A couple of weeks ago I stopped listening to The Archers For those who don't know and can't be bothered to follow the link The Archers is a long running radio soap opera, or Contemporary Drama in a Rural Setting as the BBC would have it. I've been listening since the early 1970s when I was introduced to it by a fellow undergrad. So, part of my life for forty plus years.
I've threatened to stop listening before. I've even managed it for a few days before going back, desperate to catch up, like an addict craving a fix. Even when the infamous and much reviled editor Vanessa Whitburn murdered one of the most popular characters by having him fall from the slippery roof of his stately pile on a windy New Year's Eve (and yes, it does sound like a very bad Poirot and that was the least of it, believe me) I kept the faith.
The appalling VW has now gone but her influence still lingers like a bad smell; rubbish continuity, plot lines that are duplicated between different groups of characters, sloppy writing, inconsistency of characters to suit demands of shoehorned in topical plots etc etc. Recently three very very silly simultaneous plotlines finally pushed me over the edge and I decided that I wasn't going to listen again until all three were resolved.
I thought that I would miss it, but really I don't. With son no 2 now back at college and having upped my studying commitment I find not having to respond to the tyranny of another Archers episode at 19.02 a relief. As for the forthcoming nuptials of Kenton and Jolene, the new arrival in the Grundy family, the results of the rose class at the annual Flower and Produce Show - I don't care anymore. So
even when the three annoying plots are well and truly over, I don't think I'll be back.
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I stopped listening a couple of years ago, and, sadly, I don't really miss it. I occasionally think about it when I look at the clock at the right time, but then I can't be bothered, and get on with the rest of my day.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many people actually listen for their whole lives. When I first started listening, many older people told me they used to listen to it, but then stopped. Perhaps it's because the older generation fades out and the new one takes its place, and we don't feel the show is the same, or that something is missing, without those older folk?