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The week in radio and podcasts: The Archers – Ambridge in lockdown shock

The Archers (BBC Radio 4) | BBC Sounds

Back in late March, lockdown caught many of us on the hop. The changes to work and life were swift and devastating. Some professions could adapt fairly easily, others couldn’t. Drama is an industry that’s suffered greatly; many great theatres have already had to close down for ever. But audio drama has a few advantages. It’s not TV, it’s not a full theatre production. No need for costumes or cameras, to learn lines or adjust lighting. The audience is still there, stuck at home…

Which brings me to The Archers. A well-oiled, beautifully run, wonderfully staffed ship that’s not built for turning, let alone pivoting to WFH, The Archers has found the lockdown difficult. Usually, the writing is done weeks in advance, with the storylines worked out even earlier. Each episode is recorded in the studio as live, the cast acting the whole thing without stopping. Sound effects are played in at the same time, with some added later.

David seemed as worked up about Ruth's lasagne as he did about not getting on with his son

Because of these pre-recorded episodes, for a long while after lockdown life in Ambridge continued with no reference to coronavirus at all. Lynda Snell and workman Blake were in hospital, post-hotel explosion, with various family, friends and foes popping in and out at will. Social distancing was most definitely not observed. PPE was never mentioned, nary a hint of a hand-sanitiser shortage. But then, in early May, the pre-records ran out, and for the past three weeks, The Archers has been reduced to replaying old episodes. “The Flower and Produce Show” was one; “Floods Hit Ambridge” another. During this time, entire storylines were mothballed (bye bye, Kirsty’s marriage to dodgy Philip), 12 scripts were binned, and the decision was made for actors to record monologues at home.

Though I understand the reasoning, I’m not convinced this was the right decision. The new-style episodes began last week, and they were pretty poor fare. The first, which consisted of David’s moaning about his son Josh, intercut with Josh moaning about David, was a shocker. Beautifully recorded (well done, Tim Bentinck and Angus Imrie), the super-clean voices meant that the added farm atmosphere (David got cows, Josh, geese) sounded ridiculous. Far worse, though, was the spectacularly boring writing. No mention of the frustrations of coronavirus, the alterations to farm work, being cooped up with family, new worries or irritations. Just some waffle about silage and lasagne, with some rousing “we’ll all get through this together” at the end. (David seemed exactly as worked up about Ruth’s lasagne as he did about not getting on with his son. Maybe it’s an Archers stoicism thing.)

The second episode had a couple of nods towards how people actually live, with Tracy making a “vlog”, according to son Brad (who uses that word, in 2020?) about what she thinks the cricket team should be doing during lockdown, and Harrison, policeman and actual cricket captain, responding. Both Harrison and Tracy were heard making phone calls. Unfortunately these were as realistic as a toddler holding up a banana to her ear and saying “Hewoh”. When people make phone calls, you can hear the other person on the line! There was nothing in the audio to distinguish between them talking to themselves, talking to a selfie camera, or talking to another person on the phone. No background noise of other people in the house. No one Zooming their family. Everything happening somewhere else.

I’m sure the shows will improve as all involved get used to the new way, but these episodes were lame, and revealed the lack of flexibility in how The Archers gets made. No real outdoor atmosphere, no actual phone calls, no moving out of a studio. TV has made a couple of successful forays into drama that acknowledge lockdown’s restrictions and make use of them. Why can’t the actors’ parts be recorded as live, simultaneously (like podcasts have been doing during lockdown), so they interact in real time? The tech is there. These episodes were snoresome and silly. The Archers has made a non-drama out of a crisis.

Three mind-expanding shows

Talking Politics: The History of Ideas 
A few people have raved to me about this podcast series, which only started on 27 April and has already put out 12 episodes (at the time of writing). In association with the London Review of Books, this set of talks by David Runciman has him exploring the important thinkers behind modern politics, starting with Hobbes and moving through Wollstonecraft, Marx and Engels to Fukuyama and beyond. The shows are interesting but academic: essentially, 45-minute university-style lectures. Runciman is likable and knows his stuff, but if you want bells and whistles, search elsewhere.

Cambridge academic David Runciman
‘He knows his stuff’: David Runciman, presenter of Talking Politics.
Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Observer

Clever Creature 
An experiment from Think Again producer and host Jason Gots. Each episode starts with a random word, and Jason gives himself one day to write a short story and a song inspired by it. (At the start, he explains that he’s trying to kick his procrastination habit.) As you might expect, the results are hit and miss. The songs are better than the short stories, but the stories kick off interesting chats with, in the first episode, Jason’s son Emre about a desert made of ice-cream, and, in the second, novelist Gish Jen. Plus there’s a meditation at the end of each episode. Ambitious and touching.

Waldy and Bendy’s Adventures in Art
Waldemar Januszczak, the Sunday Times art critic, is joined by art historian and TV art expert Bendor Grosvenor in this jolly art podcast. Januszczak and Grosvenor are broadcast naturals (especially showoff Januszczak), and the conversation is lively and interesting, running off into all sort of unexpected areas. I’d like it if Januszczak’s home-recorded voice was a little brighter-sounding but that’s a quibble; these two know their stuff and they engage you with their chat. Topics include Tate Modern, Grayson Perry’s art show on Channel 4 and Leonardo da Vinci. Fun.