This discussion has been closed.
Posted by politebirder (U4482231) on Monday, 20th August 2007
Is this left to the scripties or is there an edict from VW?
Somebody who wouldn't know a sense of humour if it jumped up and bit them in the googlies.
MJ
, in reply to message 1.
This posting has been hidden during moderation because it broke the in some way.
I believe that under the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú's open market policy, the right to suggest humorous stories for The Archers was put out to tender. I heard that the contract was awarded to D C Thompson, better known as publishers of The Beano.
Sadly, it appears that their standards have dropped somewhat over the years.
To answer the original question, it depends. Sometimes a storyline is conceived as one with a strong comic element, sometimes the writer will embellish an existing story with a bit of comedy and sometimes there's enough legroom in the stories we are given for the week for the write to include their own.
2 hours and deathly silence.
Tell me Mr K, does this tell you something you should perhaps convey to the esteemed SL think tank?
What is being done to our programme is nothing less than an infringement of listeners' human rights.
It is being turned into a fifth rate CÂ鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú slapstick comedy.
It is abyssmal.
You can tell that to everyone in the tank and they can call me a dribble cardied saddo all they like. But they can't write comedy. Period.
I refer you all to scripts by Galton & Simpson. For instance.
That is comedy.
What we are being served up at present is hogwash, sir.
MJ
Thank you, Keri.
So from whence or whom came the latest "Carry On Up TA With A Boa" SL?
Mrs Mumbo Jumbo
How come you can say googlies but I can't spell out a swear word menaning cow pooh?
Who modded me?
Bump, in hope of a reply from Keri.
, in reply to message 9.
Posted by MsMumbo-Jumbo (U3613133) on Wednesday, 22nd August 2007
He's got his stars on so he's somewhere abouts, PB.
MJ
Hi Mathilda I'd be furious if MJ's googlies had been modded! It simply wouldn't be cricket. (Googlies are something you bowl if you're a spinner or face if you're a batter. I have no idea if the single G version is permitted or not.)
I don't know why you've been modded but there seem to be some sensitive souls around at the mo.
, in reply to message 5.
Posted by politebirder (U4482231) on Wednesday, 22nd August 2007
Bump.
Keri, I don't want to put you in a difficult position but I would like an answer to my supplementary, if it's not too much trouble.
Thanks in anticipation.
PB
, in reply to message 12.
Posted by La Pouquelaye (U1221454) on Wednesday, 22nd August 2007
The oracle speaks only once, politebirder.
, in reply to message 13.
Posted by politebirder (U4482231) on Wednesday, 22nd August 2007
I have ultimate faith in Mr Keri, Mister Trellis.
He is a gentleman.
They are few & far between now, but he is one of them.
I don't think this is very fair on our Mr K. You say he's a perfect gentleman and then wait for him to single out someone to be the target of some very direct criticism?
You can't please all of the people all of the time, and while the snake storyline is OTT, there are others at the moment which are quite realistic and dramatic, Alice's continuing hurt feelings re brian, for example. I think it balances out, but obviously that's just MO.
, in reply to message 15.
Posted by politebirder (U4482231) on Thursday, 23rd August 2007
I do not expect him to name names, jess.
This would not be a gentlemanly thing to do!
Sorry, pb, but to me, that's how message 7 reads. Obviously if that's not what you mean, I apologise.
Gosh, you're very anxious for a reply, pb. I do my best but I can't be on the board all the time, you know.
Anyway, the snake story was suggested by one of the writers (can't remember which, sorry) at our bi-monthly long term storyline meetings, and was accepted, with amendments by the whole team. We thought it was a fun summer story.
WHAT??????????????????????????
You are joking, Mr K? Surely not? Why didn't you run the bi-monthly script meeting as the 'fun summer story' instead - would have had more mileage.
I bet you don't know the name of the SW in question!! Bonus was one way ticket to Rio in a brown envelope with an attached note 'Don't ring us, etc etc.', was it?
, in reply to message 18.
Posted by douglastherabbit (U6565182) on Thursday, 23rd August 2007
Thanks for your reply, Mr Keri, but a lot of us here haven't found the snake SL to be a fun summer story at all. We've found it irritating and patronising.
I'm very reluctant to criticise (no, really!) because I've never been a script writer myself and it must be heart-breaking to have one's best efforts regularly dissed by the louche mob over here. But the fact remains that one quick look at the boards shows that really sharp humour is not in short supply amongst the audience. So it's reasonable to expect that humourous SLs will need to be of a very high standard to win approval.
TA does some sorts of humour brilliantly - usually social satire such as Brian's one-liners, Susan's snobbery, etc. What it does less successfully is the heavy-handed slapstick stuff - Bertfroi, strange vegetables, and - of course - the snake.
Lest you think we are a relentlessly negative lot, can I refer you to Jane Townie's thread A Sad Vision over on DTA? This starts out as a (justified) rant but has evolved into a balanced and moderate discussion of the programme's strengths and weaknesses from listeners who in many cases have been following TA for decades. (I'd do you one of those linky-things, but I'm terminally technically incompetent.)
The fact is, the boards themselves are so entertaining that listening to TA itself has become a bit of an irrelevance. This is unfortunate for those charged with putting the programme together, and an unforeseen consequence of the new technology. And it means that the SWs need to up their game a bit or steer clear of the slapstick altogether.
I thought the snake story was fun.
But I cringe at Brian's one-liners, Susan's snobbery etc.
, in reply to message 18.
Posted by marcinurheart (U5052286) on Thursday, 23rd August 2007
Anyway, the snake story was suggested by one of the writers (can't remember which, sorry) at our bi-monthly long term storyline meetings,Â
Do we laugh or cry? A group of people sit around discussing the everyday story of country folk and 'someone' says...."whaheeh, lets pretend there is a large snake on the loose in the village"
And the other people there cannot remember the genius that came up with it.
As I trundle off to work for the night I will try not to weep at the sheer bull I have just read.
, in reply to message 18.
Posted by politebirder (U4482231) on Thursday, 23rd August 2007
Thank you, Keri.
Much appreciated.
As you may guess, many of us didn't care for the "fun summer story"!
But we do value your response to our queries.
, in reply to message 23.
Posted by Urban 'Reg' Chronotis (U2338993) on Thursday, 23rd August 2007
Thu, 23 Aug 2007 22:52 GMT, in reply to marcinurheart in message 23
I don't think there's much wrong with pretending there's a large snake loose in the village actually (although using it to get the Grundys doing a reprise of the 'Ob 'Ound of Edgeley story was really cheap).
I thought it was "My name is Scarlett Del Monte and I'm looking for my Bertie" that everyone was objecting to. Pure, out-of-time, horribly derivative Round the Horne.
I agree with douglastherabbit that ML provides better entertainment that TA now (or it would if I had time to read it), but I think he is mistaken to think that the SWs see us as a typical part of the audience. In fact it seems more likely that we are being cast off and allowed to entertain ourselves while the SWs dumb down to attract a larger audience.
Reg
, in reply to message 25.
Posted by jennet_device (U8197637) on Thursday, 23rd August 2007
I liked the snake story. I liked the Scarlett lady, well, not that much, but i did like the three men's reactions to her. I liked Robert kindly helping Lynda out of the bedroom. And a 'fun summer story' is fine when it's p*ssing down outside every day.
I don't know why you think it's "bull", marcinurheart. This meeting was last September. I don't think I can be expected to remember every detail of it.
I do recall who suggested that the snake could belong to a burlesque performer, though. That was me. Sorry to those who didn't like it, but having come across one or two similar artistes I thought Julia Hills' performance was spot on
(And sorry, by the way, that should have been biannual, not bi-monthly long term meetings.)
, in reply to message 27.
Posted by Mustafa Grumble (U8596785) on Friday, 24th August 2007
Fri, 24 Aug 2007 13:21 GMT, in reply to Keri Davies - Host in message 27
Any excuse to bring in Julia Hills is fine with me ... do you think that as Ms Delmonte she could cuddle up to Chris Carter for a bit? Would do him a world of good, and Susan's reaction would be priceless. It might also cheer up Clarrie!
Incidentally, Mr K - I think it was broadcast during your hols, but who came up with Clarrie's inspired "Satellite Dish" (IIRC) description of Susan? And was that because ML's Radio moniker is already in use here?
SW's only meet EVERY SIX MONTHS? Ye Gods! That explains everything!!!!
So the whole boiling thing is down to VW's judgement. Crikey.
There are long-term meetings for story-planning, bi-annual, and short-term meetings more frequently, as I understand it, M.
well i'm enjoying mike's date so far. i was laughing.
I don't know why you think it's "bull", marcinurheart.Â
Maybe because I cannot believe so called creative people sit around at my expense to come up with this carp. And I cannot believe that nobody said - don't be such a berk.
This meeting is described in all seriousness as some sort of great work, well most of do work hard and would be glad to get paid for making up stories that a 3yr old would not find a challenge.
By the way I left out a word after bull........
Hi marcinurheart, I'd be really interested to know what you'd think of a pile of sws who came up with, and delivered, a story where a mature woman was rogered to death by a camel. Would that be ? Or RL being so bizarre that no one could think it up?
I don't know how I feel about the snake SL - I know I'd have been screaming with Jill and Lynda on those chairs (actually I'd have been /on/ the table) and I know I'd have gibbered if I'd found a huge snake under the duvet and I KNOW I wouldn't have known how dangerous or not it would have been.
Frankly the (a) snake SL is a whole lot more reasonable to me than (b) a camel rogering a woman to death. I know (b) happened therefore I have no reason to think (a) is .
So I don't mind the sws getting round the table at our joint expense to think it up - think of your 3p subbing my 3p and we'll all be happy.
, in reply to message 33.
Posted by marcinurheart (U5052286) on Saturday, 25th August 2007
Thanks for your 3p cath and if someone can explain what the camel thing has to with it, I'd be grateful!
Don't think you necssaily will be1
, in reply to message 30.
Posted by Keri Davies (U2219620) on Wednesday, 29th August 2007
There are long-term meetings for story-planning, bi-annual, and short-term meetings more frequently, as I understand it, M.
Indeed Rosie, thanks. Detailed planning is done at meetings every four weeks.
And, Mr K, do you / does anyone take the trouble to acquaint VW with the powerful reactions on these mb's to the various story lines? And if they don't, don't you think someone should? I thought corporations valued customer feedback - they are treated like gold dust in the retail sector, and given the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú's current problems of credibility, maybe VW and the SW team might welcome such front-line reactions?
As I understand it, Master Malfoy, that is exactly what Keri does as a routine part of his job. He summarises MB opinion and sometimes passes on whole threads. What happens then is probably out of his control.
La Whiplash Whitburn and the Shredders top the bill in the Felpersham nite spots?
There is a terrible complacency at the heart of the whole TA production team knowing that they sit within a charmed magic circle, untouchable and unreachable by Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú execs, cuts, changing fashions, and indeed, any semblance of scriptwriting excellence or realism of any kind. The snake SL, Ruari, Mike and Lillian, are the three latest flights of unhinged and shockingly badly plotted silliness that undermine, even give the impresison that they are sniggering, and quite deliberately seeing how far they can go in testing the audience's gullibility, and they certainly need never bother about reactions - they see themselves as utterly bomb-proof. They live within the bubble.
, in reply to message 39.
Posted by marcinurheart (U5052286) on Thursday, 30th August 2007
So well put DracoM, thank you! Better than I managed but being on night duty last week dulled my prose!
I only mentioned the ridiculous snake thing as there are too many examples to mention but my despair really took hold weeks before with the Linda and Robert restaurant review carp.
I do feel as if someone is testing my limits.
, in reply to message 40.
Posted by marcinurheart (U5052286) on Thursday, 30th August 2007
PS Did you notice how quickly the 'host' jumped to defend the SWs? Methinks he protests too much.
Mr K has been Whitburned.
No-one likes being rumbled!!
, in reply to message 40.
Posted by La Pouquelaye (U1221454) on Thursday, 30th August 2007
Why don't we call a crap a crap?
Why do we have to be so coy?
, in reply to message 43.
Posted by marcinurheart (U5052286) on Thursday, 30th August 2007
Not coy, just don't want to be modded!
Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:40 GMT, in reply to marcinurheart in message 40
Actually I don't find the snake story so far-fetched. Have just returned from a sojourn in the general Borsetshire area, where a major news item was the story of a one-eyed Giant African snail which was found on a busy commuter train. At first staff thought it was a discarded bread roll.
The snail was believed to have been kept as a pet before its rail journey but after two weeks waiting for it to be reclaimed rail staff re-homed the beast at a butterfly centre.
Would any of you have umm swallowed the trial of slime if Jack had spotted a one-eyed giant snail under a table in the GG restaurant?
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