Sunday, July 06, 2008

The Archers

Of course, like all right thinking people, I don't listen to The Archers for fear of losing my reason. (For my American readers, it is a radio soap about farmers, or,  as it used to be called, 'an everyday story of country folk'.). But I have just found myself sitting with the omnibus edition entering my left ear in analogue and my right ear in digital. The slight lag between the two heightens the already madly heightened surrealism of the drama. The dialogue seemed to go as a follows: 'Digester, digester, digester.....', 'Digester... digester,' 'Digester!' What or who is this frigging digester? I don't want to know but I feel I should.

9 comments:

  1. Did you listen to Antonio Carluccio on D.I.D?

    Made me hungry.

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  2. Think of the digester as yet another MacGuffin, Bryan. The Archers relies heavily on them. And think yourself lucky le tout Ambridge hasn't been excitedly preparing to pile onto a coach and head down to London for the Gay Pride march this year. They did a few years ago, Mrs Antrobus and all. This was when the Cat and Fiddle suddenly became a gay pub. Please stop me.

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  3. It does exactly what it says on the tin, only a little bit further along. All those little lakes on the west side of the city are part of the human version of the task.

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  4. The Archers is radio for people who think the war was never won. And that bloody theme tune makes me want to go out and hunt Morris dancers with a crossbow...

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  5. Ian, while I think hunting morris dancers with a crossbow is generally a good idea, the only good thing about The Archers is the theme tune. I can't stop singing it once I get going.

    Should I start?

    Pom pom pom pom pom pom pom, pom pom pom pom pommmmm pommmmmm...

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  6. Is it anything like "A Prairie Home Companion"? When you mentioned a radio show about farmers and losing your reason, that's what came to my mind.

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  7. Apropos shrinking the BBC. They could start with losing the 'Agricultural Story Editor' from the Archers - (s)he can't be doing very much any more.

    Incidentally I know the BBC frig around with the time signal on digital so it isn't 12 seconds behind, or whatever, but it is still well out. Is it varaible across the country ?

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  8. Oh, damn it Brian, another illusion shattered! I always thought The Archers is a fly-on-the-manure documentary.

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  9. Sorry about misspelling your name Bryan, I was so upset by your revelation. Reality hurts.

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