after those of shipmate JBohn from whom I stole it)
Posts: 1596 | Registered: Oct 2010
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Laurelin
Shipmate
# 17211
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Posted
I've become something of an Archers addict in recent years and was gripped by the Rob/Helen storyline, although it was infuriating at times - not the slow twisting of the abuse, which was horribly believable, but the unrealistic reactions from some of the other characters, e.g. Pat being turned by the script-writers from a strong woman into an unobservant wimp.
I've served on a jury three times and none of my fellow jurors were as tetchy and bigoted as some of the jurors at Helen's trial! ![[Eek!]](eek.gif) At the very worst, a few simply didn't want to engage much with the process (which does make you wonder about our justice system, as Barnabas said) but NOBODY was as awful as some of those characters.
I thought Anna did a pretty good job as defence counsel. I was very irritated by Pat's pathetic wittering while Helen was giving her testimony. Loud, agitated whispering is NOT allowed in court. No way would I jeopardise my loved one's trial in that way. The old, intelligent Pat would not have behaved so stupidly, IMO.
Rob is utterly loathsome - just the sound of his voice puts my teeth on edge - but so brilliantly played by Timothy Watson that I feel sorry for the actor, he will always be overshadowed by this role. ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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"I fear that to me Siamese cats belong to the fauna of Mordor." J.R.R. Tolkien
Posts: 545 | From: The Shire | Registered: Jul 2012
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Eirenist
Shipmate
# 13343
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Posted
'It's not over till it's over, and sometimes it's not over even then.'
This storyline could go on for another two or three years, apparently. Rob hasn't gone away. The scriptwriters have plenty of scope for inventiveness - battles over custody of the children, attempts to take them out of the jurisdiction of English courts, child abuse (of Henry, perhaps), the cricket team (next summer), the Ian - Adam relationship, village gossip, poison pen letters, harassment, stalking perhaps - the possibilities are endless. Perhaps the whole series should be renamed 'The Titcheners'.
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'I think I think, therefore I think I am'
Posts: 486 | From: Darkest Metroland | Registered: Jan 2008
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