The Archers has entered the 21st century with its new podcast. Photograph: Sarah Lee
Is that Lynda Snell in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me? Yes, The Archers - a drama serial that owes its tenor mostly to a bygone age, circa 1954 - has entered the 21st century with the launch of an Archers podcast, ready for download at the end of each episode. You may have heard the toe-curling ads for the new service on Radio 4, which are certain to keep any new listeners at bay.
I've just tried this wondrous new facility for the first time with mixed results. The downloading itself is a doddle, and you can subscribe to have each instalment sent to you. Never again will you miss the show and the repeat, and, perhaps kept from your computer and the possibilities of Listen Again, sweat the night away wondering what size fish young Josh has caught. (It was, of course, a big 'un.)
Having been away for a few days, I'd missed a few episodes of the soap I love to hate, and really hate to love. I downloaded last night's episode and took it for a riverside walk in weak autumnal sun this morning, thinking myself quite snazzy and high-tech, and rather liking the idea of Ambridge on the go.
It was almost entirely rubbish. I hadn't quite appreciated just how much setting contributes to Archers listening. I only ever listen in my kitchen, as I start to get the beginnings of dinner together, or in bed on a Sunday morning, if Saturday night was an unusually late one. Both locations involve me doing something else: chopping vegetables, opening wine, dealing with a swearing husband (he loathes The Archers with a passion that has him doubling over and conjuring his own new range of expletives), or in the hangover-recovery position.
Outside, as I toddled along, The Archers was notably enfeebled. It wasn't a vintage episode (Emma moaning, mostly) but I'm not sure even the best stuff would suit a commuter's bus ride or train journey. It's too short to lose yourself in, and it's too silly when juxtaposed with real life all around you. Perhaps in bucolic countryside, it makes a kind of sense on your iPod, but I noticed only its weaknesses and craved a familiar, cosy stove-side setting for listening. I don't think I'll download again. Will you?
