- After Lillian accidentally filled in the wrong forms for “Borsetshire Business Woman of the Year”, Elizabeth unexpectedly finds herself running in the primaries for US President. #AnyoneButTrump…#EvenAFictionalCharacter.
- Doccy Lockey had lunch with Shula, Alastair (still firmly committed to his Vow of Silence), Jill and family. Daniel will be introducing his new girlfriend to his mother shortly. Little did Dr Locke realise that Shula was also attempting to introduce her new boyfriend to her mother over Easter lunch… It was just unfortunate that Dr Dick ends up asking Elizabeth out on a date. Ooops! The date was to the village hall opening and pagent. Double Ooops!
- Peggy was gloriously crotchety and self-absorbed in this episode in that way that only the very elderly can get away with. I’d like to hear more of this bolshiness. Peggy claims that “hormones weren’t invented in her day”. Which would make all manner of bodily functions difficult, unless – as we have long expected – Peggy is about as un-evolved as a paramecium.
- Unanswered Questions: How come Eddie Grundy has Anneka Rice on speed dial?
- Caught in the eternal dilemma between being the panto villain in Lynda’s left-wing nativity play and talking to Brian about Adam’s “no till farming”, Mr Elliot does the decent thing and indulges his thespian side.
- Throughout Anneka’s speech and the pagent, we were “treated” to one set or Grundy’s or other murmuring over the performance. Is this some late effort on the editors’ part to introduce a Greek Chorus to the show? We learnt that Emma wanted to be “just like Anneka”. Can we expect Emma to ditch the tracksuits for a jumpsuit and leap around the village generally making a nuisance of herself?
- The actors playing Brian and Justin did a great job of having their characters read in Lynda’s pagent in a stilted, awkward manner. Unlike Ed Grundy, who has clearly taken some acting evening classes since his slow & hesitant reading on Plough Sunday.
- Alan secured the Ambridge Millions in a high-security biscuit tin in an unlocked vestry. It didn’t need a seasoned criminal mastermind like Alf to nick it; Alan all but erected a neon sign on St Stephen’s bell tower advertising the presence of free money.
- The highlight of the week (if not of 2016) was the conversation between Eddie & Joe discussing Clarie’s long-since-departed periods whilst trotting through the village on Bartleby’s trap. If ever there was a couple best suited to discussing the finer intricacies of gynaecology, surely it is this subtle and appreciative father & son duo, with their nuanced mastery of female reproductive physiology.This – surely – demands it’s own Radio 4 Extra spin-off series: “Women’s Problems with Drs Grundy and Grundy.” Listeners should expect half an hour of euphemisms for vaginas, followed by a dismissive segment by Peggy entitled “Hormones I Never Had.” The show even has it’s own tag-line: “Problem in yer undies? Ask Dr Grundy!” I am expecting the phonecall from the Beeb’s radio commissioners any minute now.
- Rob intercepted a call to Helen’s phone from Ellie (the World’s Most Useless Midwife). In a clear breach of confidentiality, she told Rob that Helen now plans to have have her baby in the hospital (Plot prediction; contrary to the multiple scans – It’ll Be A Girl!… to Rob’s obvious anger.) After a passive aggressive argument so frosty it needed it’s windscreen scraped, Rob agreed to the hospital birth and finished by telling Helen: “I’m Not a Monster.”(This line was delivered in much the same way as those people who really, really dislike others who hapen to have a different coloured skin like to inform anyone who will listen that “I’m Not a Racist”.)
- Danikin finally dragged Dorothy to Ambridge. She seems like a sweet Christian girl who doesn’t drink, drive after 6pm or have sex. This renders Daniel the only known Virgin Soldier in the British Armed Forces. In bigger news, Shula has yellow guest towels. Yuck.
- There’s a nice scene between Eddie & Clarrie that references Alan & Usha. Both couples demonstrate real decency & humanity in their reaction to & handling of the theft of the money (which we are still all assuming is down to criminal kingpin Alf).
- Helen has a secret assignation with Kirsty in the Gay Grables Health Club Herbal Tea Emporium. Krusty gives Helen a secret phone and wheels out recurring enemy Jess to reinforce Kirsty’s suspicions about Rob’s flawed character.
- In the most spine-chilling moment this week, listeners experienced a genuinely horrible, sinister twist from a regular character. No, it’s nothing to do with Rob’s punishment of Henry. It was Ruth laughing – laughing like a drain at Bert’s weak and extraordinarily complicated April Fools’ stock cube prank on the Fairbretheren. Listeners will be relieved to know that Ruth’s next laugh isn’t scheduled until 2024, and that her normal morose, whinging service will be resumed forthwith.
- Helen & Jess develop a kind of uneasy alliance in a beautifully acted set of scenes. As she talked to Jess, I felt that the scales were beginning to fall from Helen’s eyes; she is finally starting to see Rob for who he is, and how her life with him has deteriorated from when she was an independent woman. But I’m not yet convinced that she’s strong enough to extricate herself from Rob’s clutches; I think it’ll take a particularly egregious act of abuse against Henry for her to act.
ADDENDUM: …and exactly 1 hour after posting this, our entire world goes “POP”. I don’t know… slaving over this article all afternoon… what’s the bloody point?! ;o)